Getting to Korčula
Air: Most guests fly to Dubrovnik Airport, rent a car there and drive up the Pelješac Peninsula to the ferry in Orebić about two and a half hours away. Local ferries run frequently from Orebić to Korčula town's main ferry port, and the schedule is available online. A local Korčula travel agency also runs a shuttle bus from the Dubrovnik airport to the destination of your choice in Korčula. In July and August here is a fast boat from Dubrovnik to Korčula as well. Jadrolinija car and passenger ferries from Dubrovnik and Split stop in Korčula several times a week.
AdriaticHome is on the coast, three kilometers or about ten minutes by car from town, so you will want a car to get to the best restaurants which are often not in Korčula town, as well as to buy groceries and explore the island. Car rental prices are generally far more competitive at the airport.
You can also fly to the airport in Split. There are also car ferries and faster boats that travel from Split to Vela Luka on the west end of Korcula island (about an hour from the house). Other options from Split include car ferries from Ploče south of Split to Trpanj (one hour) on the Pelješac Peninsula and then a drive across the narrow peninsula to the ferry in Orebić to Korcula.
AdriaticHome is on the coast, three kilometers or about ten minutes by car from town, so you will want a car to get to the best restaurants which are often not in Korčula town, as well as to buy groceries and explore the island. Car rental prices are generally far more competitive at the airport.
You can also fly to the airport in Split. There are also car ferries and faster boats that travel from Split to Vela Luka on the west end of Korcula island (about an hour from the house). Other options from Split include car ferries from Ploče south of Split to Trpanj (one hour) on the Pelješac Peninsula and then a drive across the narrow peninsula to the ferry in Orebić to Korcula.
The house location
The house is in Tri Žala, a short drive from the old town and ferry port. Tri Žala is named after the three small bays visible down the coastline from the property. The area is very quiet and without commercial development, with just about a dozen houses directly on the water along this area of the coast. The nearest store is 1.8 kilometers away, and the first restaurants a little further. We provide our guests with some restaurant and other recommendations.
Some interesting history
One of the most beautiful islands in the Adriatic, Korčula’s location between the markets of Europe and the Middle East and the intersection of Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Islamic civilizations made it an important place. The Pelješac canal in front of the house which divides the island from the mainland marked the divide between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire—Rome and Byzantium – and at times between Christianity and Islam. Because of its key strategic location along key East-West trading routes, there is hardly any European power that did not at one time or another take control of the island, and the fighting over the destiny of the island has continued from ancient times into the middle of the 20th century.
Ancient Greeks were the first recorded outsiders to come to Korčula, and the island and the rest of Dalmatia later became part of the Roman Empire. In 1298 the great Italian medieval maritime republics Venice and Genoa engaged in a major naval battle off the old town of Korčula, just beyond the bend from the view off our terrace. In winning the battle, Genoa captured a famous Venetian sailor, Marco Polo, who was 44 at the time. Later, in a Genovese prison, Polo that he told his cellmate of his amazing journey to China. The cellmate happened to be a writer and wrote down Polo’s memoirs. Some claim that Polo was born in Korčula, but evidence seems scant.
Venice soon regained Korčula and added it to its growing Adriatic and Mediterranean Empire which helped Venice’s dominance as the nexus of European trade with the Middle East and India beyond. Korčula warded off attacks from the Ottoman Empire, pirates and plague over the centuries, and passed hand from the Venetians Venice to France to Austria to Russia to France, then Britain and back to Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary until 1918, when most of this territory became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which is later renamed Yugoslavia.
In World War Two Italy annexed Korčula and much of Dalmatia, making it part of the fascist state for a few years. In a little known episode of World War Two, from 1941-43 Italy confined a few thousand Jews, mainly from the Balkans, to the island in what they called “libero confine” – exile to the city of Korčula and Vela Luka but some ability to live independently.
During the war another visitor to the island was Fitzroy Maclean, Winston Churchill’s envoy to the Yugoslav partisans. Yugoslav leader Tito rewarded Maclean – whom some say inspired author Ian Fleming when he came up with the character of James Bond -- by giving him a house in Korčula old town after the war.
Today outsiders have rediscovered Korčula and the island is often cited by travel writers as one of Europe's hidden gems. It has a growing number of good restaurants, typically featuring fresh fish and local wines. Some visitors rent boats for excursions, others bring windsurf boards or snorkels and masks, and reading material to pass their days quietly overlooking the Adriatic.
Ancient Greeks were the first recorded outsiders to come to Korčula, and the island and the rest of Dalmatia later became part of the Roman Empire. In 1298 the great Italian medieval maritime republics Venice and Genoa engaged in a major naval battle off the old town of Korčula, just beyond the bend from the view off our terrace. In winning the battle, Genoa captured a famous Venetian sailor, Marco Polo, who was 44 at the time. Later, in a Genovese prison, Polo that he told his cellmate of his amazing journey to China. The cellmate happened to be a writer and wrote down Polo’s memoirs. Some claim that Polo was born in Korčula, but evidence seems scant.
Venice soon regained Korčula and added it to its growing Adriatic and Mediterranean Empire which helped Venice’s dominance as the nexus of European trade with the Middle East and India beyond. Korčula warded off attacks from the Ottoman Empire, pirates and plague over the centuries, and passed hand from the Venetians Venice to France to Austria to Russia to France, then Britain and back to Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary until 1918, when most of this territory became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which is later renamed Yugoslavia.
In World War Two Italy annexed Korčula and much of Dalmatia, making it part of the fascist state for a few years. In a little known episode of World War Two, from 1941-43 Italy confined a few thousand Jews, mainly from the Balkans, to the island in what they called “libero confine” – exile to the city of Korčula and Vela Luka but some ability to live independently.
During the war another visitor to the island was Fitzroy Maclean, Winston Churchill’s envoy to the Yugoslav partisans. Yugoslav leader Tito rewarded Maclean – whom some say inspired author Ian Fleming when he came up with the character of James Bond -- by giving him a house in Korčula old town after the war.
Today outsiders have rediscovered Korčula and the island is often cited by travel writers as one of Europe's hidden gems. It has a growing number of good restaurants, typically featuring fresh fish and local wines. Some visitors rent boats for excursions, others bring windsurf boards or snorkels and masks, and reading material to pass their days quietly overlooking the Adriatic.
The above text and photos of AdriaticHome ©AdriaticHome 2020. Our email address is reserve@AdriaticHome.com