With crystal clear water, pristine beaches, rugged mountains and medieval towns, Croatia and Montenegro boast stunning natural beauty, rich history and vibrant culture (not to mention delicious food and wine!).
Apart from Sweden, this was our first holiday abroad as a family, and our first time visiting both Croatia and Montenegro. We went in September to avoid the extreme heat and hordes of tourists (and flights are way cheaper this time of year). Our daughter Malva was nearly 10 months at the time and we decided to travel light and only bring hand luggage, especially as we were flying with EasyJet and didn’t have checked luggage. This was a bit of a challenge when packing, but we realised that it was actually easier than we thought and meant we didn’t have a tonne of luggage as we were moving around.
As this was our first proper holiday, we didn’t want to go overboard with the itinerary and were originally going to stay only in Dubrovnik. After some research, we decided to add Montenegro to the itinerary as Dubrovnik is only an hour’s drive from the Montenegro border. This guide details is how you can explore both countries
7-day Croatia & Montenegro itinerary with a baby at a glance
Day 1: Flying to Dubrovnink and Čilipi
Day 2: Bay of Kotor - Kotor Old Town
Where to stay
Kotor Beach
Kotor Old Town
Day 3: Perast and Fort Gorazda
Views of Bay of Kotor
Dinner by the sea in Perast
Day 4: Pasjača Beach
Hidden beach
Bus to Dubrovnik
Day 5: Boat trip to the Elaphite Islands
Karaka boat tour
Hike, wine tasting and snorkelling
Day 6: Dubrovnik Old Town, beach Šulić and Mount Srđ
Exploring the old town
Beach break at Šulić
Cable car up to Mount Srđ
Day 7: Lokrum Island
Dead Sea Lake
Eat with the Locals
Top things to note
Day 1: Flying to Dubrovnink and Čilipi
One thing that has definitely changed since travelling with a baby/toddler is the time of the flights we take. No more 7am or 10pm flights – instead, I much prefer paying a bit more for a mid-morning/midday flight, meaning Malva can wake up as normal, (hopefully) nap on the plane and we can arrive at our destination ahead of her dinner time.
For this trip, we flew into Dubrovnik and decided to spend the night within walking distance of the airport in the nearby village Čilipi to minimise travel and let our daughter have a nice chilled evening. We found a lovely Airbnb within a 10-minute walk from the airport that had everything we needed and had dinner at the local (and only) restaurant. Despite being so close to the airport, Čilipi was actually quite a nice area with beautiful stone houses, cedar trees and olive groves.
Day 2: Bay of Kotor - Kotor Old Town
We went back to Dubrovnik airport in the morning and picked up our rental car. We then headed towards Bay of Kotor – about a 2-hour drive from Dubrovnik airport. The drive is beautiful and follows the Adriatic coast all the way until you reach Bay of Kotor (we made use of our daughter’s nap time so that she was asleep for most of the drive).
This beautiful bay is surrounded by dramatic mountains that plunge into the sea and has plenty to explore, so I would allow at least 2 nights here. There are a few options on where to stay depending on what you’re looking for – the main tourist attraction is the walled city of Kotor, known for its narrow streets, historic churches, lively squares and many cats roaming around (the cats were definitely Malva’s favourite part about the city!).
There is also the more peaceful town of Perast, where you can take a boat ride out to the Our Lady of the Rocks island, or if you are looking for a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere, you might want to explore the smaller towns like Dobrota, Orahovac and Risan.
We opted for Kotor as we wanted to be close to amenities like supermarkets and pharmacies to make sure we had everything within reach we needed anything. We also wanted to be close to the beach as Malva is and always has been a water baby, so we found an Airbnb 5 minutes from Kotor Beach and a 10-minute walk into Kotor Old Town. (I personally prefer to stay in apartments as opposed to hotels with young children as it means you can cook your own food, do laundry and have a bit more space.)
One thing to note about Kotor is that it is a popular stop for cruise ships – usually between 10am-4pm. We arrived at the old town in Kotor in the early afternoon and the streets were packed with tour groups, which was hectic to say the least. However, after a couple of hours the streets emptied as the cruise ships left and it completely changed the vibe of the city. Spend a good few hours here getting lost in small alleyways, have some Montenegrin wine at one of the many squares and if you’re feeling brave, why not take the Ladder of Kotor trail all the way up the mountain and take in the views from the top?
