Three chambers, one cliff — each lit a different shade of green
The southern coast of Koločep is a near-unbroken wall of limestone cliffs, and tucked into a short stretch of that wall are three sea caves that share the same quality of light. Unlike the Blue Cave a short swim along the same coastline, none of the Green Caves has a submerged opening controlling the glow. Instead, sunlight enters through gaps in the rock at and above the waterline, passes through the pale limestone and reflects off the seabed and cave walls, filling each chamber with a shifting, emerald-green colour that deepens as the sun climbs and fades as it moves around the cliff.
The three caves are distinct in character. The largest is spacious enough to swim through from one side to the other, with calm and very clear water and enough room to move without feeling enclosed. The second is narrower and quieter — fewer swimmers reach it, and the light inside is more concentrated. The third chamber is the darkest of the group and the most unusual: very little direct light enters, and what you see instead are the shapes of rock and water in near-shadow, with occasional shafts of reflected light catching the surface. Bring a mask — the fish life here is the same clean mix of wrasse, sea bream and the occasional octopus visible throughout the Elaphiti, and the rocky ledges around the entrances are worth a look from below.
No boats fit inside any of the three caves. The skipper anchors off the cliff, you slip into the water and swim the short distance to the first entrance. From there you can move between chambers along the cliff face at the surface. The caves sit on the same itinerary as the Blue Cave and are typically visited in the same stop — the two locations together cover the full range of what Koločep's southern coast offers. Both feature on our Hidden Caves & Bays and City & Elaphites private tours.
Unlike the Blue Cave, where you swim in and back out, the Green Caves can be explored as a sequence along the cliff face. The largest chamber is wide enough to swim through entirely; moving from one cave to the next at the surface is a ten-minute circuit with a different view of the rock at every turn.
Sunlight filters through layers of pale limestone and reflects off the seabed and walls, producing a green tone quite different from the Blue Cave's submerged-opening effect. The colour shifts from bright emerald in the open chambers to a muted, shadowy green in the narrower and darker sections — and changes noticeably as the sun moves.
The limestone shelves around each entrance are clean and well-lit in the morning, with wrasse, sea bream and sea urchins in the shallower crevices and occasional octopus in the deeper pockets. Visibility is consistently good and the water inside the caves stays calmer than the open sea outside.
The Green Caves sit very close to the Blue Cave on the same stretch of coastline but receive fewer visitors. On a private tour you can visit both in the same stop — arriving at the Blue Cave, then moving along the cliff to the Green Caves — and adjust how long you spend in each depending on conditions and what your group enjoys.
Both are sea caves on the southern coast of Koločep, and both are entered by swimming from an anchored boat. The difference is in the light. The Blue Cave glows because sunlight enters through a submerged opening below the surface and rises through the water column. The Green Caves glow because light filters through limestone layers and reflects off the walls and seabed — producing an emerald tone rather than a blue one. The Green Caves are also generally more open and easier to move around in.
Yes — there are three distinct chambers along the same stretch of cliff. The largest is spacious and can be swum through end to end. The second is narrower and quieter. The third is the darkest of the group and the most unusual, with very little direct light. On a private tour you can visit all three in the same stop.
The swim from the boat to the cave entrance is short — around ten to twenty metres. Life jackets and floats are available on board for guests who are not confident swimmers. The interior of the largest cave is calm and relatively shallow, making it manageable with some assistance. The narrower caves require more confident swimming.
The Green Cave features on our Hidden Caves & Bays tour, which pairs it with the Blue Cave and two underwater scooters for a more active half-day. It also appears on our City & Elaphites tour, which runs both caves in the afternoon and then sails back beneath the Old Town walls. Both tours are private to your group and depart from the Old Port.
Private speedboat tours from Dubrovnik that include a stop at Green Cave.
