Luka Gruž, Passenger seaport in Gruž, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Luka Gruž is Dubrovnik's international maritime passenger port, lying in a bay in the Gruž neighbourhood about 3 km west of the old town, between the Lapad peninsula to the south, the southern slopes of Mount Srđ to the north and Batala to the east. It has a passenger terminal with customs and border control, a restaurant and a café bar, plus a large shopping centre, a fuel station for vessels and a pilot service. Berths for yachts along the Gruška and Lapad shores, by the Orsan sailing club, have drinking water and electricity connections, and the city's bus station is part of the port.

The port was built after trade grew and the railway reached Dubrovnik, since the old city harbour could not serve as a cargo port. It opened as a cargo and passenger port, with cranes, a rail-wagon terminal and a large cold store for perishable goods. During the Croatian War of Independence, days of shelling destroyed the cold store and badly damaged the passenger terminal; the port was then Dubrovnik's only link with the world. After the war it was converted entirely to a passenger and tourist port and the cranes were removed.

Gruž is the port where Dubrovnik's ferry links to Ancona, Bari and Pescara dock, and where up to three cruise ships can moor at once. The bay's quays also hold a marina by the Orsan sailing club, with berths supplied with drinking water and electricity.

Luka Gruž lies in the bay between the Lapad peninsula to the south, the slopes of Srđ to the north and Batala to the east, about 3 km west of the old town. The port is sheltered from all winds except the westerly, which raises small waves, and the entrance near the Lapad shore is shallow. Vessels must keep to 4 knots when entering or leaving.

Gruž was once a cargo and passenger port handling timber and railway wagons, but after the Croatian War of Independence it was fully converted into a passenger-tourism port and all its cranes were removed. Today it can receive up to three mega cruise ships at once and ranks tenth worldwide and third in the Mediterranean for passengers on one-day cruise calls.