On our first night in Dubrovnik we went to the center for dinner at one of the most recommended restaurants by the agency that organized the trip to Croatia: the Proto Restaurant. What an exceptional experience! The restaurant is unpretentious with great elegance, excellent gourmet food, chic and casual at the same time, with lots of charm. The most requested course is a roasted fish inside a thick layer of sea salt that is broken at the time of serving. Wonderful! The cherry on the cake – great price for what you get. We loved it !!!
Restaurante Proto e suas mesas na calçada
Terraço estiloso do Restaurante Proto
There is another restaurant managed by the same company that is farther more sophisticated – and pricy – just outside the walls. Nautika Restaurant is highly recommended for those who want to have a fancy dinner and it’s very well located on the opposite side of the main entrance to the walls.
Nautika Restaurant
Also worth mentioning the trendy restaurant 360, which is well-known, super modern, with tasting menu. As we wanted to have more genuine experiences – not so modern ones – we chose not to go there, but everyone says it’s excellent and it’s also very well located, in front of the old port.
Sunset from Dubrovnik Walls
If you walk inside the walls towards the sea, there are some exclusive bars where you can watch the sunset. Worth it booking in advance. We watch the sunset from the top of the walls, on a tour that you can carry out by buying a ticket next to one of the entrance doors. I can say it was beautiful and I believe we had the best view of all, but in these bars the view is also incredible and it’s a very romantic experience.
Can you spot those people down there?Romantic Sunset
Talking about beautiful sunset, I highly recommend you to enjoy a lively afternoon at the lounge bar of the Excelsior Hotel with great atmosphere, good music and absolutely overwhelming sunset views.
Bar Lounge of Excelsior Hotel
Breathtaking sunset views
To end our stay in Dubrovnik with a special touch, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant next to ours, from the same chain, the Victoria Restaurant and Lounge of the Villa Ursula hotel. It is a restaurant with a Peruvian touch and lots of charm. We stayed at a table under a beautiful vineyard in front of the sea. I can imagine the sunset from there must be fantastic, just like it was at our hotel. So worth it getting there before the sunset to enjoy the show.
It’s been a while since I started to heard about Croatia and Dubrovnik in particular. So I started to watch Game of Thrones and I figured it out that “Kings Landing” was not less than the beautiful Dubrovnik itself, which made me even more anxious about going to this historical city.
Beautiful Dubrovnik
We arrived in a golden afternoon. The sun was setting behind the walled city. Our hotel was settled in front of the beach with that enygmatic sea. Sometimes green, sometimes blue. The Hotel Excelsior is a fabulous recently renowed 5* hotel with a wonderful location, about 500 meters from the wall’s entrance and in front of a private beach
Sunset from Excelsior HotelBeautiful room at the Hotel Excelsior
Right after checking in a room that I completely fell in love, we walked to the city center to have dinner. Since the moment we step inside the walls, we were enchanted by the beauty of the village. Pure charm and history. Inside the walls there are lots of boutiques, bars, coffee shops, bistrôs and celebrated restaurants.
Tiny Streets of Dubrovnik
We decided to have dinner in a place recommended by our travel agency and it surprised us a lot. I will share with you every Hiddem Gems of Dubrovnik.
Relaxing with Dubrovnik viewView from Prora Restaurant, at the Excelsior Hotel
On the other day, in the afternoon, we did a walking tour inside the walls. We got in through the South door, just next to the Old Port, that still remain in use by smaller boats. This region houses charming restaurants and lively atmosphere during the night.
Dubrovnik Old PortDubrovnik Main Street
Worth it mentioning that Dubrovnik is a very ancient city. It was not created for Game of Thrones, as some north americans ask, our guide mentioned with disgust. It has already been used as background for many films and series, that’s true. For an example, the new Star Wars movie has paid about 6 millions euros to rent the main street for a whole week. It’s one of the trendiest cities in Europe.
Beautiful WallsOld Town
Dubrovnik is much more than a movie background. The small 45-thousand-inhabitants village is considered the Pearl of the Adriatic for its amazing beauty and relevance since the Middle Age. Beauty that was seriously harmed in a recent war. In 1991, right after the end of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro surrounded Dubrovnik for more than 6 months and made intense shellings. Everyone talks about that. It’s something you can see all over the place, there are lots of war traces in every building.
What really impressed us is their strenght and how they turned this page so fast. It’s something that happened so recently, it’s so alive in everyone’s memory and we still find much more joy and gratefulness there than in many other places. Dubrovnik is more alive than ever. It’s a place to go back a million times.
We spent a week in Croatia. Was it enough time? No. Definitely not. It’s a country where a 15 day itinerary can only cover the basics of getting to know the coast from north to south, but it was the time we had, so we enjoyed it as much as possible.
Croatian Architecture
Our trip to Croatia was put together by a very competent travel agency from the US called Adventures Croatia. They not only made the hotel reservations and transfers, they also took us to hidden and exclusive places that we would have never discovered on our own. They made all restaurant reservations, even those most difficult to get.
Olive Oil Tasting Experience in Split
It’s worth mentioning that we bought some tickets on Croatia Airlines to fly from Athens to Split and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. I had read that the company was terrible, but I didn’t want to believe it. It was stunningly horrible. Our flight was 7 hours late and we were stuck at the airport with no explanation. And was not only ours. Every flight was delayed for at least one hour. Not to mention how apathetic the employees were.
