48 Hours in Dubrovnik, Croatia: Best Things to Do and Eat 🇭🇷

Down on the southern tip of Croatia sits Dubrovnik, a stunning coastal city known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and dramatic location along the Adriatic Sea. Often called the Pearl of the Adriatic, its ancient city walls, cobblestone streets, and crystal clear waters draw visitors from all over the world. Of course, many of those visitors also come to witness the many filming sites of the popular show Game of Thrones. For the next 48 hours, we'll be chowing down on fresh seafood, snorkeling alongside fish in the sea, and taking in the magnificent waterfront beauty of Dubrovnik. As we were driving into the city yesterday, it just felt like we'd been transported back into time. The history of this place has been absolutely insane to research, and it's been a city that I've looked forward to visiting for so many years, and I can't believe the day is finally here. So without further ado, let's head towards Old Town. We've officially entered Old Town. We've made it through the walls. Surprisingly, they let us in. But now we're walking down like a bunch of these historic stairs. I believe it's to the main street, and then we're also going to walk down to the water just because I want to see what that's like. And then I want to make my way over to the church, and I want to find some Game of Thrones spots. Wait, I want to pause to talk about my experience with Game of Thrones. So Chad watched as a kid growing up, and he raved about it. We tried to watch it back in 2022, but the thing is, we watch shows while we're eating, and I was losing my appetite. We couldn't finish it. Yeah, lots of gruesome shots, and so I never got to finish the show, but Chad's a pretty big fan. Yeah, I watched it in high school. I want to say, I watched it in high school, not when I was a child, because I feel like you shouldn't watch it if you're a child, but anyways, onwards we go. In the past Dubrovnik was an independent ruling city known for their salt trade, but also for building ships. And their heyday was in the 14th and 15th century, where they were just bursting with prosperity and wealth. And they used a lot of that money to improve their walls, build palaces and churches. And surprisingly, none of that stuff was destroyed until the 1990s, when there was the war, of course. And with artillery fire, they were able to go over the wall. So it didn't destroy the walls, but it did affect two thirds of the roofs here in Dubrovnik. They had to rebuild a lot of that stuff using the original material, but because they rebuilt it, it looks like we're looking at the original city, which I think is pretty cool. But this place is just steeped in history. Walking through the streets, you can just feel the oldness. And because it is actually so old, so many TV shows and movies have been able to be filmed here and kind of give this city a different world in its own way. Yeah, it's been really cool to walk through the city and just imagine, you know, there's this real history, and then there's fictional stories that were told, like Game of Thrones. And it's making me think about world building and how, you know, these writers, these filmmakers are coming to these places such as Dubrovnik, and they are telling stories that they aren't real, but so many people connect with them that they honestly become real. And I think that's what's so special about walking through this city and through a lot of the places that we visit. I can just imagine the stories that have been told, haven't been told. And I don't know, it feels very hopeful, if that makes sense. Very inspirational, I will say. Yeah, it's inspiring. I feel inspired walking around here. You might be wondering why I'm smiling so big. It's because Dubrovnik is one of the best places in the entire world to eat oysters, one of my favorite foods out there. These here are Mali stone oysters. They are extremely special because there's a mix of fresh water and salt water there that gives these bad boys a briny yet slightly sweet taste. Very interesting description. Looking at the shell, they are extremely flat. Normally, like the oysters that we have, they're quite curved and the oyster sits on the inside. And so, these almost look like little plates. This requires a lot of muscle. The way they've cut the lemon requires tons more muscle. So apparently the best way to eat these oysters is just with lemon. Nothing else, no cocktail sauce, no vinegar. All natural with a little sprinkle of lemon juice. Cheers! So good. It tastes like what it feels like to swim in the Adriatic Sea. Like after walking around the city, you know, we're a little hot. Take a bite of that. So refreshing. And what I love about how they present the oysters here is they actually cut it off from the shell so there's no struggle. Sometimes, I'm over here using a knife trying to get it as clean as I can so I don't waste any of the oyster. But here, they cut it flat against the shell and you can just throw it back. Yeah, a lot of juice though. More muscle. When you're driving into Dubrovnik and you look out into the sea, you see all these little um... Buoys. Yeah, they kind of look like buoys, yeah. And apparently those are catching mussels and oysters. We were talking to our guide yesterday and he was calling oysters the filters of the sea. And so he was saying it's better to eat oysters that are out in the sea rather than in a bay because, you know, they're kind of eating the... You're eating the filter. Yes, you're eating the filter. So you'd rather eat a filter that's less used, I