Hvar Town
First-timers and nightlifeThe Venetian square, the fortress, the beach clubs and the catamaran dock. Expensive and loud in August.
Hvar city guide
Things To Do In Hvar
The party island with a Venetian town attached: yacht money and beach clubs in August, lavender fields and empty stone villages the rest of the year.
8
Hostels in the city
9.4
Average, from 18,053 reviews
2,800
Hours of sun a year, the most in Croatia
1612
The theatre, one of Europe's oldest public ones
1h
From Split by catamaran
Two islands in one
Hvar Town in August is yacht crews, beach clubs and €15 cocktails, and it has a reputation across the Adriatic to match. Hvar the island, twenty minutes inland, is lavender terraces, abandoned stone hamlets and a UNESCO-listed field system that has been farmed the same way since the Greeks laid it out in the fourth century BC.
The town itself is genuinely handsome — a Venetian square, a fortress above, and a theatre from 1612 that is among the oldest public theatres in Europe.
It claims the most sunshine in Croatia at around 2,800 hours a year, and some hotels historically refunded guests for snow or excessive rain.
Two or three days for the town and the Pakleni islands offshore, longer if you rent a scooter and go inland, which almost nobody does.
Where to stay
The town, the quieter ports, or inland where nobody goes.
Stari Grad
Quiet and olderAcross the island, the car ferry port and one of Europe's oldest towns, with a fraction of the noise.
Jelsa and Vrboska
ValueThe north coast: small harbour villages, cheaper beds, and buses to Hvar Town.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 8 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Hvar
Take a boat to the Pakleni islands, a scatter of wooded islets twenty minutes offshore with clear water, beach bars and coves. Taxi boats leave the harbour constantly in season for €5 to €15 return.
The Spanish Fortress above the town is a twenty-minute climb for a few euros, and the view down over the town, the harbour and the Pakleni islands at sunset is the island's best.
Hvar's theatre, built in 1612 above the arsenal, is one of the oldest public theatres in Europe.
Inland, the Stari Grad Plain is a Greek field system from the fourth century BC still farmed on the original boundaries, UNESCO-listed and almost entirely empty of visitors.
Lavender grows across the interior and the hamlets around Velo Grablje were abandoned when the trade collapsed.
Free things
Free things to do in Hvar
The walk up to the fortress is free — only entry to the fort itself charges — and the path has viewpoints all the way.
St Stephen's Square, the largest in Dalmatia, and the harbour cost nothing, and the town is best walked early before the beach clubs open.
Swimming off the rocks below the town and along the coast is free.
The Stari Grad Plain is open farmland with walking and cycling paths through it, free and UNESCO-listed.
Inland roads and the lavender terraces cost nothing beyond the scooter to get there.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Hvar
Hvar Town's harbourfront is priced for people arriving by yacht — €30 to €50 a main is normal. Walk up into the lanes behind the square and it drops to €18 to €28.
The island makes serious wine: Plavac Mali from the steep southern slopes, and the Zlatan Otok and Tomić cellars run tastings.
Gregada, fish stewed with potatoes, onions and white wine, is the island dish, and peka is worth ordering in a konoba inland.
Lavender honey, olive oil and rosemary products are sold everywhere, and the island's olive oil is excellent.
A beer in town is €4 to €6 and cocktails €12 to €18.
Nightlife
Going out in Hvar
Hvar Town has the biggest nightlife on the Adriatic islands and the prices that come with it. Carpe Diem on the harbour and its beach club on a Pakleni island are the names, with boats running out to the island club until the early hours.
Hula Hula on the coast path west of town does sunset and afternoon drinking, and the bars around the square fill after midnight.
Cocktails are €12 to €18 and beers €4 to €6.
The dress code is worth knowing: walking through the town centre in swimwear carries a fine, and it is enforced. Cover up between the beach and the square.
In May, June and September it is a much calmer and more pleasant place.
Getting around
Getting around Hvar
Catamarans from Split take an hour to Hvar Town for about €12 as a foot passenger, and car ferries go to Stari Grad, which is a twenty-minute bus from the town.
Hvar Town itself is small and car-free in the centre.
The island is 68 kilometres long and buses between the towns are infrequent — a scooter at €30 to €50 a day or a car is how to see the interior, and almost nobody bothers, which is why the inland is empty.
Taxi boats to the Pakleni islands leave the harbour constantly in season for €5 to €15 return.
Note that catamarans are foot-passenger only; if you have a car it must go to Stari Grad.
Costs
What Hvar costs
Expensive in season, and the most expensive island in Croatia. Dorms are €25 to €55, a main on the harbour €30 to €50, and cocktails €12 to €18.
A day is €60 to €120 in August.
