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Blue cave tour croatia
Private full day tour · island of Hvar

Blue Cave & Vis Island Tour from Hvar

One day, five wonders: the glowing Blue Cave before the crowds, Stiniva between the cliffs, the Green Cave, the Budikovac lagoon and a long lunch on Palmizana. Private boat, your pace.

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No. 01

The day, hour by hour

Durationabout 8 hours
DepartureHvar riva, time is yours
Groupprivate, up to 12
SeasonMay to October
09:00
Private boat tours Hvar

Cast off from the Hvar riva

The earliest boat of the day crosses the open channel toward Biševo while the sea is at its calmest and the light still soft. Coffee in hand, you watch Hvar shrink behind the wake and the open water take over. Hvar town to Vis town is 16.6 nautical miles and Biševo lies five more beyond Komiža, so this is the longest crossing of any tour we run, roughly an hour at speed. Leaving at nine rather than ten is the single decision that shapes the whole day.

10:15
Blue cave tour croatia photo 1

The Blue Cave

Leaving Hvar at first light you arrive before the big day boats: transfer to the official cave boats at Mezuporat, duck under the low arch and watch the whole chamber glow electric blue around you. Ten minutes inside feel longer than they are, in the best possible way. Nothing is lit, daylight comes in through a submerged opening on the south side, refracts through the water and bounces off the pale limestone floor, so the glow rises from below. No private boat goes in, ours included, and swimming inside is not allowed; tickets are cash, €24 in high season and €18 outside it.

11:15
Vis town bay

Espresso in Komiza

The fishing town on the far side of Vis that most tourists never reach: stone riva, working boats and coffee that tastes better for the journey. If your crew would rather swim than sip, we trade this stop for an extra bay. Komiža is also the departure point for the cave boats, so it is the one place on the route where you will see other tour groups, usually queueing while you are already done. It is a good place to buy lunch if you would rather eat on the water later.

12:00
Stiniva vis

Stiniva cove

Swim and snorkel where two cliffs almost touch above a hidden pebble beach, regularly voted among the most beautiful in Europe. Bring the mask: visibility under the cliffs is superb. Stiniva has been a protected natural monument since 1967 and the passage in is only about five metres wide, which is why large boats cannot enter and a small speedboat can. European Best Destinations voted it the most beautiful beach in Europe in 2016, so it is worth being there before nine or after four rather than in the middle of the day.

13:15
Green cave ravnik

The Green Cave

On Ravnik island a sunbeam falls through a hole in the rock and lights the water neon green. Here you swim in, mask on. The colour comes off the algae on the seabed rather than the rock, and the beam is brightest around midday, which is exactly when we arrive. The cave has two entrances wide enough to take a small boat through, and unlike Biševo it has always been open to swimmers. It has been a protected geomorphological monument since 1967.

14:00
Pakleni otoci izlet

Budikovac blue lagoon

Shallow, turquoise and lazy: a long float with a drink in hand, and an island konoba if hunger strikes early. This is the part of the day where nobody checks the time. Budikovac sits behind a low spit off the south-east corner of Vis, which is what keeps the lagoon flat even when the open sea is not. The bottom is sand and light rock, so the water reads pale blue rather than deep. It is the best swim of the day for anyone who does not love depth.

15:45
Palmizana Hvar

Late lunch on Palmizana

The soft landing: sandy lagoon, botanical gardens and the famous tables of Laganini, Zori and Toto’s before the short hop home. In season we book the table for you in advance. Palmižana is in Vinogradišće bay on Sveti Klement and has been receiving guests since 1906, when the Meneghello family opened their estate and planted the park that still shades the walk up from the marina. It is twenty minutes from Hvar town, so nobody has to rush the last course.

17:30
Sunset cruise

Back on the Hvar riva

Salt in your hair, phone full of photos and the whole evening still ahead of you. Dinner plans survive: we time the return around your reservation. The whole day runs to about eight hours, most of it in the sun, so the shower is not optional. If you want one more swim on the way in, the Pakleni bays are on the route home anyway.

What to bring

Swimwear and towelsSun cream and a hatWater shoes for StinivaCash for cave tickets and konobaCamera or GoPro

Times are a template: it is a private tour, so the order and pace bend to your crew and the sea.

No. 02

Book the Blue Cave day

The boat is private and the price is per boat, not per person, so two of you and eight of you pay the same for the day. Up to twelve people fit on one boat; if you are more than that we send two boats that run the day together, which crews usually end up preferring anyway.

