Returning to Dubrovnik: What to Do on Your Second Cruise Visit

Source check: use official visitor pages for the practical pieces of this second-day plan (Lokrum Reserve) (Dubrovnik Cable Car) (Cavtat-Konavle Tourist Board). In our experience, repeat Dubrovnik days work best when you deliberately leave the Stradun orbit.

Why Should Your Second Dubrovnik Day Look Different?

First-time Dubrovnik is about the Old Town — the city walls walk (€35), the Stradun promenade, the Rector's Palace, the Franciscan Monastery. These are legitimately excellent and worth doing. But Dubrovnik is also one of the most repeat-visited cruise ports in the Mediterranean, and many passengers find themselves back for a second or third call wondering what to do differently.

The answer: go outside the walls. Literally and figuratively. Dubrovnik's surroundings — the island of Lokrum, the mountain behind the city, the sea itself, the surrounding coast — are where the genuinely different experiences are. And they're all better in terms of crowd management than the Old Town in peak summer.

Is Lokrum Island Worth It on a Repeat Dubrovnik Visit?

Lokrum is a forested island 600 meters from the Old Town — a 10-minute ferry ride from the Old Town harbor (€4 each way, ferries run every 30 minutes). The island is a nature reserve with pine forests, swimming rocks and small beaches, a Benedictine monastery (now a Game of Thrones exhibition — Daenerys's Qarth scenes were filmed here), a botanical garden, a saltwater lake, and a population of several hundred semi-feral peacocks that roam freely through the whole island.

Lokrum has no cars and no hotels — day visitors only. You can swim from the rocky shores (the water is extremely clear), walk the island (circumference about 3 km), explore the fort on the highest point (Fort Royal, 20-minute walk, excellent views), and be entirely away from the cruise tourist crowds. A full Lokrum morning takes 3-4 hours. Take food and water — the island's single cafe has limited options at high prices. Entry included in the ferry ticket.

Should You Ride the Mount Srd Cable Car Instead?

The Dubrovnik cable car (Žičara) connects the northern Old Town wall to the summit of Mount Srđ, 412 meters above sea level. Round trip costs €20; one way €14. The summit has the Fort Imperial (a Napoleonic-era fortress, €6 entry, good views from the walls), the Homeland War Museum (documenting the 1991-1992 siege of Dubrovnik), and a restaurant with panoramic views.

The view from the top is extraordinary — the entire Old Town, the islands stretching south, the Adriatic to the horizon, and Lokrum directly below. On a clear day, you can see Montenegro's mountains. The cable car takes 3 minutes each way. Allow 90 minutes total. In peak summer, the cable car queue can be significant — arrive at opening (9 AM) to minimize wait.

"We did the Srđ cable car on our third Dubrovnik stop, after having done the city walls twice. Standing up there in the morning light, looking down on the entire city and the sea, we understood something about the place that two days inside the walls hadn't shown us — how impossibly small and exposed it was, this walled city perched on a narrow coastal shelf. The Homeland War exhibition made the 1991 siege suddenly comprehensible in a way no ground-level tour had."

Is Sea Kayaking Around the Walls a Good Second-Day Choice?

Several operators offer guided sea kayaking tours that paddle around the base of Dubrovnik's sea walls — some of the most dramatic cliff-and-fortification scenery in the Adriatic. Tours typically run 2-2.5 hours and cost €40-60 per person, including equipment and guide. Departures from Banje Beach (just east of the Old Town, 5 minutes walk from the Ploče gate).

The experience of being at water level, looking up at the 25-meter-high sea walls while paddling through the caves and channels at their base, is entirely different from any view you get from inside or on top of the walls. Reasonable fitness required; no kayaking experience necessary for the calm-water tours.

When Does Cavtat Make More Sense Than Another Old Town Day?

Cavtat is a small coastal village 18 km south of Dubrovnik, reachable by boat from the Old Town harbor (30 minutes, €10-15 each way, boats run several times daily in summer). It has a lovely harbor, several fish restaurants, the Racić Mausoleum (a Meštrović sculpture piece worth seeing), and a fraction of the Dubrovnik crowds. We found Cavtat good for a 2-hour stop — seafood lunch, harbor walk, the mausoleum — before returning to the ship. It pairs naturally with a morning at Lokrum or the cable car.

What are Game of Thrones filming locations in Dubrovnik?

Dubrovnik stood in for King's Landing across multiple seasons of Game of Thrones. Key locations: Fort Lovrijenac (€15 entry, the exterior was the Red Keep), Rector's Palace courtyard (the garden of the House of the Undying), Lokrum island (Daenerys in Qarth), and the Stradun itself. See our Dubrovnik Game of Thrones guide for a complete filming location walk.

Is the Dubrovnik city walls walk still worth doing on a second visit?

On a second visit, go early (gates open at 8 AM) if you must do the walls again — the difference between an 8 AM walls walk and a 10 AM walls walk in July is the difference between a meditative experience and a sweaty queue. The walls are genuinely beautiful at any time; the crowds are the variable.

How do I get from the cruise terminal to Lokrum or the cable car?

Shuttle bus from Gruz terminal to Old Town, then walk to the Lokrum ferry dock (5 minutes from the Pile Gate) or to the cable car station at Iza Grada. Our Dubrovnik cruise port guide has full logistics and timing for all these activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's new in Dubrovnik worth seeing on a return visit?

The Museum of War and Peace (formerly the War Photo Limited gallery, moved and expanded) offers powerful permanent exhibits on the 1990s siege of Dubrovnik — missed by most first-timers focused on Game of Thrones sights. The Rector's Palace has rotating temporary exhibitions. The Lovrijenac Fortress on the western cliff (€15 entry) gives a perspective of the walls and sea that's different from the standard Old Town loop.

Should I leave the Old Town on a return visit to Dubrovnik?

Yes — the Lapad peninsula neighbourhood (3 km by local bus, line 6) shows everyday Croatian life without tourist markup. The island of Lokrum is a 15-minute ferry from the Old Town harbour (€15 round-trip) and offers swimming, peacocks, and botanical gardens with nearly no crowds. Cavtat village (28 km south, €3 bus) is a refined alternative to Dubrovnik's tourist saturation and has good konobas at normal Croatian prices.

How do I avoid crowds on a return Dubrovnik visit?

Arrive at the Old Town gates before 8 AM — cruise ship excursion buses don't arrive until 9:30-10 AM. Walk the walls at opening (8 AM in summer; €35 entry) before tour groups arrive. Avoid the Stradun (main street) between 10 AM and 4 PM in July-August — it's shoulder-to-shoulder. Return to the walls or Lovrijenac in the late afternoon when most cruise excursions have departed and the light is better for photography.