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I’ve had enough of jam-packed beaches, noisy co-sunbathers, and generic Instagram photos of the most popular Croatian summer destinations. So, in the summer of 2022, my friends and I decided to strip our vacation away from all the familiarities and jump out of our comfort zone. We wanted to escape the crowds and listen to the sounds of nature, which is why we fixed up a Robinson-style vacation on Žirje Island.
What Is Robinson Tourism?
With so many tourists flocking to Croatia nowadays, the luxury of peace is not something you can get easily. Luckily, there are some places where you can get a piece of peace.
Croatia is a land of a thousand islands, Žirje being one of them. The farthest island in the Šibenik archipelago offers Robinson Crusoe tourism. The term eponymously stems from Daniel Defoe’s realistic fiction novel in which Robinson Crusoe spends 28 years stranded on a remote island.
It would’ve been a bit too much to spend another lifetime here, so we deliberately did ten days only.
Nowhere to Spend Money On
The moment the ferry dropped us off in Muna Bay, it felt like we went back 28 years in the past. The bay was encircled by a small mix of old stone and new concrete houses. Many cars didn’t have plates on them. No vehicles to rent. There was no single bar or restaurant to grab a drink. But I repeat, we wanted this.
When we booked our Airbnb, our host told us to come prepared with food and drinks because the island of Žirje (population: 150) has only one small market that becomes easily crowded if more than five people enter. The market had some dairy products, salami, coffee, a handful of vegetable choices, mandatory ice cream, snacks, and alcohol.
But no meat and no fish. Instead, you can grab fish at the waterfront one day a week early in the morning or catch some yourself! Also, talk with the locals to learn more about making your stay on Žirje as comfortable as possible. We may have chosen to feel stranded, but we still needed to survive and have fun.
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Spacious Apartment with a Spectacular View of the Šibenik Archipelago
Our apartment was a steep ten-minute walk uphill. And while we hated ourselves when coming home from the beach, we enjoyed the privacy that the off-road house granted us.
Contrary to what Robinson tourism is, the apartment was our modern, spacious haven. It was adorned with decorative pieces from all over the world, boldly assuming our host likes traveling.
It had everything to make our stay pleasant, from two cozy bedrooms and a quaint kitchen to a beautiful bathroom and an outside solar shower. We also had two terraces, one of which overlooked the islands of Kakan and Kaprije all the way to the mainland of Croatia.
The terrace was our go-to place for eating meals, working, exercising, drinking coffee, getting tipsy on local wine (talk to the locals!), and playing card and board games.
Alone at the Wild Rocky Beaches
Žirje has several bays where you can spend the sunny part of the day. There’s a saying that if you stumble upon a sea urchin, it means the water is clean. And there were millions of sea urchins wherever we wanted to enter the sea. It’s the most pristine sea I’ve ever seen, and swimming in such water was an absolute pleasure.
Because Žirje is not a popular tourist destination (but getting noticed by modern Robinsons), you can always have a part of the beach for yourself. We were delighted to hear the waves and wind in the middle of the day. Our ears weren’t bothered by people milling about, coffee cups clinking in a bar, or cars driving by. It really felt like we had the island for ourselves.
And then the quiet bay heard my scream because I stepped on an angry octopus that defensively wrapped its tentacles around my ankle and stole my slipper. We managed to steal the slipper back, but I ended up with minor wounds on my calf and ankle, probably from the octopus’ venom
Žirje Island Is a Nautical Stop
Except for Muna Bay which has a market, there’s a restaurant in each bay. Koromašna Bay and Stupica Bay have one each, and Tratinska Bay has two. The restaurants are strategically aimed toward sailors because all the bays offer either waterfront mooring or mooring buoys.
During our whole stay on Žirje, we went to eat out only once in Konoba Koromašna. We had a black risotto, a shark filet, and a poor impromptu vegetarian mix. And while the meal was okay-ish, the coffee was not so good. Overall, we felt our single restaurant experience was slightly overpriced but were happy with our wisely planned home gastronomy.
While spending time swimming and sunbathing in other bays, we saw numerous sailboats and catamarans tied to mooring buoys, each at a friendly distance from the other. This was a new sight for us mainland Croatians because we’d gotten used to seeing boats crammed at the cities’ waterfronts. So, if you’re a sailor, think about island-hopping in the Šibenik archipelago.
Žirje’s Cultural Summer (Žirjansko kulturno lito)
The locals know what their island offers and lacks due to its distance from the mainland. They know they want to provide tourists with a unique experience, so they organize Žirje’s Cultural Summer annually.
Depending on when you arrive to Žirje, you’ll have an opportunity to take part in some of their cultural events. For example, we went to see an intimate and friendly concert of the vocal group Klapa Žirje in front of the church and learned a bit about their way of life during summer and winter.
There weren’t a lot of tourists on the island during the peak of the summer season, so one can only imagine how isolating the island must feel during colder months. But that’s precisely the point of Robinson tourism.
So, if you’re looking for a retreat that’s slightly different from what you usually see in travel marketing campaigns, choose Žirje!
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