The cloister
Gothic-Renaissance arcades in the middle of a wooded island.
Anto (talk) 07:42, 7 August 2009 (UTC) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Quahadi Añtó 19:21, 16 January 2012 (UTC) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anto (talk) 05:02, 7 August 2009 (UTC) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anto (talk) 05:03, 7 August 2009 (UTC) — CC BY-SA 3.0
The largest island in the small archipelago off Korčula town, visible from it — ten minutes by water taxi. The island is covered in pine and cypress, its shores rocky with clear water, and it has no cars and almost no permanent residents. People come for swimming and walking, and nothing else. At its centre is a fifteenth-century **Franciscan monastery**, Gothic-Renaissance in build with a cloistered courtyard, and its most important structure architecturally. The Yugoslav state confiscated it in 1950 and turned it into a sports centre, then it was **returned to the order in 2003** after a long dispute, and has been under gradual restoration since. Note: **the monastery''s opening status changes** because of that restoration — you may find the island open and the monastery shut. The island also has **fallow deer**, introduced in the twentieth century and since multiplied, which wander among the trees and approach people. Note: **no restaurants and no reliable water** outside season — bring your own. Note: the water taxis are **seasonal**; check the time of the last boat back before you land.
Gothic-Renaissance arcades in the middle of a wooded island.
Wandering among the pines and approaching visitors.
Very clear water with pine shade reaching the edge.
Off Korčula town, ten minutes by boat
The island has two main approaches. **From Split**: a passenger catamaran in about **two and a half to three hours**, or a longer car ferry — both seasonal in frequency. **From Dubrovnik**: shorter in practice despite what the map suggests — car or bus across the **Pelješac** peninsula (about two hours), then a **very short ferry** from Orebić straight to Korčula town, a crossing of about 15 minutes running all year. ⚠ That land-and-ferry route is **the most reliable in winter**, when the catamarans thin out. ⚠ Note that the catamaran docks in **Korčula town** itself, while the large car ferry from Split sometimes docks at **Vela Luka** at the island''s far end — about 45 km from the town.
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