What's a good itinerary for Dubrovnik for 5 nites there. Best accomodation? July 11 - 16, 2006.

jk:

We'll be there the EXACT same dates and we are staying at the Grand Villa Argentina, in the Villa Argentina complex in a deluxe room ( pricey, but we usually stay pricey.) It's in Ploce( east of the city gates), about 10 minute walk from the city gates on Frana Suplina 14. I'd hurry and make reservations quickly for any accommodation as you know July-Aug is high season, although if you like to travel unreserved, I understand there are lots of people who will rent out rooms in their homes. These are called Sobes. Carta_Pisana on this board is a wealth of info on such matters, call out to her. Bodhijack is currently in Croatia ( might be back now), you can see some posts from there. Syl and Happy Cheesehead are headed there this fall. There are lots of people headed there, so you should get some answers.

We are coming in from our drive from Zagreb with an overnight stop first in Split then on to Dubrovnik for the 11-16th( then onto Hvar, Trogir and then back to Paris)

Our plans include a good exploration of the Old Town and walk the walls, we have tickets to the Dubrovnik Summer Festival already for our first night on the 11th. We are going to hear the Zagreb Philharmonic in one of the squares at 9:30pm; can't wait! We are also going on the Montenegro Blue tour on Friday the 14th with Atlas and our hotel has its own representative in the hotel from Atlas to handle ( they e mailed us to let us know this). We wanted to go on their wine tour, but that is only given on Tuesdays and we wll not be there on a Tues, oh well!

Planning on going to Lokrum and Cavtat if we feel like it. Generally going to enjoy the scenery, relax a bit, eat and drink and soak in some sunshine.

I would not plan a heavy schedule, as I take it from others that have been there, just enjoy the people, scenery, good food and drink and relax.

Hope this helps even though I have not been there yet myself...

See you there......

I can give you even more info;

You might want to state your budget, but here is more info based on all my research to put together our trip.

You should do some research on your own too( you don't have tons of time), but I'll make it easier for you with some more suggestions for lodging:

In the Old Town: If you want to stay in the Old Town, there are not many hotels. At the high end is Pucic Palace. We considered it as it is a boutique luxury property, but after some very mixed reviews and I wanted THAT view, we decided against it, even though its inside the walls. It is very pricey.

The other hotel I know many like is the Stari Grad, an 8 room hotel that I hear is charming. Far less pricey than the PP.

Just outside the walls another popular place here on Fodors that people like is Villa Adriatic. Do a search here for it. I understand the views are incredible.

The east end is called Ploce, again I mentioned above that is where we chose to go. The Grand Villa Argentina is there ( our hotel) as well as many like the Hotel Excelsior and the Villa Dubrovnik. The Excelsior is a bit closer to the city and the Villa Dubrovnik a bit further( they have boat service to the city)

There is a Hilton if you prefer a chain hotel, but I understand it is really nice.

Lapad is the west side of the city and the accommodations I have read are less expensive here than in Ploce.

I think you need to decide on budget, and location. Perhaps you are the type that enjoys private accommodations. I'm not an expert at all on that and did little research in this arena, but many many people on this board have, so do research.

We are hotel people ( grew up in the biz) so we prefer hotels to B&B type places, but many like that so much more than hotels.

When you said "best" , best for what? Best value for price, the top end, best location, best view? Just let us know what you are looking for.

Again, hope this helps. Spend a little time researching some recents threads( seems everyone is going!!!!). Type in Dubrovnik and then further refine your research to Dubrovnik hotels and you'll come up with a wealth of info!

Good luck!

Hiya JK:

We plan on being in Dubrovnik for 4 nights in September. During the late afternoon and evenings we plan on being in Dubrovnik, walking the walls, seeing the town, what have you. During the days we have a few plans in mind. So far we are considering a drive or boat ride down to Cavtat - I think there may be an garden or arboretum on the way too, but don't quote me on that. One day, we also plan on a Montenegro tour from Atlas. There are two, the new Montengro Blue and the regular Montenegro tour, I am trying to figure out the differences between them. Another day we are likey to drive/ferry to Korcula. That should pretty much take care of all the time and leave us plenty of hang out opportunity. I am trying to scale back the plans for this trip to allow for a bit more relaxation than is usually permitted.

