As you may already know, Croatia remains to be one of the top places we visited in all of Europe! I can’t even explain in words how magical Dubrovnik is.

Croatia may not be the hidden gem of holiday destinations it once was, but its timeless beauty and allure have not diminished. With great airfare deals, incredible natural beauty and affordable accommodation, it’s still a great place to visit, especially on a budget.

After the War of Independence and breakaway from Yugoslavia, Croatia wasn’t the ideal place for a vacation. Many of the cities still bear the scars of the fighting and act as a reminder of what happened less than twenty years ago. While it is true that you can’t tear a page from history, Croatia has clearly come a long way in a short time.

For a country of such beauty, it was never going to be long before tourism returned. Its 1,778 km of Adriatic coastline are some of the most spectacular in the world, and word quickly spread that it was the perfect place for a holiday. Indeed, anyone who has seen the crystal-clear waters, idyllic coves and picturesque islands that dot the coast will never forget them. But as the hype grew, so did the prices. And although Croatia’s fleeting time as a bargain destination is over, its extraordinary beauty remains. Budget airlines fly to several of the major cities, and with a little bit of planning you can you’re your money stretch a long way.

Dubrovnik is the obvious place to start your adventure. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city with its walled old town is commonly known as the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’. Stroll the city walls and marvel at what George Bernard Shaw once described as “Paradise on Earth”.

Don’t Miss: Top 5 Things to do in Dubrovnik, Croatia!

Of course, one of the best and cheapest ways to travel around Croatia is by boat. Catch the ferry or island hop your way up the coast. Don’t miss Korcula, reputed birthplace of Marco Polo – it’s like a scaled-down Dubrovnik, complete with walled old town.

Split is home to the incredible Diocletian’s Palace, a city within a city. The commercial and residential centre of Split was built within the palace walls. Houses and shops are almost impossibly crammed into tiny, labyrinthine alleys. You can wander for hours, never knowing if you’ll find a way out but simply not caring either.

Of course there is plenty more to see in Croatia. The Baroque capital Zagreb offers great food and style in abundance, but for many the lure of the Adriatic is too great. If you look around, and aren’t too fussy, you’ll discover there’s lots of great budget accommodation options outside of the mainstream commercial hotels. Look for private lets or rooms let out by local residents if you want to keep your costs down.

While Croatia may not be the absolute bargain of before, much of what you’ll want to see is free: it’s all around you. The restaurants are great, but why eat inside when you can sit with your legs dangling into clear Adriatic water and have a picnic? Croatia itself is the main attraction; all you have to do is get there!

Apartments Nadramija

Would you like to have a balcony with a view like this on your next vacation? Well, you’re in luck because I’m about to provide you with all of the information necessary for you to experience the amazing views from this hill side apartment in the “Pearl of the Adriatic” also known as Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Location

Apartments Nadramija sits up on the hill side of Dubrovnik about 5-10 minutes walking distance from Old Town, Banje Beach, and Ploce Gate. The location is one of the best due to the amazing sea front balconies and views of Old Town in the distance. There’s also a local grocery store just around the corner about five minutes walking distance which works out great if you enjoy cooking your own meals while you’re on vacation. Liz and I love cooking when we’re on the road so the local grocery store came in extremely handy for us. We would come home after a long day of exploring, cook a nice dinner for ourselves and sit out on our balcony watching the sun set over the Adriatic Sea.

The Rooms

Tomo, (the owner) has 7 different apartments available for rent year round. When Liz and I stayed here, we stayed in Apartment A4 so this apartment is the only one I can personally vouch for out of the 7 available accommodations.

The bedroom consisted of two twin beds that are pushed together to make one giant bed. If you’re traveling with a friend, the beds can just as easily be separated so don’t worry. The bedroom has a small balcony off of it which looks out towards the hill side of Dubrovnik. The real balcony lies at the front of the apartment and that’s where you’re going to want to spend most of your time, trust me!

The bathroom is small, yet comfy enough. Inside you’ll find a stand-up shower, toilet, bidet, sink and even a washing machine!

The kitchen/living room area is quite spacious and is equipped with everything you’ll need and more. Full kitchen, full sized refrigerator, table and chairs, tv, radio, couches, coffee tables and more.

Amenities:

Air-condition, Television, Full-size Refrigerator/Freezer, Washing machine, Balcony with Sea/Old Town View, Parking and more. There was no Wi-Fi at the time of our stay but we managed to pick up a free Wi-Fi signal from a neighbor. Worst case there are plenty of places in Old Town to jump on the internet.

Rooms/Rates:

Since there are a wide variety of apartments available, I would suggest you head over to the official site to check the nightly rates based on the apartment you choose. FYI:  We stayed in Apartment A4 and we absolutely LOVED everything about it.

