There is no scheduled ferry from Dubrovnik to Kotor. Kotor is in Montenegro, and Croatia’s state coastal line register covers domestic routes between Croatian ports only. The journey is made by road, across an international border, and it is best planned as a full day rather than an afternoon.
Why no boat appears in any timetable
The confusion is understandable. Kotor sits at the end of a deep bay a short way down the same coast, it is a cruise port, and photographs of it circulate in the same feeds as Dubrovnik. But scheduled coastal shipping in this part of the Adriatic is organised nationally. Croatia registers its own coastal lines; Montenegro is not in that register and no line in it crosses a border.
What you will find advertised is a coach transfer or a day tour, sometimes described with enough enthusiasm to sound like a boat. Neither is a scheduled maritime service, and neither should be planned as though it were. Allow for a land border crossing in both directions and treat the return time as the constraint on the day.
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registered Croatian coastal routes cross an international border
The more useful question is usually the one underneath: someone wants a day on the water from Dubrovnik, and Kotor is the first thing the internet suggests. On that reading the answer changes completely, because the Croatian side of the border is unusually well served and the register can prove it.
What a boat day from Dubrovnik actually looks like
- The Elafiti — state passenger ship 807 runs Koločep, Lopud and Šipan four times a day Monday to Saturday, twice on Sundays and holidays. Fares and the timetable trap are on the Elafiti tariff table.
- Mljet — reached at Sobra year round and at Polače, the national park landing, only between 3 July and 30 August.
- Korčula — a long day, and the state line that reaches it from Dubrovnik does so in high summer alone. The Korčula page sets out the alternatives.
- A cruise call — Kotor is a common port on the same itineraries as Dubrovnik, which is covered on the Dubrovnik cruise port page.
What to decide before you book
- If you want Kotor itself, go by road and treat it as a full day, not a half day. There is no maritime alternative to compare it against.
- If you want a day on the water, the Elafiti sit on a state line that runs four times a day Monday to Saturday and costs a few euros. Kotor is not competing with that.
- If you are travelling on to Montenegro, plan it as a country change rather than an excursion, and do not build a same-day return around a border.
- If the boat matters more than the destination, the southern state network reaches Mljet, Korčula and Lastovo, and every one of those is inside the published register.
Common questions
Is there a fast boat from Dubrovnik to Kotor?
Not a scheduled one. No route in Croatia’s coastal register serves any Montenegrin port, and this site does not publish timetables it cannot source.
Can I take a hire car across the border?
That is a question for the hire company’s terms rather than a timetable. Cross-border use is commonly restricted and usually chargeable.
What is the closest thing to a Dubrovnik boat trip south?
The Elafiti on line 807. It is a state service with a published tariff, running four times a day Monday to Saturday.
What do you need to work out next?
Kotor is a road trip. These are the alternatives.
Where to stay
Where do I base myself between border days?
The kuna was fixed at 7.53450 to the euro when Croatia changed currency in 2023.
Getting around
Which islands are actually close?
Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, all on one state line.
When to go
Do the local boats keep running?
Line 807 is a state service and sails all year.
Planning
Would a cruise cover both?
Kotor and Dubrovnik appear on many of the same itineraries.
Ferry data: Agencija za obalni linijski pomorski promet (ZOLPP), 2026 state coastal line register and per-line timetables.