Korcula Croatia (Korčula) was the hidden gem I discovered in my recent summer cruise along the Dalmatian Coast! This guide will help you uncover the best things to do in Korcula, focusing on the enchanting Korcula Old Town and its surrounding areas. From exploring the historic landmarks within the town walls to basking on the nearby Korcula beaches, get ready to discover the magic of this Croatia gem!
Of course, no trip to Korcula would be complete without tasting its famous olive oil and white wine, so you’ll get some recommendations for wineries to visit and wine bars in Old Town to enjoy them if you prefer not to travel far.
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Korcula Croatia: Is a DIY Excursion Easy? 😎😎😎😎😎 Easy Peasy
Korcula Croatia (Korčula) is a long island, shaped like a whale. If you’re visiting Korcula on a cruise, you will most likely be tendered into Korcula Old Town itself (as opposed to other part of the island) – more about the tender pier location below.
If you intend to sightsee in Korcula Old Town, use the nearby beaches or even go to a nearby organic farm to taste Korčula’s famous olive oil, then I would rate the DIY excursion as 😎😎😎😎😎 easy peasy. Here’s why:
- Location, location, location: The tender pier where you’ll disembark from the tender boat is a stone’s throw from Old Town’s city walls. You can start to sightsee straight away!
- Walkable Old Town: Korcula Old Town is very easily walkable, though there are some steps up and down, as it’s built on a hill. If you don’t like steps, you can still walk around Old Town itself and see the fortifications and enjoy the views from the many cafes and restaurants along the waterfront.
- Nearby Beaches: There’s two beaches nearby, so you can also just relax and take a dip!
If you intend to visit Blato (located in the centre of Korcula Island), where some wineries are based, then I would recommend that you join a tour! I did look into transport options when I was planning my own trip. While there are public buses running between Korcula and Blato, it’s not that frequent and the bus stops in Blato tend to be some distance away from the wineries themselves. More on wine tasting below.
Korcula Croatia Port Essentials: All You Need To Know
Korcula Croatia (Korčula) is a tender port! You’ll be tendered right into the tender pier in the marina area, two minutes walk into Korcula Old Town.
First Timer at a Tender Port? Then check out my blog post on what to expect – Tendering 101 & FAQs.
- Tender Drop Off: Pier next to Beach Zakerjan – see this marked on my Korcula map below 🗺️📍👇
- Currency: Euros
- Kuna no longer accepted: Croatia changed its currency to Euros from Jan 2023 and the Croatian Kuna is no longer accepted as legal tender.
- Language: English – Korcula is heavily geared towards tourism, so almost everyone in shops and restaurants will speak English with you. Restaurants will have multi-lingual menus.
- Recommended Transport App: Use Google Maps to navigate around Korcula Old Town.
- eSIM for roaming in Croatia: For a great data connection without the huge roaming fees, use an eSim data pack from Airalo. I always recommend having a smartphone with a valid plan when you’re at port touring independently. Get US$3 off your first eSIM data pack from Airalo when you use ROXANN1666 when you sign up or apply it at checkout
Korcula Croatia Map (Korcula Old Town)
- On Desktop | Laptop? Use buttons on bottom left to zoom in/out. Click on the upper right hand corner to see a bigger version.
- On Tablet | Mobile? Pinch your screen to zoom in/out and use two fingers to move map around. If you have Google Maps installed on your tablet/mobile, my map will open in your Google Maps app if you click on the upper right hand corner.
- If map is not loading correctly, click here to see it directly on Google Maps
Korcula Croatia: Top Things To Do in Korcula Old Town
1. Korcula Old Town Fortifications
The Old Town Walls of Korcula were built between the 13th and 14th centuries. The walls were made of massive stone blocks and several impressive towers and bastions remain today – I’ve marked all of them in my Korcula Old Town map above:
- Land Gate & Veliki Revelin Tower: Land Gate is the main entrance to Old Town. You can see still the fortified gatehouse with a drawbridge and a portcullis. The Viliki Revelin Tower, is also still open and you can climb up to get a view of Old Town. Open 9am to 9pm daily. (I think it was €3 entry but don’t quote me on it!)
- Kanavelic Tower: A square tower on the western side, which was once used as a prison. This is the first tower you’ll see when you disembark from your tender boat
- Sea Gate & Sea Gate Tower: On the western side of Old Town, there’s a Venetian plaque of the Lion of St Mark.
- All Saints Tower (Kula Svih Svetih): The least “complete” of all the woes. Located on the southeastern side of the Old Town Halls, part of it was demolished so only the basement remains now.
Note: While you can walk all around Korcula Old Town to see these fortifications, it’s not a walk on top of the city walls like in Dubrovnik. Some sections of the walls don’t exist anymore, although what remains are in excellent condition. These Old Town fortifications are on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.
2. St Mark’s Cathedral
St Mark’s Cathedral is considered to be the crown jewel of Korcula Old Town. Built between 14th and 16th centuries, it’s a blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles. History suggests that it was built by local stonemasons and artisans, reflecting on the exceptional skills Korcula’s residents had during the Renaissance period.
You can visit the Cathedral or climb the bell tower (or both). Inside, the most famous painting is “Saint Mark between Saint Bartholomew and Saint Jerome” by the famous Venetian artist Jacopo Tintoretto, completed in 1550. (If you’ve been to Venice, you would most likely have seen his works, including Paradiso at the Doge’s Palace.)
