The island of Vis is the island in the southern part of the Adriatic sea. Distance from island to croatian mainland is 45 km which makes Vis the farthest croatian inhabited island. Population is cca. 3600 inhabitants and its area is 89,72 km2. Between the island of Vis and the mainland, there are the islands of Hvar, Brač and Solta.
First inhabitants were Greeks that have founded the settlement Issa (today’s Vis) in the 4the century BC. The most valuable artefact from greek period is the bronze head of the Greek goddess of hunting Artemis that can be seen in the museum of Vis. Later on, island was ruled by Romans, that have left many ancient buildings. On the ruins of roman theater and spa, in the 15th century Croats built the Franciscan monastery. In the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20thcentury island was under Austrian rule.
From the 1944-1989 island of Vis was Yugoslavian military zone and it was inaccessible to the foreign visitors. Even the president Tito spent a part of Word War II on Vis living in the strong fortification called “Tito’s cave”. And today, nets of tunnels (some of them are 400 m deep) and military objects are turning into tourist attraction.
Because of its isolation and the distance from the mainland, Vis is now the cleanest and naturally best preserved part of the Adriatic sea, with crystal clean sea, air and unpolluted soil. The south part of the island of Vis hides the most beautiful coves and beaches, created by the waves from the open sea. One of these beaches is the Stiniva cove, the hidden paradise that has inspired many visitors and photographers. The largest settlements on the south side of Vis are Milna and Rukavac.
The biggest settlement on island is the town of Vis situated on the north-east side of island of Vis that faces the island of Hvar, in a naturally protected bay called The bay of St Juraj. The Vis harbour is placed in the south-eastern part of this bay, protected from the open sea by the islet of Host and Prirovo peninsula. The town of Vis is the only settlement on the island that is regularly connected to the mainland (town of Split) by the ferry boat and the speed boat. During summer months it is also connected to Italy (Ancona and Pescara).
Nowadays town has cca. 2000 inhabitants, with downward trend, except in the summer season when more and more tourists discover this natural oasis. Visitors can visit its Archaeological museum (placed in the “Gospina batarija”, Austrian tower from 19th century), gallery, summer cinema, theatre, library and enjoy classical and other music concerts. Every visitor should try its local “slow food” (long meals with more sequences), its famous local wines (Plavac mali and Vugava) and brandy called “lozovaca” enriched with the local aromatic plants.
For the sailors there are two possibilities to find a berth place for their boat: in the city harbour and in the bay of Kut.
In the city harbour, or at “riva” there are 50 mooring places and in the bay of Kut there are 30 mooring places. In both places daily berth fee includes water supply, electricity, waste collection and use of sanitary facilities are placed very close to the mooring places.
If a boat is moored in the center of town, sailor should pay attention not to tie the boat very close to the shore, because ferries that enter harbour might make big waves.
There is also cheaper possibility to spend a night in a bay of Vis: by beeing anchored at the small anchorages called Kut and Stonca. But, they don’t include water and electricity supply.
In the city harbour sailors can also find the gas station for boats with draught up to 2,5m.
