Claims more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in Croatia, and charges accordingly. Lavender fields, a Venetian harbour town, and a scatter of car-free islands just offshore.
They're twenty minutes apart and attract completely different people.
Hvar Town is the yacht-and-cocktail end — a beautiful Venetian harbour, a fortress above it, and prices that surprise people. Stari Grad on the north side is older, quieter and considerably cheaper, with a UNESCO plain of ancient field divisions behind it. Jelsa and Vrboska between them are small and largely undiscovered. If Hvar sounds expensive, that's because most people only ever price Hvar Town.
A harbour, offshore islands, and lavender in June.
A scatter of car-free islets twenty minutes offshore by taxi boat. Clear water, pine trees and a handful of beach bars.
A Venetian square, the oldest public theatre in Europe, and a Spanish fortress above with the whole archipelago below.
The island's interior turns purple in June. Velo Grablje and the road to Brusje are where to see it.
UNESCO-listed field divisions laid out by Greek colonists in the fourth century BC and still farmed. Cycle it.
Plavac Mali on terraced south-facing slopes. Small family wineries, and considerably cheaper than the harbour bars.
Through a single-lane tunnel to the sunny side. Quiet pebble coves and almost nobody.
Two towns, and the villages between them.
The Venetian square, the yachts and the nightlife. Beautiful, and the priciest place in Croatia.
Twenty minutes north. Older, calmer, far cheaper, and where the Split ferry docks.
Between the two. Working harbours, family-run places, and almost no visitors.
Zavala and Sveta Nedjelja, through a tunnel. Wine, sun and very little else.
May, June and September. July and August are hot, full and at their most expensive.
June brings the lavender and warm days before the peak crowds. September has the warmest sea of the year and the wine harvest. July and August are 32°C with the harbour full of yachts and prices at their highest. Winter is very quiet, with most of Hvar Town closed and reduced ferries.
One hour by catamaran from Split to Hvar Town, or a car ferry to Stari Grad. Also reachable from Dubrovnik and Split airport.
Buses between the towns, and taxi boats to the Pakleni islands. A car is more trouble than help.
Euro.
Ferries sell out in July and August. We book them with the holiday.
We'll pick between Hvar Town and the quieter half, book the ferries, and write the payment plan out in full.
Hvar Town is. Stari Grad, Jelsa and the south coast cost a fraction and share the same island and sea.
Catamaran to Hvar Town if you're staying there; car ferry to Stari Grad otherwise. They're twenty minutes apart and it catches people out.
Late May into June. It's brief, and worth timing if it's why you're going.
That's how we'd book it — Split as a base with island days, or a few nights each. The ferry is an hour.
Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
10 nights · May–Jun, Sep–Oct · from £1,449pp
11 nights · May–Jun, Sep · from £1,149pp
10 nights · Mar–May, Sep–Nov · from £849pp
11 nights · Apr, Oct · from £2,699pp
12 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £3,399pp
12 nights · Jul–Oct · from £3,099pp
11 nights · Jun–Oct, Dec–Feb · from £1,799pp
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
