Think of a long weekend break in the Balkans and Croatia will probably spring to mind. The EU’s youngest member has seen its popularity soar, thanks in part to its starring role in the HBO series Game of Thrones.

But popularity can be a curse. Head to Dubrovnik, Split or Hvar, and you’ll find big crowds and high prices. Montenegro, however, its neighbour to the south, remains less discovered – a destination where empty beaches and sleepy villages still exist.

Think of Montenegro as Croatia’s quieter side: the ‘Black Mountain’ shares the same breathtaking blue waters, lush forests and magnificent walled cities – the only thing it doesn’t have is too many people.

We touched down in Tivat, the gateway to the Bay of Kotor – a Unesco World Heritage Site known locally as ‘Boka’. Our accommodation is Villa Stari Mlin (villastarimlin.com), a luxury villa high up on the Lustica Peninsula that requires a hire car to reach as access to the region is difficult by public transport.

The drive isn’t for the faint hearted – winding roads and hairpin bends – but the peninsula is wild and beautiful, dotted with olive groves, lush farmland and pretty villages filled with picturesque red-tiled stone houses.

The Bay of Kotor Credit: GETTY

And, once you arrive at Villa Stari Mlin, your reward is 180-degree views of the Bay of Kotor – one of the most beautiful bays in the world – and a warm welcome and glass of locally made rakija (similar to schnapps) from Marija, the wonderful housekeeper.

Villa Stari Mlin lay neglected and uninhabited on the Lustica Peninsula for several years until William Willson and Jonathan Wiggin got their hands on it in 2014. The British friends found the villa while driving around the region and, undeterred by a challenging renovation project, decided to, William says, “roll the dice and go for it”. “It was a divorce present to myself,” he jokes.

Over the space of two years the pair sympathetically restored the 400-year-old property to its former glory while making it fit for the 21st-century traveller: all of the five individually designed and decorated rooms are equipped with John Lewis bedding, ensuite bathrooms, air conditioning and heating, while there’s Wi-Fi throughout the property, including the kitchen/dining room and spacious sitting room that have been decorated with a combination of English and continental antiques and contemporary furniture. The result is a “bit of Britain in Montenegro,” says William.

A room in Villa Stari Mlin

Our first afternoon was lost to a much needed poolside siesta, but in the evening we re-emerged and headed to Porto Montenegro. Canadian billionaire Peter Munk and partners purchased the former naval shipyard back in 2011 and, no doubt wooed by the beauty of the sheltered cove, set about turning it into an exclusive marina and yachting paradise to rival Monaco.

Happily though, Porto Montenegro isn’t full of flashy people preening like parakeets – just chilled locals and unpretentious visitors whiling away a warm September evening over freshly cooked seafood in one of the marina’s many restaurants.

The following day, after a breakfast of Njeguški sir cheese, bread, figs from the villa’s private garden, we were ready to explore, and set out for Kotor, the small medieval town from which the fjord-like bay gets its name.

Guarding sparkling waters and backed by a near vertical cliffs, the walled city offers everything Dubrovnik does – but has not yet wilted under the tourism limelight. It’s a warren of meandering backstreets peppered with cafes, courtyards and shops selling cat paraphernalia (the historic town is home to so many cats that they’ve become the unofficial symbol of Kotor, and there’s even a Cat Museum for feline fanatics).

The port is cat heaven Credit: GETTY

From Kotor, it’s an enjoyable boat ride to tiny Perast. A jewel of a town, dubbed the ‘Montenegrin Venice’, boasts baroque palaces that were once the home of Venetian princes and Russian czars, and 16 churches – despite having just one main street.

Perast’s most famous church, Our Lady of the Rocks, appears to float offshore. Legend has it that the man-made islet on which it sits was built on the spot where a miraculous image of the Madonna and Jesus was found by local seamen.

Our Lady of the Rocks Credit: getty

On our final day we ventured to the sleepy fishing village of Rose, whose stone fisherman’s cottages look out across the bay to Herceg Novi. Pronounced “Ro-seh”, it is a sweet spot to spend an afternoon sipping a glass of Vranac (Montenegro’s indigenous red varietal) but do make time to take the passenger ferry to the former Venetian town of Herceg Novi, where 100,001 whitewashed steps lead upto shiny squares, the Turkish-built Kanli Kula fortress and cobbled streets that pulsate with cafe dwellers.

Herceg Novi Credit: GETTY

At Gradksa Kafana, we headed to the suntrap deck out the back where we ate the most heavenly platter of cheese drizzled in local honey while listening to the lake’s waves quietly lap the shore. It was hard to believe that in less than 12 hours we would be back in Brexit Britain.

Smaller than Yorkshire, and with a miniscule population of 630,000, Montenegro really is a manageable gem, with friendly locals and low prices.

But there’s a sense that could soon change: we spied construction underway on a number of projects including Portonovi (portonovi.com), a swanky 26 hectare resort being built near Herceg Novi that’s sure to attract a similar crowd to Croatia. All of which means now is the time to visit before things change and the spell breaks.