Where: Dubrovnik (UNESCO), south Croatia; plus a day trip to Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
When: July 2015.
Why: We went to Dubrovnik for our honeymoon. We didn’t want to go anywhere too far away as we wanted to relax after the craziness of the wedding. We didn’t have a huge budget and Croatia looked like it would be somewhere where we could afford to have a little bit of luxury. It’s a very romantic place, with sunshine and sparkly seas, and there is so much to see and do here.
Also on out honeymoon we stayed on the island of Korčula, the island of Hvar, Split and Zagreb.
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Map
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Intro
It’s hard choosing where to go on your honeymoon. This is supposed to be the trip of a lifetime – your excuse to book that tropical island, bungalow-over-the-sea resort that you’ve always dreamed about. The reality though is that getting married is expensive and tiring and you might not have enough brain power left to choose something fabulous and far away. That’s why many people these days choose to wait to have their honeymoon – but for us, we wanted it to be as soon after the wedding as possible. We needed the rest.
For us, getting married was a pretty stressful time as we were also trying to arrange visas just so that we could be together and live in the same country after we were married; so when it came to the honeymoon we decided that we would choose a holiday that was simple, easy and fun – rather than somewhere far-flung. (Plus Jeff and I are very spoiled in that we’ve visited many far-flung places on regular trips).
So we chose Croatia. Why? Because it is not too far away, we could have a bit of luxury on a budget and because we would be able to relax and explore. There is loads to see and do in Croatia plus it has one of the most stunning beautiful coasts in Europe, if not the world.
We started our trip in Dubrovnik because Dubrovnik was the place with the best resort hotels and because it was easy to access. Later on in our trip we would visit more off the beaten track places and smaller resorts, but what we wanted to start off with was a huge luxury hotel where we would be looked after and where we could relax – and Dubrovnik has a surplus of these types of resorts.
In its busy history, Dubrovnik has been the capital of an independent republic and under Ottoman, Venetian and Austrian rule – all of whom have left their mark on this city. The city has nearly fallen many times. In 1667 most of the city was destroyed in a huge earthquake. More recently, in 1991, Dubrovnik was besieged and shelled by Montenegrin and Serbian forces for seven months. Much damage was inflicted: 114 people were killed and over 50% of the buildings in the old city damaged. Once peace returned, during the 1990s, the city was rebuilt.
Today Dubrovnik is regularly invaded by hordes of tourists, looking to appreciate this jewel and its stunning location. In fact, it’s so popular that the local government is worried that the city simply cannot sustain the level of visitors (approximately 10,000 per day).
However, there’s a reason so many people come here and I’m glad we did too. This really is a unique city, a gem on the Adriatic, a beautiful place which is great value to stay in. It’s also very romantic and was a great place for a honeymoon. Hopefully, one day, maybe for our ten-year anniversary, we will be back.
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Honeyfund
I’d just like to say thank you again, times a million, to our wonderful wedding guests who helped to pay for our honeymoon. As we don’t have a permanent home, we decided to opt for a honeymoon gift list for our wedding. We set this up simply and easily with Honeyfund.
The way Honeyfund works is that you break your honeymoon down into chunks, such as a tour, a meal, a glass of champagne, a night in a hotel, and guests ‘buy’ one of the options for you by downloading a voucher and then giving you the cash or cheque for that amount. You can, if you so wish, pay a small fee to Honeyfund so that your guests can pay by card into your bank account, but we didn’t choose to do this.
It was lovely for us to be able to take photos of us drinking glasses of champagne or on trips, and then send this plus a thank you to the friends who had made it happen.
With many people getting married these days after they have already set up homes, I can see many more people taking this option.
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Getting there
Train
We originally planned to get a sleeper train to Dubrovnik. We were going to get the Eurostar to Paris, a TGV to Munich, then the night train to Zagreb (which sadly no longer runs), then the train down to Split. We would have done our honeymoon backwards and ended in Dubrovnik. However, a friend of mine who was already married told me how exhausting getting married can be and also how unromantic sleeper trains can actually be (she’s been on the Orient Express, so she knows) – and so we decided to stick to our mantra of simple, easy and fun – and so we flew to Dubrovnik instead.
If, however, you would like to make the journey by train it is still possible, you just have to spend the night in Munich. The Man at Seat 61 has all the details on how to do this.
Plane
Our honeymoon actually started off with a National Express journey down to Gatwick; then we flew with Monarch to Dubrovnik. Our flights cost £138 each, including a bag each. Being on a budget airline wasn’t very romantic, but we made up for it with glasses of champagne in the airport – and we were together and married, and that was enough.
