Dubrovnik With Autistic Children

If you’re wondering whether Dubrovnik is a good fit for families traveling with autistic children, the short answer is yes—with some planning. Known for its medieval walls, terracotta rooftops, and its role as a filming location for Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik with autistic children can feel overwhelming at first glance. But beneath the cobbled streets and bustling crowds lies a walkable, manageable, and even magical destination—especially if your child enjoys visual experiences, castles, or the sea.

We visited Dubrovnik with our three children, including two diagnosed autistic children, as part of a cruise stop. While we didn’t stay overnight, we made the most of a full day exploring the Old City and beyond. Here’s what worked for us—and what might help your family, too. You can watch our day in Dubrovnik from start to finish in the Dubrovnik highlights on Instagram.

Getting To Dubrovnik

If you’re arriving by cruise ship, you’re in luck—Dubrovnik’s cruise port is about a 10–15 minute drive from the historic Old City. Shuttle buses, taxis, and rideshares are available right at the terminal. For families with autistic children, pre-booking a private transfer (or taking a cruise shuttle) is usually the smoothest option. We opted for a taxi from outside of the ship. This was the best option for us because we are five people and transfers by bus usually cost a standard amount per person, but a taxi is typically one cost based on distance. We were dropped off right outside the Pile Gate.

If you’re flying into Dubrovnik Airport, it’s about 20 km (12 miles) from the city. Options include:

• Shuttle bus: Take the bus to Pile Gate, which should take about 45 minutes
• Taxi or Uber: To the centre of Dubrovnik it will be approximately 30 minutes, and should cost about €30–40.
• Pre-booked transfers: That can include a car seat, if needed. This will take about 30 minutes and the price will vary depending on your needs, passengers and hotel location.

If your child has sensory issues around crowds or waiting, avoid public buses where possible—they can be hot, noisy, and unpredictable. Dubrovnik is definitely one of the busiest cities I have been to, and I formed that opinion based on how many people I could actually see with my own eyes in the area outside of Pile Gate.

Where To Stay in Dubrovnik

I have no personal recommendations on where to stay in Dubrovnik with autistic children because we did not spend the night there – we visited as part of a cruise itinerary through the Adriatic Sea. Personally, if I were to go back, I would probably look at staying near to, but not in, the Old City. I would like to be able to walk there but not be overwhelmed by all of the crowds when it is time to wind down.

Family-Friendly Activities in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Old City

The walled Old City is the heart of Dubrovnik—and it’s stunning. Narrow limestone streets wind between ancient buildings, with every turn offering a new alleyway, church, or cat sitting in the sun. For our kids, it was a real-life maze. For our autistic children, the visual appeal—stone textures, medieval architecture, colourful shutters—held interest longer than we expected. One of our sons really likes to follow patterns on the floor, so he was in his element following the beautiful, light bricks.

The Old City is all cobblestones and echoing stone corridors. Footing can be uneven, and noise can bounce unpredictably, especially when busy. We found early morning the best time for a quieter walk. If your child is sensitive to loud noise or bright sun, bring noise-reducing headphones and sunglasses. Also, the stone streets get slippery when wet—wear shoes with good grip. If you want to get the most of your time in the Old City, you can book a walking tour with GetYourGuide.

Sensory Considerations for Dubrovnik City Walls:

• Crowds: It gets crowded, especially from 10am–2pm. People walk in both directions without any real rules or process for who should go where.
• Sun exposure: There’s almost no shade—hats, sun cream, and water are essential.
• Heights: If your child has vertigo or anxiety around heights, some parts may be distressing.

Rector’s Palace

The Rector’s Palace is a beautifully preserved Gothic-Renaissance building in the Old City that now houses a cultural museum. Inside, you’ll find antique furniture, portraits, and elegant rooms with high ceilings and archways. If you have the Dubrovnik pass, you can go to Rector’s Palace as one of the places included in the price.

