Tag Archive for: fitcamp montenegro

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How We Gave Birth to “Women Who Play” Offer

Friends & Colleagues Get-together

Without a clear intention, one day in July, I decided to send an email to my dear female colleagues with whom I work and collaborate in harmony. I invited them to join me at the FitCamp estate so that we could brainstorm, test some of the FitCamp services, and explore new possibilities. What was clear and what motivated me to create that email and invite this fine selection of feminine minds was the fact that I needed support, honest feedback, a touch of friendship, and a liberating experience for my mind. Their feedback was beautiful, and the majority of the women I invited confirmed their presence.

A Perfect Day Fueled with Divine Feminine Energy, Honesty & Care

The day finally arrived. It was July 22nd, a hot Saturday afternoon. My inspirational women started arriving, and I welcomed them on the 16-meter-long terrace of the Community House. 

First among them was Jasmina. It was our first in-person encounter, and we clicked immediately. She brought me a bouquet of wild medicinal herbs from Durmitor, where she had been resting with her family. Today, one month later, Jasmina and I are crafting a retreat program for 2024, which I am extremely enthusiastic about!

Following Jasmina, a car full of Bokeljke arrived (Bokeljka is a term for a woman from Boka Bay). For those who may not know, Boka Bay is my favourite part of Montenegro and a place where my soul finds solace. Daniela, Kristina, and Jelena arrived together, bringing a piece of beloved Kotor with them. I have had the privilege of working extensively with these amazing women. Kristina acts as the FitCamp mentor for our mindful workshops, which we organise for guests. Daniela is my twin soul and a partner in IconicVoid, or rather, Vomb. Jelena, one of the first Montenegrin entrepreneurs I met, has been in my circle for quite some time, and her remarkable journey reflects significant growth along the way.

After the Bay, the capital city took the stage. A car filled with women from Podgorica arrived – my sister Aleksandra, who has called Podgorica home for several years now, is my longtime colleague in endeavours to promote Montenegro worldwide; Jovana, a FitCamp mentor on mindfulness and a dear psychologist friend; and Suncica, a FitCamp yoga instructor and a beautiful soul. Working with all three of them has always been a joyful experience. I admire their approach to life. Interestingly, the women who shared car rides to come to FitCamp unintentionally formed a strong bond along the way and awakened similarities among them.

The next arrival was a solo ride. Tamara, a FitCamp yoga instructor, arranged babysitting for her twin daughters and arrived, brimming with beautiful feminine energy, to teach us the art of deep breathing. My collaboration with Tamara only began this summer, but it feels as Sagittarius arrows clicked instantly, and our partnership flows effortlessly like a river.

Next, some of my favourite Niksic women arrived. Bojana and Andja are my longtime colleagues and associates, with numerous joint projects under our belts. They are not only cherished companions for wine and gossip but also dedicated FitCamp enthusiasts. Bojana was the first to test our team-building offerings with her team. Andja hails from the same industry as I do, and we frequently embark on joint business travels, sharing professional challenges and successes along the way.

Last but certainly not least, Nada arrived with her partner Andrea. They come from Bar but travelled from Kosovo to join us this time. Nada is our favourite FitCamp photographer, a woman whose talent shines brightly through her personality. We initially connected through business, and our relationship has evolved into a strong support system for each other. Andrea was a first-time acquaintance that day, yet it felt as if I had known her forever.

The Flow

After everyone had met and engaged in the obligatory small talk, the day’s activities commenced. First, we tested Jasmina’s Poetry Workshop, which turned out to be a great source of relief, success, and almost a group therapy session. We were so engrossed in analysing and discussing each other’s work that it felt like we needed more time.

Following this intense and beautiful workshop, Tamara led us to the valley, where we comfortably sat on blankets and yoga mats, engaging in Pranayamas – breathing techniques designed to alleviate stress, anxiety, and promote overall well-being. It was a resounding success, in my opinion. What made it even lovelier was the unwavering support these women showed for each other, even though most of them had only just met that day.

After the pranayama session, we returned to the Community House and dove into the third session led by Kristina – Points of You, a mindful workshop, followed by a Mindfulness Map created specifically for our FitCamp guests. We enjoyed every moment, sharing laughter, tears, and a glass or two of wine.

As the evening approached its conclusion, it seemed as though no one was quite ready to leave. Around 9 pm, an unexpected power outage occurred, and we took it as a sign to bid each other a gradual farewell for the evening.

Shaping The Offer

The following day, I spent time at the beach, again in the company of my female companions – my mom and sister. Driven by the profound impressions from the previous day and further inspired by the beauty of Boka Bay, where I had spent my Sunday, my mind began to shape this incredible daily offer that we now officially present on our website. You can find it at this link.

Simply named “Women Who Play“, inspired by the poem by a Croatian author that Jasmina shared during her poetry workshop, this offer invites all women out there who crave stress relief, renewed vitality, and dedicated time for themselves to join us in our workshops. Sometimes, even a single day of such an experience can provide you with the wings you need to face the days ahead, be they challenging or easy. My circle of women not only helped me create and further inspired this offer but also offered their wholehearted support in promoting it to other women’s circles.

Looking Forward to Connecting with New Women’s Circles

When Nada shared her wonderful photos from our delightful day at FitCamp, my dear “Women Who Play” began posting them on social media. This is when other women started reaching out to us, enquiring about how they could join the next event of this nature.

Wondering if this is the right fit for you, your friends, partners, family, or colleagues? Please read the list below, which I hope will provide some clarity.

Who is this best for:

  • Women dealing with high levels of stress.
  • Women feeling demotivated and anxious.
  • Women seeking new experiences and aiming to open new chapters in their lives.
  • Female team building.
  • Women eager to discover their true selves.

