There are numerous things to see and do in Dubrovnik. This is one of Croatia’s – and all of Europe’s – most scenic old towns. In this article, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about travelling to this beautiful walled city so that you can make the most of a visit here.
¿Por qué ir?
Entering the walls of the fortified old town of Dubrovnik is like walking into a movie set, and understandably so. This is King’s Landing! The actual city where much of the popular HBO series, game of Thrones was filmed. Its fairytale castle setting, with walls dominating the craggy Adriatic coastline, is a sight that travellers have flocked to for centuries.
Visiting Dubrovnik is an absolute must on any Croatian itinerary, but knowing how to travel it properly is also important. There is a lot to see and do in Dubrovnik, with many hidden corners, surprisingly entertaining tours and brilliant walks that everyone who visits this city shouldn’t miss!
Cuando ir
March – may or September – November
(July & August are extreme peak season, winter is cold and rainy)
As one of Eastern Europe’s most visited cities, it’s important that you plan your trip to Dubrovnik for the right time. When we visited at the end of February of 2016, the weather was pretty rainy and cold, many restaurants were closed, the sea was unswimmable and the place was pretty much empty.
Come March 1st, Dubrovnik started to transform, almost as though tourism and climate was working on a schedule with a simple on and off switch. shops and restaurants started opening, the air warmed and the entire city began to wake from a long, cold slumber.
If you’re going to visit Dubrovnik, I highly recommend visiting from March to the end of May, or even better, September to November when the sea is warmer. during the peak season of July and August, the place becomes crammed with visitors, and the winter can be cold, quiet and closed down.
We’ve talked to people who visited during the peak season and said they felt claustrophobic within the city walls because there were so many tourists. This isn’t to say that you should avoid Dubrovnik if you have no choice but to arrive in the peak or off-season, but you should be aware of the inherent crowds and the potentially dreary weather.
Donde quedarse
We stayed at Celenga Apartments
€67 / night in the off-season, €91 in shoulder and €161 in the high season
Picking a hotel or apartment in Dubrovnik is essential to making the most of your visit. ¿Por qué? because you have two distinct options for the area you will stay, inside or outside of the walls. While we loved the city both within and away from the city walls, we definitely recommend staying inside the fortress itself.
Waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside your 500-year-old windowsill and looking outside to see a cobblestone alleyway with laundry blowing in the warm breeze is an remarkable experience. By staying in the walls, you’ll have a better feeling of the fairytale world that is Dubrovnik.
Every single road within the fortress walls is pedestrian only, meaning that when you step into the gates, you effectively step back in time.
If you stay outside of the walls, you’ll still find nice old hotels and lovely back lanes, but the charm is somewhat lost amongst the loud traffic and bustling street life.
We stayed in Celenga Apartments, which is right in the center of the old town. The rooms were large, modern, bright and extremely comfortable. the best part was that there was a kitchenette in the suite so we could cook breakfast and coffee for ourselves, saving money.
The rooms there start at €67 / night in the off-season, €91 in shoulder and €161 in the high season. This is another reason why it’s wise to avoid July & August if possible. They also offer a 10% – 15% discount if you book and pre-pay directly on their website.
These rates may sound a bit expensive, but all accommodation in the old town is pricey compared to other Balkan cities. The cheapest hostels in town will still run you €40 – €60 / night for a private room in high season, but they don’t typically have a private bathroom or kitchen and won’t be nearly as luxurious.
We found that the money we saved from cooking the odd meal for ourselves and brewing our own coffee with our Handpresso machine really made the cost of an apartment rental comparable.
What To See & do in Dubrovnik
There is actually a lot to see and do in Dubrovnik. many people only spend a day here and claim it’s enough, but I think that there’s plenty of sights to occupy travellers for 5 nights, or even a week. here are some of the top things to see and do inDubrovnik:
El Stradun: aunque todo el casco antiguo de Dubrovnik es solo peatonal, el Stradun St. es la vía principal de la ciudad. Muchas tiendas, restaurantes y cafés bordean esta calle y hay una arquitectura hermosa. También hay algunos touts agresivos aquí también (evítelos).
