Dubrovnik Croatia in 2 Days: Budget Day Trips
Two days: the City Walls, then one cheap island day trip
Two days is enough for the essential Dubrovnik base setup plus one real day trip: the City Walls on Day 1, then the Elaphiti Islands on Day 2 by public ferry instead of a pricier tour boat. Want more day trips? The 3-day , 5-day , 6-day , and 7-day plans extend this exact spine with Montenegro, Mostar, Peljesac wine, and Mljet. For city-only sightseeing, see the Dubrovnik budget guide instead.
Book these before you go:
- Your Dubrovnik stay : Lapad and Gruz undercut Old Town prices for the same room.
- Elaphiti Islands boat tour , if skipping the public ferry: popular lunch-included sailings fill up in peak season.
| Day | Trip | Travel time (one-way) | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Dubrovnik Old Town, City Walls | n/a, home base | EUR 40 Walls ticket (EUR 15 winter) |
| Day 2 | Elaphiti Islands (Lopud) | 15-60 min by ferry | EUR 5 ferry / EUR 30-75+pp tour |
Day 1: Arrival, the City Walls, and how day-tripping works from here
Morning: settle into Lapad or the Old Town, then walk the City Walls at opening, roughly 8am in peak season, before the heat and the queues. The circuit runs EUR 40 in peak season (EUR 15 in winter) and takes 1.5-2 hours; it is genuinely the one Dubrovnik sight worth doing before anything else, even on a day-trip-focused visit. Afternoon: learn the city’s two departure points, since every day trip in this itinerary starts from one of them. The Old Port, a short walk past the Pile Gate, is where the Elaphiti and Lokrum boats leave. Gruz, a 10-15 minute bus ride northwest, is the real transport hub: the main bus station and the ferry/cruise port, and where Kotor, Mostar, and most organized-tour pickups happen. Evening: dinner in the Old Town or Lapad, and an early night if tomorrow’s trip has an early departure.
Rough spend, 2 people: EUR 110-150, mostly the Walls tickets.
Day 2: The Elaphiti Islands, ferry over tour
Morning: Jadrolinija ferry (lines 807/831) from the Old Port to Lopud, roughly EUR 5 each way and 30-50 minutes depending on the sailing. No cars anywhere on the island; walk 15-20 minutes across to the sandy Sunj beach for a swim, or wander the ruined forts and gardens near the ferry dock. Afternoon: a second island, Kolocep or Sipan, if the ferry schedule allows a same-day connection, or a longer stretch on Lopud’s beach if it doesn’t. Evening: return ferry to the Old Port, then dinner back in town.
Rough spend, 2 people: EUR 60-90, mostly food; the ferry itself costs next to nothing next to the EUR 30-75+pp three-island tour boats, which trade the savings for a packed single-day, multi-island, lunch-included format.
Is 2 days enough for a Dubrovnik day-trip taste?
Yes, for a first look. Two days covers the City Walls properly and one genuine, low-effort day trip, enough to judge whether the Montenegro and Mostar border crossings are worth the extra time on a return visit. What it skips entirely is anything requiring a passport; those start on the 3-day plan .
Is the Elaphiti ferry cheaper than a tour?
Yes, by a wide margin. The Jadrolinija public ferry runs about EUR 5 each way to Lopud, versus roughly EUR 30-75+pp for an organized three-island tour with lunch included. The ferry is the better default for a budget day out; the tour earns its price only if seeing all three islands in a single day, with lunch handled, matters more than the savings.
Check the current ferry timetable on jadrolinija.hr before committing to a same-day return, since sailings thin out sharply outside July-August. General visitor information is on the official tourist board site .