Must Do’s in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Known as King’s Landing on Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik Croatia has become quite a popular place to visit. Let me tell you, there is so much more to this beautiful town than Game of Throne’s locations. If Croatia isn’t on the top of your bucket list, it should be! This seaside medieval town has so much to offer, and it has quickly become one of my favorite travel destinations EVER! Not only is it filled to the brim with fascinating history, but it also has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. Whether you’re planning a trip to Dubrovnik or you need some inspiration about where you should travel next, these are the must do activities  when visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia. 

Old Town Walls

When visiting old town, you can’t help but notice that it’s completely surrounded by walls. If you only have time to do one thing in Dubrovnik, it should be walking on these walls! This is the best way to see not only Dubrovnik, but also all the surrounding islands! The views are nothing short of spectacular. So, if you plan on walking on the old town walls, here’s a few things you should know.

Completely walking all the way around these walls takes roughly 2 hours. Also note that especially during the summer months, the walls are very very busy. We visited during July and had read in other blogs to visit these walls either right in the morning or right before closing. We went right when they opened, which was at 8am, and we were able to really enjoy the views without there being too many people. This is definitely where you can get tons of gorgeous photos of Dubrovnik and Fort Lovrijenac.

Also note that there is an entrance fee, however, if you’re a student make sure you bring your international student card to get a major discount. Originally the entrance was 200 Kuna, about 30 USD, which also includes entrance to the Lovrijenac fortress, but as a student I only paid 50 Kuna, about 8 USD. Honestly though, no matter what you pay, it is totally worth it! I couldn’t recommend walking these walls enough!  If you want to see even more photos of the old town walls go check out my Instagram here: My Instagram!

Check out Fort Lovrijenac

This beautiful fortress is unmissable. The hike up to this fortress was absolutely breath-taking. There are so many great photo opportunities, especially when you get to the top! If you want some awesome photos of the fortress itself, you can go up on the city walls, as I mentioned before, and get some great views. If you do both the walls and the fortress in one day it’s included in one price, which I recommend doing.

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, then you’ll be excited to hear that this fortress is a very popular filming location! This is actually where the tournament was held for King Joffrey’s name day! Not to mention this medieval fortress provides some beautiful views of the Adriatic Sea! If you’re looking for some history along with some great views, I definitely recommend making your way to up this fortress!

Take a Day Trip to Lokrum Island

When visiting Dubrovnik, you need to put a day aside to visit the beautiful Lokrum Island! This island is known for many things, a plethora of peacocks and rabbits, rocky beaches, the Iron Throne, and a smaller version of the Dead Sea. This island is the perfect 15-minute getaway. You can take a ferry right over to Lokrum Island for 150 Kuna round trip which is about 22 USD. The first ferry goes out at 9 and then another one goes out at 10. After that they have a ferry every half hour until 7:30 pm. Depending on the time of year that you go it could differ.

We went out of our way to explore every little inch of this island. We floated in the mini Dead Sea a while and then went swimming at some of the rocky beaches, which we really enjoyed. You should definitely bring some water shoes though; the beaches are rocky! I recommend these water shoes from Amazon: Good quality water shoes. Also there is a nude beach on the island, so if you stumble upon it, don’t be surprised.

We got lunch on the Island, however I felt like it was overpriced mediocre food. I would suggest bringing your own food and maybe having a picnic instead. If you’re not really a beach person there’s tons of wildlife to see along with a monastery (this is where the Iron Throne is). This is a great way to spend a day exploring and soaking up the sun while in Dubrovnik!

Kayak around Lokrum Island

If you’re not interested in visiting Lokrum Island you may be interested in kayaking all the way around it. This is a great way to get up and personal with the crystal-clear waters! It’s also a great way to get a workout in while being told a little bit of history about Croatia along the way. While making our way around Lokrum Island, we made a few pit stops where we were able to jump out of our kayaks and explore some caves. Honestly, I wish we could’ve stayed at those gorgeous caves all day!