How to book:

Simply get in touch here, and I will promptly address all your questions or schedule a call if necessary.

Who will you be working with:

With love,

Andjela (FitCamp Montenegro Founder)

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Well-being Holidays: The Healing Power of Nature & Travel at FitCamp Montenegro

In today’s fast-paced world, mental health has become an increasingly important aspect of overall well-being. As stress levels rise, people are turning towards nature and travel to find relief and healing. At FitCamp Montenegro, we are pointing out the transformative power of nature, engaging in various activities like yoga, mindfulness, hiking, nutrition, reading, writing, and similar. So we decided to make a blog post about the profound connection between mental health and healing in nature, combined with the activities FitCamp Montenegro offers through our programs.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a one-day experience (such as Women’s Circle) or a 5-night stay (such as a Mindful Retreat or Wellbeing Holiday), FitCamp’s focus stays the same – to bring you to the next level of vacation by achieving permanent benefits that will serve you in your every day life too!

nature healing at fitcamp montenegro

Mental Health and Nature Healing

The link between mental health and spending time in nature must be clear to everyone. Nature has a remarkable way of calming the mind, reducing stress, and improving overall mood. At FitCamp Montenegro, visitors can immerse themselves in the stunning natural beauties of Montenegro. Surrounded by lush forests and breathtaking mountains, located in the close vicinity of crystal clear lakes and rivers, participants can experience a sense of tranquillity that revitalises their mental state.

The Healing Power of Travel

Travelling to unique and beautiful destinations such as Montenegro, opens a myriad of benefits for mental and physical health. Stepping out of the daily routine and experiencing new environments can encourage a sense of wonder and excitement, relieving symptoms of anxiety and depression. FitCamp Montenegro’s location provides an ideal backdrop for a transformative travel experience. Put your hands and feet into the soil, reconnect with our mother Earth and release all the stress your body accumulates through a simple practice such as grounding.

Discovering Ways of Mindfulness and Wellness

FitCamp Montenegro caters to individuals seeking mindfulness and wellness activities. Through carefully curated programs, participants can engage in activities like yoga and meditation, which enhance self-awareness and inner peace. The serenity of the surroundings adds an extra dimension to these practices, allowing participants to achieve a deeper level of mindfulness.

Yoga has long been honoured for its positive impact on mental and physical health. At FitCamp Montenegro, experienced yoga instructors lead classes tailored to all skill levels. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced practitioner, yoga can help reduce stress, improve flexibility, and cultivate a greater sense of well-being. If you are more into fitness, we are here to offer this practice too.

Hiking is not only an excellent form of physical exercise but also a means of connecting with nature on a profound level. Montenegro offers marked hiking trails that take participants through scenic routes, where they can embrace the natural wonders and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with conquering new heights. Read the experience of one of our guests here. 

Swimming is a refreshing activity that promotes mental clarity and relaxation. FitCamp Montenegro’s location is a 10-min drive from Krupac and Slano Lakes, which offers participants the opportunity to rejuvenate in the refreshing waters while soaking in the beauty of the surroundings.

FitCamp Montenegro is here for travellers seeking to experience the ultimate relaxation through yoga, nature healing, mindfulness, nutrition and all this by minding the environment and local community. The breathtaking landscapes, numerous activities, and the chance to explore the world contribute to a profound and transformative experience. By embarking on this journey of self-discovery, FitCamp Montenegro visitors can leave with a renewed sense of balance, inner peace, and overall well-being. The point is – you should disconnect to reconnect, and let us take you to the next level of vacation.

Welcome to our community!

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Guided Stargazing Experience in Montenegro

Did you ever wonder how it feels to be lost in a galaxy of stars? Well, our June blog post might give you an answer as it comes with a beautiful addition to our programs – The Guided Stargazing Experience!

Namely, since this spring, FitCamp Montenegro has become the official licence holder for the guided Visit Dark Skies – a new, celestial way to experience the night! Being located in the intact nature and far away from the city light pollution, FitCamp Montenegro is your safe spot in the mountainous forest from where you can admire the Milky Way, shooting stars, constellations and mesmerising sky events throughout the year!

The only thing you need to do is to lay down on your back or sit down comfortably and start enjoying the beauty of the night sky. We will provide you with our audio file, which will help you gaze towards the night sky for half an hour. After 20 minutes of listening, there is a WOW effect, and we promise you, if you indulge in this completely, you will experience a magical face of Montenegro that you have never expected to!

Your eye is fascinatingly good at adapting to the dark. As you learn how this multi-step process works, it happens: your eyes adjust to take in as much light as possible. That’s how you can see more stars. With Guided Stargazing, you learn how to perceive all the stars at once and let the sky overwhelm you.

To get the optimal stargazing experience, we recommend you follow these 4 steps:

Find the best place 

At FitCamp, we will take care of this for you and recommend you the best spots but, what you should do is try to awaken this remote feeling and focus only on the sky, without your phone notifications or anything that can disturb you or distract your eyes adjust to the darkness of the skies above you.

Choose appropriate clothes

Nights are always colder than days and FitCamp is located in the mountains, so to be relaxed and ready for this experience, you need to pay attention to what you wear. Even if it’s summertime and the day temperatures are over 30 degrees, laying down on the grass and being still for half an hour can affect your overall experience if you aren’t properly dressed. Let us help you with more recommendations on the spot! Just ask for it. 🙂

Prepare the audio file before going to the Stargazing Spot

As the internet connection in remote places is not always covering all the areas, we recommend you download the audio file while you are in the Community House or your apartment and be prepared once you comfortably lay down to experience the dark skies. Charge your phone beforehand and earplugs in case you use wireless ones. 