Send us a date and a rough head count and we come back with availability, the exact price and the current Blue Cave ticket cost, usually within a couple of hours. Nothing is charged until you confirm, and if the wind closes the cave we move you to another day or refund you in full. If it is easier to talk it through, WhatsApp is normally the fastest way to reach us.

Book nowWhatsApp
No. 03

The route on the map

No. 04

Inside the Blue Cave

The Blue Cave sits in Balun cove on Biševo, a six square kilometre island with about twenty permanent residents, five nautical miles south-west of Komiža. The chamber is roughly 24 metres long, 10 to 12 metres wide and up to 15 metres high, with water up to 16 metres deep beneath the boat. The entrance you duck through is about 1.5 metres high and 2.5 metres wide.

None of the blue comes from a lamp. Daylight enters through a submerged opening on the south side, refracts through the water and bounces off the pale limestone floor, so the chamber glows from below and anything under the surface turns silver. It is strongest on a calm, sunny morning, roughly between 11:00 and 13:00.

Until 1884 the only way in was to dive. That year an entrance big enough for a small boat was blasted in the rock, after the Austrian painter and naturalist Baron Eugen von Ransonnet documented the cave and argued for opening it up.

No private boat goes inside, ours included. Everyone transfers at Mezuporat cove onto the licensed cave boats and waits for a numbered ticket. The official limit is fifteen minutes inside; in practice you get five to ten. Swimming inside is not allowed.

WhereBalun cove, Biševo island
Chamberabout 24 m long, up to 15 m high
Entranceabout 1.5 m high, 2.5 m wide
Best lightroughly 11:00 to 13:00, calm and sunny
Time inside5 to 15 minutes, numbered ticket
Swimmingnot permitted inside the Blue Cave
No. 05

Cave tickets, queues and what they cost

Cave tickets are not part of the tour price from Hvar, ours or anyone else’s, because they are collected by the cave concession on Biševo. Bring cash.

Published adult rates are €24 in high season, 20 June to 10 September, and €18 from 1 April to 19 June and from 11 September to 31 October. Children aged 6 to 12 pay €12 and €9; under sixes go free. The Green Cave on Ravnik is a separate ticket, currently around €6 to €12 depending on season. These are the rates published for the season and they are set by the concession, not by us.

The queue is the real variable. Early in the season it can be ten minutes. In late July and August it regularly approaches an hour and a half, and on the worst days people report two to three hours. That is the whole argument for leaving Hvar before the scheduled boats: group tours from Hvar and Split cluster around a 10:15 to 10:30 departure, so the crowd arrives together. A private boat that casts off at nine reaches Mezuporat while the queue is still short.

If there is swell on the south side of Biševo the entrance closes and nobody goes in, whatever the ticket says. We then move the day to the sheltered side of Vis and either come back later or reschedule.

Everything else about the cave in one place: our full guide to the Blue Cave from Hvar covers the light window, the 2026 tickets, the queue and whether the day is worth it at all.

Blue Cave, high season€24 adult · 20 Jun to 10 Sep
Blue Cave, shoulder€18 adult · 1 Apr to 19 Jun, 11 Sep to 31 Oct
Children 6 to 12€12 high season · €9 shoulder
Under 6free
Green Cave, Ravnikabout €6 to €12 by season
Paymentcash, on the spot at Mezuporat
No. 06

Stiniva, the Green Cave and the rest of the day

Stiniva is the reason a lot of people book this day. A collapsed cave mouth on the south side of Vis, protected since 1967, opens through a passage about five metres wide into a pebble beach ringed by cliffs. Large boats cannot get in; a small speedboat can. European Best Destinations voted it the most beautiful beach in Europe in 2016, which is also why it pays to be there before nine or after four.

The Green Cave on Ravnik islet works the opposite way to the blue one: daylight drops through a circular hole in the ceiling and picks up green off the algae on the seabed. It has two entrances wide enough to sail a small boat through, it is at its best around midday, and unlike Biševo you are allowed to swim inside. It has been a protected geomorphological monument since 1967.

The rest of the day is swimming and lunch: the shallow Blue Lagoon at Budikovac, a stop in Komiža or Vis town, and Palmižana in the Pakleni islands on the way home.

