Konavle villages and the Sokol Grad fortress
Konavle fills the last corner of Croatia, a fertile valley squeezed between the coast and the hills on the border. From the airport road you only see its edge. Turn inland and you are among fields, stone houses and village churches.
We drive from Cavtat through the valley to Sokol Grad, with a long lunch by a mill stream on the way.
At a glance
- Route
- Cavtat – Čilipi – Ljuta – Sokol Grad
- Pick-up
- Your accommodation in Dubrovnik or Cavtat
- Duration
- 5 h
- Price from
- €331 per vehicle
- Vehicles
- Mercedes-Benz V-Class, up to 7 passengers (luggage checked for full groups)
Sokol Grad 
Čilipi
The plan
Čilipi
Konavle's main village, known for its church square and the region's embroidered folk costume, still worn at the Sunday folklore show in summer.
Ljuta
A short, fast river springs from the hillside here. Its old mills have been turned into restaurants, and you eat with the water rushing past.
Sokol Grad
A fortress grown out of a crag, once watching over the frontier. Climb up for a small exhibition and the widest view of the valley.
Good to know
Sokol Grad means steep steps and rough ground, so sturdy shoes help. Entry is paid at the gate.
Other day trips
-
Konavle wine and family estates
A slow day among the vineyards of the far south, with tastings at small estates.
-
Trsteno, Slano and Ston
A Renaissance garden, a sheltered bay for a swim and the walls of Ston.
-
Ston, Mali Ston and the first Pelješac cellars
Walls and oysters before lunch, red wine after it.
-
Pelješac from end to end
The full wine road, from Ston to the steep Dingač slopes and Orebić.
-
Ston and the Neretva delta
Salt pans in the morning, river channels and mandarin groves in the afternoon.
-
Kravice waterfalls and Mostar
A swim below the falls and an afternoon at the Old Bridge.
Photos: Konavle: Modzzak, Public domain; Sokol Grad: Miroslav.vajdic, CC BY-SA 4.0; Čilipi: Luka Krstulović, CC BY-SA 2.5