Sadly, since we flew with them, Monarch have gone out of business. However, lots of airlines fly direct from the UK to Dubrovnik. I just had a look at SkyScanner and there are flights in July for £20 return!
Dubrovnik airport is little but convenient. It’s about half an hour south of Dubrovnik: www.airport-dubrovnik.hr.
Airport to Dubrovnik
On arrival we booked a ticket for the shuttle bus from the lady at the bus office inside the terminal (40kn/£5). When we went to get on the coach the driver told us the bus was full – and so we would have to wait for the next one – in two hours! (I think he had over-sold the bus, something which happened to us later on too).
The shuttle bus is run by Atlas Croatia and you can book tickets online from their website. There is no fixed timetable for buses from the airport to town. The bus leaves twenty to thirty minutes after every flight arrival. However there is a timetable on the website for buses from town to the airport.
Taxi
It was already 8 p.m. and dark – and we were on our honeymoon, so we decided to splash out on a taxi. Luckily, the lady in the ticket office agreed to refund our tickets, and we met up with two other stranded travellers and we agreed to get a taxi into town with them, which cost us 350kn (£40, or £10 each).
The journey was so pretty. We zoomed around the crepuscular coast, little lights reflecting in the water showing us where the sea was, way down below us. The air was hot and smelled different. Croatia felt foreign and magical.
In Dubrovnik, the taxi drove under the walls, then dropped us off at Pile Gate, which is the main entrance to Dubrovnik Old Town and also where all of the buses terminate. From here we jumped on a local bus up to our hotel.
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Getting around
Dubrovnik has a great bus system that is easy to navigate. The main stop for the city is at Pile, just outside the old town.
Our hotel was at the end of the Lapad Peninsular and pink bus four terminated outside our hotel, which was really convenient for us.
We were able to buy tickets from the bus driver, which then had to be stamped on the bus. Later on, we used our Dubrovnik Card for bus travel. Tickets bought from the driver are 15kn (£1.70). If you buy the tickets from a kiosk they are slightly cheaper at 12kn (£1.40). You can also buy a daily ticket for 30kn (£3.40).
The buses are run by Libertas Dubrovnik. They have an English website with information about timetables, routes and fares etc.
Intercity Bus Station
When we left Dubrovnik to go to Korčula, we caught the bus to Korčula from the bus station. This is located in Kantafig, over by the cool Tuđman Bridge (you can’t miss it). The bus station itself is quite old and decrepid, but there are a few nice cafes on the main road outside.
Dubrovnik Card
The Dubrovnik Card allows you entry to the key historical sights in the city (including the city walls), plus free bus transportation.
The one day card includes entry to the sights plus four hours worth of bus rides. This costs 171kn (£20). The three-day card, which we bought, costs 250kn (£30) and includes ten free bus rides. The weekly card costs 315kn (£37) and includes 20 free bus rides.
For us the card was worth it, as to get to the city we had to take the bus each time, and so the card saved us money. If I was staying in the city centre and didn’t need to get the bus I would probably just pay for each thing individually as this would be cheaper.
The card is activated at first place you visit. For us, this was at our hotel.
If you buy the card online, you can get an extra 10% off.
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What we did on our holiday
Relaxed
We´re not very good at relaxing on holiday, but after the craziness of getting married J and I desperately needed a bit of R and R. No one ever tells you how exhausting getting married is – so our hotel with its five pools and ocean access was very welcome. I spent at least two days just lying on my sun-lounger, gently going brown, splashing in the sea when it all got too hot.
Although it is not known for its beaches, the sea around Croatia is sparkly, crystal clear and wonderful for splashing about in. Our hotel had a ladder leading into the sea so that we could use it as an additional swimming pool – but with more sea-weed.
It was so wonderful and the location of our hotel, overlooking the Elaphite Islands, with cruise ships sailing by, was a perfect place to just lie and watch the sea. They had sun loungers all around the complex, mostly on the rocks, right by the water. It was just what we needed and so relaxing. I have a video of the setting-sun sparkling on the sea, which I play if ever I need to chill out.
Dubrovnik City Tour
However, we were also in one of the most romantic, cool cities in the world – so we had to go explore it at least once.
Dubrovnik, the pearl of the Adriatic, is a walled city, perching on the beautiful southern Croatian coast. Although it has been a famous holiday destinations for centuries, it has recently become even more famous as it stars as Kings Landing in the TV series Game of Thrones.
