Explore: Hvar Island
General Info
This long, thin island is a very popular tourist destination and well worth a visit if you are prepared for the crowds and harbour traffic. It is well known for its lavender and rosemary and has an impressive castle overlooking the harbour with wonderful views.
Docking on the town quay is expensive, however, there are more reasonably priced moorings available on the other side of the harbour and some anchoring space. This is a party town, so noise carries on until the early hours.
Position: 43° 10.20’N, 16° 26.70’E (Hvar harbour)
Clearance
Hvar and Stari Grad are both summer Ports of Entry.
Docking
Hvar Harbour is very popular and as a result, the inner harbor gets very congested with ferry traffic, superyachts and local tourist boats.
Town Quay:
Use of the town quay is mainly by large motor yachts with prices to match. If space is found here, take care to raise your passerelle at night to discourage boarders, or pull yourself well off the quay.
Moorings:
There are mooring buoys on the west side of the harbor, taking lines ashore, which are more reasonably priced.
Anchoring:
Yachts can anchor off the Borovac Islands off Hvar (43 09.61N 16 25.0E) for free and dinghy into Hvar town. Lots of traffic and poor holding can be a problem here. Anchoring is also free in the harbor area although it does put you in the middle of all the main quay traffic.
An alternative is to use the marina at Palmizana and cross to Hvar using the water taxi (operates from June to August).
Around the Island:
There are many anchorages and several other harbors around the island.
Stari Grad
This harbor has recently been enlarged and can now accommodate approx. 100 yachts. There are stone quays on both sides with laid moorings. Mooring buoys are also available at the far eastern end of the harbor before the small boat harbor starts. As with everywhere on Hvar, arrive early to get a place.
Jelsa, Sucuraj and Vrboska also all offer good berthing. The latter place has a marina.
Ashore:
While this is a busy tourist destination, it is a beautiful town and well worth a visit. There is good easy provisioning and restaurants here, a launderette and pharmacy.
Last updated: June 2019
