Dubrovnik:
We were kind of torn about Dubrovnik. It was a destination we didn’t know anything about before we left and we weren’t even really focused on it. From my research pre-cruise, I learned a little about it and the glowing things people had to say about it. Before we left, there didn’t seem to be any ship sponsored excursions that we wanted to do but once on the ship we noticed one we don’t remember seeing before. It included a trip to a beach and sounded like something we would like. Unfortunately we took too long to sign up and all spaces were filled…which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
This is what we did…and it was a magical and less expensive day.
We got off of the ship as early as possible…about 7:45/8 a.m.. We chose not to do the ship provided bus into town. There was a fee and we knew it would be very crowded. Instead we walked to a small information booth a few feet away and got a map of the town. The woman informed us that the taxis would take Euros and that the same beach the ships tour was on (St. Jacobs Beach) was only a short drive away. We grabbed a taxi from the taxi line and he took us to the main gate of the old town for 10 euro…super simple. We were immediately struck by the view of the water to the right and stopped to take some pictures. We did see an exchange office just before entering the old city but there was a line and we figured there would be more opportunities inside. Truth is everywhere we went they too euros.
It was a great time to get there as it wasn’t crowded and we got to watch the old city “wake up”. We walked the main street to the end where the harbor is. So beautiful! We bought a few souvenirs and just kind of wandered about. We had read there was a Wi-Fi hot spot by the Lacoste shop so we stopped there to see if we could check our email, etc.… We didn’t get a good signal but right across for the store is a café Orlando and they had good, free Wi-Fi. We sat outside and had some coffee and cold drinks. They also had a nice, clean bathroom that was free to guests or about the equivalent of $1 for non-guests.
At the harbor, we saw some glass bottom boats that do a 45-50 minute tour around the island and will drop you off and pick you up at St. Jacobs Beach. They charge 10 euro a piece for the trip. We thought that would have been perfect but it turned out that it was too windy and they would not be sailing until later in the day.
We walked back to the front gate to get a taxi to the beach and by now there was no line in the exchange office. We changed some euros so that we would be prepared if we went somewhere they didn’t take the euro. The woman in the office warned us that it was a holiday and that all of the banks were closed…that we wouldn’t be able to change the Kuna back to euros. We found out later we were able to change them back at the exchange at the cruise port, no problem.
We got a taxi and headed towards the beach. The ride was about 7-8 minutes and we saw the backside of the city walls. It was very cool. The ride cost 10 euro.
When we got out of the taxi the view took our breath away! The beach area and the water color looked like a postcard. You just have to walk down some stone stairs to get to the beach. There is a beach club there called East West. They rent beds, lounge chairs and canopy beds. The canopy beds rent for 35 euro and the lounge chairs rent for 10 euro each. We rented 4 lounge chairs. Because we were there early and well before any cruise tours, we were able to select4 chairs right at the seas edge. It was too windy for an umbrella though.
The beach club is great. I only wish we had more time to spend there. They have beach service for food and drinks and soft pillows for the lounge chairs. They also have a restaurant, ice cream bar and a nightclub. It is all very modern and has a sexy vibe.
The beach is a pebble beach covered in smooth stones. I had on sandals and the stones got in my shoes and hurt. It is a bit hard to get your footing as the stones slip around and sink. I did bring water shoes but mine are the type that are open on the sides also letting rocks inside. It was uncomfortable for me to walk on the stones in my bare feet but others were doing it just fine. The water was glorious. Cool at first but then it warmed up right away. We had masks and snorkels and that made it fun to explore. A funny tid-bit, my husband found an X-rated sculpture/drawing made out of larger rocks in a flat area about 30 feet down under the water. He took a picture to show us. If you go, see if you can find it!
We ordered drinks and dried off in the warm sun. There was a great breeze…and sometimes a very strong wind gust, which made it not seem so hot. Then we walked up the stairs and headed toward a taxi stand. There were plenty of taxis waiting but ours did not want us in there with wet bathing suits so we had to sit on towels. It was 15 euro to back to the cruise port. Once there we shopped in some tiny shops that had opened while we were gone and exchanged the rest of our money back to euros. We headed back onboard and went to have lunch.
It was one of our favorite stops and we ended up saving a lot of money by doing it ourselves. I would highly recommend it.
* Note – we had planned to walk the old wall too but we had just come off of 4 days of major walking tours of Greece and we just didn’t have it in us. We don’t regret our choice and look forward to doing the wall on another visit. For us, the old town and the beach were perfect!
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