Karaka, galleon, catamaran or speedboat: which Dubrovnik sunset cruise suits you?

In short: For a big, steady ship with a bar and toilets, choose the Karaka (€45, 90 minutes, ages 16 and over) or Galleon Tirena, which takes children. For a shorter hour close to the water in a small group, choose a catamaran or a small speedboat. Once four or more of you are going, price a private boat too.

Prices for other operators in this guide were checked on 2 October 2026. They change through the season, so check the operator’s own page before you book. Our own prices come from our live price list.

Choose a big ship, the Karaka or the Galleon Tirena, if you want a steady deck, a bar, toilets and a guide’s commentary. Choose a catamaran or a small speedboat if you would rather sit close to the water in a small group and pay less, and look at a private boat once four or more of you are going. Below, each format side by side, with prices checked on 2 October 2026.

Sunset cruise formats at a glance

Prices are per adult unless marked per boat, as listed on 2 October 2026.

Every shared cruise in the table except ours boards in the Old Town port. Where you board shapes the evening as much as the boat does, so our guide to the Old Town port and Gruž covers getting to each.

The Karaka sunset cruise: a carrack from the Old Port

The Karaka is a replica of a 16th-century merchant ship of the old Dubrovnik Republic, a carrack. The sunset cruise by this traditional Karaka boat lasts 90 minutes and costs €45 on Karaka’s own site. Resellers list the same cruise from €51 with a second drink added.

What you get: a welcome glass of sparkling wine, a host on board with commentary, WiFi and a toilet. The ship has two air-conditioned indoor saloons, four outdoor decks and a bar for further drinks, and carries up to 200 passengers. The minimum age is 16. Boarding is at the Mali Muo pier in the Old Town port and closes five minutes before the start.

The timetable changes through the season. The ship sails Monday, Wednesday and Friday in April, May and from 5 October; Monday to Friday in June and from 7 September to 4 October; and Monday to Saturday from 1 July to 6 September. Start times move from 19:30 in June and July to 18:00 from 21 September and 17:30 from 5 October, so the sun goes down during the cruise. Check the current timetable on Karaka’s site before you plan around it.

It suits adults who want history, a bar and shelter on a cool evening, and anyone uneasy on small boats. It does not suit families with children under 16, or anyone hoping to swim.

Galleon Tirena: a wooden galleon that takes children

Tirena is a wooden replica of a 16th-century Dubrovnik galleon, and her home port is the Old Port. The ship carries up to 203 passengers and has a bar, a kitchen and five toilets, with a crew of five plus the captain.

Her Sunset Panorama Cruise also lasts 90 minutes. The booking listing includes a welcome drink (prosecco or a soft drink), live commentary with a history show, toilets and WiFi. Food platters and further drinks are sold on board. Boarding is at the large pier in the Old Town port, the one on the left as you face the sea, and the cruise leaves exactly on time.

The Lost in Dubrovnik guide lists it at €49 per adult, with children aged 4 to 10 at half price and under-4s free. The Tripadvisor listing accepts all ages, caps the cruise at 100 guests and marks it wheelchair accessible, and Tirena’s own site describes the ship as disabled friendly.

It suits families who want a big ship, since the Karaka takes over-16s only, groups who want food on board, and guests using a wheelchair, who should confirm the details with the crew before booking.

A sunset catamaran cruise: more deck, fewer people

A catamaran’s two hulls give a wide, flat deck with room to sit or lie down.

Regina Maris runs a one-hour sunset catamaran from the Old Town port. Guests check in at the company’s stand at Ribarnica 1, 15 minutes before departure, and the departure time follows that day’s sunset. The operator lists it from €27.50 per person with a glass of sparkling wine. The Tripadvisor listing adds an onboard toilet, accepts all ages and caps the group at 18. The route runs along the walls and between the Old Town and Lokrum, then pauses for the sunset.

If you would rather have a boat to yourselves, our bigger private boat, the Ayros 22, takes up to 12 guests, from €320 to €550 per boat depending on the route.

The catamaran suits couples and small groups who want an hour on deck without a long evening, and families with young children.

Small speedboats, shared or private

Karuzo’s one-hour panorama boat

Karuzo runs a daily one-hour Sunset Panorama cruise from the Old Town at 19:00, from €25 per person. The page lists only the boat and the skipper as included. The route takes in the walls, Fort Lovrijenac, Lokrum, Betina cave and the villas of Zlatni Potok, and the captain can change it in bad weather. Karuzo calls itself a small-group speedboat operator but does not state a group size.

