Dubrovnik wasn’t on our radar for years. We’d seen the photos — terracotta rooftops, impossibly blue water, those famous walls — and assumed it was a couples’ destination. Then we went with the kids, and honestly? We were wrong. Dead wrong. It’s compact, walkable, the food is familiar enough that nobody stages a protest at dinner, and there’s a surprising amount to do beyond museums and churches.
It’s not without its challenges. The heat in high summer is fierce and the prices are higher than you’d expect for Croatia. But get the timing right and this city delivers something really special.
Getting There
Dubrovnik is roughly three hours from most UK airports. That’s the sweet spot for family flying — long enough to watch a film, short enough that nobody completely loses the plot.
Direct flights run seasonally from Gatwick, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and others. easyJet, Jet2, TUI and BA all operate routes during summer, roughly May through October. Outside that window, you’ll need a connection.
The alternative is flying into Split, which has year-round connections and often cheaper fares. From Split it’s about three and a half hours by car or bus down the coast. Beautiful drive, but be aware you briefly cross into Bosnia-Herzegovina at Neum, so bring passports.
Croatia uses the euro now, which makes life considerably easier.
The City Walls
This is the thing to do. If you only manage one activity in Dubrovnik, make it this.
The walls encircle the entire old town — nearly two kilometres of fortified walkway high above the rooftops and sea. The views are extraordinary. Down into courtyards where washing hangs between shuttered windows. Out across the harbour to Lokrum. Along the coastline in both directions. Even screen-addicted tweens put their phones away. Briefly.
Tickets are €35 for adults. Children under 10 go free. You walk the circuit in one direction (anticlockwise), and it takes about an hour to ninety minutes depending on photo stops and how quickly small legs are moving.
It is not stroller accessible — steep stone steps throughout and narrow sections. Children aged five and up generally manage fine, though you’ll want to hold hands where the drops are significant. Under fives will need carrying on the tricky bits, which in summer heat is nobody’s idea of fun.
Go early. The walls open at 8am in summer and the first hour is relatively quiet. By 10am it’s packed with almost no shade. Bring water, wear hats, slather on sun cream.
The Old Town
Dubrovnik’s old town is pedestrianised, which immediately makes it more relaxing than most European cities. No dodging traffic. No holding tiny hands at crossings. Just marble-paved streets, limestone buildings, and people wandering about.
The Stradun — the main street — is wide and flat. The side streets are where it gets interesting. Narrow alleys climb steeply via stone steps, opening onto tiny squares with cafes and washing lines overhead. Our lot treated the whole place like an adventure playground.
Game of Thrones fans will recognise locations everywhere. The Jesuit Staircase where Cersei did her walk of shame. Fort Lovrijenac standing in for the Red Keep. You don’t need a guided tour — just a quick Google beforehand and you can spot the key spots yourself.
Gelato is everywhere. And cats. Dubrovnik has cats sleeping on walls, lurking under cafe tables, sitting imperiously on church steps. Our daughter counted forty-seven in three days.
Cable Car to Mount Srd
Quick, easy, and the kind of thing kids remember long after the trip. The cable car runs from just outside the old town walls up to the summit of Mount Srd in about four minutes. Tickets are €27 for adults and €12 for children.
The old town below looks like a model village. You can see the Elafiti islands, Lokrum just offshore, and on clear days the coastline stretching towards Montenegro. There’s a cafe at the summit plus a small museum about the Croatian War of Independence in the old Napoleonic fort.
Go late afternoon. Better light for photos, slightly cooler, and if you time it right you catch the sun dropping towards the horizon.
Banje Beach
The nearest beach to the old town, and the one you’ll see in all the photos — that distinctive view back towards the walls and Fort Revelin with clear turquoise water in the foreground.
It’s pebbly rather than sandy, so water shoes are a good idea. The water is clean and clear, though it drops off quickly so keep an eye on non-swimmers. Loungers are expensive (€30-40 for two sunbeds), but there’s a free public section where you can lay your own towel. Perfectly fine.
It gets crowded in July and August. Arrive before 10am for a decent spot. For quieter swimming, the rocks around Buza Bar on the south side of the old town are popular with locals. Older kids love it. Toddlers, less so.
Lokrum Island
Fifteen minutes by ferry from the old town harbour. €20 return for the boat (children under four go free). Ferries run regularly throughout the day, so you don’t need to stress about timing.
It’s a nature reserve — no cars, no hotels, no development. Just paths through botanical gardens, a ruined Benedictine monastery, a small salt lake warm enough for swimming, and rocky coves where the water is impossibly clear.
And peacocks. Roaming freely, everywhere, completely unbothered by humans. Our kids were transfixed. They spent more time following peacocks than doing anything else on the island. There are rabbits too if you look carefully.
