Since there aren’t currently any other blogs or news sites detailing the exact filming locations for Outer Banks in Croatia, we decided to write about them ourselves. This is the first such article, and we really dug deep!
Croatia was the movie set not only for scenes in Dubrovnik itself but also for scenes taking place in Northern Morocco, Spain, and, most surprisingly of all, Azerbaijan.
They definitely picked some great locations for filming while in Croatia, and honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better destination for the final season. Yes, we’re a bit biased, sure, but we’re not wrong!
Fun fact: Just before the Outer Banks filming took place in Croatia, we were just returning from our busy travels in Albania, and we even considered applying as movie extras. But unfortunately, and honestly very sadly, it didn’t fit our schedule.
Looking back, we wish we’d ignored the cost of going to Dubrovnik and staying there during filming, as that would be one hell of a story. If we got accepted, of course, heh.
Episode 1 – Morocco, Spain, Dubrovnik
Departure from Northern Morocco
The scene of the crew departing Northern Morocco for Spain was filmed at Sveti Jakov Beach in Dubrovnik.
It’s a fantastic beach just south of the old city, and one of the best beaches in Dubrovnik.
Arrival in Spain
The shots of arriving in Getares, Spain, were filmed at the small but picturesque Šulić Beach in Dubrovnik.
The chase in Getares, Spain
The chase in Getares was filmed in Dubrovnik’s Old Town, including streets leading up to the Church of St. Ignatius. The church is just above the famous Jesuit Stairs, one of the popular Game of Thrones filming locations in Dubrovnik.
Funnily enough, though, the last part of the chase in Getares, when they escape with the jeep from the city, was actually filmed in Trogir.
Again, we recognized the difference in architecture and scenery, and it was easy for us to clock that it was actually in Trogir, even though 90% of the chase was in Dubrovnik. More on Trogir later.
Andalusia, Spain
The scenes of selling the jeep and then learning that Groff was going to Dubrovnik were filmed at the Trsteno Dock, just below the Trsteno Arboretum, which was also a Game of Thrones filming location.
Dubrovnik
We are happy to say that all the shots portraying Dubrovnik in Outer Banks were actually shot in Dubrovnik itself. Especially the first episode of the final season, where Groff visits Henrique with the blue crown and the subsequent epic chase all around Dubrovnik’s Old Town.
Fun fact: Slavko Sobin, the actor playing Henrique, is an amazing Croatian actor from Split, whom we also saw in Black & White World (Crno-bijeli svijet), a very fun series set in Zagreb during the 70s and 80s in former Yugoslavia. It was so cool to see him in Outer Banks, and he did a fantastic job.
Night planning of capturing Groff
The scene of the crew planning how to capture Groff in Dubrovnik was filmed near the Old Town marina, specifically the area under the Ploče gate and the nearby Komarda Rock Beach, which both offer fantastic views of the town.
Starting the chase of Groff and the local dancing scenes
Scenes of the crew chasing Groff in Dubrovnik were shot throughout the Old Town, with many filmed in front of the Sponza Palace and on Stradun, the main street. The scene of the crew waiting for Kie’s message in a later episode was also shot at the same spot.
The Linđo local dancing scene was also filmed in front of Sponza Palace right on the main street of Dubrovnik Old Town.
Tip: You can watch the local folklore dance (Linđo) while in Dubrovnik at the Croatian Folklore Show, taking place at the Lazareti complex, just outside the Old Town. Just make sure it fits your visit schedule, as the show doesn’t run daily.
Cable car (gondola)
All the scenes of Kie and the crew chasing Groff up the cable car were filmed on Dubrovnik’s actual gondola that takes you up the hill above the city.
Definitely an amazing place to add to your list if you’re planning a visit to Dubrovnik.
Episode 2 – Dubrovnik
Groff on the way to meet Medici
The scene in which Groff meets the famous Medici was filmed inside the Franciscan Monastery, one of Dubrovnik’s most stunning attractions. The monastery’s architecture definitely makes it seem like it’s elsewhere, like in Spain rather than Croatia.
