Best Things to Do in Dubrovnik with Kids: A Family Guide

Dubrovnik has to be one of the most spectacular cities in Europe and it turns out it's a brilliant destination with a baby or toddler too, even if it doesn't immediately look that way! Between the cobblestoned old town, the cliffside beaches and the islands just off the coast, there is so much to explore here, and it's one of those places that completely lives up to the hype.

We visited as part of a 7-day Croatia and Montenegro trip when our daughter was 9 months old, spending the last three days based in Dubrovnik. If you want to see our full itinerary including Montenegro, check out the full guide here Dubrovnik & Montenegro: 7-Day Itinerary with a Baby.

This was our first trip with our baby when we had no idea about what to expect so below are all the things we did (and loved!) in Dubrovnik with a baby with honest notes on what worked and what didn't.

Where to Stay in Dubrovnik with Kids

Dubrovnik has options to suit every budget, from self-catering apartments a short bus ride from the old town to some genuinely spectacular resort hotels. For a full breakdown with detailed family notes, prices and booking links for each, see our dedicated Where to Stay in Dubrovnik with Kids guide, but here's a quick overview to get you started.

Budget

• Apartments Dubrovnik Lapad (from around £70 per night): Self catered apartments in Lapad with sea view balconies, fully equipped kitchens, washing machines and a bus stop right outside for the 15 minute ride into the old town.

• Shanti Dubrovnik from around £90 per night): A laid back boutique stay tucked inside the old town walls, four minutes from Pile Gate, with charming stone interiors and a great central location at a surprisingly manageable price.

  
  

Mid-range

• Hotel Dubrovnik Palace (from around £170 per night): A modern beachfront hotel on the Lapad peninsula with a dedicated children's pool, interconnecting rooms, cots on request, free parking and a bus stop directly outside.

• Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik (from around £200 per night): A beautiful historic hotel built in 1897, just a five-minute walk from Pile Gate, with an indoor pool, interconnecting family rooms, cots available and a children's menu.

Luxury

• Sun Gardens Dubrovnik (from around £150 per night): A Leading Hotels of the World resort set in olive grove gardens on the Dubrovnik Riviera, with three pools, a private pebble beach and a kids club. This resort is essentially a destination in itself!

• Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik (from around £280 per night): A grand 5 star hotel perched above the Adriatic 5 minutes walk from the old town, with stunning views of Lokrum Island, sea view rooms and one of the best locations in the city.

  
  

One pricing note worth flagging: Dubrovnik prices swing dramatically between shoulder season and peak summer. The figures above reflect off-peak starting rates but in July and August, particularly for the Hilton and Excelsior, rates can be two to three times higher. Sun Gardens is actually one of the better-value luxury options in high season relative to its central Dubrovnik equivalents, partly because it sits slightly outside the city. Always check the links for the current rates before planning your budget.

Getting Around Dubrovnik with Kids

Dubrovnik is a small city, but it's worth knowing before you arrive that it is hilly. The old town in particular is full of stairs and steep cobblestones, which is why we often opted for the sling instead of the pram on days we knew we'd be exploring the old town. On the days we were heading to beaches or the islands, we brought the pram.

There's a good public bus network in Dubrovnik, and there are also airport shuttles that stop at several points around the city, which is useful for arrival and departure days. If you're planning to do any day trips further afield, you'll want a hire car (I recommend Rentout, which is like Airbnb for car hire and works out significantly cheaper).

Top Things to Do in Dubrovnik with Kids

1. Boat Trip to the Elaphite Islands

If you're only going to book one organised activity in Dubrovnik, make it this one. For our first full day in the city, we'd booked a boat tour to explore the Elaphite Islands, a chain of small islands northwest of Dubrovnik, and it was an absolute highlight.

We chose to do the tour on the Karaka, a replica of the traditional Dubrovnik karaka ship from the 15th and 16th centuries. The ship was spacious, which meant we could bring the pram on board and had plenty of room for my daughter to crawl around on the deck floor.

The tour takes you to a few different islands with gorgeous views of the Dubrovnik coastline. We did a short hiking tour, a wine tasting and some snorkelling at Sunj Beach on Lopud Island. There were also little markets selling local delicacies, and several restaurants and cafés on the islands.

Book your tour here: Dubrovnik: Discover Dubrovnik by Sea and Land by Karaka Ship — and use code TODDLERTRAVELDIARIES5 for 5% off on the GetYourGuide app.

2. Dubrovnik Old Town

Dubrovnik Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that showcases stunningly preserved Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque architecture, enclosed by stone walls dating back to the 13th century. It was also brought to worldwide fame as the filming location for King's Landing in Game of Thrones, and there are now plenty of walking tours that take you to the different filming locations around the city.

