rick steves walking tour dubrovnik

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The wall overlooking Dubrovnik was built in the 1400s to defend against the Ottoman Turks. (Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves on walking the city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia

After years of war and strife, life here is once again very good — and filled with promise.

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Rick Steves’ Europe: Walking Dubrovnik’s city walls

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one of my favorite European memories from the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia — a reminder of the fun that awaits us at the other end of this crisis.

Jostled by the crowds, I walk toward the still-stout medieval wall encircling Dubrovnik, deservedly known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” It’s an unforgettable mile-long stroll above the city. While constructed over many centuries, today’s impressive fortifications date from the 1400s, when they were beefed up to defend against the Ottoman Turks.

I jockey my way between cruise-excursion groups that have descended upon the town (these days about 800,000 cruisers stop here each year) and climb the steep steps to the top of the mighty wall. As I begin a slow, circular walk around the fortified perimeter, I’m bombarded with ever-changing views. On one side is a sea of red rooftops; on the other side, the actual sea.

As I approach the wall’s formidable gate — the walled city’s front door, I pause to enjoy a sweeping view of the Stradun — the 300-yard-long promenade that runs through the heart of the Old Town. In the Middle Ages, merchants lined this drag; before that, it was a canal. Today, it’s the city’s pedestrian boulevard: an Old World shopping mall by day and sprawling cocktail party after dark.

Farther along on my rampart ramble, I look down and see a peaceful stone terrace perched above the sea, clinging like a barnacle to the outside of the city wall. Generously shaded by white umbrellas, this is my favorite Dubrovnik escape, a rustic outdoor tavern called Buža. The name means “hole in the wall” — and that’s exactly what customers have to climb through to get there. Filled with mellow bartenders and tourists, Buža comes with castaway views and Frank Sinatra ambience. (When the sun sets, I get a special joy watching the cruise ships — whose thousands of passengers congested the city just a couple hours earlier — sail into the golden horizon.)

Looking inland from my rampart perch, my eyes fall on a random arrangement of bright-and-dark-toned red roof tiles. In this complex and once-troubled corner of Europe, even a tranquil stroll comes with a poignant history lesson. After Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the Yugoslav National Army laid siege to this town and lobbed mortars from the hilltop above. Today, the new, brighter-colored tiles mark houses that were hit and have been rebuilt. At a glance, it’s clear that more than two-thirds of the Old Town’s buildings suffered bomb damage.

Locals are often willing to talk openly about the bombing, offering a rare opportunity to grasp the realities of war from a survivor’s perspective. As I survey the rooftops, my thoughts turn to Pero, my B&B host, who spent years after the war turning the bombed-out remains of his Old Town home into a fine guesthouse.

When I arrived last night, Pero uncorked a bottle of orahovica , the local walnut liqueur. Hoping to write that evening with a clear head, I tried to refuse the drink. But this is a Slavic land. Remembering times when new friends force-fed me vodka in Russia, I knew turning Pero down was hopeless. My host had made this hooch himself, with green walnuts. As he slugged down a shot, he handed me a glass, wheezing, “Walnut grappa — it recovers your energy.”

Pero reached under the counter and held up the mangled tail of a mortar shell, describing how the gorgeous stone and knotty wood building he grew up in suffered a direct hit in the siege. He put the mortar in my hands. Just as I don’t enjoy holding a gun, I didn’t enjoy touching the twisted remains of that mortar. Pero explained that he gets a monthly retirement check for being wounded in the war, but he got bored and didn’t want to live on the tiny government stipend, so he went to work rebuilding his guesthouse.

I asked Pero to hold up the mortar for a photograph. As he held up the mortar, he smiled. I didn’t want him to smile, but that’s what he did. He seemed determined to smile — as if it signified a personal victory over the destruction the mortar had wrought.

It’s impressive how people can weather tragedy, rebuild, and move on. In spite of the terrors of war just a couple of decades ago, life here is once again very good — and, as far as Pero is concerned, filled with promise.

