greetings from Porto Montenegro

[Hardmy]

Re: Albania - sorry for thread hijack

Hi to all and thanks for the kind words. I will try to post in the course of the winter our 2015 gatherings. With pics of course!

In respect to Albania, it is true that leisure boating is completely underdeveloped. There is only one single marina for the whole country (in Orikum / Vlorë far away from any airport, the agent there is Swiss and a former Hurtigruten officer BTW). Otherwise one hast to rely on huge commercial ports, where they accept leisure boats from time to time. But this means mooring against huge black rubber fenders which are nearly as big than your own hull in the middle of bulkers being loaded with grains. Otherwise the coast is still pristine, and french sailors showed me pics of some very nice and remote bays. I am waiting for somebody from here exploring the whole coast more in detail. It won't be myself, my wife is not that motivated by this project, she prefers hanging around in areas which are 100% leisure boating friendly (well if one can say that about the usual Greek town quay without any facilities).

 

[BartW]

Re: Albania - sorry for thread hijack

I am also a fan of PM, but what puts me off is the access. Tivat airport which is perfectly located proposes nearly only connections to Russia. OK, I admit that Podgorica and Dubrovnik airport are doable with a rented car. Then I think also that the price of PM is on the high side (especially compared to Greece where I am now). Why not keep the boat in Dubrovnik or in the soon finished ACI marina of Slano (only 30NM from PM)? You would visit PM from time to time for a cheap refuel. Dubrovnik is also all-year around connected to the outside world.

V, I've copied my answer to your post in Pete's thread to this more apropriate thread,

The new marina in Slano was far from ready, it seamed they just started the work last august, I'm curious if this will be finished for summer 2016.
tbh the place is a bit boaring, while it is very close to a few of my favourite anchorages in the Adriatic (Sipanska Luka, Jakljan, and Kobas) its quite a distance from old town Dubrovnic (almost one hour by car) and far from Cilipi airport (more than one hour)

The ACI marina in Dubrovnik is indeed a good option, less than 30mins from the airport (via the inland road),
but the rental price is nearly the same as PM. The ACI marine is a bit old and dirty, and lots of mosquito"s (fresh water)

From Belgium there are no direct flights to Dubrovnic in winter, connections via Zagreb are not conveniënt
from this year, there are Ryanair flights from BXL to Podgorica also in winter.
last winter I had a good connection from Bxl via Belgrade to Tivat (Serbian airlines)

if someone is really in for a cheap berth, here in the bay near Kotor are a few really cheap options,
but acomodation is not as good as in one of the best Marina's around the med ;-)

 

[AndieMac]

Re: Albania - sorry for thread hijack

An interesting thread Bart, with great help from Hardmy

Last year I was watching a promotional video of Porto Montenegro, and it appeared an Australian guy was involved in the management of the facility? Looks fabulous anyway Bart.