Holiday brochures often refer to the "Dubrovnik Riviera" without clearly outlining where this Riviera is, and how far it might stretch. Most of what is termed the Dubrovnik Riviera for the ease of English-speakers unaccustomed to local terminology is in fact the Župa Dubrovačka, the broad bay that begins 5km southeast of town and stretches almost all the way to Cavtat.

Župa Dubrovačka literally means "Dubrovnik Parish", a reference to the string of villages along the coast here who were subject to Dubrovnik's church authorities in the middle ages (and on reflection "Dubrovnik Parish" sounds a lot more charming than "Dubrovnik Riviera", but never mind). As an area of lush greenery and seaside walks, it represents a refreshing alternative to the bustle of Dubrovnik itself.

The thing that attracted travellers to this neck of the woods was the string of shingle beaches that run along Župa's shore. It was earmarked as a place for tourist development in the years before World War I, when Czechs - eager to find a place that was near to Dubrovnik but which also had fresh air and bathing facilities -  began exploring the possibilities of renting rooms with local people or opening their own B&Bs. The broad shallow bay of Srebreno at the northwestern end of Župa was the ideal spot for sea-bathing, and it was the Czechs who arranged the beach facilities and built the first small hotels.

In 1921 a Czech-owned consortium opened one of the Adriatic's first-ever self-contained resort hotels at Kupari, immediately east of Srebreno, transforming Župa into a major holiday destination for those looking for sun, sea, sophistication, and a measure of rural peace to go with it. It's a winning formula which the ever-popular Župa still provides.

Today's visitor to the Župa usually arrives first at Srebreno, the part that's nearest to Dubrovnik by road and also home to significant facilities - there's a new shopping centre, a spanking new Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera hotel, and a string of popular cafes on the shoreline promenade.

A detour west and around the nearby headland takes you to Kupari, site of a sweeping shingle beach that's arguably the best in the area. However it is backed by a scene of complete desolation. The resort here, built by the Czechs and then taken over by the Yugoslav army as a hotel complex for military personnel, is a total ruin. Beloved of photographers in search of poignant piles of rubble, the site has been earmarked for development, although nobody knows when it might start.

Following the shoreline path southeast from Srebrno helps you realize what a good place for a family holiday Župa can be. There are more stretches of beach, and a sloping wooded park which incorporates some outdoor fitness equipment and a children's playground made from what look like random pieces of timber but which is actually landscaped to constitute an interesting adventure area.

There's another line of cafes, most famous of which is Gusar ("Pirate"), home to a prolific local waterpolo club and filled with memories of their many triumphs.

It is here that Srebreno gradually fades into Mlini, a village named after the water mills that can still be seen, driven by streams that race down the mountainside and emerge right on the beach. There's also a famously huge plane tree, planted in 1742, whose huge limb-like branches look as if they are about to jump into life, rather like an ancient forest spirit from the pages of JRR Tolkein.

Not far beyond is the Hotel Mlini, a long.standing tourist favourite rebuilt in the early 2000s and now looking like a row of futuristic pods. Mlini's pride and joy is the Hotel Astarea, a jutting, geometric structure set among sloping green lawns, spearing cypresses, and a scattering of seaside bungalows. There's another expansive shingle beach in front of the hotel, overlooked by the terrace of the Oleandar café and restaurant.

Walking from Mlini to the next village along, Soline, involves following a path wins its way upwards behind the Astarea hotel and continues along the hillside-hugging road high above the coast. However you might consider a detour along an overgrown coastal path to Beterina, an abandoned villa semi-hidden among tall grasses and shrubs. Built by Dubrovnik nobles to serve as a summer-house and garden estate, it was earmarked for tourist development after World War II but was never used, and is now a total ruin. According to local lore, it is haunted by the ghosts of its former inhabitants. There are secluded and slightly unkempt nudist beaches on either side of the villa; mostly of rock and large stones.

Characterized by individual houses and apartments surrounded by gardens, Soline is quite rustic in comparison with Mlini, with fields and olive groves running all the way down to the sea. Stairways tunnel their way beneath arched shrubs to Soline's shoreline, which features a small pebble beach and also several rocky stretches of shore. There's little in the way of restaurants or cafés, but lots of private apartments for rent, making Soline is the perfect place for an intimate, self-contained, self-catering holiday. There is no shoreline path at Soline and if you want to continue your walk southeastward, you need to follow the minor road that runs along the hillside just underneath the main coastal road.

The last settlement, Plat, is slightly isolated from the rest, lying just across the fields from Soline. A mixture of village and resort, it has a blissful sweep of shingle beach.  With a modern hotel and apartment settlement, it has the feel of a secluded holiday haven, far from the summer frenzy of Dubrovnik and Cavtat.

More information can be found at the Župa Dubrovačka tourist office site: www.dubrovnik-riviera.hr