European Adventure 2025 | Dubrovnik | GCP by Nicole

One of the reasons we chose this cruise was because it stopped at Dubrovnik, Croatia. It’s where my family roots run deep – my Great Grandparents were from there.  And we fell in love with it 15 years ago when we stopped on another cruise there.

We booked a catamaran trip around the fortress to take in the sights from the water. The Old Town walls had definitely been renovated since our last visit. This time, the cruise ship anchored in a port about a 20-minute drive from Old Town. Last time, the ship dropped anchor just outside the walls, and we took a tender in.

After sailing around the Dalmatian coastline, we headed to Copacabana Beach to soak up some sun. The kids had a blast jumping into the Adriatic Sea. I tried to join in, but I chickened out after sticking my toe in the water.

Since our excursion was so early in the morning, we had plenty of time to hop in a cab and head into Old Town. As we entered the walls, a flood of memories from before came flooding back. We remembered so much from our last visit. We walked along the limestone-paved streets and stopped in the shops. And tried to show the kids as much of it as we could.  It was another hot day, so after walking around, we wanted to find the beach we saw from the catamaran. But instead, we found something even better!

I was starting to doubt the maps on my phone when it led us to a small area in the wall that was barely big enough to be a doorway. It led down a stone curved stairway. We came out on a rocky landing area where people were cliff jumping and floating in the sea. It was such a stunning view, and the water was the most gorgeous shade of cobalt blue. My husband and kids jumped in right away, while I watched our stuff. But then I realized I was going to regret it if I didn’t jump in.

Hitting the water was a huge shock to my system, but I’m so glad I did it! We would’ve stayed there for hours if we didn’t need to get back to the ship.  And I’m so glad we found something so fun and memorable for us all to do there.

I think the next time we go out that way, we’ll definitely plan on spending a night or two in Dubrovnik.