I remember watching Let’s Make a Deal and The Price is Right game shows with my Dad. In honor of Bob Barker, I almost went with The Price is Right for the title of this week’s post. It applies to my Dubrovnik visit this week - the price was right for the Dubrovnik Pass. But I wanted to include a little Dubrovnik history and Let’s Make a Deal seemed like it could work for both.
As you may recall, this summer I have been diving a bit more into the Venetian Empire and its legacy in the Mediterranean (1204-1797). The Adriatic Sea (see dark blue section of map) and the lands it touches have been particularly desirable due to their strategic location. Many powers that have sought and gained control over the area. A healthy portion of Croatia’s coastline, also referred to historically as Dalmatia, is a healthy portion of the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea.
The history of what is today’s Croatia is incredibly complex, and I am still working on unpacking and understanding it all. Dubrovonik developed under the protection of the Byzantine Empire, eventually freed itself, then was under the Venetian rule from 1205-1358. When the Treaty of Zadar was signed in 1358, Venice gave up Dalmatia in exchange for ending hostilities with Hungary. The Republic of Ragusa (with Dubrovnik as the center) was independent until 1808, when Napoleon dissolved the Republic. Within those 450 years, Dubrovnik paid tribute (let’s make a deal!) first to Hungary and later the Ottoman Empire. In doing so, it was able to maintain its autonomy, and, in terms of the Ottomans, enjoy certain trading privileges. Please note I am WAAAY oversimplifying here.
And I am also skipping ahead a few centuries, beyond the tumultuous recent history (which also takes a lot of unpacking). While Croatia joined the European Union in July 2013, it wasn’t until January 1, 2023, that Croatia adopted the Euro as its currency and joined the Schengen Zone. This NPR article describes the benefits, as well as the conditions that needed to be met to adopt the Euro. So, a different kind of deal, so to speak.
I haven’t been to Dubrovnik since some time in 2019. I have always enjoyed visiting Croatian ports, although I have grown to prefer the ports such as Split or Korcula, which seem less affected by port load and which are easy to get to from the ship - a short-ish (flat) walk or a short tender ride away, respectively. In contrast, Dubrovnik is one of those ports that has grown increasingly popular over the years and can feel crowded with a capital C. If Dubrovnik is new to you, and is a bucket item port for you, I would highly recommend researching the port load for Dubrovnik for your cruise. We were the only ship calling to Dubrovnik the day we were there, and as the day went on, it still felt very busy. I had the sense that there were many visitors who were staying in Dubrovnik and the surrounding area.
To get to the walled portion of Dubrovnik is a healthy, 45-60 minute, up- and down-hill walk from the port. Ships usually offer shuttles (paid or free will depend on your cruise line). Taxis are plentiful and the public bus system is good. When you needed kuna to ride the local bus, this wasn’t so easy as a cruise visitor. Now that Croatia uses the Euro, whoop, whoop! Transportation and currency challenges lessened.
My past visits have included walking the city walls, exploring the history of the Stradun, sampling gelato, riding the cable car up to Mt. Srid, enjoying the beach, watching the cliff jumpers, etc. I realized I have never gone inside any of the museums or historical sights. In doing research, I came across the Dubrovnik Pass which includes bus transportation, entrance to the City Walls (which also includes Fort Lovrijenac) and several other museums and art galleries. A one-day pass is €35. The cost of walking the walls alone is €35, so if you are planning on walking the walls and want to use local transport, you have already saved. Throw in the other sights and a full day is yours. I walked to the Gruz Tourist Information office, the closest sales point for cruise ships, which is a good 10-15 minute walk from the port, as I wanted to speak with someone about how the bus part works. The helpful clerk at theTI doens't sell you a pass, but helps you buy the pass on your phone. You'll then receive a barcode to use on your phone for the bus and entrance fees anyway. (Not sure how this works if you don't have a smart phone.)
