King's landing: Croatia's Game of Thrones country has holiday homes from £135,000

Even if you’ve never visited Croatia’s beautiful medieval port city of Dubrovnik you may recognise it as the setting for TV’s cult fantasy drama Game of Thrones.

The Old Town, with its terracotta roofs and baroque architecture became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979 but its international fame was sealed when it doubled as King’s Landing in the epic medieval-style saga.

The crowds that come to take selfies on Jesuit Staircase (the infamous “walk of shame” stone steps, from Game of Thrones Season Five) or Ploče Gate (aka Red Keep Gate) are matched by tourists and cruise ship passengers who come to walk the ramparts or catch a cable car up to Mount Srd for the best views over the Adriatic Sea.

Dubrovnik airport welcomed two million people last year but the number of cruise ship passengers has escalated so steeply that city authorities have pledged to halve the size of the crowds allowed into the Old Town next year.

Tourism accounts for 30 per cent of Croatia’s GDP and arrivals countrywide have risen every year since 2011, up from 18.5 million in 2016 to 20 million last year.

“Dubrovnik is well known as a sophisticated destination,” says Kieran Kelleher of Savills associates Dream Estates Croatia.

“It has a good infrastructure and is orderly and well regulated. Croatia joined the EU in 2013 which made property purchasing more straightforward for buyers.”

Kelleher says that a shortage of hotel rooms in the city means rental yields of seven to eight per cent are possible and investors are eyeing the market carefully.

“Supply is poor and demand for villas, especially ones over £446,500, is good,” he says. “Prices rose on average 10 per cent last year.”

The Convenient Option

Only 10 minutes from the airport, Cavtat is a beautiful medieval port town on a wooded peninsula where open-air bars and restaurants surround the yacht-filled marina.

Ten years ago British and Irish buyers invested heavily there but prices fell by half in the recession and have been slow to recover.

Cavtat has a shorter annual rental season than Dubrovnik, 100 days on average compared with 200 days in Dubrovnik’s Old Town, and property prices are on average 20 per cent lower.

In a quiet cul-de-sac high above the water with wonderful sea views, an English builder from Bromley is selling five apartments in a fully renovated building.

Two-bedroom apartments of 580sq ft are priced at £135,000 and a three-bedroom apartment with a small garden is just £171,000.

The Central Option

Away from the Old Town, Dubrovnik property prices peak in the smart residential area of Lapad Bay. Dream Estates Croatia has a fully furnished modern two-bedroom apartment with parking in a building directly overlooking the bay for £532,000.

In the centre of Lapad five minutes’ walk from wide Sunset Beach, attractive two- and three-bedroom apartments in a low-level complex start from £360,000 for 904sq ft. These would rent for around £225 a night in high season. There are shops, restaurants and a cinema on site and underground parking spaces are £13,500.

The Island Option

One of Dubrovnik’s few sandy beaches is on the island of Lopud, 15 minutes from the mainland by private transfer.

Quiet, car-free and super-small at less than two miles square, with a population under 200, Lopud has the popular four-star hotel Lafodia Sea Resort, some winning waterfront restaurants, small stone houses, clear seas and very little else.

“You’ll pay around £248,000 for a two-bedroom terrace house and £541,000 for a three-bedroom house and pool,” says Vedrana Kelleher of Dream Estates Croatia.

“Being directly by the water generally adds 30 to 40 per cent to the price.”

A land plot with permission for a substantial five-bedroom villa is £496,000. The Lafodia has plans to build three- and four-bedroom villas, fully serviced by the hotel, priced from £451,000.

Dream Estates Croatia: through savills.com (020 7016 3740)

Lafodia Hotel: lafodiahotel.com