Korcula Holidays

The Adriatic island of Korcula is a bit like Croatia in miniature. In the interior, it’s covered in woodlands and vineyards bordered by sleepy hamlets. Along the jagged coast, fishing villages still ply their ancient trade, plus there’s the Medieval capital, Korcula Town, which was the birthplace of Marco Polo.

Along its north coast, Korcula sports a necklace of pretty bays like Zrnovska Banja and Vrbovica whose small pebble beaches shelve gently into the clear Adriatic waters. Sand purists head for the south coast where they find beaches like the family-friendly Plaza Przina. It’s flush with beach bars and has plenty of sunloungers to go around. Divers, on the other hand, head to the westernmost town of Vela Luka where the island’s best underwater sites are a stone’s throw away.

Korcula Town, on the island’s north-east corner, has been dubbed Little Dubrovnik. Its Medieval city walls and terracotta-roofed buildings are a carbon copy of the so-called ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’. But Korcula refuses to hang on Dubrovnik’s coattails. It lines up major sights like the Marco Polo museum and St Mark’s cathedral. And it scores big when it comes to artisanal shops and family-run seafood restaurants spread across its tangle of narrow marble alleyways.

Stray off-grid and this island reveals itself in its little nooks and crannies. On the island’s south-west coast is the quaint village of Lumbarda, surrounded by the vineyards responsible for Korcula’s famous Grk wines. And right in the middle of the island is Pupnat, a drowsy town that prides itself on its 17th-century Lady of the Snows. Next door is Konoba Mate where you’ll possibly find the finest restaurants on the whole island.