Is a city break to Dubrovnik with kids fun? We think it’s a tricky question. The city is beautiful, but there are also quite a few arguments why you shouldn’t have to visit the city with kids. We visited the city of Dubrovnik during our tour of Eastern Europe, and based on our visit to this city in Croatia, we list the best activities to do with the family below.
Dubrovnik with kids: some things in advance
Ok, the introduction to this blog may not have been super enthusiastic and we are going to explain where that feeling came from. After all, you need to know a few things about the city in advance.
The Old Town is beautiful, but unfortunately these days whole groups of tourists have come behind it. As a result, you definitely no longer have the city to yourself. Dubrovnik is a popular destination for cruise ships, which therefore visit the city regularly. When we were there in the summer, there were a lot of groups of tourists walking around with cruise line stickers on their chests being led around by a guide.
You are therefore almost nowhere alone, which is why the advice is to visit the city very early in the morning with your kids or just later in the day. Because of this, the tourists from the cruise ships have already returned to the ship and a second benefit is therefore that it is a lot less hot. Especially if you visit Dubrovnik with kids in the summer, you should expect very high temperatures. As a result, walking around the city with kids can be less than pleasant.
Also, the prices are quite high. This makes sense, of course, because the huge influx of tourists means there is more demand than supply, and that causes prices to go up. The old downtown will obviously remain the old downtown and they cannot expand this part of the city. A day in Dubrovnik with kids can therefore be a pricey affair.
Keep in mind that there are many stairs in the downtown area and it is not convenient to ride with a stroller everywhere. The main street is fine to do with the stroller but if you walk a street to the left or to the right you will soon encounter stairs. Because of this, especially with the heat in the city, it can be tough on young kids.
On the other hand, we must say if you can pierce through this that the Old Town is really beautiful though and therefore it is really fun to spend a morning or afternoon visiting the city. You really don’t have to spend days here, but if you’re in the area, a few hours is certainly fine for exploring downtown.
Dubrovnik with kids #1: the old town
Dubrovnik’s Old Town is the reason millions of tourists visit the city every year. Around this ancient city is therefore a high wall, where you can enter the city in different ways. Stradun is the main street of the Old Town and you have several corridors and alleys here to the left and to the right where you can walk.
On that note, it’s definitely fun to take a stroll through the Old Town and definitely off the main street. Especially if you also climb some stairs you do notice that it gets a lot quieter than it is on the main street. You also have small playgrounds in this downtown area like at the Pile gate and also in the old city itself, but during the day these playgrounds are in the middle of the sun and it is not very pleasant for kids to play here.
One of the most famous activities in Dubrovnik’s Old Town is to take a (paid) walk along the city walls to see the city from a great height. Just keep in mind that especially in the high season, it is very crowded and you really do walk the walls after each other in some sections. However, in some places you do have stunning views of the old town and the sea.
The total walk is about two kilometers and count on it taking you (depending on whether you walk fast or slow) about one to two hours to complete this hike. Of course, this hike can be quite hot if you are going to walk it in the middle of the day in summer. You can buy tickets for this anywhere in the city.
Dubrovnik with kids #2: going up by cable car
One of the other activities most tourists do in Dubrovnik is to take the cable car up the mountain. This cable car is located just outside the Old Town and you can walk to it in about ten minutes. When we were there it was pretty crowded and we had to queue for a while to go up the cable car. You can buy tickets online in advance here, but this is also fine at the ticket office at the cable car itself.
The ride on the cable car takes only a few minutes and during this ride you already have a beautiful view of the city. On top of the mountain, you can hike to different points and have several viewpoints. We have seen quite a few viewpoints in the world anyway, but we really liked this one. You have a wonderful view of the city and the sea and we must say that the city is really quite spectacular. We thought it was definitely worth it.
However, we did find that the price of the cable car was quite on the high side. Especially if you have to go upstairs with an entire family, then you could be in for a hefty outlay. If you have your own car with you, you can also drive yourself up. We met a Dutch couple on the mountain who had done this and you save quite a bit of money that way.