For our family, this was a cool, calm indoor break from the sun and crowds. Our autistic children enjoyed the grand staircase, determined to climb them themselves without our help. It wasn’t overly stimulating and had enough visual interest without being overwhelming. My kids move through museums quickly, without really reading any additional information, so they often don’t learn a lot about the history of what they see.

Unfortunately, when I went to the bathroom, David was with the kids and took them to one of the rooms on the ground floor. Sylvie accidentally touched something, and the staff were so rude in response and told him to “control your children.” It hurts when people treat families this way, without knowing their history or taking time to understand that she hadn’t intentionally tried to touch something. I think there are far more polite ways to handle something like this – but this is how they handled it. I wouldn’t recommend going here if you have a child who is excitable, elopes or even is wobbly on their feet because one wrong step and you’ll be scolded as their parent.

Sensory-Friendly Features:

• Relatively quiet
• Predictable layout
• Clean toilets and a shaded courtyard

The Duck Shop

Hard Rock Cafe Dubrovnik

For a family-friendly meal with familiar surroundings, Hard Rock Cafe Dubrovnik is a solid choice. The menu includes burgers, pasta, fries, and other predictable kid-friendly food. For our autistic children—who struggle with unfamiliar cuisine—this is a welcome option. Unfortunately, we went there at 11am only to find out they do not open to kitchen to cook until 12pm so we had a drink there, let the kids rest and went into the Hard Rock Shop.

We have also visited the Hard Rock Cafe in:

Sensory Tips:

• It’s air-conditioned (a lifesaver on warm days).
• There’s background music, but it can be quite loud.
• Seating options include booths and quieter corners, indoor and outdoor options.
• The closer it gets to 12pm, the busier it gets here. We went from being one of the only tables in there to it being completely packed in the outdoor areas.

I attempted to go to the bathroom at Hard Rock Cafe, and found that the one I went to came with a charge. I didn’t bring money with me from the table to go to the toilet so I just went back to the table because I didn’t want to dig through my bag and pay for a toilet in a place where I was a paying customer.

Please check out this Instagram post I wrote about how we spent our time in the Old City of Dubrovnik with autistic children.

For Dubrovnik outside of the Old City, I’d definitely be drawn to one of the tours in the convertible buses. If we can minimise walking for our autistic children, we have much more chance of the day being successful.

Our Favourite Sensory-Friendly Experience In Dubrovnik

City Walls

Dubrovnik’s City Walls are iconic—and not for the faint of heart. They wrap around the entire Old City and take about 1.5–2 hours to walk fully, with lots of steps and no shade in many sections. But they also offer spectacular views over the sea, rooftops, and nearby islands.

What Worked for Us: We opted to walk a small section only and only with our older son and one parent at a time. This is because our youngest two are quite wild and unaware of danger – the City Walls have one really low side and we did not feel like it was safe for them. Travis and David entered at Pile Gate, they climbed the stairs, explored for about 15-20 minutes, then exited back down the same steps. At the same time I played with Sylvie and Luke down near the gate knowing Travis and David would return here when they were done. This gave our autistic child a taste of the experience without exhausting him. We often watch vlogs of places we intend to visit, and we did that with Dubrovnik to show what the walls looked like so there were no surprises. Of course, now I have my own photos of the City Walls in Dubrovnik and I have uploaded to Instagram, feel free to show them to your children if they will help!

Make sure to read this important piece of information I shared about how ticketing works and a little loophole for groups visiting for Dubrovnik City Walls.

If you wanted to get the most out of your time walking the city walls, consider taking a guided tour.