(Rick Steves ( www.ricksteves.com ) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, For the Love of Europe . You can email Rick at  [email protected]  and follow his blog on Facebook.)

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Destination: Dubrovnik

Rick steves guidebooks — making the world better, one trip at a time.

You’ve already met just a few of my favorite people from Dubrovnik — from the Peros to Jadranka, Sasha, and Pepo . But that’s just a small sampling of the hundreds of amazing people I feel lucky to recommend in our Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia guidebook . As a guidebook writer, I see it as my role to be an intermediary: put good travelers in the hands of great local contacts…then get out of the way. And Roberto de Lorenzo and his mother Marija embody that ideal like nobody else.

Roberto and Marija live in an old palazzo high in Dubrovnik’s Old Town. They’ve converted some of the building into apartments for travelers, including two units that each has access to an entirely private garden. If you’ve been to Dubrovnik, you’ll appreciate how impossibly rare it is to have a garden of any kind — much less a private one — within the City Walls. You can even have the restaurant next door send a waiter over to take your order. Private dining in your own private garden, in the heart of Croatia’s finest town…all this can be yours for around $100 a night.

I have every confidence that Roberto and Marija’s place is great, and I know our readers will love it. But it works both ways. When I visited Roberto today, he was bursting with enthusiasm, telling me, “You have no idea how many people’s lives your books improve. Thanks to the Rick Steves book, I took my mother to the United States. And now I have become an ambassador for the USA to all of my friends.”

Roberto explained. Like all good B&B owners, he’s really hit it off with many of his guests. One couple invited Roberto and his mom to visit them in Pennington, New Jersey. For months, he declined what he assumed was a polite, but possibly insincere, invitation. But they were persistent. And finally Roberto — realizing that this may be his mom’s only chance to go stateside — decided to take them up on it.

On their two-week trip this summer, Roberto and Marija also visited New York City, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania Amish country. And they had a blast. It was a revelation. “Coming from a Mediterranean city, I expected New York to feel busy and impersonal and cold,” Roberto told me. “But quite the contrary: People are so friendly, and there is a real sense of community. It could be a Mediterranean city itself.”

For her part, Marija was especially reluctant to make her first trip to the USA. But it was a life-changing experience for her. Marija told me, “I’m in my 70s, so it’s not easy at this age. But I fell in love…with the States.”

When they first arrived in New York, they stepped out of what Roberto calls “Pennsylvania Station” and saw a pair of real-life NYPD cops. In Croatia, police are often seen as intimidating authority figures. But Roberto was so excited to be there that he couldn’t resist — so he asked one of them if he could take a picture with them. She broke into a big smile and said, “That would make my day.” Roberto showed me the picture on his phone:

Since he’s been back home, Roberto tells me, he’s been showing that picture to anyone and everyone. To him, it sums up the power of travel: You can meet — and snap selfies with — people you’d never dream of. He says that one picture has challenged some of his friends’ assumptions about New York, and the USA in general. And now they’re considering trips of their own.

“What I want you to understand,” he said, slowing down for emphasis, “is that all of this is because of your book. Yes, you put travelers in touch with hotels. But it can be even more than that. If it weren’t for the Rick Steves book, I would never have met those guests. They would never have invited me to the United States. And I would not be telling everyone I know what a wonderful place your country is.”

While this all may seem immodest, it’s a gratifying reminder that the Rick Steves travel philosophy is just that: not just guidebooks, tours, rucksacks, and practical advice — but a worldview that, in ways small and big, can broaden and improve people’s lives. It certainly brightened the day of one New York cop who didn’t quite know what to make of those two effusive Croatians…but loved every minute of it.

Why Dubrovnik Makes Me Happy

Yesterday I got cranky . But today, I want to share some of my favorite aspects of Dubrovnik, in the form of some particularly pretty pictures.

I see laundry drying in the streets as the fluttering flag of the local community — as if to say, “We still live here!”

