Croatia’s crowd-free island retreats
NOTHING can be said to be certain in this world, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, except death, taxes — and that there are more tourists in Dubrovnik than there are teapots in England.
Well, the latter may not be strictly true, but visit the stupendously beautiful Croatian city in summer and you can almost feel the age-old streets tremble under the visitors’ footsteps.
Dubrovnik’s walled seafront old town is a marvel, as picturesque and romantic as anywhere in southern Europe. But sometimes even the most committed sightseer needs a hideaway.
Thankfully, such places exist in the pretty and often-overlooked Elaphiti Islands, trickling north from Dubrovnik.
In summer, a creaky ferry of the kind found in an Agatha Christie mystery serves the three main islands four times daily, and its first port of call, 30 minutes from Dubrovnik, is Kolocep. You can hear Kolocep almost before you see it. The chirruping cicadas provide a near constant backing track. Their song will follow you on lazy walks, accompany you as you go in search of the island’s remote historic chapels, and lull you to sleep.
The only places where this evocative little symphony doesn’t play is right in the middle of the car-free island’s two pipsqueak villages, Donje Celo and Gornje Celo, where you will also find a modest selection of bars and restaurants.
Hop back on the ferry and you will soon be in neighbouring Lopud, the most beautiful of the three islands. Lopud town, the only real settlement here, is as busy as the Elaphiti archipelago gets, a necklace of restaurants — and one or two major hotels. There’s even a bank machine. Stroll across tiny Lopud’s spine and you will discover the best beaches.
The ferry’s final port of call is Sudurad, on the south flank of the larger island of Sipan. It is centred around an ancient fortified villa with a handful of places to eat and a bus service — yes, the only one — to the island’s other town, Sipanska Luka.
Dubrovnik surely ranks among Europe’s top 20 destinations, but with travel, juxtaposition is all — and the Elaphiti Islands offer just that. Just ask the cicadas.