Island Hopping from Hvar

Our favourite thing to do in Hvar was to take a boat over to a smaller island. They call it "island hopping".

One of the places we planned to visit, but didn't make it to was Vis. It was actually on my shortlist of islands to stay on... maybe on another trip. The excursion to Vis which included a visit to the "Blue Cave" was about 600 Kuna each at most places ($150 Canadian dollars!) YIKES! Our hostess found us one for 470 Kuna each (still over $100 Per person)... but in the end we decided not to go. I think if our vacation had only been a few weeks we might have done it, but, honestly when you are travelling for this long you can't do everything or spend money like you would on a short vacation.

We did visit two of the smaller islands. It was quite easy and did not need to be arranged ahead of time. You just walk down to the harbour and look for the boat that has the island name on it you want to visit. We chose to visit two that our hostess said were some of her favourites.

One of the islands we visit was called Mlini. You don't pay before you get on the boat, the driver will collect your money while he is driving the boat over to the island. Then he'll give you a ticket, which you will use to get back on the boat on the way back home. It was 40 Kuna (about 8 dollars) for the return trip per person. Here I am enjoying the boat ride over to Mlini.

When you get to Mlini you can stay on the side where the boat docks... but it seemed like you would be swimming among the boats if you did this... so we walked to the other side. There really isn't much beach, but we rented a couple of chairs (50 Kuna each) and planted ourselves for the day. This side had a very large roped off swimming area, and ladders for easy access into the water. It also had a restaurant with pretty decent food right behind the beach.

As with all the Croatian water we swam in it was crystal clean, warm and clear enough to see way down to the bottom. We had a nice day, but it was definitely crowded, and not our favourite island.

Our favourite island was Jerolim. We went to this island twice. You catch the boat in the harbour, and it is also 40 Kuna per person for the return trip. The driver gives you a ticket when you are on the boat... while he is driving... with his foot (see evidence below 😉)

Jerolim is a short ride from Hvar. It seemed like less than 10 minutes to me. When you arrive at the dock you will see this sign.

You can choose to either stay on this side of the island with all the boats, or head over to the other side. There is a restaurant and bar right by the dock, as well as this little "Siesta Corner".

I do not understand this Pokemon business, nor am I even remotely interested in understanding it... but it did make me a bit sad that in this very quiet corner of the world that there was a sign saying "Pokemon this way". Nevertheless, I didn't see anyone chasing Pokemon... so that is a silver lining!

When you cut through to the other side of the island you pass this sign.

And this is why, the island is less crowded. 😀 There were plenty of nude (more men than women) and half nude people, but also plenty of people fully dressed (if you call bathing suits fully dressed!). This was my absolute favourite place in Croatia. It was quiet, relaxing, sunny and the water was absolutely beautiful.

You could get two loungers with cushions and an umbrella for 110 Kuna for the day.

We both enjoyed swimming in the water... even when you were way out to the rope which kept the boats out you could see right down to the bottom. I'm not sure how deep it was but Steve was estimating about 20 meters. There was a small restaurant in the back of the trees where you could buy drinks or some basic food. This place was heavenly! Look how happy we look!

Here is a photo of the view while we waited for the boat to head back to Hvar.

Before I end off I just wanted to add a few more photos to remind myself of things I saw in Hvar.

You know how I like funny signs? Well this was a great one!

I don't think you need to understand Croatian to know that bad stuff happens on this road!

I also wanted to include this photo of the mail carrier. Just a reminder of less complicated times 😀

Now I'm just going to include a few things we saw every day on our walk down to the harbour.

We saw this batch of beautiful grapes just growing in someone's yard... right by the roadside. As well as providing grapes, it provided some much needed shade. (Hvar claims to have the most sunshine per year of any place on the Adriatic Coast).

As well as walking through residential areas, you also pass the school on the way to the harbour. This is a pretty scenic walk to school if you ask me!

Just before you approach the harbour there is a public beach. It was always packed with people!

I'll finish off with one more beautiful sunset photo of Hvar.

We thoroughly enjoyed Hvar, and would definitely recommend that you visit. Be warned, it is quite expensive... but life is for living, you can always get more money, right? 😉