Airport and transport – ferry from Dubrovnik to bigger islands (from 1-30 km); airport Dubrovnik (around 21-50 km).
History – inhabited in prehistory; afterwards by Illyrians; the islands were first mentioned as Elaphiti by Roman author Gaius Plinius Secundus Maior’s in his work Naturalis Historia from the 1st century AD; name comes from the Ancient Greek word for deer (elaphos=deer); once had been a part of a Greek colony and later were included in the Roman province of Dalmatia, since then they were officially called “Elaphiti Islands”; in 932 the king of Slavonia and Dalmatia offered Elaphiti islands as a present to the Republic of Dubrovnik, and they remained under its rule until its downfall in 1808.
Interesting to see: summer manors (of nobility from Dubrovnik Republic) on Koločep, Lopud and Šipan; remnants of Illyrian hill-fort (Šipan).
Info – archipelago (that forms a line parallel with the coast) includes large number of reefs and rocks, and thirteen islands (8) and islets (5), namely: Daksa (in front of Dubrovnik harbor Gruž, has 13th century Franciscan monastery of Saint Sabina, abandoned in 19th century), Koločep (Kalamota), St. Andrew (rocky island with the status of a bird reserve and a lighthouse from 1873), Lopud, Ruda, Šipan, Mišnjak, Jakljan (with children resort and recreational center), Kosmeč, Goleč, Crkvine, Tajan and Olipa (with a lighthouse); only 3 are inhabited (Koločep, Lopud and Šipan; and chosen by the many aristocratic families of the Dubrovnik Republic for their summer manors); total land area of Elaphiti Islands is around 30 km2 and with population of 850 inhabitants; islands are covered with Mediterranean evergreen vegetation; some even consider island Lokrum as a part of Elaphiti.
Inevitable to taste: dishes made from dried fish or seafood.
Good to know:
Island Koločep: very indented coastline; dwellers used to be the best-known coral divers in the Mediterranean (today they seldom dive and only for pleasure); island is a car-free zone.
Island Lopud: a car-free zone; abounds with sandy beaches especially in the Bay of Šunj; there is a unique light installation at the art pavilion “Your Black Horizon”; the island also abounds with forts, little churches, summer residences and monasteries that housing valuable works of art.
Island Šipan: the largest and most inhabited; in this small area there are more than thirty churches, several monasteries and about forty summer residences (all built in the period from 7th-16th century); also large number of vineyards and olive groves.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.