Hvar (Croatia)

Clear water and rocky beaches of Hvar

 When I looked up Hvar in my Lonely Planet, I was a bit worried. It is a decidedly beach island off the coast of Croatia. Plus it's frequented by the rich and famous. Expensive beach boredom is not quite my idea of a fun tourist destination. Yet, we had a lot of fun!

Sunset from the fortress

The first day that we arrived, we attempted to take the city tour. We missed it by 5-10 minutes. Therefore, we used the tourist map to do our own walking tour. It culminated in a walk up the city fortress for a beautiful view of sunset.

Remains of a 3rd-6th century Roman villa

The next day, we boarded a boat with other tourists for an excursion to the Paklinski Islands. At the first stop, our ship anchored just off shore; and, we jumped in the sea. The water was refreshing and clear. At the second stop, we were dropped at the rocky beach for a couple hours. During this long stop, I hiked to the ruins of a 3rd-6th century AD Roman villa. It was underwhelming after hiking for 3.5 km (1 hour) on a rocky, overgrown path. Afterward, the ship's crew made us a delicious mackerel lunch accompanied with tomato and cabbage salad. When we finished our plates, we dumped the leftovers over board and watched the fish fight over the food. At the third stop, the ship again anchored off shore. Since the water was so clear, we could see the bottom. It was deeper than it looked. Some people even jumped into the water off the top of the boat! Another girl and I swam across the little bay and back. It was a perfect day of fun in the sun.