Dubrovnik Travel Forum

What sites are recommended for Dubrovnik? We will be spending one full day there in a few weeks, coming off a cruise ship. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I usually tell people with more time to avoid the Old Town of Dubrovnik when a cruise ship is in town! It will be very crowded but if you have a FULL day you should be able to see a lot.
After entering via the Pile Gate you could start by walking around the city walls - best to do it early if possible before it gets too hot - and remember to wear a hat and carry water & sun protection.
Once down you will want some refreshments and there are ample cafes specially at the Harbour end of Stradun and near the Rector's Palace as well as some looking out on the Harbour.
I recommend that you get a small pocket guide with a street map which will assist your self guided tour and pinpoint all the places of interest like - the Rector's Palace, The Cathedral, Franciscan Monastery and far too many more to mention here. It would also point out smaller objects of interest like the Onofrio Fountain and Little Onofrio.
As you walk around you will see lots of small shops with arts and crafts, local produce as well as boutiques and "ordinary" shops.
Take a wander through the alleys - art galleries and restaurants galore. Watch out for touts trying to entice you to there restaurant with the promise of a free bottle of wine. If you do not have a specific recommendation I should observe, judge and make your own decision. Just outside the Pile Gate is the Terrace restaurant of Club Nautica,less expensive than the main restaurant, more expensive than average but a cut above and with a lovely view of the harbour.. you can see it on my Dubrovnik Page. If you get tired and still have time to spare you could relax by taking a water taxi from the harbour to the island of Lokrum - I think it took about 20 minutes - and spend some time in the shade or on a beach there.
But don't miss the deadline for rejoining your ship and do enjoy Dubrivnik.

Apologies for the typos.

We were in Dubrovnik last week and thought that was out of season but there was a cruise ship and the crowd was terrible! We made a short tour of the old town. Not the city wall walk as we would have had to wait in line to get into it. When is the REAL low season and how do you know there is one (or several !) cruise ship(s)? It is a pity that there are such crowds as Dubrovnik is such a wonderful town! We drove as fast as we could to Ston and Korcula which was nice and quiet!

I've been there several times in the last two years. It was best in April, with fewer tourists and great weather, but in early September it was very crowded and blazing hot (within the city walls there's little ventilation).

Try to get off the ship as early as possible, before the other passengers, and get your own transport to the walled city. Once you pass out of the guarded security gate of the cruise area, there are usually taxis waiting and there's also a cheap city bus about two blocks away that will take you there. You will need some local currency.

If you can, do the ramparts walk first (there's a little ticket booth just inside the main Pile gate entry to the walled city), as it will be cooler. Then, I'd recommend seeing the cathedral with its treasury museum, the palace museum, the cloister of the Franciscan monastery, and the Dominican monastery. There's much more to see, and just strolling the marble-stone streets is very pleasant, with its galleries and boutiques. By then, you'll be panting from the heat, so don't forget a water bottle. Enjoy!

Jean-Louis - what a pity you could not see Dubrovnik as you wanted to. One of the advantages of "old age" is that I was first visited in the late 70's& early 80's - long before cruise ships arrived and the Imperial Hotel was affordable.
On my last visit 4 or 5 years ago, in mid- September, we stayed out of town on the Lapad peninsular and mostly managed to avoid the crowds. We loved Ston and Mali Ston, and Korcula - but even with crowds Dubrovnik will for ever be my favourite place

Korcula is also one of my favorities. The city was designed with ventilation in mind, even though it is walled, and breezes actually blow through the lanes on a hot summer day.

Barbara, I visited Dubrovnik in the 80s too and the last time in 1990, a few month before the Yu wars. The hotel where we stayed (south of the bay) was shelled a few month later and is still abandonned. In june 2007, we passed on the Magistrale but did not visit. There were 8 (yes, eight) cruise ships anchored! I cannot imagine the crowd that was in the city! May be we will make another attempt next year but we want also to have another visit to Kotor. So ..., may be!

They should limit the number of cruise ships there. Eight is way too many, and would completely overload the beautiful town.

There have been discussions for a long time now that the number of cruise ships should be controlled, my guess is that the Harbor Master office will eventually demand that the cruise ships schedule is modified so that no more than 2 of them are docking in Dubrovnik at the same time.

I understand your frustration, several times so far there had to be a policemen directing passenger traffic through Pile Gate (entrance to Old Town).

Welcome to VT, Orsat! Thanks for the local news from Dubrovnik.

The old town of Dubrovnik is very beautiful and worth braving the crowds for. Yes, get off the ship early and make your own way to the old town - it's very close.

Then if you have time I would suggest taking a taxi to Mali Ston and exploring the second longest wall in the world, plus the truly amazing seafood restaurants in the pretty harbour.

Gabrielle, I fully agree with your suggestion to visit Mali Ston. I fully agree with the seafood restaurants and recommend especially the oysters as they have a very unique taste. I will add that from the top of the wall, there is a superb view on the salt works.

But the superb stone wall of Ston is not, by far, the second largest in the world (though locals say it)! It is not its length that makes it worth the visit but its look, its shape and its situation on the slope of the mountain.

Thank you for your advice re the wall!

I also adore the local black risotto and had it for the first time in one of those seafood restaurants in Mali Ston.