Car Hire Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Mini Guide

More and more tourists are flocking to the Croatian city of Dubrovnik which is known as the pearl of the Adriatic. Located in the south of Croatia this incredible city of red topped buildings, which rises out of the crystal clear waters surrounding it, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Although it was extensively bombed during the war in the 1990’s, Dubrovnik has been carefully reconstructed to its former glory. If you go to see the war photographs exhibition in Dubrovnik you will get an idea of just what an achievement this was. This is the only city state in the Adriatic which can rival Venice for sheer beauty and opulence. Having been visited over the years by kings, queens, popes and presidents, today Dubrovnik is still a glamorous destination which attracts many celebrities. Some things which must be seen in the city centre are the old fort and old town, the gothic renaissance Sponza Palace and the bell tower.

Car hire Dubrovnik airport is a low cost way to pick up your vehicle straight from the airport so that you can enjoy the Croatian capital. If you are arriving at Dubrovnik’s International airport there is then a 20 kilometre drive to the north to get to the city. You can fly into Dubrovnik from many European destinations. These include from Dublin on Aer Lingus, from Munich, Hannover and Stuttgart on Hapag Lloyd Express, from Brussels on SN Brussels Airlines and from Gatwick on British Airways. Thomsonfly and Flybe also have flights from London Luton and Birmingham airports.

If you want to go with low cost carriers both Ryanair and easyJet have flights. EasyJet can get you from Bristol, Gatwick and Geneva to Split Airport while Ryanair goes to Zadar from Stansted and Bari (where you can catch the ferry across). If you choose these options you will need to pick up a Rhino hire car at Zadar or Split as it is quite a long drive south to Dubrovnik. The drive is incredibly scenic as you will wind down the Adriatic coast, but allow half a day to get there.

You can even get to Dubrovnik from lesser known locations such as Tallinn in Estonia on Estonian Air. In terms of domestic flights there are quite a few including cheap flights north to Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb with the national carrier Croatian Airlines. You can also go to Pula, Zadar and Osijek. Another great way to see Dubrovnik and Croatia is by boat and this gives you the freedom to explore the many wonderful surrounding islands.

To enjoy Dubrovnik old town you should park your hire car near the Pile Gate and walk the city walls to begin with. Allow several hours for this as you’ll want to stop and take many photographs along the way.

At the start of the walk, climb to the top of the huge Fort Lovrijenac that appears in all photographs of Dubrovnik. From there the view is quite something. In the city itself, two sights near each other worth visiting are the Bell Tower and Roland’s Column, both important pieces in the History of Dubrovnik.