CROATIA

Dubrovnik, the “Pearl of the Adriatic,” is a city that blends history, culture, and breathtaking coastal beauty. Its ancient city walls, stretching for nearly two kilometers, offer panoramic views of terracotta rooftops, the sparkling Adriatic, and the surrounding islands. Inside the walls, the old town is a labyrinth of cobbled streets, grand churches, and charming squares, each corner telling stories of centuries past.

Beyond the history, Dubrovnik offers a vibrant atmosphere with bustling markets, cozy cafés, and local eateries serving fresh seafood and traditional Croatian dishes. The nearby beaches and crystal-clear waters invite relaxation, swimming, and exploration by boat or kayak. Whether you’re wandering the historic streets, watching the sunset over the city walls, or discovering hidden corners of the old town, Dubrovnik is a destination that leaves a lasting impression and a sense of awe at every turn.

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Why We Love It​ - I personally didn't LOVE Dubrovnik but Oli did. I did really enjoy it though but the price of everything was just crazy and coming from Albania and then Montenegro where it was very cheap, we had a bit of a culture shock because the prices were more than London prices. There was plenty to do there though but it was HEAVING with tourists, if you love being in a tourist trap then Dubrovnik is certainly for you.  

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How To Get There - Coming from Montenegro we had booked a bus from Kotor to Dubrovnik bus station which cost us around £81. We had read horror stories about the Montenegro / Croatia boarder crossing because of the sheer amount of time it takes to cross, how slow they are and just sitting in traffic waiting and to some degree we did have that, we were delayed getting into Dubrovnik for around 2 hours - but the bus was late getting into Montenegro as well. But if you get the earlier bus, the less time you will spend at the boarder-crossing.

 

Where To Stay -​ We wanted to stay right in the Dubrovnik old town and as such we decided to book via Airbnb as we found it to be cheaper and more convenient than being outside of the city walls. As we were inside, everything was in walking distance. We found a beautiful little flat that was perfect for the 3 of us just but this was by far our most expensive accommodation in the Balkans at £253 for 3 nights. 

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How Long Do You Need - 3 days was more than enough for us. Really you don't need much more than this unless you want to spend time at the beach too, which we didn't do. 

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What To Do - There certainly are plenty of things to do here that will keep you busy for your duration, but we did feel that once you had been to one place in the Balkans so close the things to do became quite similar - such as the cable cars, there is no need to do one in each place. 

• Guided City Walk - This was a great tour and Jax actually enjoyed this one too as our guide was brilliant. We booked The Old Town & City Walls Combo tour via Get Your Guide. The knowledge from the guide was fantastic and it was such a fascinating tour to go on to learn more about the history of the walled city, 

• Blue Cave & Sunj Beach Speedboat Tour - This was one of our favourite tours and things to do in Dubrovnik. The boat picks you up in the harbour and takes you on a beautiful speedboat road to several blue caves. Once anchored you can jump into the sea and go and explore the caves which was so much fun. The tour included alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks too and stopped off at a place called Lopud Island for a wander around and an ice cream. We had a great bunch of people on our boat tour and they let Jax take charge of the music too which was great as he has fantastic taste in music too. We booked the Blue Cave & Sunj Beach Speedboat Tour via Get Your Guide. 

• Harbour Walks - Take some time to visit the harbour to sit and watch the boats going in and out. Why not grab an ice cream from one of the vendors near by 

• Explore inside the city walls - Make your own way around the city walls, exploring all the nooks, behind the doors that lead to tiny cafe's on the cliffs and enjoy the quiet away from the tourists in the square. 

• Day trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina - this Mostar and Kravica Waterfall Day Trip was absolutely fantastic. This was one of the highlights of our whole Balkan trip. If you have a day to do this, we would highly recommend it. We chose the guided tour by van for up to 18 people to make the tour even better. Everything went very smoothly, remember you will need your passport as you head into Bosnia, the guide was fantastic and handled all legalities of this and we were left to enjoy the day. We were lucky enough to see the bridge jumpers of Stari Most bridge, that alone was worth the trip there. We walked the cobbled streets, enjoyed ice cream, watched the bridge jumpers, dipped in the water of Kravica Falls. Highly recommended. 

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Dubrovnik With Kids​ - Whilst we have no issues with Jax in a city like this, some children may find it overwhelming. However, if your children ok with the hustle and bustle of a busy city then there is plenty of things to do for kids to enjoy in this city, we saw lots of families there with you younger children. 

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Getting About​ - everything is on foot. There are no cars / transport inside the old city walls. If you are coming from outside of the walls then there are plenty of busses & Taxis to get around.  

 

Where To Eat - Meals in Dubrovnik are very expensive but there is something for everyone. We ate in several different places and we did try to keep the cost down as much as possible by having breakfast from the Bakery that is located just outside the city walls above the Harbour

• Tuttobete - is a local eatery which sells "cheaper" delicious food. You can buy pizza, chicken nuggets and chips, Chicken Kebab wraps - you are still looking at around 30euros to eat here but we did find this was one of the cheaper options around Dubrovnik 

• Taj Mahal - really beautiful Bosnian food. If you have the money and you want to eat somewhere lovely then we would highly recommend eating here. We would suggest you book a table as it gets very busy, very quickly. We did however turn up and managed to get a table, but only just - we were lucky. The meal we had was very delicious, we were recommended this restaurant by our Airbnb host too. 

• Tata's Burgers & Cocktails - again another expensive place for burgers, but the burgers were really nice. There was a good selection to choose from and they were very tasty.