DUBROVNIK
Good, bad, or indifferent, Dubrovnik is a Disneyland for adults. There’s water slides in the form of jumps from cliffs into crystal blue water. There’s fairy tale castles that are reminiscent of Cinderella’s castle. The food is average. The lines are long. You need to rely on shuttle buses. Instead of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride, you can ride in a real submarine. Instead of Pirates of the Caribbean, you can see a real pirate ship. High fives after a braving a roller coast are now present when scoring a seat at a table with a perfect view (and it’s just as awkward to watch). The city is filled with people either on their honeymoon or couples who never had one. The only thing missing is the Dumbo Elephant Ride.
The photo below was making the rounds on Instagram while I was traveling through Eastern Europe. Who wouldn’t skip the traditional vacation spots of London, Paris, and Rome for this?
The photo below was making the rounds on Instagram while I was traveling through Eastern Europe. Who wouldn’t skip the traditional vacation spots of London, Paris, and Rome for this?
The only drawback to reaching Dubrovnik is I'm not sure there's any direct flights from the US - outside of maybe NYC - and thus with a connection you are probably burning a day to and from Dubrovnik that you wouldn't burn on a Paris, London, or Rome trip. Then once you get here as a starting point, you'd need to figure out where to go next - up to Italy or down to Greece - admittedly that's a difficult decision for a totally different reason as either option is amazing.
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Disneyland for adults. Not a single kid here.
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So, what do you actually do here? Not much. There's a walk around the old city's perimeter wall. Um, there's a walk around the old city's perimeter wall. Um, there has to be something else you do here. Really there isn't. Other than relax and have a good time. And really that's all you need to do. I think that's why, maybe, this isn't such a popular destination or considered an exotic destination for Americans. For an American looking for R&R there's a lot of closer destinations. That said, for an American looking to combine R&R on the front end of an exciting vacation, the Dubrovnik through Croatia and Italy or down to Greece is a great combo.
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The city is naturally beautifully. It combines wonderfully with the surrounding nature which is also beautiful.
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For additional photos see FLICKR ALBUM.