We have been travelling for 4 years full-time, and to this day, Dubrovnik remains one of those special places that makes a massive impression. But, if you visit Dubrovnik in the peak season, you will also unfortunately instantly notice the massive crowds of people. But on our last trip to Dubrovnik, we found a day trip to Lokrum Island was such a great way to escape the masses. Here you will find nature, exercise, stunning views, places to swim, historic sites and also more modern sites (such as the iron throne from Game Of Thrones). Here’s everything you need to know about how to get to Lokrum Island from Dubrovnik and the most incredible things to do on Lokrum Island.
CONTENTS
Lokrum Island Day Trip Video
How To Get To Lokrum Island From Dubrovnik
How To Get Around Lokrum Island + Map
Things To Know Before You Go FAQ
Best Things To Do On Lokrum Island Dubrovnik
What To Pack For Your Lokrum Island Day Trip
Lokrum Island Day Trip Video
How To Get To Lokrum Island From Dubrovnik
How do you get from Dubrovnik to Lokrum Island?
The main way to get to Lokrum Island from Dubrovnik is by ferry. You can also kayak to Lokrum Island with a day tour, but depending on the tour, you would need to see if the Lokrum Island entrance fee is included or separate, or if they even step foot on the Island or just see it from your kayak.
Where do you get the ferry to Lokrum Island?
The ferry leaves from Dubrovnik Old Town Port and goes to Portoc Port on Lokrum Island. You can find Dubrovnik Old Town Port at the end of Stradun (the main street in the Old Town) at the clock tower end. The ferry ride itself only takes about 10 minutes and has nice views back to Dubrovnik. It’s a really simple process once you know where to go and what to do.
Where do you buy Lokrum ferry tickets?
You can buy Lokrum ferry tickets from the Old Town Port before you hop on the boat. They literally set up a little table right next to the boat on the jetty about 10 minutes before the boat leaves. Here you can buy your tickets, so just make sure to get there early enough.
How much does it cost to visit Lokrum?
The ferry ticket includes your entrance to Lokrum Island and your return trip, as you cannot stay on Lokrum Island overnight. So the cost of the ferry ticket and to visit Lokrum Island is 200 kuna per person. You can find the current price list here.
If you have a Dubrovnik Card, then you can also get a discount on the Lokrum Island ticket. We usually only get ‘tourist cards’ when we really see the value. And by value, we don’t mean lots of attractions are included, because that can just lead you to run around Dubrovnik and not truly taking the time to experience it. We like to have an idea of things we would like to do first, see if they are included in the card, and then see if we are actually saving money overall if we got the card and only did these things. For us, on our last trip, it made sense to get the 7-day Dubrovnik Card.
Lokrum Island Ferry Timetable
If you’re looking for the Lokrum Island ferry timetable, you can usually find it on the Lokrum website here, but as it’s now low season and the ferries are not yet back running, the timetable is not currently listed. But it will be back when they start running it again. The Lokrum Island ferry runs from April to November.
When we were there in June, the first boat over was at 9 AM, then 10 AM, then every 30 minutes until 7 PM. The return trip to Dubrovnik was running every 30 minutes from 10.15 AM until 7.15 PM.
Read More: Where To Stay In Dubrovnik Croatia: Our Dubrovnik Accommodation Guide
How To Get Around Lokrum Island + Map
The only way to get around Lokrum Island is to walk. There are no cars on the island as it is an uninhabited UNESCO protected nature reserve. A lot of the main sights are located not too far from Lokrum Island port, like the Dead Sea, the Monastery Complex and Stijene (Rocks). So if you don’t want to walk too far, you can still enjoy a day trip to Lokrum Island. And if you are looking to explore and get some exercise, then definitely try walking to the Fort Royal for beautiful views over Dubrovnik and to Skalica. Here is a map of Lokrum Island Dubrovnik.
Things To Know Before You Go FAQ
Is there a restaurant on Lokrum Island or a place to get food? There are a couple of restaurants on Lokrum Island, Lacroma Restaurant is a popular choice. There are also a couple of little kiosks where you can get some snacks and drinks. But we would definitely recommend packing a snack with you as it is a little limited there.
Can you swim on Lokrum Island? Even though there is not a full ‘beach’ area with sand, there are places you can swim on Lokrum Island. These include The Dead Sea and off the Stijene (Rocks) where there are some ladders to get into the Adriatic Sea.
How much time do you need to spend on Lokrum Island? You can definitely see Lokrum Island in a half-day trip, or longer if you want to relax more and go swimming. We spent 3 hours on Lokrum Island but treated it as more of an active morning so it depends what you go for. We walked around most of the island, looked at some of the sites, stopped for snacks and relaxed at a few spots. You could also choose to walk less of the island or spend more time relaxing or stay for lunch.
Is Lokrum worth visiting? In our opinion, yes! It’s such a nice change from the crowds of Dubrovnik, the nature is beautiful, the walks are great and the ferry ride has nice views back of Dubrovnik. It’s also one of the easiest day trips from Dubrovnik.
Best Things To Do On Lokrum Island Dubrovnik
So what is there to do on Lokrum Island? So much and yet you can choose to do not much at all and still make it worthwhile. Basically you can make it as active or relaxing as you wish.