• Room w/ Air Conditioning and En-suite Bathroom : 70 €/night (Price fluctuates depending on the month)

Why It’s Worth It

This accommodation recommendation isn’t the cheapest place I’ve ever reviewed but I have to be honest when I say that Apartment Nadramija was one of the best values that I’ve come across in all of my travels through Europe. If you’re looking for an apartment with a $500/night view of Old Town and the Adriatic for a extremely reasonable price of approx 70 €/night then this is your place.

Liz and I spent our days walking Old Town, Kayaking the Adriatic and hanging out with friends that we had made in other parts of Europe. At night we spent our time cooking meals in our fully equipped kitchen and dining outside on our sea view balcony. Apartments Nadramija made our 7 night stay in Dubrovnik truly unforgettable.

Contact Information:

• Telephone : +385 (0)98 565 056 OR +385 (0)20 420 848
• Email:  Contact Tomo
• Website:  Apartments Nadramija

‘Our Beautiful Homeland!’ Perhaps an example of typical national anthem rhetoric, these opening lines of the Croatian National Anthem pretty much hit the nail on the head: Croatia is a breathtakingly beautiful country.

Brela Beach

In the manner of any beach lover, I wasted no time in heading down to the nearest beach. Luckily for me, my local beach was voted best beach in Europe by Forbes magazine and when I first set eyes on Brela Beach, it was clear why it won the title: the Adriatic’s glistening transparency is simply idyllic. In addition, the coves that are dotted along the coastline are magnificent; a perfect place to escape the crowds. Beyond the beach, these coves are fringed in lush greenery: a simply perfect backdrop for you lie back and feel all your daily worries ebb away.

Be sure to watch out for the naturist beaches, as there are plenty of them in Croatia! For those of you who (like me) are a little shy, just keep an eye out for ‘FKK’ signs which indicate a naturist beach.

The Garden Festival

For me, Croatia’s beaches are always a must see but I was actually visiting Croatia in order to attend the Garden Festival. Croatia has many fascinating cultural and educational festivals, but this one is all about the music! The atmosphere of the festival was simply electric and although artists are only small names, I could’ve danced all night! Sadly only 2,500 tickets go on sale and they sell out pretty quick, so be sure to grab them online. Tickets go for $144 USD which is a bit pricey but with an attendance of only 2,500 people it ended up being a great concert with a more personal feel to it. It surely beats a sold out stadium concert where you’re standing 3 miles back from the stage.

Old Town Dubrovnik

After all this partying, all I wanted to do was kick back, enjoy the views with a cold drink. Whist I was wandering through Old Town Dubrovnik, I stumbled on a hidden gem by the name of Café Buza. As a result of its unusual location: on a cliff through an arch in a wall, this bar boasts incredible views of the sea and coastline (as well as a decently priced array of drinks). Leaping off of cliffs really isn’t for me, but at Café Buza you can watch adrenaline junkies throw themselves off cliffs into the cool Adriatic, whilst you chill out with a cold beer.

Tucked away in the corner of the Mediterranean, Croatia is an awesome place for any backpacker. It promises beautiful scenery, good music, good value for money and great times. What more could a budgeting traveler wish for?

Dubrovnik

Also known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic” and boy does it live up to it’s nickname. In June of 2008 we were fortunate enough to be able to spend seven wonderful days in this amazing old city and we loved every single minute of it. In fact, out of all of the countries and cities that I visited while traveling Europe, Dubrovnik was my favorite destination. Hands down!

Here’s our list of the Top 5 Things to Do in Dubrovnik, Croatia:

1. Walk The walls of Old Town

Yes, you can actually walk atop the giant castle walls that surround and protect the Old Town of Dubrovnik! The walk around the walls is about 2 Kilometers (1.2 Miles) long. Parts of the castle walls reach up to 82ft (25m) in height, and up to 20ft (6m) thick in some places! Make sure you charge up your camera batteries for this one. You won’t want to miss some of the best views in town. Literally!

Cost:

50 HRK/pp ($9.25 USD/pp)

Duration:

Until your batteries run out!

2. Kayak the Adriatic Sea!

We highly recommend this half day Kayaking adventure! We went with a company called Adventure Dalmatia and they were as professional as you can get. For those that have nightmares about flipping over in a kayak and getting stuck upside down, no need to worry! These kayaks are top loading, therefore you basically sit in a somewhat comfortable seat on top of the kayak. Plus, you can ride doubles! Instructors will lead the way as you struggle to keep in sync with your partners paddling. You’ll eventually get the hang of it and like us, you’ll end up passing your instructors at light speed while attempting to see how fast you can actually make your Kayak go!

As you cruise along the beautiful Adriatic sea you circle the Island of Lokrum, explore some small caves, and make a quick pit stop into a private cave beach along the Dubrovnik coast line called Bettina. Here, you’ll take a relaxing seat on the beach while you consume your yummy dalmatian ham & cheese sandwich which is included in the tour price. Once your food has been digested you can take a dip in the clear blue waters with your snorkel gear for a bit before heading back to the mainland. After all was said and done we had a great time, and boy were we sore afterwards!

