Dubrovnik

Currency

Croatia switched from the kuna to the euro in 2023 — any guide telling you to bring kuna is out of date. Prices in Dubrovnik are the highest in Croatia by a wide margin.

ATMs & cards

Use Zagrebačka banka, PBZ or Erste machines. Euronet ATMs are heavily concentrated inside the old town and should be avoided. Decline conversion.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Very safe. The genuine problems are crowds and heat — when several cruise ships dock the old town becomes barely walkable. Do the walls at 08:00 and check cruise schedules before booking.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Worth having

• Routine vaccinations up to date
• Tick-borne encephalitis for inland forest areas

Getting treated

EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment. Coastal towns have clinics geared to the tourist season; islands are thinner, and serious cases go to Split or Zagreb.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Old town restaurants charge a heavy premium. Walk out to Lapad or Gruž for seafood at half the price. Try black risotto and Pelješac red wine.

Getting around

• Walking — the old town is entirely pedestrian and small
• Local bus — the only public transport, connects the old town to Lapad and Gruž port
• Cable car — up Mount Srđ for the definitive view, €27 return
• Ferry — to Lokrum island and the Elaphiti islands from the old port
• Airport: shuttle bus to Pile Gate (30 min, €10)

Must-see

Things to do

• Walk the full circuit of the city walls
• Take the cable car up Mount Srđ
• Swim off the rocks at Buza bar
• Kayak around Lokrum island
• Day trip to the Elaphiti islands
• Visit the Game of Thrones filming spots

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Croatian

• HelloDobar danDO-bar dan
• PleaseMolimMO-leem
• Thank youHvalaHVA-la
• Yes / NoDa / Neda / neh
• Excuse meOprostiteo-PROS-ti-teh
• How much is it?Koliko košta?KO-li-ko KOSH-ta
• The bill, pleaseRačun, molimRA-choon
• Cheers!Živjeli!ZHIV-yeh-li

Religion

Catholic

Strongly Catholic, particularly along the coast and in Dalmatia. Sunday Mass fills churches that are otherwise full of tourists.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Cover shoulders and knees to enter churches
• Greet with dobar dan on entering shops and restaurants
• Take coffee slowly — a kava can last an hour and that is the point
• Try the local wine rather than defaulting to Italian

Don't

• Do not call Croatia part of the Balkans casually, and avoid glib talk about the 1990s war
• Do not wear swimwear away from the beach; several coastal towns fine it
• Do not tip more than rounding up
• Do not compare Croatian to Serbian in company