Is Dubrovnik Expensive? Dubrovnik Prices In 2025

Last Updated on 3rd December 2024

This post about is Dubrovnik expensive and how to visit Dubrovnik on a budget contains affiliate links.

Are you planning a trip to Croatia but wondering “Is Dubrovnik expensive in 2025”? I’ve got just the post for you in my ultimate guide to prices in Dubrovnik in 2025!

The walled city of Dubrovnik might not be one of the most expensive cities in the world, or even in Europe for that matter, but it isn’t super cheap, either.

You may be wondering, therefore, just how expensive is Dubrovnik and if it can be visited on a budget.

In my guide below about how expensive is Dubrovnik, Croatia, I’ve included a budget breakdown of how much money I spent visiting Dubrovnik in October 2022.

This post includes details about where to stay in Dubrovnik on a budget, the best things to do in Dubrovnik on a budget, how much spending money you need for Dubrovnik, all the expensive activities that are actually worth the splurge and whether Dubrovnik is actually worth visiting.

DUBROVNIK TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
Flights: Skyscanner / Kiwi.com / Expedia / Trip.com
Accommodation: Booking.com / Hostelworld / Agoda
Activities/tours: Get Your Guide / Viator / Klook
Travel insurance: SafetyWing
Hotel reviews: TripAdvisor
My backpacking essentials: Amazon
Luggage storage: Radical Storage
Croatia eSIM: Airalo

Is Dubrovnik expensive?

Dubrovnik is an expensive city to visit. With expensive food and drink costs, pricey accommodation and costly activities, Dubrovnik is one of the most expensive places in Croatia.

However, it is possible to visit Dubrovnik on a budget, especially if you plan your trip to Dubrovnik in the off-season when costs for things like food, drinks, accommodation and activities are cheaper than the busy summer months.

Why is Dubrovnik so expensive? – A guide to prices in Dubrovnik 2025

While it’s easy to agree that Dubrovnik is expensive, you might be wondering exactly why the prices in Dubrovnik are so expensive, especially when the countries and cities surrounding it are relatively affordable, particularly by European travel standards.

Dubrovnik’s tourism skyrocketed in the late 2010s, soaring to almost 1.5 million annual visitors in 2019, compared to just 700,000 in 2013. In fact, it was dubbed as the “worst European city for overtourism” in 2019 by Statista, and if it wasn’t for the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020, it’s thought that those numbers would have only continued to increase.

So, why is Dubrovnik so popular?

The city’s Old Town, which is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its prime location in the Mediterranean, make Dubrovnik an incredibly sought-after holiday destination. It’s also a port city, meaning that it’s the perfect place to stop on a cruise in the Med.

However, as the city is so small and well-preserved, hotels, tour companies and local restaurants have increased their prices substantially to reflect the surge in tourism over the last 10 years or so.

Dubrovnik also gained overwhelming popularity after it played host to the hit TV show, Game of Thrones, for several years as many places around the city were used for filming locations throughout the city. This, along with cruise travellers, has made Dubrovnik a very popular destination, making it one of the most expensive cities in the area.

Total cost for two people for 4 nights in Dubrovnik: £687.71 (£343.86 each)/(£85.96 each per day)

Flights – How much does it cost to travel to Dubrovnik?

One-way flights to Dubrovnik for two people from the UK: £146 (£73 each)

Flights to Dubrovnik from the UK are relatively affordable. Sure, they’re not as cheap as return flights to the likes of Dublin , Milan, Paris or Wroclaw, for example, but they’re not astronomically expensive, either.

We paid £73 each for one-way flights to Dubrovnik in mid-October 2022. We also booked the flights just five days before our trip and we booked one-way tickets because we went immediately to Split for one month after our 3 days in Dubrovnik.

If you book flights to Dubrovnik from the UK in advance, you can get them for around £60 return.

Check Kiwi.com or Skyscanner for the best deals on flights to Dubrovnik.

Bus from Dubrovnik Airport to the Old Town (one-way) for two people: £15.16

Once you arrive at Dubrovnik Airport, you’ll need to make your way into the city/Old Town and thankfully, there’s a super-cheap local bus shuttle that allows you to travel in Dubrovnik on a budget.

A ticket from Dubrovnik Airport to the Old Town costs less than £8 one-way or less than £11 for a return ticket.

If you want to get around the city outside of the walls while you’re in Dubrovnik, Uber is available and it’s super cheap.

Is Dubrovnik expensive for food and drink? Dubrovnik food prices

The total cost of food and drinks for two people for 3 days / 4 nights: £249.60

As you can see, we didn’t really stick to a small food and drink budget during our three days in Dubrovnik and that’s mainly because food is always one of the most important elements of our travels.

