A Week in Dubrovnik Without a Car: The Ferries, Buses and Boats That Cover Everything
Jadrolinija ferry docked at Gruž harbour with Mount Srđ rising behind
Seven days, six islands, and 0 rental car days — with the exact bus numbers, ferry lines and departure times that make it work.
Why you don’t want a car here
Dubrovnik is one of the worst cities in Croatia to keep a rental car in. The Old Town is fully pedestrianised. Ploče and Pile have residents-only permits and street parking that gets ticketed daily. Lapad's parking is 3-5 EUR an hour, all day, all summer. The Ilijina Glavica public garage near Pile is 25 EUR for 24 hours in July-August. If your hotel doesn’t include parking (most Old Town properties don’t, most Lapad and Ploče properties do at 15-25 EUR per night), you’re spending more on the car sitting still than on the driving.
Meanwhile the Libertas bus network covers everything within the city and the near suburbs, Jadrolinija ferries reach all six inhabited islands worth visiting, and Krilo/Kapetan Luka fast catamarans handle Korčula, Mljet and Hvar. A weekly ballpark: rental car 350-500 EUR plus 150-250 EUR parking, versus 80-140 EUR total in bus and ferry tickets. The one thing you can’t do easily by public transport is Pelješac wineries — and for that you take a day tour instead of running the car for a week.
Day 1: arrival and the Libertas system
Airport to city: platibus (bus 11A/11B run by Platanus) 12 EUR one-way to Pile Gate or Gruž bus station, roughly 45 minutes, runs to match every scheduled flight. Buy tickets from the driver in cash (euros only) or online through the Platanus app. Taxi is 40-50 EUR flat to any city address; Uber and Bolt operate here and run 30-40 EUR for the same route. If two of you are travelling with normal luggage, take the bus — it drops you where you need to be either way.
Get the Libertas weekly card at any kiosk with a Libertas sign (Gruž bus station, Pile terminus, most Tisak newsstands): 30 EUR for seven days, unlimited rides on all city routes. Single tickets are 2 EUR from the driver or 1.73 EUR from a kiosk in advance. The routes you’ll use: number 1A/1B (Pile-Gruž), number 6 (Pile-Lapad-Babin Kuk), number 8 (Pile-Ploče), number 10 (Pile-Cavtat), number 4 (Old Town-Montovjerna). All run every 10-20 minutes in season, hourly late evenings.
Day 2: Old Town on foot, all day
Bus to Pile at 08:15, walk in at 08:30. Old Town day proper: walls (35 EUR, 90 minutes, do it clockwise from Pile Gate), Rector's Palace (10 EUR, 45 minutes), Franciscan monastery (6 EUR, 30 minutes), Dominican monastery (4 EUR, 45 minutes), lunch at Kopun on Poljana Ruđera Boškovića (22-30 EUR mains). After lunch, War Photo Limited (10 EUR, 90 minutes) or the Maritime Museum (7 EUR, 60 minutes). Get the Dubrovnik Pass one-day version for 40 EUR and it covers everything above except War Photo Limited.
This is a heavy day on foot — 12-15 km walking and climbing counts fully worth it. Evening back on the number 6 to Lapad; dinner at Pantarul on Kralja Tomislava (mains 20-28 EUR). If you’re staying in the Old Town you don’t need the bus at all today, but the number 6 or a 6 EUR taxi home in the dark is worth it after that much climbing. Sleep either at Hotel Kompas in Lapad (220-320 EUR) or The Pucić Palace inside the walls (280-340 EUR).
Day 3: Elaphites by island hopper
Number 1A bus to Gruž port, 20 minutes. Jadrolinija ferry line 9807 leaves Gruž at 09:00, calls at Koločep 09:20, Lopud 09:45, Suđurađ on Šipan 10:15. Round-trip fare 8 EUR. Or take one of the private "Three Island Cruise" boats from the Old Port — 45-55 EUR including lunch on board, more social, less flexible. My preference is Jadrolinija for the freedom to stay longer on one island.
Best single-island choice: Lopud. Get off at 09:45, walk the 1.5 km sandy path across the island to Šunj beach on the far side — the only proper sand beach in the whole Dubrovnik area, shallow, warm, family-perfect. Swim, lunch at Konoba Barbara on the beach (grilled fish 20-28 EUR), walk back, catch the 16:45 ferry, home by 17:30. Alternative: get off at Šipan, longer island, better for walkers, but you need to book Konoba Kod Marka ahead if you want the peka. Sleep in Lapad.
