Croatia · Dubrovnik-Neretva
Plan your Dubrovnik trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Old Town (Grad)
Best for first-timers who want the walls at their doorstep, onceSleeping inside the walls means stepping out of your door onto the Stradun, but it comes with nightly noise until late, no vehicle access for luggage, and the steepest prices in the city.
Prijeko Palace
Book a room away from the main lanes; even a few doors off the Stradun cuts the evening noise substantially.
€€€Art Deco Cathedral Apartments by DuHomes
The quieter northeastern corner of the Old Town near the Ploče side, closer to the cathedral than the nightlife.
€€€Ploče
Best for a quiet base within easy walking distanceA cliffside residential strip just east of the walls — a five-to-ten minute walk into the Old Town, sea views from most balconies, and none of the nightly Stradun noise.
Villa Dubrovnik
Look for one with its own sea-access steps; several properties here have direct rock swimming below.
€€€€Villa Green Panorama
This strip has some of the best value-for-view ratio in the city precisely because it isn't inside the walls.
€€€Lapad
Best for value, longer stays, and a taste of local lifeA wooded peninsula fifteen minutes by bus from the Old Town, with its own promenade, family-run guesthouses, casual restaurants that don't cater exclusively to tourists, and proper swimming.
Madonna Guest House
Many of these are genuinely family-operated, with a home-cooked breakfast and better rates than anything comparable in the Old Town.
€€Hotel Vis
Close enough to walk to the beach and the bus stop for the Old Town in the same ten minutes.
€€Babin Kuk
Best for resort comfort and familiesFurther out on the same peninsula as Lapad, more resort in character — bigger hotels, a marina, quieter beaches — best if the Old Town is a day trip rather than a daily habit.
Valamar Argosy Hotel
Expect pools, organised activities and a shuttle or easy bus into town — a genuine holiday base rather than a city stay.
€€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
City Walls (Gradske zidine)
Nearly two kilometres of continuous medieval fortification circling the Old Town, with sea views on one side and a rooftop panorama of terracotta and…
Tip Start at Pile Gate right at opening, around 8am, and walk clockwise for the best light and the smallest crowd.
Stradun
The Old Town's polished limestone main street, running arrow-straight from Pile Gate to the clock tower, flanked by Baroque façades, cafés and the…
Tip See it twice — once in the crowded midday buzz, once after 9pm when the day-trippers have gone and locals reclaim it.
Rector's Palace
The seat of government for the old Republic of Ragusa, a Gothic-Renaissance palace with an elegant arcaded courtyard, now housing the Cultural…
Tip The courtyard alone, with its cool stone arches, is worth ducking into even if you skip the museum inside.
Fort Lovrijenac
A dramatic clifftop fortress just outside the western walls, built to guard the approach from the sea, with a triangular stage that hosts open-air…
Tip The view back toward the Old Town walls from up here is one of the best photo angles in the city — go for sunset.
Mount Srđ cable car
A cable car climbing 412 metres above the Old Town in under four minutes, ending at a summit with a Napoleonic fort, a restaurant, and a full…
Tip It closes in high wind, common on this coast, so don't leave it for your last afternoon in the city.
Lokrum Island
A short ferry ride from the Old Port to a forested nature reserve with a ruined Benedictine monastery, a saltwater lake called the Dead Sea,…
Tip Bring water shoes — the swimming spots are rock and pebble, not sand, and the rocks get hot by midday.
War Photo Limited
A small, unflinching photojournalism gallery a few steps off the Stradun documenting the Croatian War of Independence and conflicts worldwide — a…
Tip Give it thirty focused minutes; it's compact but not a place to rush through.
Buža bars
A pair of cliffside bars built directly into gaps in the seaward city walls, serving drinks on rock ledges above the open Adriatic with nothing but a…
Tip Go for sunset, bring cash, and treat it as a one-time ritual rather than your regular evening spot — service is slow by design.
Day trips from Dubrovnik
Elaphiti Islands
Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, a short boat hop from the Old Port, offer car-free villages, pine forest and quiet beaches — the easiest full escape from…
Day tripKotor, Montenegro
A dramatic fjord-like bay and another walled Venetian old town, about two and a half hours south by road across the border.
Day tripMostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The rebuilt Ottoman-era Stari Most bridge and a old bazaar quarter, roughly three hours inland.
Day tripEverything to do in Dubrovnik
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around
The Old Town itself is entirely pedestrian and small enough to cross in fifteen minutes, so once you're inside the walls you walk, full stop — there is no other option, and none needed.
Flights
Compare fares into Dubrovnik and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Dubrovnik
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.