Technically, the vacation kicked off for us in New York. While I was looking into buying tickets for the Kingston-NYC leg of the trip, I realised that it was going to be Broadway week while we would be transiting. During Broadway week, you can tickets for many of the shows 50% off. I love Broadway, and I figured I should capitalise on the opportunity. So I decided to go a day early and spend a night in New York so that we could catch a show. We ended up watching Anastasia and it was excellent! The next morning we met up with the rest of our travel crew, Stephen and N’Gina, and off we went to Dubrovnik!

Dubrovnik

How We Got There

Our route to Dubrovnik was NYC- Istanbul- Dubrovnik via Turkish Airlines. We chose Turkish airlines because it was one of the more reasonably priced options, with less hassle. Also, we were also able to easily book our return flight out of Istanbul, which was the terminal stop on this trip. The flight from NYC- Istanbul was about 11 hours long. Then after a quick layover, we were in Dubrovnik about 2 1/2 hours later.

Dubrovnik is a Croatian City on the Adriatic Sea, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic”, Dubrovnik has a very well-preserved Old Town, which is completely ringed by medieval fortress walls.

We opted for an airport transfer into the city. Since it was a group (four) of  us, it really didn’t end up being that costly. When I travel solo, I usually look at public transport options first, and then make a decision based on ease weighed against cost.  This time around, it was nice not have to think about it having travelled for so many hours.

Our driver dropped us off at the Ploce Gate, which was built in the 14th Century and is the main entrance into the Old Town. From here we would have to make our way in on foot, as the Old Town is completely pedestrianised.

Where We Stayed

During this trip, we stayed in a mix of apartments and hotels. For Dubrovnik, we opted for an apartment we booked on Airbnb. In cities such as this, I usually try to stay in the Old Town, or as near to it as I can get . You’ll find that this is where a lot of the action is, and usually where most of the things that you want to see are anyway.   The original apartment that we were looking to book was located just a little outside the Old Town. However, we kept our eyes open and eventually a reasonably priced apartment in the heart of the Old Town popped up, so we went for it! When you stay in the Old Town, most of the things you want to see and do are within walking distance. So this also helps to cut down on transport costs as well as time spent getting around.

What We Did

Day 1

We ended up arriving in Dubrovnik pretty early, with the whole day ahead of us. Before 9 am, the place was pretty quiet and we were temporarily deceived into thinking that things might stay that way. We were wrong however, the throngs of tourist groups (mainly cruise ship passengers and day-trippers) began to stream in steadily, and soon the place was buzzing. Considering that we were there in the shoulder season rather than the high season (summer), I can’t imagine what the crowds during the high season are like!

We had some time to kill before our apartment would be ready. So after we dropped off our bags with our host, we decided to go off in search of breakfast.  Unfortunately we ended up with one of the worst breakfasts I’ve ever had the misfortune of purchasing. To make matters worse it was expensive to boot. We belatedly realized that this restaurant we chose randomly in a square, was actually attached to a hotel. In fact, one of the few hotels within the Old town, so that made it pricier. I blame the jet lag!  Anyway we soon got over the that initial faux pas and spent a little time walking around and familiarising ourselves with the city.

Eventually we decided to go back round to our apartment; we were definitely ready to shower, nap etc having been up and about for so long.   Later, when we had recovered a little, we spruced up and hit the road. We set off with no particular aim, but we ended up seeing quite a few of the sights we meant to tick off. For instance, one of the first things we spotted was the set of steps where they filmed Cersei’s “Walk of Shame” as well as the site of  “The battle of Blackwater Bay”. Yes, as you may have deduced, we are all Game of Thrones fans. Dubrovnik’s Old Town is where most of the filming for King’s Landing is located.

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We walked around a bit an happened upon Buza Bar, (otherwise known as the “hole-in-the-wall”), which is supposedly one of the Dubrovnik hotspots. To be honest, you can skip it, especially if you are pressed for time. The view aside (cliffside views of the Adriatic and Lokrum Island), there is really nothing special going here. The drinks are pricey, and they don’t serve food… of any sort … at all. They don’t even serve their drinks with ice! Needless to say, our stop here wasn’t long.

After walking around and exploring for a bit more, we had a dockside dinner at Lokanda Peskarija. Gina and I decided to share the seafood platter since both our husbands are allergic to shellfish. What are the odds right? It was very good, I really enjoyed it and would recommend.

There wasn’t much going on that night and we figured that it was probably because it was a Sunday. However we realised that beyond a certain time, there really isn’t much going on within the city walls at night. It reminds me a bit of Venice in that respect, in that the town empties out at night when the day trippers and persons staying outside the city walls, (or off the island in the case of Venice) leave for the night.

Day 2

The next day we had leisurely morning and a much, much better breakfast. On that day (which was a Monday rather than the slightly slower- paced Sunday the day before), the city was teeming with THOUSANDS of people. It felt almost like a theme park at times. You are walking around a very well preserved medieval city.  In essence, within the walls, it is not really a living town per se, but more of a showpiece.

We then decided to head up to the Panorama Restaurant which is located on a hilltop (Srdj) overlooking the Old Town. You can get up there by car/bus, but one of the “things to do” in Dubrovnik (and the quickest route) is to take the cable cars up.

If you want a seat with the best view at Panorama, you HAVE to make a reservation. It is very unlikely that you will walk in and get the Instagram view. The ambiance is pretty nice regardless.

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We spent a few hours here and then made our way back down into the Old Town.

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On the way down we happened upon the souvenir store that has a replica of the Iron Throne. The gag is, you have to buy something  before you can take a photo on the throne. Of course, their prices are slightly marked up in comparison to nearby stores. but you want the shot right?

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Later on in the afternoon we went to walk the city walls. The walls are 1,940m long and you can walk all the way around them. However, there are stops along the way that you can get down at if you choose to. We did about 3/4 of the route. There are bars, as well as vendors selling drinks, snacks and ice cream along the way.  This was a blessing because best believe we were in need of some water about half-way through. I would not recommend doing this in the middle of the day, you will fry. Go in the morning, or early evening. Trust me.

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That night we had dinner at a restaurant that our hosts recommended, Kopun. The name of the restaurant refers to the type of fowl that is their specialty- castrated roosters. The thinking is that castrated roosters lack the drive to fight other roosters and impress mates, therefore they can devote their energies to becoming tender. I’m not sure if there really is a huge difference, but this is what we were told.

I left feeling a little disappointed  because what I thought I ordered wasn’t quite what I got. That was probably mostly my fault for not asking the right questions, so I won’t hold it against them too much. Fortunately, our culinary experiences only got better from this point onward.

Again, there’s not a whole going on at night. If you are looking for excitement at night, you will have to venture beyond the city walls here.

In hindsight, we could have probably done the highlights of Dubrovnik in one (full) day and then used the second day for a day trip elsewhere- say to Montenegro, or Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, I don’t regret how we ended up spending the time we had there.

Next stop was Split! Look out for my next post.

Tips

• If you want crowd -free pics, get up early and hit the spots before 9 am; that’s when the crowds really start pouring in.
• Try to stay within the city walls/Old Town or walking distance away- will help cut down on transport costs and time spent getting around.
• Skip Buza Bar.
• Do NOT walk the city walls in the middle of the day- you will regret it