Dubrovnik

[GregT]

Hello TUGgers,

I are near the end of a trip to Dubrovnik and this place is amazing. I do not know if there any timeshares of interest available but I want to spotlight this as an amazing city with a rich history, fabulous food and wonderful aquatic attractions on the Dalmatian Coast. Again, others probably knew of this jewel of a city and I am late to the party but worth doing a little digging.

We are staying in the Old City in a VRBO and that has been fortuitous for us. For Game of Thrones fans, much of the series was filmed here (that’s new to me).

Hvala, (look at me and my Croatian!)

Greg

 

[mkeller7281]

We were there in April. Stayed in Cavtat and loved it. Lovely old city that you can take a boat or a bus into Dubrovnik. We also fell in love with Croatia. Plivick Lakes National Park, KRKA National Park, and Split were more than wonderful. We are planning on going back to see more of that amazing country.

 

[Passepartout]

Great place, Croatia. Quick funny story of our first cruise ship stop in Dubrovnik. We were only there for a scant few hours, and got ourselves onto the top of the ancient city wall that surrounds it. Well, it turns out that once you get on it, there is no way down to the street level until you make a full one km lap around it. And of course it moves at the pace of the slowest tourist passing each scenic camera spot (and there are a LOT!) We blew most of the days' stop there and have had to go back to enjoy the charms of the city.

 

[NiteMaire]

I do not know if there any timeshares of interest available but I want to spotlight this as an amazing city with a rich history, fabulous food and wonderful aquatic attractions on the Dalmatian Coast.

There are a couple. The one I've seen with availability is Waterman Holiday Club on Brac (ferry ride from Split). I've spent 6+ months in Croatia, mostly in Zagreb. Fond memories, and I look forward to going back. I still listen to Croatain music every now and then; listened to a few songs just the other day on my way to work.
Dubrovnik is a wonderful city. We jumped from several cliffs into the Adriatic. Very salty and easy to float. From what I've read over the years, tourism ramped up, especially in Dubrovnik, due to Game of Thrones.

 

[Carolinian]

Croatia is a great country to visit, particularly Dubrovnik (formerly known as the Free City of Ragusa) and Split. I have visited Dubrovnik a couple of times, once arriving on the ferry that runs down the entire Croatian coast.

Historically, most of Dalmatia belonged to Venice until the Napoleonic Wars, and then to Austria until World War I. The Austrians kept most of the Italian place names, but after Yugoslavia took over after WWI they were changed to Serbo-Croatian. Ragusa was a free city, independent of Venice until the Napoleonic Wars. Dubrovnik became its name in Serbo-Croatian.

I did a timeshare exchange once through DAE Europe for a summer week into a beachfront resort on the outskirts of Split and enjoyed it immensely. The old center of Split was built within the walls of a palace of Roman Emporer Diocletian. DAE Europe used to get a decent amount of high season inventory there. I wish DAE Europe were still around. They used to get inventory where RCI did not, but they have now been assimilated into the RCI Borg.

 

[beejaybee]

Two cruise stops in Croatia for us. In Split we rented a car and enjoyed Krka National Park followed by a delicious meal at a nearby restaurant. We did walk the entire wall in Dubrovnik and wandered around after until a deluge hit as we were on a downhill street that became a waterfall!
That cruise was one of our favorites.

 

[NiteMaire]

followed by a delicious meal at a nearby restaurant

I don't know what you had, but I'm a fan of ćevapčići. My entire family likes palačinka...so much so we still make it every now and then. I also like using Franck Jubilarna coffee for Turkish coffee (using a jesva of course). I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. DW and I have discussed going back for a month to celebrate our retirement (when it happens). This makes me want to go sooner.

 

[PamMo]

DH and I are fans of Dubrovnik, too. We’ve gone a couple of times since Covid restrictions were lifted. I loved walking the streets in the evening after all the day trippers were gone! We are wanderers, so Split and Plivitce are must sees if you’re in the area.

