Two Tickets To… Dubrovnik! The Balkans Adventure – Part 7

I think this period of our Balkans travels was a real, real treat. We’d just left the stunning Bay of Kotor behind and were winding our way towards the increasingly famous, and stunningly beautiful, Dubrovnik.

After two nights in Croatia, we would be heading to our old favourites Mostar and Sarajevo. We’d fleetingly visited the year before and couldn’t wait to spend more time there.

Day One in Dubrovnik

The road to Dubrovnik from Kotor is quite a fun drive – but the real treat arrives at the end of the journey. The route sees you hugging the cliffs, and our number one tip to anybody getting a bus on the same route is to sit on the left! The views of Dubrovnik from afar as you approach the city are stunning. Don’t miss out (or fall asleep – I’m pretty sure Lucy had to wake me up).

The only annoying thing about Dubrovnik is the location of the bus station. Dubrovnik is a much bigger place than you might otherwise give it credit for. The bus drops you a good 45-minute walk (at least) from the famous city walls, with the added insult of having to climb a relatively large hill to boot. We bought our tickets to Mostar for a couple of days time as soon as we arrived – no chance we were trekking back to the bus station again!

Seeking out our accommodation in Dubrovnik

With our journey out of Dubrovnik all sorted, we began the familiar walk towards the old town and our accommodation. For budget reasons, we’d gone for a place with good reviews about 15 minutes walk from the old town. After quite some wandering around, we eventually found it down an unlikely-looking cut through.

With no idea how to announce our arrival, we bravely rang the doorbell and were greeted (bizarrely) by a 12-year-old girl who welcomed us, gave us keys and accepted the payment. To her credit, she spoke outstanding English for her age.

It turned out that our room was just in their family home, and whilst it had an ensuite bathroom, it was only separated from the bedroom by a thin wooden sheet – basically a curtain. How intimate. After a quick refresh and chill out (we had climbed a hill after all!), it was time to get reacquainted with Dubrovnik Old Town!

Battling the crowds in Dubrovnik Old Town

Unfortunately for us, a day’s travelling (and the heat) had taken its toll on both of us; we ended up spending most of the time complaining and despairing at the number of tourists. It was easily the most touristy place we’ve ever been to. So beautiful, but so busy.

Feeling slightly defeated by the world, we treated ourselves to ice cream and a chill out by the waterfront. Somehow, ice cream never fails to improve any situation. Nevertheless, we retired back to our fake-ensuite bedroom shortly afterwards.

It was not a 15-minute walk back up the hill from town as advertised! Exhausted. Sleep. Recharge the batteries.

Day Two: Exploring Dubrovnik again!

Today was Sunday, and I’m reliably informed (via Lucy’s trip diary) that it was “a better day”. There was even a slight hint of a lie-in – relatively speaking, of course. A full-blown lie-in would have to wait for another day – there were city walls that needed climbing!

At first glance, £10 to walk on some walls could be seen to be extortionate. You don’t get anything else for your money – no museums, guided tours or information booklets. Well, you don’t need them.

Dubrovnik City Walls

The city walls are worth every penny of the entry fee – spectacular views all around, and a welcome relief from the packed chaos of the streets below. It’s a fantastic way to get a whole new perspective on the old town, spying alleys and terraces that you wouldn’t otherwise have seen – as well as a cute little clifftop bar which we decided to try and find later.

Meandering along, the orange rooftops of the city were a particular highlight – classic picture postcard Dubrovnik. Towards the end of our trek around, we even went looking for the dragons in the House of the Undying (a reference that will be lost on any non Game of Thrones viewers).

In total, we probably managed to spend just under 2 hours slowly walking around. We’d quite happily have made another loop, but water supplies were running low, and you’re only allowed to go round once.

Seeking Dubrovnik’s Clifftop Bars

Having made our way back down to ground level, we grabbed some Burek (obviously). We continued the Game of Thrones theme by taking a walk down to Blackwater Bay, where we amused ourselves by listening to the horrendously overpriced Game of Thrones tours that were taking place. Seriously guys, just Google the locations and wander around yourself – it’s all free! Next, we trekked up to a castle-thing before dragging our overheating selves back into the old town on a quest to find the clifftop bar!

And find it we did! What a fantastic location, and one which we’d never have found if it wasn’t for the city wall trek. Two cokes and a gorgeous view kept us amused for a good hour or so. There are plenty of boats and kayaks drifting past below you to keep you entertained for an entire afternoon if you wanted. We highly recommend it if you’re looking for a relaxing spot away from the busy main streets.

Following the clifftop bar (probably all downhill from there!), we went on a hunt for food of the non-pastry variety. Burek is great, but it does leave you feeling slightly greasy after a while!

Our “healthy” food came in a rather lovely family-run seafood restaurant in a side square – it wasn’t cheap, but it was so fresh. We decided to get a massive sharing platter of seafood – calamari rings, baby octopus, and whitebait; all served with healthy portions of salad and chips. So good. You couldn’t go to a town like Dubrovnik and not have the seafood!

Sunset in Dubrovnik

After dinner, it was time for another adventure – the cable car up to the top of the hill overlooking the city. We didn’t know too much about it, so we wandered to the ticket booth and decided to go for it then and there. Our cable car left just before the sun began to set – which meant we got some stunning views of the old town and the islands as the light faded.

We left the main viewpoint and walked past the imperial fort. It is a symbol of the defence of Dubrovnik during the 1991 war, but is now left to ruin. Climbing up some steps led us to an almost deserted mountain top from which we could see a much clearer view of the old town to our left and the islands to our right.

We sat down on some very uncomfortable rocks and just enjoyed the sunset. Needless to say – wow. If you find yourself going up the cable car for sunset, ditch the main area and walk past the fort. So worth it.

Once the light faded and we had our views of Dubrovnik at night, we headed back down for a final wander through the old town before trekking back up the hill to our room for some much-needed sleep before a self-imposed early start the following day.

Day Three: Early Start in Dubrovnik

To avoid the crowds, we decided to deliberately wake up at 5:15am – drastic action, but we planned to head into the old town whilst it was completely deserted. It’s such good fun wandering around a place you know will be heaving in a few hours. And it makes for great photos in the sunrise!

Our tactic worked, as we walked through the main gate completely alone.

The only people around in the old town were setting up their restaurants and shops – which meant that, for a whole glorious hour, we had the old town entirely to ourselves to explore.

We darted around, taking photos of all our favourite spots – undisturbed and unobserved! Gradually, from about 7am onwards, the tourists (coaches and cruises) started to arrive, and we made our exit.

Before we knew it, our two nights in Dubrovnik were over, and it was time to pack up and leave our bizarre accommodation. There was another overheaty trek to the bus station, and suddenly we were Mostar bound! It was sad to leave Dubrovnik behind, but we’d packed so much into our time there that we left nice and content – and we will, at some point, be back.

Read Next:

• Two nights in the beautiful Bay of Kotor
• Two nights in wonderful Mostar
• Our favourite Balkan cities