October 10, 2022 - There are many promoters of destinations in Croatia, all doing their own thing. Meet one of the best in Dubrovnik, Ivan Vukovic, and his magical lens.

Dubrovnik in the international media again, this time on CNN. Someone sent me the link, and I smiled. I didn't even have to guess which name would be featured as the local expert, for I already knew based on past experience.

Ivan Vukovic.

An accomplished tour guide, photographer, world traveller, and plenty of things I know little about, when it comes to the local flavour of international promotion of Dubrovnik, the name of Ivan Vukovic is usually involved. 

One thing I really appreciate about his photography of the Pearl of the Adriatic is how Ivan manages to capture a more less touristy flavour with his shots. He kindly sent me these photos and (his) descriptions to give a little more colour to the magnificent Pearl of the Adriatic. 

And if you are looking for a tour guide with an alternative take on the city,  check out his Dubrovnik Tour Guides site.

Tiramola in the backstreets. Typical laundry line and way of life in the old town.

Blue hour in Dubrovnik. Windy September night on Stradun.

Minceta fortress - standing proud and tall.

The views from there are the best in the sunset for photo enthusiasts.

Lovrjenac fort - Gibraltar of Dubrovnik.

Famous Red Keep in Game of Thones.

Sunrise in Dubrovnik. In case you want to avoid crowds and heat in the high season, just wake up early.

Stradun in early morning. Old town wakes up slowly. Soft light and quietness.

The view from Bogisic park.

St. Ignatius church and Lokrum island in the background.

Stradun - main promenade. Typical example of roman urbanism. Do not be afraid to explore side streets. Beware of stairs and cats :)

Saltwater pool by Banje beach.

Instagrammable hotspot.

March 30, 2021 - After a unique local tourist experience, it's time for fine wine, but what if you only have cryptocurrencies? Say no more. With Ivan Vuković and Sasha Lušić, you can pay for a wine and tourist tour in Dubrovnik with cryptocurrencies.

"Many tourists do not carry cash with them, and people from developed countries do not handle cash at all. Although they have been in circulation for 60 years, cards are still a high-tech thing for us, and we are afraid to embrace the novelties," says Ivan Vuković, a tourist guide of Dubrovnik.

Paying with cryptocurrencies is very simple - you can have a card or a mobile option, which converts all payments into currency. "Simple, contactless - which is important for covid regulations and one more way of paying," says Sasha Lusic, the owner of D'vino wine bar Dubrovnik.

Book a trip and pay with crypto or order your favorite wine and pay for it in the same way - life has become simpler. These two entrepreneurs are also targeting the younger gadget clientele because, as they say, it is sometimes difficult to change the habits of the older clientele.

Ivan and Sasha say the pandemic has given them a chance to reset and turn to slower and more sustainable tourism. "Why not offer something sustainable while letting people know that we follow trends," say these entrepreneurs, adding that cryptocurrencies are gold today.

"Unfortunately, it is easy to be successful in Croatia because people are passive. Sad but true," says Ivan. "Sasha and I are constantly exchanging ideas, thinking, putting things on paper. We are not passive; we follow trends very closely."

After considering the idea, they made a few calls about whether it is possible to charge in that way. When the software engineers confirmed that is possible to do that, they just went for it. Some hotels and gas stations already have this option, but in the circles of wineries and tourist guides, payment in cryptocurrencies does not exist.

Ultimately, they are hoping for a more significant inflow of money, precisely because many people keep their money in various cryptocurrencies. They have to spend the money they earn by trading cryptocurrencies.

"Of course, everything depends on the season, but with this, we are doing a long-term story. Also, we are the first to remember," concludes Ivan.

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August 29, 2020 – In a time when Dubrovnik is usually crawling with tourists, it is tourist guide Ivan Vukovic who thinks that the city needs to be free of the hundreds of tourist groups that stay in the city just for a couple of hours. The movie tours, local insight, and the cross-section of the past with the present – meet Dubrovnik's beloved tourist guide.

Ivan gives tourists a different perspective of the Pearl of the Adriatic. As a traveller himself, he noticed how a lot of destinations offer film tours. And people love it. Besides, as he states, film and series are a medium that does good to the local economy, and it is easy to create marketing from this. Since he started to representing Dubrovnik in a different way back in 2012, this brought him a lot of attention from TV companies and foreign journalists, so through them, he got a lot of marketing, connections, and references. The Austrian national ORF, German RTL Taff, The Times, Telegraph, Zeit, The Economist, Forbes, are just a few big names that featured his work.