suppose. But I will say, the oysters must be doing a great job because the sea here is so clear. Very clean, yep. Alright Claire, guess what? You can have a bonus oyster. For me? That's why I stick around with Chad. He gives me bonus oysters. Just kidding. She's not kidding. Tuna is one of the best and freshest fish that you can get here in the Adriatic Sea. And I was looking at pictures of the raw fish and it was just this gorgeous, bright, ruby, ruby red. And so we decided to get the tuna tartare. It's topped with a cute little vegetable. Do you know what that is? A giant caper. A giant caper is what Chad says it is. And also a dollop of this white sauce as well as a tiny little radish. They're like either chopped up veggies on the inside. I want to say it's avocado or cucumber. And it's mixed in with the fish. It is pasta time. I absolutely love pasta. Claire, what do we have here? Yeah, I wish you could smell this dish right now. It is so fragrant. It is a pasta that has history and truffles in it. And this is a delicacy here in Croatia. When we were back over in Italy, we actually went truffle hunting with these cute little dogs. They go out into the forest and they dig up these truffles. They can be white or black. The ones that we have here, I believe, are the black truffle. They essentially enhance dishes like pasta or pizza or vegetables, meats. Whatever you want. Oh yeah. Look at that steam. Yeah? Wonderful. That's a good pasta. It's light, actually. Yeah, it is very light. I thought it was going to be really heavy and creamy because of the cream. Yeah. But it pairs very well. We've decided to end this meal on a jiggly note. This here is the rojata. If you remember from our Croatian food tour, the rojata is essentially the Croatian flan or creme caramel. And this one seems even jigglier than the one that we had in Split. It's topped off with a dollop of whipped cream and I believe some honey drizzled around. And then some crushed walnuts. And this is the dessert that has the rose liqueur in it. So I'm going to be looking out for that floral aroma. After sharing an ice cream cone for the last eight years together, Chad has demanded to get his own cup today. It's too hot and I do not like sharing right now. Yeah, so he got two scoops. What did you get? I got two scoops. I got one of pistachio and one of espresso. And then I got the lemon. Here you go. Enjoy. Time to delight. Enjoy, my dear. I'll film Clary enjoying. Allow me. This is which one? Pistachio? You tell me. Yummy? Which one was that? You can't tell? No. I think it's pistachio. Yeah. Mmm, that's good. She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes. We just walked up so many stairs. Oh my god. The stairs and the heat. And the gelato making me sleepy. Clary lost her guide. It's all the espresso gelato. I can't keep up. Come on. I was going in the completely wrong direction. I'm going to have to get one of those child leashes. Clip it on to Clary. After hiking up all of those stairs to get out of Old Town, we've walked about 15 minutes or so to a meeting point because this evening Clary and I have decided to book a ziplining experience that will showcase an amazing view of Dubrovnik from up above. So we're going to be doing that and then it's followed by a wine tasting. And now it's time to go. Just a reminder, handle is on the brake. Okay? Make sure you keep them there. Don't move them. Stop in the middle. Shout something. Okay. And at the bottom, pay attention to the signals. You ready? I'm ready. Now that's a panoramic view! Was it a money shot? Oh yeah. We're about to go on our final zipline of the night. It's been so nice to just look down at the Old Town and just watch. There's actually, I think, a water polo match going on because in Dubrovnik, water polo is quite popular. So there are people with flares and we can see all this orange smoke coming out. And I don't know who won, but it looked like a good game. I can see it from here. They're playing right there in the sea, which I think is absolutely wonderful to have an all-natural swimming pool. Quick pause as we say thanks to the sponsor of today's video, Get Your Guide. Get Your Guide is the leading online experience platform with more than 110,000 curated things to do in 150 countries, from exclusive attractions to off-the-beaten-path experiences. And what Claire and I have loved about using Get Your Guide for the past two years is that anything you could possibly need is on their app on your phone. You have the meeting point, the tickets, as well as their 24-7 customer service. But one of my favorite things about booking with them is as a traveler, you sometimes have a change of plans last minute and when you book with Get Your Guide, they offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour begins. This makes it super handy when you're planning your trip. You can always make adjustments as needed. So in case you're interested in any of the tours that we've done in this video, we'll link them down in the description box below. Thanks again to Get Your Guide for supporting what we do. And with all of that, back to the video. Good morning from day two in Dubrovnik. Last night we ended our day on such a sweet note with that ziplining experience and especially that glorious sunset. It was just pinks and oranges and purples all across the sky. And so if you're interested in doing that same experience, we'll link it in the description box below. But today, we're actually looking for these seafood burgers that we've seen all around Old Town. I've never heard of a seafood burger, so I'm very intrigued. They