Day 3: Perast and Fort Gorazda
Today, we really wanted to admire the landscape of the bay from up high, and as we didn’t feel brave enough to do the hike up the Ladder of Kotor with a baby, we decided to drive up into the mountains instead whilst our daughter was having a nap in the car. Our original plan was to go up the Kotor Serpentine, but after reading reviews saying traffic gets so bad that it sometimes takes 2 hours just to get to the top, we opted against it and instead stumbled upon a lovely spot further down, which had an abandoned and overgrown fortification.
Fort Gorazda was built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century and used by the Austrians in the First World War. It has a 100-ton Gruson rotating turret on its roof, which is the last remaining example of its kind. You can walk around freely, both on top of the fort and inside in the barrack rooms below (though I would advise to bring a torch as it is very dark in places!) – it definitely has a slightly eerie feel to it, but it was interesting to look around. From the roof, you get beautiful views of the Bay of Kotor – we brought some picnic food and had lunch with a view (even found some ripe figs from a nearby tree for dessert!). We had also brought a pop up tent so Malva could sit and play in the shade, so we stayed a bit longer so she could have some time to move around before getting back in the car.
After driving back down, we headed straight to Perast, a peaceful town about a 15-minute drive from Kotor. The town is a lot smaller than Kotor and much quieter as you don’t get the swarms of tourists from the cruise ships. The town is situated right on the water, overlooking the small island Our Lady of the Rocks, with plenty of seafood restaurants down by the waterfront. We enjoyed a nice relaxed dinner by the water (so close to the water in fact that I had to be careful not to fall in!) while Malva slept in the sling.
Day 4: Pasjača Beach
Today was our last day in Montenegro and it was time for us to head back to Dubrovnik. We decided to make a pit stop on the way before returning the car at the airport (as we had decided to not have a car for the final part of our trip). We had looked up a place called Pasjača Beach, located only a 30-minute drive from the airport and therefore making it the perfect little stopover for us.
This was by far our favourite beach on the trip, a little gem tucked away in the rocks with crystal clear water. Accessing the beach is a bit of a trek – you have to walk down a pretty steep trail for about 10 minutes to get there, and once you’re there, there is literally nothing else, so make sure to bring plenty of water and food if you’re planning on staying for a while! This is also definitely not pram friendly so make sure to bring a sling/baby back carrier. Also worth noting the beach is a pebble beach (as are most beaches along the coast) so if your child is walking, bring beach shoes!
We then made our way back to the airport and grabbed the airport shuttle into Dubrovnik, which stops in a few different locations around the city, so we could conveniently find a stop that was close to our accommodation.
Day 5: Boat trip to the Elaphite Islands
Dubrovnik has a lot to offer – in fact, if you are travelling for the first time with your child and don’t want to move around too much, you could easily spend a week here and explore the city and surrounding villages and islands!
For our first day in Dubrovnik, we had booked a boat tour to explore the Elaphite islands. We chose to do a tour on the Karaka – a replica of the traditional Dubrovnik karaka ship, built in the 15th and 16th centuries. The ship was spacious which meant we could bring a pram on-board and we had plenty of space for our daughter to crawl around on the floor.
The islands all had their own charm and we did a short hiking tour, a wine tasting and some snorkelling at Sunj Beach on Lopud Island. There were also little markets selling local delicacies and several restaurants and cafés. We had a lovely guide who told us about the history of the islands and also got some gorgeous views of the coastline on the way there and back!
Day 6: Dubrovnik Old Town, beach Šulić and Mount Srđ
Today was a full day of exploring Dubrovnik, starting with the old town. This UNESCO World Heritage Site showcases stunningly preserved Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque architecture and is enclosed by stone walls dating back to the 13th century. Brought to fame as the filming location for Kings Landing in Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik Old Town is now a popular tourist spot, with plenty of walking tours that take you to the different filming locations.
We didn’t even bother bringing a pram today as we knew the old town would be full of stairs, so we kept her in the sling for most of the day. Though there were a lot of tourists, as soon as you get away from the main streets, it was actually quite quiet and we could meander the narrow cobblestone streets at our own pace. There is plenty to do here for a good few hours – check out some of the churches or museums for some beautiful architecture and history, try some local specialties at one of the many restaurants, grab an ice cream and get lost in the maze-like alleyways (we found ourselves saying “oh, we’re here again!” a lot...) or if you are a fan of GoT, try and see how many of the filming locations you can spot!
