Day 5: Vis Island
Sailing to Vis Island
We set sail fairly early the next morning, and began sailing to the island of Vis. It was another lovely, peaceful morning of sailing. The weather was sunny, and the sea was blue and calm.
Vis town
We arrived on Vis Island by late morning. We were then given some free time, and we all chose to use the time to walk into the nearby town, called Vis. It was about a 15 minute walk, and the views were lovely as we followed the coast to head into the town.
We had lunch at a restaurant along the seafront, which served lovely salads and refreshing cold drinks, which were perfect for a hot day.
Tour of Vis
Later that afternoon, we all met back at the boat for an organised tour of the island of Vis. This was an optional activity, but everyone on the boat chose to go along. And we all really enjoyed it. We were driven by a local man called Cliff, who lives on Vis and does tours of the island. He described in detail a lot of the military history of Vis Island while we were driving, and the important role Vis island played in World War Two and also the more recent war between Croatia and Serbia. It was fascinating to learn more about the local history. We also drove past a lot of vineyards and olive trees and Cliff described how important these farms were to the economy of the island.
The tour involved a few stops. One of my favourites was a short climb up to a viewpoint over the island, and also to a cave that had been used as a secret war-time meeting spot.
We also had some free time to explore the pretty town of Komiza, on the other side of the island to the town of Vis.
The tour ended with some wine tasting. We tried some local Croatian wines, made on the island of Vis.
Dinner and evening in the marina
After the tour, we went for dinner at a restaurant near the marina where our boat was moored for the night. It was a great restaurant, and the huge portions meant we all shared each other’s food to try new things. I had octopus salad, fried squid and also cuttlefish risotto. All the seafood was amazing.
The marina was a lovely place in the evening. When we got back to the boat, I could hear a group of local people singing in one of the nearby restaurants. It sounded like they were singing some local folk music, with lots of people joining in. It was a really magical sound in the warm night, and another lovely end to an evening sailing in Croatia from Dubrovnik to Split with G Adventures.
Day 6: The Blue Cave and Hvar Island
The Blue Cave
The Blue Cave is one of the most famous things to do in Croatia. It’s on a small island called Bisevo, which is just off the coast of Vis. So it’s a great place to visit if you’re staying on the island of Vis. This tour wasn’t a standard tour that the G Adventures skipper offered – I specifically asked if there was a way I could visit the Blue Cave, because I’d heard great things about it. The skipper then went away and organised a tour there. Myself and one other person from the trip decided to go. It was a definite perk of sailing in Croatia with a skipper, who could organise the tour for me and made visiting the cave really easy.
First, we drove to the town of Komiza, and had a short wait there. It’s a lovely place to wander around.
Then, we took a speedboat from Komiza to Bisevo Island. The speedboat ride was really fun. It took around 20 minutes. I loved the feeling of the wind in my face as we bounced across the waves, flying high at times. It was really exciting and definitely gave an adrenaline rush!
Everyone has to get off the speedboats and wait on a platform, to then take a smaller boat that takes you into the Blue Cave. My tour included a VIP ‘skip the queue’ ticket, so I could get straight onto the smaller boats. But other people were having to queue, sometimes for an hour or more. So the VIP ticket was definitely worth it.
The smaller boat took us around the rocks and to the entrance of the Blue Cave. At first, the entrance looked tiny – it didn’t look like the boat was going to fit inside. We all had to duck down to get through the entrance.
Inside the cave, it was amazing. It was just so blue. It was such a magical colour. The cave glows blue for a few hours each day, when the sunlight filters through a small gap in the rocks and reflects off the sea.
We had a couple of minutes in the cave to take some photos and soak it all up, before heading out. To be honest, I would have liked a bit longer in the cave – it felt a slightly rushed visit. But I understand that they have a huge queue of tourists waiting, so need to keep things moving.
We then got the speedboat back to Vis Island and got back to the yacht and the rest of the group around lunchtime.
Sailing to Hvar
We then set sail towards Hvar Island. The sailing was great again – lovely weather, and a nice chance to relax after the busy morning visiting the Blue Cave.
After a few hours, we anchored in a bay to have a swim. Again, it was lovely and refreshing to go for a swim off the back of the boat in the sea. The views of the sea and islands around were lovely.
After swimming, we continued sailing to Hvar Island. Our spot for the night was on a mooring buoy just off the coast of Hvar.
Hvar Town
Hvar Town is known for being a ‘party town’. So we all got dressed up slightly nicer (there’s a limit to how much you can get dressed up on a boat!) and headed towards Hvar Town in a small boat that took us from our yacht to the shore.
We had dinner – I had a lovely vegetable risotto – and then went for a walk through Hvar Town. It was definitely very lively. There were lots of young people who were just starting their night out in the town. It’s a pretty town, with some nice buildings and a fortress on top of the hill that looked nice when it was lit up at night. But I’m not really a party person – so I wasn’t super keen on Hvar Town.
The whole group stopped for a drink at a rooftop bar that gave lovely views down to Hvar Town’s main square. After having one drink, half the group (including me!) headed back to our boat for the night. The other half of the group stayed out in Hvar Town for a few more drinks.
Keep reading for the final few days of this amazing trip!