My husband and I knew we wanted to take a trip over Labor Day weekend after a year+ of stress and uncertainty. What we didn’t know was where in the world we wanted to go!

I mean that literally. As a new travel agent, I felt like the world was at my fingertips. I had the opportunity to book any vacation I wanted – from a New England road trip to an all-inclusive getaway to a whirlwind European adventure. Spoiler alert: Europe won!

After pricing out multiple options around the world, we landed on an offer we just couldn’t pass up. Matt and I spent four full days and two half days exploring the magical medieval land of Dubrovnik, Croatia.

And it cost us less than $1,900 per person.

With our payment processed and our bags packed, we jetted off on our long weekend adventure full of adventure, laughter and lots and lots of STAIRS.  

Day 1 – Arrival

We booked our trip through Delta Vacations (LOVE this group), which meant we had flights on my (favorite) airline and were treated like royalty despite being seated nearly in the last row. We departed from Nashville at 2:30 p.m., and after a perfect 2 hour layover in JFK, we boarded our 8.5 hour flight straight into Dubrovnik.

Tip: If you have layovers, try to knock them out in the U.S. to reduce the amount of times you’ll have to go through customs, interpret languages, etc.  

We landed in Dubrovnik and had a car service waiting with a cute little sign ready to whisk us away to our incredible hotel –Hotel Kompas might have been the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in!

We were feeling pretty drowsy, but a quick visit to the hotel bar for coffee and an incredible view gave us the energy we needed to forge ahead. We grabbed lunch by the water at Taverna | Casa and dropped by a local supermarket for beer, wine and water.

Tip: A supermarket run should be one of the first things you do on an international trip. Stock your room with plenty of water, light snacks and your favorite beverages – this will save you tons of money when you want something on the go!

Once our room was ready, we took a much needed shower before jumping in our swim gear and heading to Sunset Beach (located at the base of our hotel) for a relaxing afternoon. That beach nap was the best sleep I’ve ever had!

Day 2 – Old Town

Our second day was one filled with lots of adventure and lots of steps. We explored the Old Town of Dubrovnik, a major filming location for Game of Thrones, where we shopped and snacked our way through the Stradun and walked the infamous walls (a must do!). A big thank you to the Dubrovnik tourism office for providing me a ticket to such an incredible experience!

Tip: Bring an empty water bottle to fill at one of the Old Town’s many natural water fountains before walking the walls. It is a very hot and pretty strenuous activity!

Walking the walls provided incredible unobstructed views of the Old Town, neighboring islands and the glistening Adriatic Sea. We stopped a few times for water and a break (and beers) to soak in the scenes around us. 

Tip: Try to go early or late in the day because the walls fill with visitors. Some portions of the wall are very narrow.

After we wrapped, we grabbed pizza from a shop off the Stradun, returned to our hotel for a shower, a wardrobe change and a cocktail before heading back for our “fancy” night in the Old Town.

We visited the coolest bar I’ve ever been to (verified) which was situated on the edge of a cliff. You grabbed a drink from the bar (cash only!!) and then grabbed a seat on whatever rock was available. We arrived right at sunset and the views were immaculate. We watched a few men in Speedo’s secure their drinks and jump right off the bar into the Adriatic, and I knew it was only a matter of time before Matt joined in.

What was meant to be our fancy night in the city turned into Matt cliff jumping in his underwear. “I’m wearing more clothes than that guy!” He argued as he gestured toward said Speedo-man. He had a point.

The turning point in our trip happened post-cliff jump when we squeezed into a spot next to an English couple who soon became our best pals. Hi Poppy and Adam! We joined them for dinner at an Irish Pub and for after-dinner shenanigans at “The Bar.” After much confusion, we learned “The Bar” was the actual name of the restaurant and not just our waiter being a smartass when we asked where to go for a drink.

The Bar kept our glasses full and soon it was time to head home with late night gyros and chicken nuggets in tow.

I almost forgot to mention – we began day 2 by getting our Covid test to return to the states! When we were planning our vacation, this seemed like a huge hurdle, but it was so insignificant I almost forget we even did it! We were thrilled to receive the all-clear!

