This year I've been making more of an effort to do new things, visit new places, be more spontaneous and live a little more outside my comfort zone; I've tried wakeboarding, paddle boarding, surfing a couple of times and have visited multiple countries too. I went on a solo trip to Chania, Crete in the summer and it reignited the travel bug in me; followed by a work social to Cascai, Portugal in early September and I'm well and truly in love with travel once again. Most recently I took a trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia with my mum - it was the fastest I've ever decided where I'm going and booked a trip, from the idea of going away to having it booked within 3 hours, but that's what made it even more exciting. I absolutely love travelling with my mum, we have really similar travelling styles, always both carrying our cameras, are eager to explore on foot and she's also vegan too (I wonder where I get it from?) - it was such a fantastic trip and I can't wait for the next one.
Croatia is one of the most beautiful European countries, a quick search will return pictures of turquoise blue coastlines, historic buildings, islands and plenty of greenery, and it truly lived up to the magic. There's a very broad range of cuisine influences in Croatia due to its history; largely Mediterranean with dishes like black risotto, homemade pasta, and stews, traditionally very high in fish and meat, but despite this, we were able to find some great vegan dishes during our stay in Dubrovnik.
We spent 8 days in Dubrovnik, explored the surrounding areas, visited an Island and even had a day trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was filled with some exploring, relaxing, eating and a myriad of steep stairs leading up and down to the walls of the city - which makes for a fantastic walk with a stunning aerial view of the city centre and coast.
Where to eat
There are a couple of vegan spots around Dubronik, as well as a few places with vegan options clearly marked on the menu. Vegan isn't a term that's super widely recognised yet, so a little bit of research will go a long way with finding tasty food to enjoy during your stay. Whilst I love to eat traditional food when visiting a place, I was more than happy to try a few veganised local options, combined with some delicious dishes from a range of cuisines for a wider variety of food during our stay. Booking is usually advised for lunch and dinner times, particularly if you want a table outside, even at the end of the season we found most places didn't have any space for walk-ins.
Urban & VeggieOne of the fully vegan places in Dubrovnik, Urban & Veggie is located by the port - it has a beautiful outside courtyard and an extensive menu full of delicious dishes. We visited a few times and had the dip trio, tofu focaccia, flatbread 'pizza' and cheesy gnocchi, as well as some lovely cocktails and ice tea. This place became a firm favourite and had a wonderful ambiance.
A mix of raw and cooked vegan dishes combine in this quaint little place located within the city walls for some fantastic eats. We opted for the raw zucchini lasagne with pesto and vegan ćevapčići, a type of kofta, served with a stew of sweet potatoes, onions and ajvar (a traditional eggplant and bell pepper sauce). These dishes were full of flavour and textures and the whole menu was full of super interesting options.
Dalmatino
Described as traditional cuisine with a twist Dalmatino had clearly marked vegan options on the menu and made one of my top 10 meals of all time. The makaruni pasta - tubes of hand-rolled vegan pasta tubes served with a rich ragu was exquisite, paired with a glass of red and finished with their take on a panna cotta, served in a jar. My mum had the caponata, which was also packed with flavour.
Bonto
A Korean restaurant located in Lapad, the newer part of Dubrovnik, with veggie options that can be made vegan by omitting the egg, I opted for the dolsot bibimbap, served in an authentic sizzling hot stone bowl. This was super garlicky and the sauce was packed with flavour, super delicious and a nice change if you're craving a change in cuisine. In the summer months they serve poke and there's also a noodle dish available.
Slightly more on the expensive side, this restaurant-cocktail bar the other side of the port is great for a special night. They have vegan tacos, tortilla chips, a burger, a few sides and desserts too. The cocktail menu is extensive and the outside seating in a courtyard setting lit with fairy lights. The portions were on the smaller side here, but I did throughly enjoy it and they even give you blankets in the outside area!
A Tex-Mex style restaurant, rather than truly authentic, but they have plenty of veggie options that can easily be veganised and the service was super friendly. The portions are really generous and more sharing-size, with an extensive cocktail menu, which makes for a great evening. We had the fajita plate and tortillas with extra guac subbed in for the sour cream.
Bistro Cafe - Mlini
Most of the pasta in Dubrovnik is handmade and contains egg, however tomato spaghetti is usually a universal option. We stopped at a little bistro cafe along the beach in Mlini for lunch and ordered some tomato spaghetti and grilled veg, another dish you can find at most restaurants.
Pizza
We didn't manage to find any vegan cheese, but cheeseless pizza is always an option. We found a couple of places for pizza, one just up from the town near our apartment and another along the coast in the little town Mlini, with a sunset view called Basilico. We had this with a side salad minus the feta.
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Konoba Captain
For our final day we wandered around the city after asking a few places if they could make anything vegan, we managed to find a restaurant that could veganise the veggie risotto. It seems like most veg-based risottos are made vegan, to be finished off with cheese, so this is another option that, if the place understands can likely be veganised.
Bakeries
Many of the bakeries had the allergens listed for each item - a translator app, or key phrases on your phone is usually a good idea here, especially as not everyone understood the term vegan. But there were a few options such as focaccia that we had as snacks or breakfast.
