Dubrovnik: stay in old town or Lapad.

Many will say old town, and nothing wrong with that, but I like Lapad. An easy 10 minute bus ride to old town, and Lapad is a bit more laid back, with a nice seaside promenade, good restaurants, and swimming if you want that.

Although adding that an extra week is a long time for Dubrovnik. You might want more than one location, or a trip into Bosnia or Montenegro, with that much time.

Thanks Virginia, the plan is to relax after 3 months of travel and do day trips to other areas. Trying to determine if I should stay or relocate to old town.

It may depend on the day trips, with Lapad being closer to the ferry port and bus station at Gruz. But I concur with the above—you may have time to go elsewhere.

Looking at that tour itinerary, you’ll already have seen Split, Korcula, and Mostar, plus a full day (and part of another) in Dubrovnik. You say you want to relax, but also want to do normal tourist things like art, history, daytrips. Dubrovnik is beautiful, but it is the opposite of relaxing. It’s a small city that suffers from very serious overtourism. I thought the four nights my tour spent there were great (two full days seeing and doing things in and around the city, a long day trip to Kotor in Montenegro, then Mostar on the way to our next destination, Sarajevo), but was glad to move on and another week there would not be anything I would have wanted to do or would recommend. Since your tour doesn’t go to Montenegro the logical place to go is there, at least for a daytrip, and if you search forum posts there is a lot of good information from a regular contributor named Mr. E who loves Montenegro and recommends more than just the Kotor daytrip to enjoy that country. Sarajevo is a great destination but way too far for a daytrip from Dubrovnik, and I doubt you want to backtrack all that way back into Bosnia.

If you are staying for a long time and are planning day trips I would stay in Lapad over the old city. If you are only going for a couple nights I would try to stay in the old city. Main advantage of staying in the old city is that you can avoid the crowds during the early morning and evening since many people just come for the day. Disadvantage is entire city is expensive. You could also stay somewhere like Ploče on the hill above the old city (not the port town up the coast, do not make that mistake) which would give you easier access to get out of Dubrovnik and a beautiful relaxing view but less beach access. However if you go too early in the spring it may be too cold to swim.

If you wanted to purely relax I would go back up the coast to a coastal town like Makarska but I do not know how many day trips are possible there.

If you can day trip to Mljet that would be my top choice, I am not sure if that is possible, then Kotor. Lokrum does not need a full day but is worth it as well. Day trips from Dubrovnik are a bit more limited than from Split or maybe even Zadar I would say Make sure to buy Dubrovnik pass as it will get you in almost everywhere you will want to see. You can do everything on the pass in a somewhat but not completely full day.

You really must specify what the intended day trips are to get applicable advice…

For my definition of relaxation; Old Town. Even 10 min bus rides require timing for departure times and another 15 minutes to and from the bus stop. What do you do in the evening? Bus again for the perfect ending to a romantic evening? If I want to relax and unwind, I stay in old town. The cruise day trippers dont arrive in mass until 11am and are gone by 4 and it is pretty sweet in the mornings and evening.

I would look for Croatian day trips. Mostar and Kotor are both miserable and hard day trips by my standards. Both deserve 1 or 2 nights. Wait, you went to Mostar. Never mind.

I answered your question I think, but if I wanted a week to relax after 3 months of travel, it wouldnt be Dubrovnik. It would be in BiH or Montenegro.

If you decide to do a Kotor day trip, then if it were me (and it has been me in the past), while one can save a bunch of money on the bus it takes longer in each direction and the border crossing takes longer so one would miss a little sightseeing; and using the bus will cost the stops at Herceg Novi and Perast, which I really wouldn’t want to do. But if one is on a budget, maybe better than missing Montenegro completely.

I usually stay a few days (7 to 10) in Montenegro and the savings on the hotel (and food and everything else) at least pays for the added cost of a private transfer with a guide and stops in Herceg Novi and Perast.

Here are some videos:
Herceg-Novi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqLXoeE_o4
Perast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd6ErEHPHmg & Hotel Conte – Perast https://youtu.be/zYJcm2zlXA8?si=w7VstV-oLoVEQLr7
Kotor https://youtu.be/G7QgBl7XNKU?si=pK1etsEr8UcAlofr
P1 Mountain Road https://youtu.be/QSz5hZVNxQ8?si=kAUpMBWDbSSztzt5 & Prosciutto at Zora on the P1 https://youtu.be/08il6EXog3o?si=PkQ6Rrueu6c_-U98
Budva https://youtu.be/TKhHJsb9A0w?si=WsnjJJ_j95TfFAvO & California Hotel https://youtu.be/UcPNf2IK3ys?si=6ido8a-lvTEwrOg9

Is Hotel Lero where you end up? We tried to book our extra night there after the tour ended, but it was booked. We ended up in another nice place closer to the marina for our extra night.

I regret not staying in Old Town. I loved the vibe there.

I would stay in Cavtat. It’s a lovely little town south of Dubrovnik, just minutes from the airport so departure day is easy. But no worries — you won’t be disturbed by airport noise.

From Cavtat you can bus or boat into Dubrovnik, take boat trips to the nearby islands, take a bus trip to Montenegro — all just a few steps from your hotel. We loved sitting by the small harbor at sunset with a glass of wine, watching the yachts dock. Lodging is limited so I’d book soon.

Thank you all for your posts, I appreciate this information.

I thought about Cavtat a few years ago but I couldnt find a hotel that I liked that I could afford. Still might do it some day so any hotel recommendations appreciated.