Cost:

230 HRK/pp ($42.50 USD/pp) – Price Includes Kayak & Snorkeling Gear, Lunch, Waterproof Barrels for personal items, Guides/Instructors.

Duration:

2.5-3 hrs

3. Visit the isle of Lokrum

Lokrum. A small, lush, uninhabited yet beautiful island which lies about 700m off Dubrovnik’s spectacular coastline. With just a short 10 minute ferry ride from the port of Old town to Lokrum, this island can provide a few hours of fun in the sun and some nice hikes along Lokrum’s many cliffs. Not only can you spend a couple of hours taking in all of the photo op’s along the cliffs, but Lokrum also houses an old monastery, botanical gardens and a lake called Mrtvo More or the (Dead Sea). The Dead Sea was my favorite part about Lokrum, or was it the nudist beach which lies on the south-eastern tip of the island? Either way, we had a great time exploring all that’s to been seen on the isle of Lokrum and we highly recommend this short hop across the Adriatic. Oh, and one more thing… be sure to watch out for the gangs of pesky peacocks that seem to be around every corner on this island!

Cost:

40 HRK/pp ($7.45 USD/pp) – Round Trip Ferry from Old Town Port to Lokrum

Duration:

Early morning until the last ferry leaves…

4. Seaside Drinks at Buza

Buza, a unique cliff side cafe on the south side of Old Town that can only be found by catching a glimpse of an old wooden sign that says “Cold Drinks With The Most Beautiful View”. Be sure to keep an eye out for this little sign, because it can easily be missed! When you arrive at a hole in the castle walls that leads out to the sea, you know you’ve arrived! Most people pass right by this place without ever knowing it existed. That’s what makes it special though, right?

There’s actually two Cafe Buza’s (Buza 1, and Buza 2) along the edge of Old Town. Both are accessed by holes in the castle walls, and both serve the same menu — drinks only!  If you’re feeling a little adventurous, make sure you bring your bathing suit so that you can do a few of the many cliff jumps that are quite conveniently located at Buza. Usually, you’ll find a lot of the young locals jumping there through out the day. Watch to see where they jump from, and where they land and you’ll be fine! But, then again… don’t take my word for it!

Overall, Buza is a great place to end an evening while sipping a glass of wine and watching the sunset over the Adriatic Sea. Sigh… LIFE IS TOUGH!

Cost:

Reasonable.

Duration:

You won’t want to leave this place!

5. Explore Old Town at night

Old Town at night is as beautiful as it is during the day. From the immaculate white cobblestone streets to the maze of stair-filled alleyways that make up Old Town, there are endless routes to explore and you can do so feeling completely safe at all hours of the night. In saying that, I always recommend bringing a friend or two along with you because being cautious never hurts!

You’ll find that there’s usually a lot going on in Old Town by night. The streets are filled with the young and the old and most seem to enjoy taking an evening stroll while admiring all of Old Town’s beauty. If walking isn’t your thing, you can hit up one of the many restaurants and bars in the area, or you can even make a delicious decision to stop into one of the few gelato shops in town. Mmm!

For a fun, reasonably priced night out head on over to Latino Club Fuego where you can drink and dance until the wee hours of the morning. Head over to Gil’s Cuisine and Pop Lounge for a more expensive, posh night out. Gil’s is an Old Town hot spot where you can wine and dine on their open air roof-top dining/lounge area. The views cannot be missed, but the prices sure can!

Cost:

Depends on what you like to do!

Duration:

All night long…

This morning we slept in quite late after spending most of our day yesterday in the blazing hot sun. We were both so tired! We woke up had some breakfast and simply planned on just relaxing and spending our day down at the water at Buza.

We walked down to Buza around noon time and the weather was pretty much the same as it has been for the last week now. Sunny, hot, and beautiful! We jumped into the water as soon as we got there, and as you’ll see below I jumped from the highest cliff at Buza right off the bat. Thanks to Liz for the amazing photography skills! This is one of the craziest photos that I’ve seen in a while!

We stayed at Buza and swam around for a couple hours before heading back to the apartment. It got a little too hot and we had basically just spent a straight week in the sun so we were sort of tired of it at this point. We headed back to our beautiful air conditioned apartment and froze for a few hours while we cooked dinner and chatted about how great our vacation had been so far.

Later on we headed down to Old Town for one last gelato. We strolled the streets of Dubrovnik while we inhaled our gelati. After doing a bit of walking around town we headed home and called it a night. Tomorrow we’ll wake up early to make sure that we have everything packed for our flight back to Dublin, Ireland!

—
Day 8:

This morning we woke up around 8:45AM to get all of our stuff together and make sure that the apartment was in the same state as when we first arrived. We did most of the cleaning and most of our packing yesterday evening but still had a few things to do before our flight back to Dublin.

The owner of the apartment picked us up at 10:30AM and took us straight to the airport for our 12:40PM flight to Dublin. We hung out in the airport for a while and had a sandwich before we boarded the plane. Unfortunately we were sitting on the runway for about twenty minutes longer that we should have been due to some air restrictions but finally around 1:15PM we took off and we were on our way.

