Escaping the Summer Crowds in Croatia on the Island of Vis

In September we spent six nights on the beautioful island of Vis, one of many islands along the Dalmatian coast. We'd been to Croatia once before, in June, which was before tourist season started, but this year we were visiting right in the height of Summer so were expecting it to be much busier. 

We'd already been to Dubrovnik, Hvar and Korcula on our last trip, so wanted somewhere where we could relax away from the crowds.

After much research we decided on the Island of Vis, the furthest inhabited island from the Croatian mainland. A former military base, it was cut off from tourists until 1989, so is still up and coming and not as popular as the more famous Croatian islands of Hvar and Brac.

 

There are two main towns on Vis: Vis Town and Komiza. The ferries to the island all arrive and depart from Vis, however we decided to stay in Komiza, a small fishing village on the opposite side of the island to Vis Town, and full of mostly locals rather than tourists.

Both towns are beautiful and either would be excellent for a long stay. If you were staying more than a week, you could always split your time between the two, but it's easy to travel between them on the public bus or by taxi, as they're only 15 minutes apart. We spent an equal amount of time in both Vis and Komiza, and I'd say Vis is probably a bit flashier than Komiza, with more shops and restaurants. It attracts the yachting crowd, and the harbour was full when we arrived.

We spent two full days exploring Vis Town and its surroundings, you can easily walk the entire town and the nearby beaches in a few hours, or you can hire a bike, which is what we did on the second day.

 

There are several beaches and places to swim right in Vis town, however we found the beaches there have a lot of sea urchins which always freak me out, so we wandered out of Vis and along the promenade toward the small town of Kut. The towns of Luka and Kut were merged into the large town of Vis in the 19th Century, and a lovely tree lined promenade links the two.

Once in Kut we continued through the town and along the promenade, before stopping at one of the many docks that lie to the side of the road. Many of these are private, but there are plenty that are open to everyone, along with a few tiny sandy beaches, but these had been claimed long before our arrival.

Having stopped along the way to pick up some fresh fruit, we were content to stay in this spot for the entire day, reading in the sun and jumping into the sea whenever we got too hot. The addition of the ladder into the water makes swimming much easier, as you can get in and out whilst easily avoiding any sea urchins on the rocks below.

We finally dragged ourselves away as the sun began to set, and we made our way back to Vis to get the last bus back to Komiza. The buses are timed to coincide with the arrival and departure of the ferries throughout the day, so it's best to arrive a few minutes before the bus gets there, to ensure you get a seat.

The next day we hired a couple of bikes so we could further explore the waterfront, and get to the beaches that were just a little bit too far to walk on a hot day. Hiring bikes was easy, we didn't have to hand over any credit cards or passports, we just picked them up and off we went.

We headed back along the same path we had walked along the previous day, having to take a slightly different path than the pedestrians. It always takes me a while to feel comfortable on a bike, so cycling along the flat promenade was a great way to reacquaint myself with riding.

The ride to the end of the peninsula was lovely, the road runs alongside the sea the entire time, and ends at the pebbly beach of Grandovac at the top of the island.

We locked our bikes in a bike rack alongside a few others, before settling ourselves down on the warm stones to relax in the sun.

We stayed here for a couple of hours before cycling back to Vis for some lunch. There is a beach bar at Grandovac beach, but it seemed to be shut when we were there.

Stopping for a break looking pretty exhausted. It's hard cycling all uphill!

We cycled up to Fort George, an old military barracks just outside of Vis town at the top of a mountain which gives amazing views out over Vis and the coast. There is also a great restaurant and bar at the top with lots of comfortable chairs and stools covered in cushions. Since we had to cycle back down the hill, we chose coffee over wine, and enjoyed the beautiful view whilst watching day turn into evening.

After we'd gotten our second wind, we hopped back on the bikes and headed down to Vis, taking the long way and stopping often for photos. I have to say it was a lot easier on the way down!

As we approached the bottom of the mountain it started to rain, so we picked up the pace and managed to make it back to Vis town before the heavens opened. Running from the rain was going to become a recurring activity during our time on Vis...