Of course one day in Dubrovnik was never going to be enough, so having completed the ‘highlights tour’ with Steve and Binni on the last day of our Sail Croatia cruise we now had another 4 days to immerse ourselves in this bewitching city before we head further south.

The harbour viewed from the walls

Part of the city walls

One of many coves near the old town

The Stradun (main street) of Dubrovnik

Walking the walls is the best way to see the city at first and gives you a good understanding of where everything is. It’s actually quite small and doesn’t take too long to navigate from one side to the other, depending on how many laneways and shops you choose to explore, so our extra time here was spent exploring some of the areas outside the walls which consequently also means marginally cheaper food and drinks.

Pile Gate entrance to the old town

Banje Beach to the south of the city

A quick boat trip out of the harbour took us to Lokrum Island for a change of scenery (and Game of Thrones filming locations if you are into that) and some walking trails amongst the botanical gardens and the remains of the old monastery. On another day when we were feeling particularly active we decided to ditch the cable car to the top of Mount Srd and hike the trail to a height of 412 metres where the 19th century Fort Imperial watches over the city. The AU$48 we saved by walking was well spent on the cocktails at the top and the sunset views over the city were gorgeous.

Sunset viewed from Mount Srd

View of the old town on the way up the mountain

Equal to Hvar it is the most expensive stop on the 6 week Croatian journey, that said though we were treated to some great meals with a wide variety in menus that has been hard to find in the smaller coastal towns everywhere else. As a firm favourite on cruise ship itineraries the old town can feel overwhelming during the day when the numbers drastically increase – on one day we counted 3 ships in port which could potentially be up to 10,000 cruise ship passengers alone. It is certainly a city we would tell you to put on your travel list, although a visit outside of high summer could reward you with fewer people and lower prices.

All up we have spent 38 days in this amazing country and have quite possibly seen more of Croatia than many Croats. The scenery all the way down the coast has been spectacular; we have had too many incredible meals, cakes, local wines and rakija (the local rocket fuel) to name them all; we have enjoyed many conversations and coffees chatting with locals; and of course got to spend a week with two of our closest friends exploring some of the best Croatia has to offer. It’s been an amazing month.

Goodbye for now Croatia, you will appear in our passports again one day for sure.