Given that I had only our days to travel during school term each week, I had to find somewhere that could keep us relatively occupied. Dubrovnik and Kotor seems to be a great and affordable option then, as it was off-peak season (end February). Do note that these are extremely popular tourist destinations in the summer and seasonal pricing is implemented in the two cities. Prices can go up to double the amount during peak season (mainly summer)!
Activities to do:
There is something about walled cities that I love. Whether it is the way old towns hum with life behind marble-clad walls or the gentle seabreeze from Adriatic Sea grazing the emerald-sapphire crystal waters. Heading to one of the most picturesque town in Balkans from the airport is a breeze – just purchase a bus ticket to the old town from the airport or online. The bus has a couple of stops between the airport and Pile Gate (your stop). Returning back to the airport is similar, get a bus ticket from the kiosk outside Pile Gate and wait at the bus stop!
Take a self-guided walking tour: Explore the small, quaint walled up city of Dubrovnik, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Spend a day getting lost in the Old Town; chance upon museums, seafood restaurants and fall in love with the charming alleys like I did. Your self-walking tour can start from Pile Gate, the main entrance and exit of Dubrovnik. Explore Stradun, Church of St. Blaise (St. Vlaho), Sponza Palace, Onofrio’s Fountain and many more. You should be done within two hours as the town is small.
Stroll along the city walls: The ancient walls of the fortified city is another popular activity to do. The 2km long walk should take about 2 hours for you to complete it. Though it would be fun to walk around and enjoy some great views, the entry price was off-putting (€29) to me. If you are an individual that checks off all the key tourist attractions of a city, go ahead, the views are sure to be stunning. However, if you’re like me, I would recommend just climbing or taking a cable car up to Srd.
Tour King’s Landing: For Game of Thrones fans, this one is for you. The city is one of the best filming locations for Game of Thrones with iconic scenes like Cersei’s walk of shame, House of the Undying, being shot in this very town. There are multiple tour agencies offering themed tours, prices ranging from S$40-60 on average.
Hike up Srd: You can either walk up Srd or take a cable car up the 412 m high hill overlooking Dubrovnik’s Old Town. I would recommend taking the cable car up (~S$15, off peak, one way) and then walking back down to the Old Town. Personally, I feel that returning is more intuitive than going up and getting lost because of the lack of signs. Also, as we hiked up Kotor, the views at the top wasn’t fantastic but it got much better going back down. We just followed the asphalt road down and took the trail which runs down the side of the hill (about 45 mins - 1 hour). We came across Bosanka and thought we were lost, but it was just en route back to the old town. Generally, the trail was easy but do be careful of the loose rocks.
Ferry over to Lokrum Island: We want to visit this island after hearing about the beaches, clear waters and peacocks & rabbits roaming the forested island. Unfortunately, boat rides to the island are only available in Summer. A 10 minutes ferry ride from Dubrovnik’s Old Harbour, visit the Benedictine monastery, another GoT film site and enjoy the views from the roof of Fort Royal. Bask in the sun at the nudist beach or swim at a small saltwater lake, Dead Sea.
Hop on a bus to Kotor: Purchase a bus trip to the neighbouring country, Montenegro. Just 1-2 hours away from Dubrovnik, Kotor offers a combination of exceptional views and a less touristy city to soak in the history and culture. Remember to bring your passport as the bus will be stopping at the border control zone. Upon reaching, head up to Cetinje to take in the breath-taking view over the Bay of Kotor. The mini hike will take around 3 hours maximum to and fro, including the time taken for potential Instagram photoshoots. Again, be careful of loose steps/rocks. The photos paint an image of how your hike will be like, not as smooth and paved as in Dubrovnik. However, the view is amazing and worth all the climbing. After heading down, grab a lunch set which can be easily found at any restaurant in the fortified town. You have to basked in the sun with a pour of house wine while you are at it.
