History

The Island That Was Closed

Vis was off limits to foreign visitors until 1989. Thirty-five years without tourism while the rest of Dalmatia was being discovered. That history explains everything about how the island feels today.

The military base era

After World War II, the Yugoslav navy established a strategic military base on Vis. The island's position — the furthest inhabited Croatian island from the mainland — made it tactically significant. Foreign visitors were prohibited from 1945 until 1989. Locals could live there, but the island was effectively sealed from the outside world.

What closure meant

No hotels built to accommodate tourists. No harbours expanded for yacht traffic. No restaurants opened to serve visitors passing through. The economy stayed based on fishing and viticulture, as it had been for centuries. When other Dalmatian islands were being developed for tourism through the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Vis was not. The town of Komiža kept its fishing fleet. Vis town kept its wine producers. Neither adapted for visitors.

Tito's cave

During World War II, before the communist period, Vis was used by the Allied forces and by Josip Broz Tito as a strategic base. Tito's wartime headquarters were located in a cave on the island in 1944. The cave is preserved and open to visitors — it's a short walk from the town of Vis and worth the 45 minutes.

After 1989

The island opened to foreign tourists in 1989 and to all visitors. Development has been slow and largely small-scale. There are no large hotels. Most accommodation is in private houses and small apartments. The infrastructure built for military use — roads, the small airport (now closed), storage facilities — remains visible in places. The restaurants are better, the fish is fresher, and the prices are lower than the more touristed islands.

What this means for visitors