We landed in Dublin around 3:15PM and as much as we were sad about leaving Dubrovnik, we were both excited about getting back to Dublin. Even I was excited because I’ve been on the road for three weeks now and sometimes it’s just nice to get back to your home base even if it’s only for a few days.

Liz is heading back home to the states on July 6th so we’ve tried our best to jam pack as much as possible into this next coming week and a half. We’re spending tonight and tomorrow in Dublin and then on Friday we will head to the west coast of Ireland to Galway where we will meet up with some of my family and friends. On Sunday we’ll leave Galway and travel back to Dublin to spend the night before our flight to Alicante, Spain on Monday June 30th. We’ll be staying in Alicante, Spain until Friday July 4th.

All in all, we’ve had a great time so far. Croatia is a place not to be missed! Dubrovnik was one of my favorite cities so far. Now I’ll be showing Liz around Dublin and Galway for the next few days before we head back to another one of my favorites Alicante, Spain!

Til next time…

This morning was an early one! We had to be up and ready at around 7:15AM in order to head down to the meeting point for our day trip to Montenegro!

Montenegro is known as “the world’s newest country” according to my LonelyPlanet “Europe on a shoestring 2008″ guide book and most people that I’ve met have never even heard of it! This small country lies just south east of Croatia and in May of 2006 it finally gained it’s independence from the union of Serbia for the first time since 1916!

Our tour driver picked us up at around 7:45AM in front of the Dubrovnik fire station and we made a quick loop around the hill side to pick up a few others. Luckily just before we picked up the last few people Liz reminded me that I needed my passport! Thank god she reminded me because I would have been sitting at the border of Croatia and Montenegro all day while everyone else spent the day in Montenegro! I let the driver know that I had forgotten my passport and he let me run back up to the apartment real quick before we headed off for the day.

Once we picked everyone up we headed for the border. On our way the terrain started to slowly change and the views were getting more and more beautiful. We finally arrived at the border of Croatia and Montenegro and everything went smoothly. Within 15 minutes or so we were off, and on our way to our first stop of the day, the city of Kotor.

Before reaching Kotor we made a quick pit stop and everyone jumped out of the van for a small break and a photo opportunity. In front of us was the beautiful Bay of Kotor! It was surrounded by mountains, flowers, and a somewhat dry landscape. The bay itself was absolutely huge!

After our short break and after everyone got a good look at the Bay of Kotor, we all were really looking forward to seeing the city of Kotor. When we finally arrived we couldn’t help but see the similarities of the city of Kotor to Old Town Dubrovnik. Like Dubrovnik, the city is surrounded by castle walls for protection. The walls lead all the way up the sides of the mountains. It’s pretty impressive! The Old City of Kotor was very small compared to Dubrovnik though.

There was not too much to see, so as soon as we entered Kotor Liz and I headed straight for a restaurant called La Pasteria. La Pasteria was named one of the best places to eat in Kotor so we wanted to see if it lived up to it’s reputation.

We sat down and had a great meal and the prices were right on track with what my guide book said so we were happy, and full by the time we were finished. After lunch we went for a small walk around the old city and pretty much saw everything that was to be seen.

Before meeting back with our driver we took a stroll through the old market that lies outside of the castle walls and got ourselves a couple cheap drinks before heading to our final destination, Budva! Budva is a city in Montenegro that is known for its historic old town, and beautiful sandy beaches!

The sky was clear, the sun was boiling and we were on our way to Budva. Liz swore that she saw a sign while we were driving that said it was 41.5 C (106.7 F) outside but I didn’t believe her. There was just no way that when we stepped out of the van that it would be nearly 107 degrees out. Once we arrived in Budva we realized that the sign that Liz saw on our way to Budva was correct! At this point it was 42 C (107.6) degrees out and we ran straight for the beach. I couldn’t wait to get into the water!

We walked and walked until we found a place to change into our bathing suits then we headed off to the nearest empty spot on the beach. We laid our towels out and as soon as I took my shirt off I could feel the rays of the sun beaming down on my back. We jumped in the water and swam around for a bit but we weren’t too impressed with the surroundings of Budva. The edge of the beach almost reminded me of an old run down camp ground. There were all sorts of junk souvenir shops, and a mobile home park that basically lied on the edge of the beach. The water itself didn’t appear to be the cleanest either but we made the best of it. We laid out for a bit longer before heading back to take a stroll through the old town of Budva.

We took a short walk around the old town but once again there wasn’t too much to see.

There were some shops and places to buy souvenirs but no real sights. All in all, I wasn’t impressed with Montenegro at all. There are definite efforts in place at the moment to build beautiful resorts and hotels in the area. There is a massive resort in the making right now in Budva right next to Old Town. Budva might possibly be the future of Montegnegro, but it’s far from that at this point.

Unfortunately I only got to see two cities today, so I can’t say that Montenegro as a whole was bad but from what I saw today I wouldn’t recommend anybody taking a day trip there nevermind staying in Kotor or Budva. Truly disappointing!

