Memories made in Montenegro

Alison Kent on 13 June 2022
I must say I was really apprehensive about travelling I hadn’t been on a plane since December 2019. We decided to overnight at the Premier Inn at Gatwick the package that we took included the meet and greet Car Park with Maple Parking Things have really changed since pre COVID, with Maple Parking you drive straight into the car park (by Sofitel) and leave your car so much better. The Premier Inn was very busy and I recommend booking a table for dinner if you are staying there. As busy as it was the staff were amazing especially our waitress Alexandra, it was well organised in the Bar and Restaurant.

Day 1 Up at 3.45, in the North Terminal by 4.30am. It was very busy but Easyjet was well organised and the lines were flowing very quickly. Bag Drop was quick and efficient as was security I did think about paying for the Fastrack but it doesn’t open until 5am. Duty Free was back to pre-COVID as were the shops, restaurants, bars and cafes which are exceptionally busy due to customer demand and limited staff. Flight was time, boarding was very good and we were lucky to have a spare seat next to us. No sandwiches or hot food was served on aircraft however, Easyjet do pre warn you about this well in advance. Excellent flight, service and crew were professional and we landed 30mins early! Passport control was quick with very surly staff. Baggage arrived very quickly. We had booked a shared transfer but we ended up with a private one, nice car, water and wipes provided. The transfer was about 45 minutes fun part was we had to cross the lake via ferry. Arrived at the Iberostar Herceg Novi, room wasn’t ready as we were early were told our room would be ready by 3pm so we grabbed a drink at the bar and then had lunch we were on All Inclusive. We explored the grounds, the Hotel has a lovely setting, nice pool and area, private beach with pool bar however, the hotel is not suitable for disabled or people with walking difficulties there are a lot of steps and steep hills. At 3pm we got to our room which was a good size with a lovely large balcony and sea view. Had a lovely swim in the pool and totally chilled out. That night we had dinner all meals are buffet but pretty high end, the wines were French and very good, John said the beer was good too! There is nightly entertainment. Slept so well.

Day 2 Woke up to a beautiful day, breakfast runs from 07.30-10.30 so much food! Grabbed a couple of sunbeds if you want to use the hotel towels there is a EUR15.00 deposit refundable when returned. I took the water aerobics class it was great fun. Then lunch which runs from 12.30-14.30 The afternoon was relaxing, swimming and just enjoying the beautiful weather Dinner, which runs from 18.30- 21.30 this really suited us as we like to eat late. The Entertainment that night was fantastic!

Day 3 We booked a boat trip to the Blue Cave (25 EUR per person) there is a stand at the Hotel where you can pre book boat tours they only accept cash. The boat departed from the Hotel Jetty it was quite an old boat and very cramped we were very unhappy as smoking is allowed on the boat and this made us feel really sick for the whole of the 2 ½ hr journey. The Blue Cave is amazing I felt the time there was very rushed as we were only given 10 minutes for a swim. On the return journey back to the Hotel we visited a Balkan submarine station and also saw lookout posts these we used in the Balkan War of the 1990’s. There weren’t any bathrooms on the boat and drinking water wasn’t supplied thankfully we had our own as it was very hot. Personally wouldn’t recommend the trip. Back at the Hotel we had lunch at the pool bar and I did some ocean swimming. It was our last night so we enjoyed the entertainment.

Day 4 Was picked up at the hotel by 8am this didn’t give us anytime to have breakfast so we took rolls from dinner the night before and kept in the fridge good job we did. This was a shared transfer but only 6 of us we arrived at Tivat Airport approx. 50 minutes later…..what can I say total carnage at the airport no organisation and mayhem, we decided to grab a coffee and let the queue go down as the check in desks weren’t even open, 30 minutes later we made our way to check in all the queues had gone only to be greeted with a mass of people waiting to get through security with one guy on the door! Passport control was quick but again staff were rude. The departure lounge is very small with limited seating, no restaurant, bar or café (cheese rolls came in handy!) very small duty free (very cheap!) where you can get water and crisps. If Montenegro want more tourists they need to think about expanding the airport. Flight was delayed as a passenger had been taken ill on the incoming flight. Finally we are ready to board, flight was full however, service was good. Arrived at Gatwick an hour late but took 1 ½ hrs to receive the luggage. Easy to collect car, pop across to the car park, grab your key and go!

Highlights The beauty of Montenegro Lovely Hotel with outstanding service from the staff.

Lows Tivat Airport Boat trip

Would recommend Montenegro and Iberostar, had a wonderful break and extremely good value for money.

Please contact me for further information on this beautiful country ??