In my guidebook’s introduction to the town, I called it a “fun jumble of quiet, cobbled back lanes.” A friend of mine visited and said that Dubrovnik seemed more crowded than that. So on this trip, I made a point to check out whether you really could escape the crowds. Sure enough, yep — quiet back lanes still there. So for the new edition, I’m adding this line: “If you haven’t discovered your own secluded, laundry-draped back lanes all to yourself…then you haven’t looked hard enough.”

Dubrovnik is simply a joy to explore. Around each corner, little surprise lanes hide inviting restaurant tables.

Why Dubrovnik Makes Me Cranky

In my last few posts, I’ve been laying it on a little thick singing the glories of Dubrovnik. Yes, it’s a wonderful place. But even wonderful places have their dark side. And I’ve been doing this work long enough that I get cranky sometimes. Here are a few things on this visit that stuck in my craw.

Many years ago, there was a hot new restaurant in Dubrovnik. Everyone loved it — including me. So I recommended it in our Rick Steves Eastern Europe guidebook. Less than one year later, I heard that it had gone steeply downhill, a victim of its own success (a sadly common tale in Dubrovnik). And, after having a bad meal there myself, I took it right back out of the book for the next edition. Today, more than seven years since it appeared in the book, the restauranteur still has the gall to post this blurb from my original write-up on their poster. I have fantasies of scrawling “NO LONGER RECOMMENDED!” across the Rick Steves logo. Do you think I’d be within my rights to attack it with a Sharpie?

Poor Đivo. He’s an ambitious young archaeology scholar who got a plum job: showing visitors around a slick new museum about the old medieval foundry tucked at the foot of Dubrovnik’s walls. But…nobody comes. It’s tucked way up at the top of town, impossible to find, literally underneath Dubrovnik’s basketball court. And the city doesn’t promote it at all. In fact, due to a mistranslation, the only English leaflet about the site identifies it not as a “Foundry” but as a “Forgery.” (I wish I were kidding.) Đivo — who sits on the corner out front hoping to snag passersby to tour the museum — has been keeping track of visitors. And, with about 1.5 million people coming to Dubrovnik this year, so far he’s sold a grand total of…812 tickets. (He’s hoping to hit a thousand.) For every person who shows up wanting to tour the museum, there are ten who stumble in here looking for bathrooms or the access to the walls. If you’re in town and want to make Đivo’s life a little bit better — and learn some genuinely interesting facts about medieval metallurgy — just hike up to the very top corner of town, directly below the tallest Minčeta Tower. Then walk across the sports court to the poorly marked door. When you get there, tell him Cameron sent you.

This photography shop — I imagine no longer making much money selling disposable cameras — has come up with a clever new spin on their business, which plays perfectly into our increasingly narcissistic age. While I hear a lot of grumbling about the “selfie stick” fad from other travelers, I haven’t had any negative run-ins with them myself…yet.

The reality of living in a traffic-free city is that routine deliveries are a pain. Every so often, you see little carts like this one parting the sea of tourists as it makes its way slowly up the main drag. Sturdy young men load up hand trucks with deliveries and huff them up several flights of steep stairs. Apparently this was particularly challenging for the Game of Thrones crew , who had to physically carry up each and every lighting rig, piece of camera equipment, costume, prop, and bowl of green M&Ms for Peter Dinklage. (OK, that last one was a joke.)

Dubrovnik is selling out. There are now five — count ’em five! — “Pirate Candy” shops in the historic Old Town. Big barrels overflowing with overpriced bulk candy are strategically located through town — like Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs — designed to wear down the parents of sugar-starved children. The scuttlebutt is that it’s a chain based in Prague (of course it is) that has now spread like a virus to another one of Europe’s most beautiful (and most overrun) cities. Many locals mentioned this specific development as a bridge too far in the commercialization of their hometown. Boycott Pirate Candy!

Am I being overly negative? You bet. But don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll look on the sunny side of Dubrovnik.