Everyone met back at our meeting spot at around 4:15PM and we headed back to Dubrovnik. Once we got back Liz and I ran straight for the apartment and we left the air conditioner on this morning so by the time we got back the apartment was freezing. Perfect!

We cooked some dinner and headed to bed early after a long day in the blazing hot sun. Today was the hottest day on my trip by far…

P.S. – Sorry, no worthy photos of Budva… Just wasn’t too much of a picturesque place.

Last night I made reservations for Liz & I to go sea kayaking and snorkeling in Dubrovnik with a company called Adventure Dalmatia (www.adventuredalmatia.com). A half day kayaking and snorkeling tour with Adventure Dalmatia included: Kayaking & Snorkeling Gear, Instructors/Guides, Sandwiches & Water, and Insurance. The total price was 230 Kn/Person (approx: $49.67 USD/person).

We made our way down to the meeting point which was located right down along side the coast near Pile Gate. When we arrived we were met by the promoter of the company and he instructed us to hang out for a few while the others arrived.

We took all of our belongings (clothes, camera, wallets, etc) and threw them in a waterproof bucket that came along with us on the kayak. Once our pockets were empty we got ourselves all geared up and ready to go!

Liz and I had never kayaked before but we were assured by our guide that these kayaks are very hard to capsize due to the wide body and the fact that you didn’t have to put your legs inside of the kayak, they laid out on the top of it as you sat back in your seat comfortably. The kayaks were made for two people, which I didn’t even know existed. I was under the assumption that a kayak was pretty much just made for one person. Guess not!

We jumped into our sweet new ride for the day and Liz jumped in front seat because factually it’s easier to paddle if you sit in the front. The back seat was left for me, and little did I know that I was going to have a lot of work ahead of me! Just kidding Liz!

There was a small group of maybe six kayaks and then two guides, one who rode ahead, and one who stayed behind the pack in case anybody had any issues. One of the guides was really cool and he was chatting to Liz and I while we cruised across the sea. We were determined to be in the front of the group most of the time. There were times that we stayed back a bit, but for the most part we were cruising! At times we’d be sailing so fast that we would end up rear ending the people in front of us. It was too funny!

After we cruised around the castle walls of Dubrovnik we headed for the Island of Lokrum. We made a big loop around the island and stopped at a cave on Lokrum island for a 10 minute break. Liz and I were ready to go, and since we were first in to the cave, everyone had to turn around and that meant we would be last out of the cave. That didn’t last too long though. We showed what team work was all about and we paddled like true professionals as we cut a few kayaks off and laughed our way to the number one spot.

Next we headed to a beach called Cave Beach which is located about a 10 minute walk down from our apartment on the hill side. The only problem is that Cave Beach isn’t accessible by the public, there’s no way to get down to the beach unless you swim from another point on the shore, or get there by boat. As we pulled up on shore of this small beach we parked our kayaks and had lunch which was included in our tour price. The lunch was a dalmatian ham and cheese sandwich. Basically a slice of ham, and a slice of cheese on a sub roll. It wasn’t too filling or tasty, but it did the job.

After eating we threw on our gear and attempted to do some snorkeling. Unfortunately the both of us kept accidentally swallowing salt water so that didn’t last too long. We gave up and decided to just swim around in the beautiful clear water.

Once everyone finished their lunch we jumped back into our kayaks and rode along the Dubrovnik coast line, across the old port, and then back around the castle walls to the finish. We made sure that we were first back, we even passed our own instructor this time!

The whole kayaking and snorkeling journey lasted around two and a half to three hours. We had a great time and would really recommend it to anybody that wants to do something a little different during their stay in Dubrovnik. Another thing that was great about this activity was that you don’t need any previous kayaking experience. It was really safe, the guides really looked out for everyone along the way. Everyone came back alive, and all seemed to have a really good time.

After our kayaking adventure we headed back to the apartment and cooked a nice lunch for ourselves. Once we finished lunch Liz laid out on our balcony for a while while I did some writing for the website.

Later on we mixed a few drinks and got dressed up before heading down to take a stroll through Old Town Dubrovnik. The Old Town is a great place to go at night if you want to do some people watching as you walk through the spotlessly clean streets of Dubrovnik.

Before heading home for the night we stopped at a small restaurant that served burgers, pizza, and other typical american food and we shared a nice burger and some pizza. Mmm!

Tomorrow we’re planning on walking along the top of the castle walls of Old Town Dubrovnik and then we’ll probably lay out and catch some rays as usual!

—
Day 5:

This morning we slept in until about 10:30AM before rolling out of bed and heading out to explore the highest point in Old Town Dubrovnik, the Gradske Zidine (City Walls). We walked down to the Ploce Gate entrance to get to the one of two access points to the top of the city walls.