I visited the Cultural Museum (in the Rector’s Palace), the Maritime Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Franciscan Monastery. I also walked half the walls (the bottom half, which still has its ups and downs) and the Fort Lovrijenac. The woman at the TI did tell me which bus routes would take me to the old town (1a, 1b, or 3), but the first bus was packed full. So I rode bus 6 until it started to turn, got out and walked the downhill stretch to the walled city. Rode Bus 1a back to the ship. It was a great day! The Maritime Museum and the Ethnographic museum were my favorites. Not sure I would bother with the Monastery, unless you are looking for a place to cool down. It was a shady, cooler respite from the relfective limestone of town.
Dubrovnik & Dubrovnik Pass Tips
Buy the pass online ahead of time. You will then have the barcode to use on the city bus; there is a bus stop just outside of the port entrance where the cruise ships dock.
Supposedly, the first time you use the bus with the Dubrovnik Pass, you show the barcode to the driver and they will issue you a ticket to use on the buses that day. Both times, the driver just waved me onto the bus.
As the walled city is the end point for the bus back to/from the port, to return to the ship, you will get on the bus in the same spot where you got off (and the bus will loop back towards the ship).
Go early and beat some of the crowds. I had seen that the Rector’s Palace was a stop for several of the tours, so I beelined it there and almost had the place to myself.
Be sure to save enough battery power on your phone to be able to use the barcode throughout the day. If you buy in advance, you can probably do a printout and not have to worry. The heat in the Med has been draining my phone battery and back up charger quickly.
Not all museums or galleries are open every day, so check their days and times. I had saved the Fort for last and fortunately timed my visit right. They were setting up for a wedding, and as I left I heard the docent tell someone they could enter, but that the fort was closing in 15 minutes.
I’m not really sure what is the best time of day to walk the city walls. There is limited shade, so you might want to take the heat into consideration. The walls are also open longer than the museums. Time of day will impact your photography as well changing the shadows and sun as backdrop.
The walls are walked in counter-clockwise direction only, and there are three entrances. The Stradun/Pile Gate is on the Western side (closest to where buses and shuttle buses drop) and the Fort St. Johns and by Fort St. Luke, both of which are on the Eastern side.
If you only want to walk the bottom half of the walls, I would enter at Pile Gate and exit at one of the other two.
If you only want to walk the top half, then enter at either of the Fort entrances.
If you want to walk the whole thing, it probably doesn’t matter so much, but I would start at one of the Fort entrances so that you are doing the lower portion last. This stretch has little bars and refreshments, which you just may want after a likely hot walk on the walls.
Dubrovnik is still very picturesque, the “Pearl of the Adriatic.”
Wellness Round Up
Nutrition: I have a confession. I have been chronicling food throughout the cruises but because I have been taking so many photos for research (easily 3,000), I haven’t had the time to download and organize them all. The food photos are amongst all those. Next time I’ll create a folder within photos. Lesson learned.
However, one of my favorite things about the Med is Mediterranean cuisine. Fresh tomatoes, olive oil, beautiful cheeses, baklava, pizza…
This is different from the Mediterranean Diet, which is based on cuisines from countries on the Med sea. It is meant as a lifestyle rather than restrictive eating and is considered heart healthy. Here are some resources:
I like that the Mediterranean Diet is also about enjoying meals with family and friends (check!), regular exercise (check) and wine in moderation if desired (sort of check).
Funnily enough, we actually plan meals using many of the principles of the Mediterranean Diet when we are home. On the ship, we still try to eat by many of the principles but do enjoy the sweets a bit more. Confession #2.
So here is a little gallery of some of the Med cuisine, including some of the Greek and Mediterranean dinners served in the Lido Market.
Movement: Still getting in tons of steps! Visiting those Mediterranean ports of call will do it.
Week 5 of Couch to 5k - this week was the week where it kicks up a notch. Today’s prescribed workout included a 20-minute run without breaks. Mentally rather than physically challenging, but I did it.
I also managed a full body strength training video, a core workout and an upper body pool noodle workout. Happy with that.
Hydration has been mixed. I find if I don’t start drinking water early in the day, I forget to start.
Sleep has been deep and with strange dreams, but Fitbit says I have been sleeping +/- 7 hours.
Stress has been low this week so that’s good, too.
Today is our last Italian port; now on to France and Spain where we say goodbye to Oosterdam Thursday in Barcelona.
"See" you next week from England.
Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
Updated August 25, 2024
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