Lonely Planet Pocket Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast

By Peter Dragicevich

Lonely Planet’s Pocket Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast is your guide to the city’s best experiences and local life - neighbourhood by neighbourhood. Explore Dubrovnik, discover Dalmatian beaches; all with your trusted travel companion. Uncover the best of Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast and make the most of your trip!

 

Inside Lonely Planet’s Pocket Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast: 

Up-to-date information - all businesses were rechecked before publication to ensure they are still open after 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak

Full-colour maps and travel photography throughout

Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices

Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Convenient pull-out Dubrovnik map (included in print version), plus over 15 colour neighbourhood maps

User-friendly layout with helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you pick the best spots to spend your time

Covers Dubrovnik, Lokrum Island, Lapad beaches, Dalmatian Coast, Mljet National Park, Korcula Island, Hvar Island, Brac Island, Split and more

 

The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet’s Pocket Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast, an easy-to-use guide filled with top experiences - neighbourhood by neighbourhood - that literally fits in your pocket. Make the most of a quick trip to Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast with trusted travel advice to get you straight to the heart of the city.

 

Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet’s Croatia guide for a comprehensive look at all that the country has to offer.

About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. 

 

'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' – New York Times

 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781837580163

Book preview

Front CoverFull Page Samplerbutton

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Top Experiences

Dining Out

Wine Country

Bar Open

Treasure Hunt

For Kids

Beaches

Boat Cruises & Rental

Under the Radar

Four Perfect Days

Need to Know

Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Regions

Explore Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast

Dubrovnik

Dalmatian Coast

Korčula Town & Korčula Island

Hvar Town & Hvar Island

Bol & Brač Island

Split

Worth a Trip

Escape to Lokrum Island

Explore Mljet National Park

Take a Side Trip to the Ruins of Salona

Journey to Klis Fortress

Day Trip to Trogir

Survival Guide

Before You Go

Arriving in Dalmatia

Getting Around

Essential Information

Language

Behind the Scenes

Our Writer

COVID-19

We have rechecked every business in this book before publication to ensure that it is still open after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be felt long after the outbreak has been contained, and many businesses, services and events referenced in this guide may experience ongoing restrictions. Some businesses may be temporarily closed, have changed their opening hours and services, or require bookings; some unfortunately could have closed permanently. We suggest you check with venues before visiting for the latest information.

Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast

Top Experiences

1 Walk the City Walls & Forts

The world’s finest city walls.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Discover Diocletian’s Palace

A vibrant, living, ancient quarter.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Explore Mljet National Park

Forest, lakes and ancient ruins.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Day Trip to Trogir

World Heritage walled city.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Walk the Ston Walls

Dramatic peninsula-spanning fortifications.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Admire St Mark’s Cathedral

A masterwork in stone.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Voyage to the Pakleni Islands

Hvar Town’s offshore playground.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Escape to Lokrum Island

Dubrovnik’s idyllic island escape.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Journey to Klis Fortress

Mountain stronghold offering outstanding outlook.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Take in the Views from Srđ

Unsurpassed old-town views.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Take a Side Trip to the Ruins of Salona

Roaming a Roman city.

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Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast Top Experiences

1 Hit the Beach at Zlatni Rat

The supermodel of Croatia’s beaches.

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Dining Out

Croatian food echoes the cultures that have influenced it over its history. In Dalmatia the primary influence is Venice and the cuisine is typically Mediterranean. Favourite ingredients include olive oil, garlic, flat-leaf parsley, bay leaves and all manner of seafood. Meals often begin with a first course of pasta or rižoto (risotto).

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Specialties

For a special appet-iser, try paški sir, a pungent hard sheep’s cheese from the island of Pag. Lamb from Pag is deemed Croatia’s best; they feed on wild herbs, which gives the meat a distinct flavour. It’s traditionally enjoyed either spit-roasted or cooked ispod peka (roasted under a metal dome topped with hot coals; pictured above right). At restaurants, peka dishes usually need to be ordered in advance.

