If you're planning a trip to Montenegro and you're looking for accommodation, here are a few useful tips you can use.
First of all, when you're planning a trip, you need to know what kind of accommodation would you like to find, which city, for how many days and how many people for. There are big and small hotels, cheap hostels, private rooms, big luxury villas, flats, private apartments you can find.
There are different types of sights you might visit so depending on that you can also look for accommodation. For example, if you want only to swim on the sea and you don't have a car, you might want to find accommodation near the sea, in a city with all the needed infrastructure in close distance. Please notice that Montenegro is a mountain country so there are a lot of hotels, buildings, villas located on the mountain so if you're not traveling by car and you don't use to walk to the top, it might be a bit challenging for you. For older people and some people that have some health issues, it could be very difficult so when you're searching for accommodation, please ask for a location and check if you will need to walk up and down of the mountain. Plus if you have a car but it's an old done or not very powerful, it might be hard as well. So this is an important feature you need to consider while you're searching.
If you're traveling with kids and you want to entertain them, it's better to find a location where you can find playgrounds or other things your kids might like so you would have fun and wouldn't get bored. This one shouldn't be a problem since Montenegro is kids friendly country and there are a lot of playgrounds and entertainments for kids everywhere as locals love kids more than in other countries. Also if you're looking for a beach rest and your kids are from 2 to 15, they might like to play on the sand, building sandcastles, playing beach games, then you might want to find accommodation next to a sandy beach. Most beaches in Montenegro are stony but you still can find a good one.
For example, Th Long beach - is a perfect choice for families as it's a long and wide beach, kids can play on the sand and older kids - games on the sand and you wouldn't worry about your kids as the sea there isn't deep. But if you have a smaller kid, it might be not a perfect choice because there is a wind very often.
So where can you look for accommodation in Montenegro from abroad?
1. Some countries sell tours to Montenegro and the price will include accommodation, tickets and could be also - food and excursions. But you can also buy them separately. But now many countries have this option.
2. You can look for trusted sites, like Airbnb, booking and
https://www.realitica.com/ .
3. There are also other sites you can find that offer accommodations as well as on social media. But please, be very careful as there are a lot of scammers in the internet and don't pay prepayment ahead before your arrival, only via trusted sites.
4. This one option might be scary especially for people who used to plan everything ahead, but it could be the best one. So if you don't know anyone in the country or will arrive first to a particular location, you can always find accommodation right on the place. Even if you don't know the language, there are locals who know few languages or taxi drivers who can help or you can find in translator few helpful words. There are a lot of villas and private houses, especially near the beach and in regions that are appealing for tourists that offer rental apartments. You can simply enter the villa and ask if they have a free apartment. Even if the ones you asked will not have, they might help you to find a free place among their neighbors or friends as a lot of people offer accommodations and it's a small country. It could be a scary option to find accommodation if you don't feel comfortable talking to strangers in a new country, especially in you don't know the language but this option might be cheaper and more places than via the internet.
5. Recommendations of your friends or people you know who have visited already and know the contact. It's always a good option but you might want to find a place with other infrastructure or in a different location, then you might need to find another option.
6. This option I find very useful - you can check google maps and there are a lot of hotels and apartments that people set themselves and add phone numbers, emails etc. It's a good option as you can contact people from another country, write them via social media or email, ask for a price and free dates. But it's very important to remember that it's dangerous to send prepayment before arrival directly to a person you don't know.
7. If you will arrive to the country via plane or bus - you can find info booths where people can tell you all the needed information about the country, sights, accommodations etc. There are also taxi drivers everywhere in a places where tourists arrive that will be happy to help you to find accommodation or whatever you might need.
In general, Montenegro is a friendly country that is aimed to serve tourists. People are super friendly and nice. You can easily find the perfect place to stay. If you're not sure about the location, you can find and pay for a night or two and look for a better place to stay. Especially if you want to visit different cities and you will need to move to other cities. Don't be afraid to ask for help or advice. You will enjoy your staying!