Vis – A island that promises a fairytale holiday

The perfect choice for anyone who wishes to escape the city bustle and the fast way of life today are the beautiful and hidden Mediterranean islands without crowds and tourists, which offer a beautiful holiday in natural surroundings. Recently, the Financial Times included the Croatian island of Vis among the five island pearls of the Mediterranean.

The Dalmatian island of Vis is less visited and almost escapes the crowds of the tourist season, leaving guests of this beautiful place to enjoy its natural beauty. Even though Vis has more than enough to offer and abounds in numerous wonders, it does not have luxury hotels, marinas and restaurants, although it is very popular among sailing enthusiasts and yachtmen. Although it does not include many contents of a social character, Vis offers restaurants with exclusive fresh fish and local specialities, some of the best Croatian wines and the beauty of the Mediterranean that has almost disappeared in other places. Instead of grand buildings and tourist crowds, says the author Tom Robins, you can find landscapes that are aboundant with aromas of rosemary, lavender, figs, olives and grapevine on the island. The island has many abandoned beaches and bays which can be easily reached by a rented scooter. Vis probably does not have so many tourists primarily because of how far it is - a two hour ferry ride from Split. Also, there is the fact that Vis was once a marine base with traces of that time stil visible, especially in the harbour and the fort on top of the hill.

From Vis, one can also go on a trip and visit Modra špilja (the blue cave) on the island of Biševo. There, around noon, during calm seas, the sun rays break through the underwater opening of the cave, reflecting from the white bottom and light up the cave with a blue light, giving the objects in the water a silvery look and leaving visitors breathless.

The island of Vis has many culturaly-historical monuments and buildings. The largest are the remains of ancient Issa and on the Pirovo peninsula there are remains of an ancient theatre and public bathing grounds. Around the island there are many sunken battle and merchant ships, making a visit to Vis quite adventurous.

'The legacy is a very real sense of tranquillity – what Croats call 'fjaka', which translates approximately as 'lazy mood' – and a pace of life that cannot fail to slow you down.''says the article in the Financial Times.

The Tourist Board of Split-Dalmatia County
www.dalmatia.hr

The Tourist Board of Vis
www.tz-vis.hr