Groff meeting Medici
The actual meeting of Groff and Medici took place in the Rector’s Palace, even though the first scenes were shot in the Franciscan Monastery. But both are located in the Old Town.
Rector’s Palace was also one of Dubrovnik’s Game of Thrones filming locations, where it was used for the scene of the Spice King’s residence in Qarth.
Kiara meeting Finch of the Corsairs
Like all the other scenes from the first episode, the second episode’s scene of Kiara meeting Finch, who helped her escape the police, was filmed at the actual cable car in Dubrovnik.
Kiara following Groff in the city
All the shots of Kiara following Groff in the city were filmed in various parts of Dubrovnik’s Old Town.
The scene of Kiara climbing into a window (later mentioned as Palace Excelsior) was filmed at Gundulić Square, very close to the Rector’s Palace, which is also seen in many of the shots, including Finch’s crew arriving and leaving on dirt bikes.
The crew chasing Groff and Finch on motorbikes
The scenes of them chasing Finch and Groff on dirt bikes were filmed on different streets in Old Town, Dubrovnik, with the most recognizable being the narrow corridors of Ulica Svetog Dominika.
The scene where the crew threw boxes of fruit and vegetables to crash the dirt bikes was filmed behind the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It’s also the exact spot where Kie later sees Groff, while others are chasing the Finch group.
The super-cool shot of dirt bikes riding along the city walls was filmed on Ulica od Margarite.
Other parts of the dirt bikes riding through overgrown areas around an abandoned building are shot in Dubrovnik’s Lapad Peninsula, at the Rašica holiday home, dating back to the 16th century, which has been abandoned for some time. From what we know, you can’t visit it, as it’s private property closed off to the public.
John B chasing motorbikes in the tunnels
The scene of John B chasing Finch and the others on dirt bikes in tunnels was filmed at the St. Nicholas’ Fortress in Šibenik.
This was one of only two filming locations in Šibenik, one of the most underrated coastal cities in Dalmatia. (Coming soon: Šibenik Travel Guide)
Motorbikes on the city walls
The first part of the shot, when dirt bikes jump out from the tunnels, is still at the fortress in Šibenik, but the rest was filmed on the actual UNESCO city walls in Dubrovnik.
The first part of the bike ride along the city walls was at one of our favorite spots, right above the marina. Here are our photos from that exact spot.
The second part of the motorbike ride along the city walls was filmed at one of the cafes there. We first thought it was filmed at the exact cafe we also had a drink at while walking the city walls, but it turned out to be a different one.
The last shots of Finch on a dirt bike jumping off the city walls with the blue crown were filmed at Fort St. Margaret. Just below the fort is Buža Bar, one of the best cliff-diving spots in Dubrovnik.
Kiara chasing Groff up a bell tower
Much to our surprise, the scene of Kiara chasing Groff up a bell tower and him jumping off was shot at the bell tower of St. Lawrence’s Cathedral in the city of Trogir, a 30-minute ride from Split.
Watching it, we were almost tricked into thinking it was in Split, as it resembles the Saint Domnius Bell Tower.
Arrested in Dubrovnik
The scene of the crew getting arrested in Dubrovnik was filmed in Pustijerna, an archaeological section with ruins that hadn’t been restored or built on since an earthquake destroyed the neighborhood about 400 years ago. It’s close to the marina, and you can see it from the city walls.
Episode 3 – Molunat
The only Croatian filming location in the third episode of Outer Banks’ final season was in Dubrovnik’s West Harbor, also known as Blackwater Bay in Game of Thrones. Dubrovnik’s West Harbor is where Groff and Henrique sit while enjoying a coffee at supposedly Molunat, a village 45 km south of Dubrovnik.
