Croatia Diary

Over spring break, my boyfriend and I went to Dubrovnik, Croatia! We had the most amazing time exploring the city and I created a diary of what we did on our trip and include lots of recommendations and things to do. 

4/29/23: first day in Croatia! 🇭🇷Got off our flights (Croatia Airlines is super nice and accommodating about peanut allergies!) and drove through the mountains to the guest house where we were staying. We were immediately stunned by the views—see the picture of the view from the balcony!!😍🌊🗻 We spent the afternoon exploring the area and walking along the coast. Unfortunately, there are many abandoned hotels in the Dubrovnik area after the war against Yugoslavia in the 90s. Plants have started growing in abandoned buildings—true rebirth! 🌎🌱 Ended the night with a meat🍗🥩🍖 platter which was devoured. 😂 

4/30/23: Day 2 in Dubrovnik! Spent the day exploring the wonderful city of Dubrovnik! Started out at the castle walls 🏰 and then we then walked down very tall sets of stairs to the center of the old town. There was a 5k going on 🏃‍♀️🏃🏻 so we cheered on the runners and started wandering through the old streets. We found a beautiful spot right by the city walls and I was obsessed over the gorgeous rock formations 🪨 contrasted against the translucent blue water🌀🩵! We walked through the old town, checked out a bunch of cute stores, and had a delicious meal at Restaurant Arsenal. Amazing black squid ink cuttlefish risotto with foam cheese! 😍🐟 The view overlooking the port was: 😍😍!! There were tons of boats going in and out ⚓️🛥️. We then made our way back to Mlini and stumbled upon this insane lookout point of the city where you had a perfect view of the red-tiled roofs of the old Dubrovnik. 🇭🇷 

Arsenal Restaurant: 

https://www.nautikarestaurants.com/gradska-kavana-arsenal/  

5/1: day 3 in Croatia! We went on a 3 islands in one day tour all around the Elaphite Islands off the coast of Croatia!!🏝️

Stop 1: Koločep Island

Since it was the off season it was really quiet but very picturesque!😍 We walked around the quiet island and soaked in the views.

Stop 2: Šipan Island 🌳

The boat company called this island “the Mediterranean as it used to be”. The town was small and some of the houses were a little dilapidated: for ex: there was a huge stone house that had once belonged to a high society family in Dubrovnik who had vacationed on the island. Walking through the countryside was gorgeous—olive trees rolled out in every direction 🫒 and there were tons of birds chirping. This island actually is the island that has the largest number of olive trees in the world given its size! We bought the most INSANE olive oil at a man’s house who was selling to visitors on the island and I swear I have never tasted anything like it before!

Stop 3: Koločep Island

This is the most populated island because it is closest to Dubrovnik. We walked through botanical gardens and through the literal rainforest to make it to the famous beach on the other side of the island. The beach, Sunj Beach, ⛱️ was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen!!😍🩵 The mountains framed the water and you could even see Montenegro in the distance! I swam (freezing but worth it) and then had an overpriced piña colada🍍and we photosynthesized like plants after being deprived of sunlight in Amsterdam. 😂🌞

Wonderful day with Dubrovnik Island Tours and highly recommend it if you’re ever there.  

Dubrovnik Island Tours: 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g295371-d12560857-Full_Day_Dubrovnik_Elaphite_Islands_Cruise_with_Lunch-Dubrovnik_Dubrovnik_Neretva_.html 

5/2: Day 4 in Croatia! Exhausted from the wonderful boat tour 🛥️😴, Dan and I went on a mini hike in the area we were staying! We found a small waterfall and eventually found an abandoned building at the end of the trail that ran parallel to the coast. It was drizzling a little but the waves were crashing around us and thankfully we avoided getting too wet!! You could tell the building was once beautiful in its glory days and the views out of the open spots where windows used to be was beautiful. 😍 We later found out that the building was an abandoned pre-war villa. That night, we went to Konoba Lanterna right next door to the bed and breakfast and had THE nicest waiter, Blago, and ate delicious fish! I even got to eat dessert 🥰 which is a rarity with my allergies!

Konoba Lanterna: 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g658382-d1948682-Reviews-Konoba_Lanterna-Mlini_Dubrovnik_Neretva_County_Dalmatia.html 

5/2: Day 5! Today we climbed the steps of the old fort which had FANTASTIC views 😍 of the cove below. A few days before, the cove had been calm, but today the waves were easily 10 feet high and crashed onto the landing to walk to the fort. Thankfully we didn’t get splashed, but some poor people got drenched! (hilarious to watch, unfortunate for them 😂🥶) From this view, you could really appreciate the city’s high walls to keep enemies at bay and you also had a fantastic view of the famous terracotta roofs! We went on a walking tour with Dubrovnik Walking Tours and we learned so much about the history of the city.  It was museum day today and we started at the Dubrovnik’s Love Stories Museum💖! It was a small and adorable museum with multiple floors that told love stories from Dubrovnik, popular music and film love affairs, and then items and stories from people all over the world! My favorite part was the room filled with stories from museum visitors about love in their own lives! It was so sweet to read their stories and you definitely felt immersed in love 💕. The next stop was the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik. This museum was once the home of a famous Dubrovnik socialite and businessman. The house was beautiful and I loved their photography collection of people lounging on the Croatian shores! 

Dubrovnik Walking Tours: 

https://www.dubrovnik-walking-tours.com/ 

Dubrovnik’s Love Stories Museum: 

https://lovestoriesmuseum.com/ 

Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik: 

https://www.ugdubrovnik.hr/en/index.php?file=home 

5/3/23: last day in Dubrovnik :(( Soaked up all the sun we could at the beach! The beach was gorgeous and we ate at a cafe nearby. After lying in the sun for hours (I got a little burned 🥴), we made our way for dinner one more time in the old city 🏰! We had such a wonderful trip and I wish it could have been longer! ☀️