Why Dubrovnik Should Be On Your Travel Bucket List

Dubrovnik has my heart. Even after a week of being home in Amsterdam, I’m still dreaming of that gorgeous blue water, the sun on my face, and salt in my hair. I have to say that I was totally surprised and blown away by Dubrovnik, Croatia. I expected it would be a good vacation, but I didn’t realize how much I’d love it. Which is exactly why I’m writing today to tell you why Dubrovnik should be on your travel bucket list.

I feel like this trip came at a really good time. Jon and I had both been stressed with all our visitors, our Marrakech trip, and work. We traveled to Dubrovnik with my friend Christina and her boyfriend Cole, and we made ZERO plans for our trip. It ended up turning out perfectly, and we all came back well-rested (which honestly doesn’t usually happen after travel).

Check out the below details about our trip to Dubrovnik and the gorgeous blue water in my pictures. You’ll see why Dubrovnik should be on your travel bucket list.

Xx, Kelsey

WHERE WE STAYED

We booked this airbnb in the Old Town, and I was blown away by how amazing the location was. It was a two bedroom place, and although there wasn’t a view, we were literally STEPS from Buza Bar. This meant we could roll out of bed, grab a towel and jump right into the blue water within minutes. The apartment was also so close to all of the restaurants (and gelato) in the main town area. I don’t think we could have ended up in a better spot.

WHAT WE DID

Suluci Beach – Dubrovnik isn’t necessarily known for its beaches. In fact, they’re pretty pebbly. We spent a while walking around the first day in search of a beach. Just when we thought about turning around, we stumbled upon Suluci Beach. Just outside the city walls, this beach seemed to be a fairly local spot. It had a really great concrete pier and rocks that were perfect for jumping off. There were also steps into the water for the less adventurous. We ended up spending several of the days at this beach, and it was definitely my favorite thing about the trip.

Elafiti Islands Boat Tour – We tried to do things a little less expensively on this trip, and I was surprised to find that we could fit a half-day private boat tour into our budget. There are stands all along the marina for boat tours, and Christina and Cole found a great one for us. We were able to go out to two islands off the coast on a speed boat. At the first island, we swam into the Blue Cave, which I highly recommend. The entrance is super low, only about six inches above the water, so you have to swim low to get in. Once inside, the water glows blue from the way the light filters in. It was such a cool experience, and I’m sad I didn’t have an underwater camera to capture the magic.

Hike Mt. Srd – For the best view, you can’t beat the top of Mt. Srd. There’s a cable car that runs up and down all day long, but if you’ve got the strength, I totally recommend hiking it. It’s about an hour, but it’s pretty steep. You have to take a lot of steps to get to the trail head, and then take a series of switchbacks up the mountain. Along the way, you can stop for water breaks and admire the view of the city as you get higher and higher. We left at 9:30am, and it was already quite hot. So be prepared!

Game of Thrones Walking Tour – If you’re a fan of the show, you have to do a walking tour. Dubrovnik is the setting of King’s Landing, and it’s so cool to recognize places that have been in the film. We didn’t want to spend a lot of money for a tour, so we found this self-guided tour by HelloJetlag. Some of the places we had already walked by in the previous days, or didn’t feel like we needed to learn anything too in-depth about. I found that following along with this blog post ended up being perfect because we could see which scenes were filmed where but didn’t have to shell out and spend 3 hours in a tour group.

THE BARS WE ENJOYED

Buza Bar – There are two versions of this bar. One has “cold drinks” signs pointing the way and one is just a doorway in the city wall. I definitely recommend the unmarked one because it’s a little more open with lots of rocks that you can actually jump off and swim from. It’s also ideal if you go at sunset. Even though there may not be any seats since they get taken pretty early, you can perch on the rocks over the water and enjoy a drink. We also went earlier in the day and laid out on the rocks. There are some stairs down into the water, so it’s easy to jump in and cool off.

Bar Dodo – This beach bar at the Suluci Beach is perched up on the rocks overlooking the water. They have super cute swings instead of barstools, and make a tasty mai tai (my beach drink of choice).

Wine Bar Matusko – We grabbed a bottle at this wine bar that serves Croatian wines. The back of the building is built right into the rocks, and it has a good nighttime vibe. Jon and I don’t tend to go for any crazy wild nights out, so we really enjoyed this spot.

OUR FAVORITE RESTAURANTS

Dubrovnik isn’t really known for being a foodie place. We found that most of the food was good but not special. There is a definite Italian influence, so we did eat a lot of pizza and gelato.

Mea Culpa – This was the best pizza that we had. In fact, I ate an ENTIRE margherita pie by myself. Thank god for high-waisted swimsuits!

Gradska Kavana Arsenal – We ate at this Mediterranean restaurant in the marina for our nicer dinner one night. We had spent the day out on a boat and were really feeling fish. I had some great sea bream and the rest of the table really enjoyed their salmon. We also had some fantastic Croatian sauvignon blanc.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

Outfit 1: My dress is from Banana Republic last year, but linking some similar and equally cute ones here, here, and here | H&M straw hat | Steve Madden sandals | Similar straw circle bag here and here

Outfit 2: Similar green swimsuits here and here | Similar high-waisted denim shorts here and here | Dolce Vita bow slides | Nearly identical sunglasses | Cinco ginger necklace

Outfit 3: Similar swimsuit top | Asos high-waisted bikini bottoms | Catwalk Junkie heart eyes sunglasses (similar pair from Urban Outfitters here)

Outfit 4: Athleta leggings are old, but the same pair without lacing detail is here | Athleta similar grey tank here | Nike epic react sneakers

Outfit 5: Zara coverup is from the after-Christmas sales

Outfit 6: Zara halter top | Mango white skirt | Marc Fisher wedges | Shein clear wooden handle bag

Outfit 7: Banana Republic dress is from last year

Outfit 8: J. Crew one-shoulder striped swimsuit worn as a body suit (one of my favorite purchases!)

Outfit 9: H&M triangle swimsuit top | Asos high-waisted bikini bottoms