We do try and keep food and alcohol costs to a minimum on our travels, but the cost of eating and drinking out in Dubrovnik is pretty expensive, so even though we weren’t extravagant with our spending, we still spent a good chunk of our Dubrovnik budget on food and drink.

How much does a beer cost in Dubrovnik?

The average price of a pint of beer in Dubrovnik is between €5-€7 (£4.50-£6.15), a glass of wine is around the same price and a typical meal for two can cost anywhere between €25 and €50 (£22 and £44)!

Therefore, it’s safe to say that food and drink are pretty expensive in Dubrovnik!

Is Dubrovnik expensive? The cost of accommodation in Dubrovnik

Accommodation for four nights for two people: £218.43

Accommodation in Dubrovnik is likely to be one of the biggest expenses, even if you’re travelling on a budget, especially during the busy summer months.

In the low season months, such as April/May and September/October, you can find hotels and apartments in Dubrovnik for around £30, even in the heart of the Old Town. A more realistic budget for these months would be around £40-£60 a night for a decent hotel or Airbnb apartment.

In the height of the summer, however, you can expect to pay upwards of £80 a night, with a more realistic budget of around £100+ a night, even if you stay outside of the City Walls.

Of course, there are always budget accommodation options to take advantage of, but if you want to stay anywhere half decent with a private bathroom, this is what you can expect to pay for an Airbnb or hotel in Dubrovnik.

We stayed in Dubrovnik for four nights in October 2022 and paid around £54 a night for the two of us. Our Airbnb apartment was literally a part of the Old Town walls and it was a really gorgeous place to stay. To stay in the exact same apartment in July or August, however, you’d be looking to pay £100+ a night, which just shows how advantageous it is to travel in the off-season if you’re on a budget.

Find somewhere cheap to stay in Dubrovnik here!

Best things to do in Dubrovnik on a budget

Visiting Dubrovnik on a budget isn’t always the easiest, especially if you want to travel during the peak summer months, but it is possible to travel to and around Dubrovnik on a budget, if you know what to look for!

While accommodation and flights are determined by demand, things like food, drinks and attractions can be tailored to your budget, so you can spend as little or as much as you want.

Below, you can find some of the best cheap or free things to do in Dubrovnik on a budget!

Watch the sunset from Buža Bar or Bard Mala Buža.
Stroll through the Old Town and see Pile Gate, Ploce Gate and more.
Get ice cream for €2 a scoop at Gelateria Dubrovnik.
Take a free walking tour of the city.
Eat breakfast at Mlinar for as little as €1 for pastries.
Buy the Dubrovnik Pass for €33 and get nine attractions for the price of one.
Head on a Game of Thrones tour of the filming locations on your own.
Day trips to Lokrum Island and kayaking tours are usually relatively affordable. The Lokrum Island ferry costs around 40kn per person.

Expensive things to do in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Pass (one day) for two people: £58.52 (£29.26 each)

During our 3 days in Dubrovnik, we spent very little money on tours and attractions, opting instead to take advantage of all the wonderful free sights in the city.

However, we did purchase the Dubrovnik Pass for around £30 per person which included entry to the City Walls, as well as free entry to various museums such as the Rector’s Palace, the Maritime Museum, Friars Minor Franciscan Monastery, the Ethnographic Museum and more!

Tickets for the Dubrovnik City Walls cost €33 alone, so the Dubrovnik Card is definitely worth the money as you get free entry to an additional eight attractions, as well as discounts at many other sights.

The Dubrovnik Cable Car is another super expensive attraction, just outside of Dubrovnik Old Town. It costs £22 per person for a super short ride, it’s really rather expensive and not quite worth the money, in my opinion.

In addition to the City Walls (which certainly are very expensive) and the Dubrovnik Cable Car, here are a few more expensive attractions in Dubrovnik that might be worth splashing out and damaging your budget for!

The best time to visit Dubrovnik on a budget

Just like with any other popular holiday destination in the world, the best time to visit Dubrovnik is in the “off-season”. Dubrovnik’s low season is typically between April-June and September/October; the weather is still very pleasant and enjoyable, but things are usually much cheaper and there are fewer crowds to contend with.

If you want to visit Dubrovnik on a budget, I’d highly recommend visiting in the low season as you’ll save money on almost every aspect of your trip.

Is Dubrovnik more expensive than Split?

While I only spent three days in Dubrovnik and a full month in Split, I can definitely say that Dubrovnik is more expensive than Split in almost every way.

Food and alcohol are definitely cheaper in Split, with a beer costing less than €3 in some places, compared to the extortionate price of €5-€7 in Dubrovnik. Of course, there are still plenty of expensive places to eat, drink and stay in Split, but overall, Dubrovnik seems much more costly to visit.

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