Island of Vis – A little ‘peace’ of heaven
Vis, Croatia – September 8-13
As you likely know by now, we are currently travelling through Croatia. And by traveling, I mean visiting every nook and cranny from north to south, east to west.
To date, we’ve only visited one island, Vis, a two-hour ferry ride from Split.
Brac island getting pounded by rain as we sail past
Just off the coast of Split on the return trip
On the ferry we met Dee and Andrew, a couple from Vancouver who were in the midst of a two-week vacation in Croatia. We met up that evening for dinner and drinks and got some travel tips for our upcoming trip to SE Asia.
Mussels, shrimp, risotto…
Things to do There are a few popular things to do while on Vis including a visit to both Vis and Komiza town’s, the Blue Cave and as well as some of the secluded beaches on the south coast including Stiniva. While we visited both Vis and Komiza, Stivina and the Blue Cave will have to wait until our next trip. A couple of days of rain combined with our addiction to the private dock (thanks, Airbnb) and the crystal clear sea kept us close to home. And we are perfectly fine with that.
View from our apartment!
From our dock
Afternoon at the beach in Komiza
Afternoon at the beach in Komiza
Vis was used as a base for the Yugoslavian military until 1991 so it is relatively new from a tourism perspective. That, combined with the fact that it is the furthest inhabited island from mainland Croatia helps to keep the tourists at bay.
Submarine bunker. Remnants of the Yugoslavian military base
Croatian hospitality and Airbnb plug I know we keep preaching about Airbnb in our posts, but it’s for good reason. Firstly, without it we probably wouldn’t be able to travel for such an extended period of time, and secondly, it introduces us to wonderful hosts who share with us the true local culture. On Vis, our host Milos welcomed us when we got off the ferry. He stopped at the supermarket for us to pick up some groceries and at the tourist office so we could book our scooter rental. Oh and he also caught us a fish then invited us for a traditional Croatian peka dinner, including grappa (strong brandy) and homemade wine. Did I mention that Milos speaks zero English? Despite the language barrier (thanks Google translate) we learned a lot about Milos’ life growing up in the former Yugoslavia and how he came to land on beautiful Vis.
Milos and his catch – all we know is that it’s in the tuna family
Baked fish, homemade baguette, and a paprika, onion, cucumber, olive oil and sea salt salad. Delicious!
Grappa, pivo and vino!
Steven, Jess and Milos. Last day on Vis island!
Jess and Milos. It poured rain during dinner!
We couldn’t help but compare him to Jess’ grandfather, Wes, as he waved and blew his horn at every local we passed on the street and was just a happy-go-lucky, caring man. Milos even offered us to stay one more night ‘free of charge’! Jess and I never really said much on the ferry back to Split. I think we were both sad to leave. Yes, Vis was amazing, but the local Croatian hospitality is what made this RTW stop so special. Needless to say, this will be memory we won’t soon forget.
We are planning to hit another island or two before finishing up in Dubrovnik. From there its off to Mostar and Sarajevo in Bosnia then onto Istanbul where Europe and Asia meet! Stay tuned. jess + trickett
Note: If you have any specific questions about transport to and from Vis, costs, etc. please send us a message.
Welcome to our blog! We are Steven and Jess, a young (ish) Canadian couple from Newfoundland, Canada. 
finelinetravels 
You guys look so happy in all your pictures !! So happy you are enjoying your adventure. Your posts are the starting point for a lot of lunchroom conversations at work lol !!
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