Snorkeling in Dubrovnik – My Favorite Locations

I have to admit that I am a bit of the snorkeling nut. I love this activity ever since I was a child. While growing up on the seashore, snorkeling was at the time the activity that most of the local children practised and enjoyed since an early age.

Even nowadays, whenever I go to the beach I take with me my bag with flippers, snorkel, and mask, just in case. Sometimes the seashore is not really suitable for snorkeling, let’s say if the sea is not very clear or the sea bottom is not rich with wildlife. But sometimes it is really surprising to find a great little spot, deep and clean enough where you can observe the underwater world.

Where to snorkel in Dubrovnik?

As I lived in Dubrovnik for several years, I had enough time to explore its best locations for swimming and snorkeling. I tried all sorts of places but ended up with just a few.

Here are my 5 favourite places to snorkel in the town:

1. Buža: Buža is in my opinion, one of the most attractive snorkeling locations in Dubrovnik. The area is rocky with deep slabs, easily accessible from the centre of the town. Water is clear and visibility underwater is very good. As it is in the centre of the town, you can get a nice drink and food as soon as you get out of the water. (GPS: 42.638836, 18.110052)
2. Danče: Another attractive snorkeling location, completely open to the sea. Huge and attractive cliffs to explore right at the seashore. Nice colours of water and plenty of places to observe the underwater world. Easily accessible by public transport and town centre. Take some food and drink with you as there are no immediate facilities nearby.  (GPS:42.640989, 18.101090)
3. Gorica: This is a great little spot for confident snorkelers. The sea bottom is very deep here but you don’t have to dive deep to see the underwaters. You can just observe it from a distance above and still enjoy it. Also fairly accessible by foot from the town centre (20 min walk) but no facilities so get prepared and bring your own supplies. (GPS:42.644015, 18.091784)
4. Lapad/ Petka: Nice and large rocky area, difficult to get to due to its steep access. Great place for solitary swim and snorkel in calm ‘bonaca’ weather. Not recommended to go alone, always take a friend with you especially in locations like this one. Plenty of fish and other sea creatures to observe while snorkeling even in the high season, when most of the fish are gone to the much deeper waters due to a lot of activities on the seashore around the town (speed boats, noise, vicinity of people etc). No facilities at all, get prepared well and bring a lot of freshwater and food with you. (GPS:42.648192, 18.072490)
5. Lokrum: If you prefer to go away from the town, then Lokrum is the best choice. You can go there by ferry/boat from the Old Town’s port or by renting a sea kayak (below photo) and paddle there in 20 minutes. It is away but still easily accessible. Once you arrive on the island you will find several good mini locations to snorkel there, all easily accessible by foot.
   (GPS: 42.633234, 18.113873)

Location map of snorkeling spots in Dubrovnik:

Some general tips for snorkeling in Dubrovnik:

1. If you plan to snorkel anywhere in the town, try so check the weather forecast day in advance. If the wind is predicted, you are better off postponing the activity for another time.
2. Try to organize snorkeling for mornings. Mornings here are less windy, actually very often completely calm, so you can properly enjoy this activity.
3. If you don’t have enough time to wait for the perfect weather, then go for a snorkeling trip to Mokosica. It is a sheltered area where winds are not very strong so even on a windy day you can still enjoy the calm underwater world.
4.  As you know, snorkeling can be dangerous so for your own safety never ever overestimate your ability to snorkel. Keep on the safe side, don’t dive deep, and focus your enjoyment on observing the underwater world from a safe distance or in the very shallow waters.
5. If you are a newbie/beginner, you are better off to take pre-organised snorkeling tour like this one where you will be introduced to the activity by experienced guides.

Above photo: Place to rent a sea- kayak to go to Lokrum

Example photos of several different sea conditions:

Above photo: Bonaca (local therm) – the best snorkeling weather condition: the sea is calm and completely transparent and you can easily float and observe the sea bottom.

Above photo: the sea is still calm but not completely transparent, still suitable for snorkel

Above and below photos: the sea is not calm nor transparent, and the conditions are not suitable for snorkeling. You can still easily see the sea bottom once you dive a bit but it will be more difficult and a struggle to calmly float on the surface so you will not enjoy snorkeling as much as in perfect and calm weather. So, instead, go for a swim only and leave snorkeling for another day.

I hope you will enjoy snorkeling in the town. Let me know if you find a better location (contact) or if you have any other comments about my choices. See the below video that features some really good footage from the local area as well as this one that I recently took.

Video – underwater life in Dubrovnik: