Guide · The other stops

The Green Cave, Stiniva and the Blue Lagoon from Hvar

The Blue Cave gets the headlines, but most of a speedboat day is spent at a second cave, a cove behind a gap in the cliffs and a shallow lagoon between islets. Here is each one.

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Editorial team, blue-cave-hvar.comUpdated October 25, 20267-minute read22 sources

This guide's tour Vis and Blue Cave speedboat from Hvar 4.8 (824 reviews) 7.5 hoursSmall group of up to 12Green Cave, Stiniva, Blue Cave from$137per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01Green Cave: On Ravnik, a protected monument since 1967, lit by a hole in its roof.¹ ²
02Stiniva: A pebble cove inside high cliffs, protected since 1967.³ ⁴
03Blue Lagoon: The swim stop at Budikovac, named on the Hvar listing.
04Green Cave ticket: Extra: 6 euros low season, 12 euros high season on our tour.
05Time at each: From 30 minutes to an hour on the listings we checked.

Three stops on one route

A speedboat day from Hvar is built around more than the cave on Biševo. The listing this site recommends names the Green Cave on the islet of Ravnik, Stiniva beach, the Blue Cave, and then Budikovac island with its Blue Lagoon or the little beach of Pritišćina. These are the places you will remember for the swimming, because the Blue Cave itself is a look-but-do-not-touch visit. The order changes with queues and weather, but the same few places come up on most boats.

These stops sit along the coasts of Vis and the islets around it, within a short hop of each other by speedboat. On one Hvar listing the hops between Stiniva, Pritišćina and the lagoon take 10 to 15 minutes each. So the day feels like a string of beaches joined by quick, bouncy rides, with the long crossings only at the start and end. Pack accordingly: swimwear on under your clothes, a towel you do not mind getting sandy and water shoes if you have them.

If you are asking about the Blue Lagoon from Hvar as a separate trip, the honest answer is that from Hvar it usually comes as part of a cave day like this. The shallow lagoon at Budikovac is a swim stop, and most boats that call there pair it with the caves. The page below explains what each stop is and what to expect when you get there.

One route

The coves on a Hvar trip that starts at the cave

40 minutes

Speedboat

From the Nautica Bar in Hvar to the Blue Cave.
45 minutes

Blue Cave

The visit, with coffee and a break.
40 minutes

Stiniva Cove

Swimming and snorkeling in the cove.
30 minutes

Pritišćina

A quieter swim on Vis.
1 hour

Budikovac Blue Lagoon

The long swim before the ride home.

The Green Cave on Ravnik

The Green Cave, Zelena špilja in Croatian, lies on the islet of Ravnik and has been protected as a geomorphological monument of nature since 1967.¹ Ravnik is small, 0.27 km², and lies about 800 m off the village of Rukavac on the coast of Vis.⁵ It is protected as a significant landscape too, and its Green Cave on the west coast is its main attraction.⁵ The Green Cave off Vis is a spacious cave with two large entrances.⁶

Its trick is a hole in the roof. A circular opening in the ceiling lets sunlight in like a spotlight, lighting the sea all the way to the bottom.² The greenish colour comes from light refracting at the surface and from algae on the rocks and seabed.⁷ High vaults and big openings let small boats sail in.⁸ It has drawn travellers for a long time, and Emperor Franz Joseph I was among its notable visitors.⁹

The Green Cave has its own ticket, separate from the Blue Cave. The Hvar tour on this site lists it at 6 euros in the low season and 12 euros in the high season, paid on site. Another Hvar listing gives 8 and 12 euros, cash only, with children aged 6 to 12 at half price and under-6s free. On one Blue and Green Cave day the Green Cave stop lasts 30 minutes and includes swimming and snorkeling.

Minutes at each stop

How long one Hvar trip stays

min

Stop times on the Hvar trip that starts at the Nautica Bar, as its GetYourGuide itinerary states them.

The stops

Green Cave, Stiniva and the lagoon compared

Stop	Where	Protected	Swimming
Green Cave	Ravnik	1967	On some trips
Stiniva	Vis	1967	Yes
Blue Lagoon	Budikovac	-	Yes
Blue Cave	Biševo	1951	Forbidden

Protection years from the Vis Archipelago Geopark and the official Biševo site; swimming as the listings and the cave's rules state it.¹ ³ ¹⁰ ¹¹

Boats that stop here

Which boat gives you the most time in the water?

