How To Reach Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, the star city of Croatia, is also famously known as the ‘Adriatic pearl’ as it sits by the Adriatic Sea. The city was once the Republic of Ragusa in Dalmatia, holding its reign high between1358 to 1808. Today the city is a manmade paradise, a beacon of brick red tiled roofed houses, old city walls and ramparts that look over the sea. How to reach this heaven of a place? Well, here’s a guide.

The Dubrovnik Airport is located in Cilipi, 18 km away from the main city centre. Here you have flights coming in from all major cities in Europe like Paris, London, Amsterdam etc. Although Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia and receives the major traffic of international flights, tourists from Indian cities like Mumbai or Delhi can easily reach Dubrovnik via a connecting stop at Zagreb. From Dubrovnik Airport, you have many options to travel into the city - taxi, bus or a hired car.

Dubrovnik is a difficult place to reach by road, especially from the capital Zagreb, as it is 600 km away. Split is nearer, at 227 km. You can hire a car to drive yourself or choose to take the domestic buses plying between cities. The recent developments for the construction of Pelješac bridge has bettered the connectivity prospects of Dubrovnik with the rest of Croatia.

The ferry and other vessels make travel to Dubrovnik very convenient. The Adriatic sea is one of the best mediums to reach this city. Regular ferries ply between Split and Dubrovnik, sparing you the hassle of driving all the way. Jadrolinija is Croatia’s local ferry company and runs ferries to Dubrovnik from places like Sudurad, Korcula, Hvar and Brac. However, the ferries are only catamarans and do not allow vehicles onboard. 

For International travel, you have the Bari coast of Italy running vessels to Dubrovnik.

The main mode of public transport in Dubrovnik is its fleet of city buses. The network is quite extensive and joins various nooks and crannies of the sea-side city. Taxis make for the next best medium, although slightly more expensive. You can hail one at a taxi pick-up station. People also prefer to rent bicycles to take city tours, especially for Game of Thrones tour and Old City tours. Walking is also quite preferred if you are going shorter distances, or hiking in case you are exploring the highlands and mounts around the area.