- Cathedral: €3 entry
- St Mark’s Bell Tower: €5 adults, €3 kids
Note: Unfortunately this is one of the attractions which walking tours can enter as a large group and guiding is allowed to take place inside. So if you run into a walking tour, go see something else and come back. The church is relatively small and being in there with another large group can seem suffocating.
3. Marco Polo Centre
Korcula was part of the Venetian Republic during Marco Polo’s lifetime (13th century). Marco Polo was supposedly born in Korcula, although this is disputed. (Venice claims Marco Polo as his own and that’s why Venetians named a whole airport after him!)
Marco’s father and uncle, were involved in shipbuilding and trade in Korcula, so there’s reason to believe that Marco could have been born in Korcula. Marco’s famous travels to Asia took place between 1271-1295. In 1298, during the Battle of Curzola near Korcula, between Venice and Genoa, Marco was captured and imprisoned in Genoa. While in prison, he dictated his famous travelogue, “The Travels of Marco Polo“. The surname “Depolo” (a variation of Polo) is still prevalent in Korcula today.
My Take: The Marco Polo Centre is a small museum, displayed over two floors. The content is decidedly “thin” and I may have just summarised everything for your benefit in two paragraphs above! There may have been “technical difficulties” on the day I visited, as all the giant screens were blank. Perhaps there’s good videos showing normally. Nonetheless, the artefacts on display are all replicas and in some instances, completely unrelated to Marco Polo’s time period. There weren’t even the best bits from his book to educate visitors on why his travelogue became so famous!
- Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 9pm during summer, 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday during winter season
- Tickets: €8 adults, €3 kids
- Combined ticket to Korcula Town Museum, the Revlin Tower and the Marco Polo Centre for €12, which would have been better value. I only found this out later, as this combined ticket was not advertised in the Marco Polo Centre! If you’re a family, the combined ticket is €30 for two adults & two kids.
4. Korcula Town Museum
Opposite St Mark’s Cathedral, the Korcula Town Museum is housed within the Gabrielis Palace, a beautiful 15th/16th century Renaissance building with an ornate stone facade, balconies and the Gabrielis family crest. Korcula Town Museum covers Korcula’s history from prehistoric times to the present day. There’s archaeological artefacts from the island’s earliest inhabitants. Korcula’s maritime prowess during the Renaissance period was explored through shipbuilding traditions. There’s also more recent paintings and sculptures by local artists, as well as traditional costumes and lacework.
My Take: If you’re looking to visit a museum in Korcula, I would recommend picking the Town Museum over the Marco Polo Centre.
- Opening Hours: Closed Sundays. Open 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday during summer.
- Tickets: €6 adults
Korcula Beaches
1. Zakerjan Beach
Zakerjan beach is a small sandy beach, right by the tender pier. The water is shallow and very clear. It seems very popular for water sports too, with loads of windsurfers out in the harbour.
2. Luka Korculanska Beach
Keep watching south along the waterfront and you’ll see Luka Korculanska Beach. It is a wider beach but I’d say that the sand is quite pebbly. Close to the harbour area, so it’s a good spot to sunbath and people watch.
Korcula Specialties: Olive Oil & White Wine
You can’t visit Korcula without trying out what it’s so famous for! Korcula is famous for its olive oil and white wine. Here’s how to try both out:
1. Olive Oil Tasting
Korcula’s olive oil is known for its distinctive flavour profile. I had never tasted Croatian olive oil until I visited Korcula, as most of the olive oil being sold in the UK are sourced from Italy, Spain or Greece. By my amateur taste buds, I would describe Korcula’s olive oil as being slightly bitter but has a smooth, almost buttery texture. You can just drink it in a tasting, without having to dip it into bread. It’s that smooth and buttery!
I went to OPG Komparak – about a 20 minute walk from the tender pier – marked on my Korcula DIY excursion map above 🗺️📍👆. Note that the walk has hills! It’s not that steep but the route does go up and down, through suburban streets.
2. Wine Tasting
Korcula Island’s unique terroir, influenced by the Adriatic Sea and abundant sunshine, produces distinctive flavours you won’t find anywhere else. Lumbarda (southeast or Korcula Old Town) and Blato (west of Korcula Old Town) are known for producing both red and white wines. I’ve marked a few wineries which are open to visitors on my Korcula map above 🗺️📍👆.
The indigenous grape varieties Grk (white) and Plavac Mali (red). Grk is grown primarily in Lumbarda’s sandy vineyards and yields a dry, crisp wine with notes of citrus, herbs and a touch of saltiness from the sea air. Plavac Mali thrives in the rocky terrain of Blato and produces a full-bodied wine with intense flavours of dark fruit, spice and earth.
Prefer local wine bars? If you’re interested in tasting local wine but not interested in venturing beyond Old Town, then you’ll find quite a few wine bars in Old Town serving locally produced wines. Many don’t open till 4pm – an issue for cruisers keen to return to the ship – but I’ve marked two which open from noon on my Korcula map above 🗺️📍👆.
Featured Image by invisiblepower from Pixabay
From its captivating Old Town steeped in history to its sun-kissed beaches and inviting vineyards, Korcula truly embodies the allure of the Adriatic. Korcula is definitely a hidden gem in my books and I look forward to returning! I hope this guide has helped you plan out your DIY excursion in Korcula. Drop me a line below if you have any questions!