Connecting with the People of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is just about the only place in my guidebook research work where I have to budget extra time simply to socialize. From B&B owners, to local tour guides, to the guy who runs the town’s best wine bar, everyone loves to catch up. Despite the city’s fame and glitz, deep in its soul, it’s still a tight-knit community… and I’m honored to be one of the gang.

But you don’t have to come here frequently to be a part of Dubrovnik. One thing that  distinguishes the “Rick Steves travel philosophy” is people-to-people connections. And I recommend plenty of wonderful people in the Dubrovnik chapter of my Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia guidebook. They’d love to meet you — and I’m happy to introduce you.

For example, there’s Jadranka Benussi, who rents apartments at her home on the hillside just outside of Dubrovnik’s Old Town. Climbing a steep stepped lane from the congested main street, you emerge into a chirpy garden terrace with views over red rooftops, medieval forts, and the shimmering Adriatic. Anytime I’m in town, I have to block off an hour or so to come visit Jadranka and update her details for the guidebook — and, of course, to relax in her garden and enjoy her company.

Today Jadranka asked me how old Rick was. Turns out he’s the same age as her husband, Milan. “That explains it,” she said. She reminded me that when Rick (then age 50) first listed her place in our guidebook, he described Jadranka and Milan as “a young professional couple.” The next year, I (then age 30) came to update Jadranka’s listing, and when the new edition came out, she noticed that the description changed to “a middle-aged professional couple.” “I’m just hoping you don’t decide to send somebody in their 20s,” she joked. “I’m not ready to be ‘an old professional couple’ yet.”

Sasha, a gregarious Aussie with Croatian roots, runs DiVino Wine Bar , tucked a half-block off Dubrovnik’s main drag. Sasha has an infectious passion for Croatian wines. On this trip, I enjoyed catching up with him at one of his sidewalk tables. We dug into a huge platter of Dalmatian antipasti — little wedges of pungent, hard cheese; salami, prosciutto (called pršut here), and air-cured beef tenderloin; and marinated sun-dried tomatoes and olives. He showed me his latest creation: a small, sweet, and tangy red pepper, stuffed with anchovy paste and marinated. To avoid dripping oil everywhere, you eat it in one explosive gulp. Delicious. As we were chatting, the guy who provides some of his produce happened to walk by and admired his own handiwork.

Marc Van Bloemen, who runs one of Dubrovnik’s longest-standing little guest houses , is of Canadian and English descent. But he’s lived here most of his life, speaks fluent Croatian, and strikes me as more local than many locals. I see Marc as Dubrovnik’s conscience — he’s the guy you can count on to organize when something smells corrupt. I think he should run for mayor… but he’s probably already burned too many bridges for that.

Jon and Sanja are a Canadian-Croatian couple who opened Dubrovnik’s first and best independent hostel many years ago, about the time I first came here. Back then, their hostel’s little food counter was the only place in town  (and probably in all of Croatia) where you could get a decent burrito. I’ve enjoyed watching their evolution as ambitious young business owners in a country where ambition and vision aren’t always welcome. Their party hostel, with all of its noise complaints, was replaced first with a tamer hostel high on the hill, and now by a plush B&B in the heart of town — effectively catering to the same clientele who crashed here as backpackers, but now want a more refined experience. We had a great lunch of grilled fish, and I got to meet a new arrival, Alex, who’s also trying to find her niche in Dubrovnik. Her new business — making custom, high-quality picnics for beachgoers, hikers, and side-trippers — seems like it’ll be a hit.

When it’s time to leave town, I ask Pepo , a private driver, if he’ll take me to my next destination. I met Pepo purely by chance many years ago, liked him, and recommended him in our book. Since then, he’s taken hundreds of Rick Steves readers on day-trips.

