Welcome to King’s Landing! Dubrovnik is a beautiful and historical city that made it the perfect spot to be the lavish capital for GoT. I wish we had more time in Dubrovnik but the timing was perfect given we were pretty exhausted from the last several days in Split and Hvar. We heard Dubrovnik is “quieter” compared to Hvar so we made this our last stop.

It seemed like the best way to get around Croatia was either by car (if you a lot of time) or by ferry. We opted for the ferry, but that also takes a while. The ferry from Hvar to Croatia is about 3 hours long, with several stops along the way and a very inefficient luggage system that took an additional 20-30 mins. My group had a big evening the night before in Split so we were already pretty exhausted as we waited in the ferry line in the early morning.

We decided to splurge and stay in the Princess Hotel Resort, which was further away from the city center but right on the coast. We called ahead to arrange for transportation (thank goodness since it would have been difficult to find a taxi after disembarking off the ferry). I highly recommend splurging at least a night here as they truly pamper their guests. We were welcomed with glasses of wine or champagne, a giant suite, multiple pools and spa areas, and walking proximity to some amazing beaches.

After we checked in and rested, we headed to Coral Beach Club, which at the time was a new beach made with a view of the bridge. Similar to the other Croatian beach areas, we paid to rent chairs by the hour. I would recommend stopping by Coral Beach or one of the other nearby beach clubs since the water and views are worthwhile.

We spent some time swimming and sunbathing before we headed into the Old City (or the city center). We took the bus from our hotel into the Old City and headed straight for the wall tour. We were offered various tour options, GoT-special tours, and other excursions but given the timing, we paid to enter the Wall of the Old City and do our own tour. The walk itself took at least an hour given the distance and amazing photo opportunities . Tip: Bring your student card for discounts.

We probably could have spent even more time walking along the wall, glimpsing sights into the city, watching cliff jumpers jump off the famous Café Buza, and catching the sunset and admiring the sea, but hunger got the best of us. We wandered around the side streets and found Konobe Moskar, which was amazing given the lack of research done. We strolled around the city after dinner until the summer showers started. We called it and headed back to get a full night’s rest.

We spent most of our second day enjoying the resort and taking it easy, especially since it was raining off and on. We were relaxing pool side until the rain stopped in the late afternoon. We then went back into the city to shop for souvenirs. Tip: Head to a street called Strossmayerova for shopping since there are various types of shops ranging from food to clothing to gifts.

Afterwards, we headed to the top of the Spanish stairs for dinner at a restaurant called Kopun. It was completely full by 8PM, but luckily we had the resort make us reservations in advance. The food and ambiance were both great, especially eating in front of the beautiful church in Jezuite Square and catching the end of a wedding.

Post dinner, we found a wine bar tucked in one of the narrow streets and tried some more Croatian wine. Our “chill night” ended up escalating as we stopped by one of the famous Cave Bars for our 2nd stop of wine.

While we were there, we heard about an ice bar and were excited to visit since none of us have ever been to one before. We went to Onofrio Ice Bar, which includes an entrance fee + one drink. We had the bar to ourselves and after bundling up in their heavy coats, we went inside a second room that was basically a freezer. It was definitely an experience, but even with their eskimo-like coats, it was freezing and hard to stay in there too long. We did get some great snapshots of the night.

For what we thought was our final stop, we had one last drink at a cocktail bar tucked away in one of the narrow alleys. As we were walking there, we were handed passes for Revelin, one of Dubrovnik’s famous clubs. After barhopping around the nearby pubs and chatting away, someone proposed going to Revelin. It all happened quickly but we rallied and headed back to the resort to drop off our gifts and packed (I had a flight to catch in 10 hours). Revelin is this amazing 2-story club inside the 500-year old Revelin fortress with this amazing ambiance. That was a memorable way to end not just our Dubrovnik visit, but our Croatia tour.