Hvar - An Ancient Delight..
Hvar Town.
Of all the surprises Europe delivered, Hvar was perhaps the finest. It was nothing like expected and yet everything you could ever dream of. I’d never thought of Croatia as a flamboyant type place, a naturally beautiful group of islands, yes - but a playground for the world’s rich and famous, no…but you can understand why. Hvar is magical, one of over 1000 Croatian islands, it’s certainly one to be seen - incredible yachts and cruisers line the marina, parked along side some of Europe’s most vibrant restaurants and bars.
It really is a lavish, luxurious place and that was the big surprise, the natural beauty was not so much a surprise but none the less incredible! The deep blue waters of the Mediterranean are spectacular, crystal clear waters that are opened up by the brilliant sun right before your very eyes. The only best way to explore its waters are by boat, we hired a 6 man boat for around $70 AUD per day which we found to be great value. It’s surroundings really offer no boundaries, with a full days sun and a boat full of petrol or wind in the sails, getting lost is probably your best option!
Beautiful Waters.
However if you’re sticking to the road often travelled, one of the best stops near by was the Carpe Diem beach club, on the island opposite Hvar town. Not only is the island itself beautiful but the club is great with beach chairs lining the coast alongside a fabulous restaurant. Try eating your meal from bed sized lounges overlooking the ocean, you’ll be back again I bet. If you want to relax, this is definitely somewhere where you’ll find it very easy..
The island is a very old, ancient delight, some 5000 years old. Looking up into the rocky mountains it’s easy to tell that you’re in a very mysterious ancient place. The history really is amazing with Hvar changing hands over numerous millenniums from the Greeks, the Illyrians, the Slavs, the Venetians and the Hungarians. When owned by the Greeks the island was known as ‘Pharos Lighthouse,’ being a shining light in the Adriatic, you can understand why…
Hvar is a culinary dream, we visited a new restaurant each and every night and never left anywhere disappointed. We found the best restaurants in the back streets of town, which are often home cooking style places - don’t be surprised if you’re literally eating out of a family’s kitchen..
When the hot sun fades away, Hvar town really comes to life - the place is buzzing! The crowd is often young and always beautiful as they manage to squeeze into all kinds of trendy clubs such as Carpe Diem. It’s one of the main hubs and its often hard to move in there the place is so packed.
Perhaps the most unique and fun of all the bars is the ‘Kiva Bar’ situated in a little lane of town - you can even take your drinks from the bar across the lane to the kebab shop, amazing or?? These bars tend to die down around 3 AM when most of the crowd moves up the hill to the ‘Veneranda’ nightclub - the party lasts long and hard in Hvar.
Bar in the Streets - Amazing Nightlife
You probably wound’t believe me if I told you the beer was good too… but it is, try the ‘Lasko’ - you’ll probably thank me later. Being an island the whole relaxed vibe is definitely embraced - we left Hvar well chilled and ready to take on the many other sights and beauties of Croatia.
