Hvar Island, Croatia

Hvar island is set just off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea.

It’s a wonderful island that will appeal to many different tastes – great for hiking, but it’s also the perfect destination for a relaxing holiday too with its wonderful weather.

And you can combine any visit with culture, history and sightseeing because there are several historic and beautiful towns to visit.
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This long, thin island features beautiful rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves and pine clad hillsides that rival anywhere in southern Turkey or Italy.

Large selection of Hotels

In addition to many independent accommodation offerings – bed and breakfast types – the island of Hvar does have a large selection of hotels as well.

The two main places to stay are Hvar Town, and Stari Grad, and in the former there are around 130 properties.

Traditionally the hotels have been a little more basic and affordable on Hvar than on the mainland, but this is changing now as the island becomes more popular.

As it stands there are no 5 star hotels in Hvar Town, but there are fourteen 4 star hotels to choose from.

These include the boutique Riva Hvar Yacht Harbour Hotel which is perfectly located if you’re arriving by luxury yacht

And the fabulous Amfora Hvar Grand Beach Resort (picture above), can be recommended.

Check it out here

There are also some cheaper alternatives and apartments to choose from. So there should be something for any budget. An overview here >>
Stari Grad has far fewer places to stay but could make a nice, quieter alternative to Hvar Town. There are less than 30 places of accommodations, and this includes two 4 star establishments, and nineteen 3 star.

The majority of places in Stari Grad, and a large number in Hvar Town, are actually self catering apartments rather than full service hotels.

Stari Grad

Set on the northern side of the island of Hvar, opposite to Hvar Town, Stari Grad is the other major tourist destination on the island.

Those who have visited claim that Stari Grad doesn’t hold quite the same appeal as Hvar Town, but if you’re interested in history and culture than you should definitely take the time to visit it anyway.

The town’s history is impressive after all – it is the oldest town in Croatia, and in fact one of the oldest in Europe.

It was settled by Greeks who came here from the island of Paros in 384BC. Later the Romans inhabited the ancient town, and later still the Slav people.

The Slavs named the town Hvar but when the capital of the island was moved to what’s now known as Hvar Town this town simply became known as ‘old city’ – Stari Grad.

Stari Grad Plain

Today the town is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Stari Grad Plain, which is an agricultural landscape recognised by UNESCO for its cultural importance.

The ancient agricultural plain was set up by those first Greek colonists in the 4th century BC, and today it is still used in largely the same way as back then.

It’s amazing to think that the walls that divide the land, and the water collection system, actually dates back to the Greek times and has been meticulously maintained over a period of twenty-four centuries!

You can hike into and around this area to get a look at the ancient way of agriculture yourself. The main crops cultivated back then and still to this day are vines and olives.

While exploring you should look out for the remains of several Roman period buildings, as well as a couple of Illyrian forts.

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Town Architecture

The old town is centred around the agricultural plain while there was a newer section of town built by the Venetians in the 13th century.

The Venetians offered protection to the people of Stari Grad as long as the town on the southern side of the island (now Hvar Town) was expanded so that the Venetian fleet could use it.

Stari Grad was attacked by the Turks in the 16th century and many buildings were destroyed, but rebuilding quickly began.

Now you’ll find a good selection of buildings with medieval renaissance architecture dating from just after that period.

There are numerous churches to visit, and on the edges of town is a castle built as a fortified summer residence for Petar Haktorovic, a Croatian poet.

The residence was built in the period after the Turks attacked in the 16th century as he grew frightened of future attack and fortified his house so that he, and the local people, could take shelter.

Today it is a well preserved Renaissance style building with an interior courtyard that contains a sea-water fish pond.

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Getting to Hvar Island

There’s no airport on the island of Hvar so you’ll have to arrive by boat.

If you’re chartering a luxury yacht around the Adriatic, this scenic island should definitely be one of your planned stops.

There is a yacht marina named Riva in Hvar Town, or a number of other places you could stop offshore.

Most of the visitors coming to Hvar will arrive on the ferry from the mainland.

There are two options – the slower car ferry takes around two hours and arrives near the ancient town of Stari Grad, or the faster hydrofoil service that takes about an hour and arrives at Hvar Town.

This service comes from Split on the mainland.

If you prefer a more personalised, luxury service there are a couple of other options – the Dalmatia-Express is a 24-hour boat service from Split or from the airport, or there’s the Adriatic-Express which offers a similar high-speed transport option.
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Weather and climate

Hvar is extremely sunny and benefits from a wonderful Mediterranean climate.

On average in a year the town of Hvar has 2,800 hours of sunshine and 7.7 hours a day, compared to Dubrovnik which has a respectable 7.2 hours.

July and August are the busiest months because they have the best weather – an average high of 29C and low of 21C, and only a very small amount of rainfall.

June’s temperatures are very similar while September is just a couple of degrees cooler but does experience more rainfall.

For a quieter atmosphere come in the winter; it’s mild, but typical of a Mediterranean climate this is the wettest time of the year.

Main Attractions on the Island

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Hvar Town

Known simply as Hvar but often called Hvar Town or Hvar City to distinguish it from the island of Hvar, this city is the largest on the island and its top tourist destination.

The beautiful streets, architecture, coastal location, and surrounding hills and mountains make Hvar Town a very scenic place, and it’s busy in the peak summer season without being too overcrowded.

When visiting Hvar Town here are some of the top things to see and do…
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The Town Square

The huge town square (known locally as Pjaca – meaning Piazza) is the heart of the town and it’s easy to see why! This is the largest town square in the Dalmatia region, measuring 4,500 square metres, the whole of which was paved way back in 1780.

There is a variety of buildings lining the square, but all beautiful in their own ways – they date from the period between the 15th and 17th centuries and include St Stephen’s Cathedral.

This cathedral has soma parts that date back as far as the 14th century, but with additions from the following three centuries the cathedral has many different infusions of architecture.

Other major buildings to see include the Bishop’s Palace, the Paladini Palace, and the Hektorovic Palace, which remains unfinished.

The Loggia (Loza) is a very beautiful building and it has more Venetian influences in its architecture, and along with the clock tower this is all that remains of the former Governor’s Palace.
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Town Walls and Fortress

The Town Walls of Hvar date originally from the 13th century though there have been some alterations and additions in later centuries too.

You can get a get view of the walls if you look up toward the fortress as they stretch from here down to the square where a number of houses and buildings have been literally built into the walls.

The fortress itself, known as the Spanish Fort, dates from between the 1580s when a new fortress had to be built following the destruction of the old one due to a gunpowder explosion.

Climb up to the fortress today and you’re rewarded with some amazing views over the town and the sea and of course there’s plenty in the fortress to see too.
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Outside the Town

If you have time to venture a little farther outside of Hvar Town there are several other very nice places to visit.

To the south of town, on a cape, is the Franciscan Monastery and church, built in the late 15th century to the Renaissance style.

There is also a Renaissance style country home to the east of the town which was built in 1530. This is a lovely historic home to visit and was the summer home of Hanibal Lucic.

You can visit the house as it is preserved as a museum and set among beautiful gardens.