Dubrovnik: A Travel Diary




Day 1
I took a very spur of the moment trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia, which resulted in my having to take three flights there.

But after finally arriving at the airport it was a simple coach transfer to the Old Town - the coach was cheap, fairly frequent and took around 40 minutes. The Old Town is pedestrian access only so the coach drops you near the main gate - Pile gate (pronounced 'pee-lay').

I was staying in a hostel in the Old Town and luckily I had directions downloaded to my phone as it was not easy to find and didn't even have a sign.

This town is not suitcase friendly; so many steps! 'Lil Scottish me was sweating buckets by the time I checked in.

I dropped my bag, changed and went exploring.


My first impression of Dubrovnik is that it was buzzing with tourists. Thankfully, it quietens down a bit after midday once a few thousand people go back to their cruise ships.

The second impression of Dubrovnik is that it seems like you really have walked right into King's Landing (I'm not a Game of Thrones obsessive but even I can appreciate this).

The first attraction I took in was the wall around the Old Town. The wall is the main tourist attraction and remains open until 7pm. It costs about £10 and also includes your entrance to the fort beyond the Old Town walls. Both are great ways to see the whole of the town and the surrounding sea.


That night I found a pizza place for dinner (the pizzas here are pretty nice, Italian style) and drank some wine with new friends (I can tell you that the wine here is also pretty nice hehe).

We went for a couple of drinks at Buza bar (pronounced 'boo-jaa') where the crazy peeps can cliff jump. And then we found ourselves just off the main street in a couple of Irish bars and an alleyway with loads of other fun bars where we danced and drank some more!

Day 2


I jumped aboard a morning ferry from the Old Port across to Lokrum island.

The return ticket is cheap and runs every half hour throughout the day.



I spent several hours exploring this island and loved it.



There are several rock formations around the island where you can tan and swim in the sea.


Peacocks just stroll around being peacocks.
I saw one shake its tail-feathers all over a woman's face who was sunbathing near me.
(She was more than a little surprised when she opened her mouth to complain at what she thought was her husband and got a mouthful of feathers.)

And I saw a turtle (tortoise/turtle? amphibian/reptile?)




There's a gorgeous salt water lake.



And an old monastery and gardens.



And I hiked up to the island's peak where there's an old fort to explore. (FYI, flipflops were not an ideal shoe choice.)


But eventually I had to depart the island and go back to reality.

That night I shared a fish platter at Lady PiPi ('pee-pee': aptly named for the delightful sculpture outside the restaurant which we had to queue in front of for half an hour).
Then we located the Irish bar again before heading with the crowd to Revelin to dance until my feet could feel no more (maybe to do with the fact I'd been wearing flipflops all day, and flipflops in da club equal severely stepped-on toes).

Day 3
Today a couple of us went to the market to buy some fruit for brekky before heading up the cable car for amazing views of Dubrovnik.
I thought the cable car was fairly expensive for what it was (about £10 I think) and if I'd had more time I'd have loved to hike up to the top instead.
But the views are truly fantastic up there.


After a few selfies we discovered you can do an off-road dirt buggy tour of the surrounding hills - for £24 a pop, we were so game!



It was so much fun bouncing around up there with the occasional stop to learn about some of the local history, see some destroyed forts and even old mortar shells.
We were incredibly dusty by the end - it looked like we'd be rolling on the ground.



Then we had to back down into town to grab my bag and a quick lunch before I went to the New Port to try and take a ferry to Hvar. 

frithington

2 comments:

  1. Your pics are amazing! Looks like you had a lot of fun. :)
    Good vibes Fox
    -www.wanderlife.tv

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, I did have such a great time! And as a newbie to the blogging game your positive feedback means such a lot to me, thank you!

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