The water calls to you on a trip to Croatia, and there’s no better place to visit by boat than the gorgeous, tranquil Elaphiti Islands, northwest of Dubrovnik. If you can, extend your trip to see the Medieval walls of Ston, second in length only to the Great Wall of China, and enjoy the ‘World’s best oysters’ for lunch. Read on find out why these two stops should both be on your Southern Dalmatian Coast itinerary.
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The Elaphiti Islands (Deer Islands)
Lying northwest of Dubrovnik, the Elaphiti Islands are an idyllic archipelago of lush, green islands covered in pines and cypress trees, surrounded by crystal clear turquoise waters – exactly what dreams are made of in the depths of a dark British winter.
Whilst there are 12 islands in the Elaphiti group, only three are inhabited by humans (sorry, no deer anymore!) – Šipan (the largest), Lopud (car free and popular island with a sandy beach), Koločep (also car free). Although inhabited, they remain largely undeveloped and unspoilt which makes them a wonderful retreat from the city in the heat of the summer – something the aristocracy worked out way back in the 16th century.
Getting to the Elaphiti Islands
There are several ways to organise a special day out to the Elaphiti Islands, including:
- Ferries – You can travel under your own steam by taking the ferry from Gruz harbour in Dubrovnik, to the islands of Lopud, Šipan, and Koločep. In the summer months there are usually 4 ferries a day, so you can visit each of the three islands in one day if you’re organised. This is the cheapest way to visit the islands.
- Organised tour – book an organised group tour through companies such as, Get Your Guide. There are several different ones available including a full day boat tour of the Elaphite Islands including lunch and drinks.
- Private boat trip – we booked a private boat trip through our villa manager which departed Zaton just north of Dubrovnik and cruised north up the coast. The beauty of our small boat was that it could moor up wherever it was quiet on the uninhabited islands. As a result, we visited the Elaphiti Islands, but I have no idea exactly which ones as explored the coves and not the islands themselves.
There were boats of all descriptions moored up in the bays, but there was plenty of opportunity to find a spot with no other boats there. Then we spent time diving into the inviting water, paddleboarding, snorkelling, or swimming into small caves.
Word of warning – there are a lot of naked yachters in Croatia. Sometimes it was difficult to know where to look!
Visiting Ston
Ston sits on the Peliješac Peninsula, about 54 km north of Dubrovnik, roughly an hour’s drive by car.
If arriving by boat, then you come via the Stonski Channel, passing under the Ston Bridge. This allows traffic to cross the river and onto the Peliješac peninsula, before leaving via the Peliješac bridge to the north (which cost 420 million Euros to build). This allows traffic moving from north to south Croatia (or vice versa), to stay in the country, rather than needing to pass through the small part of Bosnia & Herzegovina which takes up a section of coastline around Neum.
The defensive Walls of Ston
Ston is divided into two areas – Veliki (Large) Ston and Mali (Little) Ston – separated by a small strip of land. The two areas of Ston are connected by 5 km (3 miles) of impressive walls between five and ten meters high. The claim to fame of the Walls of Ston is that they are Europe’s longest defensive structure, and second in the world only to the Great Wall of China.
As you approach the town from the water you can clearly see the famous Walls of Ston in a large ‘W’ shape on the hillside protecting Veliki Ston, with a longer wall crossing over the hillside to Mali Ston. Indeed, their structure does have a small-scale resemblance to the Great Wall of China moving up and over the hill.
The walls of Ston are made of strong stuff and were largely unscathed by shelling from Serbian forces in the 1991 Homeland War. However, an earthquake in 1997 did more damage although the bulk of the walls remained, and the damaged parts restored.
You can walk the walls of Ston, including the ‘W’ section above Veliki Ston, and/or over the hill between Veliki and Mali Ston, for great views. Unfortunately, as we arrived in the middle of the day, it was too hot for us to contemplate tackling the steep walls on this trip.
