The Magic of Touring in Montenegro

Marcus and his mum adventure through magical Montenegro, enjoying its incredibly beautiful national parks and wild mountainous regions.

As a line of gargantuan mountains emerges before our eyes we stop driving. Not because we have to, but because the beguiling landscape in front of us demands it. There is no other way to truly marvel at the grandeur of Durmitor National Park than by stopping and submerging yourself in the heart of the region. 

Montenegro might not be an obvious destination for those heading to Europe in their leisure vehicle, but with the addition of several campsites on the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s extensive European network, and with easy access over the border from Croatia, it should be somewhere more people consider. Not least because of the staggering and unrivalled beauty of Durmitor National Park. 

I was fortunate enough to spend several weeks exploring not just Durmitor, but also the country’s other four national parks, as part of our two-year long family adventure known as the Big European Odyssey. Of all the countries we explored during that time on the road, Montenegro was one of our favourites, which is why I decided to come back once again, only this time I brought my Mum along for the adventure. 

Having opted to travel down through Bosnia & Herzegovina, our first port of call once over the border, in itself an adventure crossing the Tara River on a bridge big enough for only one vehicle at a time, was Durmitor National Park. It is one of five national parks in the country and, in my opinion, the most ruggedly beautiful with its abounding wild scenery and feeling of being a long way from a world often spoiled by the hand of modernity.

The highlight of Durmitor is the scenic drive that heads up from Piva Canyon before connecting the small mountain settlement of Trsa with Zjablak. Turning off the main road that runs alongside the canyon we head into the mountain, quite literally, as a tunnel with no lighting bores into the rock, eventually emerging at the foot of a road that will leave us breathless as it climbs over a thousand metres, snaking this way and that with immense views back down to the canyon below. 

As spectacular as this road is, it’s little more than the appetiser for what’s to come once we pass through Trsa, for not long after leaving this smallest of villages behind we find ourselves in a world of natural wonder of which the likes we have seldom seen before. The road gradually rises, picking its way up and through great slabs of rock long since jettisoned from the mountains that tower over us on either side.

Having stopped by the side of the road we stand lost in reverence, for the landscape we find ourselves in is surrounded by peaks that appear to have violently wrestled themselves free from the depths of earth, jutting high into the sky. Our awe is broken by the emergence of wild horses appearing on the road before us, seemingly oblivious to the vistas that are their home, content to graze on the hoof as they continue on their way. 

We eventually break our inertia, carrying on through an ever-changing kaleidoscope of views and panoramas, each somehow more majestic than the last, until eventually the road begins to descend out of the mountains and down to the town of Zjablak. It’s here where we will base ourselves for a few days, staying at Camp at Bocha’s, in order to explore the other side of the national park. The highlight here being the majestic Crno Jezero, also known as Black Lake, surrounded by thick forests of pine behind which lies the reverse side of the peaks we had recently driven past.

Our journey would eventually take us down to the Bay of Kotor, where the Old Town is the main attraction, before heading back into Croatia. However, the real beauty of Montenegro is to be found away from the coast, high in the mountains that are synonymous with this small yet mighty country. It’s here that we left a little bit of our hearts behind, knowing that we will return again one day, and we hope that you do too. 

• If Marcus has inspired you to visit the region, please visit camc.com/overseas to book the featured campsites and see other options.