“2012 turned my life upside down because this business started. My life was like a spin cycle on a washing machine,” says Ivan, for whom this coronavirus-year is now like a little break.

Many people wanted to discover Dubrovnik through the Game of Thrones stories, but Ivan had to reduce the number of people to 10 per group, in order to give them a quality tour. “Nobody will enjoy the tour when there is a terrible crowd, combined with hot and sweaty weather. This is why it's best to visit Dubrovnik during the winter.”

But besides the places where Star Wars: The Last Jedi was filmed, Ivan gives people a local experience. “I inserted a wanna be Croatian tour to give guests a sense of the city. I introduce them to the locals on the tour and gave them a cross-section of the past with the present,” says Ivan, who always picks a different local person to introduce to tourists.

Those stories include statements that rakija cures everything, that propuh is the silent killer, but coffee in a slow, Dalmatian way is a must. Usually sitting on the stairs with a cigarette between their fingers, elderly locals tell tourists that it was way better before. They say that life inside of the walls with so many apartments is unbearable, even though each of those locals has two apartments themselves.

“With all the overtourism, there were a lot of people selling themselves as a local experience which was not true so I want to somehow correct that with these ideas.”, says Ivan. “The tourists appreciate it and it isn't a tourist trap because they get local tips along the way.”

As the one with many experiences, a knowledge of history, and years of giving people the very best of Dubrovnik, it is safe to say that Ivan is among the people who know this city best. That's why he keeps saying that Dubrovnik is not just the walls around it. “The city is beautiful outside the walls, too. A path to the church on Orsula, a walk on Petka hill, or simply a walk on Kono which still has that Dubrovnik charm of garden architecture. And every corner carries its own story - a historical one or one from childhood.”

Dubrovnik is breathtaking, but it certainly isn't a city to visit for just one day. “This city has that wow effect, those old Dubrovnik captains who sit on the stairs in the shade, drink coffee for hours, read the newspapers and never like the weather forecast. It still has that local verse. Not all is lost,” says Ivan, who would prefer this town without so many cruisers.  

After months of giving himself to tourists, it’s time to pack his things and return to his beloved Africa. “It has somehow become my second home. The African bustle is life, emotion, and survival,” says Ivan, who worked as a humanitarian aid after the ex-Yu conflict with children from Bosnia and Croatia. His mother, who is a teacher, conveyed love to him to help those in need.

After he got a chance to go to Kenya, he developed a depth of emotion for it that words cannot describe. “I was a stranger to the children in the orphanage, and then I became their friend with whom they grew up. During a long period of 7 years, I watched all the struggles those children went through. For us, it’s normal to have the basics like water, electricity, asphalt, education, but that isn't the case for them. And now they have grown into serious people. That's my medal. And I know I will always come back there. And I will always leave them sad and travel back to Croatia with a lump in my throat.”

The number of countries he visited climbs to an incredible 123 in total. Currently, he is planning where to goes next to experience travelling in the coronavirus era, as well. As a fan of the Middle East, the propaganda doesn’t have any influence on him. “Maybe people are telling different stories, but I love the heartiness of those people,” says Ivan, advising everyone to go there and experience the Middle East’s charms.

Besides working as a tourist guide in crowded Dubrovnik and exploring the world, Ivan works as a photographer for the Agence France Presse, an international news agency based in Paris. His photos were also in the Croatia Airlines magazine, as well as those for Transavia and Aer Lingus, on the web for Travel agency Croatian Passenger Club, Laus Travel, and sometimes for foreign agencies such as Topdeck.

Still, one of the photos he lacks is one of the old Dubrovnik captains. They are always a bit grumpy, with grey hair showing under the cap. “They never want to be photographed,” says Ivan, who believes that they're the real spirit of this old town.

This traveller by passion, photographer by love, and tour guide by profession, creates the balance in his life by combining Dubrovnik’s rush and Africa's peace. “It's hard to explain to anyone here that life in Africa takes place on the street and that life isn't worth much there. But the African plateau is where I find peace. It’s a place where I listen to the silence. And I realise how happy I am.”

Check out Ivan Vukovic's amazing photos on his Instagram profile: dubrovnik_tourist_guide. If you want to book his tour, you can do this here.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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