MY wife and I are heading to Europe on Sept 4th 4 nights in Copenhagen, 6 nights in Slovenia, 2 nights in Split and then we want to chill and get in some beach time. So we decided to stay on the island of Hvar for 1 week. We might take day trips from there. We are asking the forum community where on Hvar. we are not planning on getting a car but maybe we need one, so Car or no Car? We are not party people or Bar people we like good food and just chilling so I am wondering if Hvar Town is not the right place. We do love towns and villages and walking around window shopping and having a good choice of restaurants and coffee shops etc. So the other spot was Jesla. but it is 30 minutes to Hvar Town and it might be too small. We've never been to Croatia so we don't know. Hvar Town might offer more for us to do in a week. So this is about should we have a car and where should we stay? If we dont get a car. how will we get around the island and explore?and will alternatives work out to be as costly as a car? thanks so much
Posted by
4961 posts
There is good bus transport between Hvar town and Stari Grad, and some limited bus service elsewhere on the island. I would not take a car onto the island, too much bother, but I would keep the option open to do a day rental as needed.
September is not party time as much as summer is, so I would not rule out Hvar town, but Stari Grad is a nice alternative. Jelsa is very small and the only thing really going on is the beach. It felt like much longer than 30 minutes going from Jelsa to Hvar, but I only passed through the village.
What day trips did you have in mind? For going off the island, Hvar and Stari Grad are going to be your best bets. Check schedules out of Milna too, it looked like a pleasant town, but I have not stayed there.
Krilo and Jadrolinija operate the catamarans--you can see schedules on their websites.
I don't know the cost comparison, that would have to be worked out specifically, but you can rent boats, take boat trips to the Pakleni islands and along the coast, and you can see what the tourist office has on offer for a drive around the island.
Posted by
OP
Grass valley, California
32 posts
Thank you so much, so based on what you are saying HVAR town might be the better option giving us more Town to explore? and not having a car more options for renting boats and taking ferrys to other places without having to shlep across the island to get to all these amenities?
Posted by
4961 posts
If you want a town and not a village, then I would choose between Hvar and Stari Grad for sure. High season could nowadays be spilling into early September, so if you are at all worried about staying in Hvar town due to its party reputation, Stari Grad sounds like a lovely place--it is where I will stay when I get back for sure! They also have a bike path along the cast to/toward Jelsa.
Jelsa might be a bit small for me, but if I just wanted to swim and explore nature, it would be fine. The main thing is for doing day trips, you may not want the extra step of getting from Jelsa to somewhere where ferries and catamarans leave every day, but you do have the option of taking day boats over to Bol.
It really just depends on what you are looking for though--I am all for exploring smaller, less popular places, so I don't want to discourage you. Jelsa does seem to have plenty of restaurants, so more input is probably required. You might want to check the Trip Advisor forum as well, as it covers a more wide area than this page typically does.
https://visitjelsa.hr/en/4629/getting-around/
It looks like Jelsa has invested a lot since i passed through years ago: https://www.total-croatia-news.com/25-things-to-know-about-croatia/23589-jelsa-25-things-to-know-about-hvar-s-wine-capital