Short Dubrovnik Report
 

Heard from friends honeymooning in Dubrovnik this week.Their message is that the city is jam-packed with bus & cruise ship tours.Weather is hot.Loved Lokrum, swimming in clear welcoming water.Cavtat a waste of time.Hungry for sandy beach so off to Lopud today. I'll keep the board posted as they write.

Thanks Syl... love reading about Croatia.. takes me back. One suggestion tho.. please post on the Croatia board so we dont miss it!

haha... my bad.. please excuse.. i forgot where i was.. k

I also found Cavtat a waste of time.

I am in Croatia right now, and went to Cavat yesterday and found it just wonderful. After getting off the boat, if you come by boat, take the path to the left and walk down the asphalt path, lined with pine trees. About 1/2 mile down, if that, are wonderful beaches. The access to the water is really easy by the brown wooden bar hanging from the rocks. The water is so clear, and you can easily walk in and then swim in any depth of water you want. A timy bit further down this path is a huge shaded area of pine trees, with more easy access to the water. This was a really relaxing afternoon for us. The boat there takes one hour, which is slow, but was so worth it.

Hi Syl!

Thanks for posting this info. Hopefully by the time we are there in September the crowds won't be as bad! ;)

Last saturday Dubrovnik received a record visits of 11 cruise ships in one day! 11 ships carried 15000 passengers :(

Dubrovnik sounds like it will be a nightmare in July.

Someone described to me the other day that the ships were "belching" thousands of tourists. The last post has confirmed this.

We have booked a lovely place for July 5 through the 8th, and are dealing with an extraordinary "agent" -- but now it is hightly complex due to serious illness in the family. Many are saying, go on with the trip, others are saying cancel.

When I see negative reports, I want to cancel. When I see positive reports I want to go on with the show, and just cut the trip short.

With all this turmoil, and reports of belching cruiseships, should we simply save Dubrovnik for later? and head instead into Istria, Slovenia and Budapest?

We have a car, and are driving out of Venice. We leave Venice late on the 8th, and the Dubrovnik accomodation is for the 11th for yes, 5 nights (1800 euros, 275 deposit). We have not been able to confirm booking of ferry from Rijeka, in over a weeks time of emails and faxes.

I guess I'm just asking what would you do?
I'm flexible. But I must let the apartment go or hold, immediately.

Thanks for the thread Images!
I hope ya'll are having fun now.

Jackie

Images II:

Teddybear - how did you find out the ship and passenger numbers for Dubrovnik? I did a quick google search to try to find a Port of Dubrovnik schedule but was not able to locate it. I would love to be able to figure out what days will be bad cruise ship days on my trip and be able to plan accordingly.

Hi - anyone want to help me out with some feedback on Dubrovnik in November?

I won't be arriving by ship. Am trying to decide between it/Berlin/Warsaw as my re-entry point to a RTW trip.

Hate the cold so Berlin & Warsaw - much as I would love to visit - may not be the place for me this time. So maybe Dubrovnik (another place on my all time list). Maybe it would not be inundated with day trippers then?

But having visited none, your thoughts would be welcome. And I guess I could go armed with woolly hat, gloves and thermals .. so which would you choose?

Will have 3-4 days; like to stay in pensions and just wander for the flavour with trips to museums, galleries.

Thanks all.

There is no reason at all to pay that much in Dubrovnik. Why not find a less expensive place to stay? The Benussi home we stayed in also has 2 apartments. The one she showed us was excellent. Good luck deciding what to do.

We were in Croatia in early June. We found out from a taxi driver how many ships/passengers were going to be in port on any given day.

I wouldn't let the cruise ships deter anyone from visiting Dubrovnik. Honestly, the old town itself can be done in a day. You can find out which day has the fewest ships in port, and choose that day to explore old town. I would recommend walking the walls early in the morning (I believe they open at 8). There are numerous day trips that can easily be taken from Dubrovnik. You could go to Mljet, Elaphite Islands, Lokrum, Peljesac peninsula, etc for the day and come back and experience Dubrovnik in the evening when most of the cruisers have left. That's the best!

Fuzzy - Dubrovnik will be much quieter in November, and some restaurants and hotels shut down for the winter. Fewer ferries run. So will need to do a little research first. But it will be less expensive at that time, too. I've not been to Berlin or Warsaw, so I can't make any comparisons. Dubrovnik is much smaller so if you want an urban feel, you may want to stay with Berlin or Warsaw. Although, I'd to go Dubrovnik again, anytime, at the drop of a hat. It's charming.