Island hopping on the Elaphiti Islands

As I mentioned in my previous post about Dubrovnik, there are some fun day trips that you can take from the city. One of these is going on a boat cruise to the Elaphiti Islands. The Elaphiti Islands are an archipelago of 13 islands near Dubrovnik, from which only three islands are inhabited – Lopud, Sipan and Kolocep – the same three that I visited during my day of Island hopping.

There are many ways to get to the islands. Many private companies offer day trips and you can also take regular boat services from Dubrovnik. We went on a boat trip with Katarina Island Cruises, a family owned company. We were picked up at the hotel, and brought to the port of Lapad, where the boat was already waiting for us. On board we were offered biscuits, homegrown cherries and drinks.

LOPUD

Our first stop was the island of Lopud, which is the most populated and ‘touristy’ island of the three. We got to spent three hours there, so we walked to the end of the boulevard to catch a glimpse of the Franciscan Monastery, which dates back to 1483. Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit it, as it was under construction. On the other side of the island you’ll find the famous Sunj Beach, but we didn’t go there because there were also some little and less crowdy beaches closer to where to boats drop you off as well. And so, there was also some time left to go shopping for souvenirs for the home front.

SIPAN

Off to island number two! Sipan, is the largest island of the Elepahiti Islands. Its known for its extra virgin olive oil and red wine. Our captain told us that there are 34 churches on the island, which is quite a lot for a population of 500, don’t you think? We didn’t have a lot of time to wander around the island, as we were there to have lunch at the captain’s house. I hardly doubt that it was the guys actual home, but the entire family was working there and the ambiance was great so who cares. On the menu; local ham and cheese with bread and their famous olive oil. After the ham, we were served a chicken soup and a large portion of mussels. On the boat they already asked if you wanted to eat, either pork, chicken or fish. I had the fish, which was really good. It was grilled and served with a garlic sauce, mashed potatoes and side salad of cucumber, tomato and lettuce. We also got the chance to taste the family’s homemade wines. They were a bit too sweet for my taste, it kind of reminded me of port and sherry. As I don’t really like that, I stuck to water. Afterwards the captain started singing and playing Croatian songs on his accordion, which was really fun.

KOLOCEP

After lunch at the captain’s house, we reached the third and final island of the day. With its 130 inhabitants, Kolocep is the smallest island. We only spend one hour on the island, which wasn’t much time to swim and tan, so we had a cocktail at one of the beach bars.

In the end I’m not really sure if I would have done this trip, if I knew what it’s about. There wasn’t much to do on the islands, except for tanning and swimming. So if that’s not really your thing, I wouldn’t recommend it.

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