Anyone been to Dubrovnik, Croatia?

[runner2]

Have rented an apartment just outside city of Dubrovnik, for 10 days in August. Can anyone give any tips/recommendations? Places to go, things to do (or to avoid!) etc. 4 of us going - DD is 15, DS 12.

My cousin is there right now!
Sorry haven't a clue what to suggest, but her FB pics look nice.

oh Just a quick response now....I'll try to add more later.

My personal favourite day trip is Lokrum island - quite pine tree covered little place filled with peacocks - nice little monetary. Perfect for swimming, relaxing and getting away from the heat of the day.

Cavtat is also a nice day trip - all the islands are easily accessible by boat from the dock.

it is HOT in August - we couldn't summon the energy to do much more than swim and sunbathe during the day (nothing wrong with that of course). Make sure you've got air conditioning.

monastery that is

There is a nice bar in the rocks just off the town walls - any local will be able to tell you where.

If you are self-catering and will have a car, you can do your shopping in Neum, which is part of BiH and cheaper than dubrovnik which is pricy these days.

You could take a fast ferry to an island e.g. Korcula for a long daytrip. Korcula town is very attractive. Ditto Mljet and the Elafiti islands.

I love dubrovnik.

Hire a car and go to Montenegro for a few days, the mountains if possible.

Unfortunately we won't have a car, and our apartment is a 15-20 minute walk from the city walls. I think (hope!) there will be a bus we can hop on to get to and from the city, as we will probably want to be there at some point most days...

I went there (just) before the war.
All I remember was that it was beautiful.

Walk the city walls, sea kayaking, cable car, sunset boat trip, lots of coach trips on offer, boat trips etc.

We went and loved it, will go back in the month of September with just DH when children older!

Its very hot. But gorgeous.

We got the hang of the local buses quite easily and enjoyed trip to Cavtat, ate lunch by marina, in awe of the amazing mega-bucks boats. (Its between airport and Dubrovnik). We went by bus but then came back by boat which was great.

We went on day boat trip to Lopud Island, as they have a lovely beach there, but it's not lovely in August, it was heaving. Not our favourite day!

Kayaking is very in, there are several places you can do it from.

We hired a car and went to Montenegro, lovely drive and beautiful place, had lunch in town called Kotor, stunning.

Really enjoyed the Cable Car. Amazing views from top.

Our favourite day was when we hired a guide:

www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/1/wo/2TJulZOZ5hZ2LbGs1SwtKM/0.15.3.3.2.3

He met us and took us around the walls before it got too hot, his english is great as he used to work in UK, he took us to little ice cream/coffee places off the beaten track, knew where to refill our bottles with water, showed my eldest son lots of the Game of Throne sites, and then he left us at a great place to have our lunch. My two would have been 17 and 13 so similar ages to yours.

We stayed just outside the city, and my husband found a great website that showed which cruise ships were due in each day, some days the place has about 3 ships which equates to 1000s of people, they have to put ropes and one way systems in place around the pavements, it starts to smell later in the day, it's not nice! So we planned our days around cruise ships! That would probably be husband's TOP TIP!

This was one of our favourite places to eat (near the top of the city) Lady PiPi!

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g295371-d1797401-Reviews-Lady_Pi_Pi-Dubrovnik_Dubrovnik_Neretva_County_Dalmatia.html

Also this one:

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g295371-d3343994-Reviews-Restaurant_Kopun-Dubrovnik_Dubrovnik_Neretva_County_Dalmatia.html

Loved it!

bluesky thanks so much for taking the time to offer those great tips. I have booked us on a tour with the company you recommended - a 2-hour walkabout the city on our 2nd morning. Do you remember the name of your guide? Ours is called Igor. Have also made a note of those restaurants. If your DH can remember the name of that site he used to track incoming cruise ships, I'd be v grateful if you could let me know. Your enthusiasm (and that of OPs - thanks to you too for your comments!) has got me excited now...

Hi, so pleased it was helpful. Our guide was called Tomas. The website is good, as you can read feedback on the guides.

Here's the website for cruise ships:

ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Croatia/184-Dubrovnik/September_2015/

You can then look up the ship and see how many people are on it, sometimes it's staggering to think that 9000 extra people are coming into Dubrovnik on a certain day!

I hope you have a lovely holiday, it's so blue and beautiful.

We had a lovely time split our 2 weeks into 5 days in Dubrovnik and the rest by the coast.
It's lovely make sure you do some boat trips and the walls.