Relax your senses

Enjoy the moment when, at some point, your gaze no longer fixates, and you experience divine relaxation! Let the gentle rustling of leaves, the scent of night-blooming flowers, or the soft grass beneath take you over.

Play the audio file, but put your phone aside, so that the light doesn’t disturb you. Put it on aeroplane mode, so that you can’t receive any notifications during the gazing. We will make sure that your stargazing spot is perfectly chosen so that the car lights, house lights or any noise around don’t disturb you.

We wish to encourage you to step outside, look up at the night sky, and experience the magic firsthand. With FitCamp programs, this feature is included in your stay free of charge. Let us show you the beauty of the unexplored vast space of the sky – constellations, planets and galaxies are inviting you to focus on what surrounds you!

Photo credit Visit Dark Skies

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Hiking Adventure with My Dog to Nozdra and Golija in Central Montenegro 

One feels so beautiful by being accepted and creating connections with complete strangers around the world. Montenegro has a big soul, ready to heartwarmingly welcome you at any moment! Let’s check the story from our coliving guest Lisa, who was that kind to write the story for our website and share it with all of you! 💚

FitCamp Montenegro Hosts

Going hiking to the remains of the old Ottoman Fortress and back to FitCamp – that was the plan. 

In the morning, I packed my small backpack with some food and water for me and our dog Bailey and we took off. The first bit of the hike I knew already from the previous walks. I was super excited to go again, and this time even further to explore the fortress.

The weather was absolutely amazing – summer feeling in the air. For Bailey it was a bit too warm, so we were faster in the beginning to reach the higher peaks of the mountains as I already knew there was a little pond, and I planned to take a break, mainly so that Bailey could cool herself down by swimming.

And so we did. After the break, we made our way through the stunning landscapes with a bit of wind. While the first part was more rocky, we soon passed to a beautiful valley, with grass and trees all around. We passed a few old farmhouses (katun), some presumably still in use during summer. Once in a while, there were small ponds with water for the cattle, which Bailey also happily used.

After approximately 2,5 hours of walking, we could have seen the ruins of the fortress high up in the mountain above the valley. If we wanted to make the way up to reach the ruins, we needed to leave the hiking road and do a short walk up the mountain. I decided not to walk there as I already had a wild idea in my head. I wanted Bailey and me to save our energy for the adventure ahead. 

Enjoying the beautiful weather and curious as I am, I called my partner. I quickly introduced her to my idea and was super happy to hear that she agreed to help out. Instead of turning to the fortress, I decided to go on, curious to see more of this beautiful mountain area. I wanted to dive deeper and enjoy this energy, nature and remoteness. Of course, previously, I checked the map that said it was possible to continue on the same hiking road for about 13 km to reach the main road again. From that point to FitCamp, there was about 21 km and I knew we couldn’t walk that distance on the same day, so that is where I needed my partner’s assistance. We were planning to meet on the main road that evening and the pick-up was with our camper van. After planning it all, Bailey and I took a break, ate some snacks and enjoyed the sun.

Heading on, the landscape was changing again and again, from rocky, to small forests and then a beautiful, wide and open valley. I could see that Bailey loved this just as much as I did, as she was bouncing and running a bit in front and around me. I could not believe that there was no one around, just us. 

Walking on, we reached another valley with a huge flock of sheep. So, we were not alone in the end… 

Slowly making our way towards the flock, I was looking for the shepherd. Also, I could not see any dogs, even if I was sure that there must be some. The sheep were all over the place. 

There weren’t any other options to pass further, but going directly into the flock. So, I took Bailey to my side and went slowly straight on. One moment, as we came closer, all sheep looked at us, forming a half circle. This was impressive. Even more impressive, when Bailey and I continued and I realised that the sheep were closing the circle behind us. I felt Bailey’s tension and was so grateful that she is such a calm dog, in most situations. On the other hand, I was not used to sheep and having them walking behind and around us, so I just wanted to get through the flock and out. 

Holding Bailey and walking, I talked aloud to calm down both of us. We speeded up a bit and finally made it out and turned away from the flock. 

I was super happy we made it and then I heard dogs and saw a shepherd approaching us. I waved and greeted him in my few, newly learned Montenegrins words, saying „Dobar dan“. 

He waved and greeted me with a big smile, obviously surprised to see us. He went on talking, gesturing – I tried and wished I would have learned more Montenegrin. Anyway, I just smiled and followed him as he was inviting me towards the house nearby. Meanwhile, Bailey and his dogs had also greeted each other. 

Bailey stayed outside while I went inside, following the shepherd. There was one room. Simple but cosy, with a bed, couch, basic stove and cooking area. We sat down, continuously trying to talk to each other. He even tried to call a few of his friends to help out translating. Unsuccessfully, but it was nice of him to try his best. He offered me what I thought was water and Fanta. I decided to go for the water but a few seconds later I realised when he was serving it in small glasses, that this was no water. This was rakija. Later, at FitCamp, I learnt that this is a typical alcoholic drink from Montenegro, usually made of grapes (but it can be made of other fruits) and intensively strong.

I remembered I had a muesli bar and offered him half. Then I slowly packed my bag and signalled to him that Bailey and I need to go on. He wasn’t happy as I believe he thought we planned to hike to Bosnia with just a small backpack. That was my guess, at least. Trying to communicate that everything was just fine – I thanked him. As a memory of this adventurous moment and this hospitable and welcoming shepherd, he left me to take a picture – both of us smiling and then waving goodbye.

I checked on the map and saw that we had about 1 hour of walking left. We took a small break, enjoying the beautiful views. After a while, I could already see the spot where the hiking road was intersecting with the main road, down the mountain. Pivoting down, we passed a few houses, reached the main road and then relaxed on the grass while waiting for our ride back home. 