From Hvar: Vis Island and Blue Cave Speedboat Tour

Our pick

Vis and Blue Cave

Kabina Boats, Hvar

Caves: Green & Blue
Swim: Budikovac or Pritišćina
Duration: 7.5 hrs
Price: from $137

See this boat

From Hvar: Unforgetable Tour to the Island Vis and Blue Cave

Hour at the lagoon

Cave first, then coves

Nautica Bar, Hvar

Stiniva: 40 min
Pritišćina: 30 min
Budikovac: 1 hr
Price: from $112

See this boat

Hour at Stiniva

Blue and Green Cave day

Šetalište put Križa, Hvar

Green Cave: 30 min
Stiniva: 1 hr
Pakleni: 1 hr
Price: from $110

See this boat

Decision helper

Which stop will you love most?

Pick your kind of swim

I want light and drama I want the famous beach photo I am not a strong swimmer I want quiet I want to swim in a cave

Green Cave

A hole in its roof lights the sea to the bottom.²

Stiniva

A pebble bay surrounded by high limestone cliffs.⁴

Budikovac lagoon

The longest stop on the Nautica Bar trip, in shallow water.

Pritišćina

A small cove that our tour may use instead of the lagoon.

Not the Blue Cave

Swimming is forbidden there.¹¹

The unique feature of the Green Cave is a circular opening on its ceiling, through which sunlight penetrates like a powerful spotlight, illuminating the sea all the way to the bottom.

Vis Archipelago UNESCO Global GeoparkSource 2

Stiniva, the cove behind the cliffs

Stiniva is the stop that looks most like a postcard. It is a pebble bay on the south coast of Vis, and it has been protected as a significant landscape and monument of nature since 1967.³ It formed when a karst cave collapsed during the Ice Age, when the sea was lower.¹² What is left is a small beach enclosed by high limestone cliffs, with a narrow gap to the open sea.

You reach it by sea or on steep paths from above.⁴ Depending on the boat and the sea, you may be landed on the beach or asked to swim in from outside the gap. Ask your crew how they handle it on the day, and judge your own swimming honestly, because the distance to the shore can feel longer than it looks. If you are not a confident swimmer, a life vest or a float makes the crossing far more relaxed.

Time at Stiniva beach varies by boat. On the Hvar trip that goes to the Blue Cave first, Stiniva comes next and lasts 40 minutes. A Blue and Green Cave day from Hvar gives it a full hour with swimming and snorkeling. On the long loops from Split the stop can be as short as 10 minutes. If Stiniva is the place you most want to swim, look for a listing that gives it a real block of time.

Map

From Hvar harbour to the Blue Cave on Biševo

The speedboat route from Hvar town past the Pakleni islands to the caves and coves of Vis, a closer look at Komiža and Biševo, and where Split, the ferries and Dubrovnik sit on the coast.

Map of the sea between Hvar town and Vis with the Pakleni islands, the Green Cave on Ravnik, Budikovac, Stiniva, Vis town, Komiža and the Blue Cave on Biševo — Hvar to Vis and Biševo

Map of the west end of Vis with Komiža and the cove of Pritišćina, and the islet of Biševo with the Blue Cave on its north-east shore — Komiža and Biševo

Map of the Dalmatian coast from Split and its airport past Hvar, Stari Grad and Vis to Dubrovnik and the Blue Cave on Koločep — Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik

