Dubrovnik is a magical city to visit.  Wandering around its wonderful old city walls and baroque architecture, with countless views of the beautiful Adriatic, is just so special.  If you ever get an opportunity to visit, don’t miss it!

Of course, like all stunningly beautiful places, Dubrovnik can get very crowded, especially in the height of summer and when cruise ships and numerous coach tours arrive.

But if, like us, you don’t like busy places, don’t be put off. There are several lovely islands close to the city, and when you have had enough of the crowds you can join a boat trip to one or more of the islands or nearby coast.  Then you can enjoy Dubrovnik in the evenings when the tours have left.  Perfect!

There are many trips available.  Just wander around the Old Town port and you will see numerous boards with details of times and prices.  Here are some that we really enjoyed.

Lokrum

Lokrum is only a 15 minute ferry trip away from Dubrovnik.  There are very regular sailings in the height of summer, so it will probably get quite busy then. But when we visited (in October), it was wonderfully quiet.

Lokrum island is a Special Reserve of Forest Vegetation.  It contains diverse plant communities of both natural and human origin.  Landscaped gardens and many beautiful trees make it a lovely place to stroll around on a hot day.

There are discovery paths on the island and you can walk through gardens, forest habitats and the remains of the Benedictine monastery that once existed here.  And of course you can explore the rugged unspoiled coastline (though be aware some areas are for naturalists – indicated by FKK signs).

Elaphiti Islands

The Elaphiti (or Elafiti) Islands are a small archipelago just northwest of Dubrovnik in the Adriatic Sea.  There are a range of tours available to visit some of the islands – see for example Viator.

We went on a full day three island cruise, which included pickups from Dubrovnik hotels and lunch.  It was a really great day, and we highly recommend it.  The tour visited Kolocep, Sipan and Lopud islands, and there was time for a stroll or a swim on each one.  They were all beautiful, and the views of the islands from the boat, and of Dubrovnik itself, were wonderful.

Outskirts of Dubrovnik

Cavtat

Cavtat is a small town around 10 miles south of Dubrovnik.  There are regular buses, but we think it is much nicer to go by boat – look out for boards with details of times and prices at the Old Town port.

Cavtat is a very pretty place, and a resort in its own right.  We thought that the boat trip along the coast followed by a wander and lunch in one of the waterside restaurants made a great day out.  We walked to the tip of the headland in the picture below for a most enjoyable stroll.

If you want to visit a wonderful, historic city, but also fancy some relaxing trips to beautiful, sleepy islands, you really can’t beat Dubrovnik.

Practicalities

There are regular flights to Dubrovnik.  To see what is available from your local airport try using Skyscanner.

A regular airport shuttle bus meets all scheduled flights.  You buy tickets on the bus, and the journey takes around 30-40 mins.  You can be dropped off at the western entrance to the Old Town, or at Dubrovnik’s main bus station if you are staying outside the Old Town.

There is a huge range of accommodation available in Dubrovnik.  To search for suitable options see this page at booking.com.

For guide books we recommend The Eyewitness Top 10 Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian Coast and the Lonely Planet Guide to Croatia.   Also very useful is the Insights Guide Flexi Map Dubrovnik.

For a large range of excursions in and around Dubrovnik see Viator.

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