TIME VISITED: September 2016 BUSY ? Shoulder season not too busy
WEATHER: 80s/90s and sunny REASON FOR VISIT: Wedding
WHERE TO STAY: AIRBNB EXPENSIVE?: $
I had the opportunity to go to a wedding on Hvar Island in September 2016. This little island instantly made me fall in love with Croatia! Great food, stunning city, ocean/island views and the people were so friendly! Most people fly straight into Dubrovnik but we preferred Split and Hvar! So if you only have a week I recommend heading here instead. You can fly into Split and take the ferry over to Hvar, it only takes about an hour to take this ferry.
SPLIT
Explore Split for the day.
One of the biggest cities in Croatia. This city offers a ton of shopping and restaurants. There are also some beautiful beaches very close to town!
THE CITY
THE FOOD
What I typically do is ask the family I am staying with in my Airbnb. What is their favorite restaurant? Most popular foods in Croatia were seafood, pasta and pizza! Croatia being our first stop of 7 countries in Europe, we were on a pretty tight budget. We went out to eat a couple times, but for the most part we bought groceries and made food in our Airbnb. If you aren’t on a tight budget, check out some of the local restaurants, the food in Croatia is amazing! One rule I have for you in Croatia: EAT AS MUCH GELATO AS YOU CAN. It is absolutely wonderful and there are so many flavors to choose from!
THE BEACH
If anyone knows the name of this game please mention it in the comments ! We watched it for an hour it was so interesting!
For a list of the 5 best beaches in Split check out this page!
WHERE TO STAY
Best prices, soooooo beautiful . We used Airbnb the entire 2 1/2weeks in Croatia. Entire apartments ranged from $15-$40 per night (each) and were beautiful. We are still in shock how cheap the apartment prices were in this country. We loved all of our hosts and had some beautiful views! 2 different Airbnbs in Croatia: one in Split and one in Hvar.
This is the place we stayed in Split. It was adorable, we loved the color scheme, the bed was comfortable and it was a quick walk to town, the ferry port and the beach!
You can book it here!
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3644495
DAY 2
Take the morning ferry from Split to Hvar. We used this company and it was a safe, quick and easy ferry ride over to Hvar! They even have drinks for purchase if you’d like to have a cocktail on your way over to the island!
Where to book the ferry:
http://www.jadrolinija.hr/en/ferry-croatia
From the ferry most Airbnb’s or Hotels in Hvar are a bit of a hike, so be prepared to walk a bit or grab a taxi. We walked 20 minutes to our Airbnb up a pretty steep hill but the view from our room was worth it!
This Airbnb was ran by a mother/daughter who were extremely friendly and spoke great English. The view from our balcony looked over the Pakleni Islands, it made us never want to leave our room! Keep in mind most of the houses here offer outlandish colors and decor for some reason. Our room was painted orange and white stripes, but with this view and for such a good price, who cares!
If you want to book this Airbnb you can do so here:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4241643
But after checking into your Airbnb or Hotel get out and….
EXPLORE HVAR
Go swimming, check out the bars/restaurants in the area. We had a quick 10 minute walk down to the beach. This area pictured was right passed Falko Beach Beach. I definitely recommend stopping at the Falko Beach Bar for a drink or ice cream! Apparently their food is good as well, but we didn’t try it.
Day 3
Wedding.
Obviously not everyone is going to have a wedding when they head to Hvar, but if you are looking for a stunning destination wedding this is your place!
The wedding was at Saint Mark’s Church and the reception was at Divino.
The view from the reception was absolutely gorgeous!
If you don’t have a wedding to attend in Hvar, this would be the day to relax at one of the beautiful beaches and/or hike up to Hvar Fortress. You will have a great view of the many islands and you can learn some history about Hvar.
OR just eat pizza…. ALL DAY
ROOFTOP BAR
Enjoy dinner and drinks at
AFTER HOUR PARTY ISLAND
If you want to enjoy some island partying until the sun comes up check out Carpe Diem Beach Bar , you will need a water taxi over there so be prepared for that!
Day 4
Ilirios Hvar Three Caves Tour (you can also take this tour from Split)
Probably my favorite tour I have ever done, this was so cool! Our tour guide, Ivan, was incredible, very knowledgeable about the area and we lucked out on having a fun group! When you first see the boat you are taking you think what!? Is this for real!? Looks like a little ducky boat. But once we got in we realized it was extremely stable and cut through the water no problem (the tour will be canceled if the sea is too rough) On this tour you travel 70 nautical miles!
My favorites from the 8 hour tour:
STINIVA BAY AND VIS ISLAND:
This was a beautiful smooth stoned beach. Ivan told us it was voted one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe and you can see why! When you arrive, you park the boat and then swim in. On the beach there is a cute little bar, enjoy a beer and one of the most exclusive and beautiful beaches in Europe! We also learned from Ivan that Vis Island was used in WWII.
CLIFF JUMPING AND SWIMMING
GREEN CAVE
SECRET CAVE
So so wish I had pictures of this place, this was one of the coolest things I have ever done. When you approach this “cave” you think ummm where is it ? You just come to this rock face. Then you are told you must swim about 3 feet under water and then you will be in this small cave. So surreal in there. If you are claustrophobic I do not recommend participating in this part, but it was one of my favorite things my entire 4 months in Europe. SO out of the ordinary. You will have to book this tour to see this magical place!
BISEVO ISLAND/BLUE CAVE
Also a very surreal moment. This is obviously a bit more touristy, but it is worth it to see this beautiful cave. Now, just so you are aware this is an eight hour tour, but you only spend about 5 minutes in this cave. Many boats need to visit it and with the tide, they are very strategic about it. Speaking of strategic, be prepared for a long wait to get on a boat and actually into the cave. They have a number system and everything! We only waited about 45 minutes (beautiful scenery while you wait and drinks available, so no one should be complaining) but we did talk to a few people back on Hvar that said they waited 3 hours in line, so plan your day and time wisely when you book. Ask the tour company what days are the best and least busy.
Day 5
I am sure at this point you will be thinking I need to quit my job and never leave Hvar! I hope you enjoy this gem as much as I did!
Ferry back to Split
Favorites from Hvar not mentioned? Please leave it in the comments!