Lost in the Crowd in Dubrovnik

We had been to Dubrovnik once before, about 15 years ago, and it was around the same time of year. Maybe our minds forget the things we don't want to remember, but I don't remember it being anywhere near this crowded last time.

And this wasn't even high season.

Our day started with a city bus into the Old Town, and it was standing room only. By the time we arrived, we had already had our first taste of what the day was going to be like. There were people everywhere, and from the moment we entered the Old Town, we were fighting the crowds.

Our first stop was the city walls. We walked the entire way around, which should have been a wonderful opportunity to take in the views and enjoy the history of this incredibly well-preserved medieval city. It was, except that we were constantly trying to get around people.

Every time someone stopped to take a photo, a line of people would quickly form behind them. We found ourselves doing the same thing, looking for a spot where we could stop without becoming part of the traffic jam. With all of us together, we were also constantly keeping track of who was still with us. At various points, we seemed to spend as much time looking for each other as we did looking at Dubrovnik.

By lunchtime, we took the advice of a tour guide and headed down one of the secondary streets to find somewhere to eat. We did manage to find a quiet little alley, and for a moment it felt like we had escaped the crowds.

Almost.

Even there, people streamed past our table throughout the entire meal. Apparently, there are no truly quiet corners in Dubrovnik these days.

After lunch, we wandered through the Old Town, taking in the churches, palaces and beautiful old buildings. Dubrovnik really is an amazing place. The fact that so much of the medieval city has been preserved makes it fascinating to walk through, even when you're sharing every street and square with hundreds of other people.

And despite the crowds, we did enjoy ourselves. We saw the sights we had come to see, spent the day together and made some wonderful memories.

One of those memories will probably be our ride back to the ship. The local bus was so packed with people that they were having trouble getting the front door closed.

At that point, we could only laugh.

We came to Dubrovnik to see the beautiful old city. We did see it. We just spent a good part of the day making sure we could still see each other too.

A little afterthought...

If you’re wondering about those wonderfully empty photos of Dubrovnik, I have a confession to make. Dubrovnik was definitely not that empty!

For a bit of fun, I used ChatGPT to remove the people from a few of my photos so I could show you what I wish Dubrovnik had looked like. The original photos are right beside them, so you can see the reality for yourself.

I think the comparison tells the story pretty well!