Villa Viganj

Rooms

The ground floor has an open-plan living and dining space, plus a kitchen, with stone floors throughout. There’s an open fireplace in the living room, with several colourful kilim rugs, 2 comfy dark-brown leather sofas, an Oriental-style divan with scatter cushions, plus a small plasma TV, DVD and CD player with an iPod setting. The dining area has a long wooden table seating 10, wrought-iron chairs, and an exposed stonewall with an archway leading through to the kitchen.

From the living room, wooden stairs lead up to the first and second floors. The bedroom decor is rather spartan - functional rather than stylish, but clean and spacious. On the first floor are 2 kingsize double bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms (one with a tub, one with walk-in shower, Molton Brown toiletries throughout); on the second floor are 3 rooms (1 double, 1 twin, and 2 bunkbeds) sharing a funky blue-and-white tiled bathroom with walk-in shower.

All rooms have wooden floors, wrought-iron bedsteads and sea views (except for the bunk room), and the rooms on the second floor, under the roof, have wooden sloping ceilings and dormer windows. We slept amazingly well in a double room on the first floor, thanks to the country air, total peace, an excellent mattress, Egyptian cotton sheets and luscious feather pillows.

Features include:

• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Iron
• Washing machine
• WiFi

Eating

You get a light and spacious fully-equipped kitchen with a high-pitched wooden beamed ceiling. Facilities include a cooker with a big oven and 6 gas rings, an ample fridge with a small freezer compartment, kettle, toaster, filter-coffee machine and dishwasher, plus a vast selection of pots, pans, crockery and glasses. Upon arrival, you’ll find a bottle of local wine for booking through i-escape, plus essentials for your first breakfast - fruit juice, coffee, tea, milk, bread, butter and fresh fruit. You'll also find some basics: washing up liquid and sponges, bin bags, salt and pepper etc.

On the sea-view stone terrace out front there’s a long table and a big built-in barbecue, perfect for cooking fresh fish over charcoal on a balmy summer evening. At the bottom of the garden, you’ll find yet another stone terrace with a dining table by the pool. There's also a long wooden table indoors, which seats 10.

In Viganj, there’s a small Mareta general store (with fresh bread daily), and several locals offer homemade wine and olive oil for sale. You can buy fresh fish from local fisherman on the seafront in Viganj, though you’ll need to get up early - the best catch has already been taken by 7am. Alternatively there’s a fish market in Orebic (6km east along the coast) where you’ll also find a bigger choice of supermarkets (including Konzum), plus a greengrocer, butcher and baker. You can also have your groceries delivered before you arrive; enquire when booking.

If you fancy being spoilt, the owner can arrange for a chef to come in and cook for you: think calamari, seafood risotto, local smoked ham and figs and grilled just-caught fish.

For eating out, we recommend family-run Vrgorac in Perna (4km away, between Viganj and Orebic) for genuine home cooking, an informal atmosphere and views across the water to Korcula - they do a heavenly octopus salad, which goes down a treat with a glass of chilled white wine. In Viganj itself, there's the small informal Konoba Karmela, which has a wooden terrace built out over the water, and is great for drinks and a simple meal of Dalmatian dishes. Further afield, in Mirci Bay near Loviste, on the western tip of Peljesac peninsular, try Konoba Bili Dvori for delicious fresh fish - there’s a pebble beach out front, and sailing types moor up their yachts here and come ashore to eat.

Features include:

• Barbecue
• Chef on request
• Dishwasher
• Food blender
• Fridge
• Full kitchen
• Hob or stove
• Kids' meals
• Oven
• Restaurants nearby
• Shopping service
• Toaster
• Welcome hamper

Activities

• Bathe on the beach: Viganj has its own stretch of fine pebble beach (a 10-minute walk away). For a bigger, sandy beach try Trstenica in Orebic (6km), or to escape the crowds, hire a boat and find your own secret pebble cove
  
  
• Hike the rugged heights of Mt Ilija (961m), which rises behind Viganj - a network of clearly marked paths lead to the summit, giving superb views down onto the islands of Korcula, Lastovo and Mljet
  
  
• Try windsurfing or kitesurfing lessons with Maritimo Surf in Viganj - the 2011 Central European Windsurfing Championship was held here
  
  
• Explore the underwater depths with a scuba-diving trip - Adriatic Mikulic in Orebic give lessons and their dive sites include a wreck and sea cliffs covered with sponges and corals
  
  
• Join an organised mountain biking or snorkelling day trip with Sokol adventure sports agency - they’re based on Korcula, but do pick-ups in Orebic
  
  
• Go wine tasting on Peljesac - top vineyards with cellars open to the public include Bartulovic in Prizdrina, 13km southeast of Orebic; Matusko in Potomje, 15km southeast of Orebic; and Milos in Ponivke, near Ston
  
  
• Catch the local boat (foot passengers only; journey 15 min) to Korcula Town to explore the lovely pedestrianised old town. A cluster of stone houses built on a peninsula protected by medieval walls, its top attractions are the fine Gothic-Renaissance Cathedral and the house where Marco Polo is said to have been born
  
  
• Visit Ston and Mali Ston (66km), medieval villages connected by 5.5km of 15th-century walls, constructed by the Republic of Ragusa (today’s Dubrovnik) to control land passage onto Peljesac. The entire complex is on UNESCO’s tentative list
  
  
• Spend a day exploring the splendid medieval town of Dubrovnik (117km). Walk a circuit of the city walls, check out the 15th-century Rector’s Palace (housing the City Museum) and see the latest photography exhibition at War Photo Ltd gallery

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Boat trips
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Kitesurfing
• Mountain biking
• Museums / galleries
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Scuba diving courses
• Shopping / markets
• Snorkelling
• Swimming
• Windsurfing
• Wine tasting

Best Time to go

Our Top Tips

Location

The villa is set on a hillside above the coastal village of Viganj, which lies 6km west of Orebic and 117km northwest of Dubrovnik, on the Peljesac peninsular in South Dalmatia.

By Air:
Fly to Dubrovnik or Split. Click on the links below for a list of airlines serving these airports.

From the Airport
You've 3 choices, depending on time of arrival and whether you want a car during your stay:

1. From Dubrovnik: a 2hr15 minute drive (from town to the villa). See our car rental recommendations. This is the simplest option.

2. From Dubrovnik: bus or taxi to the port, then a 2hr30 minute ferry journey to Korcula Town, then a 20-minute boat trip (both these are foot-passengers only). See GV Line or (less frequent) Jadrolinija.

3. From Split: bus or taxi to the port, then a 2hr30 minute Speedcat journey to Korcula Town, then a 20-minute boat trip (both these are foot-passengers only). See Krilo.

For other sea routes, including Split to Vela Luka (on the island of Korcula; connecting buses to Korcula Town), see Jadrolinija

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.

More on getting to Croatia