Our Mini Winter Break
Hooray three times – because right now, we are on vacation as a family in Žabljak, the highest town in the Balkans! We decided to take a short winter break. The kindergarten for our child starts working normally only on January 30, and our business is still in hibernation.
Trouble on the Road
However, the road to the north wasn’t exactly smooth. The problem was that we couldn’t buy winter tires in our size. There were none in Herceg Novi, none in Tivat or the suburbs, not even in Bosnia! We decided to take a risk – both with the police fine of 50 euros and our own safety – and drive with summer tires. Our plan was to put on “lanci” (chains) if it started snowing heavily.
Until the snow, all was perfect, of course. Then we slowed down significantly. When the snow on the road got thicker, we were crawling like turtles. Suddenly, on a narrow, barely plowed road, a bus started honking at us. We slowed down and pulled into a small roadside spot to let the rude driver pass. And… we got stuck! Unbelievable! When we tried to move again, the car started skidding.
We decided to put on the chains – easier said than done! Our hands were freezing, we’d forgotten how snow feels. In the end, we put some towels from the trunk under the wheels and managed to drive out. From then on, we didn’t yield to anyone. Thankfully, the snow on the roadside worked as a natural barrier and made driving less scary. I think in summer, the lack of barriers in many places would be more dangerous for inexperienced drivers.
Arrival in Žabljak
And in the end – we made it! A guy working at the hotel, who later helped us with the chains, couldn’t believe we got to the north on summer tires. Clearly, he doesn’t know Russians well. 😄 He himself was speeding around on a snowmobile like a pro.
Staying at “Polar Star” Hotel
We’re staying at the “Polar Star” apart-hotel in Borje, 3 km from Žabljak’s center. The hotel has won several awards. Interestingly, our visit coincided with the president of the country staying there too! We were surprised, but all the official cars, guards, and police confirmed it. We never saw him, though. 😊
The hotel has a 5-story main building and several two-story villas.
There is an elevator.
We even went up to the second floor where, under the sloped roof, we saw a little “bike parking” area for summer season guests.
The hotel also has a beauty salon, though I’m not sure if it was working. Most likely, yes — that’s also where the sauna is.
The hotel is amazing. I love the rustic style: lots of wood, wooden floors. And the best part – it’s really warm! We sleep and work with windows open. There are independent radiators and a wall-mounted thermostat. Maybe it controls the underfloor heating in the tiled bathroom. It’s not cold at all — we slept in underwear and no socks! Like “Tashkent in the apartment” — that forgotten warm feeling!
Another plus — everything dries fast here. After two hours in the snow with the kid, making a snowman and sliding down hills, I tossed my jeans on the radiator, shoes on the floor – not even near the heater – and 20 minutes later, everything was dry and ready to go again. The radiators are gigantic.
Room Setup
The room itself is great! A separate bedroom with a double bed and a living room with a spacious sofa bed, combined with a kitchenette.
The Kitchen (Just for the Ladies 😊)
I was thrilled – the furniture is completely new, and all the necessary utensils are there: glasses, wine glasses, plates, pots, pans, containers for tea/coffee/sugar, and clean, shiny cutlery. It felt very respectful and pleasant. And guess what – there’s even a dishwasher! A two-burner stove, oven, and a drawer full of kitchen tools.
The fridge has a good mini-bar.
There’s also a flat-screen TV, satellite channels (including RTR Planeta in Russian), a DVD player, and a spacious wardrobe with a bathrobe and a safe inside.
The Bathroom
A large bathroom with a shower cabin and all the essentials (2-in-1 shampoo and shower gel, soap, cotton swabs, a cotton pad, a cardboard nail file, and a hair cap), all neatly stored in a cabinet. There’s also toilet paper and a hairdryer next to the sink. In short, super comfortable.
I also loved the windows – plastic, but metal-finished and heavy, which keeps in heat and blocks wind. And the view! Right onto the snowy Durmitor mountain range. We’ll definitely visit this national park with its canyons in the summer.
