VacationSelector
Fort Lovrijenac above the sea, Dubrovnik
DubrovnikFort Lovrijenac above the sea
Erasmus Bridge and the skyline, Rotterdam
RotterdamErasmus Bridge and the skyline

Photos: Dubrovnik by Natalia Semenova, CC BY 3.0, cropped; Rotterdam by Bas Geerlings, Pexels License.

Dubrovnik or Rotterdam?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Dubrovnik for

  • beaches
  • nature and the outdoors
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Dubrovnik’s own page.

Choose Rotterdam for

  • live music and the arts
  • shopping
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Rotterdam’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Dubrovnik 74, Rotterdam 27: Dubrovnik leads by 47 points.
Food & drink. Dubrovnik 47, Rotterdam 52: Rotterdam leads by 5 points.
Culture & sights. Dubrovnik 72, Rotterdam 58: Dubrovnik leads by 14 points.
Nightlife. Dubrovnik 37, Rotterdam 52: Rotterdam leads by 15 points.
Nature & outdoors. Dubrovnik 70, Rotterdam 44: Dubrovnik leads by 26 points.
Day trips. Dubrovnik 66, Rotterdam 85: Rotterdam leads by 19 points.
Good for families. Dubrovnik 50, Rotterdam 66: Rotterdam leads by 16 points.
Getting around. Dubrovnik 60, Rotterdam 78: Rotterdam leads by 18 points.
Shopping & style. Dubrovnik 25, Rotterdam 55: Rotterdam leads by 30 points.
Affordability. Dubrovnik 28, Rotterdam 38: Rotterdam leads by 10 points.
Live music & performing arts. Dubrovnik 25, Rotterdam 58: Rotterdam leads by 33 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Dubrovnik 32, Rotterdam 42: Rotterdam leads by 10 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Dubrovnik and Rotterdam.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Dubrovnik
49match

Wins on beaches and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Rotterdam
Best match
55match

Wins on live music and the arts and shopping with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Dubrovnik in July

29 °Cdaytime high
22 °Cnight-time low
29 mmrain in the month
11 hsunshine a day
25 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Rotterdam in July

22 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
91 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
18 °Csea
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200JFMAMJJASOND
DubrovnikRotterdam

Where the figures come from

Dubrovnik has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.

Dubrovnik's sunshine is measured 83 km from the centre, at Mostar.

Rotterdam has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.

Rotterdam's sunshine is measured 52 km from the centre, at De Bilt.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Dubrovnik: 1999-2020 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Dubrovnik / Cilipi (15.3 km from centre). Rotterdam: 1993-2020 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Rotterdam Airport Zestienhoven (3.9 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureDubrovnikRotterdam
Official languageCroatianDutch
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation10 m10 m
Main airportDubrovnik Ruđer Bošković Airport (DBV)16 km from centre76 non-stop destinationsRotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM)5 km from centre53 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year14 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureDubrovnikRotterdam
City population41,562664,311
People per km²-2,080
Museums within 10 km740
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km35
Swim season, months above 21 °C5 monthsNone

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Dubrovnik or Rotterdam somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.