Day 3 – Elaphiti Islands

When we were planning our trip, I stumbled upon a boat cruise departing from Dubrovnik toward the Elaphiti Islands. It had great reviews, an open bar and included lunch – sold! The tour also took us to the famous Blue Cave for a swim and a snorkel.

Our new friends Poppy and Adam accompanied us on our boat trip and we had such a fun day. Our first stop was to the island of Lopud which houses Sunj Beach. We grabbed drinks from a very cute tiki hut, way overpaid for some lounge chairs and spent the next three hours soaking in the water with our new friend, Nastassja!

Tip: Do NOT rent the lounge chairs… 

We enjoyed a lunch of fresh fish and tomato salad on the boat before taking off for our next destination, Šipan. Šipan is a smaller island that makes their own wine and olive oil! It was very cute and charming. We picked up some beers from a small market (for 10 HRK…. $1.50 USD!) and parked ourselves on the most beautiful cliffside.

We grabbed beers for the boat (the open bar was not very good) and headed to the Blue Cave for snorkeling. Our tour said equipment would be provided, but they only had two pairs of goggles… if you want to truly snorkel, bring your own! We had a blast exploring the cave and jumping off cliffs with our new friends.

We ended our island hopping with a quick stop for ice cream at one more port. It was a wonderful day! We grabbed dinner near our hotel and called it a night early after a sun-filled and fun-filled adventure.

Day 4 – Cable Car and Lokrum Island

The Dubrovnik tourism center also provided me a ticket to the popular Dubrovnik Cable Car which takes you up a huge mountain for excellent views of Croatia. At the top of the mountain sits Panorama restaurant. If you want to eat or to have the best views, make a reservation! We grabbed drinks and walked around before heading back down. In my opinion, the price of the roundtrip cable car ticket wasn’t worth the experience, but I was also a little tired, sore and cranky when we went.  

After street pizza and wraps for lunch, we met up with Poppy and Adam for a visit to Lokrum Island where the Game of Thrones museum is located – we got to sit on the ACTUAL throne! The island is also home to wild peacocks. The little babies were so cute I cried and then forgot to take a picture.

We attempted to wade in the water, but the rocky shoreline made it difficult and painful without proper water shoes. Unsurprisingly, we elected to skip the beach and grab drinks at a tropical outdoor bar instead. We talked all about the differences between the U.S. and U.K. over a few rounds of beer and Prosecco.

We accidentally arrived at the ferry port a little early, so we grabbed drinks for the road from a bar surrounded by fig trees. I tried my first fig and LOVED it. What a delicious snack!

Poppy and Adam came with us back to the Sunset Beach area to celebrate our last night in Croatia. We sipped cocktails at Sunset Beach Bar, had wine and played cards at the Cave Bar (this was cool) and had a fantastic meal at Pull Over Bistro, we highly recommend! This was our favorite meal of the trip. We tried the beef carpaccio, truffle pizza with burrata instead of goat cheese and beef cheeks (I giggled).

Day 5 – Coming Home

We departed Dubrovnik and routed back through JFK to Nashville with no hiccups – it was a perfect travel day! We were thrilled to be home, but are already ready to plan our next Croatian adventure!  

Here are some things on our list for next time:

• Try one or both popular restaurants in Old Town: Proto and Arsenal.
• Begin in Dubrovnik, but venture to Hvar and Split for a longer vacation.
• Spend more time at the cliff bars (Buza Bars)
• Do a guided walking tour through Old Town
• Explore more outside of the walls of Old Town

Here’s the breakdown of what our trip cost:

• Delta Vacations package (flights and hotel): $2,800
• Roundtrip airport transfers: $70
• Elaphiti Island Cruise w/ open bar and lunch: $80
• Taxi budget: $50
• Food/drinks: $500
• Souvenirs: $50
• Attractions/activities: $100

 Total: $3,650 or $1,825/person

Are you thinking about a trip to Croatia? Let’s make it happen! Email me at hello@benzvoyage.com to get started.