CROATIA CALLING

PART 5

ELAPHITI ISLANDS TO DUBROVNIK THEN ON TO MONTENEGRO

Our next leg to Dubrovnik may also be the final stop of this year’s cruise – we haven’t yet decided whether Dubrovnik or Tivat in Montenegro will be our winter base. We circle the last of the Elafiti Islands before setting course for Dubrovnik. The tall suspension bridge over the Ombla river can be seen from afar and soon after, two more giant structures come into view. The bright surfaces, which we took to be the famous city walls of the old town, turn out to be terraced abominations of high-rise hotels.

We can’t see any signs of the famous old Dubrovnik, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, but a glance at the map reveals our mistake. The Old Town is much further east of today’s modern Dubrovnik than we thought. When it finally hoves into view it’s obvious why this magnificent walled city attracts such legions of visitors. During the Croatian war, Dubrovnik was shelled by Serbian-Montenegrin forces. However, the damage has been almost completely repaired and the city is once again the most popular holiday destination in the region. A closer look at the charts