3 Days in Dubrovnik: The Perfect Dubrovnik Itinerary

One look at Dubrovnik’s enchanting Old Town and it’s easy to see why this Croatian city is so popular. With mighty walls and shimmering blue water surrounding it, the city is sure to win over any tourist who visits while completing their Croatia itinerary.

So where to start on a trip to Dubrovnik? Let’s get right into how you can go about making the most of your time there. To do that, you’ll want a detailed Dubrovnik itinerary, like this one, which will show you all the best places to visit in Dubrovnik and how you can fit them into just a few days. Read on for our guide to what to do in Dubrovnik in 3 days to ensure you have a truly memorable experience.

Best Time to Visit Dubrovnik

To get the most from any trip, it’s important to take into account when you plan on visiting. That’s especially true with an extremely popular tourist destination like Dubrovnik. This means that finding the best time to visit Dubrovnik not only depends on the weather but also on how busy the city is going to be with tourists.

Dubrovnik, like the rest of Croatia, is most popular during the summer when the city struggles with overtourism. High season in Dubrovnik means that accommodation is limited and at its most expensive, lines are at their longest, and tours or activities may well be sold out.

To avoid these problems, consider timing your visit in May, September, or October instead. During these months, the weather is still good for sightseeing, going to the beach, and island hopping, but you won’t be hit with the high season rates.

If you’re looking to save money, consider timing your Dubrovnik trip with the low season. December through March is when Dubrovnik is at its quietest and you can expect accommodation to be at its cheapest. However, many of the best things to do in Dubrovnik are seasonal, so there may be some attractions that are closed and activities like swimming or visiting islands that won’t be possible.

How to Get Around Dubrovnik

You shouldn’t find it difficult to get around while visiting Dubrovnik. When sightseeing in and around the Old Town, you don’t have much choice other than to walk everywhere as the Old Town is a car-free zone. The Old Town isn’t huge, however, so you won’t be covering huge distances. Keep in mind, though, that there are a lot of stairs. 

When heading to places outside the Old Town, you may find public transport a helpful and worthwhile alternative. Buses are the only public transport in Dubrovnik, but they’ll get you where you need to go. Tickets, valid for an hour, start at 12HRK when bought from a newspaper kiosk or Libertas stall and 15HRK when bought from the driver.

Chances are you’ll arrive in Dubrovnik either by plane or ferry. To get from the ferry terminal at Port Gruz, take the 1A, 1B, or 3 buses and get off at the Pile Gate, the last stop. To get from the airport to the city, it’s best to take a dedicated airport bus. The bus costs 50HRK one way or 80HRK return and takes about 30 minutes to reach the Old Town.

Where to Stay in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik’s popularity means there’s no shortage of accommodation to choose from. The challenge is finding somewhere that suits your budget and travel style and that still has rooms available. It’s for these reasons that we highly recommend booking your accommodation well in advance.

As for where to stay in Dubrovnik, that’s where things get interesting. While the Old Town is obviously one of the best places to stay in Dubrovnik, you’ll pay for the convenience. Travelers on a budget will likely need to look beyond the Old Town walls, to nearby neighborhoods like Pile, Ploce, or Lapad. One thing to keep in mind is that the higher up the hill you stay, the more steps you have to climb every time you return to your accommodation.

You won’t come across a grander place to stay in Dubrovnik than the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik. This five-star hotel sits just outside the Old Town walls and treats guests to classically elegant rooms and suites, as well as an indoor pool and wellness center.

There’s plenty of midrange accommodation and apartments, with Villa Four Winds II a great example of the value for money you can find. This welcoming guesthouse, located in the Old Town, will make you feel right at home. The apartments have useful facilities like a fridge, kettle, and air conditioning, too.

You can also find nice places to stay on Airbnb. For recommendations check out our list of the best Dubrovnik Airbnbs.

Those on a budget won’t believe the incredible value they can get at Hostel Angelina. This hostel has both dorms and private rooms and is centrally located in the Old Town. It also benefits from helpful staff and a shared kitchen. If you want to see other hostel options, check out our guide to the best hostels in Dubrovnik.

For more accommodation options in Dubrovnik, check out Booking.com. This company continuously offers the best rates, and its customer service is on point.

The Perfect 3-Day Dubrovnik Itinerary

Visitors may be surprised by how much they can do with 72 hours in Dubrovnik. You’ll likely be able to see the city’s sights and even fit in a day trip to one of the many islands along the Croatian coast. While you’re in Dubrovnik, you’ll spend most of your time in and around the city’s UNESCO world heritage-listed Old Town.