The whole day and this hike turned out to be absolutely what I did not expect. And yet, this was just the perfect thing to happen that made this hike even more precious and unforgettable for Bailey and me.

Hvala Montenegro!

About author

Lisa Lützen is an Access Bars Facilitator, nature lover and adventurer. She spent a month at FitCamp Montenegro as our coliving guest, and we enjoyed the time with her, her partner and their lovely dog Bailey. We were amazed at how well they got the idea of our coliving concept and are more than happy to have made new friends. We are enthusiastic to welcome them again! To learn more about Lisa, click here.

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The Development Goals of FitCamp Montenegro

Being a crazy ant is not an easy job. All of us crazy ants know it, but we usually wouldn’t do anything different even if we could turn back the time. 

‘…most of the ants in the nest are creatures of habit (workers). They mark their routes with scent trails and only follow routes where another ant once walked. So they obediently finish their work list. They will mainly work harder and harder but do nothing structural about the problem.

Fortunately, there are always several crazy ants (scouts) in a nest. They deviate from the fixed routes and, therefore, find new places that the ant people need to survive. The crazy ant is the one who will find a new place. But how does he convince the other ants to help him move the entire nest?’

Read the full story about the crazy ant here. 

Lagant.nl

As many in our surroundings characterised us as crazy when we left the coast and headed up to the Adriatic hinterland of Central Montenegro to develop FitCamp, we wished to write this blog and explain our reasons, or better say goals!

GOAL 1 – Local Community Involvement & Development

Seeing the potential and optimal growth in rural tourism development of Montenegro, one of the leading thoughts of our business idea was to include the local community in all that we do. 

Offering only local products to our guests and visitors is what we crave, but taking in mind that our production is not that big to cover all the needs yet, we saw an opportunity for everyone in the village producing anything from fruits and vegetables to cheese, meat, marmalades, juices, rakija, wines and similar. 

This goal includes long-term effects that are equally positive to our business development as to the city’s economic empowerment, a larger tourism inclusion and better rural product placement. 

We frequently hear how the city of Niksic, where we are located, is not touristically developed, so we want to motivate people from this city to understand the potential of the area and plan their agricultural and other activities following all the possibilities that the modern market offers. 

GOAL 2 – Sustainable Environment

The mal-influence of tourism on the environment has become very clear, taking in mind massive movements, cruising travels increase and similar. Some of the greatest minds in sustainable tourism development are now finding a way to regenerate the travel market and decrease the poor effects of the travelling crowds that used to happen from the 70s of the 20th century up to today. 

From the very beginning, FitCamp Montenegro had a clear idea in mind – development in touch with nature! All our efforts to find a remote place and cultivate it further paid off when we landed to today-location of our well-being centre. We clicked with this area and saw all the small bits and pieces needed for the puzzle that we started to put together.  

Firstly, we were enthusiastic that the village where we are now located doesn’t have a city water supply system. Most of the people we work with and our partners told us – oooh, but the water might be a problem there. We nodded and made it one step closer to our vision.

Most of the people living here are collecting the rainfall and snowfall in underground containers from which they distribute it further to their barns, houses and gardens. The same is with us. Our property has a 44 m3 water container built underground in the backyard, and it is connected to the house by an electric water pump. So, when you are inside our premises, you can’t feel the difference as it seems the same as in the urban areas. In reality, it is not the same, as we take as much as nature has given us and reuse it in our daily life. The best about it is the reaction of our guests and visitors and how fast they learn to collaborate in saving water and protecting natural resources.

Furthermore, we started planning a sustainable irrigation system for our gardens, orchard and future cattle. We dag a pool in the valley of 150 m3 size that will soon be our addition to recreation on the FitCamp estate, as well as a secure water supply for all the produce.

The system is planned with a SMART addition so that we can control the water flow even remotely.

A solar plant is something we keep for the near future, but it’s been on our list since the very beginning. The reason for postponing it is the investment that it requires. That piece of the puzzle will close the circle of self-sustainability and give us the title of the possibly only self-sustainable place in Montenegro, especially in the commercial market.

Thus, nature will give us:

– electricity from the power of sun and wind, and 

– water from the rainfall and snowfall.

This will shape our small system as a perpetuum mobile. 

GOAL 3 – Diversified Travel Product   

As parts of our team have been working in tourism for years, we are aware of the clutter and fuzz that follows travelling. The effects of tourism on nature are not flattering, but luckily, the latest generations of travellers seem to see this problem and react to it. 

Even before the pandemic, FitCamp Montenegro’s idea was shaped around the fact that nature has a healing effect and that we should let that fact into urban lives that are stale and dusty. We didn’t want seasonal work or to offer the same services as everybody else in the rural areas of Montenegro, so it took us time to shape the whole program and system with our partners and friends. From 2018 up to today, we didn’t stop working on this idea and sharp-shaping it for the market in the best way we possibly saw it could go.

All our programs are based around the benefits and inspiration that nature gives us, and we invest ourselves in the best combination of silent time within the forest, hiking, swimming, outdoor adventures, yoga, fitness, healthy food & nutrition, and mindful workshops. We immodestly consider that we crafted a unique travel product for the Montenegrin market, and we are fanatical about the reality that our demand is responding so positively to what we created for them! That gives us further inspiration and motivation to never stop and always introduce novelties to our products and the Montenegrin travel market in general.

Avoiding the short seasonal work, our doors are not open only to travellers and our programs are not crafted just for short-term rentals. We are happy to share that winter 2022/23 was more than successful at our estate, with numerous digital nomads who have chosen coliving stay, entrepreneurs and MSMEs who have chosen our team buildings and workshops and last but not least – our volunteers, who help us and at the same time live the life with us, by applying the same set of rules and goals we crave for FitCamp.

