Dubrovnik late afternoon Taxi scams

[Byairorsea]

Dubrovnik is a lovely city with much charm and should not be missed when traveling.  However, we recently experience a daily traffic problem there.  Taxis have a fixed rate to and from the walled city.  Traffic from port TO city is mostly one way and in mid-late afternoons, the traffic is almost at a standstill.  So, the 10 min. trip into "town" going can easily become 60-90 minutes OR MORE ON THE RETURN.  Taxi drivers know this is a regular occurrence when one or more ships are in port.  They will NOT honor the fixed fare going back to the port, saying the traffic is too heavy and too much time required - Thus the METER RATE will apply!  How to avoid this, if you're able is to walk about 6 blocks uphill along the standstill traffic until you reach the point where the road becomes TWO WAY traffic once again.  (There was a parking garage on the corner, left side of street). Here the taxi can make a U-turn and avoid the extremely long waits in traffic.  Thus, the driver will honor the fixed rate (15 euros) in Sept. 2022. Per the taxi driver, the late afternoon traffic at a standstill occurs every time a ship is in port.  Far worse when multiple ships visit the area.

[edinburgher]

A good warning.

 

If  OK for time, there is also the option of taking an inexpensive public bus from Pile to Gruz. May be slower at that time of day but the buses  run at regular times and at least there is a flat fare and no meter.

 

Or the cruiseline shuttle buses from Pile would be another option.

[Hlitner]

I know this will go over like a lead balloon with many fellow cruisers, but DW and I have often just walked back to the port (it is about 2 miles).  On a nice day we actually enjoy the stroll.  When the weather does not cooperate or we are just too darn exhausted, the public bus (caught just outside the city walls) is an OK option.

 

Hank

[ollienbertsmum]

Hi Hank.  I was reading the first two posts and my thoughts were ‘why don’t you just walk’.  On our last cruise (September 2019) we took a taxi into town, realised the distance and just walked back.  No big deal. 

 

And to be fair to the taxi drivers, I am not sure if I think this is a scam.  If they are also stuck in the traffic and work from a fixed fare, it might not be a good time for them to be at work.  

 

I have just today booked my first cruise since the pandemic.  It is just 5 days in Croatia/Slovenia.   Looking at the ports, apart from Dubrovnik, they are a bit unknown to me.  That makes it all a bit exciting.  

Edited October 3, 2022 by ollienbertsmum