My housemates (who are also my favourite people) were so sad to be not be living together anymore that we just had to come together one last time! We decided to do a little trip to Dubrovnik and get a bit of a tan before our graduation ceremony the week after.
One of my friends and I arrived a few days later. We arrived at Dubrovnik airport around 11am and it was already that hot sticky feeling you get when you go on holiday. We took the shuttle bus from the airport to the main bus station which felt like forever and then quickly took an Uber to our apartment.
We arrived and settled into our great apartment and by 1 we were starving so went on the hunt for food. We found a cute little restaurant near to our apartment and had pizzas. Then we did a food shop to get snacks and drink for the house and pretty much relaxed that afternoon which was very much needed as we were going to go out drinking that night.
Dubrovnik Nightlife:
A few Aperols later and some very questionable singing, we made our way to old town Dubrovnik. A quick downhill 15 min walk, we should be there in no time. Super hungry we began, talks of pasta dishes and seafood to await us. All of a sudden, it starts to drizzle. We put our jackets to cover our hair and speed up, thinking we will make it as it’s still quite light.
Then out of nowhere, literally torrential rain! Really crazy heavy rain, we are talking streets flooding… we took shelter under a random roof in the middle of the pavement, by luck we found that because there was no other shelter anywhere near. We got absolutely drenched, hair from straight to really curly, mascara running down our faces – our feet swimming in puddles where our sandals were not equipped! (video of rain check out my Croatia highlight on Instagram).
We jumped in an overpriced taxi (they could see we were desperate) to take us 10 minutes down to the old town. When we got to the town, you can either walk across the bridge straight to the town, or go to the top of the very steep and hundreds of steps to come out at one of the side streets. We got there, really hungry to picked up a big slice of pizza for 25 Kuna, was so yummy.
Then ended up in a Latino bar for pre drinks where we didn’t let the fact that we looked like drowned rats stop us having a good night together. From this bar we headed to the infamous club in Dubrovnik- Revelin. It was free entry and when we first got in it felt like we were at a festival. Bouncing music, bright lights and lots of people dancing. We quickly realised however the price for a drink considering how weak they were. From this, we stayed another few hours but left around 1am as it was too expensive to keep buying. (next time we will pre better before going, we did pre well this night but the rain completely sobered us up!
Banje Beach:
The next day we decided to do a day at the beach, catch a tan (or top up for some of us). We got up around 10 and made pancakes, eggs and fruit for breakfast as a family meal. Then myself and my friend, who were very keen to get maximum beach time, left for the beach at 11am.
When we got to Banje beach there around 11.30, it was already pretty packed. Banje is only a small beach and is pretty much all pebbles. We found a spot near a table which had shade (for our friends for later) and put our tanning oil on and go straight to it! Not long after our friends joined us and by this time the beach was really packed so they struggled to find a spot for all of them near us. The sea water was gorgeous, clear blue, not too strong with waves. But it’s a bit of a walk from the beach to the water where we were sitting, which isn’t a problem usually but due to the very pebbly beaches it really hurt our feet, and so a quick dip was out of the question.
If you were going in you were staying in so it would be worth the foot pain. We saw some locals who had sock/shoes that they wore into the water- will be investing next time I go to Croatia. Also the water gets really deep really fast- so be warned!
Dinner Settings:
Then we went to the town to book a day trip tour to Bosnia and waterfall trip for the next day. That evening we decided to have a chill one since we would have to be up for 7am for this tour! So we booked ourselves a fancy meal at Gradska Kavana Arsenal Restaurant (located in Old Town Dubrovnik). This restaurant had an absolutely gorgeous setting; by the sea, stunning views and great for capturing the beautiful sunset. There was live music playing and very attentive waiters who made sure our glasses were never empty. The wine was incredible, and the food was gorgeous! Though as it always is with fancy restaurants the serving was a bit small for us students so we went to get big scoops of ice-cream after!
One of our friends dropped her ice-cream on the floor and then another one stepped in it- we had such a laugh and made our way back to our apartment for a relaxed evening.
Check out my ‘day trip to Bosnia’ blog post for our tour experience.
Bellevue Beach:
On our last night a few of us wanted to go out and so we got ready and got the drinks in. We stayed too late in our apartment and so it was about 1 am when we were ready to go out. By this point half of our friends wanted to stay in and the other half still wanted to go out. So 3 of us decided to head to Bellevue beach (which was only a short 10 minutes from us). We climbed the millions of stairs down, sat on the pebbled beach in pitch black, drinking our handmade bottles of gin and tonic. By 3 am we had gone skinny dipping, laughed beyond words and it remains to be one of my favourite nights to date.
On our last day, we headed back to Bellevue beach. I went for a quick swim and tried to catch last of a tan. It was again really stoney and with concrete to sunbathe on, so not super comfy. I also found the current to be strangely strong. My friend and I are both strong swimmers and struggled to swim across the beach. The water looked calm but was really difficult so after a lap of the beach we got out.
Old Town Dubrovnik:
We went to spend the rest of day in the Old Town. It is a really pretty main street, feels more sophisticated for such a touristy area. We had lunch in one of the side street restaurants and then found a drinks bar near the sea where we spent the afternoon sunbathing. It was then a quick trip back to our apartment to get changed and head for the airport.
I only had 4 short days with my friends since I had other commitments before, but other things I want to do when I return to Dubrovnik are: visit the many islands, Game of Thrones tour, take the cable car to get the best views, visit Montenegro plus much more!