As soon as you arrive at the port, you will see a map of all the Lokrum Island attractions and walking paths in between them. Take your pick or just wander the island and see what you come across.
We had already had a lot of beach time in Dubrovnik and were also heading to Sveti Jakov beach later that afternoon, so decided to make our time more about getting out in nature, exercise, fresh air and seeing some of the sites.
Read More: The Best Beaches In Dubrovnik Croatia + Map
Here were some of our favourite things to do on Lokrum Island…
The Path Of Paradise (Rajski Put)
The path of paradise sounded very tempting so we headed here first. It also takes you up to the Fort Royal, which we thought would be good to do first as it is a steep climb.
To get here we passed the monastery (which we came back to later), the Chapel of Annunciation, the Botanical Garden, the Olive Grove (where some Olive Trees are more than 300 years old), and the big water reservoir. Along the way, it’s so relaxing and beautiful with the nature surrounding you, peacocks everywhere, amongst other animals.
And then we reached the Path of Paradise, which is a steep path up to Fort Royal. Although it is pretty steep, it’s definitely doable but probably easier if you wear joggers. Halfway up, the ‘path of paradise’ starts to seem like a very ironic name, like someone is playing a joke on the unknowing tourists. But it was so great and definitely worth it. This path was built during the time that Maximilian of Habsburg was residing here.
Fort Royal (Utvrda Royal)
So once we made it up the top of the Path of Paradise, Fort Royal awaits. You can go inside the fort structure, which is partly in ruins, and there are also stunning views of Dubrovnik from here. This was a highlight of our Lokrum Island day trip.
The building of the Fort was initiated in 1806 by the French Army following their occupation of Dubrovnik and was later finished during Austrian occupation in 1835.
Skalica
We kept following the path around to Skalica, which was a little jetty area back down by the water. Skalica was actually the first port on Lokrum Island. We pretty much had this place to ourselves and it was so beautiful and had great views back to Dubrovnik. You could also see lots of people out on kayaks. After Skalica, we kept following the path until it took as back to the main port.
Monastery Complex (Samostanski Kompleks)
Once we got back to the port, we went back to take a look at the nearby Monastery Complex. Here you will find a 12th/13th Century Basilica, a 15th/16th century Monastery with Cloister garden, and what was later the holiday home of Archduke Maximilian Ferdinand of Habsburg in the 19th Century. It was said that it was he who was responsible for the gardens and peacocks.
This area is absolutely beautiful and doesn’t take too long to have a walkthrough. Both ancient and modern history are on display here, as it is here you can also sit on the Iron Throne from Game Of Thrones if that’s your thing.
The Gardens of Maximillian (Maksimiljanovi Vrtovi)
The Gardens of Maximillian are just in front of the Monastery and are beautiful. Definitely worth visiting. The Monastery, gardens, dead sea and Stijene (Rocks) are all pretty close together and not too far from the port, so these are the easiest sites to visit.
Stijene (Rocks)
Just beside the gardens are the Stijene (Rocks), where you can walk out on, lay out a towel, or jump into the Adriatic Sea for a swim. There are a few ladders of the rocks here so you can get in easily. We would definitely recommend bringing your reef shoes if you are going to swim here, or at most beaches in Croatia. Although the water surrounding Lokrum Island is beautiful, we wouldn’t say that Lokrum Island was one of our favourite places to swim in Dubrovnik.
Just behind this area, on a large grassy patch, is where we saw plenty of rabbits running around, very cute.
The Dead Sea (Mrtvo More)
The Dead Sea got its name due to the high salt content of this lagoon, which is meant to make it easier to float, like the actual Dead Sea. We lingered here but decided not to jump in. We have a feeling the floating part is slightly overhyped, as it didn’t look like too many people were floating around. But still, a nice little place to swim on Lokrum Island.
What To Pack For Your Lokrum Island Day Trip
There are not many shops on Lokrum Island, so it’s best to bring everything you need with you from Dubrovnik. Here are some of the things you might find useful:
- Reef Shoes – If you want to go swimming on Lokrum Island, or anywhere in Croatia, then these will make your experience so much better. You can buy them at lots of shops and supermarkets in Dubrovnik or pack them with you.
- Sunscreen – You will definitely be exposed to the sun as you explore Lokrum Island, this sunscreen is a great mineral sunscreen.
- Backpack – any type of backpack is great to keep all your things and make sure you are still comfortable walking around the island.
- Water Bottle – We love having a refillable water bottle on our travels, especially for day trips like this.
- Sunglasses – So you can still enjoy the beauty of the island without the glare, and sun protection.
- Hat – a little more sun protection.
- Swimmers – if you plan to go for a swim.
- Snacks – although you can buy some snacks on the island, they are few and far between so it’s probably best to bring some snacks with you. Konzum and Tommy are popular supermarkets in Dubrovnik with many stores, or if you are looking for bakery snacks you can try Mlinar, there is a store on the main street of Dubrovnik Old Town.
For all of our favourite things to pack when we travel, take a look at the travel products we love.
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We would love to know about your experience of Lokrum Island in the comments below…
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