Where to stay in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a walled old town on the Adriatic, small enough to cross in ten minutes, with the rest of the city climbing the hill behind it or spreading along the coast. Stay inside the walls for atmosphere, stairs and noise, in Ploče or Pile for a short walk and a view of the walls, or out in Lapad and Babin Kuk for beaches and lower prices, with a bus ride into town. The thing to think twice about is the old town itself on days when cruise ships are in port: from mid-morning the lanes fill, and a room there is best for people who plan to go out early and late.
The short answer
- First trip
- Just outside the walls in Ploče or Pile: a five-minute walk to the gates, and a quieter night than inside.
- Couples
- The old town for lanes and stone at night, or Ploče for a room facing the walls and the sea.
- Families
- Lapad, with a pebble beach and a promenade, and a bus to the old town.
- Tight budget
- Gruž by the port and market, or Lapad away from the bay.
- Quiet
- Montovjerna on the hill, or Babin Kuk among the pines.
How we judge an area of Dubrovnik: walking time to the sights, noise at night, transport, and price. Nothing on this page is paid for, and the hotels we choose will say who chose them and when they last stayed.
Dubrovnik's neighborhoods, side by side
| Area | Best for | At night | Pile Gate | Old Port | Gruž bus station | Getting around | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The old town, inside the walls | Atmosphere on foot | Lively, then loud on warm nights | 5 min | 5 min | 40 min | On foot; no cars inside | €€€€ |
| Ploče | Views, short walks | Quiet | 15 min | 10 min | 50 min | On foot; buses at Ploče Gate | €€€ |
| Pile and Boninovo | Buses, easy arrival | Quiet; busy at the gate by day | 5 min | 15 min | 30 min | Main bus stop at Pile | €€€ |
| Lapad | Beaches, families, value | Lively on the bay in summer | 45 min | 55 min | 20 min | Buses to the old town | €€ |
| Babin Kuk | Resort stays | Very quiet | 55 min | over an hour | 30 min | Buses to the old town | €€€ |
| Gruž | Ferries, low prices | Busy by day, quiet late | 35 min | 45 min | 5 min | Main bus station; ferries | € |
| Montovjerna | Quiet, apartments | Very quiet | 15 min | 20 min | 25 min | On foot; steep; buses on the main road | €€ |
Walking times are the straight line between two points plus a third for real streets, at an easy pace, rounded to five minutes. They are measured from the middle of each area, so a hotel at its edge will be a few minutes either way. Dubrovnik is steep: the times do not include the stairs, and every walk home from the old town to Ploče, Pile or Montovjerna is uphill. Price is our read of a standard double in the same week, from € (cheapest) to €€€€ (dearest), until booking-site prices replace it.
Where the neighborhoods are
The old town, for stone lanes at night
The walled city itself: no cars, the sea at the end of every lane, and every sight within ten minutes on foot.
Inside the walls, the Stradun runs from Pile Gate to the Old Port, with lanes of steps climbing off it on one side and a grid of flat side streets on the other. Everything is a walk: the walls, the Rector's Palace, the cathedral, the harbor and the boats to the islands. At night, once the day visitors leave, it is a pleasure to wander.
It is also the busiest square kilometer in Croatia. Narrow lanes carry sound, bars and restaurants stay open late, and many rooms are up several flights of stairs with no lift. No cars are allowed in, so you will pull your luggage over stone from the gate: ask the hotel exactly where it is and how many steps. A room off the Stradun, not on it, is quieter.
Good for
- Atmosphere and sunset walks once the groups have gone
- No time spent on buses: the walls and the harbor are on your doorstep
- A short stay of two or three nights
Think twice if
- You sleep lightly: lane noise and late bars carry
- Stairs or luggage are a problem
- Cruise ships are in port and you want a calm morning
Staying in The old town, inside the walls: nearby sights, food and getting around
Ploče, for a room facing the walls
East of Ploče Gate: many rooms look back at the old town, and the walk in takes five to ten minutes.
Ploče sits on the coast just east of the old town, a few minutes from the Ploče Gate and the Old Port. Many of its hotels and apartments are built on the slope above the rocks, so rooms look back across the water to the walls, and there is a small public beach at Banje. The cable car to Mount Srđ is a short walk up the hill.
It is calmer than the old town and a good deal quieter after midnight. The cost is the hill: the streets climb, the way home from dinner is uphill, and a room with a view usually means steps from the road. Prices run high for the view and the position, though below rooms inside the walls.
