The city of Dubrovnik may not have the status of Paris or Rome, but it should. Dubrovnik is a city surrounded by large castle walls; houses built tightly around one another, little side streets with cobbled streets, shops and restaurants abound with souvenirs or food, and crystal clear water with a bright emerald hue. More recently, Dubrovnik is known as the location for much of the Game of Thrones filming. The city is something out of a story book. Unfortunately, storybook settings are also usually very expensive. Accommodation at a hostel alone in Dubrovnik is around €35 if you’re lucky; to put this in perspective, hostels don’t usually run more than €15. If you are eating anything other than a burger or pizza, you will be paying somewhere between €10-25 for food. Do not worry though, because I have a solution for any traveler en route to Dubrovnik.
Compara & Miramare Apartments are located approximately 10 minutes by bus from the Old Town of Dubrovnik. It is an area called Lapad, and the bus stop is a two minute walk from the apartments. There are a slew of places to eat, and for fairly reasonable prices. This particular area of Dubrovnik also has a walking path (~5km), plenty of places to lounge by the water (with stairs for easy access), and some well-developed little beaches.
A local Croatian family owns the property, which is complete with trees giving rise to pomegranates, apples, and limes. They have parking if you are coming by car and the neighborhood was extremely safe. The owners would always say hello as we entered or left, and were attentive in case we ever needed anything. Stepping inside the apartments you will notice the cleanliness and spaciousness immediately. The apartment comes complete with kitchen, bathroom, living room, master bedroom with a massive amount of closet space, and a balcony which overlooks a local soccer stadium. The kitchen was fully stocked and even had a complimentary carton of juice inside the fridge.
As I mentioned earlier, accommodation and food is expensive in Dubrovnik. Every traveler will warn you of this in advance, and I am doing the same. Eating out is expensive and that's why we were ecstatic to have a kitchen. We were able to prepare breakfast and dinner in the excellent kitchen of our Miramare II Apartment.
Another aspect of the Campara & Miramare Apartments worth mentioning is the quietness of the neighborhood. Dubrovnik is somewhat of a rowdy place for the younger crowds at night and is said to get a bit loud; for this reason, it is also recommended that you stay outside of Dubrovnik’s Old Town. You will thank me later when you decided to stay on the outskirts unless, of course, partying is your thing.
Overall, Campara & Miramare Apartments captured my heart much like the city of Dubrovnik. I love family run apartments, and I especially love them when they are owned by such lovely people. I have stayed in a vast amount of apartments throughout my journeys, and I can say this was one of the best. You really won't be doing yourself any favors by staying anywhere else when visiting Dubrovnik.
**Special thanks to Campara & Miramare Apartments for kindly offering me a complimentary stay. As always, all opinions are my own.
