5 Hidden Gems around Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia has so much to offer, beautiful beaches, delicious restaurants, and unlimited activities. I decided to put together a list for you guys of activities, beaches, and places to eat that my sister and I found weren’t touristy at all! Every blog I read about Dubrovnik before I left for this trip didn’t mention any of these hidden gems. Here they are!

Danče Beach

My sister and I are totally beach people. While being in Croatia we knew we needed to explore some the beautiful Croatian beaches. Most of these beaches, however, do not have sand, which we’re used to, but rocks instead! After going to Danče beach, I think we prefer rocky beaches now. We fell in love with this beach and made it a priority to visit it as much as we could before we left Croatia. This beach is unlike any other beach I’ve been to!

My sister read that this is one of the best beaches near old town which is how we knew about it. This is definitely a hidden beach, but I was able to come up with some directions for you guys. If you’re coming from old town, make your way towards Pile Gate and continue walking in that direction for about 10 minutes. Eventually on your left you will see a sign that reads, “Ulica Don Frana Bulića”. Go ahead and follow that street for a few minutes and eventually you should come across some stairs leading down to the beach. This is why this is the perfect place to escape all the tourist, it’s definitely out of the way!

 
Once you get there you will notice the floating water polo court, which was filled with local Croatians when we were there. It even has outside showers, even though there isn’t any sand, along with a small café/bar that serves your typical refreshments and snacks. We actually saw a bunch of locals making some sort of fisherman stew!

For those who love getting their tan on, the slabs of rocks make the perfect place to lay out and sunbathe. Believe it or not it’s actually more comfortable than you think! I will say that it is quite deep here, and I saw a lot of younger kids’ rock jumping, so I had to try it out for myself. Although there are ladders if you prefer to enter the water that way instead. Keep in mind if you have young kids or you’re not a confident swimmer, the water can get pretty rough. Maybe invest in a life jacket or go on a day where it isn’t too windy.  
This is definitely a must see, the water is so crystal clear and also extremely salty. I recommend this snorkel mask to get a better look at all of the beautiful fish. Make Danče beach a priority when visiting Dubrovnik!

Prekala desserts

Walking through old town I couldn’t help but notice the huge line coming out of Prekala. I did a lot of research about places to eat when coming to Dubrovnik, but I didn’t see any blogs mention this place. Intrigued, I got myself in line and was pleased when I found out it was an ice-cream shop. However, this isn’t any ice-cream shop. Prekala sells bubble waffles and ice-cream rolls and let me tell you, they are DELICIOUS! I am known to have quite a sweet tooth and I can guarantee this place will satisfy that sweet tooth and more.

I got myself a bubble waffle and my sister got a strawberry cheesecake ice-cream roll. I can’t remember the exact flavor of the bubble waffle I got, but they have numerous flavors including Ferrero Rocher, Snickers, Oreo, Kinder Bueno, Raffaello, and more! The warm waffle is prepared perfectly with some nice cold ice-cream, seriously the perfect combination. If you’re not a waffle person you can enjoy their beautifully rolled ice-cream, which they hand-make for each order. The bubble waffles are 50 Kuna about 7.50 USD and the ice-cream rolls are 40 Kuna about 6 USD. Prekala is located right near the fountain within the old town and you definitely need to check it out. Dessert is a must when traveling!

Ominlar Cheap Pastry Shop

If you’re in need for a cheap snack for a day trip or even just a little pick me up while walking through old town, I suggest checking out Ominlar. This tiny pastry shop sells focaccia, filled donuts, calzones, pizza slices, croissants, and more! We couldn’t help but notice the line while walking through old town and after seeing what other people were eating, we knew we had to get some.

We indulged in some of their focaccia and their donuts that had some kind of fruit filling, which were not only good, but also at a crazy cheap price! We stopped here multiple times before going to the beach or before any long day trips, that way we had a snack or two for the day. Seriously if you just need something quick, yummy, and inexpensive, this is the place to go! I consider this place a hidden gem because I hadn’t read about it or heard about it anywhere. Thankfully we stumbled across this place, but otherwise I wouldn’t have even known about it. Ominlar is right on Stradun and though it is tiny, I’m sure you’ll see the line of people waiting outside of it.

Tuk Tuk

If you’ve been to Dubrovnik in the past, it’s no secret that there are a lot of stairs. Like A LOT. Even if you haven’t visited before, if you’ve done any research on Dubrovnik, I’m sure someone’s mentioned the crazy number of stairs. If not, this is me telling you, there are a lot of stairs! Definitely wear proper shoes! I recommend these ones from Amazon: Cute fashionable sneakers

Towards the end of my visit in Dubrovnik, my sister and I decided to spend one of our nights with Eco Tuk Tuk tour. A local tour guide picked us up in a tuk tuk, took us over to the Franjo Tuḋman bridge, and then took us up to the top of Mt. Srḋ for the sunset. This is a relaxing, informative, and gorgeous tour. After hiking up so many stairs, it was so nice to be able to sit back and relax while still being able to see Dubrovnik. In fact, this tour actually let us see parts of Dubrovnik that we were unable to see with just our own two feet.  

Our tour guide, Luska, was so nice and so knowledgeable. He allowed plenty of opportunities for photo stops and even showed us a secret Game of Thrones filming spot! Once we got to the top of Mt. Srḋ, Luska poured us a glass of traditional Croatian wine, took some photos for us, and then left us to enjoy the sunset in private. Overall, this was a great experience, and my feet were so thankful for it. This two-hour tour was 44 USD, about 294 Kuna. What I really liked about this tour was how personal it felt. It was only my sister and I along with the tour guide, though we did have room for two more people. Either way it still would have been a small group of us. If your feet need a break or if you just want to see Dubrovnik at sunset from a different point of view, I highly suggest this fun and beautiful experience.

Book with them here: Tuk tuk Tour

Taking a ferry to Korĉula Island

 Although there so many things to do right in Dubrovnik, check out my Must Do’s in Dubrovnik Blog, my sister and I decided to spend two nights on Korĉula Island. We took the ferry Jadrolinija, which was about 44 USD round trip. The ferry ride was about 2 and a half-ish hours to get there, however, we did make some stops along the way because it was cheaper! Make sure you check the ferry times because they change depending on the time of the year.

We stayed at this hotel and it was the perfect location, not to mention also gorgeous. There are some beautiful beaches, vineyards, and shops here. If you want a little getaway from Dubrovnik, make it Korĉula island! If you want a more in-depth itinerary of what there is to do on Korĉula island, check out my other blog. Otherwise, take my word for it because this place is seriously gorgeous and definitely less touristy than Dubrovnik. These are the hidden gems I found while in Dubrovnik. Please feel free to leave a comment of any hidden gems you found below!

If you’re interested in visiting and want some more tips, please feel free to leave a comment below or direct message me on Instagram @smilesmilesaway . Also check out my Amazon Storefront where I share all of my Amazon favorites: My Amazon Storefront . If you’ve already visited Croatia, please comment below one of your favorite memories. Can’t wait to read your comments!

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