What to do in Hvar Island for the perfect summer trip
Hvar Island may have become famous for its parties and celebrity holidays, but there’s so much more to this paradise.
I have been to Hvar a couple of times and this is a place that keeps surprising me and exceeding my expectations. There is so much to see and do around Hvar Island, I guarantee you will not be bored during your time here.
In this guide, I’ll share with you all my personal tips for traveling to Hvar including the best things to do for the perfect summer trip (and also a few recommendations if you’ll be traveling during another time of the year).
What to do in Hvar during the summer
Let me start this guide by setting your expectations straight. Hvar is an absolute paradise and one of the most beautiful places in Croatia, in my opinion.
However, your experience on the island will depend a lot on which time of the year you travel. Hvar is a very seasonal destination which means that many businesses are closed during the down season.
The summer season in Hvar Island usually starts in May and goes until the end of September (maybe October, depending on the weather). The busiest months of the year are July and August.
In this guide, I’ll focus on showing you what to do in Hvar during the summer months so if you’ll be visiting during any other time of the year, please note not all of these activities will be available!
Go on a boat tour to the Blue Cave
The best way to kick off the list of what to do on Hvar Island is with this tour: a boat trip to the Blue Cave. I dare to say that this is the most popular tour in Hvar and you’ll quickly understand why.
The Blue Cave is a small cave located a bit outside of Hvar Town that has a really impressive blue neon color. The light effect comes from the sun that shines through the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic, creating a really cool effect that looks like the water is literally shining.
The entrance to the cave is quite small and only suitable for rowboats. For this reason, the entrance to the cave is heavily controlled by a local company, which means they’re the only ones who can go inside.
All boat tours will take you to the entrance of the Blue Cave, and you’ll then get in line for the local rowboat to go in. This means that every single tour will converge to this one spot – so make sure you start your tour early!! I’ll explain more about it later.
Side note: There are many Blue Caves around the Adriatic Sea and their effect is a bit similar, so if you’ve been to other caves before, you might not find this attraction very special. However, I must say that I have been to a few other βBlue Cavesβ before and this was one of the most impressive ones so far.
Speedboat to the Blue Cave
In Hvar, you will find all kinds of tours to the Blue Cave: large boats, small boats, private tours, shared toursβ¦ there’s a little bit of everything.
Which means it can be really hard to pick the right tour.
Most tours are full-day trips including the following stops:
- Blue Cave
- Green Cave
- Stiniva Cove in Vis Island
- Lunch Break (lunch not included)
- Pakleni Islands
- Sunset stop at a beach bar
My recommendation is to get a speedboat that holds up to 6 people maximum like this one, or a private boat tour. These tours are a bit more expensive, but they’re worth the price.
With a smaller boat, you can agree to leave early to avoid the lines at the entrance of the Blue Cave, and you can adjust the itinerary based on your group’s interest.
When we did the tour, we asked our boat driver to take us to a lunch spot within our price range, we spent more time on one emptier beach, and we picked a specific beach bar for sunset.
This made our trip much more enjoyable than if we were in a large boat where the itinerary couldn’t be switched around.
Book your boat trip here:
PS: The boat trip to the Blue Cave in Hvar is only available during the summer season because of the sea conditions. We once visited Hvar in April and it was not possible to visit the Blue Cave at that time.
Rent a boat in Hvar by yourself
One of the most unique and fun experiences you can have on Hvar Island is to rent a boat and drive it around all by yourself.
You don’t need to have any previous experience with boats! All you need is a regular driving license (at least our operator asked us for it).
Driving a boat around Hvar with a group of friends is one of the sweetest memories I have of this island. This was such a fun thing to do!!
The Adriatic Sea is really calm most of the time, which makes for the perfect conditions for boat trips. The rental boats are usually small and easy to drive. The owner will show you around before you can take the boat by yourself.
The best thing about renting a private boat in Hvar is that you can choose where you want to stop. Most boat tours follow the same exact schedule, which means that those specific places are often busy while other beaches are really empty.
If you have your own boat, you can go wherever you want!
Pro tip: This is one of the few things to do in Hvar that was available during the low season. The picture above was taken in April. The only condition for going out with the boat is that you need the right weather and water conditions.
Rent a scooter to explore Hvar Island
There is so much to Hvar Island outside of the main Old Town, but you’ll need a mode of transport to explore.
If you will be renting a car for your trip to Croatia, you can explore the island by car, but renting a scooter is another fun option for going around!
In fact, some of the beaches have really narrow access, so a scooter is perfect for reaching remote locations!
