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Original poster

Anyone been to Dubrovnik recently?

28 replies

rookiemere · 02/09/2022 14:58

DH and I are going for a long weekend mid September. Very excited!
We've hired a car because it cost very little. I know we shouldn't use it to get to centre of Dubrovnik but thought we'd have a bit of a drive one of the days along the coast as we're staying at Lapad.

Should I be getting Croatian Kuna or do most places take cards? any restaurants people can recommend or things to do. I went with friends a few years ago, but wasn't feeling 100% so spent most of my time by the pool.

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cptartapp · 02/09/2022 15:07

Going in October.
Placemarking.

Igotmylipstickon · 02/09/2022 15:10

Haven't been to Dubrovnik but have been to a different part of Croatia. While many places do take cards, do bring plenty of cash. On our last day when most of our cash was gone, we had a meal in Pula and assumed using a card in such a large city would be fine. Turned out they didn't accept cards! Luckily the ATM around the corner gave us Kuna.

Enjoy your holiday!

wednesday32 · 02/09/2022 15:11

I went to Croatia in July. Everywhere takes cash, most places prefer cash and lots of cash machines about. They only accept Croatian Kuna as currency. I cannot comment on the car as I was only in the old town for two days so used buses which were very frequent. Then I was sailing all week.

AmandaHoldensLips · 02/09/2022 15:13

I got Kuna from the Post Office - cash is preferred. You can take back any unused notes and cash them back. Be careful of taxi drivers. Uber is half the price and more reliable.

Neolara · 02/09/2022 15:13

We were there about 2 weeks ago. Most places seem to take cards but I'd recommend getting some kuna so you can get the bus from Lapad into the centre. It's about a 40 minute walk.

A highlight was taking a kayaking tour at sunset around Dubrovnik. Probably best to book in advance. The main beach (Sunset beach) in Lapad is very busy, but if you walk around the headland, there are some smaller, quieter and prettier beaches.

Original poster
rookiemere · 02/09/2022 15:15

Thanks - we have quite a bit of UK cash as DH has been selling things, so I definitely think I will get that changed to Kuna before we go.

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Thistooshallpsss · 02/09/2022 15:21

Definitely walk the walls and take the cable car up to the museum and restaurant on the mountain. We had a guided tour to Mostar in Bosnia which was very moving and interesting not sure how it works driving yourself though

Original poster
rookiemere · 02/09/2022 15:23

@Thistooshallpsss the restaurant at the top of the cable car looks good - would you recommend it ?

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Original poster
rookiemere · 02/09/2022 15:30

@Neolara DH does fancy kayaking- how strenuous is it though? Eho

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Neolara · 02/09/2022 15:39

rookiemere · 02/09/2022 15:30

@Neolara DH does fancy kayaking- how strenuous is it though? Eho

The tour we took wasn't strenuous at all. My 12 yo managed easily. We kyaked for 15 mins, then would stop and and get an interesting little talk about what we could see. And repeat. The guides broke us up into smaller groups of about 8 people, depending on people's level of fitness / kyaking competence.

Original poster
rookiemere · 02/09/2022 15:46

@Neolara that sounds great. Thank you. DH would love that and I was feeling a bit nervous about it, so you've given me confidence that I can do it.

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weekendninja · 02/09/2022 15:55

Dubrovnik is completely beautiful.

I did one night just myself and the DC after island hopping.

As pp say, take kuna cash.

I wish I had another adult with me to appreciate it with. It's so pristine it doesn't look real. Felt very safe and LOADS of tourists. You'll find somewhere to eat no problem but I'd check on TripAdvisor for somewhere special and book in advance.

I'd also do a walking tour and walk the walls at sunset...I must go back.

ChocolateHelps · 02/09/2022 16:27

Been a couple of times, most recently last month. Uber into dubrovnik from sunset beach is less than £10. Take rock shoes for the beach, all.the beaches are stoney.

Dubrovnik - we did an amazing walking and eating tour a couple of years ago that I found on trip advisor. Meant we got to try out 3 restaurants that evening and lots of wine! The Karaka boat trip (looks like a pirate boat) is a lot less tacky than it looks!

Walking the wall was great, but bloody hard work. Took about 90 mins. There are bars and cafes on the wall.

Lots of places prefer cash but in dubrovnik lots of places take cards.

If you can get a table, highly recommend lunch in BOWA. You have to drive half hour up the coast and get a boat out to an Island. The restaurant is amazing, in a little Cove. It stands for Best Of What's Available. Normal table you pay for the meal or you can hire a cabana for big bucks but the normal tables are just as good. Lots of v posh boats (crewed) rock up. Great people watching

FAQs · 02/09/2022 16:40

It’s worth jumping on the 10 minute ferry to Lokrum for lunch and a swim in the little cove area.

