The Curve Before the Calm- Playing Bond in Montenegro
Some destinations arrive with a lot of noise. Montenegro does not.
This country sits quietly on the Adriatic, tucked between better-known neighbors, seemingly content to let others collect the headlines while it goes about being one of the most beautiful places in Europe. So, that’s cool.
The journey begins in Podgorica and quickly turns into a lesson in trust. The road to Kotor climbs into the mountains before unraveling into a series of hairpin turns that appear to have been designed by someone who lost an argument with gravity. Every corner reveals another impossible view. Mountains. Sea. An OnComing Bus, High Speed Motorcycles, Tiny villages clinging to cliffsides. You spend most of the drive wondering if you read the map wrong.
When you arrive down in the Bay of Kotor it all makes sense. Montenegro feels a bit like finding a great bar down an alleyway that nobody can quite explain how to get to (I know several). Only a few have heard about it, but even fewer have actually been there. Those who have tend to smile when you bring it up.
Ted’s Top 5 Things He Learned:
The Serpentine Road has 25 successive switchbacks and is recognized as one of the most beautiful and difficult drives in the world. (I arrived at 10:00 am and still needed a drink)
If you bring your Bluetooth speaker on the road with you, it may end up being DJ at a late-night beach party with 12 European nations dancing to one-hit wonders til dawn.
The Istanbul airport has little sleep pods and a small hotel inside that you can rent rooms by the hour. A 6-hour layover after an international flight?... No problem.
The James Bond Film Casino Royal was set in Montenegro, and I’m not going to lie, you feel kinda like a bad ass spy on the cobblestone streets and with the yachts in the bay.
Telling 30+ European Travel Leaders that they can’t evolve fast enough to survive in a MOCK DEBATE was a new one for me. Thank you for still liking me ETC Team!
The European Travel Commission Annual Meeting brought tourism leaders from across the continent to Kotor this year. Representatives from nearly every corner of Europe gathered to discuss a question many destinations are wrestling with: what comes next?
Not for tourism but for destination organizations themselves. As travelers change, technology evolves, and expectations rise, the role of a DMO is changing just as quickly. The conversation was thoughtful, occasionally uncomfortable, and exactly what the industry needs more of.
One of the highlights was a debate alongside Simon Reeve from the BBC against Italy and Estonia Tourism Boards. It was lively, and the best debates are not about winning. They are about discovering that progress usually lives somewhere between opposing viewpoints.
By the end, there was broad agreement that destinations can overcome the challenges ahead. We have better tools than ever. Better data. Better ways to understand travelers. More opportunities to build meaningful relationships across Europe and beyond.
The road ahead may look a lot like the drive from Podgorica to Kotor with its sharp turns. Uncertain moments. A few stretches where you wonder what comes next, but if Montenegro taught me anything, it is that the most rewarding destinations are rarely reached by taking the straight road.
Trip Quote:
“Can you drive a manual transmission very well?" - Hertz Guy at Podgorica Airport
“Yes, I can drive one,... why what’s ahead of me?”- Me
“You’re an American, I highly, highly recommend you buy insurance for the entire car.”- Hertz guy
