April 18, 2023 - Croatia has a multitude of individual gourmet experiences, including the fabulous oyster tasting on a private floating island just off Mali Ston.
It is only a tiny place, and nearby Ston is not much bigger, but Mali Ston and its neighbour really do pack a lot into their tourist offer.
Here you can find the expansive salt works that used to generate 35% of the annual revenue for the Republic of Ragusa, as Dubrovnik used to be known, as well as what some claim as the largest fortified wall still in existence outside China - the wall was built to protect the salt.
But for foodies, there is one more reason to visit Mali Ston.
Oysters.
Mali Ston is one of the best places in Europe to sample an oyster or three, and the local restaurants have become very creative in how they present their gift from the Adriatic over the years in their menus (I thoroughly enjoy a 5-course oyster menu on my first visit). But when it comes to combining tourism with oysters, it is pretty hard to beat the unique experience of leading local restaurant, Bote Sare.
In addition to the excellent waterfront restaurant of the same name, the Bote Sare team offers an oyster boar trip to a floating island they constructed a few years ago. Here you can learn all about the oyster growing process, seeing progress of the strings of oysters hanging over the side of the floating island, before sampling a fresh batch with a fresh glass or three of local white wine.
You can check out a lot more about the experience in my article a few years ago, How to Shuck a Croatian Oyster on a Floating Bar on the Adriatic. O much better, check out this excellent video by 45 Degrees Sailing, on a recent CROMADS experience.
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