How to Spend 6 Fulfilling Days in Dubrovnik

When I booked a week-long stay in Dubrovnik, Croatia, I was initially excited to take my time exploring the old city on the Adriatic Sea. But when I started looking at things to do, I was dismayed to see Dubrovnik itineraries were typically only 2-3 days long. In fact, most itineraries I saw included only one full day in Dubrovnik and one day trip to another city or country. Many people on the internet also said Dubrovnik was overrated and Split was better. Suddenly, I was concerned I’d allocated too much time in this city. Did I make a mistake? Should I have planned for fewer days? Would I run out of things to do?

Luckily, these concerns turned out to be unfounded. You can definitely fit Dubrovnik into just 2-3 days if you’re tight on time. But you won’t run out of things to do with a longer stay. A week is a good amount of time to see the city at a slightly slower pace. And yes, even throw in a day trip.

With that being said, here is my guide to spending six days in Dubrovnik.

Day 1: Settle into accommodations, explore Old Town

With a longer itinerary, you can have a leisurely first day in Dubrovnik. If you came to Dubrovnik from outside of Europe, you might enjoy a nap. Or just settle into your accommodations and take some time to get your bearings.

After you’re settled, explore the Old Town and grab some dinner and gelato. The walled city of the Dubrovnik Old Town is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. It juts out into the Adriatic Sea, and is breathtaking from above and below. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you’ll also recognize it as the iconic King’s Landing.

(Side note: While there were references to Game of Thrones throughout the Old Town and Lokrum Island, it never felt like it was overly gimmicky or too much. I appreciated it wasn’t as in-your-face as I expected.

On your first day in Dubrovnik, walk through Old Town and be transported into medieval times. Wander through the maze of walls and allow yourself to get lost among cafes, shops and museums. There’s no shortage of restaurants, and most have quality Mediterranean/Balkan fare. Stop into one for dinner, then find a nearby gelato shop for dessert.

Day 2: Walk the City Walls and Visit Lokrum Island

Walking the city walls is a must-do in Dubrovnik. Enter from Stradun near the Pile gate and find the ticket office right inside. It is a bit pricey at 250 Kunas (~35 USD) per adult, but worth it. Stroll along the walls and take in the sights of the city, Adriatic sea and nearby islands. The walls go all around the Old Town and take about 1.5-2 hours to walk in their entirety. During the walk, you can also see people going about their daily lives, like hanging out clothes to dry. It reminds you of all the life that exists within the walls themselves. 

The wall walk ticket also includes a visit to Fort Lovrijenac. This fort played an important role in Croatia’s history. It was key in resisting Venetian rule. Outside the walls, you’ll find the fort and can walk to the top. You’ll enjoy a different perspective of the city and can see the city walls you just walked from the top. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you might also recognize it as the Red Keep.

After a morning walking the city walls and a lunch in the Old Town, take a ferry to Lokrum island. Lokrum Island is about a 15-minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik, and ferries leave every hour to transport visitors to the island. No people live on the island, but peacocks run free. 

Legend says that it must remain uninhabited due to a curse placed by ancient Benedictine monks. When they were forced to leave the island, it is said they dripped candle wax across the island to curse anyone who tried to inhabit it.

But there’s no curse if you’re just visiting. Visit the old royal mansion and gardens built by Archduke Maximilian Ferdinand of Hapsburg. This is also a Game of Thrones location and has a bit of a dedicated museum and Iron Throne replica inside one section. Nearby, you’ll also find botanical gardens filled with Mediterranean flora.

There are also swimming spots on the island. You can swim in the Adriatic sea from rocky beaches. There is also a “dead sea” lake in the middle of the island. This salty lake is fed from a series of caves and fractures on the island. Although I didn’t feel any more buoyant than normal floating in the lake, it is a nice way to spend an afternoon.

