During the Middle Ages, Tivat belonged to the aristocrats from Kotor, Dobrota and Prcanj. Chalets and castles dotted the landscapes, along with the Church of St. Anton which was built in 1373. From 1420 until 1797, Tivat was under rule by the Republic of Venice as part of Albania Veneta. By the end of the 19th century, it was turned into its own town.

Peter Munk took over the military base used by the Army of Montenegro in the past and turned it into Porto Montenegro. This mega marina and vacation resort is located on the Adriatic Sea and offers a nautical village with shops and restaurants as well as a marina for some of the largest and finest yachts in the world. A huge black and white infinity pool offers a panoramic view of the mountain peaks and the Adriatic Sea.Porto Montenegro offers luxury homes in Venetian architecture and the French Riviera styled resort and marina is chosen by many as the finest in the world.

The beaches in Tivat are renowned for their crystal clear waters and astounding backdrops. Many of the beaches are set against the backdrop of the mountains in the region and tourists have long found Tivat to be among their favored Mediterranean locations.

The Tivat Airport is the largest in Montenegro and although it offers mostly domestic flights, there are international flights that connect Montenegro with Vienna as well as London and various other locations in Europe. The climate in the region is much like other Mediterranean areas with rainy and mild winters and hot and dry summers. The beach season in Tivat begins in April and runs until October when many tourists choose to visit the area.

There are a number of sights that tourists can enjoy when visiting Tivat. The Renaissance Summer House is one of the most commonly visited areas in Tivat. It offers Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Many nearby islands also catch the attention of tourists. Gornja Lastva or Flowers Island along with Stradioti and Sv. Nikola offer beautiful sights and very interesting day trips and all can be accessed easily from Tivat. Restaurants, shops and hotels abound in the town as well.

Although a small, quaint coastal village, Tivat is very well known among tourists. Many travel to this region of Montenegro yearly to enjoy the pristine beaches, the natural landscapes and architectural sights. Ocean lovers and yacht owners visit Tivat for Porto Montenegro and its various resort amenities.

In the Kotor area there are over 23,000 people, the majority of whom are native Montenegrins, but the population also consists of Serbs and Croats, with several Croatian creative luminaries in residence. Other smaller ethnicities represented in this town include Muslims, Macedonians, Yugoslavs, Albanians, Russians, Romas, Slovenes, Hungarians, Bosniaks, Italians, Egyptians and Germans. Along with the different ethnicities there are various religions represented, the minority one being Roman Catholics who have their Bishopric of Kotor here as well as the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon which was built in 1166 AD and serves as a major tourist attraction. Orthodox Christians, most associated with the Montenegro Orthodox Church make up the dominant religious group in this area.

Visitors to Kotor often cover a fairly wide area during their stay, heading to the islets of Gospa od Škrpijela and Sveti Dorde to enjoy some nautical fun in the Adriatic Sea. While the beaches are not particularly suited to those looking to catch some sunshine, Kotor is not far from the Budva Riveiera where many tourist go for more beach oriented activities. The town itself is considered to be one of the best preserved in all of the Balkans which was established during the medieval era. Many different restaurants, pubs and cafes fill Kotor and create an inviting atmosphere for visitors, along with nightclubs that serve up plenty of entertainment. During the summer months, tourists come from around the world to attend Bokeljska Noc, the Summer Carnival. During this time as many as 30,000 people gather to party and enjoy rollicking good times in Kotor.

Those wishing to head inland from Kotor can use the Adriatic Motorway to do so, traveling through the Vrmac Tunnel or towards Sutomore via the Sozina Tunnel. Budva is also a short distance away for those who wish to drive or rent a car. A scenic route is able to give visitors a magnificent view of the Bay of Kotor if they wish to head to Cetinje. A short 5 kilometers away, one can reach the Tivat Airport which offers international service to cities like Belgrade, Serbia and Zurich, Switzerland. A farther drive away is the Podgorica Airport which flies to many European destinations all year around.

The people of this region have very strong connections with their family and their past, a tradition in the Balkans that extends back to ancient days. The tribes, clans and famous family figures are all passed down via oral tradition from the older people to the young children so that everyone has a strong sense of connection. There are two major groups that live here and they are Montenegrins and Serbians, both existing in harmony, with Montenegrins making up only a slightly larger majority.

A great deal of tourist attractions exist in Kolasin since this is the focal point of alpin tourism in the nation itself. The easy accessibility of Kolasin via both traditional motorways and railroads makes Kolasin a bit easier to get to than its mountain tourism cousin, Zabljak which is not nearly as accessible. Both the Bjelasica Mountains and the Sinjajevina Mountains offer excellent tourist activities such as skiing and snowboarding most months out of the year. The altitude of the city has earned it the association with an air spa because the air is considered to be of a very high level of purity. The Bianca Resort and Spa was recently opened there to boost tourism and has proven to be a serious draw for many visitors.