Now that we’ve covered that essential topic, let us show you what to do with 3 days in Dubrovnik so that you don’t miss out on any of the city’s highlights.

Dubrovnik Itinerary: Day 1

To start your visit, head straight for Dubrovnik’s famous Old Town, where you’ll see why this city is so popular.

Stradun

Upon entering Dubrovnik’s Old Town through the main Pile Gate, you’ll find the city’s main street, Stradun, before you. Since the 13th century, this limestone street that crosses the width of the Old Town has been Dubrovnik’s main thoroughfare. Along it you’ll spot countless elegant Venetian buildings that make walking here feel like you’ve traveled back in time. So scenic is the street that it has been used as a filming location not only for Game of Thrones, but also Star Wars. Before making your way down the street, be sure to take a moment to admire the 15th-century Large Onofrio Fountain just inside the Pile Gate.

Clock Tower

At the far end of Stradun is Luza Square, which is surrounded by some of Dubrovnik’s most prized landmarks. One such landmark, dating to 1444, is the Dubrovnik Clock Tower. Up by the clock tower’s bell are two green bronze figures with mallets that make the bell ring at noon each day. Interestingly, to go with its traditional clock, the tower also features an old digital clock that looks quite odd in an old stone tower. 

Elsewhere on the square, you’ll find other magnificent landmarks, including the beautiful Sponza Palace from the 16th century. It is one of the few buildings to have survived the brutal 1667 earthquake.

Rector’s Palace

Moving on, we come to one of the most important buildings in the city, Rector’s Palace. This was where the head of state, known as a rector, ruled from the 14th century to 1808. Nowadays, this major 15th-century landmark is home to the Cultural History Museum, but it used to serve not only as the rector’s office but also as an armory and prison. On a visit to the grand Gothic building, you’ll have the chance to see its chambers and halls, as well as learn about the history of Dubrovnik and the Republic of Ragusa, of which it was once the capital.

Dubrovnik Cathedral

Just up from the Rector’s Palace stands the most important place of worship in town, the Dubrovnik Cathedral. This Baroque behemoth was built in 1713 to replace the city’s original cathedral, which was destroyed in the earthquake. While the cathedral’s exterior blends in with the rest of Dubrovnik’s stone buildings, inside you’ll find one thing that does make it stand out. The cathedral has a triptych on its altar featuring artwork by the acclaimed Venetian artist Titian. There is also artwork from celebrated Croatian and Italian artists in many of the side chapels.

City Walls

There’s really no way of missing the huge city walls that surround Dubrovnik’s Old Town. These high walls stand high above the town’s rooftops and join the impenetrable giant stone towers together. Dubrovnik’s Old Town was widely regarded as having some of the best defenses of anywhere during the Middle Ages. Now, as impressive as the walls look from the outside, they are nothing compared to the views you get walking along the top of these intact city walls.

The uninterrupted route along the walls is just under two kilometers and has breathtaking views of the Old Town the whole way round. From up there, you can look across Dubrovnik’s orange rooftops, spot the tops of landmarks like the cathedral, and look out over the city’s sparkling coast.

Old Town Stairs

Dubrovnik’s Old Town is quite flat, while the northern end of town runs up the side of quite a steep incline. There you’re more likely to find great, long staircases running between houses rather than streets. While exploring this part of Dubrovnik is likely to take it out of you, these narrow staircases are exceptionally photogenic and well worth the effort.

Cafe Buža

Finish your long day of walking around the Old Town by treating yourself to a drink at Cafe Buža, a bar with a perfect view. Wedged between the town walls and the Adriatic Sea, this bar is a great place to grab a glass of wine or beer and chill as the sun falls below the horizon. You can even go cliff jumping here and have a swim to cool off.

Dubrovnik Itinerary: Day 2

Now it’s time to explore beyond the walls of Dubrovnik’s Old Town and see what else the city has to offer.

Fort Lovrijenac

The walls and towers that encircle the Old Town aren’t the only defenses that once protected Dubrovnik. The imposing fortress of Fort Lovrijenac sits on rocky cliffs across Dubrovnik West Harbor. This makes it incredibly scenic but also a place that offers superb views of the Old Town poking up over its formidable walls.

