DUBROVNIK · CROATIA
Walled city, red roofs, the open Adriatic.
The City Walls and the marble Stradun, boat trips out to the Elaphite Islands and the Blue Cave, the Game of Thrones filming sites, and the day trips that fan out to Montenegro and Mostar.
Only here
Three things the rest of the coast can't copy.
Island cruises and old-town walks run all along the Dalmatian coast. A full circuit of intact medieval walls, a swim in a cave lit electric blue, and a whole island kept empty by night do not.
Two kilometres of stone
Walk the City Walls
The walls that ring the Old Town are the most complete in Europe: an unbroken two-kilometre circuit, up to twenty-five metres high, that was never once breached. You walk the full loop above the rooftops, the open Adriatic on one side and a thousand red-tiled roofs on the other. Nowhere else lets you do this.
- 1 Dubrovnik: Old Town Walking Tour
- 2 Dubrovnik Discovery Old Town Walking Tour
- 3 Dubrovnik: Game of Thrones Walking Tour
Lit from below
Swim the Blue Cave
Off the island of Kolocep, sunlight slips through an underwater opening and floods a sea cave with electric blue light. Boats cut the engine at the mouth and you slide in to swim in water that glows from beneath you. Most trips string it together with the Green Cave and a stop on a hidden beach.
- 1 Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from Dubrovnik
- 2 Blue Cave, Green Cave & Lopud Beach small group Speed boat Tour
- 3 Dubrovnik: Blue Cave & Sunj Beach Boat Tour with Drinks
Ten minutes offshore
A Day on Lokrum
Lokrum sits a ten-minute boat hop from the Old Town, and by old decree no one is allowed to stay the night. For the day it is yours: a saltwater lagoon, a ruined Benedictine monastery, peacocks in the botanical garden, and the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones waiting in the cloister.
- 1 Dubrovnik: Epic Game of Thrones Tour + Lokrum & Saver Option
- 2 Dubrovnik: The Original Game of Thrones Tour & Lokrum Option
- 3 Dubrovnik Game of Thrones Tour & Optional Lokrum Island Visit
Start here
The one almost everyone books first.
If you only have time to plan a single day in Dubrovnik, this is where most people begin.
The classics
Dubrovnik's Most Popular Tours
The walls, the islands, the Blue Cave and the Game of Thrones trail. The days most people come to Dubrovnik for.
Where to begin
The experiences a Dubrovnik trip is built around.
The City Walls and the Old Town, the boat trips, the Game of Thrones trail, the islands offshore, the food and wine, and the day trips over the border. The handful of days most visits are planned around, and the best way to do each.
The big day trip
One day beyond the walls.
Dubrovnik sits in a corner of the map where three countries nearly meet, so its best day trips cross water and borders. Three ways to spend a day out, by boat or by road.
Peljesac & Konavle
Where the coast eats and drinks.
An hour up the coast, the Peljesac peninsula grows the big reds Croatia is known for, Plavac Mali off stone terraces that drop to the sea. Closer in, the green Konavle valley lays on long farmhouse lunches, olive oil and home-made rakija. Most trips fold in the oyster beds at Ston and a tasting or two.
Read the guide: the best food & wine tours →On the water
See the walls from sea level.
The finest angle on Dubrovnik is from a kayak at the foot of the ramparts. Paddle out under the walls in the late afternoon, around the cliffs of Lokrum and into a sea cave, then snorkel off a quiet cove before the light drops. Half a day, and no experience needed.
See the sea kayaking trips →From above
Red roofs, blue sea, white stone.
From the top of the walls, or the cable car up Mount Srd, the Old Town reads like a scale model: a tight knot of terracotta roofs inside pale ramparts, the Adriatic running out behind in every shade of blue. Five centuries of stone, with the sea right up against it.
Walk the Old Town & walls →Game of Thrones
The city that played King's Landing.
Dubrovnik stood in for the capital of the Seven Kingdoms across eight seasons. Guides walk you from the Pile Gate to the Jesuit Stairs where the Walk of Shame was filmed, out to the Lovrijenac fortress that played the Red Keep, and across to Lokrum for the throne itself. You leave able to place every scene.
- 1 Dubrovnik: Epic Game of Thrones Tour + Lokrum & Saver Option
- 2 Dubrovnik: The Original Game of Thrones Tour & Lokrum Option
- 3 Dubrovnik Game of Thrones Tour & Optional Lokrum Island Visit
The golden hour
Dubrovnik at the end of the day.
The walls catch the last light and the Adriatic turns copper. The cruise ships pull out, the stone cools and the city becomes itself again. Three evenings worth booking.
By place
Pick a corner of the coast.
The Old Town for the walls and the marble streets. The Elaphites for car-free island days. Lokrum for a forest ten minutes out. The sea caves for the blue water. Montenegro and Mostar for a day across the border.
Private charters
Rent the boat.
Skip the group cruise. Charter a private speedboat for the day and write your own route: the sea caves before the crowds arrive, a quiet cove on Sipan or Lopud for lunch, and back when you choose. The same Adriatic, entirely on your terms.
See private boat charters →By activity
Or pick how to spend the day.
Walk the walls for the history. A boat for the islands. A kayak for the sea at the foot of the ramparts. Wine, Game of Thrones, a sunset cruise, or the cable car for the view.
Plan it
Three perfect days.
First time in Dubrovnik? Here is a long weekend that covers the walls, the islands and a day across the border without a wasted hour.
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