The Blue Cave is one of the most popular attractions along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. The tiny cave (it’s approximately the size of a three car garage) draws THOUSANDS of visitors every summer. As a natural wonder, you will see stunning promotional images of the Blue Cave strewn across tour agency windows throughout Hvar, Split and Dubrovnik. However, the photos leave out some key details about what the Blue Cave experience is actually like.

I see Blue Cave tours on many “must-see” lists for visitors to Croatia. After visiting myself, I am not so sure it is worth it…

Before you book your Blue Cave tour, please learn from my experience. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. I learned a few key lessons from my visit to the Blue Cave and I am here to share my insider tips with you. The shiny brochures and pretty pictures are only a small part of what a Blue Cave tour is like. If we're being honest, there are some aspects of the experience that are at best uncomfortable and at worst, dangerous. It’s best to be informed about what the experience is actually like, and make an informed decision about whether or not it is worth visiting on your Croatia trip.

The Truth About Croatia's Blue Cave & What You *Actually* Need to Know

Where is the Blue Cave

The Blue Cave, or the Blue Grotto as it is sometimes known, is located on the small island of Biševo, a part of the Vis Archipelago of islands off the coast of Croatia. 

What is the Blue Cave?

The Blue Cave is one of Croatia’s most celebrated natural wonders. The cave was formed by the wave erosion as seawater carved into the island’s limestone rock. Sunlight filters through an underwater opening, reflecting off the limestone seabed and turning the water an electric blue. Discovered in the 1800s, the cave was only accessible by scuba diving until 1884 when an artificial entrance was added to allow for small dinghy boats to enter. The cave is fairly small at 24 meters long, 15 meters high, and 12 meters deep. That's roughly the size of a three car garage.

How do you get to the Blue Cave?

The Blue Cave can only be visited with an organized tour operator. Private charters or personal vessels are not allowed inside the cave. Most visitors will come to the Blue Cave from the nearby islands of Hvar or Vis. There are also full day tours from Split or Trogir, but these tours last most of the day, and are typically paired with other activities. 

The cave is only accessible for about 4-6 hours a day due to tidal activity. It is important to check the schedules before planning your visit. Depending on the season, the ideal time to visit the cave is between 11 AM and 12 PM because the sunlight reflects through the water at the right angle to illuminate the floor and interior of the cave. All visits to the cave are limited to 15 minutes.

Blue Cave Tours

Since you must visit the Blue Cave on an organized tour, you might be wondering how these tours actually work?

Blue Cave Tours typically happen in a few steps:

• Boat ride to Mezoporat Bay: take a speedboat ride from your departure point to Biševo Island. A majority of the departures from Vis (this is the departure point I used) leave from the adorable seaside town of Komiza. Be aware that the crossing from Vis to Biševo is known to experience high winds, and even on calm days, the crossing can be rocky. We were told to take seasickness medication if we are prone to motion sickness.
• Transferring to smaller boats: Once you arrive in the Mezuporat Bay, you will get off the transport vessel onto land where you will wait in line with all the other visitors. You can only access the cave on smaller motorboats operated by the official Blue Cave administration. They depart from this bay every 10 minutes or so. There is a small cafe and seating area there as well as bathroom facilities while you wait.  
• Inside the cave: The entire visit inside the cave lasts 15 minutes. Yes, that is it. No more, no less. You will enter the cave through the small man-made hole, which requires you to duck and huddle inside the boat. It is a pretty small entrance! Entering and exiting the cave can be challenging and dangerous, depending on the weather conditions.

The visit inside the Blue Cave is not managed by the tour operators that you buy your ticket through. Rather, it is managed by the national tourism administration. They control the flow of visitors in and out of the cave. So there are a number of people involved in your experience.

Tickets

You must purchase park entry tickets on arrival at Mezuporat Bay. Tickets are not typically included in the package tour price. Annoying, I know. It's a deceptive marketing tactic. It serves as an example of why you should always read the fine print about tour inclusions.

Details about Blue Cave Tickets

• High season (June 20 – September 10): 24 € per person
• Off season (April 1 – June 19 & Septmeber 11 – October 31): 18 € per person
• Payment only in cash – credit/debit cards are not accepted
• Please have the exact amount of cash ready for the tickets

Once you buy your ticket, you are automatically entered into the queue of people waiting for the small "cave boats". During high season, this wait can last for HOURS. All tickets are numbered so that there is no confusion about your spot in line. The waiting area can get a little chaotic, but there is a ticket counter sign showing the next 12 tickets to board the vessel to avoid mob mentality.

What to Know Before You Go

Transfer Times

On the map, Biševo looks deceptively close to other islands or mainland Croatia. It isn't. Most Blue Cave tours depart at 9am and get back around 6pm. Keep in mind that a significant chunk of that time is spent on a speedboat with a roaring engine loud enough to kill any conversation. The open sea is often choppy, so forget reading or scrolling. Many boats have no shade, leaving you fully exposed to the sun and its glare off the water for hours at a time. Most of your day will be spent looking at a lot of sea. 

No Swimming Allowed

You are not allowed to swim inside the cave and your boat will hold a total of 12 passengers. The licensed boat operator will give you a small history lesson and explanation of the cave while you are inside admiring this cave. You do a full circle of the cave before exiting and there are never more than 3 boats inside the cave at once. This is the entrance to the cave. The boat just barely fits!

Weather Conditions

Visits to the Blue Cave are always subject to weather restrictions, so it is best to check ahead about conditions. If the waves are too rough or the swells are too high, the cave is not accessible and it will close. Sometimes, this can happen while you are already enroute to the cave. Which means all that transfer time might be for nothing...

Crowds

I visited Croatia in August, aka the height of tourism season, so there was understandably a massive crowd at the Blue Cave. As I mentioned above, crowds can wait for a visit to the cave for 2-3 hours during this time of year. If you’re visiting in July or August, you should anticipate crowds.

Bring Supplies

The small cafe in Mezuporat Bay has all the basics you might need—food, water, coffee, etc—but it is massively overpriced and crowded. Plus, there is little to no shade in the waiting area. The only shade is inside the cafe’s patio, where you need to be a paying customer to sit. You are allowed to bring a bag with you on the tour, so I would recommend packing it full of snacks, water, sun hat, and sunscreen prior to your departure in the morning.

Is it worth visiting the Blue Cave?

I’m a little torn about this question. The cave itself is stunning and unique, and I’m definitely happy that I saw it.

But...

The rest of the experience was pretty disappointing. I am not sure I would recommend it to everyone, and I don’t think I would do it again. The crowds were overwhelming. In my opinion, the value for money was not great. Perhaps a full-day tour that included other stops in Biševo, like the Green Cave and secluded swimming holes, would have made it feel more worth it. But to pay so much for only the Blue Cave was not really worth it.

Have thoughts or questions about the Blue Cave in Croatia? Tell me in the comments.