Day 4: Cavtat by boat
Skip the number 10 bus today (it works — 4 EUR, 40 minutes, runs every 30 minutes) and take the small ferry from the Old Port instead: 18 EUR return, 45 minutes each way, five sailings a day from May through October. It's the more scenic approach and it drops you right in the Cavtat harbour rather than on a main road above town. First boat 09:30, last back 19:00.
Cavtat itinerary: Račić Mausoleum on the cemetery peninsula (3 EUR, 30 minutes with the walk up), Vlaho Bukovac House (5 EUR, 45 minutes), swim off the rocks by the Bukovac house or at the small pebble beach on the north bay. Lunch at Bugenvila (22-30 EUR mains, good local wine list). Walk the full waterfront loop, both bays, about 3 km total. Return on the 17:30 boat. Sleep in Lapad or Old Town.
Day 5: Mljet by fast catamaran
This is the day you need to book ahead. Kapetan Luka's Krilo catamaran leaves Dubrovnik Gruž at 07:45 (some seasons 08:30), reaches Pomena on Mljet at 09:30. Return fare 44 EUR. Book online 3-5 days ahead in July-August because it sells out — this is the same boat that continues to Korčula and Hvar. Mljet National Park entry 25 EUR June-September, 15 EUR shoulder, includes the small boat across to St Mary's islet in the middle of the larger salt lake.
Do the two saltwater lakes on foot or rent a bike at Pomena for 15 EUR the day. The circuit is 9 km around Veliko Jezero, mostly flat, well-marked. Swim in the lake (24°C in August, warmer than the sea), boat to the islet, walk back. Lunch at Konoba Nikola in Pomena (grilled fish 25-32 EUR). Return catamaran at 18:20, back in Dubrovnik 20:00. Long day but the best single day-trip in the region.
Day 6: Ston without a car
Ston is the trickier one without a car. The Libertas coastal bus toward Split calls at Ston — check the timetable at the main bus station (Autobusni Kolodvor) in Gruž, currently three departures a day (roughly 07:15, 10:00, 16:15), one hour each way, 10-12 EUR one-way. This works but the schedule constrains you: 10:00 out, 90 minutes on the walls and salt pans, oyster lunch in Mali Ston, back on the 15:00 or 17:00.
The easier alternative is a half-day group tour: Adriatic Explore, Amico Tours and several others run Ston-and-Pelješac-winery combinations for 55-75 EUR, minivan pickup from your hotel, back by 18:00. You lose the freedom of independent travel and gain the two vineyards you couldn’t otherwise reach — Miloš in Ponikve or Skaramuča in Potomje, both serious Plavac Mali producers. For a car-free week this is the day where a tour genuinely earns its cost.
Day 7: Korčula by fast boat, optional overnight
Same Krilo catamaran as Mljet day, continues to Korčula Town, arrival about 11:00. Return same day is possible on the 16:20 back to Dubrovnik, arriving 19:00 — Korčula Old Town is small (400m across) and you can honestly do it justice in four hours. Walls, cathedral, the alleged Marco Polo birthhouse (3 EUR, half a room, don’t overinvest), lunch at Konoba Mate in Pupnat if you can arrange a taxi inland (15 minutes, 20 EUR each way).
Better: overnight. Sleep at Lešić Dimitri Palace in Korčula Old Town (280-380 EUR, five suites in a converted bishop's palace) or Aminess Korčula Heritage on the harbour (180-240 EUR). Fly-and-flop day, wine at Filippi wine bar on Trg Sv. Marka, second morning wander, catamaran back at 12:00. This turns your car-free week into a two-city trip and it's the version I’d book.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Pile.
Cash to the driver in euros, or the Libertas mobile app (Croatian bank cards or major international cards). Kiosk tickets are cheaper (1.73 vs 2 EUR). The weekly 30 EUR pass is by far the best value if you’re doing more than 15 rides in a week.
Very reliable in summer; occasional weather cancellations November through March, particularly for the outer Elaphites when the bura wind is strong. The Krilo fast catamarans cancel more readily in rough seas because they’re smaller. Always check the day-of schedule at the port or the Jadrolinija website; refunds are automatic for cancelled sailings.
Yes, both operate and are cheaper than street taxis — 6-10 EUR for a typical Old Town to Lapad ride, versus 12-15 EUR by street taxi. Availability is fine day and night in high season, thinner in winter. They can’t drop you inside the Old Town walls; nearest drop points are Pile and Ploče gates.
Genuinely difficult without a car. The Ston bus continues to Orebić but doesn’t stop at the wineries mid-peninsula. Some producers (Miloš, Grgić) will arrange a driver from Dubrovnik for a booked tasting — expect 100-150 EUR for the transport plus tasting fees. Otherwise book a group half-day tour and treat it as the exception to the no-car week.
