Croatia & Bosnia

Dubrovnik

The Old Town, a mountaintop sunset & a day trip to Bosnia · 8 must-see spots

The trip

A walled city, a mountaintop sunset, and a border crossing.

Dubrovnik completely won us over. It's a super cool, historic walled city right on the Adriatic — and yes, Game of Thrones was filmed here, which was awesome to see in person (King's Landing is real, and you can walk it). The highlight of the whole trip was taking the cable car up Mount Srđ and watching one of the most incredible sunsets we've ever seen over the sea. We also took a day tour across the border into Bosnia to see Mostar and its famous bridge, plus the Kravica Waterfalls — it was amazing. We went in May and the weather was perfect. Here's everything, split into the city and the Bosnia day trip. We visited in May 2025.

Part one

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Melody on the mountainside with an arm raised as the sun sets over the islands below Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik · The highlight01

Sunset from Mount Srđ

📍 Mount Srđ · reached by the Dubrovnik cable car

This was the moment of the whole trip. Take the cable car up Mount Srđ (or drive the switchbacks) and you're rewarded with a sweeping view over the Old Town, the islands and the open Adriatic — and at golden hour it turns into one of the most incredible sunsets we've ever seen. Go up about an hour before sunset to get your spot, take it all in, and stay for the colours after the sun drops. There's a clip of it further down that still doesn't do it justice.

Take the cable carArrive before sunset

Melody sitting on the rocks of Mount Srđ with the Adriatic and Lokrum island behind at dusk

Us on the grassy top of Mount Srđ with Dubrovnik's Old Town far below by the sea

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The Mount Srđ viewpoints

📍 Along the ridge & trails on Mount Srđ

Even before sunset, the top of Srđ is worth it just for the daytime views — the whole terracotta Old Town spread out below with Lokrum island floating just offshore. There are little rocky ledges and grassy spots all along the ridge that make for unreal photos, and it's much quieter than the city down below. This is the postcard shot of Dubrovnik, and it's earned.

Old Town from aboveQuiet up top

The polished limestone Stradun of Dubrovnik's Old Town glowing gold in the evening light

Dubrovnik · The heart of it03

The Old Town & the Stradun

📍 Stradun (Placa) · the Old Town, within the walls

Inside the walls, the Stradun is the main marble-paved street, polished smooth over centuries and glowing gold when the evening light hits it. The whole Old Town is a warren of stone lanes, little squares, churches and cafés — and if you love Game of Thrones, you'll recognise it everywhere as King's Landing. We just wandered for hours; if you'd rather have the history and the filming spots pointed out, a guided walk is well worth it.

King's Landing IRLGo at golden hour

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Discover Dubrovnik: Old Town Guided Walking Tour

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Dubrovnik's massive stone city walls and a round fort rising straight out of the sea cliffs

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The city walls & Game of Thrones

📍 Dubrovnik city walls · & Lokrum island offshore

The medieval walls wrap the entire Old Town and rise straight out of the sea on huge stone cliffs — walking the full loop gives you constant views over the rooftops and the Adriatic. Seeing the real filming locations from the show up close was a highlight for us. For the full experience you can join a Game of Thrones tour that walks you scene by scene, with the option to add Lokrum island (the Qarth of the show).

Walk the full loopAdd Lokrum island

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Dubrovnik: Epic Game of Thrones Tour with Lokrum Island Option

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Andrew sitting on a rock high above Dubrovnik's Old Town and harbour in warm evening light

Dubrovnik · On the water05

Sea kayaking under the walls

📍 Below the Old Town walls & around Lokrum

The clearest, bluest water sits right at the base of those walls, and getting out on it is one of the best ways to see the city from a totally different angle. Sea-kayaking and snorkelling tours paddle beneath the fortifications and around Lokrum, and the sunset versions time it so you're on the water as the light goes golden. If you want one active, on-the-water afternoon, this is the one we'd book.

Bluest water in the citySunset option

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Dubrovnik: Sea Kayaking & Snorkelling Guided Day & Sunset Tours

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Part two

A day trip into Bosnia

One of the best decisions of the trip was a full-day tour that crosses the border into Bosnia & Herzegovina — to the storybook town of Mostar and the wide, tiered Kravica Waterfalls. It's a long but incredible day, and going with a tour means the driving, the border crossing and the timing are all handled for you.

The single stone arch of Mostar's Old Bridge over the turquoise Neretva river, old town and green mountain behind

Us standing on the rocks by the river directly under Mostar's Old Bridge

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Mostar & the Old Bridge

📍 Stari Most · Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Mostar is unreal — a storybook Ottoman town built around the Stari Most, a single soaring stone arch over the impossibly turquoise Neretva river (you'll often catch local divers leaping from the top). The cobbled old town around it is full of coppersmiths, cafés and little bridges, with a green mountain rising behind. It's touristy and busy in the middle of the day, but genuinely one of the prettiest places we've ever seen — well worth the border crossing.

Turquoise riverWatch the bridge divers

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From Dubrovnik: Mostar & Kravica Waterfalls One-Day Tour

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Us on the pebble shore in front of the wide curtain of the Kravica Waterfalls

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The Kravica Waterfalls

📍 Kravica (Kravice) Falls · near Ljubuški, Bosnia

The other half of the Bosnia day is Kravica — a wide, horseshoe-shaped curtain of waterfalls tumbling into a big emerald swimming pool. In the warmer months you can actually swim right in it, and even in May it was a stunning, cooling stop with the mist coming off the falls. The water is that same unreal green as the river in Mostar. Bring swimwear if you go in summer.

You can swim hereEmerald pool

Melody sitting on the riverbank framed by the arch of Mostar's Old Bridge

The stone bridge-tower and tiled rooftops of Mostar's old town packed with visitors

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The drive & the Pelješac Bridge

📍 The coastal road · Pelješac Bridge, Croatia

The journey itself is part of the day. The coastal drive north hugs the Adriatic, and you cross the striking modern Pelješac Bridge — a great photo stop with the sea and islands stretched out behind it. Between the border crossing, the bridge, Mostar and Kravica, it's a full day out, but every leg of it gave us something worth photographing. Doing it on the tour above meant we could just look out the window and enjoy it.

Scenic coastal drivePhoto stop at the bridge

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