From April to October, cameras around Dubrovnik's old town fine any car that enters the special traffic zone without a reason the city accepts. HRT puts the fine at €200 for a private driver, and a hire car is no exception.
So I'd stop at the top. The Ilijina Glavica garage sits where the zone begins: €7 an hour or €40 a day, then a walk down to Pile Gate. Pay €20.80 for a day in Zone 5 if you want it cheaper.
Parking in Dubrovnik: €20 an hour at Pile, €7 up the hill
1. Don't drive past Ilijina Glavica in season
The 2026 zone runs 1 April to 31 October, from Ilijina glavica along Zagrebačka to Viktorija and via Pile to Boninovo. Four cameras read plates. You may enter with a hotel booking inside the zone, a plate your host has registered (within three days of arrival), or a prepaid Zone 0 booking. A transfer firm's page still quotes €260 and March to November; I go with HRT's April 2026 report.
2. Book Pile only if you must
Zone 0 is two car parks: Iza Grada at Pile and the lower cable-car platform. From May to October the first hour is €20 and a multi-hour ticket €250; in January–April and November–December it's €5 and €51. You book and pay ahead at prepaidparking.sanitat.hr. Sanitat's table also lists €10 and €2 for each following hour without making clear which season gets which; DuList reported €10 in summer 2025. One summer hour at Pile buys almost three in the garage.
3. Use the garage at the top
Ilijina Glavica garage has 711 spaces, a 2.10 m entrance and never closes. It's €7 an hour, €6 in the Bmove app, and €40 for 24 hours if you buy the day ticket within 15 minutes of driving in. Past six hours the day ticket wins (6 × €7 = €42). Lose the ticket and you pay €450.
4. Pay half in Zone 5
Zone 5 on Liechtensteinov put charges round the clock: €1.30 an hour from March to November, €0.70 in December–February. A day card is €20.80 in season and €11.20 off it. That's €19.20 less than a garage day. Zone 2 is residents only, so read the sign before you reverse in.
5. Pay within ten minutes, by app
Zones 1 and 3, around Gruž and Lapad, charge every day 06:00–22:00, Sundays included, at €1.30 an hour in season. A day card in Zone 3 is €17.30. The SMS numbers are 708201 and 708203, and Sanitat doesn't say whether a foreign SIM works. It does list meters, Tisak kiosks and the Bmove and Dubrovnik Parking apps. You have 10 minutes from parking to pay.
In summer I wouldn't take the car below Ilijina Glavica at all.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Ilijina Glavica garageZagrebačka bb, at the top of the special traffic zone; run by Best in Parking, open 24 hours. Walk down to Pile Gate | €7 an hour, €6 in the Bmove app; €40 for 24 hours if bought within 15 minutes of entering. Lost ticket €450. 711 spaces, height 2.10 m. | 4 chargers, €0.49 per kWh. |
| Pile, Zone 0 (Sanitat)Iza Grada, outside Pile Gate, inside the special traffic zone. Prepaid booking only, at prepaidparking.sanitat.hr | May–October: €20 the first hour, €250 multi-hour. January–April and November–December: €5 the first hour, €51 multi-hour. Following hours: the table lists €10 and €2 without clear seasons; DuList reported €10 in summer 2025. | Not published. |
| Cable car lower platform, Zone 0 (Sanitat)Žičara donji plato, by the cable car's lower station above Ploče; prepaid booking only | Same Zone 0 tariff: €20 the first hour and €250 multi-hour in May–October, €5 and €51 in the other months. | Not published. |
| Zone 5, Liechtensteinov put (Sanitat)Liechtensteinov put – Gospino polje; charged 24 hours a day. The Sanitat car pound is on the same street | €1.30 an hour March–November, €0.70 December–February. Day card €20.80 in season, €11.20 off season; weekly and monthly cards too. | Not published. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Zone 5, Liechtensteinov put (Sanitat) | €2.60 | Season prices, March–November |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Ilijina Glavica garage | €14 | height 2.10 m · €40 day ticket must be bought within 15 minutes of entering |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Zone 3 (March–November) | €2.60 | €1.30 an hour March–November, €0.70 December–February; Zone 3 day card €17.30. Pay within 10 minutes of parking: meters, Tisak kiosks, Bmove or Dubrovnik Parking apps, or SMS 708201 (Zone 1) / 708203 (Zone 3); whether foreign SIMs work is not published. |
| A full day (10 h) | Zone 5, Liechtensteinov put (Sanitat) | €13 | Season prices, March–November |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Ilijina Glavica garage | €40 | height 2.10 m · €40 day ticket must be bought within 15 minutes of entering |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, Zone 3 (March–November) | €13.00 | €1.30 an hour March–November, €0.70 December–February; Zone 3 day card €17.30. Pay within 10 minutes of parking: meters, Tisak kiosks, Bmove or Dubrovnik Parking apps, or SMS 708201 (Zone 1) / 708203 (Zone 3); whether foreign SIMs work is not published. |
| 24 hours | Zone 5, Liechtensteinov put (Sanitat) | €20.80 | Season prices, March–November |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Ilijina Glavica garage | €40 | height 2.10 m · €40 day ticket must be bought within 15 minutes of entering |
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Towed in Dubrovnik: Liechtensteinov put 10, open all night
1. Ring the pauk office first
Towing is done by Sanitat Dubrovnik's pauk (tow truck) service. Its line is +385 20 640 144, Monday to Friday 07:00–15:00; the parking information line is +385 20 640 137. Sanitat publishes no SMS or online check for towed cars.
