Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Route: Kotor → Vrmac Peninsula → Bay of Kotor coastal drive → Skurda Canyon → Kotor Old Town

Kotor looked harmless at breakfast.

That was the first warning.

We had already survived mountain snow, pilgrimage crowds, and a bricked-up fortress entrance, so a day around Kotor sounded simple enough. We began with breakfast and a hotel workout, which gave us the dangerous illusion that we were balanced people with healthy routines.

Over the Vrmac Peninsula

Then we set off toward the Vrmac Peninsula, the ridge between Kotor and Tivat. The Bay of Kotor is stunning, but the city is squeezed between steep mountains and water, which means traffic does not move so much as negotiate with geography. Getting through town took longer than expected.

Daniel looked ahead at the slow traffic.

“Kotor is beautiful.”

“Yes,” I said. “And apparently not designed for people leaving it.”

Eventually, we climbed the switchbacks toward Vrmac. The view opened beneath us: blue water, red roofs, stone walls, boats, and mountains folded around the bay. Near the top, the paved road turned to dirt, which seemed like a polite suggestion to stop driving.

“That road has retired,” Daniel said.

So we parked and walked.

At first, the route was not inspiring. It was just a dirt road pretending to be a hike. Then we found an old trail branching away, and suddenly the whole mood changed. The path followed stone retaining walls and led us into an older landscape. It felt like we had slipped behind the modern road into a version of Montenegro where people had walked between villages long before apps started issuing questionable instructions.

We reached a small village area near Gornja Lastva, with old stone houses, a cemetery, and a church marked 1410. Six hundred years old. The church had survived empires, storms, wars, and generations. We were standing there because my map app said there might be a trail.

That seemed humbling.

After wandering through the village and cemetery, we drove around the coast through Tivat and back along the Bay of Kotor. This was one of those drives that was both beautiful and slightly tense. The road hugged the water, passing boats, churches, stone houses, swimming spots, and views that looked like postcards.

The problem was the width.

At several points, two cars met where only one car emotionally belonged. There would be a pause, a stare, a slight reverse, and a hand gesture that could mean “you go,” “I go,” or “we are both fools.” Somehow, everyone survived.

Canyoning in Skurda Canyon

In the afternoon, we met our guide for canyoning in Skurda Canyon, right above Kotor Old Town. That is one of the strange things about Kotor. One moment you are beside medieval walls, cafés, and tourists. A few minutes later, you are being handed a wetsuit and told to rappel down waterfalls.

The guide gave us helmets, harnesses, and 5 mm wetsuits.

“The water is cold?” I asked.

He smiled.

That was not comforting.

We walked up about 45 minutes, put on our gear, and entered the canyon. The first jump into the water was refreshing for about half a second, after which my body requested a meeting with management. The wetsuit helped, but the water was definitely cold.

Skurda Canyon has eight waterfalls, mostly rappels rather than slides. I went first down the first rappel, which sounds brave but sometimes only means nobody has yet shown what could go wrong.

We worked our way through waterfall after waterfall. The canyon walls narrowed around us, the rock was polished by water, and Kotor Old Town felt far away even though it was practically below us. That was the magic of it. We were in a real canyon adventure hidden almost directly above a medieval town.

Near the end, there was a small jump into a deep pool, not even two meters. It was not exactly Olympic cliff diving, but at that point it still felt dramatic enough.

Nobody lingered in the water.

It was less swimming hole and more beautiful refrigerator.

After two and a half to three hours, we walked back to the parking lot wet, tired, and pleased with ourselves.

Then reality returned.

We had no cash for parking.

There are moments when you rappel waterfalls and feel like an adventurer. Then you cannot exit a parking lot because you lack small bills. Travel is good at humility.

Two Ice Cream Shops

That evening we returned to Kotor Old Town for dinner. Kotor at night is magic: stone lanes glowing under lights, plazas opening suddenly between narrow passages, music drifting through squares, and tables tucked under ancient walls.

Dinner became a multi-stage operation. First, pizza to go: one huge slice for 3.50 euros. Then, because that did not fully solve the situation, homemade pasta. Then ice cream.

Daniel and I disagreed on which ice cream shop looked best.

So we went to both.

“Mine is better,” Daniel said.

“I got more,” I replied.

“That does not make it better.”

“It makes me happier.”

And really, that is the point.

Paradise, apparently, includes wetsuits, parking problems, and second dessert.