Holidays to Cavtat

Cavtat is built around a U-shaped Bay, protected to each side by a wooded peninsula. The old town centres on a seafront promenade lined with bars, restaurants and small shops, not forgetting some majestic palm trees. Sailors love this spot and there are always some stylish yachts and motor craft moored here. Famous BBC television reporter Martin Bell, OBE has a soft spot for Cavtat and it was his favourite place for a few days off when reporting from the Balkan conflict almost 30 years ago.

About Cavtat he said “there is more than a touch of Saint Tropez about it. Away from the bustle of Dubrovnik yet close enough to visit, Cavtat is utterly charming”.

The famous realist painter Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922) was born here. There’s a statue to him on the waterfront and his birthplace is now home to the Vlaho Bukovac Gallery. Whether he was the inspiration for painters, who knows, for there are a number of small art studios and galleries in the streets behind the seafront “Riva”.

The impressive Racic Mausoleum (made from the famous white stone from the island of Brac) was designed by Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (who trained in Paris with Rodin). It stands on the highest point of the town’s cemetery and is well worth the walk up there via a lovely winding path through the woods. The views are superb and the mausoleum has some interesting items. Open in summer usually 1000-1200 and 1800-2000.

Another famous person to have lived in Cavtat was Tino Pattiera, a Croatian Dalmatian-Italian tenor opera singer who was born here. He died in Cavtat in 1966 and is buried there. One of the hotels we feature, the charming Hotel Villa Pattiera, was once his home.

Beaches in Cavtat are a mix of small pebble and stone decks located to the east of the town near the large hotels or at at the northern end of the Riva near the church of Our Lady of the Snow.

The sea water around Cavtat is especially crystal clear and this is a good area for snorkelling and diving due to the number of Roman amphorae on the seabed and portions of old wrecks.

Cavtat makes a really good choice as a base for exploring the Dubrovnik Riviera and the tradition of the inland Konavle Valley nearby – and famous Dubrovnik itself yet in a more relaxed location. There are some excellent fish restaurants here.

Did you know?

• Cavtat was founded by ancient Greeks from the island of Issa (Vis in Croatian) and the settlement was originally called Epidauros. In 228 BC it was taken by the Romans.
• During the Balkan conflict, Cavtat was occupied for one year from October 1991 by the invading Yugoslav Peoples’ Army. There was minimal damage in Cavtat mostly restricted to hotel ruination. It is interesting that Dubrovnik, under 30 minutes away, was never occupied.
• Although Dubrovnik airport is around a 10-minute transfer away (making for very easy arrival and departure,) the nature of landing and take offs means that Cavtat is rarely troubled by excessive aircraft noise.