Before ending our kayaking tour, we stopped at a beach on mainland Dubrovnik that is only accessible by kayak. The water here was a beautiful shade of blue that I have never seen before. Our tour guide even brought along some snorkel gear which we used the entire time because there were so many beautiful fish to see. Before we made our way back to land, our guide provided us with some sandwiches for lunch, which was much needed after all that kayaking.

We went kayaking with a group called Adventure Dubrovnik and it was nothing short of spectacular. The price for a 3-hour kayaking tour was about $35 USD or 230 Kuna. This price also includes lunch, waters, and even a dry bag to put stuff we didn’t want to get wet. I learned so much about Dubrovnik while being able to get a workout in at the same time. Would highly recommend for those who love being active and swimming! This is the company we booked with: Kayaking Company we booked with!

Take the Cable Car up to Mt. Srḋ

One of the things you absolutely have to do in Dubrovnik is take the cable car up to the top of Mt. Srḋ. This is the perfect way to get incredible views of Dubrovnik and distant islands from above. I recommend going up for sunset, but make sure to get there early because everyone has the exact same idea. Thankfully at the top there is a big open space that provides plenty of room for many many people. The views of Dubrovnik at nighttime are stunning!

They even have a gorgeous restaurant right at the top, which I recommend making reservations for well in advance. If not, you can always order a drink and share a standing table with some strangers like we did. If you want to save some money, I recommend bringing up your own drinks and food to enjoy while watching the sun go down.

You actually have the option of walking up to the top of Mt. Srḋ if you don’t want to pay the 23 USD to go on the cable car. That price is for round trip, but you also have the option of paying for one way if you decide you want to hike back down. However, walking can easily take over an hour while the cable car only takes a few short minutes. You can also take a Tuk Tuk up to the top, which I’ll talk about in the next section! If you’re interested in taking the cable car up to Mt. Srḋ you can buy tickets in advance here: Buy Tickets Here!

Take a Tuk tuk Tour up to Mt. Sr

After last minute deciding not to take a day trip to Bosnia, we were trying to figure out what we should do with our day. Having been to Danĉe beach once already and loving it, we decided to spend a majority of our morning swimming and sunbathing at the great spot once again. This is a great hidden gem that you should definitely visit and if you want to hear about more hidden gems in Croatia, check out my other blog here: Hidden Gems in Croatia Blog

But still we had no plans for our afternoon! After making our way back to our Airbnb, we decided to look up things to do in Dubrovnik and we ended up finding the Eco Tuk tuk tour. Considering this was a very last-minute decision, it was an amazing one. We were able to book a sunset tour for that evening and we enjoyed every minute of it. After all the stairs we had gone up and all the walking we had done the whole trip, it was SO nice to be taken around Dubrovnik in a cute little automobile! We were actually able to make our way to parts of Dubrovnik we weren’t able to see on foot, like the Franjo Tuḋman bridge.

Our guide Luska was so friendly and knowledgeable, providing so much information about his hometown, Dubrovnik. We slowly made our way to the top of Mt. Srḋ for the sunset while having plenty of opportunities for stops along the way. Once we got to the top, Luska pulled out a traditional bottle of Croatian wine and poured us a glass while we watched the sun go down. Talk about best night ever! If you have a spare evening while in Dubrovnik, you should definitely book a Tuk tuk tour, it is such a nice way to see Dubrovnik without having to walk and the wine at the end is a great touch. I’ll link the website here: Tuk tuk tour!

These are the things you absolutely have to do when visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia! I have to throw in one last bit of information at the end here of where you should stay while in Dubrovnik. Our Airbnb was the perfect location and had the most beautiful view of the old town and Lokrum Island (the picture below). Seriously we have never stayed in a place with such beautiful views before. Waking up every morning and drinking our coffee while enjoying our gorgeous view were definitely some of the best moments of our trip. This is the Airbnb we stayed in: The Airbnb we Stayed in!

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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