Dubrovnik with kids
We lived a month in Dubrovnik and felt at home
Carlotta Cerri
–
Fondatrice de La Tela
10 novembre 2021
We're full time travelers and when we travel, we often find little gems. I won't add many links (because the links must be updated and this is not a tourism blog 😉), but you can search for the names on google maps: they are all tested by me, Alex, Oliver and Emily (who were 4.5 and 6 years old here)
Dubrovnik surprised us: almost everyone speaks more than one language, many speak excellent English and many speak Italian, too. The city is wonderfully clean (I must admit reluctantly it was a breath of fresh air coming from southern Italy where garbage covers almost every road). People are welcoming and friendly. The old town is extremely touristy, but oh so charming!
We stayed in an AirBnb house that we loved in what for us is the most beautiful area in Dubrovnik: Lapad.
Things we loved:
- The seafront that starts from the pedestrian area of Lapad is breathtaking: you can walk on the promenade or go down through the steep stairs to the rocks. Alex and I went up and down and the children walked on the rocks like crabs.
- The Lapad Peninsula is beautiful to visit by bike. It's a 5km round path that covers the whole peninsula passing very close to the sea. There are tons of small stone beaches to stop and there are great views of the bridge along the way.
- The children had tennis lessons throughout the month at the Tennis Club. Search on Google “Tenis Klub Dubrovnik”.
- The old town is fascinating, even if it is now completely touristy (only about a hundred locals still live there), it's worth visiting with a guide. We took the electric Tuk Tuk tour with Eco Tuo Tours Dubrovnik who drove us across the Franjo Tudman bridge, then back to the viewpoint that you see below (you can also get there by cable car from the center) and then to visit the center on foot, with ice-cream and a "special stop" at 12:00am (that's a surprise, though).
- The old city walls are really worth it, even if the visit is not cheap: 200 KUNA (26 €) per adult, children under 7 enter free of charge. The views are spectacular and the path on the wall is so interesting that the children never complained.
- Restaurants we loved in Lapad: Chihuahua (Mexican), Shizuku (Japanese), Fish Bar El Pulpo (fish and typical cuisine), Pantarul (sophisticated local cuisine) and if you are missing pizza for us the best is Papillon's Pizza. In the center everything is too touristy: we met a dad at the playground who has the Mama's Pot Tavern restaurant, but we couldn't try it.
- From Lapad there is also a nice walk in the hills in the Forest Park Velika and Mala Petka: the destination is an antenna tower, nothing special, but the view is beautiful.
Conversation with children
The war in Croatia ended only in 1994. The entire old town was destroyed by over 5.000 bombs and then rebuilt. We talked to the kids about the fact that when our Eco Tuk Tours guide was their age there was the war, about the fear they must have felt. We asked questions and reflected. It wasn't the first war we talked about with the kids (Vietnam was our first time), but it was the first time we answered difficult questions like: "Why do people want to kill each other?". 💔 Talk to your children about wars around the world, there are more than you think.
Useful words to know
- Good morning (when entering a shop / bar): Dobar dan
- Thanks: Hvala
- I'm sorry: Oprosti
- Excuse me: Ispričajte me
- Please: Molim
- How are you?: Kako si?
- Goodbye: Nasvidenje
- Yes: Da
- No: Ne
By the way, if you learn these words you could use it as well in Slovenia (many words are similar).
Scritto da
Carlotta Cerri
– Fondatrice de La Tela
Sono la fondatrice de La Tela, creatrice del podcast Educare con calma e dal 2019 viaggio a tempo pieno con la mia famiglia Alex, Oliver ed Emily. Mi ritengo una visionaria pessimista: so come voglio cambiare l’educazione e che genitore ho scelto di essere, ma la maggior parte dei giorni mi sembra di scalare pareti di vetro. Ma forse proprio per questo so come aiutarti quando mi scrivi: perché ci passo anche io per quel disagio e ti dico le verità scomode con gentilezza e senza giudizio.
