About Hvar

The island of Hvar is situated in the Adriatic Sea, in front of the city of Split and between the islands Brac, Vis and Korcula. It is the fourth island in Croatia, according to the extent, and it comprises the surface of 300 km2 and its coast is 250 km long. The island Hvar has Mediterranean nature and climate features. Summers are long and warm, and winters are mild and short. Hvar is considered to be the sunniest island in the Mediterranean Sea with 2715 sunny hours per year and due to these specific climate characteristics tourists from all over the world travel to Hvar island during the summer as well as during the winter. The magazine Conde Nast Traveller, the prominent tourist magazine, has classified the island Hvar among 10 most beautiful islands in the world. If you visit Hvar island you will be sure to taste: one of the most beautiful Mediterranean landscapes nature has ever created, an agreeable and healthy climate, a clean and unpolluted environment, the strong fragrance of lavender, rosemary and heather, age-old and glorious history, an attractive urban visage, a rich variety of cultural and historic monuments, the longest tradition of organized tourism in Croatia. Travelling to Hvar island is an experience you mustn’t miss!

The town of Hvar is the biggest and most important center of the island: it is a unique blend of luxuriant Mediterranean nature, rich and multi-faceted cultural and historical heritage and fashionable tourism present. Facing the sunny side of the world, with all its Mediterranean lure and exuberance, facing the sea which has favored it with an illustrious and unrepeatable history, Hvar is a treasure chest of sights, experience and adventures. In the Middle Ages, Hvar achieved renown and power as an important port and part of the Venetian marine empire. Today, it is the tourism centre of the island and one of the best-loved tourist resorts on the Croatian Riviera.

Hvar – among the best islands in the Mediterranean

Hvar has been elected among 8 best islands in Mediterranean Sea by Conde Nast Traveller Magazine.
You can check it on link: http://www.cntraveller.com/Special_Features/The_Best_Islands_in_the_Mediterranean_Sea/Hvar_Croatia/default.asp

Complete article:

WHY HVAR?
The Dalmatian coast is fast becoming the French Rivera of the east, and Hvar is unquestionably its St Tropez. Although it has been a popular with yacht-goers of the Mediterranean for years, its relative inaccessibility has meant that it managed to hold on to its special tranquil beauty. And it’s easy to see the appeal: the Adriatic air smells of lavender as the rocky hills surrounding Hvar town itself are blanketed in purple. At the bottom of the slopes, the harbour town curves around the south-facing bay, with those yachts bobbing on the crystal clear water.

WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Riva is Croatia’s first member of the Small Luxury Hotels Group, and with its open-plan bathrooms and glass loo doors it has had a daring makeover. It was once two 18th-century villas; more recently, one of the stone buildings was the headquarters of the Croatian Navy. The 54 contemporary bedrooms are businesslike and small; it is the hotel’s position on the harbour, with its gleaming yachts and lavish cruisers, that really makes it special. A handful of rooms have balconies and the laid-back, alfresco lounge-bar is a wonderful place to relax in the summer. Hotel Riva, Riva bb, Hvar (00 385 21 750 750; www.suncanihvar.com/riva).

WHERE TO EAT
By night, when the yachts return from a day at sea and holidaymakers peel themselves away from the beaches and surrounding islands, Hvar town really comes alive. Heading east along the harbour front, on the corner past the low couches of Hvar’s trendiest bar Carpe Diem, you’ll find Restaurant Gariful – one of the most picturesque places to enjoy the day’s fresh fish catch. As you look out at sea to the spectacular sunset, the restaurant’s lobsters crawl in an aquarium cut into the harbour wall and fish is cooked on the open grill carved out next to it. Obala bb, Hvar (00 385 21 742 999).

THE BEST EXCURSION
The other islands in the Croatian archipelago – Vis, Prvic, Sipan and Brac demand proper exploration. Island-hopping between the five is popular, and you can safely book a stay at hotels on each. We recommend Hotel Maestral on Prvic (www.hotelmaestral.com), Hotel Sipan on Sipan (www.hotel-sipan.com), Hotel Kastil on Brac (www.kastil.hr) and Hotel Paula on Vis (hotelpaula.com).

Hvar town

Hvar is situated in a picturesque natural setting, facing the south, the sun and the sea. Hvar is proud that it has the most sunny hours of all the islands in the Adriatic Sea . Many people say of the town Hvar that it is a town as from a fairy- tale because its arhitecture, wonderful nature and its mild climate.