We didn't bother bringing the pram today because we knew the old town would be full of stairs so we kept our daughter in the sling for most of the day. Despite there being plenty of tourists, as soon as you get off the main streets it's actually surprisingly quiet, and we could meander the narrow cobblestone alleyways at our own pace. There is plenty to keep you busy for a good few hours: check out some of the beautiful churches and museums, try some local specialities at one of the many restaurants, grab an ice cream and get thoroughly lost in the maze of alleyways (we found ourselves saying "oh, we're here again!" more than once!). If you're a GoT fan, you can try to spot as many filming locations as you can but there are more than you'd expect.

If you'd rather not navigate by instinct, there are guided Game of Thrones walking tours that are very well reviewed: Dubrovnik: Game of Thrones Walking Tour.

You can also pay to walk the city walls, which gives incredible views over the old town and out to sea. We skipped this on the day as we fancied a beach break instead, but it's high on the list for next time.

3. Beach Šulić

After a morning in the old town, we headed to Beach Šulić for a little splash around. It's a lovely small pebble beach only a 10 minute walk from the old town gates but because of this I would recommend bringing beach shoes if your little one is walking, but the water is crystal clear and calm enough for a gentle swim.

There's also a really nice bar right above the beach with great views of the water. It ended up being perfect timing for us as our daughter had fallen asleep in the sling, so we both got to sit and enjoy a peaceful drink, which felt like a small miracle!

4. Mount Srđ

We finished off the day by taking the cable car up to Mount Srđ for views over Dubrovnik and the islands beyond. The views are impressive with the city laid out below you and the deep blue Adriatic sea stretching into the distance.

I'll be honest though: the cable car is steep at €28 return per person, and once we got to the top, we noticed plenty of cars driving up, so a taxi would cost significantly less. There are also people who hike up and down, which is an option if you're feeling energetic (or you could do what one of our fellow passengers suggested: take the cable car up and hike down!).

5. Lokrum Island

Lokrum Island was our last full day in Dubrovnik and honestly one of the highlights of the entire trip. A short ferry ride (€28 return per person) from the old town harbour, Lokrum is a beautiful protected nature reserve just off the Dubrovnik coast, covered in lush pine forests, olive groves and botanical gardens with peacocks roaming freely around the paths.

There are no cars and no overnight accommodation on the island, which means it has a wonderfully peaceful, almost otherworldly feel. There are also several GoT filming locations dotted around, including the chance to sit on a replica Iron Throne for a photo.

There are several trails depending on how much walking you want to do. We chose one of the flatter routes and, although we'd left the pram back at the accommodation, it would probably have been manageable with a pram on most of it. The trees provide good shade throughout, making it a pleasant walk even in the September heat.

We started at the Dead Sea Lake, a natural saltwater pool sheltered by cliffs on the southern part of the island. As the water is completely calm, it is perfect for swimming with kids, and we set up our pop-up tent on the small shingle beach so my daughter could have a play in the shade. From the lake, there are a couple of other swim spots and beaches nearby, though these are rockier and slippery so aren't ideal for toddlers.

6. Pasjača Beach

If you have a hire car (or are willing to get a taxi), Pasjača Beach is not to be missed. Located only about 30 minutes south of Dubrovnik airport, we stopped here on our way back from Montenegro before dropping the car at the airport.

This was, without doubt, our favourite beach of the entire trip. It's a real hidden gem, tucked into the base of dramatic limestone cliffs with water that is genuinely the most crystal clear I've ever swum in.

Getting there takes a bit of effort because you walk down a steep rocky trail for about 10 minutes but it is absolutely worth it. Once you're down there, there is nothing else: no café, no bar, no facilities whatsoever, so make sure to bring plenty of water, food and everything you need for however long you plan to stay. It is not pram-friendly at all, so leave the pram in the car and bring a sling or baby carrier. Most beaches along this coastline are pebble rather than sand, and Pasjača is no exception, so pack beach shoes if your little one is walking.

7. Eat with the Locals

We ended our last evening in Dubrovnik with a truly special experience: a homemade dinner in the garden of a local family. Together with her husband Zlatko, home cook Marija laid on an incredible feast of local Dalmatian specialities, paired with Croatian wines and homemade liquors. There were around ten other guests at the table, and by the end of the evening it felt like we'd been dining with old friends. We even got some impromptu babysitting from the other guests and could both actually eat at the same time, which you'll know is a luxury when you have a baby!

If you want something completely different from a restaurant dinner, an evening that's genuinely memorable and an opportunity to eat authentic, homemade Croatian food then this is it.

8. Pile Park

Just near the Pile Gate at the entrance to the old town, this small park has a playground that's great for burning off energy before or after a stint in the old town. Handy to know about if you've been walking for a few hours and your toddler needs to run around — we stumbled across it and it was a really welcome stop.

Enjoyed this? Check out our full 7-day itinerary covering both Dubrovnik and Montenegro: Dubrovnik & Montenegro: 7-Day Itinerary with a Baby.