The cable car restaurant is great, be prepared if there is a storm or lighting you might be asked to leave even if mid meal for safety reasons.

We did the kayaking, it wasn’t hard but when we did it many super yachts were around creating fairly decent waves which we had to negotiate around (from Cavtat) so if unsure I wouldn’t suggest there as the starting point.

Original poster
rookiemere · 02/09/2022 16:44

@ChocolateHelps BOWA looks amazing Smile. Looking at the reviews just now.

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ChateauProvence · 02/09/2022 16:49

We went in June and had a lovely meal in a restaurant called Proto. We used our revolut card everywhere - have a great time!

Thistooshallpsss · 03/09/2022 09:59

I honestly can’t remember what the food was like at the restaurant up the cable car! I just remember sitting on the terrace looking down at Dubrovnik feeling very happy!!!

NancyJoan · 03/09/2022 16:07

Currently staying in Cavtat, went to Dubrovnik by boat yesterday. It is so, so beautiful, you’ll have a great time. Some cash is helpful, but most places take cards.

Original poster
rookiemere · 04/09/2022 08:03

Cable car restaurant is all booked up - annoying as I've been looking at it for weeks.

I do fancy BOWA, but I do worry we'll be sitting counting our kuna and worrying about the price of things.

@NancyJoan I was thinking about an excursion to Cavtat - is it worh a visit please?

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lljkk · 04/09/2022 08:44

I went in 2019, when it was super hot which shaped everything we did. We were only truly comfortable while in water.

We still walked from Lapad to town centre.
The sunset kayak is NOT strenuous. They pair you up in kayaks and it was easy for people with any basic fitness. You also get a swim on the sunset tour (if you want). Very pretty, history/cultural commentary is part of it.

We drove to Mostar from Dubrovnik (DH drove actually). Watch for potholes, but otherwise easy enough. BnB in Mostar was very cheap, wish we had spent more time in Bosnia. Haunting. We didn't have so much fun in Montenegro. This holiday is probably the one we (as a family) still talk most about.

Never hard of cable car, I did walk to top of hill from where the old town was bombed, though, at 6:30am because it was so darn hot.

Too darn hot to walk the wall. We also got kuna from PO.

NancyJoan · 04/09/2022 08:47

rookiemere · 04/09/2022 08:03

Cable car restaurant is all booked up - annoying as I've been looking at it for weeks.

I do fancy BOWA, but I do worry we'll be sitting counting our kuna and worrying about the price of things.

@NancyJoan I was thinking about an excursion to Cavtat - is it worh a visit please?

It’s incredibly pretty, but there’s not much to do- although lots of SUP, kayaking, pedalos etc, if that’s your thing. The boat trip is nice though, takes about 40 mins and cost about £12 return. Lovely arriving at Dubrovnik by boat, you really see the walled city as it first looked. Cavtat is a very lovely harbour, with cafes and restaurants all along the promenade. We had an amazing meal last night, at a place called Zinc. Everywhere is very cheap compared to eg Mallorca.

TheGander · 06/09/2022 13:33

No one is mentioning the hordes of tourists though and the scrums to get through the narrow city gate. I went 6 and 4 years ago, admittedly in the summer school holidays so I hope it will be less busy in September. My favourite thing was taking the ferry to the small island nearby ( lapad?) and snorkelling. There’s also a small food market near the ferry terminal where you can buy fresh fruit and veg at much lower prices than in the old town.

ageingdisgracefully · 06/09/2022 13:42

Went early May. Didn't do the kayaking, but did plenty of walking. Almost walked to the top of the cable car route!

We hired the taxi driver who picked us up from the airport to take us to Mostar. It's hotter there. He also took us on another occasion to Montenegro. Both easy journeys.

There's an interesting war museum at the cable car destination.

I'd love to go back to Croatia - stunning place. Lucky you!

newname12345 · 07/09/2022 05:46

TheGander · 06/09/2022 13:33

No one is mentioning the hordes of tourists though and the scrums to get through the narrow city gate. I went 6 and 4 years ago, admittedly in the summer school holidays so I hope it will be less busy in September. My favourite thing was taking the ferry to the small island nearby ( lapad?) and snorkelling. There’s also a small food market near the ferry terminal where you can buy fresh fruit and veg at much lower prices than in the old town.

We were there at the very end of July and can't say I noticed scrums to get through the city gate (at Pile) we went through. Parts of the old town was quite crowded at times but it seemed to be when multiple guided tours turned up at the same time at places like the steps where the GoT Walk of Shame was filmed.

The nearby island is Lokrum (not Lapad) and it's just over £20 each for the short ferry ride/entry.

Original poster
rookiemere · 07/09/2022 07:14

On the crowds thing, I've checked what boats are docking and time they arrive and depart on the days we are there.
My plan is to go to the centre late afternoon when hopefully things will have thinned out a bit.

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