Access to Kolasin is usually through the double lane highways that lead up into the city and it is just a turn off from the primary motorway, E65, that stretches between the coast of the Adriatic and Serbia while passing through Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital city. The railway that flows from Bar, Montenegro to Belgrade, Serbia also has a station at Kolasin and only 80 kilometers away is the Podgorica Airport which offers international flights to a number of destinations in Europe.

With the growth of bio tourism arriving in Montenegro, Kolasin has been able to take on a leading role thanks to its Biogradska Gora National Park, an absolutely stunning gem of primordial forests rarely found anywhere else in the world. With six glacial lakes. swift streams and hundreds of different species of native animals, Biogradska Gora serves as a premiere destination for those who wish to explore a truly virgin forest ecology. Some of the trees in this park are over 500 years old.

To get an idea of just how popular Budva is for tourists, consider the fact that during the summer months of 2007 alone there were more than 330,000 visitors who came to enjoy what the city has to offer. Not only do people come here to enjoy 11 kilometers of sandy, picturesque beaches, the will visit other smaller villages in the area, too. The most popular beaches along the rivijiera are Mogren, Richard’s Head, Slovenian Beach and Guvance. Resort towns such as Milocer and Sveti Stefan also draw in the rich and famous from time to time due to their paradisiacal conditions. However, it is probably the night life of Budva that is most alluring to most visitors and in particular, young adults. While food and drink is quite rich here, there are a huge number of open air clubs and closed nightclubs which offer the chance to party until the wee hours of the night. Since the city is sunny 230 days out of the year, there is a huge incentive to get out and enjoy the sunshine that is incredibly attractive to visitors in both the warm summer and mild winter months. The fact that both the Rolling Stones and Madonna have given concerts here also adds to the draw of Budva as a major entertainment capital of the Balkan region, drawing in many from neighboring nations who want to join in on Montenegrin fun.

Transportation to and from Budva can be accomplished by driving or making use of a rented vehicle. There are two lane highways that feed into the city and offer two routes to Podgorica, the main city of Montenegro, which is 60 kilometers away. One may travel through the Sozina tunnel or pass through the city of Cetinje. Other cities can be visited by way of the Adriatic Highway which reaches all the way into Croatia. Tivat Airport is the closest, being only 20 kilometers away, but another airport is also available in Podgorica.

Home to a mix of ethnicities of both Montenegrins and the vastly outnumbered Serbs, Cetinje is not as well known for its nightlife as it is for its spiritual and cultural offerings. This is the city that people decide to visit when they want to get a glimpse into the history of Montenegro itself. Despite the fact that there is a large proportion of young adults in this city, Cetinje has a lot of older buildings such as the Vlaska Church which features a fence constructed from the rifle barrels of defeated invaders, Biljarda, Cetinje Monastery, older embassies and other administrative facilities and even the Zetski Dom Montenegrin Royal National Theatre. The Ostrog Monastery is also located not far from Cetinje and the famous Lipska Pecina, a cave that can be explored by private arrangement that is one of the largest in the region. In addition to all of this there are repositories of Montenegrin culture in Cetinje that are renowned for their vast collections of literature and important objects. Places such as the National Museum of Montenegro, the Durde Crnojevic Central National Library, the Republic Institute for Preserving Cultural Heritage and the Archives of Montenegro all serve to keep strong records of this nation’s past and span a time period of 500 years worth of cultural relics.

This is also the place where the Eparchy of Montenegro and the Littoral is established as a crucial part of the Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the most prominent religious organizations within the nation. Not only are the people here spiritual, they are extremely literate and have been for decades, proving to be an intellectual center for this area of the world. The libraries in this city have a very long history as does the printing industry. At one time there were six different news publications being circulated in Cetinje each day when it’s entire population was only 6,000. In the Njegos reading room of the City Library alone there are more than 60,000 books available. This, combined with the fact that there are a full seven different public museums in this city prove that the people here are dedicated to developing and preserving culture for Montenegro.

Visitors who will be flying in from around the world have the option of landing at one of Montenegro’s two international airports located in Tivat or Podgorica. The capital city, Podgorica is 55 kilometers away, but Tivat is 5 kilometers closer.

The primary airport that most visitors will be using is Podgorica Airport in Montenegro’s largest city. This is a modern facility with a new terminal and it’s IATA (International Air Transport Association) code is TGD due to the city’s former name of Titograd. The airport itself is located just under 12 kilometers outside of Podgorica, to the south of the city. It, like it’s sister facility Tivat Airport, are both state owned by Airports of Montenegro. This facility is sometimes referred to as Golubovci Airport by local citizens since it is quite near the town of Golubovci. In 2007, it received the award for best airport servicing fewer than a million passengers by the Airports Council International and in 2008, Podgorica Airport played host to just over a half a million travelers. Both domestic and international flights are handled here with destinations all throughout Montenegro, Europe and the rest of the world. Other than Montenegro Airlines, there are other smaller airlines that cater to specific kinds of tourists such as OKI Air, Vektra Aviation and Di Air. Serbian airlines such as Prince Aviation and Air Pink also fly out of Podgorica Airport.

