Doing Dubrovnik with a Baby (9 months)

Travelling as a family has been such a special time for us and we are definite proponents of the idea. So far, Croatia seems to be a great place to visit with young children. If you're planning to hit up Dubrovnik with a little one, here are our thoughts to help make your time easier.



We would highly recommend having a baby carrier to explore the old city. There are MANY steps which can be quite slippery even without a drop of rain. There are parts that are completely manageable, though, by stroller, and we frequently took ours out if we were planning to walk to Banje Beach, visit the market, or grab a drink on a patio. You can enter both Pile gate and Ploce Gate where there are no stairs, as well as walk between them along the Stradun (the main street) and Old Puca (second biggest street). To enter or exit the Buza Gate (North Entrance), there is a huge flight of steep stairs so it is not a good option for strollers or little feet.

We saw no sign idicating it as such but strollers should not be permitted along the city walls. It is a constant train of steps both up and down and certain sections are quite narrow. So we used our carrier for this excursion and had no trouble. The few museums we visited allowed us to bring Baby in with us free of charge (or judgement), either in the stroller or the carrier, and locals and tourists alike were enamored with her.

Outside of Kotor's City Walls on our day trip to Montenegro

At 9 months old, Baby herself was happy to people-and pigeon-watch. We never needed to have toys with us when we went out but did plan ahead with a meal or snack for her if we were intending on sitting and having a drink or an appy. In September we had no trouble with heat. We did use her long-sleeved Rashguard bathing suit at the beach which was super convienent. Keep in mind that the beaches here are not sandy. She was happy for a short while to sit on the rocks in the surf and try to best us by putting pebbles in her mouth. Compared to other European beach spots, the water is quite warm.

With prior notice both our airport shuttle and day trip tour to Montenegro provided us with an infant car seat. Check yourself, though, to ensure that it is installed tightly and correctly.

The water in Dubrovnik is "safe" for drinking so we didn't worry about washing the food we prepared for her in tap water. We did choose to opt for straight bottled water for her drinking water just in case it upset her sensitive little immune system. Baby didn't seem upset stomach-wise here, but she did have some issues on the island when we moved on to Korcula so we switched to bottled for everything for her just in case.

If you're planning to visit Dubrovnik or Croatia in general, feel free to leave us a comment and we can attempt to answer any specific questions you have about family travel in this part of the world. Happy Travelling!