Dubrovnik Travel Podcast: Our Week in Dubrovnik
Croatia has consistently been one of the most-read destinations on The GetawayZ, and Dubrovnik is a big part of the reason. In this episode of The GetawayZ Podcast, we’re talking about our week in Dubrovnik, from walking the city walls and exploring Old Town to Lokrum Island, beaches, boat trips and some of the places we still talk about years later.
We visited in summer 2021, when cruise ships were temporarily absent from the port, giving us an unusually quiet look at one of Croatia’s busiest destinations.
What We Cover in This Dubrovnik Podcast
In this episode, we talk about getting to Dubrovnik from Split, where we stayed, walking the Dubrovnik city walls, visiting Lokrum Island, taking a private boat to Lopud, Dubrovnik’s beaches, where we ate and the nighttime ghost tour that became one of our favorite experiences.
Getting to Dubrovnik and Getting Around
From Split, it’s roughly a three-hour drive south to Dubrovnik, depending on traffic. Since the Pelješac Bridge opened in 2022, the drive can now be completed entirely within Croatia without crossing the short stretch of Bosnia and Herzegovina that once separated Dubrovnik from the rest of coastal Croatia. The drive itself is beautiful, with fruit stands lining the road the whole way down.
Dubrovnik’s Old Town is surrounded by its famous city walls and built almost entirely on a cliff, meaning stairs are a constant. We stayed a few blocks outside Old Town and had five or six flights of stairs just to reach street level. If you’d rather skip the stairs, staying in the newer part of the city gives you a parking lot right near the walls with direct, flat access in.
Dubrovnik Old Town and the City Walls
A guided walking tour is a great way to start: ours spent as much time on Dubrovnik’s very recent history, the shelling and damage from the 1990s war, as it did on the medieval architecture, and you can still spot bullet holes on some of the older buildings. Walking the city walls themselves takes about two hours and is best done early, since there’s no shade up top; a coffee stand on the ocean side of the wall serving drinks piled with ice cream was one of the best things we had all trip.
Lokrum Island, Lopud and Dubrovnik Beaches
Lokrum Island is a 30-minute ferry from Old Town and an easy half-day trip: peacocks roam freely, there’s a small lake, gardens, an old monastery-turned-museum, and even one of the original Iron Throne props from Game of Thrones (which was filmed extensively around Dubrovnik). We also rented a private half-day boat (a bargain at roughly $100 for four of us) that took us to Lopud Island, a car-free island with one of the few actual sandy beaches in the region; most Dubrovnik-area beaches are pebble or rock, which keeps the water crystal clear but means water shoes are a must.
On the mainland, Banje Beach is the most convenient, an easy walk from Old Town with views straight back at the city walls. Bašanska Beach, about 30 minutes south, is worth the trip but requires a genuinely steep, cliffside walk down (and back up) to reach it, not for anyone with mobility concerns, but the payoff is one of the most dramatic beach settings in the area.
Where We Ate and Our Dubrovnik Ghost Walk
The seafood around Dubrovnik is excellent, and don’t skip Taj Mahal in Old Town, a Bosnian restaurant despite the name that came highly recommended and lived up to it. We also did a nighttime ghost tour through the old cemetery and a nearby park along the sea, which turned out to be one of our favorite things we did there. Outside Old Town, the surrounding area is genuinely modern, with malls and movie theaters, and it’s a short drive from both Montenegro and Bosnia if you want to extend the trip.
Related Posts From This Episode
Planning a Trip to Croatia?
Explore more of our guides to help you plan your trip.
Things to Do in Dubrovnik → our full written guide to the city walls, Lokrum Island and beaches
Where to Stay in Dubrovnik → our hotel picks near Old Town and elsewhere in the city
Croatia Travel Guide → start here for planning the rest of your Croatia trip
If you enjoyed this episode, follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to hear new stories and travel tips.