Croatia is a land of warm seas and islands scattered across the horizon. We based ourselves in Cavtat rather than Dubrovnik, and that decision shaped the whole trip for the better! Cavtat sits twenty minutes down the coast, ten minutes from the airport, and it gives you the same Adriatic water without the cruise ship crowds. From there you can reach the city walls, the islands and even Bosnia, then come back each evening to a quiet harbour and a sea at 28 degrees.
Day 1: Arriving in Cavtat, Hotel Croatia and the World Cup Final
We took an early flight from East Midlands Airport to Dubrovnik. Nothing lifts the spirits like waking up at 3am. The flight takes three hours. Dubrovnik airport is small, which works in your favour, because you can catch an Uber directly outside the arrivals terminal.
The EU’s new Entry/Exit System was in force by the time we travelled. The news filled me with dread, as passengers across Europe had reported delays of more than three hours. Luckily, we cleared it in 30 minutes.
The journey to our accommodation took ten minutes and cost €11.
Accommodation:
We stayed at Hotel Croatia in Cavtat, mainly because we wanted distance from the hustle and bustle of Dubrovnik. The hotel is a concrete Brutalist monolith, and yet it never dominates the landscape. It feels almost carved from the rocks. The building is massive. Walking the corridors counts as a workout, and we got lost more than once. The rooms are lovely, spacious, clean, and the views across Cavtat and the sea felt like a gift. The variety of pools are a bonus: an indoor pool, an adult pool and a beach area to swim, and none of them ever felt crowded. One minor criticism, they had two lifts to service the whole hotel, it took ages to get to the floor we wanted to.
Hotel Croatia.
We arrived a couple of hours before check in, so we grabbed lunch at the hotel restaurant. Reasonable prices and generous portions. A late afternoon swim banised any tiredness and brought us back to life.
Sunday happened to be the day of the World Cup Final. We planned to find a bar in Cavtat, then the hotel announced a live screening. What we had not anticipated was the hotel co-opting one of its conference rooms and converting it into a match day experience. It felt like we were all about to take part in a company retreat. Strange but we threw ourselves into the spirit of it, and Spain prevailed at the last moment. Viva España!
Day 2: Cavtat on Foot, a Sea Swim and Live Music at the Piano Bar
Delirious after the final, we wanted an easy day. For breakfast, we loaded up on every breakfast item ever created. The spread was top notch, and the fresh omelettes and fruit were the icing on the cake.
That breakfast induced a food coma, so we walked it off. The trail around Cavtat took us an hour from the hotel. It is well maintained and delivers spectacular views of the cape and the town.
Top Tip: Walk the coastal trail around Cavtat early, before the heat builds. It takes about an hour and the views make the walk all the more meaninful.
Down in Cavtat, we walked the harbour promenade past fancy yachts and people sunbathing. The town is small, but you will find plenty of places to eat, drink coffee or swim.
A few recommendations for Cavtat:
- Caffe Bar Amor for a coffee.
- Monastery of Our Lady of the Snow, founded in 1484. Entry is free and the stained glass windows inside are stunning.
- Church of St Nicholas, a 15th century church.
- Račić Family Mausoleum, designed by Ivan Meštrović. The short climb rewards you with sweeping views of the Adriatic.
- Bukovac House and Gallery, home to the works of Vlaho Bukovac, Cavtat’s most celebrated painter.
- L’Amore per il Gelato. Get the Alphonso mango gelato. You will thank me later.
We walked back to the hotel and rested for a few hours. Later, we found the area the hotel marks out as safe for sea swimming. The walk down is steep and not suitable for children. The sea provides the perfect antidote for the afternoon sun.
In the evening, we ate at the buffet, and the choices did not impress me. The food tasted overcooked and bland. The desserts, on the other hand, were top tier. This is the challenge with resorts like this. Eventually you tire of what is on offer. They do mix up the menu daily, which helps, but the food stays average.
Afterwards we headed to the hotel’s Piano Bar for live music. The performers made our evening as we sipped cool Croatian beers.
Day 3: Island Hopping to Koločep and Lopud
We took a boat from Cavtat at 10:15am, booked through GetYourGuide. Stupidly, I booked the tour for the following day. Luckily they let us board. Crisis averted. The tour includes unlimited soft drinks throughout. Lunch costs an extra €15.
Top Tip: You can book tours directly from the promenade, so do not panic if you have planned nothing in advance.
The first stop is Dubrovnik, to collect more passengers. From there you head to Koločep, where we had one hour, which did not feel like enough. There is a beach, though it takes ten minutes to reach, so we settled into a local cafe instead.
The highlight is the second island, Lopud. You get two hours here and I wish we had longer. Šunj beach is wonderful, sandy and so shallow you can walk 100 metres before you plunge into the sea. Getting there requires a golf buggy. They are a little hard to find, so ask a local to point you in the right direction. Do take one, because the walk would eat into your whole visit. They cost €3 per person. Bear in mind they do not leave until every seat fills, so you will be packed in like sardines.
The tour skipped the third island, Šipan, which has a quieter and more historic feel.
We got back to Cavtat at 6pm. It makes for a long day, and the boat moves slowly, so take a book to keep you entertained.
Day 4: Lokrum and the Iron Throne
From the Cavtat promenade, we bought a €20 ticket straight to Lokrum from one of the vendors. The crossing takes an hour, because the boat drops passengers at several points along the way, though the boat itself is fast, far faster than the day before. You specify your return time when you book. We set off at 9am and got picked up at around 2pm, which gave us plenty of time on the island.
We landed and headed straight to the Benedictine monastery to see the ruins and the Iron Throne, the very same one used in Game of Thrones. We arrived early enough to have the room to ourselves, so we took many, many pictures!
