Travel review: Montenegro - the new hot ticket

Montenegro isn’t the first place you might think of when planning a family holiday – many people don’t even know where it is on the map. Yet, all this is about to change. Both Vogue and Lonely Planet have highlighted this Balkan country, with its spectacular landscapes, as a top new European place to visit. And travel operator TUI is to launch its first direct, summer flights from the UK to the capital Podgorica from May 3.

Montenegro is about five times smaller than Ireland. Once part of communist Yugoslavia, it became an independent state only in 2006. But this tiny, young nation more than deserves its sudden recognition.

Like its neighbour Croatia, it boasts entrancing mountainous scenery, a complex history and medieval towns to explore – but the newcomer is seen as being more affordable.

For our family though, one of Montenegro’s strongest draws is the sense of adventure it offers. After years of playing it safe as parents, sticking to Britain, France and Spain, this feels liberating to me and my husband, Mark. Our children, Max, 13, and Eve, five, are equally enthused.

And all that separates us from our unusual destination is a flight lasting less than three hours. We’re staying in Becici, a family-friendly spot on the Adriatic coast. As we transfer there by taxi, Max grabs his phone and begins taking reams of pictures. “I want to climb all these mountains,” he declares.

Tempting, but as we are visiting in August, the hottest and driest month when temperatures soar into the high 30Cs, that isn’t the most practical holiday plan. Instead, we quickly settle into a morning routine of clambering down the 97 steps that lead directly from our hotel, the Queen of Montenegro, to the 2km Blue-Flagged beach that stretches the length of the town.

Becici is pretty touristy, but the pebbly-sandy beach (flip-flops are a must) boasts the clearest, sparkling waters that are blissfully warm in summer, even at 7am.

Less than a 5km bus ride away is Przno, where the tiny bay offers the stunning backdrop of a craggy islet, complete with a ruined watchtower that may once have protected the locals from pirates.

On another day, we discover a path through the woods from Przno, clinging to the shore but shaded with olive and pine trees. It transports us to another world of the rich. Past the grand wisteria-draped Villa Milocer, once the summer residence of the Serbian royal family, and around the corner to a view that stops us in our tracks.

Sveti Stefan is Montenegro’s most famous sight. Connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway, this scenic, fortified island holds a huddle of 15th century stone buildings. We can’t pass the guarded entrance – Sveti Stefan is now part of the luxury Aman resort – but frankly, it doesn’t matter. We snap countless photographs, have a heated debate about how much one stone from the beach would be worth, let Eve try out the free playground and then suck bargain ice-lollies (e3 for four), before catching the bus back to reality.