Stiniva, Visprotected since 1967 · entrance about 5 m
Green Cave, Ravnikswimming allowed · best around midday
Budikovacthe Blue Lagoon, shallow and sheltered
Komižalunch on the far side of Vis
CrossingHvar to Vis town is 16.6 nautical miles
No. 07

Good to know before you go

It is a long day on the water, around eight hours, most of it in the sun. Bring water shoes for the pebbles at Stiniva, a hat and sun cream, a towel, and cash for the cave tickets and lunch. Snorkelling masks, drinks and an ice box are on board.

The boat is yours, so the times on this page are a template rather than a timetable. If your crew would rather swim than queue we skip the cave and spend the difference at Budikovac; if you want the cave at its bluest we leave earlier.

It is a fast boat on open water for a good part of the day, so it is not suitable for wheelchair users, and we would not recommend it if you are pregnant, have back or neck trouble, or are travelling with children under two.

DepartureHvar town riva · the hour is yours
SeasonApril to October, weather permitting
Groupprivate, up to 12 guests
Bad weatherfree reschedule or a full refund
Where to stayvillas on Hvar
No. 08

Blue Cave tour, common questions

How long do you spend inside the Blue Cave?

About 10 to 15 minutes. At the entrance everyone transfers to the official small cave boats run by the local operator, glides in under the low arch and circles the glowing chamber. It is short and completely unforgettable.

Can you swim inside the Blue Cave?

No, swimming inside the cave is not allowed. The swimming happens everywhere else on this tour: Stiniva, the Green Cave, the Budikovac lagoon and any cove you like along the way.

Are the Blue Cave tickets included?

The cave ticket is charged on the spot by Nauticki centar Komiza: adults 24 € from 20 June to 10 September and 18 € off season, children 6 to 12 pay 12 € and 9 €. That ticket also covers the multimedia exhibition at the visitor centre on Bisevo. The Green Cave has no ticket. Everything else about the boat day is in our quote.

Why do you visit the Blue Cave first?

Because at midday the queue can swallow an hour or more of your day. Leaving Hvar early puts you at the cave before the big day-trip boats arrive, so you sail in while others wait.

What happens if the sea is too rough for the cave?

In a southern swell the cave closes for safety. If that happens we rebuild the day around Stiniva, the Green Cave, Budikovac and the Vis coastline, or move the tour to another day. If nothing works, you get your money back.

Is this tour good for kids?

Yes, kids usually love it: caves, swim stops and a fast boat. Tell us their ages when booking so we prepare the right life jackets, and we plan the pace around them.

Can you swim inside the Blue Cave?

No. Swimming is not allowed inside the Blue Cave on Biševo. You stay in the licensed cave boat for the five to fifteen minutes you are inside. The Green Cave on Ravnik is the opposite: there you can swim in.

Why is the Blue Cave blue?

Daylight enters through a submerged opening on the south side of the chamber, refracts through the water and reflects off the pale limestone floor. Nothing is lit artificially. The effect is strongest on a calm, sunny day between roughly 11:00 and 13:00.

Is the Blue Cave ticket included in the tour price?

No, and it is not included in anyone’s price from Hvar. The ticket is sold by the cave concession at Mezuporat on Biševo and paid in cash on the spot: €24 per adult in high season, 20 June to 10 September, and €18 outside it, with €12 and €9 for children aged 6 to 12 and free entry under six.

How long is the queue at the Blue Cave?

Anything from ten minutes early in the season to an hour and a half or more in late July and August, and occasionally longer. Scheduled group boats from Hvar and Split leave around 10:15, so the crowd arrives together. Leaving Hvar earlier is the single most effective thing you can do about it.

Can our own boat go inside the cave?

No boat goes in except the licensed cave boats. Everyone transfers at Mezuporat cove and takes a numbered ticket, whether they arrived on a private speedboat or a group catamaran.

What happens if the sea is rough?

If there is swell on the south side of Biševo the cave entrance closes for everyone. We move the day to the sheltered side of Vis and try again later if conditions allow. If the day cannot be saved we reschedule to a date that suits you or refund you in full.

How far is it from Hvar to the Blue Cave?

Hvar town to Vis town is 16.6 nautical miles, and Biševo lies a further five nautical miles south-west of Komiža. By speedboat the crossing is roughly an hour, which is what makes an early start realistic.

What should we bring?

Water shoes for the pebbles at Stiniva, a hat and sun cream, a towel, and cash for the cave tickets and lunch. Snorkelling masks, drinks and an ice box are on board.

Ready for the best day of the holiday?

Tell us your date and crew size and Fast reply with the exact price.

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