Here we paid an admission price of 50 Kn/Person (approx: $10.80 USD/Person) which I thought was sort of pricey, but I guess it’s one of the few main sights of Dubrovnik after all. After walking up the stairs to the top, I realized why they charge so much to tour the old city walls. The views were unbelievable!

The full loop around the walls is about 2 Kilometers (1.2 Miles). Some of the walls reach up to 25 meters (82 ft) in height, and up to 12 meters (40ft) wide in some places! The weather was absolutely beautiful, but the sun was baking hot and we were up high so it made the walk seem even longer than it really was. We were sweating about 10 minutes into it! It was great though, we really enjoyed the beautiful views of the Old Town, and the views of the blue green sea below. We got a lot of really great photos during our walk along the walls (see below).

After walking the city walls we decided we were in desperate need of a swim! We headed down to Buza (cliff side cafe) where there are spots to lay out, swim, and even cliff jump if you’re a thrill seeker! As soon as we got down to the bottom we instantly jumped right in. I have another cliff jumping video coming soon! This one is from a lot higher this time! It was a great time, and the water was so refreshing. Unlike the other day, there were a lot of people swimming today and we chatted with a few of them while we hung out at the edge of the water.

Our next stop before heading back to the apartment was the Adriatic Explore travel agency (www.adriatic-explore.com) located in Old Town. We stopped in and reserved two spots for the full day trip to Montenegro that leaves tomorrow morning at 8AM and arrives back in Dubrovnik around 6:30PM. We’re both really looking forward to seeing Montenegro, the photos in the brochure look beautiful!

Tonight we’re just going to take it easy, like we haven’t been taking it easy in the first place. We’re on vacation! We’ll probably cook some dinner and lounge on our balcony before heading to bed early so that we can be up bright and early to head to Montenegro…

Cool Fact: Montenegro will be the 14th country that I’ve visited on my trip so far!

This morning we woke up fairly early so that we could catch the 9:00AM boat to the Island of Lokrum which is located just off the coast of Dubrovnik.

There is no need for reservations as many other activities in Dubrovnik need to be reserved at least one day ahead. With this boat ride to Lokrum, you simply walk down to the Old Port of Dubrovnik, find the Lokrum Island boat stand and purchase your 40 Kn ($8.63) round trip ticket. Boats depart from the Old Port of Dubrovnik to Lokrum every hour so you pretty much never have to worry about being stranded on the Island for too long. If you’d like more information please visit the official website of Lokrum

It took about 15 minutes to get to Lokrum, and the boat goes really slow so you have plenty of time to snap some photos of the Old Town of Dubrovnik as you’re leaving the port, the hill side where our apartment is, and the Island of Lokrum as you sail closer and closer to it.

Once we arrived on the island we walked straight to the Mrtvo More (Dead Sea) a natural saltwater pool that is fed by the sea that surrounds Lokrum. We dropped our bags and I had to coax Liz into getting into the water because she has a fear of cold water. Not really, but you’d think she did at least. In reality the sea here isn’t cold at all. It’s probably 20 degrees warmer than any water on any beach in Massachusetts, but she still thinks it’s too cold to swim. We swam around in the Dead Sea for a few minutes and Liz took a few cool photos of me messing around in the water.

After exploring the Dead Sea, we headed off to the cliff side of Lokrum where we found an amazing photo opportunity! It was basically a hole cut out of the rock with a view of the Adriatic Sea in the background. One of the most amazing photos I’ve taken to date on this trip so far. That was definitely one of the main highlights of Lokrum.

Afterwards we strolled along the cliffs and took a few photos of each other…

The next highlight was the Nudist Beach on Lokrum. Well maybe I’m lying about the “highlight” part. As usual, I seem to find the nude beaches that have all of the elderly sunbathing on them (ex. the topless beach I visited in Benidorm, Spain). As soon as we arrived we saw a few creepy old men lying out and they were staring at us as we walked as far down the beach as possible. We finally arrived at a spot on the rocks where we thought we would be safe and once again I jumped in the water (fully clothed) and swam for about 25 minutes or so while Liz caught some rays. Unfortunately, or fortunately there were no photos allowed on the beach. Lucky you!

We departed from Lokrum Island around noon time and headed back to Dubrovnik. Once we arrived at the port we decided we would go to Buza (Cold Drinks), a cafe that lies outside of the castle walls of Dubrovnik. Once we got down to the bottom Liz wanted to lie out for a little longer so I wasted no time and did my first cliff jump in Dubrovnik! Of course I scoped out the landing again before jumping. The water had to be at least 75 feet deep in one spot so it was a perfect place to land. (Video coming soon!)

It was now approaching dinner time and Liz and I were starving! We stopped at the supermarket on the way back to our apartment to pick up some food and drinks. Once we got back Liz got right to cooking and I spent some time cleaning up the apartment. For dinner we had Spaghetti, and sauce with chicken mixed through it. We set up the table outside on our balcony that overlooks the Old Town of Dubrovnik.