Like everyone, we started our tour outside Pile Gate, at Brsalje Terrace, overlooking the sea-front fort of Lovrijenac (a.k.a. Fort of St Lawrence). According to legend, Lovrijenac was built in the 11th century, by the locals, in just three months, so that they could fight off the Venetians who wanted to take the city.
This magnificent stone edifice, sitting on a cliff overlooking a small bay, is today more famous for drama than history. Lovrijenac plays the Red Keep, Kings Landing in Game of Thrones. It is also used as a theatre and as a filming location for other films and TV programmes.
Sadly, we didn’t get to go inside Lovrijenac Fort – we just admired how cool it was from outside.
The main entrance for the city is the Gate at Pile. Here there is a drawbridge to the city and fortifications with two small gateways, which you have to walk through to get into the city. On one of the days we visited there was a huge bottle-neck here, with crowds of people queuing to get into the city. Luckily, there were some cool minstrels there to entertain the crowds whilst they waited.
Just inside Pile Gate is a square and in the square is Big Onofrio’s Fountain (the strange dome-like building above); then leading off in front of the gate is Placa/Stradun, the main street in Dubrovnik Old Town. Placa has lots of tourist shops, ice cream shops and travel agencies. It’s a nice street to potter down and the obvious centre of the city.
Just to the left of Pile Gate is one of the entrances to the city walls (see below for more information). Also on the left is the Franciscan Friars Minor Monastery Museum, which contains the third oldest working pharmacy in the world – we bought some Strepsils from here. (Incidentally, we have seen the oldest pharmacy in the world too, which is in the main square in Tallinn, Estonia). The Monastery Museum has a beautiful, old, garden courtyard, which was a peaceful place to cool down, and there was beautiful artwork too. Entrance to the museum was free with our Dubrovnik Card.
At the end of Placa/Stradun is a square and in this is Orlando’s Column (Orlandov Stup). I’m sorry, but every time I read about this I just think about Orlando Bloom in very unsuitable ways (I’m sure he wouldn’t mind). It’s actually a very nice column with a statue on top and people congregate there (the one in Dubrovnik). I seem to remember that one day when we went into the city there was a concert taking place here. I’ve just found out that the column is also known as Roland’s Column, named after the legendary knight Roland, who died on a battlefield quite close to our house in Navarre. We visited this battle field when we walked the Camino de Santiago. He gets around a bit doesn’t he?
Anyhow, just behind Orlando’s Column was the Church of St Blaise, which we didn’t go in but which had nice steps to sit and chill on.
Just off this square is the Sponza Palace, which was the customs office and treasury (Ploce Gateway, which leads through to the harbour, is just next to the building). The Sponza Palace is now the Dubrovnik State Archives.
Next to Ploce Gateway is the bell tower, which was built in 1444. The bell is hit by two bronze figures called Zelenci (or Jacks). These are statues which move to ‘dong’ the bell. If you look through the window of the bell tower you can see these figures are still there.
A little further up from Sponza Palace was the stunning Rector’s Palace, one of the only original Venetian buildings in the city (most of the others were destroyed in an earthquake in the 17th century). This was the administrative seat for the Dubrovnik Republic, so was one of the most important buildings in the city.
The Rector’s Palace has a beautiful shaded facade; a wonderful place to sit and chill. Inside, there is a museum, apartments and a beautiful courtyard with a unique staircase. This courtyard is one of the most famous places in the city and they often have concerts here. It was also used as a filming location for Game of Thrones. We spent about an hour at the Rector’s Palace, where we visited the rooms and the museum.
In the Cultural History Museum at the Rector’s Palace you can see two old Jacks from the city’s bell tower. Also here was an exhibition about the city’s history. There was an interesting display of photos from the recent war (called the Homeland War here) and it was strange to link these photos to the city we were walking through now – especially as these events happened within my lifetime and I remember watching them on TV.
Just on the other side of the Rector’s Palace is the port; dominated by S John Fort, which is now the Maritime Museum (see below for more information). We visited the port a few times, as there are nice fish cafes on the harbour side and it was a very relaxed place to be. One night we sat on the harbour side, our feet dangling over the water, and we watched the International Space Station fly over us. It was so romantic!
Overlooking the harbour is the long, old quarantine building (Lazaretto), which is where visitors used to have to wait for 40 days before they were allowed to enter the city. Today you can visit the buildings, which are used for art exhibitions.
