Coldness, danger from sudden storms, a black shadow with a look of a wolf fang are all the ways in which Jabuka is trying to protect its secrets but once you submerge you immediately encounter schools of fish, who hide in the labyrinth of rock and caves and you start to realize how many beautiful secrets are hidden underneath the ice cold face of Jabuka.

There are no marked dive sites or maps so you find out as you go. Gliding through rock passages we entered into three amazing caves which were lit by streams of sunlight from cracks in the sealing. Roy and Marko were busy photographing the teeming marine life while Vuk was peeking into every hole he swam by. We passed through constellations of interesting rock formations. Then suddenly and unexpectedly a huge cliff opened before us. Our eyes went wide and our breaths stopped for a second. It was such a beautiful sight. The cliff fell directly from 0 to 100 meters and you could see the whole thing. Crack after crack, cave after cave, full of fish and coral for 50 minutes of diving at a depth of 30 to 45m.

We saw scorpionfish, moray eels, octopus, lots of healthy coral and and colorfull algae. Also forbeards, red mullets and yeallow tails.

Just as I was preparing to enter one cave I turned around to call Vuk and Roi to follow me. Just behind them we saw a group of 45 meters long Palamida (small tuna) passing by them in graceful movements after which they slowly turned into the blue and dissapeared. They glowed in the sun like silver arrows.

As we were now running out of air, we slowly climed back up to 10 meters and returned towards the surface. The visibility was so good that at 13 meters you think you are only at 3 meters, so you have to look at your depth gauge to make sure where you're at. The entire dive lasted a total of 101 heavenly minutes. We had huge smiles on our faces upon surfacing. The sea was amazingly calm during the entire trip home while Jabuka was slowly sinking behind the horizon. We definitely recharged our batteries and still cannot believe the ideal circumstances under which we were able to enjoy this wonderful trip.

Borko works for dive center Pongo in Croatia, specialized in making safe, interesting and beautiful dives off the coast of southeren Croatia. They take great pride in having plenty of return customers to share the spectacular wonders of the Adriatic sea. Their services are professional but they see each diver as individual and try to meet his/hers particular needs. this doesn't mean they have Jabuka on a regular schedule. Please contact the operator directly regarding a possible trip to Jabuka or to explore other dive sites in the area.

For a detailed description of other (and much easily accessible!) dive sites in Croatia, click here...




Diving season starts in May and finishes in October and high season is in July and August. If you want to avoid the crowds, visit in June or September.

Regarding a trip to Jabuka, you'd have to discuss this with the staff at Dive Center Pongo. There is definitely something remarkable and magnificent about this "frightening" volcanic island. Divers should attempt to visit Jabuka in the summer months and with the help of an experienced crew only.




For travel suggestions, please contact Dive Center Pongo




Croatia info