Camine las murallas de la ciudad: esta es una debía hacer definitiva para cualquier persona que visite Dubrovnik. Caminar por las murallas de la ciudad le dará una buena idea del tamaño, el diseño y el entorno impresionante de la ciudad, pero también es uno de los pasos más hermosos que puede tomar.
Caminar todo el círculo de las paredes tomará alrededor de 2 horas (incluidas algunas paradas para fotos) y le costará 120kn ($ 17.50). Es un boleto costoso seguro, pero definitivamente vale la pena.
Game of Thrones Tour: Esta es una necesidad definitiva para cualquier fanático de la serie HBO y fue lo más destacado del viaje para nosotros. Echa un vistazo a ToursByLocals.com y vea si pueden configurarlo con Tom. Él es el tipo que inventó esta gira ahora famosa y a menudo duplicada. Es un juego de Juego de Tronos, que es súper apasionado por el programa, los lugares de filmación y su ciudad natal de Dubrovnik.
Fortaleza Lovrijenac (San Lorenzo): fuera de las paredes de Dubrovnik, hay otra fortaleza similar a un castillo que domina una gran salida rocosa adyacente a la puerta occidental. Este lugar era originalmente una iglesia, pero con el tiempo se convirtió en secreto en una fortaleza dominante que se usaba para defender la ciudad de los ataques por mar.
Si tomas la gira Game of Thrones, pasarás mucho tiempo aquí, ya que se filmaron muchas escenas en la fortaleza.
PIERDE: Si bien el casco antiguo de Dubrovnik no es muy grande y la mayoría de los principales lugares de interés se pueden ver en un día, hay docenas de carriles traseros y esquinas ocultas que podría perderse completamente si solo se adhiere al sendero turístico.
Considere pasar un día tratando de bajar por todas las calles que te hayas perdido. Encontrarás hermosas casas viejas con balcones de hierro de barra, iglesias secretas e incluso algunos restaurantes menos conocidos.
La Iglesia de San Blaize: la fachada adornada de esta iglesia del siglo XVIII domina el extremo sur de la plaza más pintoresca de Dubrovnik. Dirígete hacia adentro para ver columnas barrocas ornamentadas y una elegante lámpara de araña colgada del techo.
Catedral de Dubrovnik: Detrás de St.Blaize y Up a una icónica escalera del siglo XVII, esta catedral de estilo boroque tiene ejemplos sorprendentes de arte y frescos en el interior.
Haga lo que hacen los lugareños: mientras deambulas por los carriles adoquinados y miras en las impresionantes fachadas de Dubrovnik, considere aparecer en un café para tomar un café (o 10) en algún momento durante todo el día. Los croatas son demonios de café y les encanta sentarse en plazas y beber espresso todo el día. ¡Deberías hacer lo mismo!
Gradac Park: a las afueras de la puerta occidental y detrás de la Fortaleza de St.Lawrence, este parque sensacional compensa la falta de espacio verde dentro de las murallas de la ciudad. Las vistas sobre el Adriático son impresionantes desde aquí y hay algunos senderos encantadores que puedes tomar.
Ver todo el parque solo tomará una hora más o menos, pero puede regresar una y otra vez para escapar del ajetreo de la ciudad.
Dónde comer en Dubrovnik (y dónde no))
Hay muchos pequeños restaurantes encantadores escondidos en las calles secundarias de todo el casco antiguo, pero antes de entrar en los que definitivamente deberías intentar, tengo que advertirte sobre una estafa que se ejecuta en el Stradun.
Los tuts agresivos intentarán esta para visitar su restaurante, Gusti. Este restaurante es una estafa bien conocida en la ciudad, está en todo el asesor de Trip y los lugareños nunca le dirán que vaya allí. Atraen a los turistas desprevenidos al restaurante y luego agregan un montón de cargos falsos a la factura, a menudo duplicando el costo de la comida ya mediocre.