Away from the central Placa strip Dubrovnik is steep! Both on the land side and the sea side. On our first visit to the town we explored the hills on the sea-side: we ducked down tiny alleys, stopped for drinks in hidden squares, shopped, pottered into churches. I really liked the Church of the Holy Annunciation, which had a beautiful stained glass window.
We tried to go to the Ethnographic Museum, but it was closed. After this, we ended up by the walls, at the top of the hill, the wall-walkers up above us. We were here to find a very special cafe, located on the cliff-face, on the wrong side of the walls: Cafe Buža. This tiny hidden gem overlooks the islands and we had a lovely hour here, watching crazy people diving off the cliffs below us and the boats sailing by. (Cafe Buza has a Facebook page, where they call it a dive bar. Good punning there). (I’ve also just thought is it Cafe Boozer too? Double punning!)
The final place we visited in the city on our explore was the cathedral, which was actually pretty dark and gothic, not like the rest of the city. Inside is a triptych by Titian.
I wish we’d had more time to explore all the tiny lanes and alleyways. Dubrovnik old town is a city to get lost in; to accidentally come across hidden ruins, cool shops, courtyard bars and gardens. We didn’t really see much of the city on the land side, apart from when we walked the walls. I’d love to go get lost here.
Walked the city walls
It took us a whole morning to walk the walls, which are just under 2km in length. It’s not because we are unfit, but because we kept stopping to take photos, have drinks in cafes, visit museums etc. The 25 meter high walls that circle the old city are magnificent and the views over the city are wonderful. The fortifications include three forts, one tower, six bastions, two corner fortifications and two citadels.
We visited in the morning when the weather was slightly cooler, as the walls are quite exposed and it got hot! Even so, we still had to pop into the Maritime Museum and the cafe in the tower at the highest point, to have a sit and a cool down.
Incidentally, quite a bit of Game of Thrones was filmed on these walls and it’s fun spotting places where filming had taken place.
Walking the walls costs 150kn (£17), or entrance is included with the Dubrovnik Card.
Maritime museum / Fort St John
Whilst walking the walls we stopped to have a look at the Maritime Museum. Mostly because we wanted somewhere to cool down and also because entry to the museum was included with our Dubrovnik card, and we wanted to make the most of it.
The Maritime Museum can be accessed from the city walls. It is located in Fort St John (sv. Ivan), overlooking the harbour. St John Fort was founded in 1346 and finished in the 16th century. It is one of the most important defensive buildings in the city as it protects the harbour.
The Maritime Museum is not a very big museum but it does contain lots of interesting maps and things from ships and information about pirates, which I was interested in. The museum was quite busy when we were there and we had to dodge the tour groups, but it was a nice place to cool down for half an hour.
If you like maps and pirates then you’ll like this museum.
Entrance to the museum for us was included with our Dubrovnik Card. A combined ticket for all the Dubrovnik Museums costs 120kn (£14). (I don’t think you can buy individual entrance).
www.dumus.hr/en/maritime-museum
Day trip to Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina
From Dubrovnik the two most popular day trips are to Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina and to Budvar in Montenegro. We were tempted to visit both places, so that we could add two new countries to our lists, but as we were on honeymoon and forcing ourselves to relax we chose to just go on one trip. As it’s a little harder to get to, and not necessarily close to anywhere else we are anticipating visiting in the next few years, we chose to go to Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Mostar is famous for its UNSCO World Heritage Ottoman bridge, which used to be a symbol of peace but which was infamously bombed in the Balkans war. This city was at the centre of the fighting and the horrors.
Lots of companies run trips to both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro and prices seemed to be much of a muchness. We wandered into a place in town and they charged us 220kn each (£26) for the trip, which included mini-bus travel to Mostar and a guide. We booked with Faraon Travel.
Like many of these trips, the day started with us being collected from our hotel in a mini-bus and then driving around the hotels to collect more people. Then our driver took us over Tuđman Bridge and stopped at a viewpoint for us to take photos. We then zoomed around the coast to Neum, a village which is located in a tiny part of Bosnia-Herzegovina which stretches to the sea. The drive to Neum was so pretty, as we passed quiet bays with boats bobbing on them; children splashing in the sea; through tiny sea-front villages – all sleepy in the sunshine. When we got to Neum, we had to wait a while to cross the border – the first of five or six border crossings we were to make that day – but it was interesting, so I didn’t mind.
Neum is a strange place. There’s a huge Bosnian flag on the hillside, but for all intents and purposes we felt like we were still on the Croatian coast. In Neum we stopped at a cafe, overlooking the pretty bay, and we had snacks and coffees.
