Day Trips from Dubrovnik

Three car-free islands just northwest of Dubrovnik, each with its own character. Kolocep is lush and intimate with a sandy beach. Lopud is the most popular, home to the stunning Sunj sandy beach. Sipan is the largest and most rural, with olive groves and old stone villages.

Croatia's premier wine peninsula is now easily accessible via the new Peljesac Bridge. Visit the steep Dingac and Postup vineyards for world-class Plavac Mali red wine, sample oysters and mussels farmed in Mali Ston Bay, and walk the remarkable medieval walls of Ston — the second longest fortification walls in the world.

One of Croatia's most beautiful national parks covers the western third of Mljet island. Two interconnected saltwater lakes surrounded by dense pine forests create an otherworldly atmosphere. In the middle of the larger lake sits a tiny island with a 12th-century Benedictine monastery.

Cross the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina to visit Mostar's famous Stari Most (Old Bridge), a UNESCO World Heritage site rebuilt after the 1990s war. The old bazaar area is filled with coppersmith shops, mosques, and traditional restaurants serving Bosnian cuisine.

The dramatic Bay of Kotor is often compared to a fjord. The medieval walled town of Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Venetian architecture, while tiny Perast offers baroque palaces and boat trips to the Our Lady of the Rocks island church.

A charming coastal town just south of Dubrovnik, Cavtat has a relaxed atmosphere, a beautiful harbour promenade, and far fewer crowds. It was founded as the Greek colony of Epidaurum and later gave rise to Dubrovnik when refugees fled here. Visit the Racic Mausoleum, swim at nearby beaches, and enjoy an unhurried seafood lunch.