the island of Hvar
Places on the island of Hvar
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12 places on the island of Hvar
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Vira
Vira, only a few kilometres from the island capital of Hvar, impresses despite its density of visitors with entirely intact nature. Here campers from all over the world pitch their tents on the only four-star campsite in Dalmatia. That category means that there is not only a children's playground, spacious clean showers and a small supermarket, but that one can relax over meals as well — the Aloe Vera restaurant serves wellness on a silver platter in the truest sense. And anyone leaving the resort will find numerous idyllic bays close by.
Hvar
The history of Hvar on the island of the same name resembles a constant up and down: surprisingly, the unremarkable place became a bishop's seat and administrative centre of the region in 1278; the hostile occupiers of all people contributed a good part to the town's expansion and renown; and only a few centuries later a powder explosion razed the town to the ground. But Hvar recovered from that too, and today one can see numerous buildings that, precisely because of this destruction and the rebuilding that followed, unite the centuries within themselves.
Stari Grad
Hvar's third-largest town was once its most important: only when the neighbouring town of Hvar overtook it did the island's oldest town cease to be the centre of attention. Ever since, Stari Grad has been trying to change that back, and with its Dominican monastery, the Gothic church of sv. Ivan and the particularly beautifully furnished sv. Stjepan, as well as the ancient Cyclopean wall, it might well succeed — at least with tourists. Otherwise Stari Grad is a romantic coastal town whose great attraction is precisely that it is far from being only an attraction.
Vrboska
Two treasures are to be found in Vrboska that could hardly be more different: the painting collection of sv. Lovro is the most valuable on the whole island, and the local speciality of salted sardines has meanwhile become an important economic factor, though its recipe remains a secret. A rough impression can be had at the fishing museum, which illuminates the last two centuries of fishing — probably also so that the work of the seafarers from this place should not fall into oblivion, for today one can cross quite comfortably to the mainland over one of the three bridges.
Vrbanj
In the island's interior, as far as possible from every coast and thus all but safe from enemy attack. Moreover the island's most fertile stretch of land is here, and the slight gradient made the shepherds' work easier still. Yet only a walk to the south-west rises the 626-metre summit of Sveti Nikola. A small chapel gives fresh hope to over-impatient walkers, but with the constant fragrance of the wild lavender the four hours to the summit and back will seem like a few minutes.
Jelsa
The caves above the harbour basin, around which the houses and streets of the town of Jelsa loosely formed, were inhabited as early as the Stone Age. Here a potsherd was found bearing the image of a sailing ship, today regarded as the oldest drawing of a ship in all of Europe. But the "real" Jelsa has existed only since the fourteenth century, when it was founded as a suburb of Pitve — or rather since the nineteenth, when swamps and marshes were drained in order to build a larger harbour, which gives the place its present face.
Sucuraj
A good part of Sućuraj's 400 inhabitants still live from fishing; the rest look after visitors with devotion: café and restaurant, pizzeria and patisserie, post office and sports clubs do everything to make the stay as pleasant as possible for guests on the campsite and in private accommodation. And it is hard not to enjoy a holiday here if you like beach, sun and quiet, want to make the occasional trip into intact nature and to strike up contacts with people from all over the world.
Basina
Anyone wanting to escape the bustle in Stari Grad or Jelsa withdraws to Bašina, five kilometres away. Here, amid the olive groves and pine woods, one finds a handful of rustic houses, as many small boats, and a few restaurants with home cooking in the best Croatian manner: here wine and oil of their own making are set before you, the fish that later lands on your plate you can all but pick out yourself on the dive beforehand, and over it all hovers the scent of lavender.
Zavala
In the south of the island of Hvar lie the two parts of the village of Zavala, joined by an idyllic shore path. At night the path is lit; by day the walkers watch the sailors and vice versa. The crystal-clear sea is equally popular with fish and with divers, and on land the two meet again in the cosy restaurants. Anyone seeking still more quiet will find it on the nearby island of Šćedro, reached by private or hired boat, or on long walks through the rosemary-covered slopes.
Sveta Nedilja
The wine-growing area of Sveta Nedjelja on Hvar is known not only for its excellent red grapes but also for the little Renaissance church that belonged to an Augustinian monastery, now fallen into ruin, and adorns the slope of St Nikola. In the shelter of this summit, the island's highest, lies the small holiday village, which enjoys growing popularity above all with walkers and climbers. After the day's sport or rest programme one rounds off the evening in one of the traditional restaurants, or heads for Hvar, twelve kilometres away, to be entertained there in the nightclubs and bars.
Milna
Ivan Dolac
The settlement of Ivan Dolac is separated from the rest of the island of Hvar by a tunnel a kilometre and a half long, which lets one swim or dive a little more secluded still in the crystal-clear water of the numerous beaches and bays. And to make this experience lovelier still, nature thought up something special and granted the little town the most days of sunshine in all of Croatia. And should a few rain clouds show themselves in the sky after all, one simply flees into one of the fish restaurants, or off to Jelsa or Stari Grad to shop.
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