I spent 4 days in Dubrovnik in the Summer. It was hot hot hot! Arrived Sunday night, stayed at Villa Katarina. Cute little self catering apartment tucked behind the main road, up some not so cute steep steps! My apartment was next door to the owners. Set within their fruit and veg garden with a sea view. Didn’t bargain for the sea view! A sweet couple, one day the old dear gave me a plate of soft fruits (the figs were huge!) and the next day, a plate of veg.
Day 1 – Old Town and Cable Car
The day was spent exploring Old Town walking around the city walls, takes around two hours. Get there early before the crowds and before it heats up. I started at 8.30 am. There is a view from every corner, crevice, hole in the wall and side street, plenty of photo opportunities. And of course if you’re a Game of Thrones fan, there’s all that to see and do.
Lots of cute stray cats. And “beaches” (Note – sunbathing on the rocks = beach!) There is a small sandy beach near Dubrovnik Old Port. Drop into one of the two Buza bars, hanging off the cliffs (plenty of cliff jumping into the water if you’re up for it!). You can see the bars when walking the walls of Old Town.
Then headed off to the Cable Car up another steep hill. I do enjoy cable car rides and the views were amazing. Once up there and you’ve done the main two viewing platforms, walk around the back of the building and then you will see some real views, of the mountains.
I love mountains and a welcome break from the madding crowd. There are farms, hiking paths you can take, one leading to a fort and panoramic views of Old Town. I sat on the edge of a rock looking down to Old Town and had a picnic, bliss. Popular spot to watch the sunset, take a blanket to sit on, otherwise prickly bum!
There is an exhibition about the civil war. I remember watching it on the TV as a kid, quite harrowing, wars usually are so I decided to skip this. You can do a buggy safari and drive off-road around various sites on the mountain. Cable Car – activities.
Tip: You can hike up the mountain instead of taking the cable car, I didn’t realise until I spotted people walking up. That would be a pretty cool thing to do. Instead of turning right for the cable car entrance, do a left and walk up one of the side streets until you reach the foot of the mountain. There’s a guy selling tours next to the cable car entrance, ask him for directions.
Day 2 – Montenegro – Kotor and Perast
It rained slightly today and thankfully cooler. Booked a tour to Montenegro. You can catch the public bus to Kotor, however it takes four hours, then you have to get back. Decided it was more convenient to book a tour and I get to visit two places. We had to do a detour on the return, an unexpected scenic drive through Cavat, Tivat and Bay of Montenegro, to name a few.
Intrepidation at the border crossing!
First time crossing a border on my travels. Felt like a spy from a cold war movie, so cool! What with our female tour guide’s appearance, complete with husky accent, it could’ve been a scene straight out of a James Bond movie complete with Bond girl! At times, it’s moments like these that stay with you, as they are so unique in that moment. Priceless!
Crossing over from Croatia into Montenegro didn’t quite go so smoothly. Only two passport booths, one in, one out. The computer in the booth to enter into Montenegro was down after a power cut so delays in checking our passports (they were using the computer in the other booth). People were turning back, as it happened our minivan was the last through! The unpredictability and excitement of travelling. So we commenced with our scenic drive passing mountains and lakes.
Perast
A 30 minute pit stop to visit Our Lady of the Rocks, artificial island with a church. You pay to go inside the church which I didn’t, but if you stand behind the long queue when the doors are open, you can see straight in for free!
Kotor
Loved Kotor Old Town, small, quaint, narrow passageways and cobbled street, less tourists than Dubrovnik Old Town and in my opinion, much nicer. Climbed the walls, all 1,300 steep steps, in the heat, take water! There are a couple of guys selling water along the way up. Repairs were being carried out on some of the steps where foot traffic had worn them away. Awesome views from the top, watch your footing in places, steps and part of the wall have eroded away.
Note – You walk up so many steps then come to a ticket booth snuck in a corner (which caught a few of us off guard). I think the idea is you’ve walked so far so why would you turn back. Pay to continue!
Not bad views, hey?! I angled my camera so the lens was looking straight down for that epic 3 tier shot in the main photo, gives you a grand scale of how high you are and how far down it is!
Lunch was in a restaurant on the main street. Note – smoking is allowed inside restaurants.
Special mention to the tour leader. She gave such an impassioned commentary on the history of both Croatia and Montenegro. She spoke of how it was to live through the war, how her husband was a solider. Growing up as a child it didn’t matter what religion or ethnic group your friends were from. How the communist blocks from Russia’s influence in Montenegro still stand and the poor standard of living.
The captain of the national football team was a war refugee at the age of 10 and how he became one of the top players in the world. As you can imagine Croatia playing in the semi final of the World Cup was a huge thing on so many levels for Croatians.
Many of us have never lived through a war, it’s the human interest story that connects us all. I felt every word she said.
Day 3 – Boat cruise – Elafiti Islands
Visited the beautiful islands of Koločep, Šipan and Lopud. Beautiful spots for swimming, sightseeing, walking or just enjoying the sun on the boat, beach or numerous riviera terraces people watching. Fish lunch back on the old timer ship.
Tip: Lopud – from the waterfront follow the signs for Sunj beach, instead of getting the taxi up the hill, walk through the woodland to the beach, its steep, but a gorgeous walk. Got a free ride back to the harbour and headed to the ice cream parlour and pastry shop on the front! Then decked out on a bench sunbathing, picture sea lions from the Galapagos Islands! (a post for another day).
Day 4 – Lokrum
Last day and favourite. Lokrum is a 15 minute ferry ride from the Old Town port. A nature reserve with peacocks and rabbits strolling around. Walk through the botanical gardens to see the cacti. I saw my first pomegranate bush, got a little bit excited, that’s an unusual looking flower!
Visit the monastery that’s being renovated (in the grounds they hold weddings and concerts). There’s a Game of Thrones exhibition with replica throne for the photo stop. Hike up to the fort, steep, but worth it for both the fort and the panoramic views.
The Fort 
The Monastery 
The Fire Department
Lunch was in a restaurant built on the side of the monastery. One direction you could see into the monastery gardens, the other, the Adriatic and I was sat in the middle with peacocks strolling at my feet!
After lunch, went off to find a piece of rock to sunbath on. Then off for another walk to the mini dead sea around the corner, a bit further up, there’s a naturist beach. I did contemplate sunbathing there but sadly ran out of time, cheeky! Went with the intention to stay for a couple of hours. Arrived 10.30 am and got the 5.30 pm ferry back! I loved it!
Last night in Dubrovnik. Strolled off for ice cream followed by a burek (both rather yummy). Found this one shop that made the burek with cheese (it’s normally filled with ham). You can’t miss the shop, it’s the one with the long queue!
Psst took a bite before I realised I wanted to take a photo of it!
Don’t you love how the light hits these buildings?
Laku noć Dubrovnik (Good night Dubrovnik)
Travel Beyond The Ordinary
Koser ♡
