Dubrovnik 7 Day Itinerary
Up to eight cruise ships dock at Gruz port on a single summer day in Dubrovnik, disgorging somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 passengers into an Old Town that covers about 1.3 square kilometres. The Stradun, the main limestone street, turns into a slow-moving stream of tour groups between 10am and 3pm. The same street at 7am, or after 5pm when the ships begin to depart, is one of the most beautiful urban spaces in Europe. Seven days in Dubrovnik is time enough to work around the crowds and discover what makes the city worth defending with 25 metres of medieval wall in the first place.
Day 1: Arrival and First Evening in the Old Town
Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) is 20 kilometres south of the city. A taxi costs roughly 30 to 40 euros; the Atlas bus runs for about 7 euros and stops at the main bus station near Pile Gate. From the bus station, the Old Town is a five-minute walk.
Check in, then walk the Stradun when the late afternoon cruise groups have thinned. The street runs east to west through the heart of the Old Town, all polished Jurassic limestone underfoot, flanked by baroque buildings that were almost entirely rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake. At the western end is the Onofrio Fountain, built in 1444 as part of the city’s water supply system. At the eastern end is the Bell Tower and the Rector’s Palace, the seat of Ragusan Republic government from the 15th century.
Dinner: the seafood restaurants on Gunduliceva Poljana square are tourist-oriented but some are genuinely good. Proto on Siroka Street has been operating since 1886 and is consistently reliable for grilled fish and black risotto. The portions are large and the house wine, a local Posip or Plavac Mali, is worth ordering.
Day 2: City Walls
Walk the City Walls first thing. The ticket office at Pile Gate opens at 8am and the first 90 minutes of the day, before the cruise ships dock, is when the circuit is at its most peaceful. The standard ticket costs 40 euros for adults (20 euros in the off-season from December to February). The 1-Day Dubrovnik Pass, at 45 euros, adds entry to the Rector’s Palace, Maritime Museum, Franciscan Monastery, and unlimited public transport, which makes it the better deal if you plan to visit more than one museum.
The wall circuit is 1,940 metres and takes 90 minutes to two hours. The views look inward over the terracotta rooftops and outward over the Adriatic; the gap between the two perspectives is startling. The highest point is above the Minceta Tower to the north. Fort Lovrijenac, the free-standing fortress west of Pile Gate, is included in the ticket and requires a short detour off the wall, but the views of the Old Town from the fortress parapet are worth it.
Avoid the walls between 10:30am and 3pm in summer. That is the cruise-ship window. If you miss the early morning start, go in the late afternoon instead.
After the walls, lunch at Nishta, a vegetarian restaurant on Prijeko Street that is popular enough to require booking and good enough to justify the fuss even for dedicated meat-eaters.
Day 3: Lokrum Island
The ferry to Lokrum Island runs from the Old Port and costs around 250 Croatian kuna (about 33 euros) return, including the island entry fee. The crossing takes 10 minutes. Lokrum is a nature reserve: no permanent residents, no cars, botanical gardens with peacocks that wander freely, and a seawater lagoon (the Dead Sea, a small saltwater lake connected to the sea by underground channels) that is one of the better swimming spots in the Dubrovnik area.
The ruins of a Benedictine monastery, founded in the 11th century, occupy the island’s highest point and offer views back to the mainland. Richard the Lionheart reportedly sheltered here after a shipwreck in 1192, a claim that should be treated with appropriate scepticism but is part of the island’s story.
Pack your own food or buy from the limited cafe on the island. The ferry runs frequently throughout the day in summer. Last boat back leaves around 7pm; check the schedule at the pier before you go.
Day 4: Montenegro and Kotor
Kotor, in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro, is 90 kilometres south-east of Dubrovnik. Driving takes two to two-and-a-half hours, depending on the border crossing at Debeli Brijeg, which can queue significantly in summer. The Kamenari-Lepetane car ferry across the bay (about 5 euros) saves 30 minutes over the road route around the bay.
Kotor’s Old Town is smaller than Dubrovnik’s and, in the opinion of most people who visit both, more manageable and less overcrowded. The defensive walls climb the limestone hillside above the town to the fortress of San Giovanni at 280 metres, a steep 1,350 steps that takes about 40 minutes. Entry costs a few euros. The views of the bay below, surrounded by the Dinaric Alps, are the kind of landscape that makes the word “dramatic” feel insufficient.
