I woke up this morning at 6am and the Adriatic was so smooth I couldn’t tell if we were moving or not. We were indeed moving and about two hours later we were moored just off the coast of Dubrovnik. Woo hoo! It was our first time to Croatia so Natalie and I were excited about our visit.
Once our ship was cleared by immigrations we took one of the two tenders into the town and walked around the Old City. BTW: Seabourn did a great job with the tenders; we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes and the ride took just about the same.
Dubrovnik is situated on the Dalmatian Coast and is considered the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’. It was an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century onwards and even though it was severely damaged by the 1667 earthquake, they still managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. The city was damaged again during the war in the 1990s but after a major restoration program coordinated by UNESCO, it’s back to its glory days.
There’s so much to see and learn that you really should arrange for a guide. Thanks to my friend Ashley Colburn I was referred to Tanja Bosnic who owns a travel agency based in Dubrovnik and she provides services all around the region including Montenegro (a two-hour drive fro Dubrovnik) called Lux Travel. Below are Tania’s top 10 things to do while in Dubrovnik. We were only able to do a few of them which means we’ve got to come back!
10 Things to do while in Dubrovnik
- Cable car ride to the top of the Srdj hill above the town (hike as well, when it is not too hot)
- Lokrum island
- Buza Bar for drinks
- City Walls
- Franciscan Monastery with old pharmacy
- Oyster farms in Ston – oyster tasting directly from the sea, on the boat
- Botanical garden in the village of Trsteno – Arboretum
- Cavtat and Konavle region – old mills on the river (one of them still functions ), wine tasting and cooking lessons – how to prepare traditional lamb and veal baked under the iron bell, in the fireplace
- Elafiti islands by speedboat, snorkeling in hidden bays
- The island of Mljet – National Park with two salt water lakes
Highlights for me were walking around the entire city walls, getting lost in the winding streets of the old town, jumping off the rocks into the clear warm waters of the Adriatic and watching the sun set. The lowlight was walking into the Maritime Museum and having their receptionist, Bianca, be so rude that I felt like reporting her to the tourism authorities. Obviously, I can’t let one grumpy jerk ruin my trip and it turned out everyone else I met was friendly and helpful and I can’t wait to go back.
Useful links:
Old City of Dubrovnik – UNESCO
Related Posts:
Day 1: Venice, Italy
Day 2: Sea Day
Day 3: Kotor, Montenegro
Day 4: Corfu, Greece
Day 5: Brindisi, Italy
Day 7: Split, Croatia
Day 8: Sali, Croatia
Day 9: Rovinj, Croatia