This Coastal City Is Europe’s Safest Destination This Year

Sadly, not all of Europe is not the peaceable, affluent continent we as soon as knew.

As vacationers have realized in recent times, generally the exhausting manner, stepping out at night time in poorly-lit areas, or carrying worthwhile items of jewellery can generally value you dearly, if not your bodily integrity, and increasingly, sure European cities are intently resembling the underdeveloped International South.

Happily for the risk-adverse vacationers, there are at all times exceptions to the rule.

Sure, most Western hubs have ‘fallen’, as some want to say, however there’s one unspoiled gem in Europe’s usually-overlooked Southeast that sees virtually no violent crime, and the place even petty theft is rare:

A Medieval Metropolis Lining The Adriatic

In case you are unfamiliar with Dubrovnik, it is a small city dwelling to round 41,000 residents, encircled by well-preserved medieval partitions, lining the turquoise Adriatic Sea.

It is primarily recognized for its postcard Previous City, a maze of cobbled lanes lined with ocher-colored buildings, dwelling to a Gothic Rector’s Palace and a Baroque St. Blaise Church, seaside bars perched on cliffsides, on the foot of centuries-old fortifications, and an historical attract.

Really, it is no marvel HBO picked it out because the backdrop for exterior ‘King’s Touchdown’ sequences of their blockbuster Sport of Thrones and Home of the Dragon exhibits.

Regardless of its surging reputation in recent times and the insane ranges of overtourism, primarily because of the GoT-led, jet-setting pattern, Dubrovnik has not seen the rising criminality noticed in different European hubs.

Dubrovnik Is The Least-Harmful European Metropolis Right now

In accordance a brand new research performed by Riviera Travel, a U.Okay. primarily based tour operator, which ranked the top-rated cities in Europe primarily based on their security ranges, the least harmful main vacation spot, with the least quantity of crime, is Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Positioned on the southern coast of the Balkan nation, the sunny getaway scored an general security rating of 44.14 out of 100. The decrease the rating, the safer a metropolis is.

For comparability, Munich, a a lot bigger, more and more unsafe metropolis in Germany, has an general rating of 73.74. If you break it down into classes, Dubrovnik’s ‘Crime Degree Rating’ is a mere 8.76.

The second-best-performing metropolis on this class is Tallinn, the quaint capital of Estonia, and it nonetheless scores 18.96. You get the gist: this Croatian hotspot is as secure as may be, however what explains it?

Why Is Dubrovnik So Secure Regardless of Being So Touristy?

Dubrovnik is not precisely a giant metropolis, so the obvious factor to notice is that, effectively, crime will not exist right here in the identical diploma it does in sprawling conurbations like London or Paris.

There are three primary elements: the fairytale-like walled middle, the trendy developments that flank it alongside the coast, encompassing a few of the largest motels and a majority of guesthouses, and additional afield, satellite tv for pc villages a part of the broader county.

All of that is wedged between rugged mountains and the ocean, making it so much simpler to police and far more durable for organized crime to agency roots there. On this regard, geography performs a key function:

Dubronvik is ‘remoted’ from the remainder of Croatia, and up till just lately, you truly needed to cross a tiny stretch of Bosnia and Herzegovina to get there. Because of the newly-opened Pelješac Bridge, that is not crucial, however the ambiance of self-sufficiency stays.

Restricted Ranges Of Unlawful Immigration

There is not any discussing Dubronvik’s spectacular ranges of security, even within the face of mass tourism, with out addressing Croatia’s zero-tolerance method to unlawful migration.

Not like international locations like the UK, France, Italy, or Greece, which were coping with uncontrolled ranges of undocumented arrivals in recent times, and in flip, have seen their sense of public safety deteriorate, Croatia is on the reverse finish of that.

Strolling round Dubrovnik, you are unlikely to see tents within the neighborhood of bus terminals or by the ferry port, tough sleepers roaming the streets at night time, and even beggars and road distributors are uncommon to come back throughout.

That is as a result of, typically, Croatia is just not perceived as a rustic as prosperous as its Western European counterparts, and the welfare system is strictly reserved to contributors, discouraging unfettered immigration.

In 2024, throughout your complete nation, authorities intercepted just under 22,000 irregular entries, and that was already a 60% lower in comparison with the previous 12 months.

Croatia As A Complete Is A Degree 1 Vacation spot

Final however definitely not least, the U.S. Division of State agrees Croatia is one of many least-risky European international locations for American vacationers.

In their very own classification, it is a Degree 1 vacation spot, which means Individuals would not have to excessively fear about their well-being whereas in Dubrovnik, or some other standard Croatian seaside escape. As authorities have put it, you are free to ‘train regular precautions’.

Alongside international locations like Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Iceland, and Norway, this makes Croatia one of many most secure locations for vacationers throughout the pond.

Successfully, if you happen to’re sensible about it, you would not precisely go away your telephones on desk tops whereas eating alfresco, nor your baggage unattended on the seaside as you go for a swim. Given the slim crime charges, likelihood is you are belongings will not be snatched, however you simply by no means know.

Vinicius Costa

Vini, our senior lead author at Journey Off Path, has over 60+ international locations underneath his belt (and presently weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative tales that may have you ever packing your baggage.