Geographical Position of Korcula Island

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The Island of Korcula is one of the islands in Central Dalmatia, the southern region of Croatia located along Adriatic Coast.

It runs parallel with the Croatian mainland as some kind of continuation of the Peljesac Peninsula, located between the islands of Hvar (getting here from Hvar and to there) and Mljet.

Korcula is also located somewhere in the middle between the cities of Split and Dubrovnik, therefore its western tip (near Vela Luka) is closer to Split, and its eastern tip (near Korcula Old Town) is much closer to Dubrovnik.

The island itself is separated from Peljesac Peninsula by a 1.2 km wide Peljesac Channel (15 minutes boat or ferry ride) and it covers an area of about 270 square kilometers. It is about 47 kilometers long (from tip to tip) and about 6-7 km wide and is considered one of the larger islands among Croatian’s thousand islands.

The Island is mostly hilly, the highest peak being Klupca just above the village of Pupnat (568 meters) towards the west and the village of Cara (pronounced “Chara”).

The island has a very long and dramatic shoreline, as well as three groups of islands in the near vicinity of the Island: Skoji, with its Badija and Vrnik (near Korcula Old Town), Karbuni (near Blato and bay of Prizba) and Proizd and Osjak near Vela Luka. Korcula also has numerous larger and smaller bays, some inhabited, some yet to be discovered.

Due to its relief created by weather and erosion, the southern shores of the islands are steeper, un-sheltered from the southern open sea and Jugo (south) wind, while the northern shores of Korcula (facing mainland and Peljesac Peninsula) are less steeper, with some nice little pebble beaches. Small slopes of sand that are covering a large part of the northeastern bit of the island, near the village of Lumbarda, are where the only island’s sandy beaches are located.

Due to its geographical position, being close to the mainland, Korcula was very early populated, and during its history, it was chosen by Venetians as a spot to build their important walled city on the northern shores of the island, on the tiny peninsula (which was part of the Skoji Islands) pointing deeply into Peljesac Channel. Therefore, nowadays, thanks to that, we have the most magnificent walled Korcula Old Town still preserved and almost intact for centuries.