Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a world-famous tourist destination and it is on the itinerary of every visitor to Croatia…and for good reason. So even if you are a backpacker or an adventurer on a budget, and you decided to visit Croatia, then you’ve to visit this amazing city. However, despite all the touristy stuff that you can do in the city, there are also some adventures that are off-the-beaten-path that very few visitors to this city know about, and they are not for the faint-hearted!
The first adventure in visiting this city is the way to get there! Dubrovnik is in the far south of the country, so normally people fly or sail there, yet if you are a backpacker on a budget, like me, then the best option is to take a long bus trip. I took the bus from Zadar, which takes around 6 hours, it was very comfortable, and the roads are in very good shape, but the strangest thing I ever experienced happened on this trip! In this trip, you are supposed to be taking a bus between two Croatian cities, but I didn’t know that when traveling by land, you’ve to pass into and out of Bosnia & Herzegovina to reach Dubrovnik…strange, isn’t it!! And since your crossing international borders, then this is accompanied by all the passport control formalities that you experience at an airport, but twice:)
When arriving in Dubrovnik, it is time to take care of your accommodation. The touristy and interesting part of Dubrovnik is the old walled city, but to stay there, you’ll have to break your budget big time. So, I recommend that you stay in the residential part of the city, outside the city walls. Although it’s a modern and not so special area, you can find cheap and comfortable airbnbs there. The only drawback is that you’ll have to take the bus to reach the old city. To do so, you’ve two options: an overpriced touristy bus, or the local one (click to request info), guess which one I took:)
Having taken care of your accommodation, now its time for the fun part!
As I mentioned earlier, Dubrovnik is a very touristy city, so you better visit early in the morning to avoid the tour bus crowds and guarantee an authentic experience. I’ll not talk in this blog about the magnificent squares and churches in this city as you’ll find these in every travel guide, but they are a must to explore when you visit Dubrovnik, just be sure that you are armed with a good city map to optimize your visiting time (click to request info).
I won’t also talk about all the GOT sites in the city that you can visit as these two are in every guide to Dubrovnik, and if you are a GOT fan like me, then it will be fun to check them out and pose for pictures:).
Instead, I’ll focus here on two adventurous activities that are unique to this city and each is considered a once in a lifetime experience. The first adventure is walking the walls of the old city. These walls resemble a small version of the Great Wall of China and very few tourists walk the entirety of its length. With a map that points out the major sites in the city, start your walk at the Pile gate and walk clockwise. The entire walk is about 2km, so take your time, and in the summer, start early to avoid the scorching heat. You’ll have amazing and stunning bird-eye views of the city,
as well as panoramic views of the open sea.
The second adventure and the highlight of the trip is something you won’t expect to find in this tourist hotspot!! Its an activity that very few know about it or dare to do it, in the first place…its cliff jumping into the sea!! I’ve to warn you though, this is a completely unsupervised activity and you are On Your Own, so be careful and do it at your own risk! I’ll not reveal the location of the spot from where you can cliff jump into the sea here to allow your adventurous soul to discover it on its own, but of course, if you need any help, just contact me (click to request info). When reaching the location, you’ll first be scared of the scale of the jumps, but there are multi spots from which you can jump, so take your time, assess them all, gather your courage and do it! Its an amazing feeling:) I did two jumps: the first wasn’t too high, but you’ll have to run & jump!!
It is a bit scary, so take your time and let yourself flyyyyy:) the adrenaline rush I felt afterward is like nothing I experienced before; and if you were reluctant, your fellow adventurers will keep encouraging you:)
The next jump I did was higher, but doesn’t require running which makes a little bit easier, at least for me! So again, gather your courage and let fly:) My advice is that don’t think about the jumps too much, just think of the amazing feeling and let yourself free and you won’t regret it…its an experience of a lifetime!!
