My Honest Opinion of Dubrovnik, Croatia

June 22, 2016

You know those cities that everyone raves over and you can’t help but be curious about it? That was Dubrovnik for me. After having been to Croatia last year and visiting Zagreb and Plitvicka but not the coastline, I always vowed to go back and see some more. After spending one week in Montenegro (which you can read about here) I jumped on a short bus ride to Dubrovnik to see what all the fuss was about…

But, it was not what I had expected at all. It contrasts strikingly to the capital, Zagreb: everything is redone, new and polished, the streets are crowded and packed with tourists and prices are sky high (well… relatively speaking).

View from the Old Town’s Wall

Don’t get me wrong, it’s undoubtedly beautiful. The water is an intense shade of blue, the sun was shining the whole time without being too hot and the sunsets over the water is beautiful.

Sunset over the Harbour

Bar on the Cliffs of the City

But what it lacked for me, was natural charm. You could tell it had become a tourist hot spot, even more so after the publicity it received from Game of Thrones. Tour agencies lurk around the entrance to the old town and are constantly hassling you for an overpriced city tour and every corner you turn you can buy ‘authentic’ Croatian embroidery. The whole city had been redone to cater for tourists and everything was rebuilt, touched up and refurbished.

View over Dubrovnik from the Wall

Even when I visited in the low season the main street of the Old Town was filled with English accents, well all sorts of tourists really! As you can see, it’s picturesque- and I don’t begrudge tourist destinations based upon the fact that they’re obviously going to be crowded, I just felt that the charm had been taken out of it when the shipfuls of tourists arrived.

Main street of Dubrovnik

Maybe I have to go back, and experience it in another season or company to appreciate it more- I definitely agree your view of a city is so dependent upon your circumstances and can easily differ from visit to visit. I’m not saying I regret going, more just that it’s not my favourite place that Croatia has to offer.

Recommendations for those planning to visit Dubrovnik:

• Stay outside of the old town– it’ll feel less touristic, you’ll actually interact with some locals and many of the nicest beaches are outside.
• Decide upon a budget when you get there, because almost everything will cost money. Make sure you bring your student card (if applicable) as the price to walk the wall around Dubrovnik is steep for adults at 120kn (~$25AUD) but only 30kn (~$6AUD) for students
• If it’s just a picturesque old town you want to visit, I would recommend a visit to Montenegro instead. Kotor is less than 2 hours away and has a similar preserved old town with far less tourists, and in my opinion more beautiful. To read more, check out my blog post here
• Don’t make Dubrovnik your one stop in Croatia because I don’t think it’s representative of the country as a whole

View looking away from the Old Town

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