Made world famous by Game of Thrones as King´s Landing, Dubrovnik attracts enormous amounts of tourists each year. The city on the Adriatic coast of Croatia has become on of the most overrun tourist destinations in Europe and a prime example of how overtourism can ruin it for both tourists and local residents. Local authorities are fighting back with measures that should make the Southern Croatic city more liveable and more enjoyable for tourists.
One of the taken measures is a maximum number of cruise ships that can arrive on any given day. Another measure is a sort of ban on new restaurants opening. Despite these measures, the city is not getting any less popular and still attracts tourists from al over the world. In the overview below you can see the best time to travel based on monthly crowd predictions as well as long-term weather (climate predictions).
Dubrovnik month by month
January in Dubrovnik is cold
Visiting Dubrovnik in January is a good idea if you don’t like massive crowds. However, the weather in winter can be ugly. January is the coldest month in Dubrovnik with an average high temperature of 12 degrees Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) and rain on 9 days. Crowd wise, it is smart to keep an eye on European vacations during the beginning of the month.
February is a slow month in Dubrovnik, but…
February weather in Dubrovnik is cold with an average maximum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius (55.4 Fahrenheit). February is arguably the most quiet month in Dubrovnik with only a few other tourists hanging around. If you have the possibility to plan your trip last minute, when the weather predictions are good, you might be lucky and have a unique quiet Dubrovnik experience. In terms of crowds there are some European school vacations around February. Normally, these tourists will visit Ski areas in the Alps and not travel to Dubrovnik which is more of summer destination.
In March, tourism in Dubrovnik starts to pick up
Although March still sees around 8 rainy days, Temperatures in Dubrovnik will be rising. With an average maximum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) it is slowly warming up. In terms of weather, the second part of March is better for visiting Dubrovnik than the first days of the year when it is officially still winter. In March, the town is also slowly getting busier. Cruise ships will start to arrive but most days will be quiet. If you are lucky with the weather, March is a good time to visit Dubrovnik. Keep an eye out on European school vacations. Check our daily crowd predictions to avoid those school vacations and cruise ships.
April in Dubrovnik has some good and bad days
Cruise ship traffic to Dubrovnik will start to increase while the weather is improving as well. Especially around the Easter school vacations, you should expect large crowds to hit the city’s streets. In April the weather is still a bit unpredictable in Dubrovnik with 8 rainy days and an average maximum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit).
May is a good month to visit Dubrovnik
With an average maximum temperature of 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 Fahrenheit) and only 6 rainy days, May is a good month to visit Dubrovnik. Weather wise, things are getting much better in May. The weather will improve by the week and rain becomes less likely as the month progresses. Unfortunately, other tourists and cruise lines know this as well. Cruise ship traffic will be picking up quickly while school vacations can make it busy in the beginning of the month. Research becomes key! Use our daily crowd predictor to see when it’s busy in Dubrovnik.
June is the last month before peak season hits Dubrovnik
June is the last month before peak season truly kicks in. Speaking of crowds, there are some days that will be very bad and some days that might be OK(ish). It is essential to plan your stay in Dubrovnik beforehand. There will be days with lots of cruise ships arriving in the city. Weekdays will most definitely better than weekend days due to an increasing numbers of day trippers in the city. There will also be days without any cruise ship arriving in the city. In June, the weather has improved significantly in Dubrovnik with average maximum temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 Fahrentheit) and only 4 rainy days.
July is best to avoid in Dubrovnik
July in Dubrovnik is absolute peak season! If you have the opportunity to plan, we advise you avoid Dubrovnik in July. Not only will large cruise ships arrive in the city almost each day, most European countries, including Croatia, will be enjoying school vacations. That means that the majority of Europeans that normally cannot travel, will be able to do so now. If you still want to visit Dubrovnik during this super busy month, make sure you plan ahead. Weather wise, Dubrovnik has its best weather in July with an average maximum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and the least amount of rain per month.
August is the busiest month in Dubrovnik
August is the busiest travel month all over Europe. Peak season in Dubrovnik peaks in August. Especially in the beginning of the month we would advise to avoid Dubrovnik if you can. Basically, every European country will have school vacations. Day trippers will not only be limited to weekends, they will be arriving every day of the week. While all these overnight tourists and day trippers are in town, cruise ships will almost continuously arrive in the city. The weather in Dubrovnik in August is great with 3 rainy days and an average maximum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
September is an OK month to travel to Dubrovnik
Although most kids are back in school, September can still be relatively busy. Especially during the beginning of the month, the streets of Dubrovnik will still be crowded. Throughout the month, things will start to quiet down and it can be a good month to travel. Temperatures are still good, and it will not rain too much. Smartest thing to do is to closely watch the port of Dubrovnik’s cruise schedule. On some days it can still be very busy. The average maximum temperature in Dubrovnik in September is 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 Fahrenheit) with 5 rainy days.
October is arguably the best month to travel to Dubrovnik
In October, European travel has slowed down. With average maximum temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 Fahrenheit) October in Dubrovnik still has pleasant weather. In fact, October in Dubrovnik has similar weather as the normally popular month of May However, you can be unlucky with rain as it rains an average of 7 days. Early in the month is definitely better than later in October. If you are planning a visit in October we advise you to check our daily crowd forecast as well as the weather forecast. Also keep an eye on European autumn school vacations. Especially in big countries such as Germany, Italy or France.
November in Dubrovnik is cold but quiet
Just behind January, November is Europe’s slowest month in terms of travel. Especially for destinations situated at the Adriatic Sea, there will not be so many tourists while the weather is still relatively good. In November the average maximum temperature is dropping quickly with an average of 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 Fahrenheit). It can also be wet with about 10 rainy days each November. If you don’t mind the risk of being in Dubrovnik when it rains, November is your month with very low crowds.
December is not a great month to visit Dubrovnik
Although tourism picks up slightly on the continent, Dubrovnik is not your typical Christmas destination. The weather can be horrible with 10 rainy days and an average maximum temperature of 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 Fahrenheit).
Dubrovnik weather month by month
Dubrovnik enjoys a Mediterranean climate. You can enjoy great weather during most of the year. From May until October, the average temperature will not drop below 20 degrees Celcius (68 Fahrenheit) while rain is uncommon from May until September. Winters can be much colder.
Dubrovnik crowds per month
To predict how busy Dubrovnik will be in any given month, we look at arriving cruise ships and other tourism data. Cruise ship arrivals have a big impact on the Adriatic coast town. A single large cruise ship will instantly make the town feel crowded.
As the graph above shows, cruise ship arrivals per month in 2019 seem to follow the sun. During sunny months, cruise ship arrivals will peak. In winter time all these cruise ships have relocated to the Caribbean and Dubrovnik is visited by less passengers. Good to know is that cruise ships arrivals are not evenly spread over each month. Each month there are days where crowds are smaller or bigger. Even during the busiest months of the year, there will be days with no cruise ship arrivals.
