Hvar
The largest square in Dalmatia open to the harbour, a fortress above and the Pakleni islands in front, lavender on the hills, and the last leg from Split by sea.
- Arrival
- Split Airport · SPU
- To the island
- About an hour by boat from Split
- Private jets
- Land at Split, then a boat
- Best time
- May to September
The city
The square, the arsenal and the theatre.
Hvar town is built around St Stephen's Square, 4,500 square metres of stone open to the water, the largest in Dalmatia. On its seaward corner stands the Arsenal, rebuilt between 1579 and 1611, with a theatre on the first floor that opened in 1612 and is counted the first public theatre in Europe. Above the roofs is the Fortica, the Spanish fortress, raised after a gunpowder explosion destroyed its predecessor in 1579.
The island counts about 2,700 hours of sunshine a year. From May to September the afternoons run from 21 to 28 °C, July is the driest month, and the sea stays above 20 °C into October. The Pakleni islands shelter the harbour to the south, a protected landscape; inland the hillsides carry lavender, olives, vines and rosemary.
Arriving
Runway at Split, then the sea.
Hvar has no airport. Everyone flies to Split, on Kaštela Bay about 19 kilometres from the centre, and finishes by boat: catamarans from Split to Hvar town in about an hour, a car ferry to Stari Grad, and a private catamaran from near the airport to Stari Grad in about an hour.
- Zurich 1 h 20
- Prague 1 h 25
- Madrid 2 h 30
- Accra 6 h 05
- Bangkok 11 h 15 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
One of the sunniest islands in the Adriatic, with dry, warm summers and most of the rain between October and March. Come between May and September; July is driest and the sea reaches 24 °C in July and August.
- 9° J 90 14°
- 10° F 78 13°
- 13° M 80 13°
- 17° A 69 14°
- 21° M 57 18°
- 25° J 57 21°
- 28° J 36 24°
- 28° A 50 24°
- 25° S 67 22°
- 20° O 91 21°
- 15° N 113 18°
- 11° D 116 16°
What to see and do
Days in and around Hvar.
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Landmark
Fortica
The fortress above the town, rebuilt after 1579, with the harbour and the Pakleni islands laid out below.
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Landmark
The Arsenal and theatre
The arsenal of 1579 to 1611 on the corner of the main square, with the theatre of 1612 upstairs.
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Landmark
Franciscan monastery
On the cape south of the town, with a church of the late fifteenth century and a Renaissance cloister.
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On the water
Pakleni Islands
Sixteen islands lie off Hvar town, and taxi boats from the harbour run across to Palmižana on Sveti Klement, the largest of them.
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Culture
Stari Grad Plain
Greek settlers from Paros divided this plain into fields in the 4th century BC, and vines and olives still grow inside the same stone grid.
Official site -
Culture
Tvrdalj
The poet Petar Hektorović built this fortified summer house around a courtyard fishpond in 1520, meaning it to shelter the town from Ottoman raids.
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Culture
Benedictine Convent, Hvar
In the old house of the writer Hanibal Lucić, the nuns keep a museum and still make the agave lace inscribed by UNESCO in 2009.
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Food & wine
Zlatan Otok
Zlatan Plenković founded his winery in 1986 at Sveta Nedjelja, below steep south facing slopes planted with Plavac Mali.
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Nature
Sveti Nikola
At 626 metres the island's highest peak, reached on a 21.5 km marked loop from Stari Grad, looks over the Adriatic to the neighbouring islands.
Official site
Where to stay
On the square, and out by Stari Grad.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Palace Elisabeth Hvar Hotel The old palace above the main square and the harbour, remade in 1899 with the support of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, whose name it carries, with 45 rooms and one MICHELIN Key.
- Maslina Resort Low modern buildings on a bay outside Stari Grad, with a private beach, an organic garden for the kitchen, and a MICHELIN Key.
Where to dine
Where to book on the island.
From the MICHELIN Guide Croatia 2026 selection, with two tables in Hvar town recommended by Time Out.
- Terra Restaurant by Maslina Resort MICHELIN Guide Mediterranean €€€ Maslina Resort, Stari Grad, about 20 km east
- Mediterraneo Dine&Wine MICHELIN Guide Croatian €€€ Hvar town
- Gariful Time Out Seafood €€€€ Riva, Hvar town harbour
- Giaxa Time Out Mediterranean €€€ Groda, north of the main square
Elsewhere in Croatia
More reasons to come.
Flying to Hvar?
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