Walking City Tour + Winery Tasting

Stroll through the city surrounded by walls and towers that still define Korcula's silhouette. The old street grid has preserved its original herringbone layout and sits above the Peljesac Channel as one of the most recognizable historic Adriatic townscapes.

Written records from the tenth century already mention the town walls. As the settlement expanded, Korcula developed into an advanced urban center and introduced the Statute of the Town and Island in 1214, recognized as one of the oldest legal acts in this part of Europe and noted for prohibiting slavery.

At the crossroads of trade routes and craftsmanship, Korcula became an Adriatic cultural landmark. The three-aisled cathedral and works linked to Marko Andrijic shaped the view visitors still admire today, while local stories about King Tomislav's commemorative plaque reveal strong historical identity across centuries of political change.

After the historical framework, local guides born in Korcula lead guests through legends, intrigues, and everyday life details in a narrative designed to be engaging for different social and age groups.

Korcula has been making wine for more than 2,400 years. Greek settlers from the island of Issa planted the first organized vineyards on the eastern tip near Lumbarda in the 4th century BC, and the Roman writer Pliny the Elder named Korcula's wines among the better products of the Adriatic. That continuity is the reason a wine tour here feels different from anywhere else in Croatia. The vines, the winemaking choices, and the family stories are still tied to land that has been farmed in the same way for generations.

The island is often called the black island of white wines. Two indigenous grapes anchor the wine identity: Posip, the dry, mineral white that grows best on the central plateau between Smokvica and Cara, and Grk, the rare yellow-skinned variety that grows nowhere else in the world and survives only in the sandy soils around Lumbarda. Add Plavac Mali, the deep red cousin of Zinfandel grown across the Pelješac strait, and a structured rose, and you have the four-glass core of a serious Korčulan tasting.

Our winery tour begins with a panoramic drive from Korčula Old Town through the Žrnovo and Pupnat plateaus, where you see vineyards, olive groves, and the dry stone walls that locals call kunjure stretching to the horizon. We arrive at a working family winery where the host walks you through the production area, explains harvest decisions, and pours the tasting flight in a setting that feels more like a long lunch with friends than a tourist stop.

The tasting lineup includes Grk, Posip, Plavac Mali, and rose, paired with traditional Dalmatian hand snacks: dry-cured prosciutto, hard sheep cheese, capers, salted anchovies, cherry tomatoes from the garden, fresh olive oil, and house-baked bread. We work with wineries we know personally because Arko Travel has lived on this island for ten years, and the difference between a quick commercial tasting and a real Korčulan one is the host. We make sure you get the host.