Dubrovnik wedding and family holiday
On arrival we collected our rental car and headed to our first stop, an apartment in the Lapad area of Dubrovnik. Lapad is a residential suburb of Dubrovnik situated about 10 minutes’ drive from the Old Town. The interior is mostly green and calm with plenty of attractive sea views and some excellent restaurants. There's a great choice of accommodation in Lapad including hotels, apartments and guesthouses but because it's so residential you don't get the feeling that you're in a tourist ghetto. There are bars, cafes, restaurants and shops used by locals and visitors alike.
You can walk everywhere in Lapad, from the beach to a restaurant to your hotel to a cafe-bar without breaking a sweat. Beaches in Lapad are easily accessible, there is a long stretch of pebbly beach so no matter where you stay you’ll be within walking distance of the sea.
The old town of Dubrovnik is simply stunning. The streets are white marble, Renaissance sculpture and architecture are everywhere and it is all enclosed in a magnificent circle of city walls bordering the Adriatic. You can take a walk around the city wall, or take the cable car to the top of the Srd Hill for panoramic view of the city and nearby Islands.
There are also many day trips to the many islands which surround the coastline of Dubrovnik and are just a short boat ride away from the city, if you prefer a more laid back holiday why not actually stay on one of the Islands. After spending a few days exploring the city we headed an hour up the coast to a Villa located just north of the pretty harbour village of Slano. The coastline is stunning and the road hugs the coast all the way making for a beautiful scenic drive.
The sea is clear allowing for excellent snorkelling. Just north of Slano is a small town named Ston, known for three things: it’s very well preserved town walls, its salt works, and its mussels. Although we had a car, there is a regular bus service from Dubrovnik which will take you to Ston. Whilst there be sure to pay a visit to Konoba Bakus, a little restaurant recommended to us by the locals, who travel from Dubrovnik to eat here. Reasonably priced and lovely local cuisine.
The highlight of our trip was getting married, I planned the wedding myself with the help of a local wedding co-ordinator and everything ran like clockwork, we got married in the beautiful walled garden of the hotel Lapad and after the ceremony took a boat trip to the old town on the Mb SV. Ivan, the oldest ship in the Adriatic. Our photographer took us through the streets of Dubrovnik Old Town and captured some beautiful memories for us to treasure.
Dubrovnik and the surrounding area has so much to offer, there was so much we wanted to do and will most definitely return to see the parts we missed this time. I would recommend Dubrovnik as a good destination for single travellers, couples and families, there is something for everyone, our children loved it and we felt safe and welcome. I can't wait to go back!