Continue to Perast: Kotor isn’t exactly the largest town, so maximise your day there by taking a 20 minutes bus ride (€1) to Perast after lunch. This idyllic town is so tiny with a population of less than 400. Take a boat tour to the two local church islands: St. George Island and Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of the Rock). The water taxi/tour should be less than €10 each. The bus timing back can be a little tricky, I would advise you to ask the locals about the timing of the bus back to Kotor.
What/Where to eat:
To manage expectations, we were constantly bombarded by staff trying to get us into their places by yelling for us to come in or asking if we wanted the famous Croatian dishes. Especially when you are in one of Kotor’s squares. Most of the restaurants do serve similar food at the same prices thus we just picked one out of the many. Most of them have lunch sets for a fixed amount; we had grilled fish, with fish soup and salad for €13. Their homemade bread are not complimentary and they do charge extra for them (though some stores have really yummy ones).
TLDR: Either have a type of dish you want to try and look out for it on menu or visit the popular restaurants.
Octopus Salad (or octopus anything): The onion, tomato, olive oil, lemon juice with huge chunks of octopus dish is another Dalmatian speciality. The light salad can be found in majority of the menus and a easy google search will result in dozens of recommendations of where to get the best in town.
Black Risotto (Crni rižot): A typical Dalmatian dish that you should be able to find in any Croatian restaurant. The squid ink risotto is usually served with seafood like mussels and clams. I did try tomato risotto with octopus in Dubrovnik, however the rice was undercooked for my Chinese palate. Not too sure if it was just the restaurant I was at, or everywhere else too though.
Seafood Platter: Honest food coming from the Adriatic Sea is always fresh. I had my seafood platter in Budva instead of Dubrovnik or Kotor in a separate trip where the mussel was the best I’ve ever had without the funky fishiness. What’s even better is the affordable price point and value of money. If you’re picky about seafood, perhaps the stewed mussels (Mušule na buzaru) would be an alternative. As I said, Best. Mussels. Ever.
Smoked Prosciutto ham: From Njeguski, a mountainous village near Kotor, the ham is aired and smoked to produce a special flavor that is uniquely delicious to the region. It is sliced thicker than cold cuts and served with herbs and bread.
Kiflica: I have no idea what the English translation of this is ex, might be bread for all I know. Google told me it was either Serbian cheese rolls or Crescent Rolls, I don’t know. On the way to Srd’s cable car, we chanced upon this bakery and I started questioning the lady over the counter what everything was before purchasing a Kiflica Sir (cheese). The flaky, buttery crust together with the salty cheese made it a delectable breakfast or snack.
Vita Bella: It has been two years and I did not tag or save places I wanted to visit in Google Maps there so I’m basing all of these information on my memory and photos BUT I vaguely remember my Airbnb hosts recommending this. The local family diner serves wood fired pizza and grill at pocket-friendly prices. You can have the option of either delivering it to your Airbnb or eating at their place in the Old Town.
Pancake/Crepe (Palačinke): Everyone loves pancake and I am obsessed with them. We actually went to a restaurant and attempted to order their crepe before the funniest thing happened. The staff was like “NOOOO… don’t order a crepe here” and she literally walked us to a store specialising in pancake, saying that this was where we are to get a crepe. And… I do not remember the store name. Though get one to share as the portion is too much for one and you may get surfeit fast.
Dubravka 1836 Restaurant & Café: Was looking for a place to chill before my flight back to Denmark and randomly decided on this Mediterranean casual diner with views of the city walls and Fort Lovrijenac. I spent the rest of my money on a pizza (~S$16-20+) and proceeded to inhale the 12 inch in one seating (no wonder I got fat from exchange, mind you, the pizza was after a scoop of gelato).
Solo Scorecard - 2 (1 - Perfect for Solo Travelling, 5 - Would not recommend for solo travellers)
The level of English proficiency is not the highest in Balkans generally though most locals are able to understand basic words and sentences. Learning a bit of Slavic language may come in handy now and then. Directions may be confusing to some, asking around would help in the labyrinth of a town. Plenty of stuff to do so you will not get bored in this low-crime rate cities!
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