Nos enamoramos de esto (¡porque no teníamos datos para verificar primero TripAdvisor!), Pero afortunadamente solo nos cobraron sobre la tarifa falsa “Couvert” de 40 kuna ($ 6), pero otros se han tomado por mucho más. Nos quejamos con el propietario que básicamente nos dijo que está feliz de Rip de los turistas porque muchos no revisan las revisiones en línea y que llega a mucho tráfico de la calle que está ganando un buen dinero.
Evite estos promociones y el restaurante Gusti a toda costa.
¡Ahora para algunos lugares notables para comer en Dubrovnik!
El restaurante vegetariano Nishta: Este pequeño y pintoresco lugar sube las escaleras en el extremo norte del Stradun era nuestro lugar favorito para comer en la ciudad. El menú es completamente vegetariano, los platos están bien preparados, frescos y muy sabrosos.
Café Buza: Este lugar probablemente tenga la mejor configuración en todo Dubrovnik. abrazando un acantilado en el borde de las paredes yd looking out directly over the Adriatic Sea, you really can’t beat the views from here. Admittedly, this isn’t a “place to eat” as it’s technically just a bar, but definitely come here for some pre-drinks (or post drinks) in the early evening.
Restaurant Dubravka: Just outside the main (western) gate, this restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy a fresh seafood risotto while gazing over at the walls of the old town.
Irish Pub Karaka: Probably the most lively bar in town (especially in the off-season when only expats are here), this quaint little bar is set right in the center of the walled city and has great prices.
There isn’t technically any food here, but the wait staff can give you a menu and they’ll even bring you pub-style meals from a nearby fast food joint. It’s worth noting that there’s another Irish Pub kitty corner to Karaka, but in our experience the food and ambiance was lacking in comparison.
Getting There & Away
Rental Car: If you’re planning on returning to the place where you leave from (thus avoiding the “drop off fee”), your best bet is to hire a car as it’s cheaper than the bus. You can rent a car for cheap from Split and drive to Dubrovnik in about 3 hours and then return it to Split when you’re done visiting Dubrovnik.
The coastal road is scenic and cars can be picked up for as little as $15 / day (if you book for a week) or $22 / day when booking one day at a time.
Bus: If you’re not going to be returning to the same city after your visit in Dubrovnik, you’ll want to take a bus. There are lots of buses leaving from Split, Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) and from Kotor (Montenegro). The main bus routes are listed below.
Dubrovnik – Split: 4-6 hours (Around 125 KN / $18)
Dubrovnik – Zagreb: 10 hours (Around 220 KN / $32)
Dubrovnik – Kotor (Montenegro): 2+ hours (Around 135 KN / $20)
Dubrovnik – Belgrade (Serbia): 15 hours (Around 330 KN / $48)
Dubrovnik – Sarajevo (Bosnia): 7 hours (Around 150 KN / $22)
Fly: One of the coolest experiences you can have in Croatia is flying in a float plane over the Adriatic Sea! before you start thinking that these flights will break the budget, you can actually get from Split to Dubrovnik for less than $45! It’s worth it just for the incredible experience.
Check out our video from our flight from Split, Croatia to Pescara, Italy ?
Dangers & Annoyances
As mentioned earlier, the only real danger and annoyance in Dubrovnik is getting ripped off by tourist prices. avoid Gusti restaurant and check the menu for extra charges like “couvert”.
Couvert charges aren’t always a rip off. This is common practice in Italy and parts of France, but it should be clearly stated that you will be charged extra and that should be the only extra charge on the bill.
¡Prepararse!
I think we’ve covered pretty much everything you need to know about travelling to the fascinating old town of Dubrovnik, Croatia. now it’s time to pack your bags and get there! If you’re already planning a trip to Croatia or a nearby country in the Balkans, definitely don’t miss Dubrovnik.
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