We do hope to welcome you here and spread our love for nature and all it gives us with you, introduce you to our elderly neighbours and their delicious products and heal you by being one with our Planet Earth. 

Approaching Earth Day, we wish that this blog enlights you in your future travels and motivates you to only travel with purpose!

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Staycation & Workation at FitCamp Montenegro

Travelling has become a lifestyle for many, especially for the new generation of wanderers who easily combine their working and living missions. These are digital nomads who live without frontiers, but also other groups of travellers and visitors who are seeking a long stay and combining vacations with their job – the so-called bleisure. 

Most of these people travel solo and seek secluded, intact spots, offering the luxury of staying in nature (or close to nature) but still connected to all the important living facilities. 

For a while now, Montenegro has been on the radar of numerous visitors, teams and nomads thanks to its lovely climate, friendly and hospitable people, intact nature and good connections. For us at FitCamp Montenegro, these groups of travellers were always important, and we created our idea having in mind their demands. We are happy to say that after the first working winter, we have had numerous digital nomads’ stays, and volunteers who helped us with numerous tasks that we have at the estate and we are looking forward to hosting some of our first team buildings during the spring season.

Why is FitCamp a perfect place for solo travellers?

‘Disconnect to reconnect‘ is one of the slogans that we use in our promotion, and it was built together with one of our former visitors who used our Coliving stay package. He was inspired to share his perception of FitCamp community living shaped in a simple sentence. 

Solo or in a couple, FitCamp indeed offers a cosy stay where you can be connected when you want or need to work, but at the same time, you can disconnect completely when needed, and enjoy the benefits of nature stay with or without additional activities.

The comments of our so far visitors show that our place is amazing for concentrating on important tasks at work as well, which makes it a great work-away location. 

‘As a business owner, I often find myself overwhelmed. In late October I decided to move away from my everyday routine and find an inspiring place to strategise and retreat myself with pure nature and fresh air. I chose FitCamp as my destination since it is 20 min away from my city, I’ve been there with my team for a workshop, and I felt that it was the right place for what I needed. I only stayed for 2 nights and managed to handle 2x a bigger workload than I regularly do from my home office. I don’t know what kind of magic they do, but I got inspired to write and create a strategy, and that was exactly what I came there for. Wine-tasting sessions in the evening definitely helped 🙂 I will definitely come back for more inspiration in spring! Thank you Andjela for being such a great host 💚 💙.’ 

– Bojana from Minuta do posla

When not working or cooking your daily meals, you have opportunities to hike or cycle to some of the amazing spots, unfairly neglected and forgotten but culturally and naturally beautiful. Our favourite for a short 1-hour walk is up to the Tower of Preśeka (Preśečka kula) which originates from the Ottoman Empire time.  

From that point on, continues a wide range of options, so you can either climb the mountain Golija, where you can see the famous Nozdra and remains of the Ottoman caravan settlements, or you can walk down the hill up to Krupac Lake – one of the lakes surrounding Niksic, also known as the Niksic Sea. During August, Lake Fest Rock Festival takes place here, in the forest, and a lot of water and nature outdoor activities are available from May to mid-September. This is one of our favourite spots to go swimming, as it’s only 15 min drive from FitCamp Montenegro.

yoga-in-nature-fitcamo-montenegro
Yoga in nature – solo travellers

Co-living Vibes

Living our dreams with FitCamp coming to life, we have the opportunity to host numerous visitors and volunteers from all around the world, spend quality time together and support each other in many ways. It’s a superb feeling when you know that your job can bring you new friends and that these can be connections for life!

Sharing our Community House with all of you for us means goals achieved and pure excitement. We are looking forward to every new visit and every new request, as we appreciate your understanding and support of our idea! The late autumn and winter time are amazing for the long stay for digital nomads.

‘We have spent a month in this amazing place, and it was a huge pleasure to share so many beautiful moments with people in Fit Camp. Beautiful nature and great hosts. The area is well-treated, comfortable, calm and inspiring. It is a perfect place to connect with nature and meet cool people. They are very welcoming and friendly, ready to support in any situation. The room is nicely equipped and furnished, cosy social area and funny pets. Quite close to the city, and a bike-friendly area. Looking forward to coming there again… and again.’ 

– Katerina, a digital nomad from Dortmund

Do you want to join our community? Contact us, we would be happy to have you!

If you are a volunteer who finds a bit of yourself in this article, find our profile on WorldPackers here. 

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An Unexpected Digital Detox and How To Survive It – Rural Coliving in Montenegro

It was just a regular January in Montenegro. Temperatures mild, post-festive fever high, new goals, new plans, resolutions – all prepared. The FitCamp Community House – full of people from all over the world.

We were shaping plans with our volunteers to improve our backyard and patio for the upcoming season, and just like that, a snowstorm caught us! At first, we were enthusiastic about it, as well as our dogs, but then things went a bit further and… Well, let’s go day by day!

Snow woke us up on Friday, January 20th. Bucolic. All white and beautiful. Arya immediately wanted to go for a walk, as that is her favourite weather forecast – snow and more snow, please! (dire wolf indeed 🐺)

We put our winter clothes and boots on (note: we barely made to find these, as with the climate change, the winters in Montenegro are mild, and we didn’t have this amount of snow in Central Montenegro for years) and decided to make a community hike around the village. It was amusing, as we didn’t enjoy a white hike in ages and the dogs were so happy! We even made a Snowman in the valley. A perfect start to the last working day of the week!

Saturday, January 21st
The weekend opening came with even more snow than the day before. We cleaned around the houses and spent most of the day outdoors. When the night came, the snow intensified, and our team was out until the middle of the night, cleaning the roof and trying to save trees in the yard. Further, at 11:30 pm, there was an electricity cut.

