Dubrovnik day trip reccommendations

Hi Denise,
My husband and I will also have three days in Dubrovnik this sumer. We'll be there in late June.

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After a lot of research, we decided to splurge on a day trip to Montenegro with Cheap Dubrovnik Tours. The name was a bit off-putting at first, but after reading their reviews and corresponding with the owner, I have full confidence that we will have an enjoyable trip. The driver/guide will pick us up and drop us at our hotel after a full day to Montenegro. The day-trip costs an incredible 160 euros total and is all inclusive.

As you probably know from reading RS Guidebooks, Dubrovnik and Kotor, Montenegro can sometimes be overrun by cruise ship tourists. Check out this site http://ports.cruisett.com/ to help you decide which days/times may be less crowded in Dubrovnik and Kotor
Have fun!

The popular day trips are to Mostar, Bosnia and to Kotor/Perast/Budva, Montenegro. If you want something more coastal, go with Montenegro. If you want more culture and recent history, go with Mostar. There are multiple tour companies that go to both destinations. Personally, I would opt for Mostar -- see Rick's Article for why.

I did both a Mostar day trip and a Montenegro/Bay of Kotor day trip. They were both really great but if I had to pick just one it would be Mostar. It's beautiful, on the river, neat to wander through and the history, both recent and older, was so visible and palpable there. It was a really awesome day.

Thank you all, we were trying to decide between Mostar and Montenegro-so I appreciate the comment about Mostar. This trip is prior to a business trip daughter will taking in Europe, so we could not picke which days we would be in Dubrovnik. .Unfortunately several days that we are in Dubrovnik will be overrun with cruise ships as I too, checked the schedule!
Thank you for the advice and I will look into the tour group you mentioned..
Denise

I did Mostar and loved it although the time in Mostar was a little short.

We just got back from Dubrovnik. We used Cheap Dubrovnik Tours and they were wonderful. Spent one day going to Mostar and area and another going to Kotor, Montenegro. Both were excellent and informative. Cheap Dub is prompt and flexible. The owner Andro took us to Montenegro. He is Montenegrin but lives now in Dubrovnik. He is pleasant and a lot of fun. His other primary driver, Marijan took us to Mostar. He is an encyclopedia. Both are people you can spent a day with which important. Both are good, safe drivers which isn't a given in Croatia. Both speak English very well.
As for the trips, personally we like Montenegro better. Its beautiful and closer so less driving. Kotor is also an old town but less traffic than Dubrovnik. Mostar is more interesting history and culture wise, which is normally more our thing, but it is just in range distance wise for a day trip. We are getting older now and we loved it but we were a bit finished by the end of the day. I suggest you read up so you can have them adjust the trip to what you want to do, but they have a good itinerary as well if you don't want to do any work. In our opinion, Dubrovnik doesn't really have that much spectacular to do and is expensive for Croatia. The wall, the cable car view at sunset are great but you fork out 120 kuna each of each of them every time you use them. The atmosphere and dining are probably as good or better in Split which is less expensive.
When cruise ships are in, which is everyday, the old town is crowded during the day. These side trips are a great way to get out of town for the day and comeback in the evening when it is pleasant.

We would absolutely do these trips again and would use Andro's business in a minute. They also do airport transfer for the best rate we found other than bus. and scheduled shuttles.

Have a great trip.

Instead of staying in Dubrovnik, I would highly recommend sleeping in the small village of Cavtat, a few minutes south of Dubrovnik, near the airport. It's a gorgeous little town and you can easily do your day trips from there, as well as your visits to Dubrovnik (by bus or boat) but then relax in the evenings with a lovely glass of wine by the harbor while you watch the yachts dock. A wonderful place.

Thank you for your recommendation. We have already booked our rooms in Dubrovnik but Cavta was not on my radar. The day we arrive , there are quite a few cruise ships in Dubrovnik so I think we will take a boat to Cavta. I assume the boats are easy to catch at both ports? Any particular favorites you had in Cavta? It looks beautiful.
Thank you so much for this tip,
Denise

A word of warning on the ferry to Cavtat: it is an extremely rough ride. We innocently hopped on one of the boats heading to Cavtat in September a couple years ago. It was beautiful, we set out, and then the boat started rocking. There were enormous waves coming up and over the entirety of the boat, drenching all of our belongings and everybody on the boat. There were people vomiting over the sides. It was unbelievable. There is a bus that goes between the two cities. Take that. After we rode the boat, I did a little Internet research and discovered it is commonly an extremely rough ride. Wish I had known in advance.

We used Dubrovnik Adventures to do a bike ride in the Konavle Valley, followed by a wine tasting with lots of food (bread, cheese, ham, olive oil and olives). The following day we did a kayak trip with them in nearby Zaton bay. They picked us up a the hotel for each trip - very nice - even though we did have a car. After our time in Dubrovnik we drove to Mostar, then to Kotor. Of the two, I probably prefer Kotor Bay for a day trip. It was one of my favorite places on a 2.5 week trip.

I also really enjoyed the island of Korcula and the beautiful Pelješac Peninsula on the way. Took a day tour through Viator and it was such a lovely day - we stopped at a wineyard and two small towns (Ston and Mali Ston) on the way - and it was a long, but very fun-filled day. I saw all three on separate trips - Montanegro, Mostar and Korcula - and they were all very different so it's hard to compare. With only 3 days in Dubrovnik, I would leave at least 1.5 days to see the town (especially if you want to also pop into the museums) which only leaves you one full day for a long day trip.

Thank you all! I appreciate the information!