“Little Dubrovnik” with a great history. A quiet and authentic town

On my first visit to the southern Dalmatian coast, I was quickly captivated by its diverse nature. Even if we complain a little while walking in the crowd in the old town of Dubrovnik, it is enough to move a kilometer away to find a charming bay between the rocks or a less crowded promenade from which we can watch the sunset. But tourists who have already known Croatia a little go further – about an hour north-west of the city. We can also get there by public transport.

Ston. Gate to Pelješac

This is the Pelješac peninsula, famous for its excellent conditions for growing grapes and olives. I heard from a friend who lived there that it is unique and not yet recognized by mass tourism, so it still retains its authentic character. “Many families still produce their own olive oil and wine for their own use, even if they do not have a winery or press,” says our guide Nikolina Steta.

We reach Ston. The city is located on a narrow isthmus connecting the mainland with the peninsula. Even a one-day trip from Dubrovnik will allow you to taste the essence of Dalmatia. Literally.

The history of the salt town

“A bit like the Great Wall of China” – we exchange impressions when, near the parking lot, we first notice the defensive walls with watchtowers that have been preserved on the forested Podzvizd hill. There is nothing original about it – the term “European Chinese Wall” can be found in every guidebook that devotes at least a paragraph to the mention of Ston. Against the background of low stone houses with red roofs, Podzvizd looks quite powerful.

In the middle of a hot week in June, we begin a walk through a city that resembles a sleepy village on the Adriatic rather than a place of significant historical importance. The cat quickly starts fawning over us, and the fragrant laundry is drying in the midday sun. We wonder why this quiet place once needed the longest defensive walls in Europe, which stretched for 7 km (today 5.5 km have been preserved).

The answer is literally two steps away: these were deposits of salt, once as valuable as gold. It was the local pools and access to the entire peninsula that were protected from invaders, although the fortification was never put to the test.

“Ston was the second most important city in the territory of the Republic of Dubrovnik (Raguza),” says guide Nikolina Steta about its medieval history. Its urban concept is a contradiction of the irregular coastline: the city was designed in accordance with the well-thought-out design approved in Dubrovnik, in which the streets intersect at right angles. Immediately after the stone houses were built here, Ston looked like a small Dubrovnik.

From the seller of the souvenir stand I get a bonus for the purchase – a children’s book “The Story of Ston”. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine harvesting salt by hand, so the pictures help you better arrange this story in your head.

In its heyday, the Republic of Dubrovnik derived 1/3 of its revenue from the sale of salt crystallized in shallow stone pools. This had to be collected and loaded into bags before the rain fell. Donkeys took over the rest of the transport effort. Later, the harvest was placed in storage or sailed towards Dubrovnik on ships from the port of Mali Ston.

The brewery still operates today and produces 2,000 tons of salt per year – this is only a fraction of the production of a modern Polish plant. The guide points out that the lack of industrial plants in southern Dalmatia is beneficial for the purity of the water on the local coast and therefore the salt does not need to be purified. So it’s not about industrial-scale production, but a stamp of quality and a local brand that tells a real story.

Oyster paradise. Three years of waiting for a delicacy

Without hand work, there is no delicacy that is the pride of Ston – the pearls of Maloston Bay. One kilometer from the city is the port village of Mali Ston. As we approach it, we will notice more and more buoys in the water – these are not the swimming area at the shore, but places where oysters grow.

About 30 families make a living here by breeding molluscs. This is one of the few places in the world where European oysters (Ostrea edulis) are still grown – experts will distinguish their taste from the Pacific oyster imported to Europe from Asia.

We can reach a small oyster farm belonging to the Bota Sare restaurant in a few minutes from a charming, small port like from a retro movie. Here you can try oysters straight from the sea. I was surprised that three years pass from the moment they were first caught from the water before molluscs reach our plates – raw. The owner explains that at a very early stage they are placed in a special cover – sea bream also sharpen its teeth for this delicacy.

The next stages of growth include, among others: manually removing them from the net or “cementing” them – i.e. gluing the oysters together with their natural secretion. They will grow immersed in water to the required size of about 10 cm.

This is a delicacy that some will love, others will treat with reserve. Watching some people hesitantly turn the open shell and its contents several times before it reaches their mouths is a comical introduction to tasting.

From a layman’s perspective, the taste of an oyster seems quite delicate and a bit difficult to describe. At first it is associated with the taste of sea water, but without the unpleasant smell. For gourmets, tasting oysters is an integral part of the experience of staying in Mali Ston.

“Our oysters are not exported, but are sold in local restaurants, and thanks to the natural conditions in the bay, they are very tasty,” says Nikolina. The unique taste is due to the mixing of fresh water flowing from the land (specifically from the Naretva River) with the salty water of the Adriatic Sea. 2.5-3 million pieces can be obtained annually, which will exclusively meet the needs of local restaurants.

If such a taste experience does not convince someone, safer options await you in restaurants in Ston, which encourage you to try oyster soup.

And will we try something on Peljesac that is a compromise between tradition and tourist taste? We see this in the Miloš family winery in Ponikve, where the wine matures in old Slavic oak barrels. Although this region is famous for its deep red wine from the native Plavac Mali grape variety, the lighter, pink Stagnum Rose is also made with guests in mind.

New bridge on Pelješac

Although Peljesac was not separated from the mainland like the Croatian islands, it was long considered a place somewhat isolated from northern Croatia. Traveling to this place from northern Europe, a few years ago you had to drive through a short section of Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the seaside town of Neum.

It was only in 2022 that the Pelješki Bridge was opened with great pomp, enabling trouble-free access from the village of Komarna to the peninsula, bypassing the territory of another country, queues and document control. Today, this new route brings guests closer to what is most authentic in Dalmatia – a glass of local wine and the treasures of pure sea water.

The Adriatic Luxury Hotels chain invited us for the trip. The organizer did not interfere with the content of the report.