Exploring Hvar

I’m not to sure why, but it has been a recurring pattern that the day we arrive in a destination is bloody beautiful and the sun split’s the sky, then the only day we have in the destination itself, the weather sucks! Well today was kinda like that. We woke up to dry weather but no sun and decided after much thought to hire a scooter and explore the island. We had been told that it would be 300Kuna for the day minus fuel, which works out about $75NZD which to be honest is incredibly reasonable. Just across from our Air B n B we found a place that rented them for 200Kuna so jumped on that deal straight away. It pays coming in off season for sure! 

After picking up our little 50cc red rover and signing our lives away we hopped on, equipped with a map and some suggestions from our host and off we went. The first stop was Dubovka, voted the best beach in the island and about 20 minutes from Hvar. We arrived and we were the only ones there apart from an old local man feeding the fish with some bread. Right enough the beach itself was truly stunning with some of the clearest waters we have ever seen… we were just missing the sun and the heat.

From there it was off to Stari Grad, the second largest town in Hvar an another touristy one filled with beautiful ancient building, churches and a small marina. Here was also where we tried lavender ice-cream after hearing so many good things about it. We shared a cone for 10Kuna which is about $2.50NZD (divide everything by 4 here) and it was nice. More of a sorbet texture and definitely had lime in it, even though when we asked the seller replied with ‘I just work here’…oh the simple life right? ​

It was a nice town and we managed a window of about 30 minutes to walk in the sun before heading further East to Jelsa. I think I was most excited about visiting Jelsa as we had been told it was really beautiful but the wind had picked up and the rain was on it’s way in so when we arrived I feel the charm was lost on me due to the fact I was I shorts and freezing. However, we stopped at a beautiful bar on the waterfront, took some great photos and then had what can only be described as the best hot chocolate of our lives. So, we see hot chocolate on the menu here, everywhere! BUT always wondered why it is more expensive like up to 10-15 Kuna more expensive…and now I know. It is the richest, thickest, mug of sheer creamy sweet goodness we have both ever tried. My beautifully made flat white was nothing compared to Leo’s HC and I urge you to have one on your trip in Croatia…they know how to make it right. None of this watery powdered Cadbury’s pish from a tin, this was really thick melted chocolate and it was truly delicious.
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From there the rain started so we hopped back on our bike and made our way over the mountains on the scenic route to get home to Hvar. It is beautiful and we highly recommend taking this route back as you cross the highest point in the island and can stop in some quaint, local, very basic yet picturesque towns along the way selling local produce but for us it was straight home to warm up! 

Jelsa, despite the cold and the rain was my favourite town as it is lined with cute café’s, ice cream parlours and local shops all through the main square, while also boating a small harbour with crystal waters and it was perfect for a picnic. I am just so happy we weren’t here in Summer where the hundreds of thousands explore the island each day!
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Tomorrow we head to Dubrovnik for our last 2 nights in Croatia before heading back to Scotland. I have now managed to pick up some bug so between my throat, stomach and generally feeling like crap, I am really looking forward to getting back to Scotland for some TLC from mum. Arriving home we made it in time for another instagrammable sunset!