Salt pans of Ston
The Walls of Ston were built in the 14th century to defend the town from attack and to protect the once prized salt pans in the sea basins of Ston. Salt was vital to the economy of the Ragusa Republic – in the Medieval period salt was more valuable than gold (‘white gold’) due to its use as a food preservative (in the days before refrigerators!).
Talk of the ‘white gold’ reminded me of our trip to Lübeck in Germany, which had a Medieval town centre with a row of six gabled, wonky old salt warehouses built between the 1500s and 1700s where salt was stored before being traded elsewhere around Europe and the World, and which helped to make the city rich.
Veliki (Large) Ston
Ston was first settled in 1333 and is a small town. With the exception of the walls of Ston, it doesn’t take very long to explore, but it’s a good base for lunch or to visit the salt pans (now a museum, but also still operating salt pans). There are a handful of bars and restaurants around a tree shaded central square, a few souvenir shops, church, and Kaštio Fort.
A very special lunch in Ston
We booked a special lunch in Ston through the boat company. On arrival at the marina at Veliki Ston, we were picked up in a Mini Cooper and driven a short distance around the hill to Mali Ston.
Mali Ston is just a small hamlet with a handful of buildings and restaurants; however, it is home to a hub of around 10 oyster farms spread out on the sheltered Neretva Channel. In 1939, the General Trades International Exhibition awarded Ston oysters the Grand Prix or Best Oysters In the World Award – so are they? We were about to find out….
The son of the oyster farmer (5th generation of Family Drazeta), who had collected us in the car, ushered us to a flat-bottomed skiff by the side of a small pontoon. Once aboard, he collected a basket of freshly harvested oysters and the boat set off, heading into the bay where it dropped anchor in the middle of the oyster beds. A series of poles and buoys on the water indicated where to find the oyster beds.
Mrs Drazeta (his mum) had been hiding in the galley of the boat, and then popped out with a small glass of Slivovitz (Croatian plum grappa) for us to sip whilst her son (sorry I didn’t catch his name) talked us through the process of cultivating oysters. He showed us examples of oysters growing on ropes at various stages of development, before taking the basket of fresh oysters and shucking them in front of us at the back of the boat.
Alongside a glass of cold local white wine, we were then offered 5 oysters. They were the freshest oysters I’ve ever eaten – a pure taste of the sea with just a simple squeeze of lemon. However, true confession time – I’m not the biggest oyster fan but had booked the trip specially for Rick. Despite this, I enjoyed these oysters and the experience very much!
Next, we were onto the Mussel Buzara – mussels cooked by Mrs D in a flavourful Croatian sauce of olive oil, white wine, garlic, onion, and tomato, thickened by breadcrumbs. Delicious!
This was a very special lunch indeed. The son had explained how the business of his family’s oyster farm was in transition due to the irregular oyster harvests caused by warmer waters. In recent years they have not been able to sell enough oysters, so are pivoting towards tourism and offering the oyster tasting events (4-6 a day in High Season).
Note – if you want to see a short snippet about Ston and its oysters, then chef Rick Stein goes there on his TV series From Venice to Istanbul, Episode 3. Whilst he doesn’t eat on the boat in the lagoon, he eats at a local restaurant in Mali Ston. I think this is Villa Koruna which displays a certificate awarded at the 1936 exhibition for the quality of its oysters!
Final thoughts…
Were they the world’s best oysters? Well, for us, they were definite contenders, perhaps being marginally pipped at the post by some oysters we’d once eaten from Prince Edward Island, Canada. However, we thought the setting for our oyster lunch was world class, anchored in the middle of the oyster farms eating them straight from the water – it doesn’t get much better than that!
Also, the perfect pudding to top off your lunch in Ston is a slice of Ston Cake (Stonska Torta) made of layers of penne pasta with chocolate, ground walnuts, ground almonds, cinnamon, and a dash of rum – it shouldn’t work as a sweet pudding, but it does. Enjoy!
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