Anybody who knows anything about the Montenegrin rural areas knows the conditions of the electric network that runs through the villages – very poor, mono phase and unstable. That is why we were so afraid of this cut, as we knew that weather conditions are not favourable for the electricity company to get out and fix it in the middle of the night. Additionally, we are collecting rainfall and snowfall too for our water supply system, which is built by us and connected to the electric water pump. Meaning – no electricity, no water!
We couldn’t do much that night and it was getting late. Hoping that a good sleep will solve everything, we went to bed.

Sunday, January 22nd
On Sunday morning, we woke up to idyllic scenery but, clearly, we were cut off from civilisation. No electricity, no water and no road connection to the city. During the night, the snowfall was around 1 m. As a cherry on top of the cake, one of the acacia trees fell onto our car. Luckily, the snow and the suitcase holders absorbed much of a fall, so there wasn’t damage to the car, whatsoever.

We spent the whole day cleaning. Our team, volunteers and guests – all out, cleaning nonstop, protecting the roofs, making passages, and collecting snowfall for the water container. Exhausted, we entered the house in the late afternoon, cooked the food in the wood stove, melted snow for the toilets and indeed felt what living in the wilderness means.

Just when we thought the day was about to end, the snow blower appeared with a lot of noise. We run out of the house to welcome him, but we wish it was only welcoming him! Due to very high snowfall, he couldn’t pass our house and we needed to help them clean with shovels to be able to pass our house and go further.

Now we could go to bed with hope because we at least had the road clean, compared to yesterday.

Monday, January 23rd
Lovely people from our village who live in the city and are visiting daily, have been thinking of us so in the early morning we’ve got fresh bread and coffee delivery. What a beautiful moment of belonging to the local community!

Now, back to reality. Even if the road was clean, our car was trapped by the levy of snow left by the snow blower. We can’t blame them, of course, but it meant another day without the possibility of visiting the city (or better said, civilisation). Obviously, no electricity or water yet so we didn’t have many options but to continue maintaining the house and the yard. The project of the day – cleaning dishes in the snow. Middle Ages or, better say, Djekna – for Balkans’ readers of this blog. 😊

Tuesday, January 24th
Finally, the day has come! You think it’s electricity, but no! It’s the car. We freed it so that we could go to the city, have lunch, get a shower at Andjela’s parents’ house, and recharge the batteries on all devices.

Honestly, this was the day, or a moment, that we realised how we are passing through a digital detox no one asked for. On our way back to the FitCamp estate that night, the hope ignited our beings at the entrance to the village – the part of the area called Sume got the electricity back!

7 km further, enthusiasm disappeared – we were still in the dark. Still, the majority stood well, the spirits were up, and we were inventing things to do without being online. Cards, games, and just talking were enough to spend the night.

Wednesday, January 25th
Being used to the situation, after breakfast, we divided tasks between us and started organising the yard and the house. The good part about this amount of snow was the fact that we filled our water container nicely, collecting snow daily and putting it into the underground water tank. This was a beautiful sunny day, so everything seemed to be easier.

Around 3 pm, the electricity got back. Unfortunately, it was a false alarm, as the next cut came 10 min later. So, finally, similar to last night, after a bit of cooking the old-fashioned way, laughing, and wine, we went to bed with hope.

Thursday, January 26th
Used to the situation, we were now performing our new routines like it was completely normal. Living detached in the 21st century is easy but, we are glad to say we made it, and we didn’t miss anything at all!

After a long walk with the dogs, we collected more snowfall for the water tank, cleaned up, cooked and hung out when false alarm #2 occurred around 6 pm. We already started planning who’s going to the shower first and how to organise the rest when the new cut came. We received it relaxed. We now knew this game.

Friday, January 27th
Not all of us receive things the same way and what the majority reflects is not always the case for each member of the community. Thus, this was a day when our electricity cut team grow smaller as our guest left us. It was just enough for him and he decided to find a new place to stay. We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience caused, but indeed this was out of our power. Nature was showing us that is stronger than modern society, once again. Most of us enjoyed it, some of us did not, and that is more than fine!

Another day without electricity and water went great, as we now knew the system. We were playing as a team, and all was easy!

Saturday, January 28th
Sunshine woke us up. All white and blue outside. We felt it was a day to get back.

Back to civilisation.

Back in the 21st century.

Back online.

Back to so-called normal.

And so it was.

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Overall, this was a waking experience. A pack of different personalities from around the world trapped in the conditions of the middle ages. Positivity shined bright, and we are now proud of the love and positive energy we shared amongst ourselves.

The common understanding, the proper reaction, the compassion and empathy – this electricity cut turned out to be an outstanding experience with a bunch of individuals, who are capable of moving mountains if necessary. Hard, but not impossible, this event crafted irreplaceable memories in our heads, and we couldn’t resist sharing it with all of you! We can guarantee one thing – our community works exactly as it should in all the conditions!

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Heritage Depicted in Loving Pieces – Your Easy Path to Learn About Montenegro

We are currently living in a world of chaos. Some of us are aware of it, while some see this chaos as a favourite reality. It is hard to point out the worldly values and all the great things that humankind has achieved, while the planet is shaken by numerous awful events such as the pandemic, wars, climate change, economic crisis, and energy crisis… We wonder when will positive vibes swap all this negativity.

We started our new location preparations and renovation in the middle of this chaos. Was it hard? Supremely hard! Was it worth it? Oh yes! Every step of this road made our team become better persons, better hosts, and better friends. A neverending learning process has started with the opening of FitCamp Montenegro at its fresh-new location, and this is the first blog written from our lovely Community House. We can’t wait to welcome you here so that you can see in person all that you will read in this blog today, plus the beauties of the FitCamp estate.

