Blue Cave vs Green Cave: What Each Is, and Which Tours See Both

Two sea caves, twenty minutes apart, constantly confused: the Blue Cave (Modra špilja) on Biševo and the Green Cave (Zelena špilja) on the islet of Ravnik off Vis. They are different experiences with different tickets and different rules, and the best tours do both. Here is the difference, and which boats give you both in one day.

The boat that does it most reliably is the Blue Cave, Green Cave & 5 Islands speedboat from Hvar — 4.8 from 904 verified guests, from about $121.

The Blue Cave, Biševo

• What it is: a sea cave whose water glows electric blue from below when the sun is high — light entering through an underwater opening.
• How you see it: by licensed small boat only, eight to twelve people, ducking under a 1.5-metre entrance, five to ten minutes inside. Your speedboat waits at Mezuporat.
• Swimming: banned since 2019, with fines.
• Ticket: €24 high season / €18 shoulder, children €12/€9, under 6 free — sold at Mezuporat, never included in a tour.
• When: roughly 10:30–13:00 for the colour; closed on southerly swell. See the timing guide.

The Green Cave, Ravnik

• What it is: a larger cave with a hole in the roof; sunlight falls through it onto the water and the walls glow green.
• How you see it: your boat enters or moors at the mouth, and here you may swim in — most people do.
• Ticket: roughly €12 in high season, €8 low, paid to the Green Cave team on arrival (operator-quoted figures; not included in tour prices either).
• When: less hour-sensitive than the Blue Cave; the light is best around midday but the swim is good most of the day. It is more sheltered and closes less often.

Which matters more?

If you have to choose, the Blue Cave — nothing else on the Adriatic looks like it, and it is what the whole day is built around. But the Green Cave is the one you feel: cold water, shafts of light, a swim inside a cathedral. The best day has both, and the tours that do both are mostly from Hvar and Vis, because Ravnik sits close to the Vis coast.

Tours that visit both

Not to be confused with

Croatia has other “blue caves”: Dubrovnik’s, Montenegro’s in the Bay of Kotor, Krk’s. Search results mix them up constantly. The one with the underwater light, the Biševo one, is this one — reached from Split, Hvar or Vis, never from Dubrovnik.

Related

Blue Cave entrance fee · Best time to visit · From Split · From Hvar · From Komiža and Vis · all Blue Cave tours