After Neum, we passed through another border, back into Croatia and then zoomed up to Opuzen and Metkovic, where we crossed again into B-H.
On our way to Mostar, we stopped off at Počitelj, a gorgeous little town on the banks of the Neretva River, which had a tower and lots of old houses. We had a little potter about and a drink in the cafe for an hour, while our bus driver had a rest, and then it was on to Mostar.
Driving into Mostar we could still that there are still many destroyed buildings here.
The centre of Mostar is wonderful and the bridge is awe-inspiring. It’s the bridge that people come to see, though the rest of the town is also an interesting, pretty Ottoman-style community, with minarets and bazaars.
We were dropped off at the end of Onešćukova, which is a pretty lane with lots of touristy shops and cafes. It’s very bazaar-like and fun to walk down. We then went to visit the famous bridge.
The bridge (Stari Most) is stunning: an architectural wonder. The bridge was originally built by the Ottomans in the sixteenth-century, commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent. The old bridge stood for 427 years before it was destoyed by Croat forces in 1993. After the war, the bridge was rebuilt and it reopened in 2004.
The bridge is beautiful and iconic, but what no one ever mentions is that it is also steep and smooth, so quite slippy. You have to watch your feet on this bridge.
On the far side of the bridge was a beautiful tower, a pretty mosque and an amazing cave bar (Ali Baba Bar). As it was daytime, we didn’t want to stop for a drink, but if we were staying in Mostar this is where we would go to at night. (J and I love cave bars and our first date was in a cave bar in Cappadocia).
Instead, we made our way back over the bridge and went to Bella Vista, a restaurant overlooking the bridge. With a view like this, we thought the restaurant would be really expensive but it wasn’t – and we had a lovely lunch here of kebabs, salads, flat breads and beers. From here we were able to watch the famous bridge divers jumping from this huge height into the river below. I know they do this regularly and people pay them to do it, but it still looks so dangerous! The bridge is high and the water looks really rough and shallow.
After lunch, we took a slow walk back up to the bus, had a drink in Podrum, a cafe-bar on Onešćukova, and then caught the mini-bus back to Croatia. Our driver took the back-way to Croatia, and it was interesting to see how desolate the land is away from the lush coast. As it was a back road, this time we zoomed through the border-crossing with a wave and no wait.
In retrospect, I’m not sure about how I feel about our visit to Mostar. I’m glad that we went as hopefully our tourist money can support the people of the city and support the restoration. However, I also can’t ignore that some absolute atrocities took place in Mostar, not too long ago. Throughout our travels in the Balkans we could see that there is still tension and remnants of the war; though for all intents and purposes the area is now peaceful. There was definitely a disparity between Bosnia and Croatia. Bosnia seemed a lot poorer than its neighbour.
Wanting to know more, J started watching documentaries about the war – whilst we were still on our honeymoon and to be honest I wish he hadn’t. Being on our honeymoon, I wanted to remain in a state of ignorant bliss; to enjoy our trip without thinking about the horrors that had taken place there, within the last twenty years – which I know is wrong and selfish of me.
Anyhow – despite this, I’m glad we went and I’d like to go back to Mostar to spend more time there and to get to know it better.
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What we didn´t do on our holiday
Stayed in the City
As we were on our honeymoon, this was a different type of holiday than we normally would have. Here our focus was on relaxing and luxury, whereas when we normally travel we would probably focus more on experiencing the location we are in. I think if we go back to Dubrovnik, we would stay right in the old city, so we can properly experience this unique place. There’s a number of hostels and accommodation options in the old town, though most of the big hotels are further out.
Nightlife
One of the other reasons that I’d love to stay in the city is that it looked like there was really good nightlife here, with bars and restaurants spilling out onto the alleyways.
The Daily Telegraph has an interesting guide to Dubrovnik nightlife.
One bar which I regret not going to is Cave Bar More, located in a cave underneath Hotel More, on the Lapad Peninsular.
Cable car up Mount Srđ
A cable car runs up Mount Srđ, overlooking the old city. From the top there are stupendous views of the whole city. dubrovnikcablecar.com
Game of Thrones Tour
A couple of companies run Game of Thrones tours, taking visitors to see the locations where it was filmed in the city. There were lots of people handing out flyers for this on Brsalje Terrace.
Filming for the series also took place in Split, further up the coast. The Peristyle Basements of Diocletian’s palace play Denaerys’s dragon pits.
