Vis Island

The natural vegetation of Vis Island is lush--expect pine trees, carob trees and citrus orchards as well as exotic species such as palm trees, cacti and a particularly rare silver palm tree. Much of the island is devoted to vineyards that produce the famous white wine, "Vugava" and the red wine "Plavac".

What to See & Do on Vis Island

The oldest settlement on the island is Vis Town on the northeastern coast. In addition to interesting ruins from the Greek and Roman period, there are villas and churches dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. The picturesque Komiza on the western coast is the other main town. Various beaches dot the eastern end of Komiza and it makes a good base to catch a boat to the lovely Blue Grotto on tiny Bisevo island.

There are some marvelously untouched beaches on Vis Island. Southeast 10km from Vis Town is the sandy beach of Milna and if you walk a little further there's another beautiful sandy beach, Zaglav. Other destinations include the typical fishing village of Rukavac, the pebble beach of Srebrena, Stiniva with its tiny 3m-wide offshore passage through the rocks and the offshore island of Ravnik with its Green Cave.

Unlike other Croatian islands, the waters surrounding Vis Island were never over-fished which left a teeming underwater life. Scuba divers now swarm through waters filled with some of the Adriatic's most vivid fish swimming through coral and sea sponges.

The Lowdown

No nightlife, no package tourists, no big hotels, no fuss, no hubbub; Vis Island is really "the Mediterranean as it once was". Vis doesn't fit well as one part of a Dalmatian Islands tour because the only car ferry to the island operating year-round is from Split and it's a long ride. In summer there's a regular catamaran schedule though. Yet a certain kind of traveller would be happy staying in Vis and skipping every place else. You can truly escape crowds here except for the five weeks or so in the summer when the Italians stream over.

    Getting to Vis Island

Getting to the island by boat is straightforward but the timetables make a day trip from Split nearly impossible most of the year. There are daily morning Jadrolinija car ferries and catamarans from Split which take two hours; a few days each week there are late afternoon ferries back. Download all ferry timetables to Vis Island.

Accommodation on Vis Island

Relaxed, informal and not too expensive, Vis Island accommodation is not for luxury-lovers. Read more.

    Tourist Information in Vis

In Vis Town, the Vis tourist office (tel 021-711 017) is at Setaliste Stare Issa 2, next to the ferry dock. It dispenses information about the town and the island of Vis.

Vis Island News

Vis Island featured in Islands magazine. More.

Related Pages

Vis Town

Komiza

Vis Island Video

Vis Island Accommodation

Bisevo Island

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