The curtains are super soft and in calming colors. The entire room is decorated in pastel tones — perfect for relaxing.
Our room was right above the lobby bar, so we had internet access. Sometimes it cut out, but I could still use social media and upload photos.
The Lobby and Restaurant
By the way, the lobby bar and the restaurant are on the ground floor. The bar has sofas, armchairs, and low tables, while the restaurant has standard tables and chairs.
Smoking is allowed in both areas — something I personally don’t like, but oh well.
Food at the Restaurant
About the food in the restaurant, I must say that we were fed very well. There was a buffet in the morning and in the evening. They offered cold cuts of sausage, prosciutto, and cured meat, cheeses, bread and cheese pies, delicious pampushky (garlic bread rolls), boiled eggs, ham omelets and fried eggs, fried and boiled sausages, sauces and mayonnaise, muesli, milk and kefir, as well as chocolate cream in small individual containers. Drinks included coffee, tea, and a very tasty juice. In general, it was impossible to leave that breakfast hungry.
Dinner was no less generous: various types and kinds of meat, cold cuts, fried fish, soups, and fruits. Drinks, however, were no longer included for free.
For lunch, we ordered from the menu — and it was very tasty.
I especially liked the stuffed pljeskavica — minced meat (pork or beef as you wish), filled with finely chopped prosciutto and sour cream. Excellent! Tender and juicy! The prices in the restaurant were quite reasonable. This 300-gram dish (served with boiled rice with paprika and French fries) costs €8.5.
On the day of arrival, we tried beef medallions — tenderized meat with vegetables — also about the same price. The country-style meat with boiled potatoes and sour cream was also good. But the king of the table was the freshly baked bread — absolutely delicious!!! It was simply amazing! So tasty!
Being in the restaurant itself was pleasant, despite the large fireplace in the center of the room not being lit. Only the candles placed on the chimney were lit.
The restaurant is built in traditional village style, with a lot of natural wood.
The waitstaff were polite and helpful. Receipts were printed through a computer where the order was entered.
Right across from the dining area, behind glass doors, there was a playroom for kids. There were two slides, various bicycles, and older kids could sit at a table with laptops — many did.
And we found one fun detail — next to the playroom, along the wall, were wooden shelves with DVDs — movies and cartoons — apparently for guests to watch in their rooms. There was no tracking or check-out system, everything was completely free and based on trust — nobody takes anything away, after all, it’s Montenegro! At worst, if someone doesn’t return a DVD to the shelf, they’ll just leave it in the room. It’s taken for granted — there is no theft in the country.
I really liked the hotel staff — everyone was smiling and friendly — from receptionists to cleaning ladies.
The girls quickly solved any problems we had — for example, we couldn’t connect the DVD player — and within five minutes a guy came and plugged in the cable where needed; the shower cabin was leaking — so indispensable Pero came (by the way, he was the one who helped us put the chains on the car — we thanked him with a pack of beer), he checked it out and said it was hard to fix it right away, so the maid (a “soborica”) came running, picked up the wet towels from the floor, brought a pile of new ones, and stuffed everything under the shower. By the way, she was a cheerful woman — always chatting and playing with our child (he couldn’t resist bothering the kind lady).
In general, everything was solved in moments. One evening the radiator didn’t work, so they immediately came running to check whether the main heater had been turned off. Someone had complained that the room was too hot, so they had turned it off for a while. Everything was fixed within 5 minutes. In the end, everything was perfect — honestly!
And at the very beginning, there was a moment that really made me smile. When the hotel staff member escorted me to the room (my husband and son were busy in the playroom), he carefully opened the door and looked at me a bit nervously, as if to ask, “Do you like it, madam?” How could I not like it? Everything was new, clean, tidy, warm, and even smelled good (they had an air freshener plugged into the socket — I need to get one like that for home too…).
