Dubrovnik is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the Mediterranean. Visit Dubrovnik and be entranced by its stunning old town, where baroque buildings stand on cobbled limestone streets, protected by the medieval city walls.

In recent years, Dubrovnik has become so popular the government has had to step in and limit the amount of cruise ships that enter the city. Tourism was over two thirds higher in 2019 than it was in 2014. Possibly due to the city being used as the location for King’s Landing in the TV show, Game of Thrones. There are even Game of Thrones Tours in Dubrovnik!

As one might expect, this unprecedented increase in the amount of tourism has led to Dubrovnik becoming the most expensive city to visit in the Balkans. More of that later.

Bus To Dubrovnik From Split 

I arrived in Dubrovnik from the city of Split. Once again, I used the GetByBus web site which had served me well so far on my tour around the Balkans. The bus left and arrived on time. The journey offered some fantastic views.

Arriving In Dubrovnik

My hostel was around 40 minutes walk from the bus station which I didn’t fancy. Looking at the map, I could see that it was in between the bus station and the old town. I figured that any bus going to the old town would pass my hotel.

How To Get To Dubrovnik Old Town From The Bus Station

If you need to get to the old town from the bus station, you need to take any bus that is heading to ‘Pile Gate’. At the time of writing, the buses 1a, 1b, 1c and 3 all drop off at the main gates to the old town. You need to walk outside the bus station and on to the main road to catch the bus. Tickets are 15 HRK and can be bought on the bus. There is a kiosk at the exit to the bus station and you can buy tickets from there for just 12 HRK.

Where To Stay In Dubrovnik

These are some of the best budget hostels in Dubrovnik, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Hostel 365 For U
• Hostel Angelina Old Town
• Hostel Free Bird
• Hostel Sol
• Hostel Petra Marina
• The City Place Hostel

Guesthouse Isabel La Catolica

I booked three nights at a place called ‘Guesthouse Isabel La Catolica’ (map). It seemed that it was a fairly new hostel as there were only a few reviews (all positive) and it wasn’t even on Google Maps. I normally don’t book hostels with a small amount of reviews but the comments led me to believe that it was a cool place to stay.

Arriving At Isabel La Catolica

My bus did pass the hostel though it was at the bottom of a steep climb of stairs. It was dark and I began to wonder if I had made a good choice. This area was obviously not why people come to Dubrovnik.

I found the hostel and was greeted by the host, Jose. He showed me my room and bed and then showed me around the hostel. It is a small hostel but well equipped. The kitchen had everything you could need. There was also free bread, fruit, pasta and coffee/tea. He then showed me the one bathroom which again was well equipped with all kinds of toiletries. “What ever you see, you can use,” explained Jose.

I had been carrying dirty laundry for a while and needed to find a laundrette. No need. Free laundry was also provided. Jose even did it for me. I gave him a bag full of dirty clothes and he washed, dried and folded them ready for the next morning. Brilliant!

I asked if there were lockers as I had not seen any and he replied in the negative. There were also no sockets near my bed. It appeared that people were charging their devices wherever they found an empty socket (usually the kitchen). If I’d have read that there were no lockers, I probably would not have booked this hostel. But I think it contributed to the wonderful vibe here. It made it feel like home and created a trust amongst all the guests.

As it is a small hostel, you get to know the other guests pretty easily. I made friends with the other guests and we had a couple of good nights out, both of which Jose organised and attended. People I had only just met very quickly became friends.

The hostel provides towels and free WiFi and, despite my early worries, is actually in a great location. It is just a few minutes walk from the old town.

After 14 months of travel, I have stayed in many hostels. There are many reasons why I would like or dislike a hostel. Isabela La Catolica might not be the fanciest, most modern hostel I have stayed in, but it has a big heart and that is entirely down to Jose. He was a wonderful host and I had a fantastic time staying here.

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I paid £26 for a three night stay in a 8 bed dorm with shared bathroom.

Click here to book a stay at Isabel La Catolica.

Things To Do In Dubrovnik

Once I got settled into the hostel, I headed out with a couple of the guests into the old town. They were heading for food but I didn’t fancy a sit-down meal as I wanted to explore the city a little and check out a couple of bars. Besides, as it was the Christmas period, there was no shortage of stalls selling delicious sausage! The sausage was about the same price as I had paid in Zagreb. I began to think Dubrovnik wouldn’t be that expensive after all.