Seafood favourites include baked whole fish, fried lignje (squid, sometimes stuffed with cheese and prosciutto) and hobotnica (octopus, either carpaccio, in a salad or cooked under a peka).

Other regional specialties include brodet (a seafood stew served with polenta; also known as brodetto, brudet or brujet, depending on which part of the coast you’re from; pictured above left) and pašticada (beef stewed in wine, prunes and spices and served with gnocchi). The most typical side dish is blitva (Swiss chard served with slightly mushy potatoes and drenched in olive oil and garlic).

Best Dalmatian

Konoba Marjan This un-assuming Split tavern is one of the best places for traditional seafood in Dalmatia.

Kapetanova Kuća Feast on Ston oysters, metres from the waters from which they’re harvested.

Vinotoka Try lamb or octopus ispod peka, or a delicious seafood pasta in this informal Supetar tavern.

Konoba Fetivi Seafood specialities in the backstreets of Split.

Pojoda This Vis Town restaurant serves interesting seafood stews.

Konoba Matejuška One of a trio of excellent seafood taverns in the Veli Varoš neighbourhood of Split.

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Best Fine Dining

Restaurant 360° Dubrov-nik’s finest offers contem-porary dining perched right on the famous city walls.

Nautika Elegant fine dining overlooking Dubrovnik’s old town.

Zoi This upmarket Split restaurant delivers modern Mediterranean cuisine in glitzy surrounds.

Proto Serving seafood delicacies to Dubrovnik visitors since the late 19th century.

Restaurant Dubrovnik Snazzy rooftop-terrace restaurant hidden down a back lane.

Best Modern Mediterranean

Bugenvila Gorgeously presented, adventurous cuisine on the Cavtat waterfront.

Pantarul Zesty Mediterranean cooking in Dubrovnik’s Lapad neighbourhood.

Best Vegetarian

Nishta Strictly vegan, and one of old-town Dubrovnik’s best eateries.

Best Italian

Portofino Upmarket Italian on a square at the very centre of Diocletian’s Palace in Split.

Aterina Seafood features prominently at this Korčula Town restaurant.

La Casa Delicious pizza, pasta, risotto and grills in Orebić.

Best Japanese

Shizuku Japanese owners ensure authenticity at this elegant restaurant in the backstreets of Lapad, Dubrovnik.

Bota Šare Oyster & Sushi Bar Delicious sushi tucked away in a lane facing Dubrovnik’s cathedral.

Wine Country

Wine from Croatia may be a novelty to international consumers but vino has been an embedded part of the region’s lifestyle for more than 25 centuries. Today the tradition is undergoing a renaissance in the hands of a new generation of winemakers with a focus on preserving indigenous varietals and revitalising ancestral estates.

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Dalmatian Varietals

Dalmatia, with its island vineyards, fosters a fascinating array of indigenous grape varieties that prosper in the Mediterranean climate, yielding full-bodied wines of rich character. Here plavac mali, scion of zinfandel (crljenik kašteljanski) and the obscure dobričić, is king of reds. Wines labelled ‘Dingač’ are plavac mali from a specific mountainside high above the sea on the Pelješac Peninsula that’s widely regarded as producing Croatia’s best reds. Production is tiny and good examples command premium prices.

Other indigenous varieties worth seeking are babić (red), pošip (an elegant white, the best of which is from the island of Korčula), grk (a fruit-driven white, exclusively produced in Lumbarda on Korčula) and malvasija (a white from the Kvarner region, near Dubrovnik, not to be confused with malvazija with a ‘z’ from Istria). For easy-chair quaffing, the lovely rosés of Dalmatia are perfect for lazy Mediterranean days.

Most Croatian wineries are family-owned estates and not all have visitor-ready facilities; appointments are recommended.

Best Wineries

Stina Right on the water-front in Bol, this Brač winery has an impressive tasting room in a historic wine-collective warehouse.

Grgić Vina Californian wine-making legend Mike Grgich’s family vineyard, producing top-flight plavac mali and pošip.

Matuško Wines Try plavac mali at its best, from the Dingač appellation.

