Say yes to the stellar views and unique wines of Korcula, Croatia

The second stop on our 2 week Croatian vacation was Korcula. Where Hvar is a glamorous scene, Korcula is a much chiller, more family-friendly island. Google maps seemed to struggle with the winding alleyways of Croatia's old towns, so we struggled to find our hotel, the Aminess Korcula Heritage, but it is in fact well located on the water and just a short walk from Korcula's Old Town. The rooms were a bit more basic than I would have preferred, but breakfast had a wide variety of options, and the outdoor dining was pleasant.

More on Korcula after the jump...

View from Lumbarda on Korcula island

We spent our first day on another of Croatia's rocky beaches, Bilin Zal in Lumbarda. A taxi from Old Town to the beach was 100 kuna, and chair and umbrella rentals were available. No slab of concrete or rocky outcrop is too inhospitable to sunbathe on in Croatia, but as an American, this beach was a little too lacking in comforts. We were hungry for lunch but we couldn't find a spot that took credit cards nearby, nor an ATM machine. After much wondering around, we finally landed at the surprisingly good Pizzaria torkul where we were able to have pizza and wine for the little remaining cash we had.

Charming alley in Korcula Old Town

Korcula's Old Town is compact and charming, but Augusta in Croatia is hot, so we actually preferred the sea breezes on the city's sea wall to the hotter interior. For lunch, Konoba Cupido offered a chance to cool off and a stellar sea view plus makaruni, a local tubular pasta. 

The hubs enjoying our gigantic tapas spread at Lole Wine & Tapas

Our dinner at Lole Wine & Tapas was one of the highlights of our entire two weeks in Croatia. It's a tiny spot with just a handful of seats in one of Old Town's alleys. Menu specials were written on scraps of paper and clipped to a board, and each item was ordered was delectable. I'm a sucker for fresh figs, and Croatia's were glorious so the figs and prosciutto was a must-try. Local tuna, ultra fresh and flavorful tomatoes, local cheeses with crusty bread and a rich eggplant in a tomato sauce were all incredible. 

View from Popic Winery

We headed back to Lumbarda, this time on an e-bike with Korcula Outdoor. My quarantine hobby has been Peloton so I was feeling pretty cocky about my bike riding ability, but I was glad to have the e-bike because it gave us a chance to take a hillier and even more scenic route to the region's vineyards. Sweaty and tired despite the electric support, we were thrilled to kickback and relax at Popic Winery for grk, a white wine grown only in Korcula and the red found throughout the country, Pavič Mali. Our tasting came with spectacular views and a filling plate of local cheeses and prosciutto, just what we needed to fuel up for the rest of the ride.

The hubs enjoying his Grk

The last stop on our bike tour was another rocky Lumbarda beach. This one more remote requiring a mildly treacherous walk over rock and sea and a very painful barefoot walk into the water. But rinsing off the dust and sweat in the refreshing Adriatic, was heaven and well worth the challenge. Even better, we got to take in the beginnings of the golden sunset before heading back into town.

Sunset over Lumbarda

Want to plan your own trip to Hvar or elsewhere in Croatia? Jayway Travel arranged our entire trip and customized it to our multi-city, multi-country 2 week itinerary and planned everything including ferry tickets, private transfers, all hotels, tours and restaurant reservations based on our preferences.

Want to plan your own trip to Hvar or elsewhere in Croatia? Jayway Travel arranged our entire 2-week trip and made the entire process so easy. They helped us choose and book everything we did including all hotels, tours, restaurant reservations, ferry tickets and private transfers, based on our preferences. More to come on the rest of our trip in future articles, but suffice it to say that if you want to plan a trip to Croatia (or elsewhere in Central or Western Europe), working with Jayway is a life-saver.

Read more about Adventurous Tastes' tips for Hvar .

I've included an affiliate link in this article. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.