The Blue Cave on your own

Can you visit the Blue Cave without a tour from Split?

Yes. You get yourself to Mezuporat on Bisevo, buy a ticket and go in on one of the licensed wooden tenders, exactly like the tour groups do.

No one can take their own boat into the cave. Entry is only on the small tenders run from Mezuporat, which carry six to eight people at a time. That is true for Split speedboats, Hvar boats and independent visitors alike. Your job is getting to Mezuporat, which means three legs: Split to Vis, Vis town to Komiza, Komiza to Bisevo.

The Blue Cave is about 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km) from Komiza, according to the Komiza tourist board. That short hop is the easy part. The ferry to Vis is what shapes the plan.

How do you get from Split to Vis in 2026?

By the Jadrolinija car ferry (line 602, about 2 h 20 min) or the Krilo passenger catamaran (line 9602, about 1 h 10 min to 1 h 40 min). In summer 2026 a fast Jadrolinija line was added too.

The car ferry runs all year. In its off-season timetable, which covers 28 September to 31 December 2026, it leaves Split at 11:00 and 18:30 on most days and Vis at 5:30 and 15:30. The one-way fare is EUR 7.20 per adult off-season and EUR 9.10 in season, according to the Jadrolinija 2026 timetable for line 602.

The catamaran is faster and runs via Milna on Brac and Hvar town on some sailings. It mostly leaves Split in the afternoon or evening and Vis early in the morning: on 8 October 2026 it left Split at 15:00 and reached Vis at 16:10, and in high season (3 July to 20 September) the usual Split departure was 18:00 with a 7:00 return from Vis. Fares were EUR 7.20 off-season and EUR 10.00 in season (Absolute Croatia, All Ferries Croatia).

From 19 June to 13 September 2026, Jadrolinija also ran the new fast line 659 (Split, Bol, Hvar, Vis): out of Split at 7:30, into Vis at 9:25, and back from Vis at 19:35 (HRT).

How do you get from Vis town to Komiza?

By the local bus timed to the ferries, by taxi, or with a rented scooter or car. It is about 10 km across the island.

The ferries and catamarans all land in Vis town, on the other side of the island from Komiza. Frommer's notes that buses from Vis town to Komiza are scheduled to meet the ferries; check the posted times at the port when you land. Taxis wait at the port too, and 2026 estimates run around EUR 25 to 40 one way.

If you stay two nights, rent a scooter. Vis has more to see than the cave: Stiniva, the old military sites and Komiza itself. Our worth-it guide shows how much of that a Split tour actually covers.

How do you get from Komiza to the Blue Cave?

On the local passenger boat to Mezuporat, about 45 minutes, or on one of the Blue Cave boat trips sold on the Komiza waterfront in season.

The scheduled line is number 612, Komiza to Mezuporat, Salbunara and Porat on Bisevo, run by Nauticki centar Komiza, the same company whose tenders take you into the cave. hvar.com gives about 45 minutes to Mezuporat and roughly EUR 4 to 5 one way. It does not sail every day outside summer: the online timetable showed no departure on Thursday 8 October 2026 and the next one on 9 October. Ask at the harbour the evening before.

In season, agencies along the Komiza waterfront also run boat transfers and short Blue Cave trips; fast boats cross in about 15 minutes (Croatia Traveller). At Mezuporat you buy a numbered cave ticket, EUR 18 or EUR 24 for adults depending on the date, in cash. There is no cash machine on Bisevo, so get euros in Komiza.

A real advantage of sleeping in Komiza: you can be at Mezuporat early, before the first speedboats from Split, which need 75 to 90 minutes to get there.

Why is a Blue Cave trip on your own a two-day plan?

Because the ferries do not fit a day trip. In most of the year you reach Vis too late for the cave and leave too early the next day to waste the morning.

Take October 2026. The 11:00 ferry from Split lands in Vis at 13:20, past the best light, and the local boat may not sail that day anyway. The catamaran arrives in the late afternoon. Either way you sleep on Vis, go to the cave in the morning, and catch the 15:30 ferry back to Split, which arrives at 17:50.

Summer 2026 was the exception. The fast line 659 put you in Vis at 9:25 and brought you back at 19:35, which is a long but possible day if the Komiza boats and the cave queue cooperate. We would still not count on it: one closure or one missed boat and the day is gone. A tour adapts its route when the cave shuts. You, on your own, just wait.

Is doing the Blue Cave on your own cheaper than a Split tour?

On transport, yes. Once you add a night on Vis and the island taxis, it usually is not, unless you wanted to stay on Vis anyway.

In October 2026 the public transport legs cost little: EUR 7.20 each way on the ferry, a few euros for the bus and roughly EUR 4 to 5 each way on the Komiza boat. The cave ticket of EUR 18 is the same for everyone. Add a night in Komiza, meals and maybe a taxi, and you have spent more than a tour, over two days instead of one.

A Split tour starts from $89 per person on the Valiant tour, plus the cave ticket in cash. For that you also get Stiniva, the Budikovac lagoon and Hvar town, which you will not reach by bus. Go on your own if you want Vis itself: a slow evening in Komiza, an early cave with no queue. If you only want the cave and have one day, take the tour. Our tour comparison helps you pick one.

The one Split tour with the cave ticket and hotel pickup in the price: Bisevo, Komiza, Stiniva, Budikovac and Hvar in a day.

★ 4.4 · 10 hours · from $120

Explore the tour with the cave ticket included → Tour details

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