Led by an idea of restorative and responsible travel, we left the overcrowded Montenegrin coast and settled in the fabulous coastal hinterland, in Central Montenegro, with a promise to give our best to manifest local customs and traditions and include the local community into FitCamp Montenegro development. One of our guiding ideas, since the very beginning, was to motivate locals to join us in the efforts of creating a sustainable environment for the travellers by cherishing and regenerating what the almighty Nature has given us!

So, for the first blog of the year, and the first blog written from the FitCamp estate, let us present you with our favourite literature pieces, manifesting the best of the local community and showcasing the efforts of some great individuals!

Tara and The Magic Tree enjoying their life at FitCamp Montenegro

Tara and The Magic Tree

Written by the Montenegrin author Zarko Vucinic, and illustrated by the students of Petar Lubarda Art School in Cetinje, this book is an eco-tale about fighting for a cleaner Planet while teaching the basic concept of the Zero-waste movement. The main characters of the book are brought to life in the shape of the Znuggle eco toys, handmade of local wool by lovely Montenegrin women, dyed with plant pigments and available at FitCamp for you as perfect souvenirs from Montenegro.

This book is equally important and a good read for children and adults perfectly demonstrating FitCamp’s attitude towards nature. 

You can find more information here.

A Wonderous Collection

Women of Montenegro

Living in a patriarchal society is hard and you see it best when you are a woman. Especially in small, conservative societies like the one in the Balkans. Fighting for equity and equality has become a reality for every woman in the world, nevertheless on Montenegrin women. 

The UN development program in Montenegro together with the European Union, Ministries of Montenegro and the Capital of Podgorica supported the publishing of this piece of art, showcasing the historical timeline of all the great women who lived, created, ruled and influenced Montenegro. 

The local artist, Tijana Todorovic, together with her mother Olivera, has gathered all the information and helped design the book that was published in Podgorica in 2022. The book Women of Montenegro was created with the desire to depict women’s role throughout Montenegrin history and it is the first collection about the identity and women’s struggle for their rights in society. 

The goal of this book creation is similar to one of FitCamp Montenegro’s goals – motivation and encouragement of the modern woman to continue this historic struggle for personal and social progress. It is dedicated to all men and women who are on the path of modern and emancipatory actions.

It gives us a huge joy to be able to offer you to read this jewel showcasing Wise Brave and Special Women of Montenegro, during your FitCamp stay.

Mountainous Flora of Montenegro

Botanical Gardens of Mountainous Flora of Montenegro

Another amusing story comes from the east of Montenegro, a place called Dulovine near the city of Kolasin. There, in the intact mountainous nature, the loving Vincek couple collected living plant materials from around the Montenegrin mountains and brought these to their botanical garden, shaped and formed out of their pure love for nature.

The collection of the plants was continuous for a 2-decade time during which Mr Daniel, together with his wife Mrs Vera, created an angelic permaculture garden that contains 15% of all flora of Montenegro or about 450 different species, including endemic, rare and special ones. Unfortunately, both Daniel and Vera have passed away, but the garden keeps living. This garden is located at 1000 m altitude, and for us at FitCamp Montenegro is a perfect example of how to grow and maintain your garden. 

We hope we will have the similar motivation of these two amazing individuals and grow a botanical garden at our property – smaller in size but with a similar proportion of love!

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Commence your journey of discovery and well-being, and by learning with us, we promise you will leave FitCamp knowing a lot more about the lifestyle, local rural communities and the social structure of Montenegro.

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Living The Dream in Montenegro – Eco Country

Green Country 

Did you know that Montenegro is eco-country by its Constitution? On September 20th 1991, the Declaration was adopted in the city of Zabljak and Montenegro became the first eco-country in the world. The next year, this Declaration was presented in the UN Conference for Environment Protection.

Montenegro indeed has such stunning natural beauties and it’s all clear once you are here why this is eco-country.  Unfortunately, Montenegro experienced 2 wars after the adoption of this declaration (luckily without serious consequences), so the actual actions on this topic were lacking or were minor and performed by some individuals, although the country has this idea as the main goal of the longterm development.

FitCamp Montenegro Developing Sustainable Tourism 

We have a sustainable tourism idea as our top goal for FitCamp Montenegro development. We started building our estate to bring a new dimension and fresh energy to the tourism in Montenegro, by living in accordance with nature and use it only in a proper way by respecting it. 

Our guests are invited to give their input and help us be better, so that is why we are including them in what we do at the estate, from food production, waste management, clean-ups and so much more! We want to bring you to the next level of vacationing – which is all combined in this concept of travelling with a purpose. See more here.

Growing Food

Eco-friendly 

How do we succeed in being-in-accordance-with nature?

First of all, we don’t use city water system, but we collect rainfall in our huge underground containers. These are plugged on e-pumps that are bringing the water inside the community home and accommodation units.

We produce our food in 2 gardens that we have at the moment, with plans of expanding the production area once we have more accommodation units, to be able to supply the food for our guests. We grow fruits and vegetables and we supply milk, eggs and meat from the local community. Other than this, we grow medicinal herbs and we are treating all our guests with professional nutritionists’ classes during their stay.

Our Maggie hunting

Eco Fashion by FitCamp Montenegro 

We want our guests to have an amazing time in Montenegro. With experiencing the next level of vacation, there must be the next level of souvenirs from travels! Thus, we create our souvenirs out of natural materials only and these are available to our lovely guests!

FitCamp Montenegro Clothes

Amongst our team members, we have people talented for various sorts of things, amongst which is drawing too. We came up with an idea to put our drawings on T-shirts, underwear and sportswear, so you can have it as a souvenir from your trip to FitCamp Montenegro.