After a full day of sightseeing, have dinner in the Old Town at the foot of the Jesuit Stairs. Again, these may look familiar if you’ve seen Game of Thrones (“Shame!”). Even if you’re not a Game of Thrones  fan, these Baroque-style stairs provide a beautiful backdrop as you eat dinner. Make sure to give “Johnny the Boss” – the cat who rules the stairs – a pet when you go.

Day 3 – Take a Day Trip

Dubrovnik can also serve as an entry-point to a few different areas of interest. You may want to add a day trip to your Dubrovnik itinerary, especially if you have a limited amount of time to spend in the Balkans.

From Dubrovnik, you can visit another region of the country like the wine region of the Pelješac Peninsula. It’s also nearby the countries of Bosnia & Herzegovina or Montenegro. You can rent a car to visit one of these day trips, take transit or go on an organized tour.

Montenegro is just over the border from Dubrovnik. Visiting the towns of Kotor and/or Budva from here is a very popular trip. Kotor is about a 2-hour car ride or public bus ride. Note that the bus crossing at the border may take longer than expected if there are multiple buses crossing at the same time. You can also visit on an organized tour through a company like Viator. If you’re interested, have separate write-ups specifically on Kotor, and on visiting Montenegro in general for longer than a day.

Bosnia & Herzegovina is also over the border from Dubrovnik. There are two popular spots in the country to visit from Dubrovnik on a day trip. One is the Kravica waterfalls, which is about a 2.5-hour drive from the city. You can spend a couple of hours here swimming or taking a short boat ride in the falls. Another is the city of Mostar – a fairytale-like city with a turquoise lake and beautiful old bridges. Mostar was bombed just 30 years ago in the Bosnian War of the 1990s and is an incredible city to visit. We chose to spend our day trip visiting both the Kravica Falls and city of Mostar in a rental car. There are also several organized tours you can take to see both of these sites in a day trip.

Day 4: See Hotel Belvedere and Climb Mt. Srd

If you’re still in Dubrovnik for a fourth day, explore some of the less-visited areas of the city. Hotel Belvedere was once a luxurious hotel sitting on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic Sea. In the Croatian War of Independence, it was an important spot for Croatians to hide. Now, it sits abandoned and adorned with graffiti, with evidence of the war still apparent. It’s a popular place for urban exploration. To stay safe and avoid trespassing, we just appreciated the piece of history from the outside.

A Russian billionaire bought the hotel in 2014 with the intention of remodeling it. It still sits empty as of 2022, but it’s hard to stay how much longer it will remain. Atlas Obscura has the exact coordinates of the hotel, but it was about 20 minutes walking from above Banje Beach.

After a morning at Hotel Belvedere, have a leisurely lunch and more gelato in the Old Town. Maybe try a traditional dish like brudet, a fish stew in red or white wine broth with spices.

In late afternoon, go up to Mt. Srd to watch the sunset. The hike up Mt. Srd takes about 45-90 minutes, depending on your fitness level and follows a series of switchbacks. It is about a 20-minute walk up to the start of the hike from Old Town as well. On the hike, you’ll see sweeping views of Dubrovnik and the Adriatic Sea, a preview of the views from the top. You can also take the cable car from just outside of Old Town to the top of Mt. Srd if you prefer not to hike.

It is a popular spot to watch the sunset because it offers panoramic views of Dubrovnik and surrounding areas, and the mountains and sea.

Day 5: Take a Three-Island Tour

While you’re in Dubrovnik, definitely take a boat tour to the Elaphite/Elafiti Islands. We met up with several friends and family who had been touring Europe for a few weeks, and some said it was their favorite part of their entire trip to Europe. 

You can book one of these tours in advance, or when you get to Dubrovnik. We had a large group of 26 people, so I booked our tour a few weeks in advance. But it probably would have been okay to wait until I arrived. Many are customizable, so you can decide what islands you want to see and how long you want to stay there. If you have kids joining, make sure to hire a company that allows kids on board.

You will typically have the choice of a four-, six- or eight-hour tour. If you have the time, I recommend the eight-hour tour so you can take more time on the islands.

