Croatia’s Dalmatian Islands: Korčula and Hvar
KORČULA
Time slows a little on Korčula. The UNESCO listed, medieval old town (with the same name as the island itself) is small, easily “seen” in a morning, so then you get to ease into swim, eat, sleep, repeat mode.
You can rent boats, cars or bikes to explore the other historic towns and pretty bays on the 46km island or just jump into the sea from the piers in town and work your way through the various wine bars and restaurants that line the outside walls of the fortified town, under the trees next to the sea.
Prices are reasonable (not super cheap, but not as expensive as Dubrovnik) and the people are really friendly. I spent most of my time here with Gav and Jess, friends from home, who were staying in a fantastic Airbnb near Prižba, so didn’t really eat at many restaurants. Why would I when I was being cooked up spreads like this one and eating next to the sea with great company!
I had a lovely meal at one of the more upscale options, Pensatore, primarily because there was a great band playing out the front. There is a lot of pasta in Korčula and this place was top of the line.
I did a wine tasting at Bokar Wine Bar in an attempt to learn a little about Croatian wine. It was a friendly place with some good selections and a flight where you could try several wines. I really liked:
- Pošip – a white grape variety, grown in the south of Korčula. It was protected by Croatian law in 1967. It’s vibrant, straw-yellow coloured and has a full flavour, think apricots and figs.
- Dingač – a red wine, made out of plavac mali grapes in a very small area. It’s classified as a “premium” wine by the government.
At both these places, I met and chatted with lovely couples who were sitting close by. Korčula is that kind of place I think. Everyone seems to be in a gregarious frame of mind. It must be a combination of the sea, sunshine and no pressure to be running around seeing castles and art galleries!
HVAR – STARI GRAD
Hvar town, the main town on Hvar island, is a renowned party spot. It attracts the rich and famous and is compared to St Tropez. I spent a total of 90 minutes there! Not because it wasn’t beautiful, it’s very pretty, but I was just not up for peopling the morning I went to see it. And there were a lot of people. So I can’t in all good conscience help you on Hvar! But Stari Grad, the second biggest town on the island? There I spent 4 totally relaxed, delightful nights. If I thought time slowed on Korčula, it hit the brakes hard in Stari Grad.
The town itself wraps around a very picturesque harbour, that was still busy every day in early September with yachts coming and going. There are little beaches either side of the long, narrow bay, a large one with rocks and piers to dive off in front of the Arkada hotel.
This was four days of domestic bliss for me. I stayed in a really lovely Airbnb with a balcony that had a view over the harbour, a full kitchen and I had an assignment to finish so I mainly cooked and spent my evenings on the balcony watching the sky change colour and the almost full moon rise over the mountains. If you’re heading that way, search for Apartman Nina on Airbnb – Maria and her grandmother were so lovely and the apartment was perfect.
One morning I rented a bike (they are everywhere, cycling is really popular on the Dalmatian islands as a holiday) and rode the 18km from Stari Grad to Vrboska to Jelsa and back. From Stari Grad to Vrboska, you ride along the Stari Grad plain. The bike path is set between vineyards, fields and stone walls on land that is the oldest continually farmed land on the planet. The ride is an easy flat one, with some very pretty beaches between Vrboska and Jelsa where you can stop off for a swim.
To my delight, I discovered that the original settlers and farmers of this area were from Paros, Greece and they showed up in 3BC. Just a lazy 3000 years or so ago. It took me a few days to find this out and my affinity with Stari Grad immediately took on a whole new angle given how much I love Paros. I love those moments of travel when relationships between places and the way you feel about them click into place, whether it’s because of a historical connection or people you meet along the way.
Most of my meals were cooked at home on Hvar, but I can recommend Eremitaz. It was originally a lodging for hermit monks, in the 17th century it was a hospice for travellers and since 1966 it has been a restaurant called Eremitaz. I spent a lovely lunch there, watching the yachts come and go, eating deliciously fresh and moist whole bream that had been cooked on open coals and drinking some crisp Pošip white wine.
