losinj
BALVANIDA BAY
Croatia - your sailing destination
At the anchor
Visited in the Summer 2020
Balvanida bay is well protected and offers good shelter from ˝Bura˝. We prefer NW part of the bay. It is a little bit away from other boats so we get more privacy.
Use anchor and land lines. It is possible to anchor in the middle, but it is a bit too deep for us. This spot is good for all winds, but South directions. In that case, better move to the E part of the bay, close to the cave.
The anchor holds well in send bottom.
There is a buoy field at the E part and it is quite expensive (about 250kn). It is not very safe because boats are too close. Unfortunately, buoy field doesn’t belong to the restaurant so have to pay even if you eat there.
Around Balvanida bay
Sailing Croatian coast, we anchored in Balvanida bay several times in a last few years. The bay is good for snorkelling, but this time we decided to explore the land above it. We knew that there is a good restaurant there – konoba Balvanida, so we headed strait there guided by a nice smell of grilled meat. It is situated just about three hundred meters from the small jetty. Path goes through olive trees surrounded by many stones and drystone walls.
Everything from the menu grows there – vegetables, goats, sheep.
Be aware that lamb and octopus prepared under “peka” you have to order 4h in advance.
Menu is limited to few meals from the grill and peka. Grilled lamb, pork and beef chop, octopus and lamb from peka. Great place for meat lovers but that’s about it. Not much for others.
Good and kind service, tasty meat, nice atmosphere. Price, about 100kn per portion. Peka is more expensive.
All paths from nearby bays lead toward konoba Balvanida so you can’t miss it. There are also very good marked hiking paths. We decided to trek the very uphill stone path leading to the very top of the hill above the bay. Two receiver towers are dominating the hill. It was a real challenge and we wondered what type of vehicles could pass there except some SUV cars! The higher we trekked the more beautiful view we had on the sea and a few bays with some sailing boats anchored. Going back down was a real „art“, and was much more difficult!
So was it wort the trouble…. Definitely, yes… view is magnificent.
Shall we meet on the sea
