Time for our once-monthly excursion to a nearby locale – this time Vela Luka, the second island on the ferry route, just past Hvala.

Summer wasn’t quite done yet, we were treated to sunny views, and calm, nearly windless weather. Check out Hvala:

Another 45 minutes and we arrived in Vela Luka. We quickly discovered the island was shut down for the Autumn/Winter, but this did not stop us making our own fun and admiring the island in general (we skipped Korcula which has a castle, etc. on purpose so don’t feel sorry for us).

Imagine the warm sun on your back:

We got to our place, but weren’t quite sure where it was, though there was a blue “Apartament” sign above a door that I was 90% sure was to be ours (it was) and while we waited for our host to arrive we had a look at the butcher shop across the street. BARF! 🙂

After getting settled in, probably the quickest checkin ever!, we had a stroll back down to Vela Luka to shop for a little food and let the kids stretch their legs after a couple hours on a boat. Sweet playground and even some kids to play with:

On our walk we remembered Agistri, one of our favourite places yet, and decided that summer-time small island life is a pretty good life. People walking up and down this main coastal road, families strolling, restaurants serving fewer customers at a relaxed pace. Here’s Alice in her happy place:

The sunset clinched it:

After some quick research we knew there was a cave overlooking the port of Vela Luka, so we trekked up. I got to ask someone in Croatian if we were going the right way (“dobro” means good, so I just say that and point!) and got a “da”/yes in response.

We wanted to take a boat out to Proizd, which came highly recommended, but again we hit a bit of a wall, the boat operator said, “try the other guy down the dock”. We made the best of it along the waterfront, even hiked to the Tommy outside of town, but quickly turned back. The kids took a dip in the freezing cold ocean water anyway. Here’s the sign announcing one trip a day to Proizd:

Vela Luka itself is super walkable, and we walked almost every street. How could you not with the weekend stretching in front of you and streets like this to take you new places?

There’s St. John’s Church, you can see and hear it from almost any place in Vela Luka.

Vela Luka, if you ever get the chance, visit! So much good stuff to see there, like Korcula on the opposite side. I’d say go to Vela Luka and arrange transport to the other side so you can see both.