Croatia · Central Dalmatia
Yacht Charter Hvar
The sunniest island in the Adriatic, with a Renaissance square, a Greek field system and an archipelago ten minutes off the quay.
Hvar gets more hours of sun than anywhere else in Croatia and has been trading on it since the Greeks planted the plain behind Stari Grad in 384 BC. What makes it work from a boat is the geography: the fashionable town is on the south-west corner, the quiet half is over the ridge, and the Pakleni islands lie ten minutes off the harbour — so you can have the square in the evening and an empty bay the same night.
Hvar town, and the ten minutes that change it
The town is built around one of the largest squares in Dalmatia, closed at one end by the cathedral and at the other by the sea, with an arsenal on the south side whose upper floor has been a public theatre since 1612 — the oldest in Europe still standing where it was built.
Above it, the Fortica looks down on the whole channel; the walk up takes twenty minutes and is the standard thing to do at six in the evening. Below it, the quay in high season is a row of very large motor yachts, and the town knows exactly what it is.
The Pakleni islands start four hundred metres off the harbour mouth. Palmižana on Sveti Klement has a marina and a bay of pines; Jerolim and Stipanska are closer still. Most crews take the town for dinner and one of these for the night, which is the arrangement the island seems designed for.
The other side of the ridge
Stari Grad on the north coast is the oldest town in Croatia — Pharos, founded by settlers from Paros — and it is a completely different proposition: a long, sheltered inlet, a stone waterfront and no scene at all.
Behind it lies the Stari Grad Plain, a Greek agricultural grid of dry-stone walls laid out in the fourth century BC and still farmed on the same lines. It is UNESCO-listed, it is unspectacular from the ground and it is one of the most remarkable things on the Adriatic once you know what you are looking at.
Lavender, and what grows on the south face
The interior smells of lavender in June and rosemary for most of the rest of the season; the fields above Velo Grablje and Brusje were the island's living before tourism, and some of them are being worked again.
The south-facing slopes above Sveta Nedjelja and Zavala drop straight into the sea and grow Plavac Mali on terraces that have to be worked by hand because nothing else can stand on them. Several of the cellars are reachable from the water, which is the sensible way to visit a vineyard.
Practical notes
- The Pakleni islands are four hundred metres off the harbour mouth: dinner in town, the night at anchor
- Berths on the Hvar town quay in July and August are the single biggest constraint and are arranged well ahead
- Stari Grad on the north coast is a long sheltered inlet and an entirely quieter proposition
- Split is two hours north, Korčula three hours south-east, and Vis two hours west across open water
- The south-slope cellars above Sveta Nedjelja and Zavala are easier reached from the sea than by road
Reached from: Split, Korčula and Vis
Where to dine
A table by the water
Gariful
HvarOn the quay where the big boats lie, doing fish and shellfish straight off the tank, and entirely aware of its audience.
Zlatna Školjka
HvarA slow-food konoba up a stepped lane behind the square, cooking the island rather than the harbour.
Laganini
PalmižanaOn the water in the Pakleni islands, reached by tender, with the pines behind and nothing else in earshot.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
The Pakleni islands
Four hundred metres off the harbour mouth: Palmižana, Jerolim and Stipanska, pine-backed and ten minutes from dinner.
The Fortica
The fortress above the town, twenty minutes up, and the view down the whole channel that everyone takes at six.
The Stari Grad Plain
A Greek field system of dry-stone walls from the fourth century BC, still farmed on the lines the settlers drew.
The south-slope cellars
Plavac Mali on hand-worked terraces above Sveta Nedjelja and Zavala, several of them reachable from the water.
The fleet
Yachts available for Hvar
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Hvar
- Is Hvar too busy?
- Hvar town is busy, and it is honest about being so. The island is not: Stari Grad, Vrboska and the whole north coast are quiet, and the Pakleni islands are ten minutes from the quay. On a boat you take the town for the evening and leave, which is the version most people would have chosen anyway.
- Where do you anchor near Hvar town?
- In the Pakleni islands, four hundred metres off the harbour mouth. Palmižana on Sveti Klement has a marina and a pine-backed bay; Jerolim and Stipanska are nearer still. The tender run into town takes a few minutes.
- What is the Stari Grad Plain?
- A Greek field system from the fourth century BC — dry-stone walls dividing the plain into the same plots the settlers from Paros laid out, still farmed today. It is UNESCO-listed and it is the oldest working landscape of its kind in the Mediterranean.
- What does a yacht charter to Hvar cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks. Send us your dates and how many are coming.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter on Hvar
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.