Nathan's Insights

Tuesday 30 April 2024
Highlights: Exploring three islands of the Elaphiti; Kolocep, Sipan, Lopud.

Today was a free day to explore Dubrovnik and the surrounding area. I was struggling a bit with the crowds yesterday (I can’t imagine peak season crowds) so Darby and me decided to book an all day cruise trip to local island.

Our boat was the Emili and the cruise had 3,000 five star ratings on TripAdvisor and included lunch and water, wine and soft drinks. As our hotel was a bit out of the centre of town we booked a pick up. After a very filling buffet breakfast our driver showed up and we were off.

The boat was very full but still comfortable. They played 80s popular western music and our deck guide (we got on the top deck) told us stories about the area.

The first island we visited was Kolocep Island which is 2.44 square km in area. There are 231 residence and it is car free. The cruise provided the option to get dropped off on one side and hike with guides to the other side. If you didn’t want to hike you stay on the boat as it moves to the other side of the island.

This was a beautiful island and an easy hike. We could see some caves and an old church with a very small entry door. We stayed on Kolocep Island for 60 mutes.

Back on the boat we enjoyed some drinks and watching the water as we left for our second stop.

Next up was Sipan Island also known as the Golden Island. This island is bigger at 16.22 square kms. Approximately 480 people resident on this islands.

We stayed on the coast of this island with its crystal clear water and looking at building including a fortress. Once again we stayed 60 minutes on this island.

Once back on board we were serviced lunch. I had ordered the chicken and had some wine with my meal. Once we were finished we moved to our final destination.

Our last island was our main stop in Lopud Island. This island has 4.63 square kms of area. With 278 residences. This was our major stop of 3 hours. We caught a buggy/ golf cart for 3 euros each to get to the other side of the island and see the major beach. Some women enjoyed this being a topless beach.

A golf cart ride back got us to the major side of the island. We explored a major garden area first.

This was followed by a stroll on the coast. As it was very hot we enjoyed some ice cream on the coast. We then went and visited the local church which had great views.

We then left for our cruise back and final drinks. A few people even got up and danced. I learned later of go some sunburn under my eyes from the sun reflecting off the water!

Our transfer back to the hotel worked well. With the hotel being away from the Town centre we headed down 400m of steps to find a Bistro for dinner. Not willing to climb back up I booked an Uber for our return after a long day exploring.