Taking the Ferry

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I hope that the map above will help to indicate the considerable indentation the Bay of Kotor makes to the coast of Montenegro as well as helping readers locate places mentioned in my previous post. What it also shows is the problem facing anyone wanting to drive along the coast road in a relatively straight line. – You can’t!!!

Fortunately, between Lepetane, (5 km northwest of Tivat) and Kamenari, (about 2km east of Bijela), there is a regular car ferry service across the narrowest point of the entrance channel leading into the Bay of Kotor. I gather there is a plan, at some future date, to build a bridge here. In the mean time a number of car ferries ply their way back and forth across the channel. Unless you use the ferry service, you are left with a scenic but very long and windy drive all around the bay!

With the BBC internet weather forecast warning of two further days of wind and rain if we were to remain staying around the Bay of Kotor, on the morning of Friday 23^rd October, we reluctantly decided to set off and drive much further north in order to find better weather for the last few days of our holiday. So we drove from our hotel at Prcanj, along the narrow coastal road that leads to the ferry terminal at Lepetane.

Car Ferry crossing the entrance channel of the Bay of Kotor, October 2009 © Ricky Yates

Car Ferry crossing the entrance channel of the Bay of Kotor in April 1975 © Ricky Yates

When travelling along the Adriatic coast road in April 1975, the coach party I travelled with also used this same ferry crossing. Above is an interesting comparison of how car ferry transport has changed in 35 years!

Ferries at the Kamenari Ferry terminal, October 2009 © Ricky Yates

I should really have written ‘vehicular ferry transport’ for in 1975 it was mainly trucks and coaches with relatively few private cars. Now in 2009, trucks and coaches use a larger ferry specifically designated for them, seen on the left in this picture, whilst cars use the slightly smaller vessels like the one on the right.

What have changed very little in 35 years are the buildings around the ferry terminal at Kamenari. The picture below looks across to the same buildings that appear between the two ferries in the picture above.

Kamenari Ferry Terminal in April 1975 © Ricky Yates