🚗🏞️ SOLO TRAVEL WITH DOGS ⎹ Montenegro: Part 3

Join me and my miniature Dachshunds as we explore the Durmitor National Park in Montenegro.
This is part of a two week road trip through the Balkans.
Previous videos:
Serbia Part 2: https://youtu.be/_m6uUMavp8I

00:00 Intro
00:21 Unexpected detour
00:57 Savin Kuk
03:03 Mountain Hike
05:32 The Black Lake
09:43 The Hidden Lake
13:39 Žabljak
15:10 The Viewpoint Adventure
22:53 Mastika Restaurant
23:30 Outro

Ever wondered what it’s like to travel through 
Montenegro by car in the summer—with two miniature Dachshunds in tow? Well, you’re about to find out. 
My girls and I are deep into our two-week Balkan road trip, and today we’re crossing from Serbia 
into Montenegro to explore the stunning Durmitor National Park and the famous Black Lake.
Let’s dive in. I spotted a sign for the Church of the 
Archangel Michael—my favorite archangel, so obviously I had to check it out. What I 
didn’t expect was a scary 8-kilometer drive down a steep, winding slope on a gravel road. I 
definitely need to work on my reversing skills. The church was closed when I finally made it 
down, but I did meet these two gorgeous stray dogs who were more than happy to accept some 
food. The spot was incredibly peaceful, but honestly? Unless you’ve got a proper 4×4, I’d skip 
this particular adventure or hike down by foot. We pulled up to this perfect wooden A-frame 
cottage in Savin Kuk, not far from Žabljak, right in the heart of Durmitor National Park. I 
specifically wanted an Airbnb that would give us direct access to incredible hiking trails—and most 
importantly, walking distance to the Black Lake. Let me give you the quick tour. The cottage sits 
right next to a ski lift that hikers can use in summer if they don’t fancy the trek. Everything 
you need is here: a small kitchen, living area, the beds are upstairs accessible by ladder, and 
the absolute best part—this incredible mountain view right from the living room window.
Even in August, these mountains get really cold once the sun goes down. Make sure 
you pack warm clothes. Also waterproofs would be a good idea as it can rain here.
Montenegro had some water issues when I visited, so there was no safe drinking water anywhere 
I stayed. The hosts warned me, thankfully, so I’d brought water canisters. Just 
something to keep in mind for your trip. We arrived pretty late after a hike in Serbia 
earlier (I’ll link that video below in the description), so the girls were ready to chill. 
There’s one restaurant on-site where I grabbed my essential cappuccino—though fair warning, 
you’ll only find instant coffee in most of the accommodations in the Balkans. Note to 
self: pack a proper coffee maker next time. My cottage is the one with the green roof 
you can see here. The host told me that last winter there was virtually no snow, so 
the ski lift now mainly serves summer hikers. Fun fact I didn’t know: Montenegro uses 
Euros despite not being in the EU. Who knew? We woke up to absolutely gorgeous blue 
skies—couldn’t have asked for better hiking weather. I’m always up early, so 
I had these peaceful moments watching the landscape wake up before the other guests got up.
Here’s our route for the day: we’re walking from the cottage straight to Black Lake, then taking 
the path that loops around the entire lake. From the back, there’s a forest trail that 
leads up to a smaller lake called Zminje, I think. Our host also recommended this 
viewpoint here, we’ll tackle that one tomorrow. After breakfast and packing our bags, we set off. 
The trail is well-marked with red circles, and the girls were in absolute heaven with all the new 
scents to explore. Honestly, these woods looked exactly like Austria—and later, the Black Lake 
reminded me so much of the Green Lake in Styria. We found some wild raspberries along the way. 
Foxy loves them, but Amy? Not so much a fruit fan. Here we spotted the lake through the 
trees—this incredible blue really was amazing. Foxy was really excited as 
she knows shallow water means ball time. I made sure to photograph the trail we’d taken 
so we could find our way back later—a lot of the forest entrances look the same, so 
I wanted a fool proof way to remember. While Foxy had her swim, Amy did her usual 
thing: watching from the shore, then shaking herself off when Foxy emerged, pretending 
she’d been swimming too. It never gets old. The entire area was so stunning I 
could have taken a thousand photos. We made our way around the lake, 
stopping constantly for pictures, then found a perfect spot for lunch. I’d 
packed tuna for all of us, plus some nuts. Later at the lakeside restaurant I treated myself 
to another coffee and stocked up on more water. Our next destination was the smaller 
Zminje Lake. This path was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t as obvious. The 
markings were pretty much nonexistent. Luckily, I found another hiker who showed me the way 
