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The 5 Best Croatia Caves To Visit on Your Travels
Croatia is known for many things: stunning pebbled beaches, warm Mediterranean temperatures and historic coastal towns. But what if we dive deeper? Hidden under the surface lies a series of Croatia caves just waiting to be explored.
Most of Croatia’s land is made of limestone, a material that is easily dissolvable in water. Because of this, unique caves, pits and chasms have formed all across Croatia, taking the beauty of the country below ground. In this guide, we’ll be discussing some of the best caves in Croatia so you can add something a little different to your travel itinerary for Croatia this year.
The best caves in Croatia
Blue Cave
One of the most famous caves in Croatia, The Blue Cave is a natural wonder worth visiting. When you enter this marvelous cave, you’ll be surrounded by a sapphire glow – a natural occurrence that happens when sunlight enters through the cave’s underwater opening and reflects off of the white seafloor, illuminating the water into a vibrant blue hue. The best times to visit are between 11am – 2pm as this is when the sunlight creates the most eye-catching tones of vibrant blue.
The Blue Cave is located on Biševo Island and is only accessible via the sea. It is possible to hire private charters to take you to this stunning location or join one of our tours, such as the Adriatic Wonders which includes The Blue Cave in its itinerary.
Green Cave
On the uninhabited island of Ravnik is one of the most unique caves in Croatia, The Green Cave. Similar to The Blue Cave, this cave is famous for the natural phenomenon that occurs. When sunlight hits the bottom of the seafloor it casts a unique glow across the cave, much like that seen in The Blue Cave, except in The Green Cave it shines a marvelous emerald color instead.
Much larger than the aforementioned, The Green Cave offers a unique opportunity to swim and snorkel inside. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, some visitors even climb to the top of the cave’s entrance to leap into the water below. The cave is typically accessible through boat hires and private tours such as our Luxury Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro Tour.
Odysseus Cave
This Croatia cave is famous for the mythical Greek legend that surrounds it. Located on the southern coast of Mljet Island, it is believed that Odysseus, a famous Greek hero, became shipwrecked here during one of his voyages. He swam to the cave for protection and met the nymph, Calypso, who kept him captive on the island for 7 years.
Odysseus cave is accessible by both land and sea. The entrance from the Adriatic Sea is only 4-5 meters wide, so swimming or small boats are only really used to access it this way. If you do choose to visit this cave whilst hiking in Mljet, please note there are very steep steps you will have to climb before entering the cave.
Barać Caves
If you’re ever in the Plitvice Lakes region, you may want to mark these caves as one of your stop-off destinations. The Barać Caves host an array of interesting stalactites, thousand-year-old fossils and local fauna to discover. But the real highlight of these historic Croatia caves is seeing the inhabitants that reside there, the local bats! You can visit Barać Caves through guided tours.
Cerovac Caves
One of the most complex caves in Croatia, the Cerovac Caves are made of three connected speleological structures: The Upper, The Middle and The Lower caves. The total structure is 7km long, however only the first 700m are open to the public – but don’t let this deter you!
Although you can only visit the first part of the cave, this is still enough to bask in the wonders that are these caves. Inside you can see wild bear markings and impressive flowstones formed over thousands of years where water has run along the sides of the caves.
To visit some of these fascinating sites, why not sign up for one of our curated tours that include some of these Croatia caves on the itinerary, such as our Intrepid Island Hopping Adventure or add it to the itinerary of your own custom tour. Our friendly team at Adventures Croatia are here to help you create your dream vacation, contact us to receive a quote today!
