DUBROVNIK WITH KIDS – A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR PARENTS

THINGS TO DO IN DUBROVNIK, CROATIA WITH KIDS: TRAVEL GUIDE

Are you looking to plan your perfect trip to Dubrovnik as a family? Or perhaps you’re still considering it as your next destination. We visited this beautiful city in April 2024 when our boys were aged 4 years and 14 months old. In this guide, I will be sharing everything you need to know about visiting Dubrovnik with kids.

We had an amazing few days in Dubrovnik, we visited there on our way home from Montenegro. While Dubrovnik is extremely beautiful and well worth a visit, I believe that Montenegro is the new Croatia and you should definitely consider visiting there instead! I’ll explain why in more detail below.

WHERE TO STAY IN DUBROVNIK WITH KIDS

The Old Town of Dubrovnik is very small and easy to get around on foot. If you’re visiting with kids, I would advise you to stay in or as close to the Old Town as possible.

Dubrovnik is not very pushchair/ stroller-friendly. Staying in the Old Town will allow you to explore on foot, possibly using a baby carrier depending on your little one’s age. Secondly, it will allow you to get out early and explore when the city is quieter. It’s more peaceful early in the morning and children have more room to run about.

THINGS TO DO IN DUBROVNIK WITH KIDS

WALK THE CITY WALLS

With or without kids, the main thing to do in Dubrovnik is to walk the city walls. The views are incredible but it does get crowded. We got there at 8:40 and there were already quite a few people before us. It took us around 2.5 hours to walk the walls, including breaks. Surprisingly, this was a really toddler-friendly activity.

Our kids did so well walking the walls. It’s only about a 1.2-mile loop but includes over 1000 steep stair steps. There is a space to level pushchairs/ strollers at the bottom but you can’t take them on the walls so you’ll definitely want some sort of baby carrier.

TIP: It’s worth buying the Dubrovnik City Pass. It’s the same price as the entrance to the walls but also includes some other museums and public transport if you want to use it.

WE HAVE A FULL GUIDE ON TIPS FOR WALKING THE WALLS WITH LITTLE KIDS. READ IT HERE!

Walking the Dubrovnik City walls with little kids

THE MARITIME MUSEUM

This is one of the museums in the Dubrovnik City Pass I just mentioned. Located along the City Walls walk, is the Dubrovnik Maritime Museum. While it is very small compared to our Maritime Museum in London, it was interesting, and a nice way to break up walking the walls for the kids.

There is a kid’s area upstairs with a model boat and other maritime-themed activities that the boys enjoyed playing with.

CULTURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

We mainly went in here as it was also included in the City Pass. Again it is very small compared to other history museums but it also has a children’s area and was a nice way to spend an hour, especially if you happen to visit Dubrovnik on a rainy day!

PLAYGROUNDS

There are two playgrounds in the Old Town. One is at the top of a lot of stairs. It’s as if my kids could sense it as they insisted on walking up! It’s a very small playground and we were laughing that someone had their laundry hanging up in there!

The other is where the old moat would have been. This one is slightly bigger and more easily accessible. Go through the little door on the main entrance ramp to avoid the steps.

RESTAURANT RECCOMENDATION

There are plenty of great places to eat in Dubrovnik. One we really loved was Gradska Kavana Arsenal, located right on the harbour. We had a delicious brunch here. It has a really luxurious vibe but is also very child-friendly. I always like to eat outside where possible as it allows kids to have a bit more freedom. This place is spacious and has beautiful views. It also has a great baby-changing area in the bathrooms.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DUBROVNIK WITH KIDS

I believe it’s always best to be completely honest about things. We genuinely had a fantastic time in Dubrovnik but here are a few things to know before you go.

It’s not pushchair/ stroller friendly. While you can get into the Old Town (via the main entrance) with a pushchair, some of the other entrances have a lot of stairs. It isn’t easy to explore properly with a pushchair. There are a lot of steps throughout the city and to explore properly, you need to climb them. We used our Joolz Aer+ (which I highly recommend). I carried Jaxon (14 months) and my husband carried the pushchair. Consider wearing a baby carrier or definitely use a lightweight pushchair.
It’s extremely busy. Even more so on weekends. It was difficult to manoeuvre two kids through the crowds and Freddie (age 4) couldn’t run about freely as he could in Kotor and other places in Montenegro.
It’s expensive. As it’s becoming so popular with tourists, prices are rapidly rising. Walking the walls for €35 each is ridiculously overpriced but we’re all still lining up to pay it. It’s not crazily expensive compared to some places for food and accommodation but noticeably more than Montenegro.