ELAPHITI ISLANDS
(FULL DAY – EVERY DAY, when the weather is nice)
Departure 09:30 | Return 18:00
Elaphiti Island tour is a cruise that visits the nearby Elaphiti islands: Lopud, Šipan and Koločep. Tour goes like this the first stop is island Lopud, which has a 15th-century Franciscan monastery; a fortress with a breathtaking view on the top of the island; and Šunj – the most beautiful sandy beach you can find in this area.On island Lopud you will have a lunch on boat.You can choose between a fish, meat or vegetarian menu and drinks are included, and refreshments are offered during the journey and with lunch.
Šipan is next island that looks like a little small traditional village with residence of Skočibuha familly here you can also see that people grow figs, almond-trees, carob-trees, tomatoes, oranges, citrus fruit and off course there are large vineyards with finest grapes. It is really small so you can walk around or take a short cofee break. Third stop is at a small fishing village on the island of Koločep. Locals call it Kalamota. Here you can swim or walk around, explore this natural paradise. The number of population on island Koločep is smaller than 200, because of that the sea is really clean and refreshing..There is no crowd on the island, it is peaceful and calm. Every island has remnants of Greek and Roman culture as well as the old summer houses of the nobility of the Dubrovnik Republic.In case of bad weather, the journey can be rescheduled and our Captain reserves the right to change the route according to the sea conditions.
Included: transfers, lunch and musical entertainment.
Itinerary:
Departure from the hotel according to the plan (around 09:30)
The Elaphite or as their name suggests Deer Islands consist of 13 islands. They are located just west of Dubrovnik and give a special touch to that part of panorama, especially at sunset, when they seem the most beautiful.
Only 3 islands are inhabited: Koločep, Lopud and Sipan.
And if you would like to go to the other islands or maybe even take a cruise on the Adriatic you can always rent or charter a boat or a sailboat .
Koločep, Lopud and Šipan are the islands chosen by the many families of The Dubrovnik Republic aristocracy for their summer manors.
Koločep (Kalamota) – is the smallest of the three settled Elaphite islands, closest to Dubrovnik.
Lopud – The island in the middle as it has been called since time out of mind is located between Kalamota and Šipan. This is the most visited island in the Elaphite archipelago, mainly for its amazing Šunj beach.
Šipan – The Golden Island is the largest of the settled Elaphite islands, the sight of many Dubrovnik Republic aristocratic manors.
ŠIPAN
Šipan is situated 17 km north-west of Dubrovnik. It is the largest island in this group and its highest point is 243 m.
Area: 16.5 square kilometers, population 500
Šipan was inhabited already during the times of Roman Empire.
Nowdays, on Šipan, people grow olives, figs, almond-trees, carob-trees, tomatoes, oranges, citrus fruit and off course there are large vineyards with finest grapes. There are few small villages in the inland of the island.
There are two ports on the island, Suđurađ (San Giorgio) in the east, and Šipanska Luka (Porto Gippana) in the west. The island is also famed for its numerous palm tree species that grow on the island.
Except natural beauties, Šipan island can offer many other things for sightseeing. For example, in Sipanska luka there are ruins of building dating from times of ancient Rome. On Velji Vrh there are ruins of the St. Peter’s church from 11-th century, in Pakljeno there is church of St. Mihovil dating from 11-th century an there is small church of St. Ivan in Silovo selo. Between Sudurad and Šipanska luka there are ruins of summer residence of the Dubrovnik’s Archbishops.
It also has many nice beaches. It is connected with Dubrovnik with many boat lines.
LOPUD
Lopud, this magnificent Dubrovnik island is located between Kalamota and Šipan, for that reason it is called „the island in the middle“.
Area: 4.6 square km, population 220
It is an island of true Adriatic summer feel, full of Mediterannean and subtropic vegetation, amazing cypress and pine parks and citrus gardens. Throughout history Lopud has been an island of sea – captains providing the Dubrovnik Republic with many highly reputed seamen among them the illustrious captain Miho Pracat.
The island has only one settlement, located in a bay, named Lopud on the far side of the island towards Šipan. A small path leads across the island to a miraculous beach in the Bay of Šunj, the Šunj beach.
Šunj beach is one of the kind on the Adriatic, maybe even the whole Mediterranean. It is a sandy beach spreading across the whole bay with knee deep water reaching as far as 100 meters of the beach, ideal for children and for playing all sorts of watersports, mainly picigin, Dubrovnik’s favoruite summer sport.
According to the Dubrovnik historian Razzi, in 16th. century Lopud had 30 churches, a vast number of Dubrovnik aristocracy summer residences, several monasteries and population of 1000. There are numerous remains of early-medieval churches, summer residences and fortresses.
