Hello everyone!! I’m back from my Croatian trip so I’m still feeling a bit jetlagged but grateful to be back home safely. Croatia has been on my bucket list for some time and let’s just say it lives up to the hype!! My hubby and I went to Dubrovnik and Split, with a brief 3-hour day trip to Trogir.
We arrived at Split Airport and took a private transfer by car to Dubrovnik. We stopped at a lookout overlooking the Pelješac Bridge that connects Split and Dubrovnik by crossing the sea channel between the Pelješac peninsula and Komarna on the mainland. The 2.5-km (1.5 miles) cable-stayed bridge was completed in July 2022, which makes for much easier + faster travel between the two parts of the country’s Adriatic coast as there’s no need to cross the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina.
DUBROVNIK
One of the main highlights of our trip is the old town of Dubrovnik where the famous Walls of Dubrovnik, the well-preserved limestone forts that completely surround the city deemed the Pearl of the Adriatic. Below is the view from above the walls, an area called the Stradun (main walkway) as soon as we entered through the Pile Gate, the main entrance to the old city. Game of Thrones fans would likely recognize the spots where the show was filmed, and this area is one of them.
Though there was rain in the forecast, thankfully it didn’t rain during our walk around the walls as I’d think the steep steps could be slippery. We started off on the south side of the walls and was immediately greeted with this sprawling view of Fort Bokar and Minčeta Tower, which is also featured in Game of Thrones (Season 2).
Even though I never watched the popular HBO show, I’ve seen photos of some of the most iconic scenes, such as Cersei’s walk of shame filmed on the Jesuit Staircase that leads to the Jesuit church of St. Ignatius. The steps are always packed with people, so it was tough to even get a shot with relatively few people in the background (good thing we came in the shoulder season!).
Even if you’re not a fan of the show, you really can’t escape it as practically everywhere you look there are shops or street vendors selling GOT merchandise. There’s even an iron throne chair in a couple of the stores, not sure if they’re on sale or not, ahah. Oh you can also order the Wok of Shame dish from Zox Box Food Bar, which is right on the steps, LOL!
Click on each image to see a larger version
Our trip was relatively smooth apart from a couple of snafus – our luggage got delayed in Amsterdam so we had to shop for some clothes for the first couple of days, but at least it wasn’t lost! Then on our return back to Split, our bus broke down right in the middle of the highway, right before the exit to the Pelješac Bridge.
We were stranded for a couple of hours before another bus arrived to take us to our destination. We had lowered our expectations as Flixbus reviews online were terrible, but they still managed to beat that, ahah. It’s definitely the first AND last time we booked with Flixbus!
Flixchatter’s first experience on a Flixbus didn’t go down too well 😀
Dubrovnik was truly a magical experience, not surprised that it’s on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Regardless whether you’re a Game of Thrones fans or not, this historical city is well worth a visit.
Hope you enjoy my travel post. I’ll be back posting reviews again tomorrow, cheers!
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Wow… that place is beautiful. My only interest in going to Croatia is to see its national soccer team as they are among the best in the world.
Ah yes, I see the Croatia soccer jerseys being sold everywhere as well. I hope you get to visit one day, it’s been on my bucket list for ages!
Welcome back, Ruth! Beautiful pictures. I’ve not been to Croatia but my partner has (many years ago) and praised the country’s stunning scenery especially the coastline.
Yeah the coastline is incredible but even the inland scenery is just stunning. So much fascinating history in this country, it’s probably as dramatic as GOT!
The place looks beautiful and I had no idea that most of the scenes in Games of Throne were filmed in this country. I thought they used CGI and shot some scenes in England or Scotland for the exterior scenes of castles and such.
Sucks to hear about your luggage and bus breaking down. That’s the downside of traveling, especially overseas travel.
Besides the usual spots for films like NYC, LA, Bangkok, London, Paris, Chicago, Vegas and San Francisco, I think the only other place that I’ve been to was in Spain. I know some Bond films were shot in Barcelona and Madrid. The last time I was in Spain was way back in 2020 a couple of months before Covid shut down the world. I was in Marbella and Malaga, beautiful cities in the souther part of Spain.
Surely they used tons of CGI on the show but yeah, they filmed a lot of the scenes here and in Ireland I believe, and after seeing the Walls of Dubrovnik in person, I can see why they chose this location.
Yeah, it’s a hassle to have luggage delays and transportation breaking down, but overall it was a very pleasant and fun holiday!
Oooh I’ve never been to Spain, that is on my bucket list! Yeah I think Bond films were often shot in that part of the world.
Sounds like an awesome trip, Flixy. Never watched Game of thrones either but you know I love off-the-set locations so your travelogue post is great.
Hey Becky! I’ve never seen GOT either but it’s such a popular show that I’ve seen some clips/pics of it so I’m familiar with some of the locations.