What's up guys, we're here in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and in this video we're going to
show you the best things to do in and around the city. So hope you enjoy it!
Dubrovnik is located in the south of Croatia and is relatively isolated from the rest of
the country due to a small nook of Bosnia and Herzegovina that intersects the land connection.
For centuries, Dubrovnik was an independent Republic, thriving through extensive trade
with other maritime ports. However, the city also suffered attacks of which the early
90's war was the most devastating one. Today, Dubrovnik is considered the most picturesque
city on the Dalmatian Coast thanks to its stunning architecture, beautiful scenery, and ancient walls
that once protected the Republic. In this video, we highlight 10 of the best things to do in and
around Dubrovnik, including an exciting day trip to its neighboring country. Make sure to watch
until the end as we also reveal our top travel tips for your Dubrovnik trip. Now let's dive in!
We're Zac and Ine. We make helpful videos about
destinations around the world so you can easily plan your own adventures.
The Old Town is the beating heart of Dubrovnik and generally the first and foremost place
that you'll visit. It's listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is full of historic landmarks,
such as the beautiful City Walls and Rector's Palace. And while it's pleasant to just stroll
around the marble paved squares and cobbled streets of the Old Town, we recommend going on
a guided walking tour to understand Dubrovnik's history and culture on a deeper level.
Find a link to the free walking tour that we did in the description below.
The steep hill just behind the walled city of Dubrovnik offers stunning views over the old town
as well as the neighboring islands. You can decide to walk or take the cable car to the summit.
The cable car leaves near the Old Town, while the hike starts next to the highway and takes
about two hours to get to the viewpoint and then back down to the bottom. At the top,
there's a large white cross, fort, and a restaurant. But the best sunset views are observed
from the open space to the west of the fort. Find a spot here and watch the sun set into the sea.
For even better views of the Old Town, stick around because we'll get to that at number two.
A fun, adventurous way to see Dubrovnik from the outside is by sea kayak. Taking
in the city views from the water is something unique. But besides the Old Town views, it also
provides the perfect opportunity to explore the rugged coastline of Dubrovnik. We kayaked to the
most beautiful beach in the city called Cave Beach, which is only accessible via the sea.
There are also some smaller hidden caves that you can kayak to or even the nearby Lokrum Island.
You can rent your kayaks from the West Harbor or you can join a kayaking tour if you're
not so experienced. Find more information about that via the link in the description.
Walking the ancient City Walls was one of our favorite things to do in Dubrovnik.
They are the defining feature of the city and offers some superb views over the Old Town and
the shimmering Adriatic Sea. It takes about one to two hours to make the full circuit along the
thick battlements, and you can start from one of its three ticketed entrances. The most fun
aspects of the walk are the towers, forts, and hidden corners that you can find, as well as the
glimpses it gives you into the courtyards. You can also see a beautiful island in the distance,
which is another best thing to do in Dubrovnik that we can't wait to show you in a moment.
We're
on the
top of the Old Town walls here and we just paid for tickets, it was about 30 euros each, which
is pretty expensive. But it also includes the fort over there. And if you're here just for like a day
or two, you might want to consider the Dubrovnik Pass because it includes a lot of the different
stuff all around the old town in one price. So we'll leave a link for that in the description.
Rector's Palace was the seat of the government when Dubrovnik was a self-governing Republic.
It's a masterpiece of architecture and now houses the Cultural History Museum, where you can see how
the local aristocats once lived. You can also find artifacts from the city's history here.
We weren't allowed to take videos inside, but we do have some pictures so you know what to expect.
Beyond the city lies a dramatic coastline that is a perfect place to cool off on a hot summer day.
Don't expect sandy beaches, but rather rocky coves here. Banje Beach is the closest one to the city,
just a five to ten minute walk from Dubrovnik's eastern gate. The beach is mostly pebbly with
shallow and calm waters that are great for swimming. However, it gets crowded here during
the summer so explore the beaches further away from the Old Town for a more secluded experience.
Back inside the city walls of Dubrovnik, we recommend visiting some of the historic churches.
In the Old Town, you can find many beautiful Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches
tucked in little alleys and squares. Our top picks include the Dubrovnik Cathedral,
the church of Saint Blaise, and the Church of the Holy Annunciation. But our favorite
one was the Church of Saint Ignatius, because of its beautiful frescoes on the main altar.
If you want to leave the city behind for a day or you simply want to check off another country,
then you should consider crossing the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mostar is arguably the most beautiful town in the entire country, surrounded by picturesque
mountains and a scenic river. The Old Town is known for its Ottoman-era houses and bridge.
But besides that, Mostar also has an intriguing but shocking history,
and more affordable food and drinks compared to Dubrovnik. Located around 130 kilometers or 81
miles north of Dubrovnik, this historic city can be reached by car or bus in a couple of hours.
We went on a day trip here, which also included a stop at some very beautiful waterfalls.
But it's the historic center of Mostar that is the main attraction to enjoy on this day.
You can find a link for the tour that we did in the description below.
So this is the best viewpoint in Mostar and actually it only cost you 1 euro to
enter. It's right next to the mosque, so you can just like pay the fee and then just walk over.
Alternatively, you you can do a day trip to the stunning Bay and City
of Kotor in the neighboring country of Montenegro.
We have an entire video about Kotor, including the best things to do in this fascinating place.
Heading back to the city of Dubrovnik, Fort Lovrijenac is one of the most iconic sites
that you'll find. It's worth paying a visit inside for two reasons:
First and foremost, lots of scenes from the TV series Game of Thrones were filmed here.
In fact, many places in Dubrovnik were featured in the series and you can visit them during a
Game of Thrones walking tour, which we've included a link to in the description.
Secondly, the fort offers an incredible view of the Old Town. But for the best view of the
Old Town in our opinion, you should head to the hillside above Banje Beach, and we've put the
viewpoint where we walk to on a map here. You can also find the exact coordinates in our blog post.
Finally, you can't leave Dubrovnik without visiting nearby Lokrum Island.
This island is viewable from the city walls that we mentioned earlier,
but it's much more enjoyable to actually visit the island itself than simply see it from a distance.
A short ferry ride connects the Dubrovnik Harbor to the island throughout the day.
It's a swift way to escape the crowds and surround yourself with nature.
The island is almost entirely covered with green pine forest.
There are walking routes as well, which take you by rocky coves, an old monastery, a botanical
garden, remnants of a fort, and a salt lake. You can easily spend a few hours to a full day here.
As we promised at the beginning of our video, we'll now highlight a few tips
for traveling to Dubrovnik so you can have the best trip possible.
First, visit in the shoulder season if you can. The summer is hot and gets extremely crowded.
We visited at the end of October and could not have asked for a better time.
Second, take decent walking shoes with you and be prepared to walk a lot.
The Old Town is a traffic-free zone so you have to walk around. No driving or cycling. Besides that,
a large part of the Old Town streets are steep steps. The same is true for the neighborhoods
surrounding the Old Town. Finally, stay outside the Old Town for cheaper accommodation deals
and then take the bus or walk to the Old Town, as there's only limited expensive parking available.
If you're planning your Croatia trip, we recommend keeping things organized
with our interactive travel planner. Find a discount code below. We also
included important links that you'll need for your Dubrovnik trip in the description,
such as a full travel guide with where to stay and eat. We'll catch you on the next adventure!