Things to see:
The Pjaca is per haps the most beautiful and largest town square on the Croatian coast. It is embellished by the “mandrac” (tiny port) and has direct access to the sea.

The impressive loggia was built at the beginning of the 17th century. The monumental Arsenal was built partly in the first half of the 16th century and the oldest communal theatre in Europe was built under the same roof in 1612. The cathedral of Pope St Stephen stands at the far end of the Pjaca, where two parts of the town meet.

The Fortress – Climb up through a park to the Spanjola fortress around sunset. The view over the harbour and Pakleni islands from there is magnificent! The fortress was originally built defend the town from the Turks. It was strengthened in 16th, and then again in the 19th century.

Things to do:
Hvar Summer Performances are a traditional summer cultural manifestation with musical, theatrical and folk programs performed by Croatian and foreign artists.

Hvar patron saint – town protector is Saint Stephen (Sv. Stjepan). The celebration of the patron takes place in Hvar October 2nd and 3rd.

Travel + Leisure Magazine: 25 great island escapes

Travel + Leisure Magazine included Island of Hvar among 25 great island escapes of the World. This article was published in January 2008.
Complete article:

HVAR, CROATIA

Why here, why now? There is certainly a lot of buzz around this picturesque island, with rocky beaches and a medieval town of winding alleys lined with restaurants and bars. Where to stay? Hotel Riva and The Adriana are vying for your attention. Riva is a boutique hotel, the only Croatian member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and was renovated in 2006. Not to be outdone, The Adriana is Croatia’s only member of the Leading Hotels of the World.

T+L Tip The bar at Riva, which hovers just above the Adriatic, is a perfect spot for a cocktail and yacht watching. The local wine is well worth a try.

The Facts Hotel Riva, +385 21 750 750; www.slh.com; doubles from $286. The Adriana, +385 21 750 200; www.lhw.com; doubles from $310.

Website: http://www.travelandleisure.com.au/islandescapes/default.aspx?page=3

Hvar climate

The island Hvar is characterized by gentle winters, warm summers and many hours of sunshine. Gentle and moist winters (January in Hvar has an average temperature of 8.4° C) have many advantages, among other things enabling winter tourism in Hvar. Maximum temperatures are never too high to render agriculture impossible (the highest recorded temperature of 37° C was reached in 1935). The average annual air temperature is around 16.5° C, while autumns are warmer than springs, which prolongs the growing period.

Hvar has an annual average of 7.7 hours sunshine per day and 3.8 hours of cloud (by comparison Dubrovnik has 7.0 hours of sunshine and 4.4 hours of cloud; Nice /South of France/ 7.2 and 4.2 respectively). A general belief in the health-giving effects of sunny regions led to the discovery of this “Adriatic Madeira” as early as the 19th century. It has the most hours of sunshine on the Adriatic coast, with as much as 2715 per year, and only small variations in temperature. “The Hygienic Society” was founded in 1868, and the first health hotel was opened in 1889, while The Centre for Allergies of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1965.

Climate takes care that ardency of the Sun and warmth of the sea are cooled by summer, benevolent mistral. Mistral is a wind often connected with blooming of the fig-tree. It blows on Hvar from the northwest through Pakleni Channel. As a rule it starts to blow in the morning about 10 or 11 o’clock, becoming stronger as the sun goes up, and then after a purple sunset, that announces another beautiful morrow, it withers away in the warm and short summer night. Mistral blows constantly, but it stretches the sails of all kind; thus sailors like it. Rains are rare in summer months, but sometime when falling they make a welcome refreshment and short-term change.

The magnetic, summer attraction does not end with the autumn equinox. On the contrary, a period between autumn and spring equinoxes, brings a stimulating freshness of mild winter, slowed down pace of living, tranquillity and silence to all who like lush vegetation and miraculous changes, that are brought by jugo (sirocco) and bura (bora). It rarely snows during this winter period, in average once in every ten years, and when it does a real festivity to all residents of Hvar. Jugo brings frightfully respectful thunders and rains that fill cisterns of Hvar during late autumn and early winter, and the drizzle lulls to sleep. Bura, on the other hand, brings freshness, winds, clear air and the horizon that is limited only by the roundness of the Earth.