2. Collect at Liechtensteinov put 10
The car pound is at Liechtensteinov put 10, the same street as Zone 5. It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so a car towed at midnight can come back at midnight.
3. Bring about €70 and the papers
A full tow is €66.36. Get there before the car is lifted and it's half, €33.18. Sanitat publishes no storage fee, and the unpaid-parking charge comes on top. I'd bring the rental contract, my licence and passport, and ring the hire company first.
The tow is cheap by European standards. The €200 camera fine is the one I'd worry about.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Sanitat Dubrovnik's pauk (tow truck) service, the city company that also runs the parking zones. No SMS or online check is published, so ring the office or go to the pound
- Phone
- Pauk (tow) office, Mon–Fri 07:00–15:00: +385 20 640 144
Sanitat parking information line: +385 20 640 137
Sanitat parking service, Marka Marojice 5, Mon–Fri 07:00–15:00: +385 20 640 136 - Collect it at
- The car pound is at Liechtensteinov put 10, on the same street as Zone 5.
- Hours
- Pound open 24 hours, Monday to Sunday. Tow office Monday to Friday 07:00–15:00; Sanitat's cash desk Monday to Friday 07:30–19:00, Saturday 08:00–12:00.
- What it costs
- Tow €66.36. If you arrive after the truck but before the car is lifted, half: €33.18. No storage fee is published, and the charge for unpaid parking comes on top.
- Bring
- Sanitat lists no documents for visitors. I would bring the registration document or rental contract, my driving licence and passport; for a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Dubrovnik: Four plugs in the garage at 49 cents
1. Charge where you park
The Ilijina Glavica garage has 4 chargers at €0.49 per kWh, the same price in the Bmove app. Parking is paid on top, so a full day with charging starts at €40.
2. Know ELEN's prices before plugging in
HEP's ELEN network has charged, since 1 April 2025, €0.35/kWh up to 22 kW and €0.45 up to 50 kW away from motorways. After the free plug time, 180 minutes on slow posts and 60 on fast ones, it adds €0.06 a minute. I couldn't confirm which ELEN posts are in Dubrovnik itself, so check the app before you rely on one.
3. Don't count on a Supercharger
I couldn't confirm a Tesla Supercharger in the city. Arrive with enough range for the coast road.
The garage is where I'd charge: plug, ticket and the walk to Pile in one stop.
Where to charge
- Ilijina Glavica garage — 4 chargers — Garaža Ilijina Glavica, at the top of the old-town zone. €0.49 per kWh, the same in the Bmove app; parking is paid on top (€7 an hour, €40 a day)
- ELEN, HEP's national network — Public chargers across Croatia; I could not confirm which posts are in Dubrovnik. From 1 April 2025, off motorways: €0.35/kWh up to 22 kW, €0.45 up to 50 kW; €0.06 a minute after 180 minutes (slow) or 60 minutes (fast) on the plug
Free parking in Dubrovnik: Free after 22:00 in Lapad, and one hotel that doesn't charge
1. Use Zones 1 and 3 after 22:00
Zones 1 and 3 charge 06:00–22:00, so the night is free. Zones 0, 2 and 5 charge around the clock, and there's no free Sunday anywhere.
2. Book Hotel Berkeley direct
Hotel Berkeley says on its own site that underground parking is free for guests from November to March and €15 a day from April to October. Book direct and it's free all year. I found no other hotel whose own site promised free parking.
3. Come after 31 October
The camera zone switches off after 31 October 2026, and in November the first hour at Pile drops from €20 to €5.
If you remember one thing: stop at Ilijina Glavica. Every price here was checked on Sanitat's and the garage operator's own pages on 3 October 2026.
Free or nearly-free spots
Zones 1 and 3 after 22:00
Zones 1 (around Gruž) and 3 (Lapad and residential streets) charge every day 06:00–22:00, so they are free overnight. Zones 0, 2 and 5 charge around the clock; there is no free Sunday.
Off season: Pile from €5, no camera zone
Not free, but close: from November to April the first hour at Pile is €5 instead of €20, and the 2026 special traffic zone ends on 31 October.
Hotels with free parking
- Berkeley Hotel — Ulica Andrije Hebranga 116A, 20000 Dubrovnik Map. Its own facilities page: underground parking free for guests 1 November–31 March, €15 a day 1 April–31 October, and free all year when you book on the hotel's website. No charging mentioned. The only hotel I found whose own site promised free parking
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Special traffic zone, 1 April–31 October 2026: from Ilijina glavica along Zagrebačka to Viktorija and via Pile to Boninovo. Cameras read plates. Cars may enter with a hotel booking inside the zone, a plate registered by the host within three days of arrival, or a prepaid Zone 0 booking. HRT reports a €200 fine for private drivers; a transfer firm still quotes €260 and March–November.
- Zone 0 (Pile and the cable car's lower platform) is prepaid only, at prepaidparking.sanitat.hr: €20 for the first hour and €250 multi-hour from May to October. In June 2025 DuList reported the booking site returning an error, which left drivers no way to pay.
- On the kerb you must pay within 10 minutes of parking. Zones 1 and 3 charge every day 06:00–22:00, Sundays included; Zone 2 is for residents' permits only.
- Sanitat publishes the SMS numbers 708201 and 708203 but not whether a foreign SIM can use them. It also lists meters, Tisak kiosks and the Bmove and Dubrovnik Parking apps.
- The Ilijina Glavica garage charges €450 for a lost ticket, and its €40 day rate only applies if bought within 15 minutes of entering.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.