Within Podogirica Airport there are a number of facilities for travelers such as a duty free shop, major Montenegro banking facilities, two cafes, two newspaper stands and a terminal for renting vehicles. Buses and taxis also run from this airport to the city of Podgorica with a travel time of about fifteen minutes to be expected.

The other major airport of Montenegro is Tivat Airport, whose IATA code is TIV. Daily flights to Europe are Tivat’s specialty and it is actually a larger facility than Podgorica Airport. A scenic view of the Bay of Kotor is an experience that most visitors will notice upon approach to this airport. While here, tourists are able to use a WiFi connection offered free for their convenience along with other tourist related amenities.

Other than these two major airports for international travel, Montenegro has domestic airports in the cities of Berane, Cemovsko Polje, Niksic and Zabljak which primarily serve tourists who would like a quick hop from one place to the other in a convenient way.

According to the International Monetary Fund, a global financial body, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Montenegro was nearly $4.3 billion in 2008. While recessionary expansion is logically lower than during boom times, growth continues and in 2007 alone, Montenegro’s economy expanded by over 10% in terms of the GDP. Due to its geographic location, this country learned long ago the value of strong trade ties with other nations and relies on those exchanges to increase its own economy while providing products and services to the rest of the world. The service sector in Montenegro is huge and makes up nearly three quarters of the country’s overall GDP, with industrial and agricultural activities following. In terms of contributing to the economy as a whole, the Podgorica Aluminum Plant is the company that is largest in the nation and also performs the most export. Steel and food processing make up other big portions of the economy.

Looking towards the future, Montenegro has made tourism a strong focus for its development plans, having found huge success with visitors coming from countries around the world to enjoy the scenic beauty that it offers. In fact, ecosystem friendly ‘green travel’ has been a real draw and lured in tourists from both the United Kingdom and Russia who have settled in Montenegro due to its attractive pricing and outdoor splendor. With nearly a million visitors per year visiting the nation, visitors are clearly an important part of the Montenegrin economy which has caused the leaders of the economy to come together and declare that in the years to come, they wish to transform this small Balkan nation into an elite tourist destination well known across the globe. Joining the European Union will be a major step for the country and as the nation’s infrastructure continues to be upgraded, support for a strong visitor based economy grows. With its gift for gaining the attention and cooperation of foreign investors, Montenegro is expected to become a premiere destination for vacationers coming in from around the world, building on the strong reputation it has already established for itself.

The name of this nation itself is derived from two words that mean Black Mountain. Indeed, a huge portion of its land area is made up of mountains covered in black forests similar to those famous in the country of Germany. These poetic wooded areas have the aura of a fairy tale that one might expect to see in a children’s fairy tale book from Hans Christian Anderson or The Brothers Grimm. From these towering mountains flow a variety of rivers such as Cehotina, Moraca, Piva and Tara. In these places the cliffs are steep, the trees are thick and dark, but the views are absolutely breath taking. In some parts of these mountain ranges snow stays on the ground year round, but in most places there are simply long winters and comparatively cool summers. Hiking in Montenegro is definitely an experience that is beyond comparison simply due to the rich and exotic, almost primeval nature of the forests here.

Aside from the swift rivers, Montenegro has other places of water that have intrigued human inhabitants since the earliest times. There are forty different lakes here, but perhaps the most famous is Lake Skadar, where the first civilizations that came to this land settled and established themselves. This is the biggest lake in the country at 50 km in length by 16 km in width with a total surface area in excess of 370 square kilometers. Lakes like this have served as gathering places and points of natural beauty for the people that live here, but there is also sea which draws in a fair number of visitors to the coastal regions each year. Steep limestone cliffs over look the Adriatic and provide inspiring views for all those who come to take in the calm, natural inspiration of these places. Perhaps the most notable of these Adriatic views is the Bay of Kotor which resembles the fjords of Scandanavia with its sheer cliffs that seem to plummet vertically straight into the sea. Technically, this is the southernmost fjord in the world, a sight definitely worth taking in. The extraordinary appearance of this place is due to the fact that it is actually a sunken river basin formed over aeons until today it is a natural gulf.

Having a strong appreciation for the natural appeal of their land, the citizens of Montenegro have established several national parks in which they preserve the pristine elements that make their country unique in terms of its habitats and ecosystems. Biogradska Gora, Durmitor, Lovcen and more offer impressive views of unspoiled plains, forest, mountain and coastal views that are unlike any others in the world. The small population of this country combined with the sheer variety of climates, plants and animals make it quite an opportunity for those with a passion for naturalist settings. Few other places in the Balkans or Europe can boast such beauty largely untouched by modern society.