Most tours follow a similar itinerary. The first island is Kolocep, which has a blue cave where you can swim and snorkel. Then, you’ll visit Lopud Island, which is famous for its sandy beaches. On this island is a Dominican Franciscan Monastery and parks. The final island is typically Sipan, “the island of fertile fields.” On this island, we visited a small family-owned winery where they let us taste local wines and snacks of bread, cheese and fruit. Because we did the full-day tour, we also stopped for lunch. However, I don’t think it was needed after all the snacks at the winery.

A tip: Do not leave the boat tour until your last day. We initially scheduled it for our second-to-last day in Dubrovnik, and the seas were too rough. I was glad we were able to reschedule for the next day when the seas had a calmer forecast.

Day 6: Have a Beach Day

After several exciting days of exploring Dubrovnik and surrounding areas, take a day to relax on the beach! Most of the beaches are rocky, but still nice to relax for a few hours. Banje Beach is a very popular beach near the Ploce Gate of the Old Town. You can take a towel to lie on the beach for free, or pay between 250-500 Kuna for a single or double day bed. Here you can also order food and drink from the restaurant. 

If you want a less crowded beach, you might walk a little farther from the Old Town to Sveti Jakov. This beach is 20 minutes from Banje and typically has fewer crowds. Bellevue Beach at the beginning of Lapad is also a small pebble beach popular for swimming. Culture Trip has a list of even more beaches to consider.

Regardless of which beach you choose, take a few hours to soak up the sun and swim in the clear blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. Maybe have a glass of wine or a pina colada. Then, enjoy a leisurely dinner (and probably more gelato) before packing up for your next destination or trip home.

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are plenty of more ways to fill your days in Dubrovnik. For example, one thing we did not get to check out was the Red History Museum, which has an interactive exhibit showing everyday life in Yugoslavia.

Logistics:

Now that you know what Dubrovnik has to offer, I’ll share more on the logistics of getting and staying there.

When to go:

Like most other European cities, the most popular time to visit is in the summer season from June-August. This time is the most popular and will have the most crowds. There is also a shoulder season in May and September with slightly fewer crowds. October to April will have the fewest crowds, but colder weather with a higher chance of rain. We visited in May and had great sunny weather the entire time without too many crowds.

Where to Stay:

There are a few options of areas to stay in in Dubrovnik. Some areas include:

• In Old Town: If you want to stay in the middle of the action, you can stay in a hostel or hotel inside the walls of the old city. You will be steps away from cafes and restaurants, and the biggest attractions in Dubrovnik.
• Above Old Town: If you don’t mind stairs, you can stay up the hill from Old Town in a hotel or Airbnb. We stayed in an Airbnb for $45 USD per night that was a 15-20 minute walk up a few fights of stairs from Old Town. It also had an incredible aerial view of the city.
• Lapad: This is a more residential neighborhood that is a 15-minute drive or Uber from the main part of Dubrovnik. Staying here is cheaper and is a good option if you want to avoid climbing stairs.
• Babin Kuk: This neighborhood is also residential and cheaper and a bit farther from the main part of Dubrovnik

Transportation:

Walking is my favorite way to get around a city, even (and sometimes especially) when there are a lot of stairs and uphill climbs. Dubrovnik is a very walkable city if you’re sticking to the main areas.

Dubrovnik also has Uber, so it is very easy to request a ride if you need to go a bit further.

The areas of Dubrovnik are also linked by a city bus that is 12-15 Kuna per ride, or 30 Kuna for the day. If you choose to get a Dubrovnik card, you get a 50% discount to take the city bus.

I wouldn’t recommend renting a car unless you’re staying far outside the main attractions of the city or interested in taking day trips without a tour.

Safety:

Croatia in general is a very safe country, and you can feel safe walking around and exploring Dubrovnik. If you’re in a crowded area like some places in Old Town, be aware of potential pickpockets. Avoid keeping your phone and wallet in your back pocket.