Other places we’ve nested, we’ve focused on the city we were in. Dubrovnik is really quite small. The old city is only 34 acres, and its’ actually easy to see all that’s there in about a week. The newer parts of the city have little for tourists except beautiful beaches, which isn’t bad. But we soon began thinking of this nest as an exploration of a region, rather than a city. That means that it takes a little more planning. Dubrovnik does not have a train, and while there are tourist tours and buses to some of the sights, we found that renting a car for a day or two once or twice a week was the best and most economical way to explore. That also means that we had days that were entirely work and days that were entirely play, so we had to schedule our meetings and work events more carefully. Day trips from Dubrovnik were uniquely rewarding and if your work schedule can handle the flexibility, Dubrovnik remains a good choice.

Currency

Croatia uses the Croatian Kuna (current exchange rate). But because Dubrovnik is so close to both Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro, you will most likely be using their currency as well. Montenegro is easy – it uses the Euro. But Bosnia Herzegovina uses the Bosnian Convertible Mark (CM), whose current exchange rate is here. When we were in Bosnia Herzegovina, they accepted the Kuna at a 4:1 ratio to the CM, but as the actual rate was closer to 3.75, it was better to convert currency to CM’s. Be careful. The currencies look similar and unscrupulous vendors are not above using that to their advantage. I suggest bringing separate change purses for each currency.

Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, however, with the exception of street vendors. There are few in Dubrovnik, but Mostar and Sarajevo have lots.

Rental Cars

Oryx Rental Cars was within a three minute walk from our apartment, and so it was the service we used. They charged about $30/day for a rental car. Note that an international drivers license was required, especially as many trips involved crossing international borders. You can easily get an international drivers license in the United States before you leave from any AAA agency, and it’s good for six months. If you nest abroad, it’s probably a good idea to always have a current one anyway! As it can be very difficult to park overnight in Dubrovnik, it’s recommended that you set up pick up times for early morning and drop off times for the evening, rather than the next morning, as they prefer (so they can go home early!)

When to Go

Some places are clearly a spring destination and some are better in the fall. I think Dubrovnik would work well for either season. The only caveat I would place on that is that we’ve found that in places that are a prime tourist destination, the people are pretty tired of the invasion of tourists by fall, and are a bit more welcoming in spring. Dubrovnik is absolutely best in a shoulder season, however. Summer is teeming with tourists, to the point where they are going to start ticketing entrance to the old city and limiting the amount of tourists who can enter each day. On many summer days, especially when there were multiple cruise ships, the streets were so crowded that it was difficult to walk down them. Conversely, things close off season. Currently the season officially starts April 1 and ends October 31. Outside of that time, most ferries don’t run, and many restaurants and shops are closed. We arrived in Dubrovnik mid-March and enjoyed almost empty streets and nearly had the walk of the city walls to ourselves, but we were glad we were there later in the season to take advantage of other things that opened later, such as the ferry to Lokrum Island.

We were told that by mid-April we’d be in short sleeves and could begin to swim in May, but we were in Dubrovnik during one of their coldest, rainiest springs on record. We were still wearing sweatshirts in mid-May, with highs of only about 62 degrees. Hopefully the weather will cooperate better for you! Here’s what’s usual.

How to Get There

Dubrovnik’s airport is about a 45 minute ride south of the city, with a typical cab fare of about 300KN ($45 at the time of writing). Our AirBnB host gave us a discounted fare with their own driver, so that may be a negotiating point for you. There are no trains into Dubrovnik. There are a few buses that run from Split to Dubrovnik, but they can take a long time, especially in the summer, because you need to cross the border into Bosnia and then back into Croatia to drive from Split to Dubrovnik.

If you are interested in combining your nest with a foray into Italy, there are ferries that run from Bari, Italy to Dubrovnik a few times a week. They also run from Bari to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. There are also ferries that run to some of the closer islands, and one that runs to the beautiful town of Korcula from the Graz (main harbor) of Dubrovnik.

Grocery Shopping

The nest before coming to Dubrovnik for us was Taipei, and grocery shopping there was really challenging – so I found Dubrovnik to be very easy. The city mostly has larger grocery stores similar to the US, with some smaller shops sprinkled around the city. The three largest stores were down by the Graz, or main harbor where the cruise ships docked, and were Kozum, Pemo and Tommy. I preferred Tommy, but it was the furthest for me, and I usually went to Kozum. Going up those hills with groceries is a good motivation for going somewhere close by! On Andrije Hebranga Street by the small Pemo, there is a small fruit and vegetable shop with some very high quality produce, and further down that street, down the hill past the parking lot to the left on the left side of the road is a small bulk discount grocery store. Their selection can be limited and often different each time you go in, but the prices are excellent and there are some really good buys there. (There are two very good bakeries just past it on the opposite side. If you pass the small Tommy’s, you’ve gone too far.)

