Croatia Dubrovnik Tours

Dubrovnik Tours focus on Croatia's most visited city, a walled port on the Adriatic coast whose Old Town was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979. Built largely between the 13th and 16th centuries as the capital of the independent Republic of Ragusa, the Old Town survives today as one of the more complete medieval and Baroque city centers on the Mediterranean, having been substantially rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake and, more recently, repaired following the shelling it sustained during the 1991-1992 siege.

Whether visited on a single day from the coast or as part of a longer Croatia itinerary, Dubrovnik Tours generally combine the walled Old Town with the surrounding coastline, since much of what draws visitors here sits within walking distance of the city gates.

Walking the City Walls

Dubrovnik's walls run for nearly two kilometers around the Old Town, reaching heights of up to 25 meters in places and offering an unbroken circuit above the terracotta rooftops and the Adriatic beyond. The walk typically takes around two hours at a relaxed pace, passing fortresses such as Minceta Tower and Fort Bokar along the way.

Much of the current fortification dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when the Republic of Ragusa expanded and reinforced its defenses to protect a maritime trading network that once rivaled Venice across the Adriatic. Sections of the wall along the harbor were badly damaged during the 1991-1992 siege and have since been repaired using traditional stonework techniques.

Inside the walls, the Stradun, Dubrovnik's main limestone-paved street, connects the Pile Gate to the old harbor, flanked by the Rector's Palace, the Franciscan monastery and its fourteenth-century pharmacy, one of the oldest still operating in Europe, and a cluster of Baroque churches rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake.

Dubrovnik on Screen

Since 2011, the Old Town and nearby Fort Lovrijenac have appeared repeatedly as filming locations for the television series Game of Thrones, standing in for the fictional city of King's Landing. A number of local guides now run walking tours built specifically around these filming sites, pointing out where particular scenes were shot along the walls and in the surrounding streets, alongside the more conventional history of the same locations.

The city's association with film predates the series. Its stepped alleys and stone architecture have drawn productions for decades, though it was the sustained attention of Game of Thrones that turned several specific corners of the Old Town, including the Jesuit Stairs and Fort Lovrijenac itself, into regular stops on walking tour itineraries.

Mount Srd and the Cable Car

A cable car climbs from just outside the city walls to the summit of Mount Srd, rising 405 meters above the Old Town in under four minutes. From the top, the view takes in the walled peninsula, the Elaphiti Islands offshore and, on clear days, the coastline stretching well into Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. A small fortress and museum at the summit cover the 1991 defense of the city, when Yugoslav forces shelled Dubrovnik during the country's breakup.

Islands and Day Trips

Lokrum, a short boat ride from the old harbor, is a forested island reserve with a former Benedictine monastery, a botanical garden and a saltwater lake known locally as the Dead Sea. Further along the coast, the Elaphiti Islands offer a quieter alternative for a half-day sail, with pine forests and small swimming coves across Kolocep, Lopud and Sipan.

Inland on the Peljesac Peninsula, the walled town of Ston is known for its oyster farms and a defensive wall second in length only to the Great Wall of China, making it a common half-day excursion from Dubrovnik.

Discover Ston - A Half Day Tour With Oyster Tasting

Longer day trips reach further afield, crossing into Montenegro for the fjord-like Bay of Kotor or heading inland to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, known for its rebuilt Ottoman-era stone bridge over the Neretva River. Both trips involve a border crossing and generally take a full day given the driving distance from Dubrovnik.

Best Time to Visit Dubrovnik

May, June and September offer warm Adriatic swimming weather without the peak crowds and cruise ship arrivals of July and August, when the Old Town's narrow streets can become considerably more congested. Winters are mild by regional standards and the city stays open year round, though many boat excursions to the islands run on a reduced schedule outside the summer months.

Sea temperatures along this stretch of the Adriatic typically stay swimmable from late May through early October, which is why most visitors planning beach time or island hopping build their trip around those months rather than the cooler, quieter winter season.