The Iron Throne.
Top Tip: Get to the Lokrum monastery as early as you can. Arrive before the crowds and you will have the Iron Throne to yourself.
The nearby botanical gardens hold over 800 species of plants. As you walk the island you will meet a battalion of peacocks. A highlight was spotting a peahen with her chicks. So cute.
Afterwards we headed to the Dead Sea, a small saltwater lake connected to the Adriatic through underground channels. I did not find it especially easy to float in, and I cannot compare it to the far larger original, but the swim was enjoyable.
We stopped at a local cafe for a small bite and an ice cream. With more time, you could hike up to Fort Royal for excellent views of Dubrovnik.
Back in Cavtat, we decided we needed another ice cream. This time I tried Rozata. The raspberry ice cream was refreshing, though I did not rate the ice cream above what we had eaten previously.
We crashed at the hotel for a few hours, then headed back into Cavtat to eat at La Boheme. I took the set menu: tuna, swordfish steak, and raspberry cake with lemon ice cream. A lovely meal, and the swordfish stood out because they grilled it well.
We walked back and caught the sunset. The orange horizon was breathtaking. Then we hiked up to the hotel to burn off those calories. In the evening, we listened to another live band at the hotel. A new band every night has been a joy.
Catching the sunset.
Day 5: Dubrovnik Old Town and the City Walls
We took an Uber from the hotel to Dubrovnik for about €25. You have options here. The bus costs €4, and you can also take the boat. Neither will let you down. We chose convenience.
Cars cannot enter the old town, so the driver drops you just outside. We headed to Pile Gate to start the city wall walk. The full circuit takes 1.5 to 2 hours and it is well worth it, because the views across the old town and out to sea are unique. The opening section is steep, so it is not suitable for anyone with mobility issues, though it levels off quickly and becomes an easy walk after that.
You can grab a drink on the wall or drop into the museums that connect to it. We saw the Maritime Museum, which offered good insight into Dubrovnik’s seafaring past.
Top Tip: Buy the one day Dubrovnik Pass for €40. It covers the museums and the city wall walk. The wall walk alone costs €40, so it is a no brainer.
For lunch, we ate at Taj Mahal. Despite the name, it serves Bosnian food rather than Indian. Prices run high, but nobody can doubt the quality. The lamb kebab and the aubergine dish were top drawer.
Game of Thrones fans will find plenty inside the old town. I recommend the monastery, the Jesuit stairs and Dubrovnik Cathedral.
Our final stop was Rector’s Palace to see some early Christian art. It is one of the larger museums in the old town.
With more time, take the cable car to the top of the mountain for special views across the city. The restaurant up there has a good reputation, though expect high prices.
In the evening, we celebrated our niece, who turned six. She has brought a lot of joy to our lives, so that time together felt special.
Day 6: Mostar and the Kravica Waterfalls
We booked a tour through GetYourGuide to see Mostar and the Kravica waterfalls. It starts early, because Mostar sits 400km away. We woke at 5am and took a taxi to the meeting point.
Top Tip: The tour offers a Cavtat pick up and a Dubrovnik pick up, and the Cavtat option costs twice as much. Book the Dubrovnik option and take a taxi to the nearest pick up spot.
You spend a long time on the coach. The first rest stop came at around 8am, at a simple store selling the basics.
The border can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. The process is straightforward. Hand over your passport, pass through basic customs checks, and you will have no issue.
Bosnia and Herzegovina does not use euros, although euros are widely accepted. The ATMs dispense Bosnian marks rather than euros.
We arrived in Mostar around 11am. The tour includes an orientation walk of 30 minutes to an hour. Our guide was fantastic and shared a great deal about the country, though it ate into the 2.5 hours we were supposed to have, which left little time to eat or visit the nearby stores. That was a shame, because the food looked excellent. Also budget for the €3 tourist tax, which your guide will collect.
The main attraction is the Old Bridge. Built by the Ottomans and now a UNESCO World Heritage site, it makes the perfect backdrop for your photos.
The Old Bridge or Stari Most in Mostar.
We then drove for an hour to the Kravica waterfalls. Entry costs €10, and once inside you walk five to ten minutes down to the bottom. The water runs ice cold, which is a welcome relief from the scorching sun. Luckily we had 1.5 hours there. Some tours only give you one hour, which means rushing the climb back up. Leave 10 to 15 minutes for the return. A mini tractor runs up and down for €1, though the queue for it is always long. Plenty of food options await you near the waterfall.
The waterfall is sight to behold, but the crowds are numerous. We struggled to find a spot to leave our things. Sadly, I suspect tourism will only make this worse.
Kravica waterfalls.
On the journey back to Dubrovnik, we spent an age at customs, although that seemed to come down to one passenger having a passport issue rather than anything systemic. We were the only bus going through at that point. Our bus also missed a few drop off stops, which annoyed the passengers affected. We got back later than any of us wanted, so it turned into a very long day. Bear that in mind if this trip appeals to you. I did appreciate the company moving us into a smaller bus and dropping us much closer to our accommodation.
Day 7: Doing Absolutely Nothing
Today I did absolutely nothing. Well, not quite. We walked around Cavtat in the morning and returned to our favourite ice cream joint. From there we went to the beach and dived into that light blue sea. Afterwards we swam in the indoor pool, because we wanted to take advantage of everything the hotel had to offer. Later I sat in the sauna and sweated out any impurities.
From that point onwards I crashed in my room. Doing nothing felt good. Besides, I needed it after the long day in Mostar.
Day 8: Goodbye Cavtat
Doviđenja, Croatia. Till we meet again.
Thank you to Evalina, Sabella, Devina, Michael, Cathy, Ela and Raju for a wonderful trip.
A final sunset.