offer options like octopus burgers, calamari burgers, prawn burgers. Very, very cool. And I'm sure they're gonna be delicious because all the seafood we've had in Dubrovnik has been out of this world. So we're walking to Old Town now. I am a huge fan of sparkling water. And it's been so refreshing as we've been traveling. And it's so hot. I don't know if you noticed, but as Chad is opening the sparkling water, the cap did not come off. And that is something that we've found to be consistent throughout the entire country of Croatia. They make the cap so that they stick on, and so you never have to worry about losing the cap when we're dropping it into the sea or anywhere on the ground. And I think that is really cool. It keeps all the plastic together. Although it's a little bit hard to close sometimes. I decided to go with the octopus burger, which is plated so beautifully. Look at those little tentacles curling up. And then I decided to replace my french fries with a salad just because we've been having plenty of french fries. And I wanted something a little bit fresher. But Chad did go for the french fries. And his looks absolutely wonderful. He got the spicy calamari burger. And something that I really love is the color of the burger bun. It's like this dark espresso brown color. This is gonna be a mess, I already know. We have just made it onto Lokrum Island, which is a nature preserve just outside of the city of Dubrovnik. You can actually see Dubrovnik from the island, or vice versa. But as we're walking along this island, it has been so cool because it is inhabited with so many peacocks. And the peacocks were actually brought here by the Austrians back during the time of the Habsburg Empire. They had owned the island at one point. And this island is so beautiful. I feel like this is the first time that we're really seeing some significant trees in Croatia. Just because they do have trees, but they're not as densely forested as it is on this island. And it's so shady and breezy. And I already know Claire and I are gonna be going swimming in just a little bit because that water looks amazing. We are standing right above what they call the Dead Sea of Lokrum Island. And it's called that because the salt content is higher in this body of water than the Adriatic Sea. And it is being fed by the sea itself. But I believe it just stays in there. The salt gets saltier. I can actually see a lot of people floating because when the water is that salty, you don't have to do much work. You can just float around and enjoy your time. But there are a lot of people here and we want to swim in a more secluded area. So I think we're gonna move on and find a place along the coast. There's a peacock behind you. And a baby! While I was snorkeling earlier, I noticed this large yellow creature with black rings all over it. And I swam up a little bit closer because I originally thought it was an octopus. But after further observation, and very close observation I must say, I noticed that it had like two little eyeballs popping out and it was like swishing around. And it literally looked like a massive slug. Like it had to have been this big. And it was just going along the rocks, eating all sorts of algae and fun things. And I googled it and it's a spotted sea hare. And it was just so cool to witness it swimming around in its environment, enjoying its life. So that is my cool find of the day. We had a wonderful day on Locrum Island but we are now in line to hop back on the boat. And then tonight we are going to get some more seafood. Yeah, it's our last meal in Croatia. One of my favorite cocktails to get when we're over here in the continent of Europe is the Hugo. It is so refreshing and delicious. And this restaurant has given me a pasta, a piece of pasta as my straw. That's actually a fantastic idea. It's waterproof. It's going to last you the whole night. And it's biodegradable, I suppose. This evening I've ordered the Brodet, which is something I've been looking for all over Croatia, or in Split and Dubrovnik. And this is essentially a fish and seafood stew, very traditional to the Croatian culture. And it looks absolutely wonderful. I've got mussels in there, some squid, a whole fish. And it is so aromatic, very fragrant. And then Chad got another truffle pasta just because he has been loving the pasta here in Croatia. If you do come to Croatia, we highly recommend trying the pasta just because it's just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. So they know how to make their pasta. I'm sweating so hard right now. I have beads of sweat going down my face, down my back. And it is because the soup is so hot, but so, so delicious. I've never had such a wonderful tomato-based soup that is just infused with the flavors of the sea. I'm in heaven. To end our time in Croatia, we've come to our favorite swimming spot in Dubrovnik. There are so many locals here, and the sunset over Old Town is just magnificent. Chad is already in the water. I am sitting on shore for a little bit longer just because I ate a huge dinner, and I don't want that fish that I just ate to go right back into the Adriatic Sea, if you know what I mean. So I'm gonna digest, and then I'm gonna hop in and get one last swim in Croatia. I can't imagine a better way for us to have ended the video here swimming in the water just outside the old city walls. But thank you guys so much for joining us here in Dubrovnik, and if you're interested in following along as we travel to 50 countries around the world, then hit subscribe. And with all of that, we'll see you guys next time. Bye.