Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
My favorite hidden beach—
St. Jakob
—takes a lot longer to reach, but if you're up for
the hike, it's worth it to escape the crowds. Figure about a 25-minute walk (each way) from
the Old Town. Go through the Plo
č
e Gate at the east end of the Old Town, and walk along
the street called Frana Supila as it climbs uphill above the waterfront. At Hotel Argentina,
taketheright(downhill)forkandkeepgoingonVlahaBukovca.Eventuallyyou'llreachthe
small church of St. Jakob. You'll see the beach—in a cozy protected cove—far below. Curl
around behind the church and keep an eye out for stairs going down on the right. Unfortu-
nately, these stairs are effectively unmarked, so it might take some trial and error to find the
rightones.(Ifyoureachtherusted-whitegatewayoftheoldcommunist-eraopen-airtheater,
you've gone too far.) Hike down the very steep stairs to the gentle cove, which has rentable
chairs and a small restaurant for drinks (and a WC). Enjoy the pebbly beach and faraway
views of Dubrovnik's Old Town.
Other, even more distant beaches are worth considering. If you're staying at—or visit-
ing—the resorty zone of
Lapad Bay,
you'll find a fine beach there (near Hotel Kompas).
Locals prefer to swim on
Lokrum Island,
because there are (relatively) fewer tourists
there. While there are no sandy or even pebbly beaches, there are several rocky ones, with
ladders to lower yourself gingerly into the water. As the rocks here can be particularly
