Sun, Sand, and Sails
The next stop on our adventure was Hvar Town on the island of Hvar. We heard when we planned our trip that Hvar is known for its yachts, celebrities, and parties. Even still, we had no idea what we were in for when we arrived.
Our hotel was situated right on the water and our room afforded us a gorgeous view of the harbour with all the yachts lined up in a row. The yachts are a testament to how much money is floating around that town. Many of the big ones are rented for anywhere from $125–175k a WEEK. I think I’ll just stick to my hotel, thanks!
At first the hotel seemed awesome — we got a free cellphone to use around the island, free breakfast, a free happy hour drink in their seaside open-air lounge… what they didn’t tell you was that Carpe Diem Club right next door would blast music into your bedroom until precisely 2am.
After our first sleepless night, Sean and I decided to embrace the party side of this quaint island as there also wasn’t much else going on here. During the day people suntanned and swam and then all night long they partied. There was a party going on at all hours of the night if you knew where to go including one reachable only by a water taxi that drops you off on an island to party from 12:30–6am. I couldn’t help but think that I would have loved this island in my younger years.
Our time in Hvar was mostly about catching some R&R. We napped a lot, took a stroll to the mountaintop fortress to watch the sunset, and took walks along the seaside admiring the turquoise blue water and abundance of agave plants growing everywhere.
One thing that was quite shocking about Hvar was the price of everything! A cocktail could set you back around $20 CAD and a main course meal was usually around $30 CAD. Everything adds up quickly and we soon realized that in order to have a good time, you needed to predrink the sh*t out of Hvar.
One of the highlights from our time on Hvar was when we rented an old VW Bug named Luigi and took him around the island to do a self-guided wine tour. We soon learned that wineries in Croatia are very different than what you would find in Canada. Many are in the basement of residential houses due to the fact that Croatian wine was historically only for personal use rather than commercial.
The most memorable winery of our tour was in such a residential basement cellar. We cautiously approached the unlabelled house that bared the correct address, walked into the backyard and asked if there was a winery on site. A very friendly fellow smiled at us, nodded, and then proceeded to walk us into his cellar. What met us was the most beautiful candlelit wine room I’ve ever seen. He spoke maybe three words of English and we spoke about the same in Croatian but despite the language barrier, we proceeded to have a full wine tasting, teasing apart which wines were oaked and whether it was French or American oak, what the year of production was, etc. In our opinion, Duboković winery had the best wine on the island of Hvar and combined with the most unpretentious tasting experience, it was a winner all around. The lovely man even gifted us a beautiful bottle of his wine after learning that we were on our honeymoon! If anyone makes it to Hvar, I definitely recommend visiting his winery!
That’s all for now! We just left Split and are currently in Makarska (I know, I know, I’m falling behind). Stay tuned to hear more about our adventures!
We miss you all xoxo