Gelato
Whilst we didn't manage to find any vegan gelato, most of the shops had sorbet that was vegan and were quite knowledgable about which were dairy free and had the typical flavours such as mango, lemon, strawberry etc.
Supermarkets
The supermarkets had basic things such as non-dairy milk, but we didn't notice too many other vegan alternatives. That said, there was plenty of fresh produce and things such as hummus or guacamole that could be used to make meals with. Again here, a translate app can come in super handy to quickly read back of pack labels and see what kind of snacks etc are vegan. Staying in an apartment we often had breakfast here, including oyster mushrooms on toast with tomatoes.
Vegan in Bosnia & Herzegovina
Perhaps the most surprising part of our trip was during our visit to Mostar in Bosnia and spotting a sign for vegan food. Located just to the left off the mainstreet, near the old museum and tannery was a restaurant with a few vegan options on the menu. We had the imam bayildi, a stuffed aubergine dish with potatoes and ajvar - it was actually pretty tasty and a welcome surprise.
Airport
We really struggled to find much vegan at the airport for dinner and after a lot of searching at duty free we came back with some plain pringles, ajvar dip and a bar of dark chocolate Tony's Chocoloney. So if you can, I'd recommend grabbing something to eat before you head to the airport.
So, whilst you may have to be a little less spontaneous with your choices, you can find a varied range of delicious vegan options around Dubrovnik and can get a good taste for local cuisine too.
Things to do
We had a mix of exploring, beach and pool days in Dubrovnik; a little adventure, a little relaxing and a lot of joy.
Walking the walls
One of the main attractions for Dubrovik is walking around the city walls - with time to stop and take pictures, or even grab a drink at one of the many cafes this takes around 2 hours. You'll be met with incredible views of the city from above and whilst it was about £30 per adult, it was more than worth it and I'd highly recommend doing the walk during your stay. You can also visit the smaller viewpoint pictured above.
Sunset Beach - Lapad
A stone beach around the otherside of Dubronik, Sunset beach is a lovely place for a beach day and in case you hadn't guessed, to watch the sunset. Most beaches in Dubrovnik are quite pebbly, so it's a good idea to have some swim shoes with you, making it a lot easier to get in and out of the sea.
Elafiti Islands - Lopud
The Elafiti Islands can be reached in two main ways; a day tour visiting all 3 by boat, or getting the regular ferry over to each one - they only run a few times a day, so it's worth keeping an eye on the time if you opt for this option. We were recommended Lopud, which has the most incredible beach and the only sandy one in the area so we hopped on the ferry, which is around 3 Euros per person each way and can be purchased across the road from the departure spot by the Ferry port. There are a few shops on Lopud, so we picked up some snacks before walking the 25 mins up and down hill to the beach on the otherside of the island. If you don't fancy the walk, there are golf cart taxis that can take you there and whilst some places take card and there are ATMs, cash for the smaller islands is recommended.
Mostar & Kravice Waterfalls - Bosnia & Herzegovina
The day trip to Bosnia is one that's well advertised in Dubrovnik, we booked a smaller tour online of just 18 people. It was an interesting day and great to see another country, with a lot of history of the places given by our tour gide, however when we arrived at the main stop in Mostar we were warned of pick-pockets so it put us a little on edge, particularly with such busy crowds of other tourists. The second stop of Kravice waterfalls was stunning and I can't help but wish this was the main stop. All in all, it was a good day, but not necessarily one I'd rush back to.
Mlini
Always curious to visit surrounding areas, we took a short Uber ride to Mlini, a small town up the coast, full of natural beauty and in late summer, almost absent of other tourists, with some locals present. The beach here was stunning and one of my favourite days on the trip, complete with some incredible food and beautiful sunsets, this was magical.
Transport & Currency
To get from Dubrovnik airport into the city you can purchase a ticket to the
official shuttle bus, it stops just before the walls of the city and then again at the ferry/boat port, which you'll head to if you go on any trips via boat and departures from the airport 30 mins after each flight and 2 hours before from Dubrovnik. The official currency in Dubrovnik as it stands is Kuna, however, from January 2023 Croatia is adopting the Euro, we found that most places take cards, however, having some cash on hand to tip or for the odd smaller shop was a good idea. Whilst relatively cheap to fly to and stay in, Dubronvik food and drink is comparable to london prices. Tourist season is from May to the end of October, which fuels the economy for the entire year. We visited at the end of September and were very lucky with the weather, with temperatures around 23-25°C and sunshine, with only about half a day of rain during our 8 day trip, despite the forecasted thunderstorms, but as with most European countries, the best weather is during the height of the summer (and tourist season). The city is largely walkable, with a LOT of steps, however there are plenty of Ubers around if you don't fancy the steps all the time. There are also multiple tours available via coach or boat, or even the standard
ferry which can take you to any of the 3 Elafiti Islands.
All in all, Dubrovnik was a stunning place to visit and I hope I have the chance to explore other places in Crotia in the future. It's a fantastic mix of city break and beach holiday and whilst 8 days was definitely a generous amount of time, it left plenty of time to simply relax and smell the roses.
Have you been anywhere interesting lately?
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