Mlini, Plat, Cavtat, Croatia

The Dubrovnik Riviera

It's a beautiful ride along the coast even if you don't stop, but I suggest you drive into several of the towns along the Dubrovnik Riviera to get a glimpse of Croatian coastal life. Don't expect to easily see the entry roads to these little villages. We sometimes missed the road and had to backtrack, and more than once we drove down a private drive thinking we were entering the village. Even though this is a highly popular tourist area, it isn't completely friendly to traffic at this point in history. In some ways, this adds to its charm.

These are a few of the villages we found interesting...

The view from our window at Villa Ana

Mlini

Just a few miles past Dubrovnik, Milna is a small, quiet harbor town. It has a long promenade along the shore with restaurants, coffee shops, rooms for rent and a pebble beach. It's a good place to stay while you tour the Dubrovnik Riviera if you want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the popular Dubrovnik. You can still drive into Dubrovnik which is only a few miles away or take one of the frequent ferries or buses. Many people do this so they can return to a quieter village in the evenings or spend the day at the quieter Mlini beach. But in the height of tourist season (July and August) Mlini will also be full of tourists.

Villa Ana Apartments

We came into town, inquired about apartments and were referred to the Restaurant Laterna where the owner showed us a room above the restaurant. It was 40 euros, clean and modern with fridge, satellite TV and a view of the harbor through a large shuttered window. He also had apartments with kitchen available if you want to cook. Our host, Ivo Masar and his wife were very helpful and friendly. You can email them at ivo.masar1@du.htnet.hr.

Restaurant Laterna

Also owned by Ivo Masar, we enjoyed this restaurant as well as any in Croatia. I had a huge piece of breaded Chicken breast stuffed with cheese and ham accompanied with really good French fries for 65 kuna (approx. $13) and my husband had the mixed grill (grilled chicken breast, pork cutlet, ground beef patty, and sausage link with fries) for 90 kuna (approx. $18). We sat on the patio, protected on two sides, but open to the front so we could enjoy the harbor and the cool breeze.

Internet Café

Next door to the Konoba Restaurant is an internet café that charges approximately $4 an hour for internet use. Internet is not as widely available in Croatia as in America, so few of the rooms we rented had internet included. However, it is usually included at the nicer hotels.

Plat

We heard that the plat beach was nice, so we made our way down the steep narrow roads to find it. I think the area might have been a former communist resort (usually austere places where the common man vacationed) and in June it was ghostly quiet. I don't think it was the most beautiful area I've ever seen, but we sat on the pebble beach and admired the smooth stones, sunshine and clear turquoise water. The WC (toilet) near the beach was exceptionally clean for that type of area.

Cavtat

Cavtat (pronounced Savtat) is the largest city near Dubrovnik and is popular with tourists. It has a nice harbor area with promenade and a number of restaurants and cafes from which to choose. There is convenient parking (10 kuna/hour) near the walking area and lots of little shops with jewelry and other typical souvenirs. The harbor has some interesting buildings surrounding it. One government office is housed in an old building with picturesque arches that sits right on the water (see the picture above).

Peco 2 Bakery and Café

We opted to save money and ate light that afternoon at the Peco 2 bakery and café with indoor and patio seating. My husband and I shared two large meat filled pastries: One was called a Burek with minced hamburger meat (meso) and cheese (sir). I’m not sure if there was any cabbage in it, but it had the flavor of a kraut burger—quite good with meat throughout it's long coils of dough. We also tried a Ruza with ham and cheese (sunkal, sir) and found it OK but quite bready with little meat or cheese--not as filling. These pastries cost 15 kuna (less than $3) each and because we ordered at the counter we got a .5 liter coke for 15 kuna. (I noticed later on the menu that a .25 liter coke was 15 kuna, so this may be the size served if you order at the table). They heated our pastries and served them on plates and gave us glasses with ice for our coke. One woman on the patio was enjoying a big gooey baklava which also looked good, but we were too full to try it.

The church on the harbor in Cavtat

Caffe Bar Piccolo

This café, like many near it, has a great view of the harbor. I ordered an "XL cappuccino" for 12 kuna ($2.50) and it was about the size of a regular American cup of coffee. But the foam milk on it was especially good. My husband ordered a strawberry sundae (called “Jagoda”) for 25 kuna ($5) and he really enjoyed it.