Herceg Novi is best described as wildly beautiful. The greenery explodes from the hillside coming out from anywhere that isn’t covered by a house, cafe, or road. Everything is built up the hillside making for a workout to get anywhere in town. This also means nearly every rooftop has a cinematic view of the bay. Restaurants sheltered within the town feel homey and well lived in. Prices for food are low in comparison to other affordable destinations such as Croatia or southern Italy.
Having booked a place unseen during high season I had one of my worst first weeks I’ve ever had. Sleeping in a cowork wasn’t too bad since it had A/C, the best wi-fi in town, and only cost $100 for the month. Doing that for two nights is two nights too many. Unfortunately, that’s how long it took Airbnb to move me to a new place. Which was worse than the last but cost the same at $700 a month. On the positive side, it was in a better location and had the best view in town.
Westerners recognize the country for its cruise port of Kotor or its party town of Budva. This leaves Herceg Novi for those in the know. Most tourists come from Eastern Europe or the surrounding Balkans having always known Herceg Novi to be the better place to live. Amongst locals was a good mix of stone faces and smiling faces. Most were older and knew only basic English, but the cowork made up for the social aspect.
I’m thankful to have visited Herceg Novi and met the folks that I did. It wasn’t until the last week that I started to understand it. Up until then, it was such a clash of cultures and geography I couldn’t wrap my head around it. A mix of Italian and Eastern European cultures in a Mediterranean version of Switzerland just doesn’t sound real. But it is, and it’s a country known as Montenegro.
Spreadsheet - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bl4fOvlym5OFJ_uvIYw-fmSR4Fzcb-Lw0IfvMjPJOg4/edit?usp=sharing
English Level - Great amongst tourists of Balkan and Eastern European as well as amongst young locals. Older locals knew basic English but were pros getting through the language barrier.
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