Croatia · Southern Dalmatia
Yacht Charter Dubrovnik
A walled republic that outlasted Venice, with three car-free islands an hour to the north-west.
Dubrovnik was an independent maritime republic for four and a half centuries, and it is the only city on this coast that was never anybody's provincial port. That is why the walls are two kilometres long and why the main street is polished limestone rather than paving: Ragusa had a fleet, a treasury and a diplomatic service, and it spent the proceeds on itself. Arriving by sea is how the place was designed to be entered, and it is still the only way to see the whole of it at once.
The city, and the hour to see it
The old town is a single walled oval about six hundred metres across, closed to traffic and crossed in ten minutes. The Stradun runs through the middle of it, rebuilt in one piece after the earthquake of 1667, which is why a street that old is perfectly straight and perfectly uniform.
The wall circuit is the thing everyone comes for and the thing most people do badly. It is two kilometres, it is one-way, there is no shade, and the cruise arrivals reach the top of the steps at about ten. Go at opening or go in the last two hours of light — from a boat, both are easy, which is most of the advantage of being on one.
Lokrum, and the islands north-west
Lokrum sits four hundred metres off the old port: a wooded island with a Benedictine monastery, a botanical garden, peacocks that were introduced in the nineteenth century and never left, and a small salt lake warm enough to swim in from May. It is ten minutes by tender and it empties completely when the last public boat goes.
Forty-five minutes north-west are the Elafiti — Koločep, Lopud and Šipan — three islands that between them have almost no cars at all. Lopud has a sand beach on its far side reached on foot across the island, Šipan has the longest and most sheltered inlet in the group, and all three are quiet in a way the mainland stopped being some time ago.
Where the boat actually goes
The old port inside the walls is for small craft and excursion boats; charter yachts lie at the marina up the Rijeka Dubrovačka inlet, fifteen minutes from the Pile gate by road, or anchor off Lokrum and use the tender.
South of the city, Cavtat is half an hour by sea and is where a good many crews would rather spend the evening: the same Adriatic light, a waterfront of konobe, and none of the queue. Kotor and the Bay of Kotor are four hours further south, which makes them a proper day's passage rather than an excursion.
Practical notes
- Charter yachts lie at the marina up the Rijeka Dubrovačka inlet, fifteen minutes by road from the Pile gate
- Anchoring off Lokrum and running the tender in is common, and puts you at the old port in five minutes
- The two-kilometre wall circuit is one-way and has no shade: it is done at opening or in the last light
- The Elafiti — Koločep, Lopud and Šipan — are forty-five minutes north-west and are effectively car-free
- Cavtat is half an hour south and is the quieter evening; Kotor is four hours further, a passage rather than a trip
Reached from: Split, the Elafiti and Kotor
Where to dine
A table by the water
Nautika
PileBeside the Pile gate with Fort Lovrijenac across the water, and the most formal room in the city.
Proto
DubrovnikServing fish a street off the Stradun since 1886, on a first-floor terrace above the noise.
Bugenvila
CavtatHalf an hour south on the Cavtat waterfront, where the cooking is ambitious and the evening is quiet.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
The city walls
Two kilometres of one-way circuit around the whole oval, unshaded, and worth the early start or the late one.
Lokrum
A wooded island four hundred metres off the old port, with a Benedictine monastery, peacocks and a warm salt lake.
The Elafiti
Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, forty-five minutes north-west and effectively without cars between the three of them.
Cavtat
Half an hour south: the same light and the same konobe, and the evening the crews tend to prefer.
The fleet
Yachts available for Dubrovnik
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Dubrovnik
- When should we walk the city walls?
- At opening, or in the last two hours of daylight. The circuit is two kilometres, one-way and completely unshaded, and the day-boat arrivals reach it around ten. Being on a yacht makes either end of the day easy, which is the whole point.
- Can we get away from the crowds in Dubrovnik?
- Easily, and quickly. Lokrum is ten minutes by tender and empties when the last public boat leaves; the Elafiti are forty-five minutes north-west and have almost no cars; Cavtat is half an hour south. The city is worth a morning and an evening, not a week.
- Where do charter yachts berth?
- At the marina up the Rijeka Dubrovačka inlet, about fifteen minutes from the old town by road, or at anchor off Lokrum with the tender running in. The old port inside the walls takes small craft only.
- What does a yacht charter to Dubrovnik cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks. Tell us your dates and party size.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
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Enquire about a charter in Dubrovnik
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.