This is a concept that we will likely never gain a full appreciation for.
We have been fortunate to be able to travel all over the world to amazing locations and Croatia is now at the top of our list. The country offers a unique combination of diverse geography in close proximity, perfect weather, picturesque natural beauty, history, culture, and amazing amenities with surprising affordability.
With the popularity of the Game of Thrones series and the country serving as the filming location for many parts of the show, the explosion of tourism has created a wealth of top tier restaurants, hotels and service amenities, convenient and developed infrastructure that is very easy to navigate where English is spoken everywhere.
Take all of this opportunity and put it into an environment where, literally, no one is there!
Seriously, we were shocked as to how empty Old Town Dubrovnik was and, while traveling in a group of 15 people, never had to wait for a table at any restaurant we went to.
We had 8 children in our party between the ages of 9 and 15 and we had no reservation with them walking to and through the Old Town from our hotel accommodations (about a mile away) and never felt unsafe regardless of the hour of the day. We were welcomed and appreciated by all the local people (patrons and merchants) that we interacted with.