We rented our scooter in one of the places close to the Hvar Marina, there are a bunch of places next to each other. You can just pick one.
Here are the places in Hvar I recommend visiting with the scooter:
- Milna Beach: This really quiet beach is located just outside the town
- Malo ZaraΔe Beach: The most beautiful beach in Hvar Island and one of my absolute favorite places! This beach is so beautiful, it’s definitely worth the drive.
- Velo ZaraΔe: Located just on the other side of the previous beach, this is a great spot for a lunch break. We had an amazing meal at a local restaurant called Gego overlooking the sea.
- Lavender Fields: The best time to see the lavender fields blooming is in July, the peak of summer. The views are stunning!
- Fortress of Hvar: The best place to watch the sunset in Hvar! I’ll talk more about it later.
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Explore Hvar Town
Hvar Island might be known for its beaches, but you should also save some time to explore the Old Town as well. It’s beautiful!!
The center is all made of stone, which is a very traditional style common around this region of Croatia.
Hvar Town has a very young and lively vibe, full of bustling restaurants and bars. Pub Crawl is a very popular activity among young people, but if that doesn’t sound like your vibe, don’t worry. There are a lot of quieter bars that are perfect for an evening dinner!
Places to see in Hvar Town:
- Main square
- Hvar Cathedral
- Clock Tower
- Riva, the main street by the water
- Franciscan Monastery
- LuΔica Beach
Watch the sunset from Hvar Fortress
The best place to watch the sunset in Hvar is from the Fortica Fortress, also known as Hvar Fortress.
Located above the Old Town, the fortress offers the perfect view to end the day. The Fortress is located just 2.5 km from the port, you can get there by foot or with a car/scooter.
From the fort, you’ll have a view of the entire Old Town in front of you, it’s amazing! There is also a museum and a small restaurant on site. The visit to the museum is payable.
To enjoy the sunset, you can go inside the fortress or enjoy the view from outside. If you’re just here for the views, I’d recommend enjoying it from outside which is free.
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Hula Hula Beach Club
Beach Clubs and beach parties are a big part of Hvar and Hula Hula is probably the most famous of them all.
Hula Hula is located very close to the center, easily reachable on foot. During the summer, they host events almost every day with DJs, cocktails, and even themed events sometimes!
This beach club’s vibe is really high, it’s one of the busiest spots in town. During the high season, it’s advisable to book a table upfront.
I am personally more of a slow travel person, but I must admit that watching the sunset sipping a cocktail by the sea here was amazing!
Explore the rest of Hvar Island
The number 1 mistake I see people making when visiting Hvar Island is that they don’t explore the rest of the island. Please don’t make this same mistake!
There are so many amazing spots on this island besides Hvar Town. Most people don’t venture outside of the city, which means the further you go, the emptier it gets.
I recommend renting a car for this because the island is quite big. If you’ll be driving by car, you can follow my 7-day itinerary through Croatia.
The best thing to do is follow the road by the coast and stop along the way whenever you spot a nice place. We went towards Jelsa and ended up spending the day at GrebiΕ‘Δe Beach which was completely empty because the camping site nearby was closed. It was a true paradise!!
Other ideas of things to do in Hvar
How to get around in Hvar Island
Hvar Town is quite small so you can explore everything on foot.
You will need a boat to visit any of the islands nearby, which you can do on full-day boat trips or with a ferry.
To travel between different towns within Hvar Island, the best options are a car or a scooter. You can also get a taxi in town if you need to go anywhere nearby (for example the Fortica Fortress) but this option will quickly get too expensive if you need to move longer distances.
A scooter is the perfect solution for exploring the area close to Hvar Town. Most of the rental scooters are very basic, so they aren’t great for traveling long distances but they’ll be amazing for visiting beaches nearby.
Do you need a car in Hvar?
It depends on what you want to see and do in Hvar.
You don’t need a car if you intend on staying only in Hvar Town and doing boat trips from there.
However, if you want to see more of the island, having a car will come in handy. Just to give you a reference, it takes almost 2h to drive from one side of the island to the other.
I have visited Hvar multiple times, sometimes with a car, others without. During the trips when I didn’t have a car, we rented a scooter because I really liked the experience of searching for remote beaches and viewpoints. For me, this is the best part of exploring such a beautiful place!
Do you need to rent a car for your trip?
We always use DiscoverCars to rent our car. So far it has proved to be not only the cheapest option but also the most reliable one. We used DiscoverCars to rent our car for our trips through Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia, Italy, and so many other countries, and we never had any issues. We even convinced all of our friends and family to use it. So that’s why we are also recommending it to you!