Another Game of Thrones filming location we have been to, albeit one which is a bit further away, is San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, on the Basque Coast. StJdG plays Dragonstone.
Island of Lokrum
Lokrum is a small island just off the coast, half a kilometer from the old town. It is a nature reserve and on the island is a botanical garden, a monastery and a star-shaped castle. You can get there in a water taxi from the harbour.
Elaphite Islands
You can also take a boat to the Elaphite Islands, which are located to the north of Dubrovnik, just off the Lapad Peninsular. There are thirteen islands, many of them uninhabited. The most important three are Koločep, Šipan and Lopud. The islands are naturally beautiful and untouched, with isolated, rocky bays; hidden villages, churches, monasteries and even sandy beaches. www.elaphiteislandsdubrovnik.com
Ethnographic Museum
The Ethnographic Museum contains traditional cultural items from Dubrovnik. Items such as clothes, jewellery and tools. www.dumus.hr/en/ethnographic-museum
Boat Tours
Lots of boat tours depart from the old town harbour, including private cruises, speed boat trips, kayaks, a red submarine and party cruises (including a pirate party cruise – I would have loved to do that!)
Time Out has a list of what they think are the five best boat trips in Dubrovnik.
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Where we stayed
Hotel Dubrovnik Palace, Lapad Pensinular, Dubrovnik
It´s nice being on honeymoon and booking a luxury hotel, rather than a hostel. I had great fun looking at all of the luxurious places we could have stayed in Dubrovnik. I very nearly chose for us to stay at the beautiful, palace-like Grand Villa Argentina, which overlooks the old city and has beautiful gardens – but when I investigated it a bit more it sounded like a place middle-aged, rich people stayed – not youngish-uns like us. We wanted somewhere wonderful to stay, but not too exclusive, where we would feel out-of-place.
It was Jeff who found the deal at the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace and as soon as he told me about the five swimming-pools, I knew it was the place for us. The Hotel Palace is located on the tip of the Lapad Peninsular, to the north of Dubrovnik. It is surrounded by nature and overlooks the Elaphite Islands. It is a little way out of the city, but was easy to access and was away from the crowds.
Our room was lush! I think we were upgraded because it was our honeymoon. They also welcomed us to the hotel with chocolates and a bottle of sparkly wine (thank you Hotel Palace). Every room had a balcony overlooking the Adriatic and the Elaphite Islands. Ours had sun loungers and a table on and I spent a lot of time relaxing here. The room was great: air-conditioned and comfy.
The hotel had five pools: four outdoor and one indoor, in the spa. I used the indoor pool and I had the whole pool area to myself. I loved swimming up and down overlooking the islands. They also have tennis courts, hiking trails and I think you could hire bikes too.
One of my favourite things about the Hotel Palace, apart from the five pools, was the breakfast. Every morning started with a luxurious buffet which included everything you could ever want. Every morning I had local honey and fig jam, cheeses, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, different breads, bacon and coffee – all eaten overlooking the sea and the islands. It was yum.
The only not-so-good thing about the Hotel Palace was that it was a resort hotel, and so we didn’t really get to know anyone here. For us, our visit was a bit impersonal. Also, the restaurants in the hotel were a little expensive – but then that is to be expected.
The Lapad Peninsular area is a nice, quiet area about twenty minutes by bus from the centre of Dubrovnik. Close to our hotel there were supermarkets, a bakery and cafes – including a great rooftop pizza restaurant called Pizzeria Nemo.
I would love to go back to Hotel Dubrovnik Palace. This was the perfect place (palace) for J and I to relax after our wedding and it wasn’t too expensive (for a honeymoon hotel). We paid £150 per night, bed and breakfast, booked via Cheap Tickets, an American company. Out of season, prices are really reasonable (£60 per night), and although it can be cold off-season in Croatia, with the indoor pool, spa and views this would still be a relaxing, luxurious place to stay.
www.adriaticluxuryhotels.com/en/hotel-dubrovnik-palace
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Useful links
www.timeout.com/croatia/dubrovnik
www.lonelyplanet.com/croatia/dubrovnik
www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/croatia/dubrovnik-around
Disclaimer
Please note, some, if not much of this information may not be correct, or may be out of date. All these articles show is how we found these places when we visited and what we personally thought of each place. Where possible I will include links to site which will contain more up-to-date info. All of this is our own work and any opinion expressed is that of the author only.
All photos copyright of J Clemo-Halpenny, unless otherwise stated. If you would like to copy or reproduce any of these images, please email me to ask permission.
What I did on my Holiday 
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