Sea Kayaking

Head down to Dubrovnik West Harbor, where you’ll regularly see a string of kayakers leaving from the small stone pier. Kayaking from here is not only a fun way to get out on the water and get some exercise; it also allows you a chance to see the city from a whole new perspective. The city walls look even more daunting when you’re paddling below them. All sorts of kayak tours are available, from a tour around the edge of the walls to tours that take you all the way out to Lokrum Island off the city’s coast. We recommend the following kayak tour.

Game of Thrones Walking Tour

Dubrovnik has to be one of the most famous of the many filming locations for Game of Thrones. The Old Town was used to portray King’s Landing throughout all the seasons of the show. There are a number of spots you might recognize around town. Sure, you can try and hunt them down yourself, but a quicker option is to take a Game of Thrones-themed walking tour and have someone show you spots like the Jesuit Stairs, where Cersei’s walk of shame was filmed. You can book a GoT tour here.

War Photo Limited

Although visitors often think of medieval history when they think of Dubrovnik, the city was also involved in more recent history: the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. This dark chapter in the region’s history inspired the creation of the War Photo Limited exhibition in the Old Town. Here you can see a permanent exhibition on the breakup of the former Yugoslavia through photos and video, as well as temporary exhibits on other conflicts and events like the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.

Dubrovnik Beaches

As interesting as sightseeing can be, it’s okay to spend some of your trip simply relaxing, and where better to unwind in Croatia than on the beach! Dubrovnik boasts a handful of different beaches, but Banje and Lapad Beach are two of the most popular. Banje Beach is found just east of the Old Town, which means you can be sure you’ll find plenty of tourists there. Lapad Beach, on the other hand, is a few kilometers away, but it’s also quite a busy sand beach. Another option you might want to consider is Bellevue Beach, a smaller pebble beach close to Lapad Beach.

Mount Srdj

It’s finally time for the ultimate view of Dubrovnik, which you can only get by taking a cable car to the top of Mount Srdj. This 412-meter-high mountain looks directly over Dubrovnik and provides a perfect view down onto the Old Town. You don’t just get sublime views of Dubrovnik, however; you also get to see right along the coast to the many nearby islands. Standing up by the giant cross and the remains of Fort Imperial, you’ll also have a fantastic spot to watch the sunset, making it the ideal way to finish your second day in Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik Itinerary: Day 3

Having experienced the very best of Dubrovnik in your first two days there, you can now look to all the great places surrounding the city. There are a whole load of day trips from Dubrovnik that you can choose from, but the following are some of the most popular.

1. Lokrum

The easiest place to go if you’re looking for a day away from Dubrovnik is the island of Lokrum, which sits just off the coast from Dubrovnik and is home to beaches and forests, not to mention a few interesting landmarks. Its main swimming spots are the main beach on the southwest coast and the salt lake known as the Dead Sea. 

With walking trails running through it, the forest is nice if you want to go on a nature walk. As for landmarks on Lokrum, there’s the Benedictine Monastery of St. Mary and its lovely botanical gardens, and there’s also Fort Royal, from which you can enjoy views back across the water to the Old Town.

2. Korcula

One of the most beautiful islands along Croatia’s coast is Korcula, which explains why it’s such a popular day trip destination. Start by exploring Korcula Town and its endearing historical character. You’ll be able to visit major sights like St. Mark’s Cathedral with its Venetian architecture and the House of Marco Polo, where the renowned traveler was born.

Korcula is just as well known for its natural attractions, including several wonderful beaches. Pržina beach in Lumbarda is perhaps the easiest to reach, but there are many around the island suited to sunbathing and swimming. Winemaking is another of Korcula’s dominant industries, so you could also spend your day tasting some of the local creations.

Recommendation: You can use Bookaway to compare and book bus, minivan, or ferry tickets from Dubrovnik to Korcula.

3. Elafiti Islands

If you’re interested in seeing several islands in a single day, then island hopping in the Elafiti Islands is the way to go. There are 14 islands in this archipelago northwest of Dubrovnik, and tours typically stop at the larger islands like Koločep, Sipan, and Lopud.

Each island has something different to offer visitors, meaning you can see a few different sides to island life by island hopping. Koločep is known for its orange orchards, lemon groves, and a secluded medieval chapel hidden away among them. In Sipan, you’ll find a classic example of a historic Croatian marina. Last is Lopud, the perfect stop for a swim and sunbath thanks to the white sands of Sunj Beach.

There is a lot you can experience around Dubrovnik in three days. After visiting you should have no problem seeing why this Adriatic city is so popular.