Check the light for your date. The page gives 19:00 with no seasonal change, yet the sun sets around 20:20 to 20:30 from June to mid-July, after the hour is over, and before 19:00 from mid-September. It suits anyone on a budget or short of time who is already in the Old Town.

Private speedboats

• Rewind Dubrovnik: from €290 per boat (seasonal rates), 90 minutes, up to 12 guests on speedboats of 21 to 33 feet (about 6 to 10 metres), from and back to the Old Town port. Fuel and unlimited beer, wine, soft drinks and champagne are included.
• Dubrovnik Boat Rent: from €200 per boat for two hours, leaving Gruž or the Old Town harbour around 18:30, on boats for up to five or eight. Fuel and a hotel transfer within the area are included, with an optional drop-off at the Old Town port afterwards.
• Fuel charges: some listings add fuel on top. Adria Luxury Travel lists its speedboat for up to five at €300 online plus a €75 fuel charge.

Split four ways, a €200 boat comes to €50 each, close to a Karaka ticket. Private boats suit couples marking an occasion, groups of four or more, and families who want to set their own pace.

Our small boats from Gruž

We sail from Marina Frapa on the Lapad side of Gruž bay, and every departure time is set by that evening’s sunset.

• Shared boat: the Ayros 22, with a maximum of 12 guests.
• Route A, the Golden Hour Express: about 1 h 10 min. It leaves 50 minutes before sunset, rounded down to the quarter hour, runs out past Daksa island to the Grebeni lighthouse rocks, and offers an optional swim of about 10 minutes only when the sea is calm. Adults €25, children 4 to 11 €15.
• Route B, Sunset & City Walls: about 1 h 50 min. Grebeni, the Lapad cliffs, Fort Lovrijenac and the Old Town walls in golden light, then the sunset from open water about 1.5 km south-west of Lovrijenac with the walls behind the boat. There is no swim stop. Adults €35 from June to September and €30 in April, May and October, children €20.
• Children and inclusions: under-4s ride free on both routes but count towards the 12 places. Included: licensed skipper, fuel, a prosecco toast for adults and life jackets. Not included: towels (bring your own to swim) and hotel pickup, which is available on request.
• Private: a Fisher 20 for up to six, from €180 per boat, or the Ayros 22 for up to 12, with fuel included and no surcharge at the dock. Private guests can also choose Route C, the Koločep swim and sunset, with a swim of about 40 minutes in a sheltered cove.

Every skipper holds a Croatian maritime-authority licence, and our lead skipper, Captain Marin, has worked from Marina Frapa since 2010. If a full overcast hides the sunset, you can move to another evening free of charge instead of sailing, subject to availability. Every price sits in our pricing table.

Our boats suit families with younger children, guests staying in Lapad or Babin Kuk, and anyone who wants a swim or a small group. They suit you less if you are staying in the Old Town and want to walk to the boat. Marina Frapa is about 10 minutes from Pile Gate by taxi (around €12) or a ride on city bus number 6.

Big ship or small boat: what decides it

• Comfort: a ship built for 200 passengers rides a swell better than a boat for 12 guests, and the Karaka’s saloons give shelter if the evening turns cool. Both ships and the Regina Maris catamaran list toilets; on any small speedboat, ask first.
• Closeness: a small boat can work in closer to cliffs, coves and island shores, and move to wherever the light is best that evening.
• Company: on a big ship you may share the decks with a hundred or more people. On our shared boat you share it with eight others at most.
• Age rules: the Karaka is 16+, the Tirena and Regina Maris listings accept all ages, and our shared tours welcome children.
• Where the boat sits at sunset: from right under the city walls, the Lapad peninsula hides the sun from about 21 April to 22 August, and its hills cut the sunset about 20 minutes early. In April and from late August the sun sets over open sea and stays visible from under the walls. Read more on where the sun sets.

Five checks before you book

1. Departure time against sunset on your date. A fixed start time drifts away from the sunset as the season moves. Tonight’s sunset and our boarding time are on the tonight panel.
2. Where the boat waits at sunset. Ask whether it heads out to open water in midsummer.
3. Fuel and drinks in the price. This matters most on private boats.
4. Age rules. Under-16s cannot board the Karaka.
5. Where you finish. Plan dinner around the return pier, whether that is the Old Town or Gruž.

Choosing the best sunset cruise in Dubrovnik for your group

Adults who want history, a bar and a big steady deck should book the Karaka direct. Families who want a big ship will find Tirena a better fit. For a short hour close to the water from the Old Town, the catamaran or Karuzo’s boat does the job. For a small group, a swim, or the walls and the sunset from open water, compare all our sunset tours and the wider sunset cruise price guide.