Villa Katarina
Mali Ston near Dubrovnik, Southern Dalmatia

1-2 bedrooms, sleeps 2-4. Renovated stone house of great charm. Wonderful sea views and 1 minute walk to beach and restaurants. Terrace and garden.

Villa Katarina (centre of picture with green shutters)

Villa Katarina

Villa Katarina is situated within the ancient walls of Mali Ston. Unusually for a town house of this type, it is detached and stands within its own plot with a small terrace/garden area around it. Mali Ston is a picturesque fortified medieval town just 40 minutes drive from Dubrovnik and less than an hour from Dubrovnik airport. Villa Katarina is a listed building that has been sensitively renovated. It is now a luxury house that retains its original character. The area of Mali Ston within the town walls is arranged on terraces with pedestrian passageways between them.

View from Katarina (click to enlarge)

Villa Katarina has extensive views over the harbour and bay from the front windows and from the back looks out towards the five-towered castle that stands above the town. The villa is a one minute walk to the beach and the water front restaurants around the harbour. The villa sleeps up to four people in a spacious double bedroom and a living room with comfortable daybeds and sofas. The villa is fully air-conditioned and has heating for the winter months.

A Street in Mali Ston (click to enlarge)

ACCOMMODATION
The villa is built on three floors and has both an internal and external staircase to each floor.

Top Floor
The top floor has a large double bedroom and an en-suite shower room. With windows on three sides, it has wonderful views over the harbour and sheltered bay of Mali Ston, as well as views from the back towards the impressive Koruna castle that stands above the town.

Bedroom (click to enlarge)

Ensuite Bathroom (click to enlarge)

First Floor
The first floor is arranged as a living room but is furnished so that it can also sleep two people. The living room is equipped with wide screen TV and DVD player and looks out over the sea.

Living Room (click to enlarge)

Ground Floor
On the ground floor there is a kitchen and dining area as well as a shower room with shower, WC, hand basin and utility area. The kitchen is fully equipped with cooker, fridge freezer, dishwasher, cafetière, toaster and electric kettle. A washing machine is in the downstairs utility area.

Dining Area (click to enlarge)

Kitchen (click to enlarge)

The villa is finished to the highest standard throughout.

Outside
The terrace area at ground floor level is laid out with an outdoor dining area.

Terrace (click to enlarge)

Villa Katarina (click to enlarge)

View from the back of Villa Katarina (click to enlarge)

VILLA LOCATION

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MALI STON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA
This information is also on the Villa Mimosa web page

Mali Ston Harbour (click to enlarge)

Mali Ston is a picturesque fortified medieval town standing on the water’s edge at one end of the narrow isthmus that joins the Peljesac peninsula to the mainland.

The Dubrovnik Republic acquired control over Peljesac in 1333 and proceeded to construct massive fortifications in the form of a 5.5 kilometre wall spanning the isthmus and circling the towns of Ston and Mali Ston that stood on the coast at either end of the wall.

The wall was built between 1336 and 1358 and is considered to be the longest defensive wall in Europe. Above Mali Ston and forming part of the town’s fortification stands the impressive five-towered castle, Koruna. Mali Ston itself is laid out in terraces rising up the hillside and overlooking the sheltered harbour with its landmark circular Toljevac Tower built in 1478.

Just across the isthmus lies Ston, laid out to a grid plan in the 14th century, the town is reminiscent of Dubrovnik and contains some fine public buildings dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. The ancient wall surrounding Ston is 930 metres long.

The nearby saltpans provided the wealth to the region and are estimated to have generated two thirds of the Dubrovnik Republic’s revenue. Nearby the small community of Broce, reached by a causeway running beside the Ston channel, was established in 1349 and has historic buildings and a delightful beach.

Ston - walls and salt pans	View from the Castle

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EATING OUT
Mali Ston is famous for it seafood, particularly oysters harvested from the oysterbeds in the Neretva channel. There are several excellent restaurants in Ston and Mali Ston.

Notable is Kapitanova Kuca on the harbour front in Mali Ston. The restaurant run by Croatia’s celebrity chef, Lydia Kralj, who has a regular cooking programme on Croatian TV, is renowned for its seafood and without question ranks amongst the very best restaurants in Croatia. The restaurant is just a minute’s walk from Villa Mimosa.

Another restaurant worth a visit is Bota Sare, situated on the water front and occupying and old salt warehouse where the interior walls are still seeping salt

BEACHES

Mali Ston Beach

You can swim from the shingle beaches in Mali Ston (just a minute’s walk from the Villas) or make the short drive (4 kilometres) to the sheltered Prapratno Cove on the opposite side of the peninsula where you will find one of the finest sandy beaches in Croatia. The water is crystal clear and the bay is edged with olive trees.

