King’s Landing or Dubrovnik?

I’ve have to be honest, when I was thinking about my next trip, I never took Croatia into consideration. Even if Croatia is a state close to my home country, well known for its wonderful and breathtaking landscapes, for some stupid reason I never though it deserved my attention. Thanks God this year I changed my mind and finally decided to give this country a shot, and trust me guys, that was one of the best decision I ever made. Since we went there by car, we obviously decided to visit multiple places, so in this guide and in the next one I’m going to talk about every single stop we made.
The first stop was Dubrovnik. After traveling for 13 hours, we finally reached the first city listed in our trip plan. I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy driving for all those hours, but it was definitely worth it.
With its very unique city center, Dubrovnik in 1979 joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Obviously the city most likely lives around tourism, which can be a little bit annoying since everyday the center was fulfilled by tourist that made our stay less enjoyable, but hey, we’re tourist too, so no big deal. The city center, called “Old Town”, is surrounded by some massive walls, which were needed in the past to protect the city from assaults. As soon as you walk across the walls in order to enter into the heart of the town, you feel like you were catapulted into another dimension, or maybe into the Game of Thrones set, if you know what I mean.

What to see and do:
Obviously you must get lost among all the cute little streets and alleys that cross the Stradun, the major street  in the Old Town. That was the first thing we’ve done, so we could get a better perspective of what Dubrovnik offers. We could’ve easily spend every day of our stay just wandering around aimlessly.

Taking a walk on the Walls of Dubrovnik was something we really enjoyed, besides the hot weather obviously. It took us almost 2 hours to do the entire walk! While I was walking it was impossible not to think about all the soldiers that in the past put their feet exactly were I was standing. If you want to go there be sure to plan your visit in the early morning or at sunset.

Seeing the Dubrovnik’s panorama at sunset is something I will never forget. We had to took a kinda expensive cable car in order to reach the perfect spot to enjoy the view, but it was definitely worth it.

The trip to Lokrum island was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. By taking a boat from the Dubrovnik’s harbour, after just 15 minutes you can reach this amazing island. Sadly we weren’t able to see all the things the island offered, but we managed to jump off a cliff right into the bluest sea I ever seen. Oh and by the way, if you are a Game of Thrones fan, you should now that here you can find the exactly replica of the Iron Throne. Amazing right?

Even if it’s not exactly in Dubrovnik, the Trsteno Arboretum is something you must see if you’re there. It’s very close to the city, located in the town of Trsteno, which is a district of Dubrovnik. It’s the oldest arboretum in the world. And again, obviously you will have major Game of Thrones vibes there.

Where to eat:
Above 5, to enjoy your breakfast with a superb rooftop view of the Old Town, something I will never forget.
Barba, if you want to have a quick snack or a quick dinner of fresh fish, there are also some delicious fish burgers you can’t miss.
Stara Loza, behind the crowded Stradun, if you explore the alleys you’ll probably notice this restaurant.

Where hang out:

Reveline Culture Club, this unique club is probably one of the most authentic spot I’ve ever seen, located literally inside in Old Town Walls it’s a museum during the day and a club in the night.