Island hopping in Croatia

I had wanted to explore the islands of Croatia for a little while. Since I had visited Hvar with some girlfriends a few years ago in fact. The idea of island hopping with children in August might sound a bit daunting at first, but properly planned, it was actually remarkably easy.

I would suggest the way to keep it enjoyable with children, or teenagers in our case, is not to try and cram too many destinations into the itinerary. We had 10 days to play with, so decided that 3 locations would be enough. The inter-island ferries are predominately run by Jardrolinja and can all be booked online in advance and issue e-tickets so no paperwork to lose.

We chose to visit the island of Brac, staying in a boutique hotel in the pretty southern coastal town of Bol, and then Palmizana, a very small private island off Hvar, and finishing up with 3 days back on the mainland in Split in order to explore the Dalmatian coastline and the national parks a little.

Each of the ferry journeys between the islands was no more than a little over an hour- allowing time for a quick cold beer on the top deck looking out at the stunning Adriatic before docking again in the next new destination. Perfect. Brac was the perfect starting point. A lovely little hotel, with a pretty pool area and a short stroll down to the waterfront where in recent years several bars and restaurants have opened up, along with various watersport hubs for hiring boats, boards etc.

You will be familiar with the most famous landmark of Brac even though you might not know it; the beautiful, infinitely instagrammable Zlatni Rat beach. A golden horn of sand that must been seen to be believed. Whilst stunning though, its genuinely best avoided in August as its crammed with sun worshippers dawn til dusk but there are plenty of other smaller less crowded beaches surrounding the town.

We also crossed the island to the western side visiting the harbour town of Milna, with its beautiful bay and harbour full of lovely restaurants to choose from. It’s a bit smaller and less busy than Bol, and was well worth the effort of getting there across the island (only 18km but over hilly terrain and narrow winding roads).

3 days later it was time to move on. This time we had chosen to stay out of the busy centre of Hvar town and plumped instead for a small private island called Palmizana just 10 minutes by water taxi from Hvar harbour. Palmizana has been in the hands of the Meneghello family for over 100 years and consists of a selection of villas for hire along with several bars and restaurants and a busy little bay filled during our visit with yachts of all sizes.

The girls were particularly taken with the white peacocks that have made the island their home, and we did see several small snakes around the island- none of which are venomous thankfully! The island has a distinctly bohemian feel in the main, although the waterfront restaurants overlooking the bay are filled with glamorous yachties from late afternoon which made for some excellent people watching!

Back on the mainland for the final stay of our trip we chose to explore a bit of the Dalmatian coastline, visiting Sibenik (Game of Thrones was filmed here), and the beautiful ancient port town of Trogir as well as travelling up river to see Krka National park and its 17 waterfalls! A spectacular day out – you can even swim in some of the lower falls.

I would highly recommend visiting this area of Croatia- mixing a little adventure with history, culture with gastronomy all the while in beautiful surroundings is a perfect family break.