Dubrovnik Pass: Is It Worth It for Your Cruise Ship Day Trip?

The official Dubrovnik Pass! As soon as walk towards Pile Gate, you’ll see large signs advertising the Official Dubrovnik Pass. So if you’re just visiting Dubrovnik for the day when your cruise ship is docked there, is it worth buying?

I’ll cut to the chase. If you intend to climb the Dubrovnik City Walls, the Dubrovnik Pass is absolutely worth it for adults. If you don’t want to climb the Dubrovnik City Walls, then I think it’s hard to get the maximum value out of the Dubrovnik Pass in one day, even if you’re a die hard museum buff like me.

If you’re a family with kids, then it depends on what you’d like to do in Dubrovnik besides walking the City Walls. There’s a discount for kids for various attractions but the Dubrovnik Pass is the same price for everyone (no discount for kids, except if your kids are under 7). I’ll share scenarios below where it makes sense for families to buy the Dubrovnik Pass and where it doesn’t.

This is Part 2 of my Dubrovnik Cruise Port Guide. If you haven’t read Part 1, you definitely should! I go through all my top things to do in Dubrovnik’s Old Town, so you can maximise your Dubrovnik Pass –> Part 1: Dubrovnik Old Town, City Walls and Game of Thrones.

But first, let me explain what popular attractions the Dubrovnik Pass includes, what it doesn’t and how you’ll save money by buying the Official Dubrovnik Pass issued by the city itself.

What is the Dubrovnik Pass and What Does it Include?

The Dubrovnik Pass is your all-in-one ticket to the best of Dubrovnik’s cultural and historical attractions. Unlike some City Passes, the Dubrovnik Pass is an official City Pass. It comes in three versions – 1, 3, or 7 days. The Dubrovnik Pass includes one-time entry to the same attractions for all three durations. The only difference is the 3-day or 7-day pass includes a bus ticket valid for longer durations.

For cruisers visiting Dubrovnik, you’ll be interested in the 1 day pass. Here’s what it includes:

• City Walls
• Rector’s Palace
• Maritime Museum
• Ethnographic Museum
• Marin Držić House
• Dubrovnik Natural History Museum
• Friars Minor Franciscan Monastery Museum
• Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik
• Dulčić – Masle – Pulitika Gallery
• The Pulitika Studio
• Archaeological exhibitions
• 24h Bus Ticket

In my main Dubrovnik Cruise Port DIY Excursion Guide, I talked about the must-see attractions for cruisers visiting Dubrovnik for a day (assuming it’s your first visit) are the City Walls and the Rector’s Palace. Even if you only see these two things, you’ll still save money! (for an adults-only group). I’ll explain why below.

The Dubrovnik Pass does not include cable car tickets up to the top of Srd Hill or ferry rides to Lokrum Island, both are popular attractions in Dubrovnik. (The 3-day & 7-day version includes a 20% discount to Lokrum Island, but not the 1-day pass.)

Dubrovnik Pass: How Much Is It? (2025 Prices)

This means that for cruisers visiting Dubrovnik during the summer season, you’ll looking at €40 for the 1-day pass.

Note 1: Winter 2025/2026 Prices haven’t been announced yet. But for Winter 2024/2025 (ie Nov 2024 to Feb 2025), a 1-day pass was €15, 3-day pass €25 and 7-day pass €35.

Dubrovnik Pass: Is it Worth It for Cruisers?

