Korčula is one of the Croatian islands closest to the mainland – at least on one side, as it is a mere 10-minute ferry or boat ride away from the port of Orebić on Pelješac peninsula. In the past few years, there have been numerous changes in the schedules of different ferries, catamarans, boats etc. which can take you to and from Korčula.
In order to make it a little simpler for you to get around Korčula in the 2017 season, we have built a ‘simple-as-possible’ guide to help those of you wishing to visit this must-see destination.
The options are numerous.
Orebić – Korčula
First of all, you can take one of the many passenger boats going between Korčula and Orebić. In Orebić they all start from the same place, the Korčula KTD Bilan boats (Lovor and Tamaris) can be found on the Korčula Western pier, while many private boats also operate during the season, but those can be found on the Eastern pier (just ask around, it’s hard to miss) – see map to help you navigate. Those take about 10 minutes to get across, cost 15 kuna per person and go about 10 times a day, in peak season even more, and with those private vendors you’re all but guaranteed that at any point during the day you will be able to get to Korčula within half an hour – that includes the waiting time as well.
Our editor-in-chief’s favourite company, Jadrolinija, also offers you many options to get to Korčula. First of all, there’s the ferry, going from Orebić on the mainland to the Dominče ferry port over 15 times each day (please, check schedule for details), and price for a car is 76 kuna and 16 kuna per person and will get you to and from the mainland in around 15 minutes.
Other destinations or Islands to Korčula
If you are you coming from other destinations or continuing your journey further than Orebić, i.e. to/from Split, Dubrovnik or other island destinations, there are a variety of options.
Jadrolinija has a catamaran line, Dubrovnik – Korčula – Hvar – Bol – Split, operating daily in the period June 9th – September 18th, going from Dubrovnik to Split in the mornings, and vice versa in the evenings. Dubrovnik – Korčula price is 120 kn (nearly 2 hours ride), Split – Korčula price is 150 kn (around 3 hours), the tickets are purchased in the Jadrolinija shop in Korčula on the same day or online on Jadrolinija.hr in advance.
Then there’s Državna brzobrodska linija broj 9807 (State’s fast-boat line no. 9807), operating between the following ports: Dubrovnik – Luka Šipanska – Sobra (Mljet) – Polače (Mljet) – Korčula – Ubli (Lastovo) by G&V Line Company. Out of peak tourist season it doesn’t really help you for your Korčula needs, but in July and August it will take you to and from Dubrovnik, with two stops on Mljet and one stop on Šipan, four times each week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), and the price is 90 kuna to Dubrovnik (and a bit less to other islands). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you will be able to board the same boat and go to Ubli, on Lastovo, for 60 kuna per person. The trip to Dubrovnik is a bit over two hours, and to Lastovo somewhat over an hour and a half. In Dubrovnik, tickets for this boat are purchased in Gruž port, at Petka pier, an hour before departure. In Korčula, you can purchase them at Korkyra info agency, see map, also one hour before departure. You can only buy tickets for the same day, but if you want to buy in advance, you can do so online at http://gv-line.aktiva-info.hr/ (Friendly note: don’t expect your bicycles to be accepted at this boat during the high tourist season).
Krilo:
Then there are two Krilo boats, first of all Split – Brač (Milna) – Hvar – Korčula – Mljet (Pomena) – Dubrovnik passenger catamaran line operating daily in the period between late May and early August. You can purchase the tickets at Krilo Kiosk, on the Korčula Western Pier, and the catamaran will be docked on the Western pier as well. Tickets to Dubrovnik and Split are 120 kuna each, with prices for other islands somewhat cheaper than that, and you can buy the tickets online at http://krilo.aktiva-info.hr/. The journey to Split takes around 2.5 hours, and to Dubrovnik around 2 hours.
The other Krilo boat, Split – Brač (Bol) – Makarska – Korčula – Mljet (Sobra) – Dubrovnik is also a passenger catamaran line, operating on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in the period between June 12th and September 17th. The prices are also 120 kuna to Split and Dubrovnik, and tickets can be purchased at the same place, and on the same online service (http://krilo.aktiva-info.hr/). Again, it is around 2.5 hours to Split, and 2 hours to Dubrovnik.
Split to Vela Luka Port on Korčula Island
There are also two options to get to Vela Luka, a port on the western side of the Korčula island: Jadrolinija Ferry Line 604: Ubli (Lastovo) – Vela Luka – Split, operating three times daily (single passenger ticket from Split 60 kuna, car ticket 530 kuna!; Vela Luka – Lastovo passenger 32 kuna and car 195 kuna).
The other is passenger fast boat, Ubli (Lastovo) – Vela Luka – Hvar – Split, operating once daily ) (65 kuna to Split, 40 to Ubli). The journey from Split lasts around 2 hours, and then there are numerous options for you to get to Korčula town or browse around on the island.
We’ve attempted to create a guide that should help you make sense of many options for getting to and from Korčula during the peak tourist season. While we are aware that the calendar is quite busy and not easy to understand at first, we’ve colour-coded the options for Split and Dubrovnik (and other islands), hopefully, that will help you understand your options.
Let us know if you have an idea how to improve this schedule and map!
