croatia 2018: hvar

After close to 24 hours in Split, we took a ferry with room for our car and headed over to the island of Hvar. By the afternoon in Split, we were wiped from walking around in the heat and took the 1.5 hour ferry ride as a prime opportunity to caffeinate and nap. The ferry brought us into Stari Grad (one of the oldest towns in Europe), and we began our ~30 minute drive to the city of Hvar, where we would be staying overnight.

As our trip had progressed, we made our way south as we headed out of the mountains and closer to the coasts. I had planned to save what I thought would be the ultimate beach day, our time in Dubrovnik, as the last full day of the trip, but by the time we reached Hvar that afternoon, H and I were really craving a famous Adriatic Sea beach we had heard so much about. As soon as we got into Hvar town, we dropped off our belongings at our apartment and scoured the coast for any beach we could find. Unfortunately, by the time we found one, the wind had picked up considerably and it was too cold for a swim. So we just sadly and longingly stared at the beautiful waters as we walked around old Hvar town.

Old Hvar town with the fortress overlooking the coast

Sea urchins 

We found an Italian seafood restaurant tucked in an alleyway for dinner, where I had a (massive) prawn risotto and H got a lobster pasta. We called it a night fairly early as most of the town closed up for the day after sunset. We had our sights set on exploring a fortress very close to our apartment the next morning before heading back to the ferry. The fortress, called Fortica Spanjola, was built in the 16th century, and lends itself to a fantastic view of the city. Because we went so early in the morning, we largely had the fortress to ourselves which gave us the chance to really take in the views.

Path leading up to the top of the fortress

View from the path leading up

Old Hvar town

The newer part of the city to the left, with the older on the right

A view of the Adriatic Sea

After exploring the fortress, we did one last walk around the coastal part of old Hvar town before we had to leave and catch our ferry. The drive back to Stari Grad boasted beautiful (and scary) cliff views as we loaded the car onto the ferry and headed back to Split. The rest of the day would be spent with the plan to drive to Dubrovnik, but with a spontaneous trip within a trip to another city (and country!). But more on that in the next post!