hvar

May 2007

We took the ferry to Hvar from Split. The hydrofoil takes 50 minutes; if you’re on a yacht the trip will take however long you’d like it to. We were there during the shoulder season; if you go during the summer there is much more frequent service.

Hvartown is charming–the travel writers that call it the next St Tropez are doing it a disservice. True, the port has berths for lots of boats–not many when we were there in May but, I am sure, crowded in July and August. The piazza is next to the port and very Venetian in both look and feel (this area was owned by Venice for centuries). It is lovely to sit in the cafes and watch the passing parade of families while drinking a cafe or a glass of wine. The weather was perfect and we felt we could have spent much more time there than the two days we had allotted.

Staying:

We stayed at the Palace Hotel, a very tired 1930′s hotel right off the square owned by Suncani, the company that owns most of the hotels in Hvartown. Our room was large with a water view. The hotel is to be closed for remodelling shortly, and will reopen summer 2008. www.suncanihvar.com/palace 021/750 750. Meanwhile, the Riva Hotel has just been remodelled. It is right on the port with a stunning outdoor restaurant and bar. The rooms, however, are very contemporary and small with some of the showers opening into the rooms. No pool. The Adriatic is magnificently clear and lovely but the beaches are pebble, thus hard to lie on. www.suncanihvar/riva 021/750 100.

A less expensive option is to rent a room from one of the people who meets the boats with pictures of bedrooms.

Eating:

Fish again. Plain grilled with fabulous olive oil splashed on top, and then sprinkled with fresh herbs. The salads are uniformly composed of local ingredients, with very good olive oil and vinegar. The white wine, garlic, parsley and olive oil sauce on the shells is excellent.

Macondo. (pasta with lobster in the shell; excellent spiny variety with v. thin shells but still hard work to crack.) 021/742 850.

Yaksa. (chicken dish with honey for R; Grilled octopus on corn blini for me.) www.yaksahvar.com 021/717 202.

Shopping:

Jewelry gallery, Tanja Curin, had terrific things (also branch in Zagreb). 091/506 7140.