Dubrovnik in August - stay in old town or is it too busy

[backinschool]

Hi,

We are visiting Montenegro at the end of August (can't change the dates for various reasons). We have a lovely villa in a quiet(ish) area for that part of the holiday so that's the relaxing bit. We are flying into Dubrovnik and have 3 days there before driving to the villa. I was really looking forward to it and had planned to find a hotel/apartment in old town so we could do some sightseeing but the more I read the more worried I am about how crowded it will be. Would we be better to look for somewhere outside of Dubrovnik? Our DCs are 6 and 4 and are good at walking around but, like most DC, get tired and grumpy when it's very hot and crowded. If we are in the city we can get out and about early which might be better.

Has anyone visited the area in August and where would you suggest staying?

A friend of mine went in August and said it was beautiful but heaving - they stayed on the Elaphite Islands - Lopud, I think, in a lovely hotel with a pool and then got the ferry into Dubrovnik for the day. They thought that was a really good option.

There are lots of hotels just outside the city walls, some on the water which are nice. It will be busy and hot, and when lots of cruise ships are in, smelly! You can go online and find which ships are in the harbour on which days and can work out how many thousands of extra people will be descending that day, so then you have a choice, stay by the pool, go out to an island or two, go kayaking (v big out there!) and when it's quieter go into the old town.

We stayed at Radisson Blu Hotel which was a bus ride away, very nice, but very expensive once there, you can stay in the hotel or self catering apartments. It had lovely pools and a sports hall with lots of various things to do, which suited my older boys. But dinner was pricey, we thought, and it was cheaper to go into Dubrovnik. There is a supermarket on site which made it easy to put together a pasta meal or something else easy and quick.

We loved Dubrovnik and will definitely be going back.

Thanks. I think i will look for somewhere outside Dubrovnik then. We only really have 2 full days plus one evening and one morning so I'm not too worried about a pool or activities. Just somewhere we can relax a bit, easy to get into Dubrovnik for the day and self catering would be ideal.

Good idea about checking the ship schedules - thanks. I wouldn't have thought of that. We fly in on a Thursday and I guess Friday and Saturdays are busy unfortunately.

I have onlyveen once and it was at the end of May.

We stayed in a hotel outside the centre. Lapad area. It might suit your family as you can relax away from the city but it is only a ten minute bus ride in.

I think it will be hot in August, so a pool would be good to cool you down.

Enjoy.

Yes, Lapad area. We stayed there in August in an apartment. No.6 bus (I think) takes about 15 mins to get to Old Town.

The Cruise ships are there aplenty over Summer, you can check Gruz Harbour website for the busiest days. I would avoid if possible.

Cavtat also an option.

if you have a hire car in dubrovnik you won't be able to drive it into the old town. We stayed in ploce which is just outside the old town (5-10 minute walk to the gates) which meant that we had a parking space for the car and we had an amazing view of the old town which you obviously won't get if you are in the old town itself.

I'll take a look at hotels and apartments in Lapad, it sounds a good compromise. The kids love going on the bus so they won't mind having to travel in to town. Good point about the heat and pool too. Thanks again for all the advice.

X-posted with NotMyChashkaChai - I haven't arranged car hire yet. Is parking likely to be a problem? DP could collect the car on the morning we leave for Montenegro but it would involve going back out to the airport.

Has anyone crossed from Croatia to Montenegro? Are there any good tips for getting across the border quickly. DB was there is May and he said it was fairly quick and easy but he heard that there are often long queues/waiting times in summer.

The old town is a traffic free zone. It's likely to be very busy in the old town so if you haven't got parking provided with your accommodation it may be difficult to find parking on the roads outside the old town. It may be easier to look for accommodation near the old town which provides you with parking so you don't need to worry. Alternatively if you don't need a car in Croatia you could pick the car up on the way to montenegro as you go right past the airport on the way to the border anyway. I haven't crossed the croatia - montenegro border but I have crossed the croatia - bosnia, bosnia - croatia and albania - montenegro borders by car and they are all much of a muchness. You'll need to get green card insurance (costs about 20 euros) which you can either get at the border or from your car hire company (check with them which is the best way). The croatia - montenegro border will be busy in august so you'll probably have to wait in a queue, but when you get to see the border guard it should be relatively straightforward.