The Blue Cave

The cave is cut into limestone on the outer side of the Luštica peninsula, facing the open sea. It has two entrances, the larger one wide enough for a boat to go in and turn around inside.

The colour is not a trick of the water. Light enters through the submerged part of the opening, passes through several metres of sea, and reflects off the pale bottom - so the whole chamber fills with blue from below rather than from above. It is strongest late in the morning, when the sun is high enough to reach under the entrance.

Inside, the water is eight to fifteen metres deep and clear enough to see the bottom. Swimming in the cave is the reason most people come.

Because it is on the open side of Luštica, the cave depends on the sea being calm - this is exactly the kind of stop the skipper decides on the day rather than promising a week in advance.