As far as best accomodation - oh that is so hard to say! Since it is the three of you - do you plan on sharing one room? I think hotels in Dubrovnik are pricey. The Grand Villa Argentina that trip girl is staying in is supposed to be just wonderful - she has made a great choice. Some folks like the Excelsior. On the Pile gate side there is a new Hilton, supposed to be just fine. I cannot remember the name of the very nice hotel in the city walls - starts with a P? Pucic Palace? but that was REALLY spendy too. There are not too many hotels in the city walls themselves, but lots of private accomodation.

An alternate choice for you, with a bit more room, might be an apartment but you might have to move really fast for July or try for a last minute cancellation. Dubrovnik-online has tons of choices and that is how we came up with our Apt Antonella for 80 euro a night. Here is a link to the private accomodations that I Tiny URL'ed for you - hope it works!

http://tinyurl.com/p628o

My best idea for you - search Croatia here on Fodors and even do a search by each city to get tons of good info. I am pulling up all sorts of older trip reports right now as they are just a WEALTH of info, I mean you cannot go wrong when you follow in the footsteps of our knowlegeable and enthusiastic Fodorites.

Thank you all so much.

I would love a place like Villa Argentina! But it is certainly beyond the reaches of my budget for this trip. For the three of us, I would like to keep the nightly rate to 100 -150 euros. In Dubrovnik, we expect to pay a bit more.

I've always enjoyed apartments because of the kitchen -- morning coffee a big must before I even open my eyes -- and the space. A hotel room generally feels a bit cramped for me, though I love the interaction with fellow guests, and all that wonderful service, attention and care provided by the best of staff. My favorite Boutique Hotel is the Tremont in Chicago -- I just loved the furnishings, fabrics, details. I haven't stayed there though in several years, and probably could not afford it today.

The downside of apartment hunting is generally the decor. If every place could be along the lines of Amoret or Karmendu (www.karmendu.com) I would be happy as a clam, and eagerly pay the price, and not worry about a "view" or terrace.

So, at this moment, I have many emails/requests out and I'm awaiting a reply. Ruby at Rose of Dubrovnik has been very helpful and we may be able to reserve Dubravka (http://www.dubrovnik-holidayroseofdu...yapartment.com) The furnishings are a bit contemporary for my tastes, but it looks open, comfortable, has some nice views, a side terrace, is located in the Ploce area, with a healthy 10 minute walk to the gate... It looks green and lush. I would enjoy my coffee, sketching, etc. there during any restful moments.

I want to mention one more time that Ruby at Rose of Dubrovnik is terrific!

jkheigle,

Here is the link to where we are staying in Dubrovnik. We leave tomorrow! http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/apartments_benussi/

I've been e-mailing alot with Jadranka Benussi. She has been just wonderful. We have booked the smallest room #1 for 370 Kuna a night, staying for 5 nights. That comes to 253€ for 5 nights!! They have larger rooms and apartments. All are reasonably priced. If you e-mail them, they respond usually in late afternoon Eastern time in the U.S. This home is listed in Rick Steves book and has good comments from others that have stayed there. She wanted a deposit initally, but when we told her of the cost of wiring it, she waved the deposit. We return home on July 6th late, so I can't report back in time for you to book soon, but if I can I'll try to post on Fodor's after we stay there. We'll be in Budapest first, so won't be in Dubrovnik until later next week.

Good luck with your search!

Here is another listing for their apartment. It's on page 38 of this brochure.

http://www.mycroatia.co.uk/image/MyCroatia2005.pdf

Images II:

wow!
my croatia is a beautiful presentation!

I didn't quite luck out with Benussi, but it sure looks great! They were kind enough to reply asap even with no availability. I really appreciate that!

Have an absolutely fabulous trip!!!
Jackie

Thanks Jackie! I'm sorry that the Benussi home was filled. I'm happy for them though that they're doing so well! I'll report back on how it is to stay there for future vacationers! They have been so warm and open to us when we e-mail them. We're going to share some wine with them on their terrace!

A neighbor of ours just stopped by, who is from Norway. He was remembering the beauty of Yugoslavia. I mentioned that we were going to Hvar soon and he was so shocked to hear that it was open for tourists. He remembers it as the vacationing spot for Tito and all the rich Yugoslavians. He thought it was totally destroyed in the war and was quite happy to hear that people can vacation there now! He loved "Yugoslavia".

I hope you soon find somewhere great to stay in Dubrovnik and thanks for the good wishes.

for accomodation in Dubrovnik, we went through magiclinetours.com (I think( and booked the apartment "Magic" there are several rooms, all with their own bath, and Sergius and Suada - - husband and wife owners of the building, were fabulous. and the view of the old city from that apartment and deck were million buck views!