How to visit Lopud Island: Best Beach in Dubrovnik
If you’re looking for a local experience in Dubrovnik, you should visit Lopud Island. During my recent trip to Croatia, I can’t tell you how many locals told me that I found a truly local experience when visiting the island by ferry. The island is small and easy to visit but the real gem is the secluded Sunj Beach, a one-mile hike across the island’s forests in a bay. The island’s waters are crystal clear with picturesque views and cute shops. This guide will show you exactly how to visit Lopud Island, one of the best beaches.
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What and where is Lopud Island?
Lopus Island is a part of the Elaphiti Islands that runs the coast of Croatia. Lopud has less than 250 full-time residents and is less than 2 square miles in size. Its main attraction (especially for locals) is Sunj Beach. The beach is located in a beautiful bay with seriously stunning mountain formations for a backdrop. Though the beach is worth visiting, there are some restaurants, shops, and a monastery on the island worth visiting, too. Food, especially in restaurants, is very expensive and some places only accept cash.
Money-Saving Tip! I recommend packing some sandwiches from the mainland to bring to Sunj Beach for a picnic lunch on the beach! Food on the island is ridiculously expensive with drinks at the island running you $10-15 a piece and a meal charging around $20-30 per person.
How to get to Lopud Island
There are two ways to get to Lopus Island. You can book a Dubrovnik Island tour or you can take the public ferry. Though there are some excellent tour companies, if you want to spend quality time on the island with the ability to go to Sunj Beach and spend less than $10 roundtrip, taking the public ferry is the superior option.
When to visit Lopud Island
If you want to enjoy the town with bars, restaurants and shops open traveling to Lopud Island from late April to mid-September is the time to go.
Buying ferry tickets
You can easily buy ferry tickets in advance from Jadrolinija. Jadrolinija runs ferry services to Lopud Island daily with multiple opportunities to get to and from the island each day. If going on a day trip you’ll need to buy a roundtrip ticket from Dubrovnik to Lopud with enough time to enjoy the island. Usually, this can be taking the 10:00a ferry to Lopud and the 3:00p ferry back to Dubrovnik. A roundtrip ticket from Jadrolinija will cost you less than $10 and take around 55 minutes to the island and 1.5 hours back.
Though you can buy ferry tickets at the ticket office at the port, buying them in advance ensures you won’t need to wait in line at the ticket office and perhaps miss your ferry ride waiting for your tickets.
Getting to the ferry from Dubrovnik Old Town
The Jadrolinija ticket office and ferry are located about two miles from the gates of the Old Town. The fastest way to get here is by taking an Uber from the Old Town gates but you can take the public bus. Once at the docks you’ll see a lot of ships and some yachts, too. All the boats will be confusing, as there is limited signage about what ferry is yours. Directly across from the Jadrolinija ticket office you’ll see a couple of ferries with a lot of people moving goods – that group of ferries includes yours. At the time of my visit, the correct ferry was the last boat on the left, but check with a staff member.
The ferry ride to Lopud
Don’t expect anything glamorous on your boat ride to Lopud. The ferry’s main purpose – besides bringing people – is transporting goods to and from the islands. There is a small cafe downstairs serving coffees, teas, soft drinks, and mixed drinks with a couple of bar snack options, too. You can sit inside the downstairs area, which I recommend if it’s cooler outside. Upstairs has benches with some great views of the islands and shoreline throughout the 55-minute ride to the island.
The ferry to Lopud will stop at three islands, with Lopud being the third and last stop. Don’t worry if you forget, when you board the boat an individual will look at your ticket and let you know what stop is yours.
Arriving to Lopud
When you arrive on Lopud Island, you’ll be dropped off at the main strip of shops and restaurants. Lopud has great signage about the island’s destinations and you’ll see many locals trying to sell you golf cart rides to the beach or other parts of the island. Where you are dropped off is the same location you’ll board the ferry to return to Dubrovnik.
Getting to Sunj Beach from the ferry dock
After walking down the docks to the main strip of Lopud Island, you’ll start seeing signage for Sunj Beach. Locals will be attempting to sell you golf cart rides across the island to the beach but there is a well-maintained walking/hiking path you can take that’s about a mile. If you have a lot of beach equipment or it’s really hot the golf cart might have some appeal but the hike isn’t too strenuous and offers a neat view of the island.
Once you arrive at Sunj Beach there are a couple of beach bars with chairs you can rent or you can bring your blankets and enjoy the beach for free.
Explore on. -K
