A walled Adriatic old town of marble lanes and terracotta rooftops, with the city walls walk and Game of Thrones backdrops at every turn.
Dubrovnik works best as a 2-day city break. Dubrovnik packs its whole show into one compact marble old town inside intact medieval walls, so you cover it entirely on foot. The walls walk is the headline: a roughly 2km circuit high above the rooftops that you should book and start at opening, because it gets brutally hot and jammed by midday when the cruise ships land. The old town swings from a midday crush to quiet, atmospheric evenings once the day crowds and the ships leave. Save time for the pebble beaches, the green island of Lokrum a short ferry away, and easy Adriatic day trips down the coast. This guide splits two or three days so you see the core without melting in the queues.
Ideal stay
2 days
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Mid budget
130 EUR/day
Airport
Dubrovnik airport sits about 20km southeast of the old town at Cilipi
Four picks that cover the realistic range, from splurge to budget. Prices are low-season starting points; check live rates for your dates.
Special occasions€€€Clifftop five-star · Ploce
A polished five-star on the Ploce cliffs just east of the walls, with a spa, a sea-level bathing terrace and full-frontal views back to the old town, best caught from the Prora bar at sunset. It has hosted royals and film stars since 1913, and the old town is a ten-minute walk along the shore.
from ~340 EUR/night
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Couples€€Boutique inside the walls · Old Town (Stari Grad)
A tiny stone townhouse hotel inside the walls, a few steps off the Stradun, whose rooftop terrace looks straight over the terracotta roofs to the sea. There is no lift and the lanes are all steps, so pack light, but you wake up in the heart of the old town before the day crowds arrive.
from ~190 EUR/night
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Families€€Lapad bay seafront · Lapad
A big modern four-star on the sheltered Lapad bay, with an indoor and outdoor pool and a promenade of restaurants right outside, and a bus or 30-minute walk to the old town. It is the practical, better-value base for families and swimmers who do not need to sleep inside the walls.
from ~135 EUR/night
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Budget€Backpacker hostel · Gruz
A friendly, cheap hostel up the hill near the Gruz ferry port and bus station, with dorms and a couple of private rooms and a terrace. It is a bus ride from the old town, but it is one of the few genuinely affordable beds in an expensive walled city.
from ~35 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
A little history
Dubrovnik spent centuries as the Republic of Ragusa, a small but shrewd maritime city-state that kept its independence by paying tribute to whichever empire was strongest while running a merchant fleet that rivalled Venice. Its stone walls, up to 25 metres high and nearly two kilometres around, were never breached, and the marble-paved Stradun and the Baroque churches inside them were largely rebuilt after a catastrophic earthquake in 1667. The republic ended when Napoleon abolished it in 1808, and the city later joined Yugoslavia and then independent Croatia. Shells damaged the old town during the siege of 1991 to 1992 in the Croatian war of independence, but it was painstakingly restored, and a new wave of fame arrived when it became King's Landing in Game of Thrones.
Dubrovnik is known for
Pick the itinerary that matches your trip. Each one is a full day-by-day plan, not a list of 30 things to squeeze in.
2
days
Two full days is enough for the core of Dubrovnik if you start early and beat the cruise crowds. The old town is tiny and entirely on foot, so the city walls walk, the Stradun, Rector's Palace, the Franciscan monastery and Fort Lovrijenac all fit without a rush, plus the Mount Srd panorama and a swim at Banje.
See the itinerary →
3
days
Three days is the comfortable amount for Dubrovnik: enough for the walled old town plus the islands and a slower pace that a rushed two-day dash cannot fit. The extra day buys you either the green island of Lokrum a short ferry from the harbour, a full-day Elaphiti islands hop from Gruz, or a sea-kayak paddle under the walls, none of which you can cram into forty-eight hours.
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Dubrovnik has a walkable center, so the neighborhood you pick sets the tone of the whole trip.
Old Town (Stari Grad)
First visit
Sleeping inside the walls puts you on the polished marble Stradun with every headline sight, the walls walk and the palaces at your door, and the old town turns quiet and floodlit once the day crowds and cruise ships leave.
Ploce
Romantic
Just east of the walls through the Ploce Gate, this upscale stretch holds the city's grandest hotels on the cliffs above Banje beach, with sea views back to the old town and a five-minute walk to the Stradun.
Lapad
Family
This leafy peninsula northwest of the center is Dubrovnik's resort quarter, with larger hotels, gardens, a pedestrian promenade of restaurants and the sheltered pebble bays of Lapad and Sunset beaches.
Colored months are the sweet spot. Struck-through months come with a warning. Each page covers weather, crowds, prices and what to pack.
Tight budget?
Dubrovnik on a budget: same trip, around 65 EUR a day
Read the budget guide →
Pairs well with
2 days is the sweet spot for Dubrovnik. The old town is tiny and entirely on foot, so the city walls walk, the Stradun, Rector's Palace, the Franciscan monastery and Fort Lovrijenac all fit without a rush, plus the Mount Srd panorama and a swim at Banje
The best months are May, June, September, October. Think twice about July / August: Peak heat, peak prices and peak crowds collide at highs near 29C, with several cruise ships a day emptying into the old town by mid-morning. The Dubrovnik Summer Festival runs open-air theatre, music and dance at venues across the walls from mid-July, but book everything far ahead and expect the Stradun packed at midday.
Dubrovnik sits above the European average. Plan roughly 65 EUR per day on a tight budget, 130 EUR for a comfortable mid-range trip, and 260 EUR and up if you want top hotels and restaurants.
Old Town (Stari Grad) is the safest first-visit base. Sleeping inside the walls puts you on the polished marble Stradun with every headline sight, the walls walk and the palaces at your door, and the old town turns quiet and floodlit once the day crowds and cruise ships leave. It is the most atmospheric base and the priciest, with no cars, so you wheel your luggage over cobbles and up stepped lanes to reach many rooms. Pick it when it is your first visit, time is short and you want to be here for the empty early mornings and late evenings.
Yes. Dubrovnik has a walkable center, so most of a short trip is done on foot. Dubrovnik airport sits about 20km southeast of the old town at Cilipi, so you have a short transfer whichever way you go. The Platanus airport shuttle bus meets arriving flights and runs to the Pile Gate by the old town and on to the main bus station at Gruz in roughly 30 to 40 minutes for around 10 EUR one way, with tickets sold on board or at the desk. A taxi is a fixed fare of about 35 to 40 EUR into town and worth splitting between a group. There is no train and no metro, so it is bus or taxi.
Dubrovnik airport sits about 20km southeast of the old town at Cilipi, so you have a short transfer whichever way you go. The Platanus airport shuttle bus meets arriving flights and runs to the Pile Gate by the old town and on to the main bus station at Gruz in roughly 30 to 40 minutes for around 10 EUR one way, with tickets sold on board or at the desk. A taxi is a fixed fare of about 35 to 40 EUR into town and worth splitting between a group. There is no train and no metro, so it is bus or taxi. It is the cheapest and usually the fastest option.
Dubrovnik is best known for The city walls, Terracotta rooftops, Stradun, Game of Thrones sites, Lokrum island, Adriatic beaches. Dubrovnik spent centuries as the Republic of Ragusa, a small but shrewd maritime city-state that kept its independence by paying tribute to whichever empire was strongest while running a merchant fleet that rivalled Venice.