Croatia has many islands and each has its own unique charm. In fact you can vacation just island hopping the Croatian islands. Hvar for example is a glamorous island with a fortress and a reputation for being a party place with its many nightclubs and hip DJs. Brac is another island with a unique white pebble Golden cape beach outside of Bol, and there are others too. But we were glad we chose Korcula. What an absolutely charming beautiful island. Very laid back and no crowds and much more suited for those who like a more relaxed peaceful ambience. Oleander flowers everywhere, enchanting alleyways that just encourage you to get lost and wander around in a small town that you can walk around easily.
From our hotel in Dubrovnik we took an Uber to the port. I had booked my Krilo Ferry tickets online ahead of time from the States. We took the Krilo catamaran from Dubrovnik and it was a relaxing and wonderful experience. With nice views and comfortable table and chair seating it was such a pleasant journey. Our boat ride took about 2 hours since we left at 4.30 pm and we reached before 6.30 pm. The boats could dock on the East or West side of the town.
The boat had docked on the East side of town so we had a bit of a walk with the luggage to our rental apartment. We stayed at the Kanavelic place, a 2 bedroom apartment on the top floor so we did have to carry the luggage up a flight of narrow stairs. Extremely quaint and charming with angled wood paneled ceilings and windows with shutters, a tiny bathroom but more than adequate for our needs. Had the boat arrived on the west side it would have been close. You always have to ask at the ferry office which side the boats arrive as they change often and could be on either East or West side of port.
Korcula town has enchanting alleyways, gorgeous Adriatic views and sunsets and in May flowers and greenery abounded in the Mediterranean sun. We noticed a cute local child playing as we were walking and sometime later in small Korcula we saw him again with his Grandfather trying to feed him. Korcula also claims to be the birth place of Marco Polo the explorer but Venetians disagree. In any case it is a beautiful island that makes you forget any stress with its charm and beauty.
Dinner was at Aterina and was excellent. The panna cotta with berry sauce was great. The Carob cake was super interesting and actually tasty. (Carob is used as a chocolate substitute and has a very unique but good taste. The edible pods come from the pea family)
We had to checkout at 10 am and they allowed us to store our luggage under the stairs in the courtyard while we walked around town. I had booked the 6.30 pm Krilo ferry to Split but we realized that Korcula itself is very small and since we just wanted to see St.Mark’s cathedral and roam around the town, we were done in a few hours. We anyway did not have time for day trips around the island itself, so we went in the morning to the Krilo office and they said there was a 1 pm catamaran which we could go by. The fare was much cheaper too and I had already paid for the much more expensive 6.30 pm Krilo, and there would be no refund. Even so we figured it was better to get to Split earlier while there was daylight. If you stay another night, the island itself can be explored and there are wine and olive plantations.
Before heading to our catamaran, we went to a Korcula type fast food place Fish&Go where we ordered grilled sardines for 2 and it was a huge portion enough for the 4 of us. The sardines were fresh and everything was freshly prepared and tasty so not really anything like fast food in America. We also ordered chicken and meatball sandwiches to go, they were large too. We shared the sandwiches on the boat ride to Split which is around 2.5 hours. The price also was very inexpensive for Korcula.
The evening we arrived we purchased a bottle of water from the restaurant Step and it was just a small bottle of water but it cost us 12 kuna. The next day we saw it was actually 5.49 Kuna at Konzum which is the supermarket in Korcula so far better to visit the supermarkets to buy your bottled water.
One more night in Korcula would have given us the time to explore the island itself but we were glad we were able to get a quick glimpse in our brief visit. Korcula is a lovely island that makes you want to slow down and smell the flowers.
