A few days in Dubrovnik

My next solo trip was to Dubrovnik. Full disclosure: I am not a Game of Thrones fan and have only seen about half of one episode so none of this post will pertain to GoT (major parts of the series was filmed in Dubrovnik). I expected Dubrovnik to be pretty different from Zagreb but it honestly felt like a different country.

Upon arrival, I was immediately overcome with how picturesque the area is and how crowded and touristy it is. I stayed in an Airbnb in the Lapad neighbourhood which is on the bay and about a 45-minute walk or 15 min drive to the Old Town area. I liked that it was just a few minute walk from my door to the sea and that the area felt a little more residential than the craziness of Old Town. There were still a ton of hotels and overpriced restaurants lining the bay and tour companies offering boat trips, etc.

Thanks to advice from an old classmate of my dad’s and online research, I had a good idea of what I wanted to do while in Dubrovnik. I decided to spend a day on one of the islands and then the remaining day and a half seeing the sites of the city. That combination proved to be a good mix of activities and I’d definitely recommend something similar.

My first full day was spent on the island of Lopud which is an hour ferry ride from the main port in Dubrovnik and there are a few options each day. I took the 10am ferry and showed up to the port a little before 9:30am to buy my ticket. It’s also possible to buy tickets in advance through the ferry’s app but it seems like this needs to happen more than 12 hours in advance. The ferry company doesn’t seem to limit the number of passengers onboard. It was packed! All seats were full and people were standing in aisles, sitting on the stairs, and occupying any and all floor space.

Lopud is gorgeous. It’s car-free minus golf carts and other similar vehicles for transportation of goods, emergencies, etc. There’s a beach right when you get off the ferry but I opted for a beach across the island, Sunj Beach. It was about a 45 minute walk from the ferry — or you can hire a golf cart for a couple Euro each way. If walking, you can either follow the road or take more of a hiking trail which is what I did and I was the only one! Everyone else chose to walk the road or the golf cart option.

I did something that was out of character for me and plopped myself on a rented lounger with an umbrella and spent most of the day reading, napping, swimming, and gazing at the sea. The beach was filled with young families, friends, and couples sunbathing and playing in the water. A lot of the families had quite the age gap between the women and men — at least from the outsider observer’s perspective.

I got one meal while on the island. I found a place that was a little removed from the ocean in hopes of avoiding crazy tourist prices and a calmer atmosphere. Rajski kutak Bindo did not disappoint! I ordered their white fish which was white sea bass. It was grilled perfectly and pretty much whole. The Aperol spritz was a nice accompaniment.

I opted for the last ferry of the day to get as much time on the island as possible and to see the sunset on the ride back. The boat was equally packed on the return journey and the sunset made for a nice addition to the already stunning view.

The next day I spent exploring Dubrovnik. It is a beautiful city with a lot of charm and a lovely location on the water. I paid the expensive admissions ticket of about $30 to walk the city walls — you literally climb a bunch of stairs and walk around the periphery of the city on the top of the walls. It’s a very cool way of seeing Old Town as well as getting views of the surrounding areas. The walls took about 500 years to construct and survived the massive 1667 earthquake.

Walking the walls was a nice complement to the walking tour I did within Old Town, a UNESCO site.

The tour was very informative. I learned that Dubrovnik was an independent republic for about five centuries, until the 19th century, and was not called Dubrovnik, but the Republic of Ragusa. It was one of two well-established trade ports — the other being Venice — and the two cities were rivals. Ragusa’s walls were actually constructed to protect it from Venice. Ragusa had a major setback when a huge earthquake struck the area in 1667 and destroyed about 80% of the buildings within the city.

I also learned that one of the oldest continually operating pharmacies is in a monastery in the old town of Dubrovnik and it recently celebrated its 700th birthday! Also, in some of the photos above, it’s clear that there are two very different shades of roof tiles — some that are a dull cream color and others that are bright red. The cream colored tiles are ones that survived the Homeland War of the 1990s while the red ones are new tiles that were installed after the war which resulted in the damage of 60% of the old town buildings.

I wanted to get a view of the larger area so I hopped on the cable car. At the top, there are some incredible views of the city, the sea, and the greater landscape.

There’s also a fancy restaurant at the top, Panorama. I usually avoid these types of places but it was recommended by my dad’s classmate and I had read about their delicious ice coffee.

To get some more walking in, I opted for the hike down instead of the cable car. The walk down has stunning views and sculptures at each turn of the switchbacks.

For my final night, I struggled a bit to find a restaurant in the Lapad neighbourhood that was not booked with reservations. I foolishly assumed that a Wednesday night at the beginning of dinner service wouldn’t be a problem for a solo diner. My third attempt was successful and I had a fantastic meal at Maskeron — more white sea bass!

I definitely enjoyed my few days in Dubrovnik. It is a gorgeous city in a breathtaking location. The sheer amount of tourists can be a bit overwhelming and I was told what I experienced was marked decrease from the crowds pre-COVID. It was disappointing to learn that Dubrovnik as a city does a poor job with recycling, the worst in Croatia one person claimed. This was noticeable in the lack of recycling and compost options throughout and the use of plastic straws and less ecofriendly items at various restaurants. Nevertheless, I am very grateful for the time I had exploring this beautiful area of Croatia.

Next up: my first international rental car experience and a road trip to Montenegro.

Tips for Traveling to Dubrovnik:

• Bolt car share does operate in Dubrovnik and is an option for getting around and to/from the airport. However, it is about $40 to get to the main area of town from the airport this way.
• There’s an airport shuttle bus (big coach bus) that makes two stop — one in old town and the other at the main bus station by the port. It’s 55 Kuna one-way and you purchase the ticket inside the airport (cash or card accepted). The ride to the bus station took about an hour.
• The city buses cost 12 Kuna if you buy in advance at a ticket booth or 15 Kuna if you buy on the bus. You need to validate the ticket on the bus. Stops aren’t typically announced so you need to pay close attention to the route and the stop you need.