We visited Dubrovnik last year on the ms Noordam and loved it – starting with a walking tour of Old Town. Later, we walked the two miles of the city wall, and enjoying lunch in a café while soaking up sunshine and the beautiful turquoise waters of the Adriatic. For this visit, we wanted to explore outside of the Old Town. A bus terminal is adjacent to the port where we withdrew Croatian Kuna from an ATM and bought a bus day pass (about $5). We then caught bus 1A from the terminal and got off at Pile Gate, entrance to the old city (Stari Grad) From Pile Gate, we walked down the Place Stradun (the main street within the walls) to the eastern wall and the old harbor. Here several small ferries depart for other islands and we bought a roundtrip ticket to Cavtat (pronounced sav-tat) for about $15 US/person. We boarded small boat holding about 12 passengers including a group of Japanese tourists who had attended the World Table Tennis Championship in Zagreb. We up had a great conversation with them on the 45 minute trip.
Arriving in Cavtat we were immediately hypnotized by the green hills and the crystal clear waters. We “debarked” the ferry, found the return schedule to Dubrovnik (usually every hour) then headed off to explore. (The ship also offers bus tours to Cavtat.) We walked on the trail that follows the shore around the town and nearby woods. Around nearly every turn was a postcard view, a cafe and beach chairs for rent. The shores are rocky, but the water is sparkling clear. We ended our walk back at the dock area which is lined with outdoor cafes and restaurants. We had a terrific lunch of Pizza and Croatian beer as we soaked in the ambiance. With great reluctance, we boarded our boat back to Dubrovnik and then caught the bus back to the ship. Back on board we enjoyed more of the perfect weather during a sail away party with the Prinsendam band at the aft of Deck 7.