Adriatic Adventures
We based ourselves in Cavtat, about 30 minutes south of Dubrovnik and 30 minutes north of Herceg Novi in Montenegro. It’s an incredibly picturesque town, nestled on a peninsula between two bays. The highlight is the gorgeous harbour, lined with plenty of restaurants, café bars, and some incredible yachts. You could easily spend the whole afternoon enjoying an Aperol Spritz while watching the comings and goings in the harbour. The turquoise sea is crystal clear, with plenty of bathing platforms and places to rent sun loungers.
In terms of amenities, the town has everything you might need: two small supermarkets, a bakery, a pharmacy, several ice cream vendors, and various attractions such as churches and a small museum.
There’s a lovely loop walk around the peninsula where you can stop at the Little Star beach bar to watch the sunset. You can also book day trips to the islands or visit the Blue and Green Caves. One evening, we took a boat taxi to Dubrovnik Old Town, but more on that later.
We stayed at the 5-star Hotel Croatia. Built into the cliffside, our room, a deluxe double, overlooked the sea. The room was very comfortable—while not 5-star luxury, it was of a good standard. It was spacious, and the bed was particularly comfortable. The hotel itself is large, and it takes a little time to get used to the layout. It reminded me of a cruise ship, with Reception located on floor 3.5, so you often have to go down to access many of the rooms.
The main restaurant features a beautiful, terraced area where you can dine al fresco, and the breakfast buffet was excellent. There’s both an indoor and outdoor pool on the 5th floor, as well as sun loungers by the sea. To get into town, you can either take the hotel’s complimentary golf buggy or walk down the steps—it’s only a 5-minute walk, but it is steep, so I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone with mobility issues.
There are several accommodation options in the area. For luxury, I would recommend the Hotel Supetar, a boutique hotel right on the promenade. Alternatives to Hotel Croatia include Hotel Cavtat, The Seventh Hotel, or two Remisens hotels, which are about a 10-minute walk from the centre of Cavtat on Beach Zal. If you're not too concerned about having a swimming pool, as the divine Adriatic is right there to dive into, there are plenty of self-catering options as well.
We hired a car for a day trip to Montenegro. There are two border crossings, and you can check live cameras to see which one is less busy—usually, the longer route is quieter, but it only adds about 15 minutes to the journey and could save you hours in a queue. You’ll need your passport to cross the border and a green card for the rental car. If you plan to cross the border with a rental, be sure to inform the car hire company in advance as there’s an additional charge, usually around €20 per day.
We visited Herceg Novi, Perast, and Kotor, each as beautiful as the last. We managed to avoid the cruise ship crowds by visiting Kotor last, when most of the big ships were departing around 4 pm. I’ll definitely be returning to any of these places—they offer a real European feel and are far less touristy than Dubrovnik. Driving is straightforward, and the roads are decent. We took a scenic route back from Kotor to catch the Lepetane to Kamenari ferry, creating a loop. Parts of that road were a bit nerve-wracking, with no barriers between the road and the sea, but it was worth it. If you take this route, there’s a fantastic viewing point and swimming spot by the Church of Our Lady of Angels.
We visited Dubrovnik one evening, taking a boat taxi directly from Cavtat—it’s a wonderful way to travel. Since it was August and very busy, I checked the port schedule and chose an evening with no cruise ships in port, so the Old Town was relatively quiet. We wandered around, climbed lots of steps (my 80-year-old mother is still upset with me for that!), and got a general feel for the place. There are plenty of public boards detailing the history of Dubrovnik, which are fascinating to read. We didn’t walk the walls as they close at 7 pm, but I’d definitely recommend doing that if you visit in the off-season. We took the cable car up to the Dubrovnik Museum and had a drink at the Panoramic Restaurant, which I’d highly recommend. We caught an Uber back to Cavtat, which cost us €40 as we needed a van for five people. A normal taxi would have been around €30, and there’s also a bus option.
Overall, I absolutely adored this holiday. My top tips would be to avoid late July and August due to the heat and the crowds. We didn’t struggle to find a table in restaurants, but places like Dubrovnik and Kotor would be much more pleasant if it were 5-10 degrees cooler. Make sure to bring swimming shoes, as there are lots of rocks and pebble beaches. This isn’t an ideal destination for people with mobility issues, as many towns are built into mountains and cliffs. Use tools like port schedules and border cameras to your advantage. Choose B&B in hotels—the food in the local restaurants is far superior. Croatia isn’t a cheap destination, with prices like what you’d pay locally, so bring Euro cash as some places, like beach bars, don’t accept cards.
