Gulet cruising in Montenegro

Montenegro is made for seafarers. The first modern tourists to the area were the elite on their luxury yachts, who enjoyed the natural beauty of the region well before regular international flights became more commonplace. They were clearly onto something. Now Montenegro is becoming a tourist hotbed, but the yachties haven’t upped and left. The water in front of its seaside cities is still speckled with luxury vessels; cruising is still one of the best ways to enjoy the country’s coast.

Your vessel and home for the week is a smartly-painted Turkish gulet (pronounced ‘goo-let’). These traditional wooden boats are most at home skimming around the Turkish coast but have become common sights across southern Europe – that being said, you may get a few admiring glances as you breeze past.

With their twin masts, shiny varnish and spacious interiors, gulets are very comfortable sailing boats. They’re small enough to run rings around big cruise ships and far more responsible, too. You can anchor close to the beaches and be delivered to shore by tender. Exploring the towns is easy, as most of them are right on the seafront. Trip off the quay and let your eyes adjust as you peek inside gloomy Italianate churches, get a little lost in the winding backstreets, and secure a table al fresco at your dinner spot of choice.

Gulet cruising in Montenegro takes you to some of the country’s most attractive seaside cities and towns, including popular Budva and Kotor. You’ll love the Bay of Kotor. This flooded estuary wanders ponderously inland to the towns of Kotor, Tivat and Perast. Get out the paddleboards to explore the lake-like stillness of its quieter bays. You might see fish flashing under the shark-like shadow of your board.

Montenegro has an under-celebrated interior. Just because you’re on a boat, there’s no excuse to miss a national park – the country has five. Your cruise organises an inland excursion to see the pine-clad slopes of Lovcen National Park.

Breakfast and lunch are served on board, usually on the shady aft deck. Lunches are a generous three-course affair and both meals use local produce whenever possible. There’s fresh fruit, tea and coffee available throughout the day. Apart from a welcome dinner on the first night and a farewell dinner with the captain, you’ll eat dinner on shore. The crew can help point you towards good restaurants. You should try out local Dalmatian dishes like hearty sausage stews, local cheese, and the vranac red wine, though a local white might be better with the seafood dishes you’ll find along the coast. There are plenty of Italian restaurants around, too; the country’s near neighbour still tends to dominate cuisine. You’ll spend your nights either on the dock or at anchor, but the gulet’s tender can easily run you to shore in the latter case.

This small cruise tries to operate with the minimum impact on the natural environment. The crew will endeavour to sail at least 50 percent of the time. This will depend on the weather, especially the wind strength and direction, since it’s no fun crawling into the wind at a close haul for hours on end. The crew will sometimes opt for motor sailing, using the engine to give the boat a bit of a boost whilst keeping the sails up – a less peaceful, but efficient way to travel. The closest airport to the cruise’s starting point is Tivat, but Dubrovnik and Podgorica are also nearby. The gulet is moored in Tivat harbour.