Boat trips
The Blue Cave on Biševo
The best-known sea cave on the Adriatic, five miles from Komiža. Around noon the sun fills it with blue light through an underwater opening.
- Duration
- Half day
- Komiža (NM)
- 5
The Blue Cave (Modra špilja) lies in Balun cove on the east coast of Biševo. It is about twenty metres long, and the entrance, only a metre and a half high, was cut in 1884. The light comes in through a natural underwater opening: the sun's rays reflect off the white seabed and colour the whole cave blue and silver.
Visits are organised exclusively by the concessionaire. You leave your boat in Mezuporat bay, where you buy a ticket and board the small boats; from boarding to return takes about forty minutes. In season the wait for your turn can be more than an hour, so it pays to come early.
What to see
- The blue light in the cave, strongest between 10:00 and 14:00
- The sandy bay of Porat on the west side of Biševo
- Komiža, a fishing town with a museum in a Venetian tower
- On the way: Stiniva cove and the Green Cave on the islet of Ravnik
Departure points
| Departure point | Distance | By speedboat | By sailboat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Komiža Boat rental: Komiža | approx. 5 NM | 12 min | 0.8 h |
| Vis Boat rental: Vis | approx. 13 NM | 31 min | 2.2 h |
| Hvar Boat rental: Hvar | approx. 22 NM | 53 min | 3.7 h |
| Split Boat rental: Split | approx. 38 NM | 1.5 h | 6.3 h |
Distance one way. Travel time is calculated at about 25 knots for a speedboat and about 6 knots for a sailboat, without stops.
With your own or a rented boat
With your own or a rented boat you can sail to Biševo and stop in Mezuporat bay. The cave itself can be entered only on the concessionaire's boats, with a ticket; navigation, anchoring and mooring inside the nature monument are prohibited.
Good to know
- The cave is open only when the sea is calm: in jugo and in any larger swell the entrance is too low. Check that it is open before you set off.
- Bathing, swimming and diving in the cave are not allowed.
- From Hvar and Split the trip takes a whole day and is usually combined with Stiniva and the Pakleni islands.
Boat trips
Other trips
The Blue Lagoon at Drvenik Veli
The shallow turquoise bay of Krknjaši between Drvenik Veli and two islets, six miles from Trogir: the most popular half-day trip in central Dalmatia.
Open tripThe Pakleni islands off Hvar
A chain of some twenty islets just off Hvar harbour: turquoise bays, Palmižana and Vinogradišće, restaurants under the pines and swimming from spring to autumn.
Open tripZlatni rat and Bol
A shingle spit that changes shape with the wind and the current, the best-known beach on the Adriatic, and Bol below Vidova gora on the south coast of Brač.
Open tripSafety
Emergency at sea
Croatia's national maritime search and rescue coordination centre (MRCC Rijeka) is on watch 24 hours a day. Save the number before you set off.
- 195Maritime search and rescue
- VHF 16Distress and safety calls
- 112Single emergency number
Before you call, have ready the boat's position (coordinates or the nearest headland, island or bay), the number of people on board and a description of the problem. A call to 112 is put through to the maritime rescue centre.
Get out on the water yourself
Find a boat directly from its owner and arrange the rental with no commission.
The information is for guidance only and does not replace official nautical charts, pilot books or forecasts. Check the current conditions and regulations before you set off.