Near the hotel, there was a small hill, and we had a great time sledding, playing snowball fights, and building snowmen.
But the main adventure was the trip to one of the most popular ski resorts in Montenegro — Savin Kuk (2313 m). The road to it takes about 15 minutes from the hotel and goes through incredibly beautiful places. Villages covered in snow, huge snowbanks, snowy landscapes stretching for many kilometers, and majestic mountains as the crown of all this beauty. It was such a stunning view, simply beyond words! You have to see it with your own eyes!!! By the way, we recommend it — you won’t regret it!
Expenses
Parking near the mountain costs 2 euros.
Some people try to cheat a little — if there’s a path cleared of snow leading to the parking area, they just leave their cars there. Then they put on skis and head to the slopes.
By the way, the ski lifts at Savin Kuk are FREE!!!
Such generosity is unheard of in Dombay or Sochi!
At least I only heard about a ski pass on Kolašin — another ski resort — and even there it costs almost nothing by our standards: from 5 euros (the price depends on how long you ski, but a full day is no more than 13 euros!).
Equipment rental:
Kids’ sleds, cool ones with steering and brakes – 5 euros per day.
Snowboards – 10 euros per day (all the boards are new).
Skis, I think, are no more than 10 (we didn’t check exactly).
Žabljak has the lowest ski rental prices in all of Europe!!!!!
So, if you have your own gear, you can just come, park your car just outside the parking zone, and enjoy the slopes for free. There are several slopes — for sport, professionals, amateurs, and kids.
Lifts are installed at different altitudes, and there are several of them.
Savin Kuk is considered the most affordable ski center in the Balkans.
That’s why in the winter season, it welcomes more than 2,000 tourists. There are restaurants and small guesthouses, and nearby there’s a village where you can rent an apartment. Žabljak is very close by.
There’s even a ski school for both adults and children. We saw some kids arriving in minibuses, pulling their suitcases toward a little hotel.
After having a great time sledding with our son, we decided to introduce him to an elite sport — in other words, skiing. He seemed okay with it, put everything on, but when the instructor took him to the kids’ lift, he got fussy. So, we decided to try again next year when he’s a bit older. By the way, the instructor was awesome — calm, kind, and spoke a little Russian. I’d love to ski with someone like that myself! )))
We returned to the hotel in a great mood and had only spent 7 euros total. It was kind of funny.
So guys, if you ever get the chance, go visit — you’ll love it!
In the evening we went to Žabljak, took a few photos, and messed around in huge snow piles that formed from clearing the roads.
The next day we headed back home. It was sad — we really didn’t want to leave that winter wonderland.
As we were leaving the hotel, we were stopped by the police — they must’ve finally woken up after the holidays. And it was clear why — because of the snow chains. There’s a sign when you enter the area — a wheel with chains, and under it, a snowflake, meaning chains are required (or at least recommended).
They said winter tires are actually required by the rules, but we explained our situation, and they let us go.
Phew, that was close! But we won’t stop looking in Herceg Novi either.
On the way back, I kept taking photos of the picture-perfect fir trees with their branches sagging under the heavy snow, the mountains, the canyons with little villages like Šavnik.
We were driving slowly uphill, and thank goodness my husband has fast reflexes.
He managed to stop just in time when a car skidded around a sharp turn just a few meters in front of us.
It was a bit scary to witness. But the driver got control of the car and continued on.
Still, we had a funny situation because of the chains — when leaving Durmitor, there’s a really long hotel, maybe 2 km long. There was no snow there, but we were still dragging along at 37 km/h with chains on. A couple of cars lined up behind us, honking — probably thinking we were idiots.
And no way to pass. So yeah, make sure your tires match the weather conditions.
That was the end of our adventure.
We returned home to the sea and sunshine, bringing with us a little “gift from the north” — frozen windshield wiper valves. )))
Just 4 hours by car — and we went from minus 2 to plus 14.