Good for
- A view of the old town from your room
- A short walk to the gates and the harbor
- Banje beach and the cable car close by
Think twice if
- Hills and steps are hard for you
- You want to be inside the walls at night
- You want a cheap room: the view is priced in
Pile and Boninovo, for buses and an easy arrival
The quarter by the western gate, where most buses stop and the old town begins a few minutes away.
Pile is the area outside Pile Gate, the main entrance to the old town, with the busiest bus stop in the city and the cable car a short walk east. Boninovo and the streets above it run west along the coast toward Danče and the sea baths. The Stradun is two minutes from the gate, and the walls start here.
It is a convenient base rather than a pretty one. The square at the gate is full of tour groups and traffic by day, and some of the streets above it are steep. A little further out, rooms in Boninovo and above the coast are quieter, with sea views, and still within a fifteen-minute walk of the gate.
Good for
- Arriving or leaving by bus, with luggage
- Walking into the old town in two minutes
- Quieter nights than inside the walls
Think twice if
- You want a calm morning: Pile Gate is busy all day
- The street you pick is steep and you have heavy bags
Staying in Pile and Boninovo: nearby sights, food and getting around
Lapad, for beaches and families
A residential peninsula with a pebble beach and a promenade, about fifteen minutes from the old town by bus.
Lapad is the peninsula north-west of the old town, between the harbor at Gruž and the sea. Its center is Lapad Bay, a pebble beach with a seafront promenade of cafés and small shops, with pine-shaded paths and wider streets behind. Hotels and apartments are plentiful and noticeably cheaper than in the old town.
The cost is the journey. It is a bus ride of about fifteen to twenty minutes each way, and buses get slow and crowded in summer. The bay itself is lively in the evening in July and August. For a family or a trip built around a beach, it works well; for dinners in the old town, you will be taking the bus home.
Good for
- Families and beach days
- Value: more rooms, lower prices than near the walls
- Pine-shaded walks and a flat promenade
Think twice if
- You want to walk to the old town: it takes over an hour
- You plan to eat out late in town and dislike buses
Babin Kuk, for a resort stay
The headland at the end of Lapad: big hotels, pools and pine woods, and a bus ride into town.
Babin Kuk is the headland at the north-west tip of the peninsula, with the area's large resort hotels, a string of coves and a long coastal path round the point. Sea swimming is good and the setting is green and quiet compared with the city.
It is the furthest of these areas from the sights, roughly five kilometers from the old town, and most evenings there are quiet resort evenings. It suits a beach holiday with a day or two in town, not a city break built on evenings out.
Good for
- A beach and pool holiday with a visit to the old town
- Quiet nights among pine woods
- Swimming from the rocks and coves
Think twice if
- You want evenings in the old town: it is a bus ride away
- You want shops and restaurants in walking distance
Staying in Babin Kuk: nearby sights, food and getting around
Gruž, for ferries and the lowest prices
The working port, the main bus station and a daily market: practical, and well short of pretty.
Gruž is where ferries leave for the islands, where long-distance buses arrive and where the cruise ships dock. The main bus station is here, the green market runs each morning, and the apartments and small hotels around the harbor are the cheapest in the city with a bus at the door.
It is a working part of town, noisy with traffic and port activity, and about fifteen minutes from the old town by bus. It makes sense for an early ferry or an arrival by coach, or if the budget is tight. For atmosphere, it is the wrong side of town.
Good for
- Early ferries to Lopud, Mljet and Korčula
- The cheapest rooms with good bus links
- The morning market
Think twice if
- You want atmosphere on your doorstep
- Traffic and port noise bother you at night
Montovjerna, for quiet on the hill
The residential hillside north-west of the old town, above Pile: apartments with sea views, calm nights, and a steep walk down.
Montovjerna is the residential hillside north-west of the old town, above Pile on the way to Lapad and Gruž, mostly houses and small apartments with terraces facing the sea. Prices are lower than on the coast, and at night there is almost no noise.
The walk down to the Pile Gate is about fifteen to twenty minutes and the walk back up is a climb, with steps in places. Few restaurants and shops are nearby. It works if you are happy with stairs, or have a car, and want an apartment with a view rather than a hotel.
Good for
- Apartments with a terrace and a sea view
- Calm nights
- Prices below the coast
Think twice if
- Hills are hard for you: it is a steep climb home
- You want restaurants and shops on your street
Staying in Montovjerna: nearby sights, food and getting around
Where not to stay in Dubrovnik, and what to do instead
Every booking site lists these places to stay in Dubrovnik. We would skip them, or at least choose with care. Nobody pays a commission on a warning.
- A room in the old town on cruise-ship days, if you want a calm day
When ships are in port, the lanes fill from about mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Check the port's published list of ships for your dates, walk the walls at opening time, and keep the middle of the day for the beach or a boat.