You can also visit a Francisian monastery from 1483 with a cloister and a defence tower with walls. The monastery holds many valuable art works in its church of St. Mary of Spilica, with works of Pietra da Giovanni, Nikola Božidarević, Girolama da Santacroce, Bassana and many others. You can also visit the church of Our Lady of Šunj which is a cultural monument with many valuable paintings.
KOLOČEP
Koločep or Kalamota is an evergreen island with pine and carob trees entangled with citrus gardens and small olive groves. Kalamota has two settlements, Gornje Čelo and Donje Čelo, each a sovereign ruler on its part of the island. The settlements are interconnected by a meandering path that leads through the gardens and the olive groves, unraveling the remenants of the ancient architecture scatered all throughout the island. You can stroll the island and rediscover the lovely pre-Romanesque churches, old summer mannors, guardian castles and more…
Koločep is car free but many paths and walkways crisscross the island.
Koločep has more than 250 sunny days a year. Its climate is of a moderate Mediterranean type, and due to the isle’s indented coastline and small area, the predominant climatic features throughout the island are influenced by the Adriatic. The sea moderates the air temperature considerably keeping the average monthly daytime highs above 10 °C in the winter time and below 27 °C in the summer.
Clear waters surrounding the island range from deep blue to turquoise aqua. The coastline has with a number of hidden coves: the Blue Cave can be accessed swimming from one such cove on the south side of the island. An area off shore where lobsters abound is another one of Kolocep’s features.
The islands flora includes stands of tall pine and olive groves.
In the times of the Republic of Ragusa, Koločep was an important shipbuilding site. Two members of Christopher Columbus’ crew on the Santa Maria were sailors from Kolocep. Archaeological remnants of ancient European conquerors have been found on the island: from the ancient times of Greece and Rome to the Napoleonic times. This small island of only 2.3 km² has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating back to the times of Croatian kings, from the 9th to the 11th century.
LJETNIKOVAC SKOČIBUHA
Tomo Skočibuha was born in 1484. First he was a sailor, then he became a captain. Except for marine and trade, he dedicated a lot of his time to house-building. He built a lot of houses all over the region, in Dubrovnik, on Šipan, on Koločep, in Orebić etc. However, he invested a large part of his fortune into shipbuilding, more specifically – famous ships from the times of Republic of Dubrovnik called – karaka. Those ships could bring such fortune with just one of their routes so that the family could be materialistically secure for a very long time. As a captain of those ships, Tomo made a lot of fortune that he kept further investing which brought him even more fortune.
To keep that high business rhythm, he had his own shipyard on Šipan, in Suđurađ because the one in Gruž was too busy. Therefore, he could easily build biggest ships in his own shipyard.
He had 6 children – 5 sons and a daughter. His sons were interested in sailing just like him, however with some tragic consequences. Due to danger and high risk on the sea, that kind of life brought a lot of victims. One of his sons died young, the other one was killed in a pirate attack on his way to the middle east. His 3rd son witnessed his brother’s death so he decided never to sail again. His fourth son also died young, while the 5th son was a priest.
The third son that stayed with him after witnessing his brother’s death was called Vice Skočibuha. After his brother’s death, he became the only manager of the whole fortune and their residences.
Because of some family problems, he decided to build his own residence, right next to the one of his father’s, in Suđurađ where the shipyard was situated. He was an extremely organized man, he made careful plans and he left a lot of notes. There are some books that have been preserved, where all of his notes and different contracts were saved.
The house was built in less than a year. They started building it in february 1563 and were done in december the same year. The stone was brought from Korčula, very famous Korčula stone and partly the stone came from the very same neighborhood, from Šipan. This complex also included mills, tank, storage, pavilion on the terrace, a bridge and fortified entrance, and the high boundary wall with a wooden walkway, which is not preserved.
The internal layout of all rooms, wall-mounted sinks and closets, fireplace on the groundfloor and on the first floor have all been preserved. The preserved items from the 16th century indicate the elegance, comfort and harmony of the life of Vice Skočibuha.
A renessaince rectangular fireplace with this very well preserved stucco-decoration of the hood is a rarity in the Dubrovnik area.Some very interesting wooden accessories from the 16th century – the wooden balcony above the staircase – the only one preserved in the Dubrovnik area. It served for the musicians, Vice and his wife would climb up with them, while all the other guests would be left in the room.
In fronf of the villa there is a large garden. There used to be lots of fruits and vegetables cultivated there that of course served for their owners’ needs. It is geometrically split into 2 separate, but equal parts. The towers served only for protection because of the pirates. It is not directly connected to the residence, but there was a bridge that they would lift and therefore no one could come in. The entrance was on the first floor. The tower was equipped with a cistern/tank (water supplies), fireplace, closets, toiler facilities and all the other basic needs. There were 3 floors, the highest room provides an excellent view in case of an attack.
The smaller house was built for the family priest. There’s also a chappel nearby that was dedicated to st. Thomas („in memory of Vice’s father“) as he noted in his testimony.