"A Flood of Humanity" Dubrovnik by antistar

According to one Croatian I met, Dubrovnik was second only to Venice in tourist numbers this year. And the city is much smaller. Some days it was like a rugby scrum. There were a few streets off the main tourist drag where you could enjoy a little peace and quiet inside the city walls. But when the cruise liners debarked their passengers in the thousand, it was like a tsunami of humanity.

Overall I was a bit disappointed with Dubrovnik. It has immense city walls, probably the most impressive I've seen of any city. But inside the walls there was nothing really special. I could have been a bit jaded after a week of travelling in the will sapping August heat. It didn't help that the city was totally unprepared for the tourist crowds: brimful buses were leaving bemused passengers behind. I hadn't seen anything like it since the sardine city buses of Jakarta in Indonesia. They had no AC either.

Price gouging was also evident. The restaurants weren't as bad a rip-off as Venice, but the food wasn't as good either. The biggest turn-off was the ten euro charge just to walk on the city walls. I paid just a few shekels to walk on the walls of Jerusalem, and the views were much better.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is an impressive city. It also has a fascinating history, both ancient and recent. The tourists come here in their thousands for a reason, and to top it all the weather in summer is almost guaranteed sunshine. It did rain for a moment while I was there, but it was so light it could be mistaken for sweat. It did produce a beautiful double rainbow, however.

The location of the old town is also breathtaking. It sits below the mountains on a rocky outcrop jutting directly into the Adriatic. It was these physical features that encouraged the population of Cavtat to emigrate here thousands of years ago to escape the constant barbarian attacks. Dubrovnik then developed into a sea trading city state to rival Venice.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

More recent history has been a lot sadder. The city was pounded by Yugoslav forces. Montenegrin units came from the south and laid siege to the city for months. The damage to the historic town shown on TV stations around the world caused an outcry, and formed many people's lasting memories of all the Balkan wars. Today the city has recovered almost completely.

I think the city would be a great place without the tourists, but then the tourists come here because it is a great place. If you want to come away from Dubrovnik with a better impression than I got, I'd definitely not recommend coming here in July and August, but instead in May or September. Also consider staying outside the city, in a place like Cavtat, so you can at least escape the crowds in the evening.