Hvar has been discoverd by the tourism industry but in late September, early October the weather was beautiful and it wasn’t overly crowded. Hvar’s name comes from the Ancient Greeks. Greeks from the island of Paros migrated her in 4th century BC and called it Pharos.
The town of Hvar has an old town which opens up to a protected harbor which was filled with sailboats, small cruise lines as well as some large private yachts.The local fishermen bring in their catch each afternoon and the local restaurants offer grilled sea bream as part of their seafood platter.
There are two lovely beaches on each end of the harbor.
We had a whole day of free time to explore Hvar. So Bonnie and I made the most of our time in this town. We hiked up to the fortress that looks down over the town. It was a 20 minute hike up through the town’s narrow alley’s and then up a series of switchbacks. Most of the walk was in the shade and views like this made it worthwhile to stop every now and then.
In the afternoon we walked around the harbour to find the town beach called Pokonji Dol. It’s about a 2o minute walk and the pebbly beach sits below a fancy hotel with a water park and infinity pools overlooking the sea. The water was clear and refreshingly cool. At most beaches in the Aegean and Adriatic you need water shoes.
Our tour group had a dinner at a little tavern overlooking the water. It was a pleasant evening with food served family style – meat, fish, salads.
After dinner we wandered the town to enjoy the evening atmosphere. I went on to a couple of the cruise boats from Katarina Lines and another to see what these week long trips looked like. The cabins were nice enough. Inside there was a lounge area, a dining area and outside lots of covered and uncovered seating for guests. Typically these one week trips start in Dubrovnik and end in Split or vice versa. Three meals a day are included and each day the boat moves to another port. The ships hold maybe 100 people and dock at the port. Might be a fun way to see this coast if not on a sailboat.
Hvar could easily deserve a 3 night stay. There were many things we didn’t have time to do on this trip. Take a boat excursion to nearby islands, visit museums, churches and monastary, rent an ebike or take a hike.