- A room on or just off the Stradun, if you sleep lightly
Footsteps, delivery trolleys and bars carry between the stone walls. Ask for a room on a side lane or a courtyard, and check the floor, because there are rarely lifts.
- An apartment up a long flight of steps, with luggage
Listings say 'old town' and leave out the stairs. Ask how many steps from the gate, and whether there is a lift or luggage help.
- A cheap room in Gruž, for an evening-led city break
The saving is real, and so is the daily bus ride in and out. Choose it for an early ferry or a tight budget, not for atmosphere.
- A hotel in the old town without checking the air conditioning
July and August are hot, and thick stone helps less than it sounds. Check that the room has air conditioning, and that it works quietly.
Which neighborhood suits you
First time in Dubrovnik
Just outside the walls in Ploče or Pile; the old town if you want it all on foot.
Families with children
Lapad, with a beach and a promenade.
A tight budget
Gruž or Montovjerna, both with a bus into town.
Nightlife
The old town, and the bars around the Old Port.
Peace and quiet
Montovjerna or Babin Kuk.
Before you book a room in Dubrovnik
The practical things that decide whether a good hotel in Dubrovnik makes a good stay.
- The tourist taxDubrovnik charges a tourist tax per person per night: €2.65 from 1 April to 30 September and about €1.85 for the rest of the year. Children under 12 pay nothing and ages 12 to 18 pay half. Hotels usually add it to the bill as a separate line; apartment hosts may include it or ask for cash. It often isn't in the price the booking sites show.
- From Dubrovnik airportThe airport shuttle bus meets flights and costs €10 one way or €15 open return, and the journey is about thirty minutes to the old town and about thirty-five to Gruž. It leaves around half an hour after a flight lands, so times change by the day. Going back, the bus starts at Gruž bus station and stops at the cable car; it does not stop at Pile Gate. A taxi is quicker and costs more: agree the fare first.
- Cruise-ship daysShips dock at Gruž and passengers reach the old town by coach and taxi, which fills the lanes from about mid-morning. The port publishes its schedule of arrivals: check your dates, and plan the walls for opening time.
- Cars and parkingNo cars are allowed inside the walls and parking near the gates is limited and dear. If you are driving, choose a hotel with its own parking in Ploče, Pile, Lapad or Babin Kuk, and ask what it costs.
- Stairs and luggageInside the walls, and on the slopes of Ploče, Pile and Montovjerna, many rooms are up flights of stone steps and hotels have no lift. If stairs are hard for you, ask the exact number before you book.
- Summer heat and crowdsJuly and August are hot and crowded, and rooms cost the most. May, June, September and early October are easier on both counts.
Where to stay in Dubrovnik: questions people ask
What is the best area to stay in Dubrovnik for a first visit?
Just outside the walls, in Ploče or Pile: five to ten minutes on foot to the gates and the Stradun, with quieter nights than inside. If you want to be in the middle of it and can live with noise and steps, stay inside the old town.
Is it worth staying inside the old town walls?
For atmosphere, yes: the lanes empty after the day visitors leave. The drawbacks are the stairs, no lifts in most buildings, no cars, late noise, and the highest prices in the city.
Ploče or Pile: which is better?
Ploče for views of the walls from your room, the Banje beach and the cable car, with a hilly walk home. Pile for buses, the western end of the walls and an easy arrival, though the gate itself is busy all day.
Is Lapad a good place to stay?
Yes for beaches, families and lower prices, with a bus of about fifteen to twenty minutes into town. It is less good if you want to walk home from dinner in the old town.
How do I get from Dubrovnik airport to my hotel?
The airport shuttle bus costs €10 one way and takes about thirty minutes to the old town and thirty-five to Gruž. A taxi is quicker and costs more. The shuttle does not pick up at Pile Gate on the way back, so use the cable car stop or Gruž.
How much is the tourist tax in Dubrovnik?
€2.65 per person per night from April to September and about €1.85 from October to March. Children under 12 are exempt and ages 12 to 18 pay half. It is paid at the accommodation and is usually on top of the price shown online.
Is Dubrovnik too crowded on cruise days?
From mid-morning to mid-afternoon the old town can be very full. Walk the walls at opening time, and keep the middle of the day for a beach or a boat trip to Lokrum or the Elaphiti islands.
Can I walk everywhere in Dubrovnik?
In and around the old town, yes: Pile to Ploče is about fifteen minutes through the Stradun. Lapad, Babin Kuk and Gruž need a bus, and every area outside the walls climbs.
