Week 601 · Kotor, Montenegro
We had gone to Kotor back in 2016 so we thought some time outside the old town would be good and chose a "Relaxing Ride Around the Bay of Kotor." "Relaxing" should not have been in the description.
We were riding on a 1.5-lane road which was the only road to all of the coastal towns around this side of the bay. The Bay of Kotor is spectacular and a lot of people were out early to get to the "beach" for the day — we were in moderate traffic all day long with a large group not used to riding bikes, let alone in traffic.
After the bike ride, we decided to try the new cable car. We struggled to get a taxi and once we got one he didn't know where to go. We showed him Google Maps and he said 8 Euros, started driving — then he flagged down another taxi, guessing to ask him where to go — and off we went, about a 15-minute drive.
Well worth it — it was pretty new and a great view from the top. When we got back down, we had a whole bunch of taxi drivers offering to take us back for 40–50 Euros. Since we were experienced on the pricing methodologies of the Kotor region, we balked at the price and decided to take the city bus (which was 10 Euros each — probably where the taxi fee of 40 Euros comes in). Another guy said we could pay him cash, 8 Euros each for the bus. We decided to buy the proper tickets. Once on the bus, the sketchy guy just sneaked people on through the back door and gave the driver some cash.
From the top of the cable car — well worth it. The Bay of Kotor from above is a completely different scale from the road-level view on the bike ride. The cable car is new and the infrastructure is good. Getting back down via bus required some negotiation and a degree of trust in the informal ticketing system.
We took a quick walk through the old town before heading back to the boat. Interesting alternative to Dubrovnik for a smaller town.
