Tours and Split and Dubrovnik restaurant reservations

In Dubrovnik try Gradska Kavana Arsenal restaurant. You can sit on the stradun (Main Street) side and people watch or walk through to the pier side and look out onto the water. Kupon is good too. There is also Kamenice which is on the main square near the market. More casual. Taj Mahal has Bosnian food but many dishes are also considered Croatian.
For something really special, make a reservation for Panorama Restaurant and Bar at the top of Mt. Srd. You can make a reservation. Then I would email or call them and ask for a table with a view of the old town and time it for sunset. It is very expensive by Croatian standards, NY prices, but a beautiful view and special experience. And the food is very good. Just make sure you go up early, there can be a line for the cable car, so you aren’t late. There are viewing decks and a small museum up there.

For a guide email [email protected]. Tell him you are from RS forum.

In Split we love Fife which is just past the Riva (Main Street) near a church. Also, the Peristal Hotel has a lovely outdoor restaurant on their patio. You can also eat inside. It’s called Tiffany Restaurant. We always stay here when visiting. They are located just inside the walls of the palace, not far from the church. Enter through the golden gate.

For a guide I have 2 recommendations, both great
Mate Perajica has a website privatedriverguideincroatia.com. His website has multi day trips but they also do day guiding. Don’t be put off by this. His email is [email protected]. He has cars and guides available.
Pero Ugarković at [email protected] is another guide we have used. Also mention RS Forum or Barbara from Brooklyn. FYI, he doesn’t have a car.

I mention the car because Trogir is an island not far from Split which is nice to visit. Pero would use public transportation, which is fine, part of being a local.

For swimming I would do that in Dubrovnik. Personally, I don’t like the beach in Split. But they do have blue caves nearby where my daughter has swam.

You may want to contact Petar Vlasic. I'm not sure if he conducts tours of the walls, but if not he may be able to recommend a colleague who does. https://www.dubrovnikrivieratours.com/ As far as restaurants, I would avoid Zuzori at all costs. Horrendous service and mediocre food. How they ever earned a Michelin star rating is a mystery.

Barbara - Thanks for the tip about heading to Panorama early because of a potential lineup for the cable car. We have a reservation at 18:00 in September. Any thoughts on how early we should get to the cable car?
Thanks!

Thank you all for your input! Super helpful! Cheers! Rachel