FitCamp Montenegro Canvas Sack

As we care about nature so much, we are amongst the group of people in Montenegro who started with the petition to ban single-use plastics. This is one of the main polluters of our planet Earth and we want to motivate our guests to use canvas sacks only! We created ones with our logo that are perfect as a present to a dear person, or just for own use.

FitCamp Montenegro Reusable Bottles

To ban single-use plastic is very easy! And it’s even more affordable to live without it, just think of it! At FitCamp Montenegro, we have branded our reusable water bottles, perfect for sports activities, to days in nature and every-day outdoors life!

Sign our petition here.

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Top Reasons To Visit Central Montenegro

1. Excellent position

Source Wikipedia

Being perfectly located probably means being on the Mediterranean coast. Montenegro already is, of course, but once you are in Montenegro it is underrated to visit only the coast! It is such a tiny country, but it has so much to offer! It’s a real catalogue of natural beauties and if you ask us to tell you what place is better than others, we probably couldn’t decide!

Central Montenegro is just in the middle where on the south we have UNESCO protected medieval Kotor and Perast and on the north, UNESCO protected National Park Durmitor, Tara Canyon and other breath-taking beauties.

By staying at FitCamp Montenegro location, you have the position to explore all the corners of the country in a short period. That’s why we choose our location to be central Montenegro, as it’s perfectly connected by the traffic roads, it has railway too and both airports are distanced enough not to make noise, but only a short drive away indeed.

2. Natural beauties for hiking and cycling

Hiking in Nature

Central Montenegro is home to many marked hiking and cycling paths. If you are experienced, you will be good to go on your own, except for the advanced paths where is recommendable to go with a guide. But, the central region has a lot of sports outdoor people, who are more than happy to welcome visitors and show them the most interesting parts of our country.

Only in Niksic, you have marked hiking trails to Budos Hill, paths surrounding lakes Krupac and Slano, that are also marked for cycling; mountaineering trails to Vojnik; hiking and skiing trails in the ski resort Vucje as well as cable car riding and so much more. Podgorica, the capital, hides many parks and hiking routes amongst which the most popular is the Korita Circuit. Also, Skadar Lake region is super-popular for hiking and the old royal capital of Cetinje offers another national park – Lovcen with the Mausoleum at the highest altitude in the world, where our former bishop and ruler is buried – Petar II Petrovic Njegos.

FitCamp Montenegro is located right on the path of one of five Top Bicycle Trails that lead from Niksic to Pluzine. Besides, it is very close to the hiking route of Nozdra, where once a year Montenegro Trophy Relly Race is organised too. Nozdra is well historically known, as well as the Presjeka village, as many battles with the Ottoman Empire took place just here! Pure fun to experience!

3. Lakes

Krupac Lake

The central region is so rich in lakes! Artificial and natural both and equally breath-taking! Only the region around Niksic has 3 artificial lakes that were made during the time of ex-Yugoslavia, for electricity production. Even if these were made for economy, because of the stunning Montenegrin beauty they fast became favourite day-trips spots of fellow citizens as well as the visitors.

Krupac Lake and Slano Lake are very close to FitCamp Montenegro and some activities included in our programs will be done there. Slano Lake is amazing for fishing, while we like Krupac Lake for swimming, sunbathing, outdoor yoga and similar. Both lakes are amazing for hiking and cycling.

Besides these, Skadar Lake is probably the best-known lake in Montenegro, also located in the central region of the country. This is the largest natural lake in the Balkans and it’s partially located in Montenegro and partially in Albania. Here is beautiful to go for a day-trip and do birdwatching, boat riding or just enjoy a delicious dinner and wine.

4. Spirituality 

Ostrog Monastery

For the visitors keen on religion and spirituality, central Montenegro hides the most sacred spot of the country – Ostrog Monastery. It is half an hour drive away from FitCamp Montenegro and it is visited by all the spiritual people, doesn’t matter the religion, even if it’s an orthodox monument.

Besides Ostrog Monastery, all the cities of the central region are famous for churches and monasteries, so you can find plenty in Niksic, Podgorica and Cetinje. Amongst the most popular are Saint Basil’s Church, Cetinje Monastery, Church on Cipur, the Temple of Christ Redemption etc.

5. FitCamp Programs

Yoga Outdoors

Our favourite reasons for you to visit central Montenegro are our programs! We worked so hard to deliver you a high-quality experience of the next level of vacationing and we are sure you will enjoy it!

Even if we started all this some time ago, summer 2020 will be our first season at the very first personal FitCamp location and for us, that’s a special thing!

Our programs will help you renew, rejuvenate, restart and relief stress, plus we will teach you how to respect nature and live by following it. In these hard times with coronavirus pandemic, the most important thing to learn is how to be more respectful to our dear planet!

6. Amazing Nightlife

Central Montenegro is well known for a vibrant nightlife and this is something we highly recommend you to try! While at FitCamp Montenegro, young and enthusiastic team of hosts will be more than happy to show you some of the best local performers bring you to the best pubs in the country and take you to some of the best festivals that are taking place in this region. Some of the most popular ones are Lake Fest, Bedem Fest, Wine & Bleak Festival, City Groove and many others.

7. Hospitality 

Local Household Treats

All of the Balkans are recognised as very tender and kind hosts to their guests, but while in Central Montenegro you will experience what that truly means. At every household you will feel like at your own parents’ or grandparents’, everyone will be willing to help, to share, to give… We can’t wait for you to see that with your own eyes and let us know how it feels!

8. Lazy Mediterranean Lifestyle

Even if Central Montenegro is not connected to the coast directly, here you can meet Mediterranean highlanders and experience what a lazy lifestyle truly means! We are certain that you will enjoy it, but the hosts will be enjoying sharing it with you too!

This is one of the most accurate ways to learn about the new culture and to leave with magnificent memories from Montenegro!

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