After dinner we headed back down to Old Town to have a drink on another cafe that lies outside of the castle walls of Dubrovnik. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of it! It’s located just around the corner from the other cafe (Buza). We sat down and had a vodka and cranberry as the sun set over Dubrovnik and the weather was amazing. What a great end to our second night in Croatia!

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Day 3:

This morning we slept in until around 10:00AM and I was surprised that Liz slept that long because I know myself how hard it is to adapt to the time difference here in Europe. We’re six hours ahead of Boston and it’s usually really difficult to adapt during the first few days after you arrive. We didn’t really have much planned for the day other than to find the Tourist Information and search for some day trips that we can take from Dubrovnik at some of the travel agencies in town.

We headed down to Old Town and finally found Tourist Information! It’s taken us a couple days to find the place! When we finally arrived we picked ourselves up a map and a few brochures that looked interesting. Once we finished there we headed off to a travel agency called Adriatic Explore. They have all sorts of day trips so we sat down with the travel agent and got more information on some of the trips that we were interested in. We decided to think a little more before making any decisions and we grabbed a brochure on our way out.

After leaving we decided to head off to Banje Beach, the beach that spit up a rock that hit me directly in the forehead on the first day I arrived here. The difference between today and our first day here was that the ocean was much more calm. After taking a swim at Banje Beach today I realized how insane I was going into the water on the first day in the first place. It was crazy!

We swam around in the shallow, rocky water and then laid out for a few before heading back for a late lunch. Velveeta, and chicken! Mmm! Liz actually brought Velveeta to Europe for me, because she knows how much I love it. Unfortunately you can’t find Velveeta here in Europe. Not that I know of at least. All I know is that it was so good!

We both took showers to rinse off all of the salt from our bodies and got dressed before heading down to Fresh, a small bar/cafe down in Old Town that offers free Wi-Fi Internet, and has all sorts of cheap alcoholic drinks. Once there I uploaded some new photos to the site, and made a few phone calls back home. We sat there and had a few drinks before heading back up to the apartment to drop my laptop off before we went out for the night.

At around 8:45PM we headed down to Old Town to watch the big European football match (Croatia vs. Turkey). The crowds were crazy, and everyone was dressed in the Croatian team colors (Red & White Checkers). There was a giant projector screen that was mounted up on the wall near the bell tower in Old Town that was showing the game. Liz and I got a front row seat in the Stradun (main street in Old Town Dubrovnik) and we watched the game as the crowd went crazy!

Neither team scored all game until Croatia scored with less than two minutes left! Everyone went absolutely nuts! There were fireworks going off in the city, people lighting torches, blowing air horns and more. Within 30 seconds Turkey came back and scored to tie the game. Nobody could believe it! This meant that the game would be decided on penalty kicks. Croatia was up first and they missed their first kick. It was pretty much over from this point on. Turkey scored on most, if not all of their penalty kicks (can’t remember) and Croatia missed all but one! It was an unfortunate end to the night, the crowd quieted, and everyone seemed to scatter home in disgust. Fortunately for Liz and I we had a great time and would’ve liked to see Croatia win but there were no hard feelings due to us just supporting the team where were vacationing!

Once the game finished we grabbed some gelato before heading back up to our apartment. Tomorrow we’re planning on doing a half day kayaking tour on the Adriatic Sea! Should be pretty exciting!

Well, I’ll start off by saying that the 8.5 hour overnight ferry from Bari to Italy was almost worse than being on a bus for 3 weeks straight. I purchased a deck ticket for the journey which cost 46 Euro. If I was to purchase a cabin ticket, which included a bed, shower, and a private bathroom of my own the prices would have been astronomical! The deck pass simply gave you the option to either sleep out on the deck of the ferry, or go inside to the common areas which had tables, chairs and restaurant styles to find a place to sleep. At first I laid outside on the deck but then decided to head into the common area so that I could find myself a nice restaurant style booth to set up camp at.

Once I scoped out a vacant table I took my two bags and locked them up to the leg of the table so that I wouldn’t have to worry about people stealing anything as I slept. It worked out pretty well. The sleep part didn’t work out too well though. After you lie on these booth seats which have cushioning that is paper thin you realize that you’re really just sleeping on a piece of wood. It was a long ride, and all I wanted to do was sleep until the sun came up in Croatia.

At first I had the booth to myself but at one point during my tossing and turning I glanced over across the booth and found an older man sitting on the other side. I opened my eyes for a few seconds but was too tired to even say Hi. I was using my jacket as a pillow, and had no blanket. The worst part about it was that the air conditioning on the ship was blaring the whole night. Theres pro’s and con’s to everything. You could go outside and sleep on the deck of the boat on some wooden benches, and be warm because the weather was beautiful all night, or you could go inside where it was a tiny bit more comfortable and freeze to death from the A/C. I chose to sleep inside and by the time I realized how cold I was, I was too tired to move, nevermind unlock my bags and drag them outside with me. I simply just dealt with the cold, and tossed and turned the rest of the night while enduring the most uncomfortable sleep to date.