Episode 6 – Finch Headquarters in the Balkans
We weren’t sure if we were going to see any other location further north than in Trogir (Split), so we were surprised to see that the scene filmed in Šibenik’s St. Nicholas’ Fortress wasn’t the only one.
The filming location of Finch’s Balkans headquarters was the Visovac Monastery on the island of Visovac in Krka National Park, outside of Šibenik. While we haven’t visited Visovac Island yet, we were looking at it from a viewpoint on a hill above it.
Episode 9 – Azerbaijan
One of the biggest surprises of the final season of Outer Banks was that all the scenes of Azerbaijan were filmed in Croatia.
Most of the filming locations portraying Azerbaijan were around the town of Omiš, with some parts in Split’s historic Diocletian’s Palace, and the final scenes took place on Lokrum Island, just offshore of Dubrovnik.
Bridge in Ganja, Azerbaijan
Most of the action of the 9th episode takes place at Most Cetina, a bridge in Omiš, but CGI was used to make it look old and decrepit.
Most of the zoomed-in shots of the bridge and ambush planning are from a viewpoint on a nearby hill. We actually visited that exact viewpoint, but we couldn’t find any photos (it’s been a few years since we were there).
The scene of the cars in the water after Pope successfully destroys the bridge is actually shot just under the bridge.
Not-so-fun fact: the hills around Most Cetina, where the ambush scenes were shot, were unfortunately one of the locations where the big Omiš fire took place this August 2026.
Market scenes in Ganja
It was so funny seeing Split’s green market (Pazar) used to film the market scene in Ganja, Azerbaijan. You can even see the “Mesnica Marović” sign, meaning “butcher” in Croatian, as well as the sun shades bearing the sign for our local beer, Karlovačko.
It’s fun seeing people from Azerbaijan commenting on this on social media and in their own words: “I’m from Azerbaijan, and I didn’t know Ganja looks like that” and “that’s some weird dialect, I don’t know it”.
We understand filming in one location to represent multiple locations, but doing this in Croatia to showcase scenes in Azerbaijan was honestly a bit funny. You might say they were lazy, or maybe they were smart, as it’s getting Outer Banks even more fame. Who knows!
You can even see writing in the subtitles, such as “trader speaking Croatian”.
Running through the old city of Ganja
The scenes of the crew getting chased around Ganja were filmed in the Diocletian’s Palace, the historical center and heart of Split.
Funnily enough, the order of the chase at first kind of makes sense, as they enter Diocletian’s Palace exactly from the side of the city where the green market in Split is.
Here is also where they hide, while an Azerbaijani lady who speaks Croatian says, “Ej šta radite? Ovo je moj vrt,” meaning “Hey, what are you doing? This is my garden,” when confronting the guys chasing the crew.
Finch and Dalia in Ganja
The scene of Finch and Dalia in Ganja was once again filmed at Diocletian’s Palace in Split, specifically in the historic Peristil Square, Split’s most famous place.
Lake where Kie goes with the blue crown
The very last Croatia filming location for the final Outer Banks season was at Lokrum Island, just offshore of Dubrovnik, where Kie goes with the blue crown to say the incantations in hopes of resurrecting JJ.
The whole time they were talking about a lake, we thought they were going to end up at the Blue and Red Lakes of Imotski. Those would also be really cool filming locations!
Final thoughts & Does Croatia look like in the show?
We’re happy to say that the Outer Banks scenes portraying Croatia were shot very well and showed the locations very close to their real-life counterparts.
They did a fantastic job, and hopefully we did a great job of showing you what the Outer Banks filming locations look like behind the scenes. Saw a mistake or something we missed? Comment below!
If you go, have a great time in Croatia!
Continue planning your Croatia visit
- Hvar Travel Guide: things absolutely worth doing – plus how
- Croatia Bucket List: what not to miss in the country to fully experience it
- Split or Dubrovnik: how to choose where to base yourself to see the southern Dalmatian coast
- Where to stay in Split and Split’s Best Boat Trips
- Best places to stay in Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik’s best day trips
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