on his map—the key is keeping the river on your left side. With all the turns and splits in 
the trail, this advice was absolutely crucial. Zminje was pretty, but nowhere near 
as spectacular as the Black Lake, so we headed back down so the girls could 
have another play session in the water. Then we trekked back to the AirBnB at Savin Kuk. 
I had dinner at the restaurant. The food was delicious, though some of the dishes were quite 
pricey. The girls were ready for a nap. They had done so well. We had walked just under 20km total.
We ended our day watching a local farmer gather his cows for evening milking—they 
literally walked right past our garden. While I was admiring the gorgeous sunset, the 
girls had already claimed their spots on the sofa for the night.
Exploring Žabljak The next morning brought another perfect blue-sky 
day. Before hitting our viewpoint, we stopped in Žabljak, the highest town in the Balkans.
Parking is a bit of a headache—you pay by texting from a local phone, which 
is impossible as a tourist. Our host recommended parking for free at the Aroma 
Supermarket and walking into town from there. I was surprised by the grocery prices—they 
were the same as, if not higher than, Austria. When you consider that average wages 
here are significantly lower, it really puts things in perspective. I imagine most families 
have to share living spaces to make ends meet. I desperately needed proper coffee, so we grabbed 
brunch. I ordered Pita Gužvara—basically a pie stuffed with cottage cheese. The girls, 
naturally, demanded their taste testing. We wandered around town, though I 
kept to the main roads because Amy decided today was a barking day and 
there were several stray dogs around. Quad biking seems to be the big tourist thing here.
The Viewpoint Adventure We drove up to Momčilov Grad restaurant 
for the viewpoint. Fair warning: it’s an incredibly narrow, winding road that 
requires some serious reversing skills when you meet oncoming cars. Little did 
I know this was just a warm-up for Montenegro’s mountain roads—they get 
much more intense later in the trip. The mountain views from up there were absolutely 
breathtaking. We enjoyed a walk around. Here you can see the Black 
Lake below. Despite the wind, the girls loved running around in the open space. As we were leaving, a whole convoy of quad bikes arrived. I was grateful we’d had 
the peace and quiet for our hike. The restaurant allows dogs only on the terrace, 
not inside. I ordered coffee and goulash, but honestly? I’d only recommend this place 
for the views, parking, and a quick drink. There was an abandoned ski lift beside the restaurant. It has clearly been out of 
action for years, at least I hope so. The waste situation in the Balkans is 
well…different. There are dumping areas for larger items that seem to sit there for 
years. I didn’t see much recycling happening anywhere. That said, the roads themselves were 
remarkably clean—hardly any roadside litter, which was a pleasant surprise after 
seeing most of Serbia’s roads lined with waste especially plastic bottles.
I loved seeing the cows roaming freely and horses untethered—there’s 
something beautiful about that freedom. We made it back to our Airbnb. This is the ski 
lift, which is only open for hikers in the summer. Amy here is taking in the view before 
cuddling with her mum on the sofa to sleep. The next morning it was time to 
leave Durmitor National Park and head further south to a farmhouse in 
one of Montenegro’s most remote areas. The weather had turned rainy and cold, 
so I felt lucky we’d had such perfect conditions during our stay. The drive south 
was full of tunnels and serpentine roads—but that was nothing compared to what was 
coming later on the route to Kotor. I have serious respect for Montenegro’s 
drivers, especially the bus drivers. Watching them reverse with just centimeters 
to spare alongside steep drops is genuinely impressive. Reversing definitely isn’t my 
strong suit, but somehow everything worked out. I randomly stopped at this incredible family-run 
restaurant where the food was absolutely outstanding. The waiter, it turned out, had 
grown up near our next destination and couldn’t believe anyone would actually go there—he didn’t 
even realize people still lived in that area. It was lucky I asked for directions, because 
I’d been planning to take some smaller side roads that would have required a 4×4. He 
steered me toward the main roads instead, which turned out to be challenging 
enough with no working internet, no GPS, and virtually no road signs.
Join us next time to see our stay at this incredibly remote Montenegro farm—where 
you will see how the locals live. Don’t forget to like and subscribe if 
you’re enjoying our Balkan road trip series, and let me know in the comments if 
you’ve ever traveled Montenegro with pets!