Dubrovnik with kids #3: excursions from Dubrovnik
You can take various trips around the city and on the water from Dubrovnik with kids. For example, near Pile gate sits the company Adventure Dalmatia, where you can book tours by kayak. Kids as young as four years old can go kayaking with parents accompanied by a guide here and the activity takes about three hours. You’ll paddle to Lokrum Island and view the caves here and then go snorkeling with the family at Cave Beach. A nice morning or afternoon activity in the city.
Another tour you can take from Dubrovnik with kids is to explore the Elafite Islands by boat. You do spend a whole day on the boat here, but it is also possible to swim, snorkel and sunbathe on the beach during the boat trip. During this cruise you will stop at various points on these islands. You can easily book these cruises on the spot. There are plenty of little offices offering these excursions in Old Town.
It is also possible to book a half-day excursion to the blue cave from the Dubrovnik with kids. During this tour you will visit several caves, the most important being the blue cave. In this cave you can swim and, of course, you can see all kinds of colors of blue in this cave. During this excursion you will also go to the beach and you can swim and also visit the nature of the Elafite Islands.
Dubrovnik with kids #4: Beaches around dubrovnik
In the summer it is hot in Dubrovnik and then with kids it is nice if you can go to the beach for a few hours. Don’t expect great beaches with lovely beach sand around the city, but there are a number of options where you can take a quick dip in the sea in Dubrovnik with kids.
For example, the city’s most famous beach is Banje Beach which is located east of the Old Town and where you can be a few minutes’ walk from this downtown area. You can rent a beach bed and umbrella here, and keep in mind that the beach consists of small pebbles. It is also not a super big beach so in the summer it can be quite crowded here.
We ourselves went in the afternoon to Uvala Lapad Beach which is a fairly large beach with many beds and umbrellas you can rent and also has a very nice promenade to it. On this boulevard there are several restaurants and cafes and this is where we had lunch ourselves when we visited the city.
This beach is also fun to visit with kids and is a few minutes’ bus ride from Dubrovnik’s Old Town. Again, the beach consists of pebbles. There are other beaches in the area, but you really have to take the boat or drive a lot further. You do not have to visit the city of Dubrovnik with kids because of its beautiful beaches, but it is certainly possible to spend a morning or afternoon on the beach.
Dubrovnik with kids #5: aquarium Dubrovnik
In the old town of Dubrovnik, it is also possible to visit an aquarium. This aquarium is located within the walls of the ancient Fort St. Louis. Ivan and looks beautiful on the inside. The aquarium has three floors and you will encounter the sea creatures that you also find in the Adriatic Sea.
The first floor of the “museum” is especially interesting because this is where the marine animals are. You will see tiny turtles, stingrays, octopuses, seahorses and many more species. What they did make beautiful is that the pools that hold the animals are placed in niches in the old stone walls of the fort.
On the other floors, you can still find information about Dubrovnik’s maritime past. Not super interesting for kids. Whether you should necessarily go here is, of course, a trade-off. There are nicer aquariums in different cities, but if you have the time and your kids enjoy seeing aquatic animals you can go here. For more information on opening hours, entrance fees and different sea creatures, take a look at the aquarium’s website.
Where to stay in Dubrovnik with kids?
You have plenty of choices for accommodation in the city of Dubrovnik with kids. We ourselves stayed at Orka Apartments and we liked it very much. Beautiful apartment with a beautiful view of the water. In addition, it has a swimming pool which we ourselves always find very nice after a day walking through the city and especially in summer. From this apartment it was a few minutes by bus to get to the old town. We could park our car here in front of the door for free.
Budget hotel: Rooms Villa Garden
Mid-range hotel: Orka Apartments
Luxury hotel: Hotel Dubrovnik Palace
For a list of all hotels in Dubrovnik with kids check here.