Oyster Farm in Ston
We started from Split, the second largest city in Croatia, after Zagreb, the capitol, that unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit. It’s the city where, 2 thousand years ago, a long named Roman emperor lived and died: Caio Aurelio Valério Diócles Dioclecian. That’s why the main tourist attraction is the Dioclecian Palace, a sort of mini city where everything at the time happened.
Beautiful Split
We headed for Dubrovnik, in the South, a 3 to 4 hours trip through scenic roads. On the way, we stopped at Ston, a walled historic city. Nearby, we experienced one of those agency’s hidden gems: a quick boat tour that led us to an oyster farm, where we understood why they are so expensive and enjoyed a truly feast of Goods.
Boat Tour in Ston
We came back from heaven and finally arrived at the most wanted place: the charming Dubrovnik. It is absolutely everything I have imagined before and captivated us for complete. So small, with just 45 thousand inhabitants, t’s plenty of life and joy and full of history. A thousand posts wouldn’t be able to transcribe in every detail what this place has to offer.
Picturesque Dubrovnik
Leaving Dubrovnik, we return a little bit to the north, through the Peljesac Peninsula, where we had lunch in a 500 years family run tavern, in the region that they call Napa Valley of Croatia. We continued through scenic beach side roads until Orebic, a small village where we took the ferry boat to Korcula, our next destination.
Scenic Roads
Korcula is the name of the island and also the name of charming village where we stayed for the night. They say it’s where Marco Polo was born, hundred years ago, before he had to Italy. Luck for him, cause the small village is a delightful place to stay for one night or even more. With intense relation to the sea, its little marina is plenty of beautiful sailing boats with families enjoying the great atmosphere.
Sunrise in Korcula
By the way, it’s important to mention that Croatia has a strong connection with the sea. Everywhere you go you see beautiful and well-organized marinas. The perfect way to get to know this winderful country is by boat as it has many islands close to each other. You can either rent you own boat or take a ferry boat, a popular and efficient way to move around.
Korcula Port
We chose to rent our own boat to move between islands. So we took it from Korcula to our next and final destination, the trendy Hvar (read: “ruar”). Along the way (about 2 hours by boat), we made a stop in Brac, another famous island, in a beach called Bol. Extraordinary sandy beach, with that spectacular water. We had lunch “like a local” in front of the beach.
Bol Beach in Brac Island
At the end of the day we arrived at the famous Hvar Island. As Korcula, it’s the name of the island and also the name of the port (Hvar Town) where is located the most variety of restaurants and beach clubs. The village is full of charm, with small ochre houses perched in a hill in front of the bay and its sailing boats. I loved this place!
Hvar Town seen from Adriana Hotel
To get back to Split Airport, which is located about an hour from Hvar, we rented our own private boat, but you can easily take a ferry boat that leaves Hvar Town every hour.
Beautiful Hvar Island
And that’s how we finish our fast but remarkable trip through Croatia. A country full of contrasts and charm. Mountains and rocks, blue crystal sea and green forests. Beautiful cities full of history. You can match with Greece or Italy, or maybe only Croatia, the country itself has it all, whether you are seeking for parties and lively atmosphere, history, gastronomy or just relax.
At the begining of this year we were invited to a wedding in Greece that would take place in September. The travel lover that I am, I soon started to plan the trip. My had was brimming with plans, places and experiences I was imagining.
Hvar Island
So much planning, so much anticipation, I confess I was worried my expectations were too high and maybe I was fooling myself. But in fact it was one of the most fantastic trip I’ve ever taken.
Ocre Buildings in Split
We landed thrilled in Split after a long 24 hours voyage. We awoke to a marvelous sun in one of the most incredible countries in Europe – that Croatia my mother always dreamed so of getting to know (my parents were with me and my husband in the first part of the trip).
50 Shades of Blue in Bol, Croatia
We were delighted with olive oil tastings and fresh-harvested oysters. To say nothing of the delicious mussels that took us to heaven. We were amazed by Dubrovnik’s historical charm and a hotel with one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever seen in front of a crystal clear sea.
Amazing Beauty of Dubrovnik
We were enchanted by tiny charming villages on fascinating islands such as Korcula and Hvar (pronunced “huar”). We were stunned by the spectacular geography of Croatia, with crystaline waters and dramatic mountains topped by medieval villages which plunged directly into the sea. we ate like the anciens in an abandoned village – only I could come up with that. It was awesome!
Korcula Port
So, as if that wasn’t enough, and as if nothing more could amaze us, our jaws dropped upon seeing the beauty of Santorini. Such a paradise! How spectacular! It’s much more enchanting than the pics show. It’s amazing!
Breathtaking Santorini
So the time for the group to split had come and we were overtaken by nostalgia. We boarded in a ferry to Mykonos, the wedding destination. There is where we joined the program especially organized by the bride and groom, passing through the hottest and most exclusive places we have ever been.
Beautiful Streets of Mykonos
It had been a long time since our last visit to the island, what surprise us is the city’s high level of excellence – pretty impressive! Places beyond elegant, impeccable service, luminous scenes. To say nothing of the music scene, which is one of the best in the world. Every day a place so spectacular as to make a grown man cry.
Mykonos Beaches
It was tiring, of course, a marathon. 8 cities in 15 days. We also included a short stopover in Porto – Portugal. But our hearts came back full of joy, We experienced, possibly, some of the most fantastic days of our lives.
