Stiniva is a spectacular collapsed cave bay on Vis — only 4–5 meters wide at its entrance, accessible by boat then a short swim.
Stiniva is the beach every visitor to this coast has seen a photo of: a pocket of white pebbles at the bottom of a rock amphitheatre on the south coast of Vis, sealed off from the open sea by two cliffs that almost touch. The gap between them is only four to five metres wide. What you are looking at is a collapsed sea cave. The roof fell in long ago and left the walls standing, and the result was voted the best beach in Europe in 2016, which is why it now fills up by late morning in July and August.
It sits roughly half way between the Green Cave off Ravnik and the Blue Cave on Biševo, about 16 nautical miles from Hvar Town, so it falls naturally into the middle of a Vis day. There is no road to the water. From the land side the only way in is a steep, rough footpath from the hamlet above that takes 20 to 30 minutes each way in full sun, which is exactly why arriving by boat is the better option.
Boats cannot pass through the gap. Your skipper anchors in the deeper water outside the entrance, and you swim or take the tender the last short stretch through the cliffs. Inside, the water is calm and turquoise even when there is a little swell outside, the pebble beach is about 35 metres long, and the cliffs throw shade over one end of it in the afternoon. A small seasonal beach bar sells drinks in summer; otherwise bring what you need.
Timing is the whole game here. Early in the day the bay is quiet and the light on the water inside the walls is at its best; from around noon in peak season it gets busy with hikers and tour boats from Vis and Komiža. Our Blue Cave & Island Vis tour is routed so that Stiniva comes either first thing after the crossing or in the late afternoon once the crowd has thinned, and your skipper will adjust the order on the day.
If you want one image to take home from a boat trip out of Hvar, this is it: looking back out through the gap from the beach, with the boat waiting in the blue beyond the cliffs.
Towering cliffs almost meet overhead, leaving just a 4–5 m gap between the bay and the open sea.
Boats anchor outside the narrow entrance; you swim or tender the last short stretch ashore.
The calm, turquoise water inside the near-enclosed cove is ideal for swimming.
Arrive early — this celebrated bay fills up by midday in peak summer.
