Dubrovnik Bucket List
Walk on top of medieval walls. Peer in one direction – terracotta roofs jammed together. Peer in the other – the Adriatic, bright enough to damage your retinas. Dubrovnik is small enough to see in two days and interesting enough to discuss for years.
Why Dubrovnik belongs on your bucket list
I'll get right to it: the postcard isn't lying. Dubrovnik really does look like that. The walled Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is a medieval city-state that once was the equal of Venice at sea, and walking along its walls is one of the top three experiences in all of Europe. Dubrovnik was made famous by Game of Thrones (King's Landing was filmed there), but it's been a marvel for centuries before that. Cliffside bars hidden deep within the walls of the Old Town. Taking ferries to nearby islands. Eating seafood caught in the Adriatic that morning. Croatian wine that the rest of the world hasn't yet discovered. Two days is enough to see the highlights. A week will uncover the secrets.
When to go
May, June, and September. Warm enough to swim, bright enough to walk along the walls, and you won't be shoulder-to-shoulder with the cruise ship crowds in the Old Town. July and August are absolute madness – tens of thousands of day-trippers flood in, and the narrow streets can't handle the crowds. The city has put in place crowd controls, but visiting during shoulder season is the way to go. September is my favorite – warmest water, lowest prices, and the local wine harvest is in full swing.
Must-visit places in Dubrovnik
City Walls Walk
This is what you have to do. 1,940 meters around the top of the medieval walls. Some parts are six meters thick. The views are constantly changing – terracotta roofs on one side, open Adriatic on the other, the harbor popping up and down around corners. Takes about 90 minutes if you don't hurry. There's a cafe halfway around, right where you want a cold drink. Do it early morning or late afternoon. Sun at noon up there is brutal, and the cruise ship tourists are relentless.
Mount Srd Cable Car
Four minutes in a cable car, and you're gazing down at the whole walled city, the Elaphite Islands scattered across the Adriatic, and on a clear day, the mountains of Bosnia and Montenegro in the distance. This is the iconic Dubrovnik view. The war museum at the top chronicles the 1991 siege – a humbling reminder that this gorgeous place was almost lost in living memory. Do it at sunset.
Stradun
Three hundred meters of highly polished limestone, worn to a mirror sheen by the passage of countless feet. At night, it shines with the light of the buildings and streetlights, and the whole street becomes one long river of light. The evening stroll – locals and tourists walking back and forth – has been going on here since the Republic of Ragusa. Nobody told them to keep doing it. They just do.
Lokrum Island
Fifteen minutes by ferry from the Old Port and you're on a car-free island smothered in thick Mediterranean forest. Swim in the small saltwater lake they call the Dead Sea. Explore the ruins of a Benedictine monastery. Peacocks – real peacocks – strut through the gardens and couldn't give a hoot about you. It's the ultimate half-day getaway when the Old Town gets too much. Rocky swimming spots line the entire coast.
Fort Lovrijenac
Located on a 37-meter cliff just beyond the western walls, to keep Venice and the rest of the world out. The bar offers you one of the best views of the Old Town, and during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Shakespeare plays here, with the Adriatic Sea as a backdrop. It's also where Game of Thrones fans recognize the Red Keep. But the sign above the entrance beats any TV show: "Freedom is not sold for all the gold in the world."
Buza Bar
You locate it by spotting a small "Cold Drinks" sign on a wall in the Old Town. You enter through an unmarked door in the city walls. And then, cliffside, Adriatic Sea spread out before you, nothing but a steep rock face and some makeshift ladders used by locals to swim to the sea. No drink menu. No attitude. Just cold beer and one of the best sunset views in Europe. Half the fun is that it's like you're not supposed to be there.
Old Town Harbor
Fishing boats lined up alongside excursion boats on the eastern side of the Old Town. Eateries dish out the day's catch on tables right on the waterfront — you can point to the boat your fish came off. It's where you take ferries to Lokrum and the Elaphite Islands. In the evening, the harbor is bathed in golden light, and even a cup of coffee at one of the waterfront tables is like a scene from a movie. The 14th-century Revelin Fortress provides the backdrop.
Sea Kayaking
Being able to see the walls from ground level is a different experience altogether. You're kayaking along the foot of these giant walls, and you're looking up at something you hiked across the day before, and it puts everything into perspective. Most tours happen early in the morning; you kayak along the coast, past Buza Bar, under the walls of the fortress, and then stop at a cave beach and Lokrum for swimming. It's the most engaging way to experience Dubrovnik and probably what you'll remember longest about the trip.
Nautika Restaurant
Right at the start of the Old Town, just beside the Pile Gate, with Fort Lovrijenac and the open sea in front of you. It's Dubrovnik's best fine dining experience, and the view of the sunset from the terrace is worth every penny. The food is Adriatic seafood, done in the style of Croatian and Mediterranean cuisine, and the wine list is deeply, deeply invested in the underappreciated vineyards of the Peljesac Peninsula. Book the terrace. Trust me, you won't regret it.
D'Vino Wine Bar
Quiet alleyway in the Old Town, stone walls, and the staff actually know what they're talking about. They'll take you through flights of Plavac Mali, Posip, and Dingac wines from the Peljesac Peninsula and the nearby islands, which are wines that 99.9 percent of people outside of Croatia have never tasted. Pair them with some local cheese and cured meats. You'll leave having discovered a new wine region that you never knew existed, and you'll be kicking yourself for not being able to get these wines back home.
Dubrovnik insider tips
- Cruise ship timing: Check the harbor schedule at dubrovnik-travel.com before organizing your day. Cruise ship days make the Old Town a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd from 10 AM to 4 PM. Wall walks and Stradun: early morning or evening only.
- Remain outside the walls: Sleeping in the Old Town of Dubrovnik is a tempting idea, but it's noisy and pricey. Lapad, Gruz, and Ploce are all accessible by bus in a short ride, with better prices and real sea views.
- Swimming: There is limited beach access around the Old Town. Banje Beach is the closest option, but it costs money for sunbeds. Continue east past the Lazareti for free rocky areas, or take a ferry to Lokrum.
- Day trips: Montenegro's Kotor Bay and Mostar in Bosnia are both possible in one day. The Elaphite Islands (Lopud, Sipan, Kolocep) are a 30-minute ferry ride away, with peaceful beaches, no cars, and a completely different atmosphere.
- Currency: Euro since 2023. Cards are accepted everywhere in the tourist zones. Easy peasy.
- Game of Thrones: Take one walking tour if you are a fan. After that, just let the city be itself. It has 1,400 years of real history, which is much more fascinating than the fictional one.
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