CROATIA - Hvar & Pakleni Islands

17:40 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Hvar, the lavendar island has been a beacon for exploreres, pilgrims and travelers for thousand of years. Hvar has evolved into a world class destination not just for the rich and famous and party goers but travelers who simply love its georgeos setting and relaxed way of life.

The Pakleni islands are a neclace of pearls just outside Hvar town harbour. With lots of bays for swimming and snorkeling with clear seas and pine trees. Also not to be missed is Jerolim at one of Pakleni islands which is a famous nudist paradise.

My hubby woke up early in the next morning and visited the fortress of Hvar Town.

Ticket booth at Hvar fortress.

Construction of the City Fortress began after 1278 when Hvar came under the Venetian rule. In 1551, a new fortress was built at the place of old one and it offered protection to population who had taken refuge there during the Turkish invasion in 1571.

Be prepared for the gorgeous view ahead.

View of the whole Hvar town.

View of Pakleni Islands from the fortress.

This is part of the marine archaelogical collection.

Today the fortress is a symbol of an extremely significant and turbulent period of the town’s history. Its elaborate ground-plan, picturesque location and excellent state of preservation make it one of the finest town fortifications on the Croatian coast.

Explosion of gunpowder chamber considerably damaged the fortress in 1579. It was repaired during the Duke Pietro Semitecolo’s time at the beginning of 17th century.

Cafe at the fortress.

It also leads to prison.

The plan and layout of the fortress.

After visiting the fortress, we’re prepared to visit Pakleni Islands.

Passed by the restaurant that we had dinner the night before.

View of Hvar town. The fortress is located on top of the hill offering a commanding view of the surroundings.

Rows of souveniours stalls at Hvar Town. I’ll be sure to come back later.

Just off Hvar’s main town square is the Loggia and a clock tower from the 15th century. During the Venetian rule, it serves as a courthouse. The loggia now served as spa salon, cafe, reading room, and dance hall.

There’s even a submarine parked at the bay.

I was planning to take a taxi boat to Pakleni Islands. The price was quite reasonable, 40Kn for return per adult.

The taxi boat would make 2 stopovers, Jerolim Amo Beach and Stipanska Carpe Diem Beach.

Boarded the taxi boat and off we went.

It’s just a 5 minutes or so ride from the Hvar town waterfront to reach Pakleni Islands.

My first stop was Jerolim Amo Beach.

Welcome to Amo Beach. Guess who helped us to take this family photo?

This was the kind gal who happened to pass by. Thanks very much!

Well, Jerolim is a famous nudist paradise since 1896. We managed to take a peek but didn’t stay for long.

View of the nudist beach. Sorry, I won’t post any closeup shots!

Instead, I headed towards the beach bar.

It has a nice ambience with colourful umbrellas hanging from the trees.

For our lunch, we ordered a steak and watermelon juice. Yummy!

After lunch, we headed to the more secluded beach on the island.

Ah, perfect!

So, did I go skinny dipping here?

Nope, we just watched other people stripped naked.

The water was warm and it was nice to dip in the sea.

My son was tired after playing in the sea.

We took the water taxi and went to the next beach, Carpe Diem.

After beach parties was originally introduced by the Carpe Diem nightclub. So yeah, we’ve arrived at the mother of Croatia’s coastal clubs.

See what I meant?

I immediately fell in love with the outdoor bar.

The beach area.

Every corner seemed inviting.

We decided to just kick back and relax on these comfy lounge under the shade.

There’s no better refreshment than a fruit platter with icy yogurt on a hot summer day.

The spaghetti was nothing to shout about but still satisfying for our hungry stomach.

Time to head back to Hvar.

My beau helping the girls, take a photo.

A trip to Pakleni Islands is definitely not to missed. It sure was a relaxing trip for me

Back at Hvar. The Franciscan monastery in Hvar town was built in the 15th century as a retreat for sailors.

A strip of beach beside the monastery.

It is opened from 9am to 3pm, then reopens from 5pm to 7pm.

Matteo Ponzoni’s painting “Last Supper” is in the reflectory.

Others museum collection can be found in the monastery.

Inside the church, we can see the 16th century altars, Venetian work from the 16th century and the grave of the local poet, Hannibal Lucic.

This centennial cypress tree in the garden of the Franciscan Monastery is quite peculiar. The tree itself is estimsted to be 500 years old. The branches are elliptic in cross section and had to be supported by steel columns.

After leaving the monastery, I explored the rest of Hvar town.

There are plenty of restaurants around.

And we ate again. Haha. We just ate around the clock that day.

This time it’s pizza and fried calamari.

Time to hunt for some Hvar souveniours.

I bought some lavendar products and essential oils. It’s a natural insect-repellent as well as an air purifier. And it is one of those rare oils that can be applied directly onto the skin without staining.