Car Rental at Dubrovnik Port (Gruž)

If your ship docks at Gruž, you can walk off the gangway and be driving out of the port about ten minutes later. Our office sits at Vukovarska 17, 200 m from the cruise terminal exit — no shuttle bus, no taxi line, no counter queue.

How do I get from the ship to the rental office?

You walk — it takes about 2 minutes. From the terminal exit, our office at Vukovarska 17 is 200 m along the harborfront, and if you booked ahead with your ship’s name and arrival date, the contract is printed before you dock. Show your license, sign, take the keys.

Gruž is the city’s working harbor, 3 km northwest of the Old Town, and it handles all cruise traffic. Berth assignments and the day’s ship schedule are published by the Dubrovnik Port Authority, so we know which ships are in before you do. The cruise season runs April through October; we are open 08:00–20:00 daily May–October and 09:00–17:00 Monday–Saturday the rest of the year.

Is a rental car cheaper than a ship shore excursion?

For two or more people, almost always. Ship-run bus tours out of the port typically cost €60–100 per person for a half day. An economy car from us is €39 for the whole day, all-inclusive, and fuel for a normal day trip adds €6–15 in total — not per person.

Day trip from the port	Typical ship bus tour, 2 people	Self-drive, economy car
Cavtat (20 km)	€120–180	~€45 (€39 + ~€6 fuel)
Ston oysters (54 km)	€150–200	~€51 (€39 + ~€12 fuel)
Cavtat + Ston combined	not offered as one tour	~€57 (€39 + ~€18 fuel)

Four people in a €54 compact pay about €17 each with fuel included. The bigger win is the clock: a bus leaves when the whole group is seated and allows 40 minutes per stop. With your own car you leave the moment you step off the ship, stay in Ston as long as the oysters last, linger in Cavtat over coffee, and skip every souvenir stop.

Can I make it back before all-aboard?

Yes — build in a 90-minute buffer and it is hard to miss the ship. Because our drop-off is 200 m from the gangway, you are back on board about 15 minutes after handing over the keys. Work backwards like this:

1. Check your all-aboard time (usually 30–60 minutes before departure).
2. Subtract 90 minutes — that is your car-return deadline at Vukovarska 17.
3. Subtract the driving time: Cavtat 30 minutes, Ston about 1 hour, the airport 25 minutes.
4. Set a phone alarm for the moment you must start driving back.

Example: all-aboard at 16:30 means returning the car by 15:00 and leaving Ston no later than 14:00. If anything goes wrong on the road, call us — 24/7 roadside assistance is included, and it is us at the office answering, not a call center.

What if I arrive by ferry instead of a cruise ship?

The same 2-minute walk applies. Jadrolinija local ferries to and from the Elaphiti islands — Koločep, Lopud, and Šipan — use the same harbor, so island day-trippers reach our office on foot too. A pattern we see often: morning on Lopud, collect a car in the afternoon, dinner down the coast.

If Gruž is the start of a longer Croatian trip, pick the car up here and drive north to Split over the Pelješac Bridge — since July 2022 there is no border crossing at Neum on that route. Flying into Čilipi instead? Our airport meet-and-greet works the same way, with every arriving flight tracked.

Where do I return the car, and what about parking?

You return it where you collected it: Vukovarska 17, 200 m from the terminal. Fuel policy is full-to-full, economy class carries no deposit, and cancellation is free up to 48 hours before pickup.

One warning for the day itself: the Old Town is pedestrian-only. If the city walls are on your list, park at the Ilijina Glavica garage and walk down — our Old Town guide covers the details. Street parking in zones 1–3 is charged, so the garage is the calmer choice on a tight ship schedule.

Ships and ferries run on tight timetables, and so do we. Book online with free 48-hour cancellation, or message Paula on WhatsApp at +385 91 600 1201 — she answers every inquiry personally, usually within the hour during working hours.