Korta Katarina Orebić winery offering a variety of wine and food tastings.

Vina Carić A combination cellar door and wine bar in Vrboska on the island of Hvar.

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Best Wine Bars

D’vino The best spot in Dubrovnik to sample a wide range of Croatian wines.

Malvasija Relaxed and friendly Dubrovnik wine bar, with tasty snack platters.

3 Pršuta Sophisticated wine and nibbles in Hvar’s walled town.

Vinum Bonum Chilled-out drinks in Korčula’s back streets.

Grabovac Makarska showcase for an Imotski winemaker.

Taverna Domanoeta Rustic tavern on the Pelješac Peninsula offering homemade wine and food.

Best Wine Shops

Peninsula A combination wine shop and bar, showcasing wines from the Pelješac Peninsula.

Vina Miličić Dubrovnik store selling wine from the Miličić winery, along with other producers.

Kawa Funky Dubrovnik design store which also stocks local wines and craft beers.

Wine Regions

Croatia is roughly divided into four winemaking regions (Slavonia, Croatian Uplands, Istria and Dalmatia) with 16 distinct subregions (vinogorje) recognised as Protected Designations of Origin.

Bar Open

Cafe-bars are ubiquitous throughout Dalmatia – they’re places where locals go to shoot the breeze for hours at a time. The liveliest bar scenes can be found in Split and, in summer, Hvar. You won’t go thirsty in Dubrovnik either – the city has Irish pubs, cliff-edge bars, wine bars and lots of cafe-bars. And that’s just the old town.

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Local Tipples

Croatia is famous for its rakija (potent fruit brandy), which comes in different flavours. The most commonly drunk are loza (made from grapes, like the Italian grappa), šljivovica (from plums) and travarica (from herbs). The island of Vis is famous for its delicious rogačica (from carob). It’s customary to have a small glass of rakija before a meal. Other popular drinks include vinjak (cognac), maraschino (cherry liqueur made in Zadar), prošek (sweet dessert wine) and pelinkovac (herbal liqueur).

The two most popular types of Croatian pivo (beer) are Zagreb’s Ožujsko and Karlovačko from Karlovac.

Strongly brewed kava (espresso-style coffee), served in tiny cups, is popular throughout Croatia. You can have it diluted with milk (macchiato) or order a cappuccino. Although some places have decaf options this is considered somewhat sacrilegious, as Croats love their coffee. When locals talk of tea (čaj), they’re usually referring to the herbal kind; black tea can be hard to find. Tap water is drinkable.

Best Beach Bars

Hula-Hula Hvar The ultimate trashy-glam beach bar.

Bard Mala Buža Cocktails on the cliff – a consummate Dubrovnik experience.

Buža Dubrovnik’s most popular clifftop bar.

Cave Bar More Sit in the sun by the water or cool off within the cave itself.

Coral Beach Club Dubrovnik’s glitziest beach bar.

Carpe Diem Beach Raucous bar in the Pakleni Islands, off Hvar Town, famous for its all-night parties.

Best Bohemian Cafe-Bars

Marcvs Marvlvs Spalatensis Atmospheric library-styled wine bar hidden within Diocletian’s Palace.

Art Cafe Dubrovnik’s hippest bar is a great spot for a smoothie, a coffee or something stronger.

Academia Ghetto Club Split’s artsy crowd gravitates to this eclectic old-town bar.

Rock Caffe Exit Hard-rocking live-music bar, within Dubrovnik’s old town.

Best Craft-beer Bars

Beer Garden Sample local brews and dude food in the courtyard of this Supetar pub.

Dubrovnik Beer Factory Old-town refuge for craft-beer aficionados.

Glam Beer Therapy Another good spot to sample local brews in Dubrovnik’s old town.

Best Cocktail Bars

Carpe Diem Hvar Town’s swankiest cocktail joint, with a large see-and-be-seen terrace.

Varadero Buzzy Bol cocktail terrace with a tropical vibe.

Best Dance Bars

Kiva Bar The party quickly packs out this tiny bar and takes over the lane.

St Riva Cocktails and trashy