Montenegro
Tickets for the Belgrade-Bar train were purchased at the train station in Novi Sad. There is no electronic purchase option.
We purchased two compartments, each with three sleeping berths, for two adults and one child. In the summer of 2023, it cost €200. We found out about this late, and there were no available seats left, but we could bring a car with us for €30. It turned out to be more convenient than renting one.
There is no food service on the train, and no food is sold. On the way to Montenegro, half-liter bottles of water per person were prepared in the compartment, but there was nothing on the way back.
The train travels quickly through Serbia, but slowly through Montenegro. In Montenegro, it stops before each railroad crossing.
We were on a night train. We boarded the train, and it immediately got dark; we couldn't see anything. I woke up at five in the morning specifically to see the mountains. It was beautiful!
There's no other time. Closer to morning, the train approaches Podgorica, and there aren't many mountains there. When the train returns, it gets dark early again, so you won't see anything either.
Smoking is allowed on the train. The windows could be opened.
At the border during the night, they didn't stamp our passports upon leaving Serbia. They might not have stamped them upon entry either; you have to be vigilant - the border guards are quite careless about this.
Budva
I bought the SIM card (eSIM) online. Very convenient. No need to go anywhere; you do everything on the website, pay, they send you a QR code, you scan it with your phone, and the SIM card works.
The painting in the restroom of a cafe in Budva.
Herceg Novi
Karuch
Here we swam, and had a wonderful dinner.
The return train
The Fiat couch of 1973.
Three shelves on one side. Underneath the table, there's a sink. The bottom shelf folds out into three seats with backs. Quite an old-fashioned carriage, indeed. I folded the middle shelf (the one with the engraving) but couldn't unfold it back. Even the conductors couldn't.
