Stiniva Cove is a stunningly pretty beach on the Croatian island of Vis. It’s not easy to reach, but that’s what makes a visit to Stiniva even more special- and rewarding. Here’s how to get to Stiniva Cove, officially one of Europe’s most beautiful beaches.
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First, you should know that Stiniva Cove is on an island
Vis is a little island in Dalmatia- the Southern-most part of Croatia. Whilst most of Dalmatia has been welcoming tourists for a long old time, Vis was a little late to the party. The island was home to military bases back in the days of Tito and Yugoslavia, and Tito even had a hideout here which you can visit (it’s in a cave up a mountain, and it’s surprisingly basic FYI.) Because of these military links, the island was sealed off from receiving visitors until fairly recently, meaning that Vis is potentially one of the least touristic places to visit in Croatia. For that, I adore it.
Find my guide to the island here.
The island is quiet, the people are friendly, and the landscape unspoiled. Except for the odd concrete bunker, of course.
Ferries run between the beautiful city of Split, on the mainland, and Vis, every day, and the journey takes about two hours and twenty minutes. There’s also a foot-passenger-only catamaran which runs between Split, Hvar, Brac and Vis.
To book a ferry in Croatia, look at getbyferry.com.
What actually is this place?
Once upon a time- thousands of years ago- Stiniva Cove was actually a cave. Croatia is a very rocky kind of a place, and the all around the coast of Vis you can see where the sea has worn away the rock over time, creating little (and large) caves. Eventually the roof of this particular cave crumbled, resulting in an extremely pretty inlet where the cliffs rise almost dome-like around it. A bit like an upside-down bowl, if you will.
From the sea, there is a narrow opening in the cliffs, and inside this opening is a tranquil bay which is almost immune to whatever choppy currents crash against the rocks outside. The water is completely crystal clear, and the beach is made of tiny white stones. A backdrop of vivid green pine trees rises steeply behind Stiniva Cove, and there is one beach cafe nestled into a corner.
The cove is in the south of Vis, and is completely inaccessible by road; it’s so remote that phone signal just isn’t a thing. Visit Stiniva Cove and you’ll just have to accept that wifi and 4g will have to wait until later.
How do you get to Stiniva Cove?
Most internet sources will tell you that the only way to get to Stiniva Cove is by boat- specifically as part of a boat tour. This, my friends, is a lie. It is completely possible to hike to Stiniva Cove, as long as you’re fairly fit and healthy, and not averse to scrambling up and down goat paths. I personally love a good goat-path scramble, so I was in luck.
But- if you do want to visit Stiniva Cove on a boat tour, we booked a tour in the main town of Vis, and it was great. We actually went on the boat tour a few days after we hiked to the cove, and the sea was quite rough that day. Thanks to the choppy waters I felt ridiculously seasick, but also was way too terrified to swim from the boat to the shore; I’m not an overly strong swimmer and didn’t like my chances at battling the waves to get past the rocks and into the calm shelter of Stiniva’s waters. So: only the tiniest of boats can actually get through the opening in the cliffs and into the bay itself. If you visit Stiniva Cove by boat, it’s highly likely that you’ll have to swim a fair distance to shore and back.
If you want to find out how to hike to Stiniva Cove, read on dear pals!
How to hike to Stiniva Cove
You don’t need to be a mountaineer to reach Stiniva Cove on foot, but you do need to have a fair amount of guts and balance. You will also need some kind of vehicle. We had our own car, having driven to Vis from Rijeka, in the north of Croatia.
Firstly, if you type ‘Stiniva Cove’ into google maps, it’ll likely lead you to the wrong place. Instead, look for Villa Luana. There is a car park just before you reach the villa which is the closest spot to Stiniva, and is also where the path leads from. This car park is at the top of the cliffs, and is free to park in. (2023)
In one corner of the car park is a little signpost directing you to a tavern, and this tavern is the place you need to head towards. There are barely any more signs to be found, but basically as long as you keep heading downwards, you’re going in the right direction.
The way down a steep cliff is always harder than the way up, and every now and then some rocks scattered away from beneath my feet, reminding me of the distance to the bottom. I grabbed hold of pine branches here and there to steady myself, and once in a while the ground would level out and provide a bit of rest. About halfway down, the landscape opened up slightly in front of us, revealing the little beach down below, sitting comfortably within the cliffs. We had started our walk down the cliffs around mid-morning, which meant it was perfect timing for the sun to be pouring into the beach, warming the water and illuminating the bright white pebbles.
All in all the walk down to the beach took us about 15-20 minutes, and it was worth every single sweaty second.
A beautiful beach
We were really, really lucky with our timing. Not only was the September sun coming into the cove, but there were also only five other people already on the beach. The cafe was open but with no music playing, so we could just hear the tide coming in and out, and a tiny cat padded across the pebbles in search of food and/or strokes. It was really, really beautiful.
We’d brought food with us which the cat eventually discovered the leftovers of while we were swimming (goodbye, pršut), but to be honest I’d only half-hidden it, in the hopes that our feline friend would like it.
As the day wore on, the sun and shade moved across the bay like a sundial, and the people on the beach came and went. A handful of other hikers surfacing from the pine trees, and a group of old men who had sailed to the cove. They sat and drank rakija and beer in the shade of the cafe and then swam back to their boat when they were done. A group of French people on a yacht tour stayed for half an hour, took some photos for instagram and then left.
When the sun shifted across to the opposite side of the cove, we shifted as well to follow it. It was altogether quite glorious, and as Slaven is more of an adventurous one than me he also partook in some jumping from the rocks at the side of the cove.
By late afternoon the sun was still in the sky but the cove was completely in shadow, so we packed up and began our climb back up the cliffs. (Which was decidedly less hair-raising than the way down, that’s for sure.) We passed a group heading in the opposite direction, half of whom were wearing flip flops, and I did wonder about the fear factor for them. But I myself was only in a holey pair of Vans so who am I to judge?
Covered in sweat by the time we made it to the car, we climbed in feeling very proud of ourselves and sped back to Vis town for dinner. What a wonderful place.
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