DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: CROATIA
SOUTHERN Croatia’s famous walled city of Dubrovnik is a ‘must see’ destination, but has now become a victim of its own success, writes BRIAN McCALDEN.
Daily arrivals by super plus size cruise ships to the ultra modern docks to the north of the city see coach loads of avid tourists all anxious to tick the city off their ‘bucket list’, flocking in.
At times the beautiful narrow streets in its distinctive Old Town that are encircled with massive stone walls, seem daunting to those seeking a more relaxed break.
Crowds are a given and the experience is especially daunting in the hot summer ‘peak season’ months when the guided parties of tourists seem endless.
Sure, everyone wants to view the fantastic old harbour, busy with water taxis and wooden galley-style pleasure cruisers. They rightly want to enjoy what is perhaps the last bastion of crime-free Europe too – given its super friendly population and complete lack of beggars, ‘looky lookey vendors’ and other distractions (such as thieves) so common in lesser countries – as would be expected.
There is however a way to get the whole experience and to enjoy a little bit of laid-back, stress-free Croatia at the same time.
Stay elsewhere and take the local (cheap) bus service or the (not as cheap) waterbus in and out of Dubrovnik at a time that suits individual schedules, rather than that of a tour guide.
Just a 10 minute taxi ride from the local, (new) airport lies the ‘resort’ of Cavtat. Canny visitors can enjoy the fantastic sights and sounds of its busy harbour, where millionaire yachts jostle for space alongside working 14′ fishing boats and see the regular water bus service from Dubrovnik pick up and off load their passengers.
The evening sunsets over the harbour and the wooded peninsulas that surround it are something not to miss, followed by a stroll around the various inexpensive restaurants that line the waterfront.
Entertainment is low-key but occasionally lively and those hoping for a relaxed break can retire to their balcony with a sundowner in hand to enjoy the moon and the stars casting their spell above, happy in the knowledge that by midnight it has all drawn to a close.
Indeed, as evening falls the flights to and from the nearby airport also end, although watching them coming in (a few hundred feet above!) is fun too. However, it is noisy in daytime but also easily ignored once the Cavtat feeling begins to take effect!
Staying in the likes of the hugely friendly ‘home from home’ that is Tija apartments, (highly recommended) means a stunning private balcony and a studio apartment can be had for a VERY reasonable price.
Minutes to the waterfront and the closest bathing areas, and a stroll away from the local sandy beach (Yes, they do have them in Croatia if you care to look for them) it is easy to just watch the ever changing vista that is the harbour below, and maybe – eventually – take the seaborne bus, or the very cheap local road bus from the depot down the street and actually visit distant Dubrovnik. But, as its myriad of lights begin to twinkle in the evening, pre-sunset twilight in Cavtat, it’s possibly just a trip to think of doing another day…..
That said, Dubrovnik’s well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s and it boasts fantastic scenery all along the Dubrovnik Riviera, as the drive to and from the airport and Cavtat is described. The view from the nearby hillside is phenomenal too (best to go by taxi if there are more than two people) as the cable car is expensive and a short ride.
Overall though, it’s just easier and more relaxing to do it all in ‘local mode’ and see it when (and if) a visitor is finally able to leave the joys of Cavtat for the few hours and revert from ‘local’ to ‘tourist’ mode across in the walled city.
TIP: September and October are the best times to go.
- Article and Pictures by Brian McCalden
The 'Travel' Life of Brian 