Prapratno Beach

Visit the Beaches of Croatia web site for pictures and a description of Prapratno Cove. For a quieter setting swim from the beach in the delightful village of Broce on the Ston Channel (2km drive).

The Peljesac peninsula contains some of the very best beaches that can be found on the Adriatic. A 30 minute drive up the peninsula will take you to the delightful village of Zuljana.

The village houses front a small harbour and sandy beach which offers excellent swimming against a spectacular backdrop of woodland and mountains. There are other excellent beaches close by. Visit www.croatia-beaches.com for more detail of the beaches around this village and www.croatia1.com for a detailed map of beach locations and a great picture gallery.

Broce Beach

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Boat hire and skippered excursions are available locally, for more information please visit our boating page.

Dubrovnik Just 40 minutes drive down the spectacular coast road will bring you to Dubrovnik. A day in Dubrovnik is a must. Walk the city walls to view the beautiful roofscape of the old town and the seascape beyond. Visit the Franciscan and Dominican monasteries and enjoy strolling the streets and alleyways and relaxing in the cafes.

Mljet
The most wooded of Croatia’s 1100 islands Mljet is 30km long and only 3km wide. One third of the island is a national park that contains two lakes that are linked to each other and to the sea. In the centre of the large lake is an island with a Benedictine monastery first established in the 12th century and rebuilt in the Renaissance period.

Mljet is best appreciated by walking or cycling through the national park area. There is a bus service that takes you into the park and which links with a boat to take you out to the monastery. There are several excellent seafood restaurants in the village of Polace. The new ferry service running from Prapratno to Mljet provides convenient access to the island from Mali Ston. (www.np-mljet.hr).

Korcula
Both car and passenger ferries run from Orebic on the Peljesac Peninsula to the Town of Korcula on the island of the same name. Korcula Town, considered to be the birth place of Marco Polo, is a beautifully preserved mediaeval town dating from the 13th Century. The town is fortified and positioned on a small elevated peninsula providing a commanding position over the straight between the island and the mainland. Today Korcula’s narrow alleyways and town squares provide the setting for bars, restaurants, shops and galleries.

The Neretva Delta, Mostar and Medugorje

The contrasting ladscape of the Neretva Delta, with its fertile fields and networks of lakes, rivers, canals and irrigation channels is no more than 30 minutes drive from Mali Ston. Over the border in Bosnia, the historic town of Mostar, with its iconic bridge, is 95 kilometres from Mali ston and can be reached in one hour 15 minutes. A similar distance is the town of Medugorje, a popular pilgrimage destination for Catholics

Wine
Local wines from the Peljesac peninsular are considered to be amongst Croatia’s finest. Notable are the red wines. Dingac is most highly regarded but we would also recommend trying Postup and Plavac. There are several wineries located in the village of Potomje on the road running up the centre of the peninsular. It is possible to taste wine and buy directly from the wineries.

GETTING THERE
Dubrovnik airport (located near the town of Cavtat to the south of Dubrovnik) is less than one hour drive from Mali Ston. Travelling from the UK, British Airways flies daily to Dubrovnik during the summer months and three days a week during the winter season. Flybe flies to Dubrovnik on Sundays from Birmingham, Exeter and Southampton. Both Monarch Airlines and Thomsonfly fly to Dubrovnik on Sundays from Gatwick and Manchester. Globespan flies direct from Edinburgh to Dubrovnik on Wednesdays. Croatia Airlines also provides direct flights from Gatwick to Dubrovnik on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays as well as daily flights from Heathrow to Zagreb with connecting flights to Dubrovnik. An alternative, and usually cheaper, route to Zagreb is by Wizzair from London Luton. From Scandanavia, Scandjet fly to Dubrovnik from Stockholm and Malmo.

An alternative is to fly to Split and drive the 3 hours down the spectacular coast road from Split to Mali Ston. EasyJet fly daily directly from London Gatwick to Split and three days a week from Bristol. Croatia Airlines flies daily to Split via Zagreb and direct on Saturdays from Heathrow and on Mondays from Gatwick. Flybe fly direct to Split from Birmingham and Southampton. Scandjet flies directly to Split from Stockholm and Gotenborg. German Wings flies to Split from Cologne and Berlin. Easyjet fly direct from Geneva to Split.

For travellers with some time to spare the Split option provides the chance to visit Diocletian’s Palace in the centre of Split or take a detour on the southerly route by crossing by ferry to Supertar on the island of Brac and returning from the southern end of the island to Markaska on the mainland.

RATES & AVAILABILITY

All rates are per week for the whole villa Saturday to Saturday and are in pounds. Alternative start days may be possible out of season; please inquire. Payment must be made in pounds. There are no extras. Tourist tax and cleaning are included. Prices are shown on the chart in the left hand (grey) column.

TO BOOK
Please email or telephone us to make a provisional reservation. Then download and complete the appropriate booking form.

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