The salt lake is shallow, warm, and sheltered — perfect for smaller children. Bigger kids will prefer the swimming rocks along the southern shore, where you can jump off into deep water.
Pack a picnic. There’s a cafe but it’s limited and overpriced. A blanket, some sandwiches, and a couple of hours here makes for a near-perfect family half day.
Sea Kayaking
If your children are six or older and reasonably confident in the water, sea kayaking around the city walls is something genuinely special. Several companies run family-friendly tours lasting two to three hours, and prices sit around €35-50 per person depending on the operator and the length of the trip.
You paddle right along the base of the walls, which from sea level look even more imposing than from above. Most tours include a stop at a quiet beach for swimming and snorkelling. The guides are generally patient with wobbly first-timers and good at keeping things manageable for families.
Morning tours have calmer water. We’d recommend those over afternoon departures.
Where to Stay
The old town is gorgeous. Staying inside those walls sounds romantic. And it is — right up until you’re dragging a suitcase up 200 stone steps in 33-degree heat while your three-year-old has a meltdown because they dropped their stuffed rabbit somewhere near the Pile Gate.
No cars are allowed inside the old town. None. Everything goes on foot, including your luggage. The streets are steep, stepped, and entirely unsuitable for wheeled anything. If your children walk well and you’re packing light, an old town apartment can be magical. But with young kids? Think carefully.
We’d point most families towards Lapad or Babin Kuk — about fifteen to twenty minutes from the old town by bus. These areas have proper beaches, hotels with pools, supermarkets, and restaurants that are noticeably cheaper than inside the walls. Apartments with kitchens, balconies, maybe a pool. The trade-off is atmosphere, but life is just easier.
Self-catering is worth considering. Having a kitchen for breakfast and the occasional pasta dinner saves a significant amount over a week.
Food
Croatian food is straightforward and familiar to British kids. Pizza. Pasta. Grilled fish. Chips. You won’t struggle finding something everyone will eat. The seafood is outstanding if your children are adventurous — fresh prawns, squid, sea bass. Even our fussiest eater went back for seconds on the prawns.
Prices vary depending on location. A meal in the old town runs €15-25 per person, and waterfront restaurants push well beyond that. Move to Lapad and the same meal costs a third less. We ate our best dinner at a neighbourhood place — grilled fish, salad, wine, bread — for about €12 a head.
Ice cream is cheap and everywhere. Budget at least one per child per day. Resistance is futile.
When to Go
Not July. Not August. Unless you really enjoy crowds, queuing, and the kind of heat that makes everyone irritable by 2pm.
Dubrovnik in high summer regularly hits 35°C and above. The marble streets radiate heat. Minimal shade. The walls walk becomes unpleasant after 10am. And cruise ship season means the old town can receive several thousand additional visitors in a single morning.
May, June, September and early October are significantly better. Mid-twenties. Manageable crowds. Lower prices. The sea is warm enough for swimming from June onwards, and in September it’s at its warmest. We went in late September and it was perfect — sunny every day, warm enough for the beach, and the old town felt like an actual place rather than a theme park.
The marble streets are polished smooth by centuries of foot traffic and become slippery when wet. Watch your footing after rain, especially children in sandals.
Check the cruise ship schedule before planning your old town days. Websites like cruisemapper.com show which ships are due when. On days with multiple large ships in port, the old town is essentially a queue. Plan those days for the beach or a day trip instead.
Day Trips
Cavtat is thirty minutes south by bus and feels like a completely different world. A quiet harbour town with a tree-lined promenade, uncrowded beaches, and restaurants where you can actually get a table without booking. It’s a lovely low-key day when everyone needs a break from sightseeing.
Mljet is further afield — about an hour and a half by catamaran — but worth it for a full day out. The western end is a national park with two salt lakes surrounded by forest. Swim, hire kayaks, cycle, or take a boat to a tiny island with a monastery in the middle of the larger lake. About as far from the Dubrovnik crowds as you can get.
Montenegro is just across the border, with day trips to the Bay of Kotor — often called the southernmost fjord in Europe. Touristy but dramatic. Passport control can be slow in summer.
Is Dubrovnik Worth It With Kids?
Yes. Without hesitation.
It’s compact enough that you can see the highlights in three or four days without anyone burning out. The food is easy. The beaches are clean. Lokrum alone would justify the trip for our lot. And the walls — there’s nothing else quite like walking around an entire medieval city with the Adriatic sparkling below you.
Get the timing right. Avoid the worst of the heat. Stay somewhere practical rather than picturesque. And you’ll come home wondering why you didn’t go sooner.