Montenegro holidays

Montenegro packs an extraordinary amount of varied scenery into a country smaller than Wales — the Bay of Kotor (sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, although technically a submerged river canyon) is UNESCO-listed and one of the most-photogenic European bays, with the medieval walled towns of Kotor, Perast, and Risan winding around its shoreline; Sveti Stefan (the iconic islet hotel near Budva that is on every Montenegro postcard) is the resort-luxe headline; Lake Skadar (the largest in the Balkans, shared with Albania) has wine country, a pelican colony, and quiet fishing villages; the Durmitor National Park's Tara River Canyon is the deepest in Europe (1,300m, second only to the Grand Canyon worldwide); and the small medieval mountain town of Žabljak is the gateway to skiing, hiking and rafting.

A 7-10 day Montenegro trip: arrival into Tivat or Podgorica airport → Kotor (2-3 nights — UNESCO Old Town walking, the climb up the city walls to the Fortress of San Giovanni for the bay panorama, a day-trip to Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks island church, the Lady of Tepa Sunday market) → Sveti Stefan / Budva Riviera (2 nights — the iconic islet view from the Adriatic Beach Resort, Budva Old Town walls, Mogren Beach, the Ostrog Monastery built into a sheer cliff face nearby) → Lake Skadar (1-2 nights at Virpazar — boat trips through the lily-pad-and-pelican waters, wine tasting at Plantaže) → Durmitor National Park and Tara River Canyon (2-3 nights at Žabljak — Black Lake walking circuit, Tara River rafting trip, the Đurđevića Tara Bridge viewing) → optional Old Royal Capital of Cetinje (1 night — small-town museum complex of the former kingdom).