The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, begun in 1166, is the best-preserved medieval church in the region. Entry is 3 euros. The Treasury holds Romanesque silver reliquaries and a 15th-century altarpiece.
For lunch, Konoba Scala Santa in the old town centre is reliable and busy for good reason: fresh mussels in buzara (white wine and garlic), grilled fish, and Vranac wine. Book ahead or arrive before noon.
Return to Dubrovnik in the early evening. The border crossing southbound is generally faster.
Day 5: Kayaking and Buza Bar
Sea kayaking around Dubrovnik’s walls from the water is the perspective that photographs taken from cruise ships try to capture and fail. Multiple operators run half-day guided kayaking tours from Banja Beach, taking about three hours to paddle around the walls, into sea caves, and to Lokrum Island. Cost is around 350 to 400 kuna per person. Book in advance, particularly in summer.
In the afternoon, swim at Banje Beach east of Pile Gate. The beach is organised into sections with sun loungers (paid) and a free public access section. The water is clear and the views back to the walls are the kind of thing that makes the overcrowding easier to forgive.
Buza Bar is the local secret that is no longer a secret but remains worth knowing. It clings to the outside of the southern city wall and is accessed through a hole cut in the rock, marked only by a small hand-painted sign. People drink beer and jump from the rocks into the Adriatic below. In the late afternoon, the light on the wall behind you and the open sea in front makes it one of the more striking bar settings anywhere in the Mediterranean. Cash only.
Day 6: Trsteno Arboretum and a Slower Day
Trsteno, 18 kilometres north-west of Dubrovnik, has had a botanical garden since 1494, making it one of the oldest arboretums in Europe. The current garden is managed by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Entry is about 60 kuna. Two 500-year-old plane trees near the entrance have trunks over six metres in circumference. The Renaissance fountain and the sea views through the terrace pergola are what distinguish this from a standard park visit.
A local bus runs from Dubrovnik bus station to Trsteno in about 30 minutes. Alternatively, rent a car or join one of the organised tours that include Trsteno as a stop.
Return by early afternoon and spend the rest of the day walking the Albayzin-like streets of the Prijeko neighbourhood above the Stradun. The upper streets have fewer restaurants but more of the quiet residential character that the lower streets have largely lost to tourism.
Dinner at Pantarul in Lapad, about three kilometres west of the Old Town. It is one of the few restaurants in the Dubrovnik area where the food is genuinely creative and the price-to-quality ratio is reasonable by Dubrovnik standards. Book well in advance.
Day 7: Cable Car and Departure
The Dubrovnik cable car runs from above Pile Gate to Mount Srd at 412 metres. A return ticket costs about 20 euros. The view from the top takes in the Old Town below, the coast north and south, and on a clear day the islands of the Elaphiti archipelago. The fortress at the summit houses a small museum about the 1991-92 siege of Dubrovnik. The cable car is worth doing despite the tourist infrastructure around it.
If your flight departs in the afternoon, there is time for a last coffee on the Stradun and a walk through the morning market at Gunduliceva Poljana, where local farmers sell fruit, vegetables, and lavender bags. The airport bus back to DBV takes about 40 minutes from Pile Gate.
Practical Notes
The cruise ship schedule for Dubrovnik is publicly available. Search for “Dubrovnik Port Authority cruise schedule” to see which days have multiple ships arriving simultaneously. Days with no cruise ships are dramatically more pleasant for Old Town exploration. If you have flexibility in your planning, this information is worth checking.
The Croatian kuna was replaced by the euro in January 2023, so prices are now in euros throughout Croatia. Credit cards are widely accepted in Dubrovnik’s tourist zone; cash is more useful in smaller local businesses outside the walls.
July and August temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees Celsius. The sea swimming is excellent and the evenings are warm enough for outdoor dining until midnight, but the midday heat on the city walls or hiking Mount Srd is significant. May, June, September, and October are the better months for a more comfortable visit.
The quickest way to get from the airport when you land at an odd hour and no bus is running: Bolt and Uber both operate in Dubrovnik and are cheaper than the taxi rank outside arrivals.