Your First 48 Hours in Dubrovnik

Just arrived for a month, a season or longer? This is the practical list for your first two days in the city: getting in from the airport, getting online, sorting out your registration, filling the fridge and finding a desk to work from.

Prices and rules on this page were checked in September 2026. They do change, so confirm the details with the official sources linked below before you rely on them.

Before you fly

Check how long you can stay. Most visitors from outside the EU can stay up to 90 days in any 180. To live and work remotely here for longer, apply for Croatia’s temporary stay for digital nomads. You can apply online before you travel; the permit lasts up to 18 months and asks for proof of income (€3,622.50 a month in 2026) and health insurance for the whole stay.
Bring your insurance details. EU citizens should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Everyone else should have travel or private health insurance.
Download two apps: the Libertas bus app for city timetables and live departures, and Bolt or Uber for rides.

Hours 0–3: From the airport to your door

Dubrovnik Airport is at Čilipi, about half an hour’s drive south of the city.

Airport shuttle bus. Platanus runs a shuttle timed to flight arrivals. It stops at the Old Town (Ploče Gate) and then at the main bus station in Gruž. A ticket costs €10 one way or €15 return; buy it at the booth in arrivals or online at platanus.hr.
Uber and Bolt both operate in Dubrovnik, including pick-ups at the airport.
Taxi. The rank is in front of the terminal. Fares are not fixed, so agree the price with the driver before you set off.
Arriving by bus or ferry? The main bus station and the ferry port are side by side in Gruž, a short bus or taxi ride from Lapad and the Old Town.

Hours 3–6: Get online and get cash

A local SIM or eSIM. A1, Telemach and Hrvatski Telekom all sell prepaid tourist packages, and unlimited data for ten days costs about €15. You will find them at newsstands, petrol stations, supermarkets and the operators’ shops. A SIM from another EU country works here at no extra cost.
Money. Croatia uses the euro, and cards are accepted almost everywhere. Take cash from bank ATMs rather than stand-alone cash machines, which charge high fees, and whenever a machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose euros.

Day 1: Settle in

Get registered. If you rent from a host, an apartment or a hotel, they must register your stay in the eVisitor system within 24 hours of your arrival, so have your passport or ID card ready. If nobody registers you, non-EU citizens must register at the police themselves within two days. Holders of a digital nomad permit register their address within three days of arriving, and EU citizens staying longer than three months register their temporary residence. The Dubrovnik police administration is at Ulica dr. Ante Starčevića 13 (tel. 020 443 333).
Stock the fridge. Konzum, Studenac, Tommy, Lidl and Spar are the main supermarkets. Shops may open on only 16 Sundays a year, so on most Sundays many of them are closed: do the big shop on Saturday. For fresh fruit, vegetables and fish, go to the Gruž market (Monday to Saturday, 6:00–13:00). The fish is best early.
Drink the tap water. It is safe to drink. After very heavy rain the water company occasionally advises against drinking it, mostly in the outlying villages, and the notice appears in the local news.
Learn your bus. Orange Libertas buses cover the whole city. A single ride costs €2.50, a one-hour ticket bought in advance €1.73 and a 24-hour ticket €5.31 (current prices). Most lines meet at Pile, the main gate of the Old Town; line 6 runs there from Babin Kuk and Lapad. Staying a month or more? Ask Libertas about a monthly pass.
Leave the car. Parking near the Old Town is scarce and expensive, up to €20 an hour at Pile in season. If you drive here, choose accommodation with its own parking and take the bus into town.

Day 2: Find your desk and your people

Work from the free co-working space. Dubrovnik’s free co-working space is in the TUP building at Svetog Križa 3 in Gruž (first floor, room 123), with desks, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, coffee and a sea view. Entry is self-service: read how to get in before you go, return the key when you leave and switch off the air conditioning if you are the last one out. In the same building, Offline Space is an open-access lounge for a break from the screen.
Meet other nomads. Long Stay Dubrovnik organises meet-ups for digital nomads and remote workers. Dates are announced under Events, in the Long Stay Dubrovnik Facebook group and on Instagram at @long_stay_dubrovnik.
Know where to get help. In an emergency, call 112. Dubrovnik General Hospital at Dr. Roka Mišetića 2 has a 24-hour emergency department. There are pharmacies in the Old Town, Lapad and Gruž, and one of them is on night duty each week. With an EHIC you are covered by doctors who work with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO), paying the same share as locals. More numbers are on Important Phone Numbers.
See the Old Town at the right time. When cruise ships are in, the Old Town is busiest from about 9:00 until late afternoon. Go early in the morning or in the evening; you live here now. The Dubrovnik Pass covers the City Walls and the main museums.
Take your first swim. Lapad Bay, Copacabana and Cava on Babin Kuk, and Banje and Danče near the Old Town are all a short bus ride away. Pack water shoes for the rocks and the sea urchins. The sea is warm enough for swimming from late May to October.

Your 48-hour checklist

Transfer from the airport booked, or the shuttle timetable saved
Local SIM or eSIM working
Stay registered, by your host or by you at the police
Fridge stocked, and a plan for Sunday
Bus route to the Old Town and to your workspace
First visit to the co-working space in Gruž
Joined the Long Stay Dubrovnik community
112 and the nearest pharmacy saved in your phone

Staying longer? The Suburb Guide helps you choose a neighbourhood, and Accommodation lists long-stay apartments across the city.