Croatia! I’d heard so many things about Croatia: people raving about the beautiful beaches, the clear water, and the awesome walls around this city in particular (hello, Game of Thrones)- but had never even thought that I would get to visit this early in my life.

We chose Croatia because again, budget travel: but this time we had a certain thought in mind: we missed being by the beach. We visited Kotor and Budva for day trips, but hadn’t stayed overlooking the ocean since Portugal and both of us were missing the coast! We actually almost changed our trip from Dubrovnik to Split when we found out we miiiiight be able to surf there, but eventually decided to stick with our original plan. I think both Evan and I are glad that we did.

Another bus ride took us into Dubrovnik, where we took an Uber to our AirBnb after arriving in the late evening. Eastern Europe does not have an established railway system at all, so truly buses are your cheapest and most viable option unless you have the money to fly everywhere. The AirBnb that we stayed in here in Dubrovnik was actually really awesome! We ended up paying $173.13 total for 3 nights, 4 days total and it was the cutest little place that had a panoramic ocean view from the window. It was one of the smaller places we stayed, but we squeezed and enjoyed the view from our little balcony as much as possible.

We arrived into Dubrovnik on October 9, and on October 10th of course I had to wake up and go on a run to check it out. I think I did around 5 miles and ended up running out on this beautiful paved sidewalk that followed the jagged coastline, and I got to see first hand how clear and beautiful the water was! Everything was so quiet and serene.

After my run, Evan and I headed off and got breakfast at this adorable coffee shop inside the university! It was so fun to see all the students walking around and going to class (and it definitely made me nostalgic for school myself). We had to leave quickly because we had to make it to our walking tour!

We enjoyed our walking tour for about 2-3 hours and got some recommendations from our tour guide about activities, restaurants, and nightlife. One thing he recommended was hiking up Mt. Sryd, which was something I had seen on Pinterest too. You can pay 20 euros each to ride a gondola up there, but we decided to brave the switchbacks and hike up.

We are so glad we did! This is 100% something I would recommend doing if you are injury-free and in good physical shape when you visit. There is a restaurant, cafe, and bar up at the top that has heaters and blankets in case of cold weather. It took us about 1 hour to hike the whole thing and don’t be fooled- it’s pretty hard! There is a lot of climb in elevation but the views are absolutely breathtaking. We enjoyed a coffee and beer at the top to celebrate and actually got to watch a storm roll in over the ocean and city walls. THAT was a view I will never forget!

We spent that night eating dinner and recovering. We grabbed dinner at a local fast food stand (they have SUCH great food here) and ended up splitting some wine on our balcony.

The next day we spent downtown in the city center. We did so much walking and exploring- you truly can spend so much time just getting lost in little alleys and corridors. Dubrovnik can be pretty touristy for eastern Europe, but some of these shops are just irresistible. There were so many shops featuring local art, jewelry, and textiles made locally. If you visit, allocate at least a half day to shop and explore all the restaurants, candy shops, and wine bars.

Another popular activity is to walk along the city walls. We really wanted to do this but found that the price was a bit too steep (I think it was about 35 euros each). As you can tell, we were really budget conscious throughout most of this trip! But this is a very popular thing to do and it looked really, really fun. The entire city is surrounded by these big walls and they have preserved the original city so beautifully.

After spending the day shopping and exploring, we watched the sunset at this famous bar that’s built into a cliff called Buza Bar. You have to follow the signs because it is a little tricky, but when you get there you will be amazed! This bar is cash only and it’s usually pretty crowded but seats open up very quickly and just like everywhere else in Europe, there’s no pressure to leave 🙂 We enjoyed a couple of drinks here and Evan smoked his weekly cigar. It was the coolest atmosphere and if you visit in the summer it’s very common to see people cliff jumping from a designated spot right by the bar! This is a must visit when visiting Dubrovnik.

On our last day, we woke up and packed our bags early because the cleaners literally showed up at the AirBnB at 9 am on the dot. We took an Uber to the bus station where we rented luggage lockers and packed up the tote bag with swimsuits so we could spend the time until our flight tanning and relaxing on the beach.

Before we did though, we got lunch at this really cool vegan restaurant by the marina and bus stop. The bus stop is about 2 miles walk away from the actual old town, so we pretty much decided we weren’t going to go back that day and just spend the day exploring all the other parts of the city. The restaurant was called Urban & Veggie and their menu was completely vegan. I am not a vegetarian, but I naturally eat around an 80% plant diet, and these things alwaysss catch my eye. Luckily for me, Evan was also feeling in the mood for a plant-based meal and wanted to try the restaurant. The food was really colorful and eclectic looking and the latte was delicious, but I can’t say I’d choose this restaurant as a top choice unless of course, you are vegan. We enjoyed our experience though, and the workers were incredibly kind. The one thing I did find really cool was that this restaurant had their own segment on Strava, and if you placed in the rankings for your sex (male or female) then you would win a free meal! The segment included the massive climb up the mountain that we had done a couple of days prior and I didn’t have my running shoes, otherwise I absolutely would have tried it. It was such a unique idea though, and that really stuck out to me.

I took Evan to the fun, popular area where I had ran on the first morning (I believe the beach is called Sunset Beach). There was a beautiful resort where we bummed chairs for a while until they kicked us off and we ended up tanning on a slab of concrete with several other people. We tanned and relaxed and went for a final long walk along the paved overlook, stopping at all the beautiful resorts, restaurants, and bars that were along the way. The walled city of Dubrovnik was incredible, but I do have to say you’re missing out if you don’t explore the other parts of the city! This area was more beach vibes than city vibes, but it had so much to offer! We stopped and used the Royal Resort swing because of course, I cannot resist a good swing moment.

We left ourselves about 1.5 hours to get to the bus station and get settled, so we ended the night by visiting the Dubrovnik Brewing Company, a craft beer brewery right by the bus station. Evan and I would absolutely recommend this place! They had the best craft beer and bar food, and we felt peace of mind knowing we were so close to where we needed to be.

We really, really loved our time in Dubrovnik. This place was everything that people say it is and more! The prices are a little higher in the city center, but if you can get outside of that things are totally manageable. We think this would be a great European destination for kids, too, since there are so many outdoor and kid-friendly activities!