How to get to Hvar?
Since Hvar is an island, the only way to get there is by boat. Hvar has three main ports: Stari Grad, Hvar Town, and SuΔuraj.
- Stari Grad is the main port for the ferry from Split to Hvar. This is the best route if you will be traveling with a car from Split.
- Hvar Town is a smaller port and it has ferries to Split (passenger only), Ancona in Italy, and other nearby islands.
- SuΔuraj is the port on the other extreme side of the island and it has a ferry that connects to Drvenik. This is a great route if you will be driving from Hvar to Dubrovnik because this ferry is much faster and cheaper than the Stari Grad one (we did this once!).
The main ferry operator in Hvar Island is Jadrolinija – check their website for the exact timetables and prices. You can buy your tickets online.
Pro tip: If you will not be coming to Hvar with a car, the best option is to get the passenger-only ferry from Split to Hvar Town. This ferry operates only once a day though, so make sure you book your tickets upfront!
What’s the best time of the year to visit Hvar?
Since Hvar is a beach destination, the best time to visit the island is during the summer. July and August are the busiest months in Hvar.
I personally recommend visiting Hvar in June or September. These shoulder months are perfect because they have great summer weather while being a bit quieter than July and August.
The down season in Hvar goes from November to April. If you decide to visit during these months, just remember that some of the activities and businesses won’t be available.
My first trip to Hvar was during the month of April and even though we had an amazing trip, it was like going to a completely different destination compared to Hvar in July.
We felt like we were almost alone on the island! On the one hand, prices were much more affordable (especially for accommodations) but on the other hand, it was still a bit too cold to enjoy the beaches.
The beach clubs and bars located in the islands in front of Hvar are usually seasonal – they are fully dismounted during the down season. When we got there with the boat, it felt like we landed on a deserted island which was really cool!
How many days should you spend in Hvar?
If you really want to explore the island and the activities around here, you should stay at least 3 full days in Hvar. If you will be visiting for the parties and beach clubs, you can add another day or two for that.
If you have more days and want to spend more time by the beach, you could easily extend your stay to up to 5 or 6 days in Hvar. If you have more than that, I’d recommend splitting it amongst Hvar and other nearby islands like KorΔula, for example.
Read our full guide to help you decide how many days to stay in Hvar.
Where to stay in Hvar
Accommodation in Hvar does not come cheaply. Since the Old Town is small, there is very high demand during the summer months so the prices skyrocket.
It’s really important to get a place near the Old Town so you can explore on foot. If you will be traveling with a car, I recommend getting a place with parking included because finding parking in town is very chaotic.
I really like the area called KriΕΎna Luka which is just a few minutesβ walk away from the Old Town. This is a very residential area with a lot of private apartments for rent. I like that it is a bit quieter than the center, so I’ve stayed here during most of my visits to Hvar.
My recommended places to stay in Hvar:
Important tip: Hvar is the name of the town but it’s also the name of the entire island, so be careful when booking your accommodation! You’ll want to stay near Hvar Town, here is the correct location for reference.
Tips for planning the perfect summer trip to Hvar
- Regardless of when you visit Hvar, the water is really cold!
- Croatian is the official language but you can easily do everything in Hvar by speaking English. The island relies a lot on tourism so most people speak English (and often Italian and German as well).
- Be extremely careful when jumping from cliffs. During our boat trip, we decided to cliff jump in the Green Cave (with the approval from the guide) and I ended up losing my GoPro to the sea. That jump is around 15 meters so if you fall wrongly, you can hurt yourself quite badly. A friend of mine hurt her lower back on this same jump. It’s not worth it!
- Most beaches in Hvar are pebble beaches so take your water shoes. This is especially important for kids.
- Make sure you compare the tour prices if you decide to book them on the spot. I recommend walking outside of the main port area because that’s where we found the nicest boats and better prices.
Organizing your trip
To help you plan your trip to Croatia, we have put together our favorite planning resources:
- Flights: Get affordable flights to Croatia on Skyscanner.com.
- Travel insurance: Make sure you are protected during your trip. We use SafetyWing whenever we are traveling abroad.
- Renting a car: We always useΒ Discover CarsΒ to get the best car deals.Β
- Accommodation: Find the best hotels and apartments on Booking.com.
- Activities: Get fun ideas of what to do and buy unique activities with Get Your Guide.
- SIM Card: Stay connected during your trip with Airalo.
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