Grad Trip Day 11 & 12: Dubrovnik, Croatia

DAY 11: 29 MAY 2014

We got up early for a morning stroll along the streets of old town before

catching our bus to Croatia.

It was a lovely walk with barely anyone on the streets, and all you hear is

the sound of the nature.

When it was time, we walked to the main bus station which was 10 minutes away.

We bought our tickets to Dubrovnik yesterday and it costs 16 euros.

Do take note that 1 euro will be charged for baggage fees.

Before embarking on the trip, I went online to search for the bus timings.

There were three buses leaving for Dubrovnik that day, and we chose to take the 10.15am one.

It was a 3.5 hour journey and there was a rest stop at Neum where you can

relieve yourself and do some stretches.

Passport checks were also carried out when we crossed the border, 

but you do not need to leave the bus.

Either the bus driver will collect the passports and bring it to the immigration officers

or the officers will personally board the bus and carry out the checks.

We finally arrived at Dubrovnik and we went straight to exchange for sufficient Kunas

to pay for our bus ride to our accomodation and for tickets to Split.

Each single bus ride costs 12 kunas, and after validating, you can take as many

rides as you want within an hour.

I saved the local transport map of Dubrovnik, which I found it very useful in finding

directions to our Accomodation - Rooms & Apartments Stella.

Our bus stop was just outside the main bus station, and we boarded bus #3.

There were some hiccups along the way because the driver told us to get off after one stop.

But we realised that the directions were wrong, and boarded the next #3.

Turns out, the bus goes in a loop, and we just had to stay on the bus till it reached

the top of the hill.

We eventually found our apartment and were greeted by an elderly couple.

Our hosts were very nice and served us orange juice and cookies while he introduced

the various attractions in Dubrovnik.

Thereafter, we headed out to explore old town and do some money exchange to

last us till Split.

After a 15 minutes walk, we finally arrived at the old town!

Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

It is also famous for being one of the filming site for Game of Thrones!

My travel buddy happens to be a fan of the show, which explains why we chose

to visit Croatia.

The alleys in old town were filled with many little shops selling many

interesting things; from handmade items to souvenirs.

Museum inside Rector's Palace

St. Ignatius Church

We walked around old town aimlessly and we decided to cook our

own meal at the apartment as the food at the restaurants didn't appeal to us.

As we were on a budget travel, we didn't want to pay for the high prices that

the restaurants offer.

So we popped by a supermarket and did grocery shopping before taking

the bus back to our apartment.

Sea view from our room's balcony

We managed to catch the sunset from our balcony too, which was a beautiful end

to our long day of travelling!

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DAY 12: 30 MAY 2014
Our first attraction of the day was the ancient city walls of Dubrovnik.
This attraction is known to be flooded with tourists, especially tour groups,
and it is recommended to visit it once it opens in the morning.

Bird's eye view of the city walls

Operating hours differ every month, and it is best to check out the timings before heading down.

We headed to the ticketing counters and managed to get tickets at student price (30 kunas)!

Do take note that you will be required to show your student card before they

charge you the student rate.

The card can be your home university student card, and it need not be the ISIC card.

After we got our tickets, we set off to walk the walls!

Signature orange Croatian roofs

The wall stretches 2km long with a total of 1080 steps spread throughout the entire journey,

and it takes an average of two hours to complete.

On the walls, you will get a panoramic view of the ports, old town and the sea.

View of the city walls from Fort Lovrijenac

The view was so stunning that we took three hours to complete the entire walk.

I really enjoyed my time on the walls, and I would definitely recommend the city

walls if you are visiting Dubrovnik!

After walking the walls, we were starving and decided to pop by a pizzeria to get a quick lunch.

The food in Dubrovnik really didn't appeal to us as the prices were pretty steep due to

the large tourist crowd it receives every day.

We decided to save up for better meals in the remaining cities!

Thereafter, we decided to visit Fort Lovrijenac which we spotted while walking the walls.

If you bought a ticket to the city walls, you will be able to visit this fort for free.

Otherwise, it would cost you 30 kunas.

View of Fort Lovrijenac from the city walls

There wasn't much to see at the fort, except that the view of the city walls was gorgeous!

For the fans of Game of Thrones, they did film some scenes here.

On our way down from the fort, we spotted a group of people taking pictures while

standing at the edge of a cliff.

We decided to follow suit and take pictures there as well!

Boats docked at the pier

We decided to drop by the beaches at Lapad, which were pretty famous.

We bought the day pass for 30 kunas and activated it during our bus ride to Lapad.

However, it was raining when we arrived and the beaches were deserted.

It would have been perfect for a swim if the weather was sunny!

We hung around the beaches before heading back to old town to get groceries for dinner!

And that marks the end of our time in Dubrovnik!