We will be in Paris for 5.5 weeks in May and early June and would like to do a side trip -- thinking about 4 or 5 nights in Dubrovnik. We won't have a car. Are there local side trips from Dubrovnik that you would recommend by public transport? Will we be able to get around in Dubrovnik itself without having a car -- what is public transport like? Are there things we should not miss in Dubrovnik itself.
Is this a good destination in early May?
I don't think people realize just how small Dubrovnik is. You can literally walk across the main drag ("Stradun") in about 10 minutes if not less (it's less than a half mile). You can see it all, including the walls and museums, leisurely in 2-2.5 full days. Unless you plan on going to Montenegro which is very close by, there isn't enough to do in a compact place like Dubrovnik for 4-5 nights. I think Split makes a better base for doing side trips because it's a good ferry departure point for the islands (plus it's very close to Trogir which is small but interesting) - and it's much more sizable than Dubrovnik. I took two Viator tours on 2 separate days while in Dubrovnik - one to Montenegro (all day whirlwind tour) and another to Peljesac Peninsula and Korcula. Both were very worthwhile trips.
Assuming you have 5-6 full days (preferably a bit more), split them between Dubrovnik and Split. There is very good bus service between the two. It was fun for me to see the contrasts between a tiny place like Dubrovnik and a decent sized city (although the old part built into Diocletian Palace is not that big either).
Yeah, Dubrovnik is tiny! If you stay in/near the old town, which I recommend, you probably won't need to use buses unless you want to get out of town.
Four nights is too long unless you come up with something to occupy most of your days. It gets very Disneyland-crowded in the day time with cruise ship tour groups mobbing the main drags of town. But it's delightful at night after they are gone.
Day trip possibilities include a trip down to Kotor, Montenegro or up to Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina - both can be done by bus or some sort of excursion. You could also do a few nights down in Montenegro instead of spending them all in Dubrovnik. Or fly into Dubrovnik out of Split or something and visit Dubrovnik, Split, and an island in between (like Korcula or Hvar) - all doable by bus and/or catamaran. You might want more than five nights to make that not rushed, though.
Very helpful -- thanks
By the way, the public buses in Dubrovnik are great. While most would recommend staying inside the city walls, there are lots of often-luxury or large hotels in adjacent neighborhoods (like Lapad and basin Kuk) with easy bus service (very inexpensive and you can use the Dubrovnik card to pay for them too). I took the bus to the main bus station and back because my friend and I were coming from Split. Do consider Montenegro if you end up going to Dubrovnik, it's very close by and has a different feel. The fjords were amazing at the Bay of Kotor, as were the mountains.
Early May is probably the best time to visit Dubrovnik (it is still not very crowded). When choosing where to stay, best option would be somewhere around the Old Town or Lapad area (other areas are not well connected by public transportation or if it's around the port busses can be packed with cruise ship passengers). As others already said, Dubrovnik Old Town is really small and two days are enough for exploring. However, there are many other things to do in Dubrovnik, you can check here. As far as day trips, since you don't have a car or won't book a tour your options are limited (I don't recommend you going to Montenegro by public bus). You could take a ferry to Elaphiti islands or go to small city of Cavtat by public bus (30 min from Dubrovnik).
thanks. We don't usually book tours but are open to day tours when it works. We booked a private guide in Petersburg to see the Catherine Palace and also in Moscow for a tour of the metro which oriented us to public transport after which we did it on our own. We also hired a private guide one day in Brittany to tour neolithic sites. We also took a group tour of the WWII American landing beaches in Normandy.
If you have ideas of where to look for small tours to Montenegro or other nearby places worth a visit we'd be interest in hearing them.
