Gradac

Gradac sits at the southern end of the Makarska riviera where the Biokovo ridge finally drops away, and its Gornja Vala beach runs for around three kilometres of shingle backed by pine - the longest continuous beach on the riviera and, for that reason, the least crowded per metre even in August. The channel here narrows towards the Peljesac peninsula opposite, so the view south is of land rather than open sea. The village itself is modest, with a couple of old towers built against Ottoman raids, and it is quieter than Brela or Makarska because it has less in the way of nightlife.

History

Bronze and Early Iron Age stone mounds show the Gradac area settled long ago, and in Roman times it was probably the seat of the civitas Biston, a coastal centre belonging to the colony of Narona; a cornice fragment of a monumental 2nd-3rd-century building and Roman coins were found at Gradina, and many tombs near the Laguna hotel suggest a Roman cemetery. The medieval town of Labinac, named Labineca by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the mid-10th century, stood on the land of today's Gradac. The present name is first recorded in 1649, after the stronghold on the rise above the church of St Michael, probably built during the Cretan War (1645-1669) against the Ottomans; a drawing by the Venetian engineer Giuseppe Santini of the fighting at Gradac in 1666 shows the tower in flames (Wikipedia, Gradac, Split-Dalmatia County).

What's there

• About three kilometres of shingle - the riviera's longest beach.
• Pine along the back of it - shade for most of its length.
• Peljesac across the channel - land rather than open horizon.
• Old defensive towers - built against raids, in the village.

When to go

June to September. Half a day.

What to expect

It is a shingle beach, not sand, and shoes help. The coast road runs behind it and is audible. Services are modest compared with Makarska. Parking along the shore is limited in August.

Nearby

Zaostrog is north; the Neretva delta and Ploce are south.

Key facts