There was a time when Croatia, including its beautiful walled city of Dubrovnik, was an exotic location that few tourists made it to. That was back when Croatia was part of the country of Yugoslavia and ruled by a dictator. Croatia’s split from Yugoslavia was by no means peaceful, and the country was ravaged by war in the early 1990s before it was finally able to break away.
However, almost from the moment it did, Croatia soon became known as a fantastic place to visit. And Dubrovnik has always been one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
It’s easy to see why. The beautifully preserved Renaissance city has come through various wars and conflicts to remain as a monument to the engineering prowess of the past, and its location on the clear Adriatic Sea with its mild climate and sunny weather couldn’t be much better.
Dubrovnik offers so much to tourists. But what it doesn’t offer is peace and quiet. A popular destination for cruise ships, Dubrovnik gets millions of visitors every year – so many, in fact, that the city has had to introduce a ticketing system to prevent overcrowding and damage to the historic buildings.
In a city that continues to struggle with mass tourism, it can be hard to carve out some space for yourself or find an authentic experience. But hard is not the same as impossible. Even in a city that has become famous as the setting for King’s Landing in the mega-popular Game of Thrones TV show, it’s possible here and there to find a more authentic side to what can sometimes seem like a Disnified city.
Drop off your bags at a Dubrovnik luggage storage and check out some of these unique experiences for yourself. Even among the crowds, you can still get a deeper sense of what Dubrovnik and Croatia are all about.
The Memorial Room of Dubrovnik Defenders
The majority of visitors to Dubrovnik come to walk the city walls, enjoy the incredible scenery, or indulge in Game of Thrones-inspired fantasies. So while many visitors are at least dimly aware of the country’s tragic past, it’s not necessarily the first thing they want to learn more about.
That means this small but interesting museum is rarely crowded. And yet it’s a really interesting place to explore in the city. The museum is a tribute to the people who died defending Dubrovnik in the conflict of the early 1990s, and the historic photographs make for haunting memorials to local people in a conflict that is still well within living memory. This museum makes no attempt to offer an unbiased view of the war, but it is a great place to understand how this conflict tore apart a formerly unified country and resulted in the birth of modern Croatia.
Try Rakija
Almost every culture seems to have its own particular spirit that becomes part of the national identity. In Croatia, that’s rakija. This distilled spirit is made from fruit and taken neat, often at the beginning of a meal. In Dubrovnik, particularly, rakija is often flavored with anise, but there are an astonishing variety of different flavors that you can try as you search for a favorite recipe.
You’ll find rakija on the menu at just about any bar in the city center, but a great place to more thoroughly explore this spirit is at Soul Caffe, a rakija bar in downtown Dubrovnik where you’ll be able to try a great range of rakija and be surrounded by as many locals as you are tourists.
Daksa
Tourists rarely know about this place. Locals do but rarely go there. That’s because this island just off the Dubrovnik Coast is reputed to be haunted.
Used as a prison island by Tito and his army for their fascist enemies in the aftermath of the Second World War, the island was the site of a massacre of captives. It’s no wonder that locals still don’t want to go to this island due to its sad history.
However, it does make an exceptional place to escape the crowds and enjoy the Croatian coast at its best. If you can find a local with a boat who will bring you to the island, it’s worth a visit to ponder the troubled history of this country and enjoy its beautiful scenery in a single location.
Betina špilja
Half the attraction of visiting Dubrovnik is the incredible natural scenery you’ll find on the Adriatic coast. And there’s no better way to recover from the chaos of the city streets than to get out among nature and escape the crowds. Sometimes, in Dubrovnik, that requires fairly extreme measures. But your efforts will be rewarded when you see this incredible location outside the city for yourself.
Betina špilja is a beautiful sea cave that can only be reached from the water. Well-known to locals, you can head down to Dubrovnik’s Old Port and pay a local fisherman to take you to this cave and isolated beach. There are no amenities here of any kind, but that’s part of the appeal. It will give you the incredible opportunity to see what the coast was like before mass tourism changed it forever.
Just make sure you arrange a pickup time so you don’t get stranded!
Hidden Dubrovnik
Thanks to the huge numbers of tourists who come here every year, it can seem that this stony city no longer has any stone left unturned. However, that’s not really true. If you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone, you can still find lots of places in and around Dubrovnik where you can avoid the crowds and get a more unique sense of what the city is all about.
Leave your heavy bags behind and check out some of these lesser-known attractions. They make the perfect antidote to having to push your way through yet another Dubrovnik tour group.