1
Hvar Town
The Kabina Boats office on the harbour, where the Vis and Blue Cave speedboat starts.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Palmižana
ACI Marina Palmižana, about 2.5 nautical miles from Hvar town.¹³
In Google Maps ↗
3
Green Cave
On the islet of Ravnik, a protected monument of nature since 1967.¹
In Google Maps ↗
4
Budikovac
The Blue Lagoon swim stop named on the Hvar listing.
In Google Maps ↗
5
Stiniva
A pebble bay ringed by limestone cliffs, reached by sea or steep paths.⁴
In Google Maps ↗
6
Blue Cave
In Balun cove on Biševo, 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km) off Komiža.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
7
Komiža
13 km from Vis town, a 15-minute bus ride.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
8
Vis town
Linked to Split by a ferry that runs all year.¹⁶
In Google Maps ↗
9
Pritišćina
The other swim stop the Hvar listing may use instead of Budikovac.
In Google Maps ↗
10
Split
Catamaran line 9602 calls at Milna, Hvar town and Vis.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
11
Split Airport
A private catamaran reaches Stari Grad in one hour.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
12
Stari Grad
Hvar's main car ferry terminal, 20 minutes by road from Hvar town.¹⁹
In Google Maps ↗
13
Dubrovnik
Koločep lies 25 minutes by ferry from Gruž port.²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
14
Koločep
Its Blue Cave is a sea grotto reached by boat.²¹
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For the swim stops

Pack

Swimwear under your clothes
Biodegradable sunscreen
A dry bag for phone and cash
Water shoes for the pebbles

Remember

The Green Cave has its own ticket
Small notes for cash-only stops
A dry layer for the ride home

Video

Stiniva cove on the island of Vis

No YouTube code runs on this page until you press play.

Budikovac and the Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon is the stretch of shallow water at Budikovac, off the east coast of Vis close to Ravnik. Listings call the stop the Budikovac Blue Lagoon or name the larger islet, Veliki Budikovac. The water over the sandy bottom is clear and bright, and the shallows make it an easy swim for children and nervous swimmers, a good way to end an island loop before lunch or the ride home.

It is also the longest swim stop on several routes. The Hvar trip that starts at the Nautica Bar spends an hour at the Budikovac Blue Lagoon. The top-rated loop from Split gives it 75 minutes, and one long day from Split or Trogir 1.5 hours. That is enough time to snorkel along the edge of the islets, float in the shallows and dry off on deck before the boat moves on.

On the tour this site recommends, the lagoon is one of two options: Budikovac, or the small beach of Pritišćina on Vis. Pritišćina is the small beach the listing calls the smallest on Vis; on the Nautica Bar trip it is a 30-minute stop between Stiniva and the lagoon. Which one you get depends on the crew, the wind and how busy the lagoon is. Both are good swims, and the snorkeling gear on board covers both.

Order, crowds and closures

No two days run in exactly the same order. The Blue Cave sets the rhythm: if the queue there is long, crews swim first and come back later. The Green Cave can also be closed. One Hvar listing warns that both caves may close because of high tide or strong winds, and that the route then moves to other places. When that happens, Stiniva and the lagoon often get more time, which is no hardship on a warm day.

In high summer you will rarely have Stiniva or Budikovac to yourself, because boats from Hvar and Split use the same coves, and on a shared tour you go where the crew decides. If you want quiet water, the start and end of the season are kinder, and the official cave season runs from 1 April to 31 October.²²

The weather matters for the swim stops as much as for the caves. The tour on this site warns that severe weather can change the itinerary or cancel the trip. On a breezy day, sheltered spots like the lagoon stay calm while open coves get choppy, so trust the skipper's choice of where to stop. Keep a dry layer in your bag for the ride home: wet swimwear and a fast boat make even a summer evening feel cool.

Getting the most from the swim stops

Bring a mask or check that the boat has one in your size. The Hvar tour on this site includes snorkeling gear and safety equipment. Water shoes help on the pebbles at Stiniva and the rocks around the islets, and a dry bag keeps your phone and cash safe when you swim ashore. Use biodegradable sunscreen, as the listing asks.

Be kind to the protected places. Stiniva and the Green Cave are protected monuments of nature, and Ravnik is a protected landscape.³ ¹ ⁵ Do not climb on the cliffs, take stones home or leave rubbish, and keep your distance from any fish or sea urchins you meet while snorkeling. The cleaner the coves stay, the longer they will stay this beautiful for everyone who comes after you.

Finally, plan your money. The Green Cave ticket and lunch are both extra on most boats from Hvar, and some stops only take cash. Carry small notes in a waterproof pouch. If you are hungry before lunch, a snack in your bag helps on a long day, because the boat itself offers water and beer rather than food on the tour we recommend.

Into the blue