Dubrovnik Bucket List
You can walk on centuries-old walls and look down to one side – crimson rooftops huddling together and to the other – the Adriatic, so glimmering it blinds you.
Why Dubrovnik belongs on your bucket list
Let’s get straight to the point: what that postcard says is actually true! Dubrovnik is exactly as you would imagine from a postcard. The Old Town iconic walls (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979) is a medieval maritime republic that once rivaled Venice, and today “walking the walls” is in the top three things you can do in all of Europe. Of course, it’s also the filming location for King’s Landing in Game of Thrones, but it’s been epic for centuries before that. You’ll find seaside bars hidden in the cliffs of the Old Town. You’ll take ferries to the idyllic islands. You’ll eat Adriatic seafood that was caught that very morning. You’ll drink Croatian wine that no one else in the world knows about. All of this, two days to see. One week to experience.
When to go
The most ideal months for a Dubrovnik visit are May, June, and September. The water is warm enough for swimming, the days are long and sunny – perfect for walking the walls, and you won’t have to fight your way through the cruise ship day-tripping masses in the Old Town. They really are the best months. July and August are insane – there can be more than 10,000 visitors a day, and the streets within the walls are physically too narrow to take it. The city even started monitoring crowd sizes and closing the gates when numbers get too high. If you can, stick to the shoulder months. Prices are lower, water is at its warmest, and the wine harvest across the region is in full swing – particularly late September.
Must-visit places in Dubrovnik
City Walls Walk
You can enjoy a leisurely walk along the 1,940 meters long top of the medieval walls which are six meters thick in places. The views are magnificent and constantly changing with terracotta roofs on one side and the open Adriatic on the other. The harbor pops up and down around corners. It will take approximately 90 minutes if you take your time. There is a café right in the middle where you will be glad to have a cold drink. It is recommended to go either in the early morning or late afternoon. The sun at noon is extremely strong and the cruise ship hordes mass up there.
Mount Srd Cable Car
Ride a cable car to the top of the 415-meter peak and experience the best panoramic view in the Mediterranean. You'll see the walled city, the Elaphite Islands, even, in season, the mountains of Bosnia and Montenegro beyond. It's a roughly four-minute ride to the top, where you'll also find a snack bar and a war museum (with a room of mirrors to lest someone inadvertently aim a sniper's rifle at the view).The museum is a good background reality check for a destination that seems surreal.
Stradun
A three hundred meter long street of polished limestone made mirror-like from footsteps. At night, buildings and street lamps light the street so the entire street becomes a light stream. The evening promenade, with locals and tourists walking back and forth, has been taking place here since the days of the republic of Ragusa. Nobody told them to do so. They just do.
Lokrum Island
A ferry departing from the Old Port will have you on a car-free island covered with thick Mediterranean scrub in just 15 minutes. Swim in a small saltwater lake, the Dead Sea, or check out the ruins of a Benedictine monastery, where peacocks strut around the gardens. If you can’t stand the tourist crush in the Old Town one second longer, swimming spots abound all along the coast. Steer clear of the concrete plateaux and join the locals diving off the rocks.
Fort Lovrijenac
Located on a 37-meter cliff just outside the city’s western walls, the bar with quite possibly the best views of the Old Town also serves as a stage for Shakespeare plays (with the sea as a stage) during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. Game of Thrones fans, meanwhile, won’t hear any words, just waves; this is the Red Keep. The sign above the door, though, trumps all: “Freedom is not sold for all the gold in the world.”
Buza Bar
To locate this bar, search for a minuscule “Cold Drinks” placard on a walled terrace in the Old Town. Gain access to it through an unmarked entrance in the 13th-century city ramparts. Then, edge-of-the-world sensation: nothing other than the Adriatic Sea beneath and a sheer rock face. Natives scramble down the dilapidated ladders for a swim. No menu. No allure. Just cold, inexpensive beer and perhaps the most magnificent sunset in Europe. The pleasure comes from believing you likely trespassed.
Old Town Harbor
You can find excursion boats and fishing boats docking together in the harbor on the east side of the Old Town; a series of casual eateries places tables directly on the water and patrons can often choose the boat from which their fish was hauled.ferries depart the harbor for Lokrum and the Elaphite Islands, and the cobbled quays are bathed in the golden light of early evening. It’s the ideal time for a harborside coffee. The 14th-century Revelin Fortress adds to the drama.
Sea Kayaking
Observing the walls while being on the ground is a unique experience in general. You are kayaking at the foot of those walls and you are looking at something you walked across the day before and it kind of all falls into place. Most of the tours are in the morning, you kayak along the coast, under the walls of the fortress and then you stop at a cave beach and Lokrum for swimming. It’s the most interactive way to experience Dubrovnik and probably the thing you’ll remember the most about the holiday.
Nautika Restaurant
Situated at the entrance of the Old Town, by the Pile Gate, with a commanding view over Fort Lovrijenac and the sea, this is the most unforgettable fancy restaurant in Dubrovnik. It's expensive, but the sunset view from the terrace is worth every kuna. Adriatic seafood is prepared with a Croatian and Mediterranean flourish and the wine list concentrates all-too-rarely-spotted bottles from the Peljesac Peninsula. Surrender to the terrace. It's magic.
D'Vino Wine Bar
Relax in a cozy, intimate setting with stone walls in the Old Town and taste Plavac Mali, Posip, and Dingac wines from the Peljesac Peninsula and the islands near-by -- 99.9 percent of people outside of Croatia have never tried them. Enjoy some tasty local cheese and cured meats. Then proceed to the next venue, an easy five-minute walk away. You leave with the feeling you've unlocked a secret wine region. It's just a shame you can't purchase these wines abroad.
Dubrovnik insider tips
- Cruise ship timing: Before you plan your day, look at the harbor schedule at dubrovnik-travel.com. When cruise ships are in, the Old Town is a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd from 10 AM to 4 PM. Wall walks and Stradun: early morning or evening only.
- Remain outside the walls: Staying in the Old Town of Dubrovnik might be a romantic thought but it’s noisy and overly expensive. Lapad, Gruz, and Ploce are a short bus ride away, cheaper, and actually have a real sea view.
- Swimming: Beach access is restricted around the Old Town. Banje Beach is the nearest but you have to pay for a sunbed. If you walk further east past the Lazareti barracks you'll find rocky spots. Or hop on a ferry to Lokrum Island.
- Day trips: You can visit Montenegro's Kotor Bay and Mostar in Bosnia in one day. The Elaphite Islands, which are Lopud, Sipan, Kolocep, are only a 30-minute ferry ride with tranquil beaches, no cars, and a world away feeling.
- Currency: Starting from 2023. You can pay with cards in all tourist areas.
- Game of Thrones: Sure, perhaps investigate one walking tour, but after that just let reality be. It has 1.400 years of actual history and it’s far more interesting than the one that’s made up.
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