Trying to reconcile the many different viewpoints that have sat in his passenger seat, Pepo quizzes me about the presidential race. (“So what’s your take on that Bernie Sanders?”) Turns out Pepo listens to NPR at breakfast and reads the New York Times. He may be better informed about American politics than some of his American clients. And yet, he explains that he enjoys just listening to the opinions of his clients, without sharing his own, or passing judgement. “You’re very wise,” I say. “I’m not wise!” he shoots back. “I’ve just talked to a million people.” (But isn’t that the same thing?)

Pepo took up arms to defend his hometown during the siege of Dubrovnik in the 1990s. Years ago, he drove me to the abandoned, half-destroyed fortress high on the hill above town. He showed me the Saturday Night Fever -style, light-up disco floor from the time when this was a popular nightspot. And then, as a grotesque contrast, he took me to the rooftop and told me about his experience during the war: trying to hold onto this fortress with just a few other local boys — knowing that the whole town was counting on them to weather the shells and bullets and preserve Dubrovnik’s freedom.

On this trip, when I update his details for the book, Pepo suggests that maybe it’s time to retire his description as “a veteran of the recent war.” He says that people just aren’t that focused on the war anymore, and — while he’s still happy to share his experiences with curious travelers — he wouldn’t mind moving on, too. (I see this as a very positive change.)

I ask Pepo why it is that, in Dubrovnik more than anywhere else in Croatia — and maybe in all of Europe — I find it so easy to build connections with people. He thinks it’s a product of their unique history. Like Venice, Dubrovnik was an independent city-state. Unlike Venice, it was almost completely surrounded by potentially hostile Ottomans. The community of Dubrovnik became adept at welcoming outsiders and building positive relationships. With this approach, trade increased and tributes decreased. Then, as their town was blown to bits during the war in the 1990s, people though they’d never have visitors here again. So, as throughout their history, they’ve worked hard to be good ambassadors for their city. And it has paid off.

“It’s too bad that so many people come to Dubrovnik in a hurry,” I say. “Cruise passengers in town for just a few hours will probably never see that intimate, community side of Dubrovnik that I get to enjoy so much.”

“Not necessarily,” Pepo says. “People in Dubrovnik want to connect. But they have to see that you want it, too. If you’re rushing through town, they’ll get out of your way. But if they notice you relaxing, lingering, and enjoying, they’ll want to join you. It is possible.”

Based on my experience, Pepo is right on. So this is our challenge to you: If you’re going to Dubrovnik, even for just a few hours, make a point to slow down. Linger. Nurse a coffee. Sit on the church steps. Be open to the people. And you might just make a new friend.

Game of Thrones Gossip in Dubrovnik

Warning: Potential spoilers, unsubstantiated gossip, and rampant speculation ahead!

The big scandal in Dubrovnik this fall is that Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen won’t be coming back. After several years of shooting in Croatia, Game of Thrones just dropped the bomb that they’re shooting elsewhere in 2015. According to HBO, the change is “based on story and location needs.” In other words, Croatia, it’s not you — it’s me. My Dubrovnik friends tell me that the mayor’s official statement had the tone of a regretful dumpee. (“If you ever decide to come back, we promise we’ll do whatever it take to make it work!”)

Whether or not it’s truly over, or they’re just on a break, Dubrovnik has really enjoyed its affair with Game of Thrones . For years, locals have been excitedly telling me about their brushes with GoT : Seeing Peter Dinklage, in full Tyrion Lannister regalia, strolling down the main street. Or sitting down for dinner at a neighborhood konoba and spotting Joffrey at the next table. One of my Dubrovnik friends was an extra — dressed as a blink-or-you’ll-miss-him nobleman at a royal wedding.

I’ve only recently caught up on the show. And while I enjoy disentangling the mythology (not to mention the dragons), I’ve gotten a particular kick out of seeing places I know well as the backdrops for mystical lands.

For example, most of “King’s Landing” has been filmed in and around Dubrovnik’s walled Old City.

The real-life Fort of St. Lawrence looks over a pleasant cove that becomes Blackwater Bay.