Finally the sun came up and we arrived at the port of Dubrovnik! I was so excited to finally be on land again.

I jogged off of the ferry as it docked and ran across the street to the ATM so that I could withdraw some Croatian currency (Croatian Kuna) for the bus to Old Town Dubrovnik from the port. Once I withdrew some money I jumped on the next bus to Old Town. After arriving I had to navigate my way to the apartment that Liz and I rented for the week. All I really knew was that it was situated in the foothills of the mountains here in Dubrovnik and it overlooked the Adriatic Sea and Old Town. It was 7:30AM. Here I am with no directions to my accommodations and I’m a walking zombie who’s carrying two backpacks with a total weight of nearly 40lbs on my shoulders. God, help me find this apartment so that I can just drop these bags! After taking a few correct turns I asked a few people if they knew the address that I had scribbled on a piece of paper. Each person that I asked led me a little closer and closer to my final destination. At last I arrived at my apartment. I checked in, and immediately threw my bags down. It was such a relief to finally be here. Now all I had to do was unpack some of my clothes, run to the nearest supermarket to grab some food and R-E-L-A-X!

The owner of the apartment had planned to pick Liz up at the Dubrovnik airport at 11:30AM so I went along for the ride with him. We arrived and waited for Liz to get her bags off of the plane and off again back to the apartment. It was so great to finally see someone from home. Who would’ve thought that I’d have visitors in Europe? Poor Liz had to take two seperate flights to get here, one from Boston to Dublin, and then another about two hours later from Dublin to Dubrovnik. The funniest part is that she traveled nearly 9 hours to get here from Boston, yet all I did was take a ferry directly across the Adriatic Sea from Bari to Dubrovnik and it took me nearly the same amount of time. How crazy is that?

Once we settled into our new home for the week we headed off to explore the Old Town of Dubrovnik. We spent quite a bit of time searching for the Tourist Information Center and in the end just gave up and spent the rest of the time seeing different sights, beautiful views from the castle walls, and more.

We even came across the popular, yet somewhat “secret spot” in Old Town which is a bar that lies on the outer edge of the castle walls and overlooks the sea.

I had read many articles and tips about this place in the past when researching Dubrovnik and I now know why everyone had so many good things to say about it. If you’re ever in the Old Town of Dubrovnik take a stroll around the walls that face the sea, and you’ll be sure to find it. The only way to know when you’re in the right place is when you see a wooden sign that says “COLD DRINKS ——->”. If you see that, follow the arrow and head through the door way. Be prepared to be amazed by the views and the opportunity to sit outside the castle walls of Dubrovnik while you sip on a beer or some wine.

After exploring Old Town we had some dinner at a nice restaurant called Arsenal. It’s a nice place with good food and has outdoor seating that overlooks the port. After our meal we headed back to our home for the week but not before making a quick stop into the supermarket on the way back to pick up some liquor. We got back to the house and immediately jumped into our bathing suits so that we could take a late afternoon swim at Banje Beach which is located below our apartment.

We arrived and realized that unfortunately Croatia isn’t the best place to find a sandy beach. I couldn’t understand why the locals called it a “Pebble Beach” when there were no pebbles, it was all rocks! I couldn’t resist the aqua colored water so I jumped right in. The waves were crazy! The only problem was that there were rocks the whole way out, no matter how far you swam out. Finally a big wave came and I thought I’d be cool and try to ride it into shore a bit. Well that didn’t work out too well. I ended up getting thrashed in the wave, flipped upside down and a rock which was also picked up by this giant wave cracked me in the forehead. I came out of the water stumbling and that was the last of Banje Beach for the day. Now I have a swollen lump on my head and it’s only my first day here!

After the beach we went back up to the apartment and took showers before heading out for the night. We met up with two roommates of mine that I had met in Naples about a week ago. They were here for one last night so we met up with them at this place called Gil’s which is located on the port. Gil’s is an unbelievable spot here in Dubrovnik. You can choose to sit on the ground level which is really modern and high end or head upstairs to the lounge where we went to lounge on giant bean bags on a patio that overlooks the sea.

It was quite the spot, if you can afford it that is. The drinks were really expensive compared to most places and since the girls that we met up with were finishing their last drink we decided to just hang out and grab a drink at the next spot that we would head to. We finished up at Gil’s and headed for a club/bar called Fuego which is located just outside of the Pile Gate entrance to the Old Town of Dubrovnik. It was a really chill spot and our waiter was really cool. He was giving us free shots throughout the night and even taking shots with us. We all had a great time and a good laugh. Once 11:00PM hit, we headed downstairs to the night club at Fuego. There was really nobody there so we had a drink and then Liz and I headed home to catch up on some much needed sleep after all of the traveling the both of us did in the past 24 hours.

Tomorrow we plan to head to the Island of Lokrum which is located about 15 minutes away by boat from Dubrovnik Old Port. Supposedly there’s a nude beach, a cove, some caves, and hiking trails on the island so we’re going to go check that out.

Until next time…