Jet Lagged Gianna

Dear Reader,

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Sincerely,

Gianna

All jokes aside, I did not enjoy my time in Dubrovnik. There are ups and downs with every travel experience, and in this blog I try to highlight the ups while still pointing out the downs so that others can avoid the mistakes I made. Dubrovnik was one entire down.

Here we go.

I arrived in the city hopeful and full of excitement to see King’s Landing (GoT reference). I walked a million miles from the bus station to my hostel (which was pretty far outside the city walls). After dropping my bags, I wanted to explore. I walked 20 minutes to the city walls. When I finally got there, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There sheer amount of tourists piling through the entrance to the old city was shocking. Honestly, it was more impressive than the city itself. Everything in the city was Game of Thrones themed. The man playing violin on the street for money was even playing a portion of the GoT theme song in a never ending cycle.

The old city is basically one massive street with a few alleyways. Every store has been converted into a tourist shop or restaurant. Hawkers bombarded me with Game of Thrones walking tour flyers.

I couldn’t enjoy Dubrovnik because it was no longer Dubrovnik. The city lacks culture. It is now a GoT wonderland.

If you love Disney World, you will love Dubrovnik.

It’ll admit, the old city is very pretty. It sits right next to the water and the preservation of the old architecture is incredible.

I met up with a group for a free walking tour. The highlights of the tour included the steps where Cersei Lannister walked naked in GoT and some other streets that were used in the show. There was a little bit of Croatian history mixed in as well.

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Our tour guide even told us that the majority of Croatians had moved out of the city in order to make room for the tourists.

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I am aware that by being a tourist in this city, I was contributing to the problem. However, that is why I am telling you, dear reader, not to go there. Croatia has tons of beautiful cities. Do your research and find a less Game of Thrones themed city to visit.

When the tour was over, I set out for dinner. Every restaurant was packed with tourists eating hamburgers. I settled on an Indian restaurant and ordered some pretty delicious samosas and chana masala. The waiter, however, refused to give me tap water when I requested it. He was very pushy for me to order more food and drinks. I was only one person and could only eat so much.

I Ubered back to my hostel because it was dark at this point and the area outside of the main city isn’t the best.

The next morning, I decided I couldn’t face the masses of tourists in GameOfThrones Land again. Instead, I went to the beach. Dubrovnik has some pretty nice beaches, but they’re impossible to find. I got so lost looking for one that google maps said wasn’t over run by tourists. I eventually discovered it after teaming up with some random girls. I spent the day reading my book and swimming.

That night, I decided to suck it up and pay the $30 to walk the infamous Dubrovnik city walls. I was hoping the views would redeem the city at least a little bit.

It was difficult to feel happy, though, when I just had to spend $30 to walk around a giant stone circle.

After my walk, I headed to a vegan restaurant that I had made reservations at earlier. I got some local wine and a yummy lentil dish. After dinner, I once again Ubered back to my hostel and went to sleep early. This was my last night in Croatia. The next morning, I would be flying across Europe to my next country.

I apologize for the short chapter. I can’t stress how much I don’t recommend anyone visiting Dubrovnik. If you must go, then go during the low season. I think April or October would be better than the summer months. But seriously, this city needs a chance to become a city again, and not just a hot spot for GoT obsessed tourists.

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