Getting Around With Autistic Children in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik’s Old City is pedestrian-only, which is great for safety but challenging for wheels. Here’s what we found helpful:

• Walking: Expect uneven cobblestones. If your child has mobility challenges or gets overwhelmed easily, be ready to take breaks. The central promenade (Stradun) is wider and less bumpy than the side alleys. Saying this, we had no real problems with the double stroller and pushed it with us around the Old City fairly easily.
• Strollers/Carriers: A compact stroller with big wheels helps, but not all streets are accessible. We chose to keep our younger 2 children down in the Old City rather than take them up to the City Walls. If you do want to take small children up, a carrier would probably be the safest way to do that.
• Transport to/from Port: If not using the cruise shuttle, you can take a taxi or Uber. Make sure to pre-request a larger car if needed and consider bringing your own booster seat. Taxi cars wait outside of the cruise ship when they know ships are coming in for the day. It is not hard to source a taxi at the ship or in Dubrovnik. There are obvious taxi ranks you can approach to speak to a driver about your plans, we saw one outside of the Pile Gate.
• Taxi: In Dubrovnik, it is not hard to find taxis who will be willing to take you wherever you need to go. In Croatia, drivers generally speak some English at least and often they are quite fluent and able to understand your needs well.
• Bus: There are a number of local buses available to transport people in Dubrovnik (just not inside the Old City). You can use the buses to see parts of the city that are a bit further than you’d be happy to walk.

Is Dubrovnik Autism-Friendly?

Dubrovnik doesn’t advertise itself as “autism-friendly,” but that doesn’t mean it isn’t manageable. The people we met were friendly, relaxed, and non-judgmental for the most part—a big relief. Most attractions didn’t require standing in long lines, and we were able to adjust our pace as needed.

That said, crowds and heat are the biggest challenges here. Visiting early in the day, using shaded rest stops, and keeping hydrated helped immensely. We didn’t see sunflower lanyards or visible disability support schemes in place, and this type of support would have made our experience at Rector’s Palace far less negative.

Things That Make Dubrovnik Stand Out

• The Old City, which is one of the most popular parts of Dubrovnik to visit, is a pedestrian only area. This is really reassuring for parents of autistic children. My children have no sense of danger or awareness of the intentions of vehicles so it is nice to go somewhere that motor traffic isn’t a concern.
• Many people can speak English really well, which makes explaining your needs so much easier.
• Taxis are easy to find and are affordable. We often have a taxi escape route planned as a backup if things take a turn for the worst and the kids aren’t coping.
• We found multiple franchises we are acquainted with in Dubrovnik. Hard Rock Cafe, for example, is a place all three of my children have a safe food. I spotted a familiar children’s footwear brand – it stood out to me because on our trip to Asia in January 2025 my oldest complained all of the time about his shoes hurting him and we just never came across a shoe store where he saw a pair he would wear. We also found a Captain Candy store, which we had first visited in Venice in March of 2024. The kids were excited to see it and rushed to pick a treat for themselves.

Tips for a Smooth Experience

1. Plan Ahead: Research each location and contact them to discuss any special accommodations your child might need. If you can plan to arrive after check-in time you should, or try to arrange an early check-in.
2. Sensory Tools: Bring along sensory tools and comfort items that help manage sensory needs, such as noise-cancelling headphones, sensory toys, and a sensory toolkit.
3. Clear Communication: Ensure that everyone involved in the trip understands the needs and preferences of the neurodiverse individual. Clear communication can prevent misunderstandings and enhance the travel experience. Consider using PECS or an AAC. We have a free pack of travel PECS available for download.
4. Safety: Consider getting an autism card for your child, or even better – use our emergency passport for medical information and important contacts. Our absolute must have safety item for travelling with an autistic child is a TinyTags wristband or tag that can be tapped or scanned by a mobile phone – giving the person who tapped it all of the information they need to get your child back to you. TinyTags also feature a location alert to help you find your child.

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If Dubrovnik is on your travel radar, I hope this guide helps you feel confident that it can be done—with joy, flexibility, and sensory success. Like most destinations, it’s not perfect—but with preparation and pacing, it offered our family a chance to explore a unique part of the world together.

Would you consider visiting Dubrovnik with autistic now you have read this? Let me know in the comments!