For die-hard GoT geeks, here are more specifics: Trsteno Arboretum is where Sansa Stark had many heart-to-hearts with Olenna and Margaery Tyrell. The eventful royal wedding of Joffrey and Margaery was filmed in Dubrovnik’s Gradac park. The epic duel between Oberyn Martell and The Mountain was filmed at the amphitheater below Hotel Belvedere, facing Dubrovnik’s Old Port. The Qarth garden party was shot on the island of Lokrum, and the tower where Daenerys’ dragons were held captive after that party was Minčeta Tower, the biggest in Dubrovnik’s City Walls. And one character was humiliated by being forced to walk naked through town, beginning at the top of the grand staircase below the Jesuit Church (which I now can’t stop thinking of as the “Steps of Shame! Shame! Shame!”).

Speaking of that scene, locals told me that the entire route of that walk (which traversed basically the entire town center of Dubrovnik) was walled off with high privacy fences. And in this vertical town, that meant that locals who were caught unawares might have to circle up a steep stepped lane, then all the way around town, just to cross the street. But one elderly woman, a local fixture famous for her incredibly slow gait, reached the fence and asked very kindly if she might be able to take a shortcut. The crew took pity on her, halted production, opened the gate…and proceeded to hemorrhage money as they watched her take several excruciating minutes to hobble through the middle of their set.

Locals have mixed feelings about all Dubrovnik’s Game of Thrones connection (and resulting tourism bonanza). They worry that the Hollywood magic is overshadowing the real-life majesty of their town, and that it will draw people here for “the wrong reasons.” I guess my philosophy is that if dragons and duels are what it takes to lure people to a gorgeous town like Dubrovnik — which they’ll certainly enjoy in all its glory once they’re here — then where’s the harm in that?

What’s even more painful about the Game of Thrones snub this year is that Dubrovnik has only just started to exploit its Hollywood connection. When I was here a couple of years ago, I wondered why nobody was doing GoT tours. Now there are at least three companies offering daily walking tours of movie locations, and even a GoT sunset cruise that provides you with costumes to dress up as characters on board. These days, every shop in Dubrovnik sells “officially licensed merchandise,” and one has even imported a replica of the Iron Throne. If you buy an overpriced souvenir, you can take a picture of yourself seated as the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. (The cheapest trinket I saw was a $6 lighter or refrigerator magnet, making that one expensive photo op.)

As Game of Thrones’ fame continues to build, I’m sure, so will Dubrovnik’s GoT cottage industry…whether or not they ever film here again.

Rick Steves’ Europe: Walking Dubrovnik’s city…

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Rick steves’ europe: walking dubrovnik’s city walls.

Jostled by the crowds, I walk toward the still-stout medieval wall encircling Dubrovnik, deservedly known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” It’s an unforgettable mile-long stroll above the city. While constructed over many centuries, today’s impressive fortifications date from the 1400s, when they were beefed up to defend against the Ottoman Turks.

I jockey my way between cruise-excursion groups that have descended upon the town (these days about 800,000 cruisers stop here each year) and climb the steep steps to the top of the mighty wall. As I begin a slow, circular walk around the fortified perimeter, I’m bombarded with ever-changing views. On one side is a sea of red rooftops; on the other side, the actual sea.

As I approach the wall’s formidable gate — the walled city’s front door — I pause to enjoy a sweeping view of the Stradun, the 300-yard-long promenade that runs through the heart of the Old Town. In the Middle Ages, merchants lined this drag; before that, it was a canal. Today, it’s the city’s pedestrian boulevard: an Old World shopping mall by day and sprawling cocktail party after dark.

Farther along on my rampart ramble, I look down and see a peaceful stone terrace perched above the sea, clinging like a barnacle to the outside of the city wall. Generously shaded by white umbrellas, this is my favorite Dubrovnik escape, a rustic outdoor tavern called Bu a. The name means “hole in the wall” — and that’s exactly what customers have to climb through to get there. Filled with mellow bartenders and tourists, Bu a comes with castaway views and Frank Sinatra ambience. (When the sun sets, I get a special joy watching the cruise ships — whose thousands of passengers congested the city just a couple hours earlier — sail into the golden horizon.)

