Dubrovnik for 1 day, with 3 small children - what to do?

[BWP]

Hi, we're doing the Brilliance of the Seas 12 night Med cruise in July. We're travelling with 3 small children (17mnth DD, 6yr DS and 7yr DS), so our sightseeing choices require careful consideration and planning - more so than the average traveller ;)

 

We're in Dubrovnik for one day, but we would prefer to limit our sightseeing to only half a day, so as not to tire the kids out too much. So our plan is to get off the ship by about 9am, and be back on board by about 2pm, for a late lunch/snack. Which gives us roughly 5 hours to see and do things in Dubrovnik.

 

Thoughts we had:

• walk part of the wall and old town
  
• take the cable car up to Srd Hill
  
• possibly go to the beach
  

Questions:

• is the wall possible with a stroller? (Just wish to walk part of the wall, I appreciate that the whole wall will probably be too ambitious with the kids)
  
• how long does the cable car take - and what's the best way to get there?
  
• which beach - and again, how to get there? and how long does it take to get there?
  

Any feedback/advice/suggestions would be much appreciated :)

[Dubrovniktravelady]

Hi, we're doing the Brilliance of the Seas 12 night Med cruise in July. We're travelling with 3 small children (17mnth DD, 6yr DS and 7yr DS), so our sightseeing choices require careful consideration and planning - more so than the average traveller ;)

 

We're in Dubrovnik for one day, but we would prefer to limit our sightseeing to only half a day, so as not to tire the kids out too much. So our plan is to get off the ship by about 9am, and be back on board by about 2pm, for a late lunch/snack. Which gives us roughly 5 hours to see and do things in Dubrovnik.

 

Thoughts we had:

• walk part of the wall and old town
  
• take the cable car up to Srd Hill
  
• possibly go to the beach
  

Questions:

• is the wall possible with a stroller? (Just wish to walk part of the wall, I appreciate that the whole wall will probably be too ambitious with the kids)
  
• how long does the cable car take - and what's the best way to get there?
  
• which beach - and again, how to get there? and how long does it take to get there?
  

Any feedback/advice/suggestions would be much appreciated :)

You are arriving in July, the old town will be crowded and the walls will be very busy. The wall is 2 kilometers long with a grand total of 650 steps spread throughout. It would be very difficult to handle 3 small children, let alone a stroller. I have seen some folks try, but the dad ends up carrying it most of the route.

You may want to take the children to the island of Lokum, just a short 15 minute ferry ride from the old port. They have a swimming area which we call "Dead Water" but don't let the name fool you. It is clean sea water which flows in via an opening in the rocks and it's shallow for the most part. Many locals swim off the rocks on Lokrum, but it's not for small children. There are some nice paths and we have peacocks wandering on the island, they are again used to being near people but don't expect to pet them. You could spend a several hours on Lokrum, I do believe it's the best choice for your family.

Dubrovnik does have a beach, but it is not sand but tiny rocks and pebbles. This might not be the best choice for small children and it will also be very crowded. Banje beach is located just outside of the far eastern entrance and it is called Ploce gate. Again you will have a far amount of steps to reach the beach area. Half of the beach is free, the other part which has massage beds and umbrellas has a fee.

The cable car entrance is located above the Ploce gate and again does mean steps, but not a huge amount. Takes 4 minutes to reach the top of the mountain and the view is outstanding.

You may want to visit the Dubrovnik tourist bureau website for more detailed information about our historical and cultural sights.

 

http://www.tzdubrovnik.hr/eng/index.php

http://www.tzdubrovnik.hr/data/1198052158_49_mala_Plan%20Grada_2008.pdf

[rebeccalouiseagain]

We did the walled historic town and it was great. It a pedestrian town that is flat and the kids can walk around without an cars. The place is clean and safe- loved it. You can walk the wall even with a 17 month old. It will be a great way to explore and get a birdseye view. The shopping was good and I enjoyed Dubrovnik.

[BWP]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Seems as if walking the wall, even just part of it, might not be feasible with the kids. How disappointing! But glad to hear that walking around the Old Town should be fine, and possibly even a trip up the cable car. Will check out Lokrum and do further research into it - thanks for the suggestion.

 

6 weeks today :)

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I walked the wall with my 70 year old father and 7 year old son. It was great. No you wouldn't want to do it with the 17 month old unless he is in a back carrier. The worst part for us was the initial point where you go up a step set of wooden steps. I was nervous on there- there are a couple places where there isn't a good railing but let me ashore you it is perfectly fine for the 6 and 7 year old. There were lots of children. In fact, the older people are the ones that I worried about.

 

My solution would be for one adult to stay with the baby onboard while the others do the wall and then meet up with them later or shop while the kids do the wall. There is time really for both adults to do the wall so no one really has to miss out. I did the wall in the AM and took my son back to the ship and shopped on my own the rest of the day.

 

The wall is very interesting. You see the areas of Dubrovnik that were bombed during their revolution. There will be a vacant lot next to a house. Its very sobering. I don't know that the 6 and 7 year old will understand the history but they will enjoy the wall. We did not do the entire walk around- we did about 1 kilometer- so you can do it in under an hour. You get a stunning view of the water from up there that is not to be missed.

[BWP]

Thanks, Rebeccalouiseagain - that's encouraging! We're trying to see if we can get our hands on a back carrier for the little one - will be useful not only here, but on other port stops too. If we don't get one though, it's a good suggestion to simply do the wall in relay.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Dubrovnik by the way is one of the cleanest most beautiful ports that you will visit. The walled city is one of the nicest places for you to let a 17 month old run around. You'll love it there. The outskirts of the city (modern area) also look nice, so if you exhaust the old city... you just walk outside to the new city. I felt 100% comfortable there with my son. Very lovely place.:)

[Julessmiles]

Hi, we're doing the Brilliance of the Seas 12 night Med cruise in July. We're travelling with 3 small children (17mnth DD, 6yr DS and 7yr DS), so our sightseeing choices require careful consideration and planning - more so than the average traveller ;)

 

We're in Dubrovnik for one day, but we would prefer to limit our sightseeing to only half a day, so as not to tire the kids out too much. So our plan is to get off the ship by about 9am, and be back on board by about 2pm, for a late lunch/snack. Which gives us roughly 5 hours to see and do things in Dubrovnik.

 

 

 

We did a lovely trip when we there last year with older children but I can recomend if you can do something similar; ours was a tour we booked via the ship & was all day - if you can do a shorter version, it would be a good experience. We took a boat to the walls of Dubrovnik so saw them from the sea, we then spent the day sailing to three of the Elaphite islands of Lopud, Kolocep & Sipan where at each stop, we got off and swam in the beautiful warm sea. Lunch was included as was entertainment of live music - singing, guitar & accordian - superb day!