There are a number of operators in charge of boat services in Dubrovnik area. Tickets can be purchased online, at the tourist agencies, at the hotels, in Gruž and Dubrovnik Port, Pile and Ploče Gate, at the promenade and beach trail along Lapad Bay and many other street stands that you can see in the Old Town. Boat excursions usually include destinations such as Elaphiti islands (Koločep, Lopus, Šipan), Cavtat, Mljet, Korčula, Pelješac.
You can book your private excursions as individual or as a part of the group. If you are a larger group, we recommend booking a private tour instead of using the official ferry.
Using the ferry services can be cheaper, but due to the regular ferry timetable it is quite impossible to see more than one island in one single day. That is why the most popular tour is “The Elaphiti islands” tour that enables you to see three islands in one day.
However, we will give you a quick guide of the islands that can also be reached by Jadrolinija, Croatian state-owned shipping company that operates regular passenger and cargo transport services.
Dubrovnik – Elaphiti islands (Koločep, Lopud, Šipan)
Postira boat has gained cult status among many islanders transporting passengers from the mainland to the Elaphiti islands since 1963. There are several daily departures from Gruž Bay to Koločep, further to Lopud and Šipan. It is recommended to book the earliest sailing possible since each island is best experienced with a day trip. If you would like to visit all three Elaphiti islands in one day, there are plenty of tourist agencies both in Gruž Bay and Dubrovnik Port in Old Town arranging 1-day boat excursions of the islands since visiting all three islands in one day is quite impossible due to the regular ferry timetable. Tours can be arranged as private (recommended for larger groups) or you can join others on a 1-day tour.
Postira is a passenger boat, but if you would like to drive your car on the island there is a ferry from Dubrovnik to Suđurađ on Šipan island.
Dubrovnik – Mljet
If you would like to visit one of the most beautiful national parks in Croatia, there is a ferry line that operates once a day during the winter and few times a week to Šipan and Mljet. In the summer season this ferry continues further to Korčula and Lastovo. High-speed catamaran “Nona Ana” stops at the following ports: Dubrovnik – Luka Šipanska – Sobra (Mljet) – Polače (Mljet) – Korčula – Ubli (Lastovo). Notice that the boat leaves you in Polače, a village 40 minutes walk from the Mljet National park located in the northern part of the island. Although there is no official entrance to the National Park as such, visitors are expected to pay for the entrance in Polače and to reach the National park by the provided shuttle bus or by walk. At the ticket office in Polače you can find info brochures, leaflets and a map of the island.
Dubrovnik – Hvar
Hvar island has a wide range of ferry connection with coastal towns Split, Dubrovnik and Rijeka, as well as with other neighboring islands. There are four ferry ports on the island: Hvar Town, Jelse, Sucuraj and Stari Grad (Old Town). In the wintertime it could be quite difficult to reach Hvar from Dubrovnik Port as there are no direct daily ferries. During the summer season there are two catamarans that connect Dubrovnik and Hvar: one catamaran departs from Dubrovnik and goes to Korčula, Hvar and Bol (Brač island) and the other one departs from Split and continues to Milna (Brač island), Hvar, Korčula, Mljet and Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik – Korčula
Korčula Island is well connected with neighbouring islands and the mainland by car ferries as well as by foot passenger ferries.Some ferries from Dubrovnik stop over in Mljet and some in Šipan on their way to Korčula. There are several options how to reach this island often dubbed as Little Dubrovnik:
-ferry Catamaran Dubrovnik via Mljet to Korčula and further to Hvar, Milna and Split – daily June to October, 4 times a week in May
-Dubrovnik – Šipan- Mljet – Korčula – Lastovo: it sails between June & September
-ferry catamaran Dubrovnik- Korčula -Hvar-Bol (Brač) in the high season.
Check the timetable for 2017 here.
The adress of Dubrovnik Ferry Port is:
Stjepana Radica 40,
20000 Dubrovnik
Croatia
If you require any additional information, you can call +385 20 418 380
or send an e-mail to [email protected]
UberBOAT
In addition, there is a new Uber service that provides nautical transport coming soon to Croatia as the Uber Croatia General Manager Davor Tremac announces testing this summer on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. The aim of the new service is to improve the traffic connection between the mainland and islands and between individual islands while focusing on both international and local users. The transport will be carried by speedboats of different sizes. Transport companies which are already registered for these activities and operate their charter management business through professional companies will be able to join the new initiative provided by popular UBER app.
UberBOAT will work the same way as popular ride-sharing platform: once you’re by the seaside you can choose UberBOAT option and if there is empty boat available, you can set your pick up location and request UberBOAT.
