Questions about Dubrovnik

We will be on the Viking Star for the Empires of the Mediterranean cruise and will stop in Dubrovnik from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on May 18. Four of us are traveling together and trying to determine the best use of our brief time in this lovely port. We are considering the included tour that Viking provides. If anyone has taken this tour, do you meet your guide at the ship or do you have to take the Viking shuttle to the gates of Dubrovnik and meet up there? The tour description sounds like you take a bus ride to "an overlook", which I'm wondering is at the top of Mt Srd (where the cable car goes). If the answer to these questions is "yes", then we're considering doing the first part of the tour and then taking the cable car back down and walking the walls on our own. If I haven't totally confused everyone, I'd appreciate any information on the tours in DUB. Thanks!

We did that same itinerary last April on Star. It was a wonderful cruise. We did the include excursion in Dubrovnik. We traveled by bus to a scenic overlook, with a brief stop to get out and take photos. This was not at the cable car station. I honestly can't remember if our guide was with us on the bus, though I think so.

We entered Dubrovnik through the Pile Gate with our guide. We stayed with the guide through the entire tour, but let her know we were staying on our own and would use the free Viking shuttle to return to the ship.

I had used Google maps to familiarize myself with the layout, and we finished with the group very close to the second of the two entrances to the walls. We bought our own tickets to walk the walls, using our credit card. It was a strenuous, but fabulous experience. Even while up on the wall, there are many steps, and I gave up at the halfway point and returned to ground level, while my husband completed the route. We had time for a nice lunch in a local restaurant before taking the shuttle back to the ship.

We were in port that day from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. We were on the included tour from 8:45 until 12:15. I was extremely pleased with how everything worked out that day.

Thanks very much for this info!!

In addition to all the sights mentioned in the description of the included walking tour, our guide also took us in to a small memorial to all the people, mostly young men, who died in the Croatian War of Independence from 1991 to 1995. She spoke about that time in Dubrovink. It was very moving to see their photos. I do not know if all the guides include that visit.

She also made sure to take us to the steps made famous by the "walk of shame" in HBO's Game of Thrones. It really was a great day.

Thanks very much for this info!!

We did the Mediterranean Odyssey two years ago. There was a stop in Dubrovnik. We LOVED it. If you are a fan of GOT, then you will recognize several locations in Dubrovnik (walk of shame, etc). Need to walk the wall - it is about a mile around but gives an interesting view of the town. Note the color of the roofs - all are red but some are a different shade. The brighter roofs are those that were damaged and replaced during the war. It is also a location of the last Star Wars movie (we were there when the set was up). Walk thru the town and enjoy. It was pouring rain when we were there so we walked the wall, went back to the ship to change and then went back into town on the shuttle. Enjoy your trip.

Dubrovnik was a great stop, we did the included tour which was a guided walk through the old part of the city, had a drink, stayed in town, shopped and took shuttle back to the ship.