Our week in Hvar, Croatia!

After the crazy, hectic end of our six weeks in Italy and then the hectic few days of sightseeing in Dubrovnik, we were ready for some relaxation! We had decided to go to Hvar island in Croatia for a week to rest and have some downtime. We originally were going to try to go to two islands, but decided we would rather settle in to one place and not have to move again. So, we booked a hotel and booked a ferry and off we went!

Where we stayed – Stella Mare

To give you a little intro, Hvar is one of the biggest islands off of the coast of Croatia, measuring about 300 square kilometers and with a population of 11,000. The main town, Hvar Town, is kind of a party town (I think similar to Ibiza on the European scene), so we decided to stay about halfway down the island, in a quiet and more isolated place.

After a bunch of research we found Villa Stella Mare. I was so excited when it was available, because it was rated the second best place to stay on the island (and the top place outside of the Hvar Town area). As soon as we walked into our room I knew we were in for a treat. I mean, check out the view out our doors and off our balcony!

We had a great apartment, with a family room, kitchen, balcony, bathroom and bedroom. We spent many a day just relaxing here and by the pool. I mean, look at the pool in the pictures below (including some cheesy ones we took) – it made it very difficult to ever leave.

Aside from the gorgeousness of the property itself, we loved the staff and service at Villa Stella Mare. Everyone was so nice and personable, and the owner himself (Theo) walked us through all the places to explore on the island!

Additionally, there is an onsite restaurant that is run by Theo’s wife, Nadda, and it is only open to people staying at Villa Stella Mare. The food there was unbelievable. I could have eaten her grilled fish for the rest of my life! And, the sunset views from there weren’t too shabby either.

The beaches of Hvar

Well, it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the pool and our apartment, but we couldn’t stay on Hvar and not explore the beautiful beaches of the Adriatic Sea and the Dalmatian Coast. We had rented a car to get around the island and we are so glad we did, because getting to the prettiest beaches is not easy (and maybe not possible?) without a car. Here are the beaches we saw.

Zavala beach

This was the beach right near our place, and it was so cute. It was the first beach we went to and it gave us a great taste of the blue-green water that is so, so clear and refreshing. The only downside is that there are a lot of sea urchins in the water in Croatia (note: the -ch in urchins is pronounced like in chin, not in chord, which I just learned), so we had to get and wear water shoes. Better safe than sorry though!

Vrboska beach

We drove to this beach, which is kind of near Jelsa (another one of the towns, albeit a smaller one, on Hvar). I really liked this beach because there were lots of flat rocks to lie out on and then it was easy to get into the water from there when we got hot. It reminded me a lot of the beaches we went to in Naxos, Greece and we had a wonderful day relaxing, reading and playing backgammon at Vrboska.

After going to Vrboska beach we decided to go and explore another little town on the island, Stari Grad. We were a little sweaty and a lot salty (the Adriatic Sea may be the saltiest place I have ever swam), but Stari Grad was a super cute town and we got to see a stunning sunset. So, yay!

Boat day!!

We did one more activity on Hvar island – we went to Hvar town and rented a little boat for the day. And it was so much fun! You can literally just walk into town and rent a boat (there are certain ones they rent without licenses) and take it for the whole day for like $80. We grabbed some sandwiches and snacks and headed out onto the water to explore the Paklinski Islands, a chain of tiny islands right off the coast of Hvar.

We went to a bunch of the caves and beaches (all but one were rocky) on the islands, some were more crowded (like Palmizana, which has a day club on it), and some were more empty (like Perna). We also spent time finding little blue coves, jumping off the boat and off cliffs, and swimming in the beautiful, blue, clear and cool water. I’ll leave you to the pics now, but renting a boat is definitely a must do!

After we returned the boat we decided to make the most of our time in Hvar town and went out to eat. We found another cute city (similar to Dubrovnik) with lots of stone streets, steps and yummy food.

Hvar wrap-up

We really, really, really enjoyed our time on Hvar and felt like we could have stayed at least another week (if not two). There are lots of beaches still to explore, rock climbing to be done and a fort to go see. But, for now, Hvar served us well as a place to take a break to relax and enjoy the Croatian summer!