Absolutely! But if some caveats, as I mentioned above:

• Adults Only Groups: Whether you’re a single or a large adults only group, the Dubrovnik Pass is absolutely worth buying if you want to walk the City Walls. This is because standalone entry to the City Walls alone costs €40 for adults. So with the Dubrovnik Pass, you’re effectively getting free entry to quite a few additional attractions, including the Rector’s Palace.
• Families: If you’ve got kids in your group, it depends on (a) how old your kids are and (b) what else besides the City Walls the whole family wants to do in Dubrovnik. Kids aged 7-18 only pay €15 to walk the City walls, with kids under 7 free. As the Dubrovnik Pass is a single price for everyone with no discount for kids over 7, you may be better off NOT buying the pass for kids, depending on what other attractions you would like to see.
  • Rector’s Palace: Adult tickets are €15 and kids are €8. So you can pay-as-you-go for kids but buy the Dubrovnik Pass for adults. Example: Kids over 7 walking the City Walls and visiting the Rector’s Palace only costs €23 if you buy the kids’ tickets separately.
  • All Museums: If you’d like to go to more than 1 museum, you can buy the kids a €10 ticket which gives them access to all ten museums included in the Dubrovnik Pass. This would still be cheaper than buying the kids a Dubrovnik Pass each, assuming all your kids are older than 7.
• Not interested in City Walls? If you don’t plan on walking the City Walls, then I don’t think you can get sufficient value out of the Dubrovnik Pass in one day ashore to justify buying it. You can buy a €20 ticket instead which gives you access to all the museums that the Dubrovnik Pass offers.

NEW for 2025 – Included Bus Ticket: The Dubrovnik Pass includes a 24 hour bus ticket, convenient for cruisers docked in Dubrovnik Cruise Port in Gruz. You can now “redeem” this bus ticket, on your first bus ride by scanning the Dubrovnik Pass QR code onboard the bus. You’ll then be given a physical ticket to scan on every subsequent bus ride you take until the ticket expires 24 hours later.

Read my Part 1 Guide: Dubrovnik Old Town, City Walls and Game of Thrones. for details on how to get the public bus from Dubrovnik Cruise Port to Dubrovnik’s Old Town.

All the other included attractions, with the exception of MOMAD (Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik), is within the limits of the City Walls and are easily walkable.

Dubrovnik Pass: Where to Buy It?

Easy to Buy Online: It’s easiest to buy the Dubrovnik Pass online on the official website – www.dubrovnikpass.com (NOT an affiliate link). The pass is valid for any day during either the summer or winter season that you purchased it for. It’s not for a specific day and will only be activated when you first use it. When you purchase online, you’ll get a QR code that you can scan for entry to attractions or to pick up your 24 hour bus ticket.

When to Buy It: I generally avoid buying tickets ahead of time, unless tickets will sell out, as it’s always possible that a ship needs to skip a port of call for various reasons. For the Dubrovnik Pass, you can buy it as late as when you’ve arrived at Dubrovnik Cruise Port! The Dubrovnik Pass doesn’t “sell out”, as it’s not sold for a specific day.

If you do not want to purchase it online, you can purchase it at the tourism information office at Pile Gate entrance. Once you enter through Pile Gate, you’ll see the large Onofrio Fountain (see photo above). The tourism office is on one side of the fountain.

Dubrovnik City Walls Tickets: Where to Buy It?

If you’re traveling with kids and worked out that it’s cheaper not to buy the kids a Dubrovnik Pass, here’s where to buy tickets for the City Walls only – https://shop.citywallsdubrovnik.hr/en (NOT an affiliate link).

With online tickets ready, you don’t need to queue at the main ticket office at Pile Gate! If you do not want to purchase the tickets online, they’re also on sale at the tourism office at Pile Gate.

Featured Image by Ivan Ivankovic from Pixabay

Ultimately, whether the Dubrovnik Pass is “worth it” depends on what’s on your DIY shore excursion itinerary and whether you’ve got kids with you. I hope that this guide has helped you make an informed decision for your day at port in Dubrovnik!

Please feel free to drop me a line below if you have any questions! This blog post was promptly by a question tagged for me to answer on CruiseCritic and it just so happens that I was in Dubrovnik that day, on my summer holiday cruise along the Dalmatian coast. What a coincidence! There’s going to be plenty more posts coming up for Croatian cruise ports shortly. All the best for a most wonderful time in Dubrovnik!