There is a small farmer’s market in the old city, but it is mostly geared to tourists and pretty expensive. There’s a better one down by the Graz, or main harbor, until about noon. They also sell fresh flowers.

We found the quality of the food in the markets to be excellent and very affordable, especially compared to restaurant prices. This is a city where it really makes sense to cook at home. I could feed us three meals a day for three days for the same cost as a typical breakfast for two in the old city.

Other Shopping

Not sure if it’s good or bad, but Dubrovnik isn’t a great place for other kinds of shopping. There are shops in the city, but for the most part, they sell knick-knacks from China and Game of Thrones merchandise. You will find some embroidered pieces, sometimes from old ladies on the street, and there are some talented landscape artists who sell paintings and drawings of the city, but there’s not a lot else. In the old town, there is a jewelry street that sells coral and Konvale buttons, a filligree sphere that comes in gold or silver and is made into pendants or earrings. That’s probably the most authentic Dubrovnik memento – but I’d save my shopping for Mostar or Kotor. It’s much more fun and interesting there.

Connecting with the Local Community

We’ve found that the more tourist-oriented a city is, the harder it is to connect. As so much of Dubrovnik is bed and breakfasts and so many of the people on the street are tourists with maps, this is very, very true here. We made friends with our landlords, who were very interesting people – Belka was running for a seat in city government. And strangely enough, one of the best connections was made by Al when he was biking. The border crossing between Croatia and Bosnia Herzagovina nearby is very small and he got to know the border guards quite well. Not that many Americans come over the border multiple times with a bike! By the time we left, he usually stopped in a small cafe by the border each time he crossed and had snacks and drinks there, making friends. It was a fascinating insight for him on the culture and he got to hear a lot of stories about the war and about everyday life in the region.

Where we did connect was with family and friends. Our niece and her new husband spent part of their honeymoon with us, an old friend came for a week and our nephew also visited. We connected and re-connected with them in a wonderful new environment.

Favorite Restaurants

We didn’t eat out a lot in Dubrovnik because restaurant food was very close to American prices, and the food in grocery stores was so inexpensive. I could buy a large package of Cevapi, ground meat “fingers” that are grilled, for about 40 KN that would be enough for about four meals for both of us, while a single small serving of Cevapi in a restaurant would be about 100 KN. Still, there were a few places that we found that we felt were worth recommending, especially if you found yourself in the old city when it was time to eat.

Our favorite lunch place wasn’t even Croatian, but served vegan food. Nishta, within the walls of the old city, has excellent and pretty reasonably priced daily specials that are worth trying out. Don’t let the ‘vegan’ bit scare you off – the food is delicious. They even have a cookbook.

Dubrovnik is swarming with pizza places, some really bad and some pretty good. One of the best is Tabasco Pizzeria, just outside the old city walls on the upper side, in the corner of a parking lot. There’s nearly as many locals here as tourists, which is a pretty good recommendation.

For more authentic Croatian food, we did better down by the Graz, or harbor. Tucked behind the big Pemo supermarket is Konoba Tabak, an unassuming, traditional grill restaurant with a local clientele and non-tourist prices. Pay attention when the waitress comes to your table – she will point out what food they made that day, because they only cook a selection off the menu at any time. As you might expect, their grilled meats are especially good.

If you’re down by the Graz, another good lunch place is mezzanave. It was newly re-opened, and judging from the old reviews, I think it improved greatly. They have a full menu, but the best part is their lunch specials, which are not translated, and on a separate card. Ask for it, and then pull out Google translate. You’ll be rewarded with three choices, at 35, 45 and 55 KN, which are all well-prepared traditional Croatian dishes. It’s what the locals in there are eating, and it makes sense.

Finally, if you have access to a car and want a really unique experience, head to Konavoski Dvori. This is a very famous and very beautiful nationally ranked restaurant nestled in the streams and forests of the Konvale district south of Dubrovnik. Spend the day at the vineyards nearby and visit the Sokol fortress before your special treat there. If the prices there put you off (and they are quite steep) there is a family restaurant right next door with wonderful stream-side tables, Konobavincia. Call ahead to have them make Peka for you, a traditional dish of meats and vegetables roasted for hours in a clay pot. Wonderful!

Discount Cards

Unfortunately, nesters are pretty much blocked out of the local discounts. Hotels and shorter term rentals like AirBnB hosts are required to report their guests to the police station, and if your name is on the list, you won’t be able to get a resident card that will allow you to enter the sights at a discount. The city of Dubrovnik does offer a city pass to tourists, but they are only good for one day, three days or seven days. However, they are worth getting at least once, because the price for walking the city walls, (which is the top thing to do in Dubrovnik!) is only 50 KN less than the one day pass, and it offers you entrance to nearly all the other museums. There is a 10% discount for getting it on line. It will also give you bus tickets that don’t expire. When you’re deciding which pass to buy, ask what museums are currently open. Many of them have very erratic schedules and can be closed for months, even in the high season.