Exit Rock Cafe

Rock bars are usually pretty reasonably priced compared to other bars so I decided to start the night off in ‘Exit Rock Cafe’ (map). The bar was empty as it was pretty early in a town that was not exactly heaving with tourists. I ordered the cheapest draught beer and it cost 38 HRK. The same drink cost me 18 HRK in Split. It appeared that Dubrovnik WAS as expensive as people had warned! As it turned out, 38 HRK is reasonable for the area. If you are a fan of rock music, then this place will tick all your boxes.

Buzz Bar

As I sat drinking my expensive beer, I googled ‘cheap bar in Dubrovnik’. The place that was repeatedly mentioned was ‘Buzz Bar’ (map). Luckily, it was just around the corner so I drank my one beer in the rock bar and made my way here. In here, a large beer cost 33 HRK. The bar was nothing spectacular but it was decent enough and they played some great music that I was not expecting to hear (they had a thing for 80s shoe-gazing bands)! I had more beer in here than I was planning before stumbling my way home, taking in the views of the old town by night.

Good Morning, Dubrovnik

The next morning, I woke up feeling remarkably good, considering the amount of beer I enjoyed the night before. I took advantage of the free bread, fruit and coffee before heading into the old town. The weather forecast was rain for my whole stay in Dubrovnik but at some point I would have to walk the city walls.

Pile Gate

Pile Gate is the main entrance into Dubrovnik Old Town and one of the entrances to the city walls. It took about 5 minutes to reach it from the hostel.

By the time I got to Pile Gate, it was already raining so I temporarily postponed the walls of Dubrovnik, instead opting to explore the old town.

Dubrovnik City Walls

The rain didn’t seem to be going away and even heavier rains had been forecast for the next day, so I decided to visit the city walls after all. There are three access points to the walls. I chose the main entrance near Pile Gate.

I had heard about how over-crowded the walls are during peak season. As I was visiting on a rainy day out-of-season, I had them all to myself. Incredible! Tickets were 200 HRK which is very expensive but you can hardly come to Dubrovnik and not visit the walls. The views over the town were just wonderful.

Dubrovnik City Walls Opening Times And Entrance Fee: Click here for current information.

Lovrijenac Fort

Included in the ticket for the city walls is the ‘Lovrijenac Fort’ (map) from where you can get a view of the walled city.

Gradac Park

From the fort, I decided to walk through ‘Gradac Park’ (map) which runs alongside the coast of the Adriatic Sea and is home to some ruins and street art.

Dubrovnik Beer Company

In the evening, our host took a few of us down to ‘Dubrovnik Beer Company’ (map). The beer is brewed on site and is very tasty. They offer tours of the brewery but we were happy enough to just sit and sample their products. We took a taxi back to the hotel and the taxi was happy enough to take all 5 of us squashed in. That wouldn’t happen in England!

Chilling In The Hostel

The next day, I decided to do very little. I toyed with the idea of hiking up to the ‘Dubrava Observation Point’ (map) but the promise of rain put me off. Instead, me and a couple of other guests bought some beers from the local supermarket and settled for a night in the hostel.

Malvasija Wine Bar

Our host, Jose, had other plans. He decided that we were all going to ‘Malcasija Wine Bar’ (map) in the old town. I had already polished off 5 beers so this was an interesting turn of events! Jose doesn’t like to walk so he got a friend to take us down to the old town. This time, Jose had to get in the boot of the car as there was no room!

We had a few glasses of delicious red wine before they closed for the night. As it was raining quite heavily by now, we ran to the nearest bar that was still open: ‘Irish Pub Karaka’ (map). We had a couple more beers, enjoying watching Jose grooving to the Spice Girls and Britney Spears, before heading back to the hostel.

Is Dubrovnik Worth Visiting?

Dubrovnik is a beautiful city. It is much more expensive than anywhere else on the coast of the Adriatic Sea but it is definitely a must-visit city if you are travelling in the area. My time here was improved by my choice of accommodation and the wonderful people I met. None of whom had ever seen an episode of Game of Thrones!

For more information, visit https://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/croatia-destinations/dubrovnik/