13 Days in the Balkans (+ Slovenia)

Day 1

Took a 13 hour flight from Anchorage, Alaska and landed around 1pm. Took a bus to the old town and stayed in Dubrovnik at a great hostel. Explored the old city a bit until the hostel had a sunset watching event on the beach. I swam until it was dark; the water was so salty it took no effort to float.

Day 2-3

Walked around the old city in the morning before the crowds are there. Using the map I hit most of the big spots in town before spending the afternoon walking all the way into Dubrovnik and eating lunch there (much cheaper than in the old city). There are a few free walking tours that are a good way to get familiar with the city as well, so I took one of those. I climbed the mountain next to Dubrovnik for some exercise as there clearly weren't enough steps in the city already. One of the highlights of these days was meeting a guy from Portugal and spending a couple hours cliff jumping at the "Budva Bar," which is a bar built on a cliff through a hole in the city wall. I didn't drink, just jumped and swam.

Day 4

Looking back, I probably should have left earlier to the next city or taken a day trip to Kotor or Hvar as I got pretty bored in the city, but this was my first trip outside of the country and I didn't know how to plan perfectly.