Looking inland from my rampart perch, my eyes fall on a random arrangement of bright-and-dark-toned red roof tiles. In this complex and once-troubled corner of Europe, even a tranquil stroll comes with a poignant history lesson. After Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the Yugoslav National Army laid siege to this town and lobbed mortars from the hilltop above. Today, the new, brighter-colored tiles mark houses that were hit and have been rebuilt. At a glance, it’s clear that more than two-thirds of the Old Town’s buildings suffered bomb damage.

Locals are often willing to talk openly about the bombing, offering a rare opportunity to grasp the realities of war from a survivor’s perspective. As I survey the rooftops, my thoughts turn to Pero, my B&B host, who spent years after the war turning the bombed-out remains of his Old Town home into a fine guesthouse.

When I arrived last night, Pero uncorked a bottle of orahovica, the local walnut liqueur. Hoping to write that evening with a clear head, I tried to refuse the drink. But this is a Slavic land. Remembering times when new friends force-fed me vodka in Russia, I knew turning Pero down was hopeless. My host had made this hooch himself, with green walnuts. As he slugged down a shot, he handed me a glass, wheezing, “Walnut grappa — it recovers your energy.”

Pero reached under the counter and held up the mangled tail of a mortar shell, describing how the gorgeous stone and knotty wood building he grew up in suffered a direct hit in the siege. He put the mortar in my hands. Just as I don’t enjoy holding a gun, I didn’t enjoy touching the twisted remains of that mortar. Pero explained that he gets a monthly retirement check for being wounded in the war, but he got bored and didn’t want to live on the tiny government stipend, so he went to work rebuilding his guesthouse.

I asked Pero to hold up the mortar for a photograph. As he held up the mortar, he smiled. I didn’t want him to smile, but that’s what he did. He seemed determined to smile — as if it signified a personal victory over the destruction the mortar had wrought.

It’s impressive how people can weather tragedy, rebuild, and move on. In spite of the terrors of war just a couple of decades ago, life here is once again very good — and, as far as Pero is concerned, filled with promise.

Rick Steves ( www.ricksteves.com ) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, For the Love of Europe. You can email Rick at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook.

(c)2020 Rick Steves.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Best of the Adriatic in 14 Days Tour

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• Visit the colorful riverside market, the playfully Art Nouveau Dragon Bridge, and the town's lively main square dedicated to Slovenia's greatest poet, France Prešeren.
• Enjoy the architectural adventures of native born architect Jože Plečnik along the way.
• The outdoor cafés along the river, and maybe hike up to the castle to enjoy the city view.
• Visit the Slovenia's Julian Alps brings us to the azure jewel of Lake Bled.
• Enjoy a local-style lunch together, sampling the tasty prsut (prosciutto), and award-winning wines.
• Experience the idyllic forests, travertine stone cliffs, clear blue lakes and gushing waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes National Park.
• View the medieval Stećci tombstones that dot the fields and learn about the town's tumultuous past.

What's this trip about?

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Travel themes.

• Hiking & Walking
• National Parks
• Nature & Wildlife

Destinations

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

Attractions

• Diocletian's Palace
• Hvar Island
• Korcula Island
• Plitvice Lakes National park
• St. Martin's Cathedral
• Historic sightseeing
• Land expedition
• River cruise
• Wine Tasting