The levers: stay in Jelsa or Stari Grad and bus in, eat in the lanes rather than on the water, take taxi boats rather than organised tours, and go in May, June or September when everything drops by a third or more.
Croatia has used the euro since 2023.
Safety
Staying safe in Hvar
Hvar is safe, and the risks come from the combination of heat, alcohol and rocks.
The swimming is off rocks with sea urchins throughout — water shoes are genuinely useful here.
Cliff jumping around the Pakleni islands and the coast causes injuries every summer; depths vary and rocks move.
Scooter accidents are the other regular problem, usually involving inexperienced riders on unfamiliar roads after a long lunch. Wear a helmet and check what your insurance covers.
The town dress code carries fines. And the sun here is the strongest in Croatia at around 2,800 hours a year. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Hvar
Islands offshore and an interior almost nobody sees.
Stari Grad and the Plain
One of the oldest towns in Europe and a Greek field system from 384 BC, still farmed on the original boundaries.
Brač and Zlatni Rat
The shingle spit that appears on every Croatian poster.
What's on
What is on while you are there
A party season, a lavender festival and a procession that has run since 1510.
Staff pick
9–11 October
Spartan Race Hvar 100 Meter & Sprint World Championship
Set against the stunning backdrop of Hvar, Croatia, the Spartan Race Hvar 100 Meter & Sprint World Championship invites athletes to push their limits…
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28–31 December
International New Year's Regatta
Set against the scenic backdrop of Hvar, Croatia, the International New Year’s Regatta gathers sailors from around the world for a spirited series of…
8–11 October
Spartan World Championships
The Spartan World Championships 2026 will take place in Hvar from October 8 to 11, 2026. This event includes the 100M and Sprint World…
11 October
Hvar 100 Meter & Sprint World Championship
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15–18 October
Hvarmony Festival
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19–25 October
5th Open Classical Chess
A nine-round Swiss system tournament brings classical chess to the historic Arsenal building on this Adriatic island. The 5th Open Hvar welcomes up to…
Hostels
Where to stay in Hvar
A seasonal scene concentrated in Hvar Town, with better value in Stari Grad and Jelsa. Live from Hostelworld.
Cheap Sleep Marinero
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Dink's Place Hostel
Dorms from €22 a night
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ORANGE
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Helvetia Hostel
Dorms from €23 a night
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Hostel Villa Zorana
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Hostel Villa Skansi
Dorms from €900 a night
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The White Rabbit Hostel
Dorms from €21 a night
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Hvar Centre Dorms
Dorms from €27 a night
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When to go
May, June and September. July and August are the party season and priced for it.
Jan
Closed. Mild and empty
Feb
Still closed, and ferries reduced
Mar
Reopening slowly. Almonds in blossom
Apr
Good. Quiet, green, sea still cold
May
Excellent. Warm, affordable and calm
Jun
The best month. Lavender in flower, sea warm
Jul
Peak party season. Expensive and loud
Aug
The busiest and priciest weeks of the year
Sep
Superb. Warmest sea and the yachts thinning
Oct
Still swimmable, very cheap, half shut by the end
Nov
Closing down. Ferries reduce
Dec
Closed
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. Hvar claims around 2,800 hours of sunshine a year, the most in Croatia, and the lavender is in flower through June and early July.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros, in season.
August runs well above these figures in Hvar Town. Jelsa and Stari Grad are considerably cheaper for the same island.
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Hvar travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Hvar just a party island?
Hvar Town in July and August largely is, and it is expensive with it. The rest of the island — lavender terraces, abandoned stone hamlets, a Greek field system still farmed since 384 BC — is almost empty, and a scooter for a day is all it takes to see it.
Is there really a dress code?
Yes, and it is enforced with fines. Walking through the town centre in swimwear or bare-chested carries a penalty, introduced after years of complaints. Cover up between the beach and the square.
How do I get there?
Catamaran from Split in an hour for about €12 as a foot passenger. Cars have to go on the ferry to Stari Grad instead, which is twenty minutes by bus from Hvar Town.
Where should I swim?
The Pakleni islands, twenty minutes offshore by taxi boat for €5 to €15 return. The swimming is off rocks rather than sand and sea urchins are common, so water shoes are worth having.
Is it expensive?
The most expensive island in Croatia in August — dorms to €55, harbour mains €30 to €50 and cocktails €12 to €18. Staying in Jelsa or Stari Grad, eating in the back lanes and travelling in May, June or September changes the maths entirely.
When is the lavender out?
June and early July, across the interior. The Lavender Festival at Velo Grablje in late June is held in a semi-abandoned village and is the best way to see it.
What is Za Križen?
A UNESCO-listed procession that has run since 1510, on the night of Maundy Thursday, when six villages send cross-bearers to walk 25 kilometres barefoot through the night. It is extraordinary and very few visitors are there for it.
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