Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic. A city made famous by a popular television show, complete with its own cursed island, is where I spent the 2023 Columbus Day weekend.
An adventure in this city wasn’t the initial destination choice. Split, its neighbor to the north, was where I’d intended to spend the weekend. However, airline prices factored into my decision and I selected Dubrovnik.
The City Wall also played a role in my ultimate selection to spend the holiday in Dubrovnik.
GETTING HERE
Flying to Dubrovnik was the only reasonable travel option. The only hiccup was the time of the flight. I always like to book the first flight of the day to my chosen destination. Unfortunately, the only direct flight to Dubrovnik was a late evening flight. Yes, there was a morning flight, but that one came with a 5-hour layover. No thank you.
The evening flight was smooth and arrived only 13 minutes later than its scheduled arrival. Not bad. However, the chosen airline, Discover, was just a step ahead of Spirit airlines with the nickel and diming. I mean, $4 for a cup of water? Not a bottle, but a cup. Heck, even Lufthansa gives a bottle of water and a piece of chocolate. Other than the cheapness, customer service was decent.
I also experienced a first during this flight. Seated next to me was a woman who was clearly drunk. If the bloodshot eyes, running nose and two empty bottles of prosecco didn’t make it obvious she was drunk, her dry heaving before the plane took off certainly was evidence she was in no fit state to fly.
I brought this to the cabin crew’s attention mainly because I was scared she’d puke on me. The crew, to their credit, did ask the lady if she was unwell. They clearly saw she wasn’t, but her friend managed to talk the crew out of kicking them off the flight. Because it was a full flight, the crew couldn’t move me.
Yeah, it was not a relaxing flight for me. Did I mention she actually tried to lay her head on my shoulder when she fell asleep. Her friend quickly moved her, but not before I got a whiff of her breath. Pee-ew! 🤢
LODGING
The Boutique Hotel Porto served as my lodgings for my 3-night stay.
I selected this hotel because it was out of the city. Also, the room size and the overall price exceeded my standard. Plus, my rate included breakfast and a taxi ride from the airport. Overall, I’d give this hotel 3-stars, losing two stars for some basic things I expect a 4-star hotel to deliver.
Reception upon arrival wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t downright rude either. The lady representative was straight to the point. She checked me in with ease, provided me with my key, a map of the city and the buses that would take me into Old Town. The welcome was efficient, but lacked the friendliness expected of a four-star hotel.
My superior double room with a balcony was spacious, but the lack of decor made me feel like I’d wasted money booking here.
There was noticeable wear and tear everywhere in the room. The bed was comfortable. The shower was nice and never ran out of hot water. The television worked, but only had two channels in English, and they were both news channels.
Wi-Fi worked very well, except on my final night when it went down for some unexplained reason. The view of the street from the balcony was okay. However, there are no lights on the balcony, so I couldn’t enjoy a nice cup of tea before bedtime like I wanted.
Breakfast was standard continental. No flare, no fuss, but filling. Nevertheless, cleanliness is an issue the staff needs to work on. There were plenty of times I came down and there was food and crumbs on the floor and tables. Pretty disgusting for guests to see that when they come down for a meal.
OLD TOWN
Getting to Old Town Dubrovnik was a breeze. There was a bus stop a mere walk from the hotel. For $6, I got an all day ticket.
Twenty minutes later, I was in Old Town, and let me tell you …
I was not impressed.
Sorry, but upon first glance, the city didn’t amaze me. It is not the town’s fault at all. No, the fault lies with the cruise ships and day trippers. They swarmed into the Old Town like cockroaches.
Seriously, not even Google Maps could find a path through this swarm without multiple detours.
Sheesh!
I managed to snap a few photos, but then thought it best to take a panoramic tour just to get out of the area.
CITY WALL
Dubrovnik’s City Wall is the city’s #1 attraction, according to the Visit A City app. I chose to visit early in the morning so I could enjoy the views and pace myself without having to deal with massive crowds brought in by the cruise ships.
What I wasn’t prepared for were the 1,080 steps I had to climb throughout the walk. Oh my legs! 🤕
The amazing views and the cool, crisp morning sea breeze encouraged me to continue the journey around the wall when my legs screamed for me to take the first exit. Thank goodness I put on sunscreen and remember to bring water.
PANORAMA TOUR
Best decision of this adventure. Since this was a ‘street’ tour, it sounded like a scam at first glance. Yet, it turned out to be one of the best tours I’ve taken.
Milan, our tour guide, was a regular guy who loves his home. He expertly drove us around the city sights, including up the mountain to get the ‘best view of Dubrovnik.’
I was glad Milan was our driver. Trust me, visitors to this city should not be allowed to drive here, especially visitors who don’t understand the road signs.
Along the way, I got to know my fellow tourmates. What a surprise! They were all from the USA, and one was an Air Force veteran just like me. How awesome. It truly is a small world.
The tour was about two hours and concluded back in Old Town. However, due to the masses of day trippers and cruise ship buses, Milan couldn’t stay for long in the spot where the tour began. Since he had a ‘free day,’ he offered to take us to other sites.
However, my tourmates had dinner plans and I needed to get back to my hotel to do a little holiday work. Milan did give me a ride back to the hotel, which I thought was very kind of him.
OLD TOWN, PART II
I returned to Old Town later in the evening for dinner. Once the day trippers and cruise ships depart, it’s easy to see the historic aspects of this city.
RED HISTORY MUSEUM
The Red History Museum invites visitors to explore Croatia’s modern history and experience life under the communist regime of Yugoslavia. Exploring history is one of my favorite adventure activities.
This is an interesting museum. Not bad for €9 entry. I loved that it was very interactive and wanted you to touch, feel and smell. Reminded me of the DDR Museum in Berlin, Germany.
I played a quick game of chess, worked in one of the ‘Kiosk K 67’ and drove my Yogo before being ‘interrogated’ by the Secret Services. Shame the VR exhibit wasn’t working.
LOVE STORIES MUSEUM
My visit to the Love Stories Museum wasn’t a planned activity, but the result of the overcrowdedness of Old Town. The museum displays personal love stories and items of great sentimental value donated from all around the world.
Entry fee was €9, which afterwards I felt was a bit much. This wasn’t a bad spot to spend 30 minutes, but it’s not a museum to go out of your way to visit. It mainly consisted of informational posters about famous love stories like Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala.
WAR PHOTO LIMITED
The War Photo Limited museum was interesting. The €10 entry fee is okay. Visitors could easily spend an hour or more viewing and reading about the photos. The museum provided an educational look at a side of war most don’t want to see or accept in their minds.
HARD ROCK CAFE DUBROVNIK
Wow!
Best looking Hard Rock Cafe I’ve visited. Learned afterwards the restaurant is set in a 14th century monastery. Interesting trivia tidbit. Customer service was great and the atmosphere was good. Waited until late evening to visit to miss the cruise ship crowds. Food was typical fare, but filling.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Dubrovnik is a nice city. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll make a return trip any time soon. Like Zürich, the Pearl of Adriatic didn’t ‘Wow’ me.
Maybe if I was a Game of Thrones fan, I may have enjoyed this adventure more. The overcrowding from the cruise ships to the rudeness of some of the locals, Dubrovnik wasn’t the relaxing adventure I needed.
NEXT ADVENTURE:
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