Trip includes

• A small, friendly group of 24–28 people — half the size of most tour groups
• Full-time services of a professional Rick Steves guide and local experts who will make the fascinating history, art, and culture of the Adriatic come alive for you
• All tours and admissions — at no extra cost — covering at least 22 group sightseeing events, Ljubljana walking tour, Bled Castle, Kobarid Museum tour, Wine tasting, Pula walking tour, Pula Amphitheater tour, Rovinj visit, Opatija visit, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Split walking tour, Diocletian's Palace tour, Hvar visit, Korčula orientation, Korčula boat cruise, Ston visit, Mostar walking tour, Mostar mosque and Old Bridge, Blagaj visit, Stolac walking tour, Trebinje and Gračanica Monastery visit, Dubrovnik walking tour, Dubrovnik Walls entrance…and more
• All group transportation from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Dubrovnik, Croatia
• 13 nights' accommodations in memorable, centrally located hotels
• All breakfasts and half your dinners
• All tips for guides and driver
• Rick Steves Travel Store credit to use toward guidebooks for your trip
• Guaranteed tour price, locked in the moment you make your deposit
• Optional single supplements — this tour has a limited number of private rooms for solo travelers for an additional fee
• Tour alum discount of $50 for each tour you've taken prior to 2017
• 50% discount on a consulting appointment with our in-house experts to assist with your pre- or post-tour travel plans
• Flexibility should you need to transfer, or cancel/interrupt your tour
• Fine print: You are responsible for the cost of your drinks and free-time sightseeing

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We'll meet at our hotel in the pretty Slovenian capital city of Ljubljana at 4 p.m. After an orientation walk through our neighborhood, we'll enjoy getting acquainted over dinner together at Ljubljana Castle. Sleep in Ljubljana (2 nights). No bus. Walking: light.

After breakfast we'll board a boat bound for the Dalmatian island of Hvar, where you'll have free time to climb atop the fortress and explore the quaint old harbor town, fast becoming a ritzy haunt of Europe's jet-setting class. We'll end our island-hopping day in the more relaxed island town of Korčula, where we'll sleep (2 nights). Boat: 3 hrs. Bus: 1 hr. Walking: moderate.

Today you are free to wander the narrow cobbled streets of Korčula's medieval quarter, poke around its Cathedral of St. Mark, and imagine the tales its Venetian villas could tell. This could also be a fun day to go for a swim, snorkel, or rent a boat. We'll dry off and regroup for a little happy hour boat cruise in the evening. Boat: 1 hr. No bus. Walking: light to strenuous (your choice).

Breakfast is provided, but there are no group activities today. Dubrovnik's airport is just 40 minutes away. From there, you can fly to Zagreb and other European cities. Whatever your plans, your guide will help you get on the right track. Do videnija!

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The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Rick Steves Reviews & Ratings

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Tour operator, rick steves.

Our mission is to inspire, inform and equip Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable and culturally broadening. We value travel as a powerful way to better understand and contribute to the world in which we live. We strive to keep our own travel style, our world outlook and our business practices consistent with these values.

About Rick Steves

Guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves is America's most respected authority on European travel. Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. As an 18-year-old, Rick began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe, which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a staff of 80 full-time, well-travelled employees at his headquarters in Washington state. There he produces more than 50 guidebooks on European travel, America's most popular travel series on public television, a weekly hour-long national public radio show, a weekly syndicated column, and free travel information available through his travel center and website. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful European tour program. Rick Steves lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington. His office window overlooks his old junior high school.

--We research and write European guidebooks, produce a public television series and a public radio show

--We organize and lead energetic tours throughout Europe

--We sell select travel bags, guidebooks, maps, DVDs, and other travelers' supplies

--We offer travel consulting and trip planning services

--We teach do-it-yourself travel seminars

--We provide a wealth of free information about travel in Europe via our Travel Center and Website

--We travel a lot

What we don't do

--We are not travel agents, so we don't book flights, hotels, or rental cars

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Cancellations and refunds: Your tour deposit is 100% refundable for 30 days from the date it is received, unless noted otherwise below. After 30 days your deposit becomes nonrefundable, and will be forfeited should you decide to cancel your reservation. Deposits made 60–90 days before a tour departs become nonrefundable on the final payment due date. If you book a tour less than 60 days before its departure date, the entire tour cost becomes non-refundable after 7 days. 

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