You can also climb the wall (for a fee), however, we decided to instead seek out one of Dubrovnik’s several beaches so that Malva (and we) could have a little splash around. We headed to beach Šulić, only a 10-minute walk from the Old Town, which was a lovely spot for a little beach break. It also had a really nice bar overlooking the beach where we were able to enjoy a peaceful drink whilst Malva was asleep in the sling.
We finished off the day by taking the cable-car up to Mount Srđ for some lovely views of Dubrovnik. The views were definitely impressive, however, the cable car was a steep €28 return/person which I don't think it was worth - once we were at the top we saw plenty of cars driving up so you could definitely just get a taxi up instead for way less! We also saw people hiking up and down the mountain, so that's an option as well if you're feeling up for it (or take the cable car up and hike down!).
Day 7: Lokrum Island
For our final day, we took the ferry out to the island of Lokrum – a beautiful protected nature reserve located just off the coast of Dubrovnik with lush pine forests, olive groves, botanical gardens and peacocks roaming freely. There are no cars and no overnight accommodation on the island, so it’s the perfect day trip to go relax and just enjoy nature.
You will also find some GoT filming locations here, and you can also take a picture of the iron throne. The ferry over is a bit pricy - €28 return/person, but it was worth every penny! (If you are deciding between this and the cable car, I would absolutely spend my €28 here instead!)
There are several trails around the island, depending on what you want to see and how much hiking you want to do. We chose a trail that was mainly flat, and although we had chosen to leave the pram at home today as well, it would have probably been doable with a pram. As there is a lot of vegetation on the island, the paths are shaded, making it a cool and pleasant walk.
We started off at the beautiful Dead Sea lake - a natural pool sheltered by cliffs located on the southern part of the island. As the water is completely calm, this was a good spot to swim with Malva and the we could pop up the tent on the small beach so she could have a little play.
From the lake, there are a couple of beaches and swim spots nearby, though they are quite rocky, so it might not be ideal for walking toddlers - we ended up keeping her in the sling/on our lap and then taking it in turns to swim.
We ended the day and our holiday with a unique dining experience in home cook Marija's garden. Together with her husband Zlatko, she cooked up a feast of local delicacies, paired with Dalmatian wines and homemade liquors. At the table were 10 other guests, and by the end of the meal it felt like we were dining with old friends (we even got some babysitting and could both eat for a while in peace!). If you are looking for a different and memorable experience, and an opportunity to try authentic, home-cooked Croatian food - this is it!
Top things to note
There were some things I noted from our trip, which might be good to bear in mind if you're planning on visiting the area with a baby or a toddler for the first time.
We struggled to find baby food in the supermarkets that wasn’t sweet – I would suggest bringing pouches/jars from home (you are allowed to bring baby food as hand luggage, even though it exceeds the normal liquid allowance) or alternatively, get a self-catered apartment and prepare your own food
A lot of locals (especially older women) would be quite forward with Malva and come up and grab her hands, stroke her cheeks and squeeze her legs, etc. I for one don't necessarily see this as something negative - in fact, I found that it opened to interactions with locals which I otherwise wouldn't have had - but depending on where you are from and what you are used to, this might be a bit of a culture shock.
Dubrovnik and the towns around Bay of Kotor are built on and surrounded by mountains, meaning there are a lot of stairs and hills, so make sure to bring a baby carrier and a light-weight pram as you'll be walking up and down A LOT!
Summers here are hot - even when we went in mid-September, it was still above 30 degrees in the daytime, so pack accordingly (as mentioned, I would recommend bringing a beach pop-up tent, especially if travelling with a baby or non-walker. We used this one which was super easy to use and hardly took up any space when packed away)
The coast is very rocky and beaches are pebbly, so if you are looking for sandy beaches, this trip might not be for you (but on the bright side, you won't be finding sand everywhere for weeks after coming home from holiday!). Definitely consider bringing beach shoes if travelling with a toddler
Montenegro is not in the EU (as of 2024) - this might be worth bearing in mind for things like phone data (ours stopped working as soon as we crossed the border which we hadn't anticipated). They still use the Euro as de facto currency, and no visa is required if travelling from the EU or the UK.
On a whole, we found Croatia and Montenegro to be great for travelling with a baby - it definitely filled us with confidence and made us excited to travel more!
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