 

[Carolinian]

An interesting and inexpensive way to travel down the Croatian coast is by ferry. Part of its route is overnight so it has cabins aboard or one can book deck passage if doing a portion of the run in daytime. One can stop at interesting places and overnight there and then take the next ferry onward. It was also interesting to talk with some of the locals onboard. For example, before my ferry trip had had never heard of the Battle of Lissa, which was the largest navel battle in a century between the Battle of Trafalgar in the Napoleonic Wars in 1805 and a naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The Battle of Lissa in 1866 in the Austro-Prussian War was also the only naval battle ever fought between two fleets of ironclads. It in a smaller Austrian fleer decisively defeated the Italians. One of the ferry stops was the island of Viz (the Serbo-Croatian name for Lissa) and the monument erected on the island by the Austrians to their victory was visible from the ferry. I had a Croatian history teacher tell me all about it. If I had known that history beforehand, I probably would have done an overnight stop at Viz. There was even an American connection to the battle, as two of the Italian broadside ironclads that fought in it were built in New York City and a class of Italian coastal defense ironclads were Italian copies of the Confederate casemate ironclad design.

 

[Tacoma]

I leave on Sept 11th for 30 days focusing on Croatia. Flying in and out of Venice and doing 2 nights in Montenegro but the rest of the trip is Croatia. Looking so forward to it. Everything is booked, now to hope I have no flight troubles. Flying through Toronto which is anightmare but only taking check on luggage.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

Huge +1 for Cavtat. When we made a cruise stop in Dubrovnik, we took a side trip to Cavtat. While there, we left the rest of the tour group behind at the shops, and walked along a promenade through a park on a peninsula that overlooked the water back toward Dubrovnik. Sunny day, beautiful views, and we had almost the entire place to ourselves. It was magical!

 

[Carolinian]

I leave on Sept 11th for 30 days focusing on Croatia. Flying in and out of Venice and doing 2 nights in Montenegro but the rest of the trip is Croatia. Looking so forward to it. Everything is booked, now to hope I have no flight troubles. Flying through Toronto which is anightmare but only taking check on luggage.

That is a great part of the world to spend a month. Where are you going in Montenegro? My favorite place there was Cetinje (sp?) the former royal capital, now a rather sleepy town. There were a couple of royal palaces to visit and one could see a number of 19th century buildings that had been foreign embassies.

Also, Bosnia is interesting and easy to access. I took a bus ride to Mostar from Split on a day trip to see the famous medieval bridge there. Sarajevo is also a great place to visit. One can stand on the streetcorner where the Serbian assassin fired the shots killing the Austrian heir to the throne and his wife, setting in motion the start of World War I. There is also an interesting museum on that corner in what had been a drug store at the time of the event that tells all about the assassination. There are also lots of interesting old buildings in Sarajevo.

 

[Tacoma]

I am just planning to be around Kotor but Cetinje is quite close (I looked it up because it was in the news a few days ago for a shooting) I likely won't have time though as my one internal flight from Dubrovnik to Zagreb is booked for right after my nights in Montenegro. Yes I am also hoping to get to Mostar but from Dubrovnik for a day trip. I agree Sarajevo would be interesting but as always even with a month there are places that have to be left out. Thanks for the tips.

 

[GregT]

Hello TUGgers,

I am at the Split airport now, heading home. Split is a beautiful town, very reminiscent of a French or Italian town on the Mediterranean. Charming place and we enjoyed visiting after Dubrovnik. We spent a day and went up to Plitvice National Park, which has stunning lakes and waterfalls.

We also did a boat trip out to the adjacent islands and there is no shortage of quiet secluded spots where you can swim/float/cocktail. Stunning locations and we specifically loved the town of Hvar, which may serve as its own future destination.

I did prefer Dubrovnik to Split, perhaps because the walled city is so unique. But Croatia is a great spot and I hope others can make it. I hope to make it back one day!

Best,

Greg