Extraordinary People Living Their Best Life

At Porto Montenegro, we believe that a place is made by its people. At the water’s edge, our village is filled with the laughter and activity of a community united in their pursuit of a life less ordinary. Here are found the explorers, the creatives, the visionaries, the tycoons, the literati, the entrepreneurs, the artists and the muses. Here are the Portonians.

Described best as ‘liveaboards’, digital nomads and keen adventurers, Vu and Bella are both from Seattle in the USA and have been visiting Porto Montenegro for four years. Last year, they made the decision to call our marina their winter home.

  1. How long have you been visiting Porto Montenegro?

We’ve visited Montenegro and Porto Montenegro off and on for 4 years, but only in the last year have we made Porto Montenegro the home base for our boat.

  1. How long do you stay here at a time?

Our boat is in Porto Montenegro in the off-season, which usually means about 7 months, and we try to stay on board for that duration, except for some trips to visit family and friends, but generally a little less than 6 months a year and usually the winter season.

  1. In your view, what is the most extraordinary thing about Porto Montenegro?

It is hard to pick one thing. Porto Montenegro is a beautiful marina that is impeccably run at a high standard with a village filled with great retail and excellent restaurants and bars, but really if there is one thing, it is the people who call Porto Montenegro and the community around it home.

  1. What is your favorite thing to do at Porto Montenegro?

We have many places we enjoy in Porto Montenegro.  We love sitting in the sun with friends on the waterfront enjoying a morning latte or brunch, especially at places like Gourmet Corner, Ma Cherie, or Kafeteria.  Although we find ourselves hanging out at Clubhouse or Blue Room just as much in the evening with a cocktail enjoying the music and occasionally a game of billiards or foosball.

  1. What types of people do you meet here?

The Porto community is very international and diverse and it blends well with the local community.  So it’s quite an easy place to fit into and meet new people.

  1. Where is your favorite place to travel to from PM? How long does it take to get there? What is the attraction there?

In the last year, we’ve had the opportunity to travel all over Montenegro.  By land, we can drive a couple of hours to get to the highlands of Durmitor or Prokletijke, where the mountain ranges in these regions host some of the most stunning vistas in Montenegro, if not the world.  By sea, the Bay of Kotor has so many interesting places and beaches to explore in the summertime, day or night.

  1. If at all, how has Covid affected your time at PM?

Because of the travel restrictions, we’ve spent more time in Montenegro and Porto Montenegro than we had originally planned, but it has really allowed us to discover all the great things that Montenegro and Porto Montenegro has to offer.

  1. Would you say Porto Montenegro is a good place to be in a pandemic?

Absolutely yes!  There are probably very few marinas that operate at the same level of excellence as Porto Montenegro in normal times, but Porto really went above and beyond to make our stay here safe, comfortable, and fun while in a pandemic.  Porto always has great social and community events and when we were locked down and under curfew, they adapted by going online to create fun social events like quiz nights, wine tasting, and virtual sailing. That really helped us stay sane and feel connected with the community. Everyone here really came together to help each other.  For instance, A+ Yachting offered up their provisioning service at no cost during lockdown, which really helped ‘liveaboards’ get groceries and pretty much anything else we needed, especially when we couldn’t get things ourselves as intercity traffic was closed.  That really helped the community stay safer and made our lives much easier.

Vu and Bella, you are always welcome! Thank you too. You have been such a fantastic and energetic part of the Porto Montenegro family. Long may it continue.

To learn more about winter berthing at Porto Montenegro, please visit HERE.