Where to Stay in Hvar: The Port You Land At Is Not the Town

Hvar is a word that means two things, and booking the wrong one is the most common mistake people make when choosing where to stay in Hvar, Croatia.

Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. We do not rank hotels, and any prices on the map come live from the booking sites.

Hvar Town is a yacht harbour with a fortress above it, the most expensive and by far the loudest place on the island, where the bars run late and the Riva fills with boats in August. Hvar island is 68 kilometres long, and most of it is lavender terraces, vineyards, small fishing villages and one of the oldest towns in Croatia.

The second thing to know is arrivals. The fast catamarans dock in Hvar Town. The car ferries dock at Stari Grad, about twenty minutes away by road on the other side of the island. People routinely book a room in one and buy a ticket to the other.

So discover the best areas before you look at a single hotel on Hvar, and decide which Hvar you want. Port positions, distances and town character checked 10 September 2026. Rates and ferry timetables change, so check both yourself.

The best places to stay in Hvar island at a glance

Areas to stay in Hvar: the best areas to stay, ranked

If you want one answer: stay in Hvar Town for two or three nights on a first trip, and in the town of Stari Grad if you are staying a week or want to sleep. Hvar is one of those islands where the right answer depends entirely on which half you pick.

Stay in Hvar Town: the obvious place to stay in Hvar, for better and worse

The town of Hvar sits at the western end of the island around a wide harbour, with a Venetian square, a fortress on the hill and the Pakleni islands just offshore.

• The Riva, the waterfront promenade, is where the yachts moor and where the evening happens. It is also where the noise is.
• St Stephen’s Square is the largest town square in Dalmatia and the town centre of Hvar old town, closed to cars and lined with restaurants.
• Hvar’s old town climbs steeply behind the square in stone lanes and steps, so check how far above the water your room is before booking.
• Palace Elisabeth Hvar Heritage Hotel, on the square in the old governor’s palace, is the landmark luxury heritage hotel and takes its name from Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
• Adriana Spa Hotel Hvar sits on the harbour with a rooftop pool, and the Amfora Grand Beach Resort is the large resort on the bay just west.
• Best for nightlife, for a first visit and for anyone who wants to walk everywhere. Worst for sleeping in August, when the harbour is busy until three.

Just outside Hvar Town: the compromise

• The bays either side of town put you ten to twenty minutes on foot from the square and out of earshot of the Riva.
• Podstine, west along the shore, is the classic example: a quiet bay with its own swimming and a walk into town along the sea.
• Hotel Podstine is the landmark there, and Riva Marina Hvar Hotel is back on the harbour itself if you want the opposite.
• You get sea views over the Adriatic Sea and quiet without needing a car, which is the whole point of staying away from the town rather than outside it.
• Best for couples and for anyone who wants a comfortable stay or a perfect stay with the town available rather than unavoidable.

Stay in Stari Grad: the oldest town on the island

Stari Grad, Croatia sits in a long sheltered bay on the north side of the island and is a completely different proposition from Hvar Town. To stay on the island rather than in the party is what most repeat visitors end up doing.

• Founded by Greek settlers in 384 BC, which makes it one of the oldest towns in Europe still lived in, and the name simply means old town.
• The Stari Grad Plain behind it is a UNESCO site: an ancient Greek field system of dry stone walls still farmed today.
• It is quiet. Stone lanes, a small harbour, a coffeehouse or two on the front, a few good restaurants and no nightlife to speak of. The heart of Stari Grad is a square you can cross in thirty seconds.
• Maslina Resort, on the bay outside town, is the landmark for the newer design end.
• This is where the car ferries arrive, so it is the practical base if you are bringing a vehicle.
• Best for a relaxing stay, for families and for anyone staying a week.

Jelsa, Vrboska and the eastern half

• Jelsa, Croatia, in the middle of the island, is a green harbour town with pine woods, a playground on the front, a couple of beaches and prices well below Hvar Town.
• Vrboska is tiny, built along a narrow inlet with bridges, and is sometimes called little Venice. It is the quietest place on the island with a harbour.
• The eastern end, out towards Sućuraj, is almost empty and only makes sense with a car.
• Both Stari Grad and Jelsa have supermarkets, bakeries and a normal Croatian town rhythm, which Hvar Town loses in July.
• Best for value and for a longer stay, and for anyone who wants the island of Hvar rather than the party. If you want to stay in Hvar island terms rather than Hvar town terms, this is where you end up.

Villas on Hvar and the interior: where to stay on Hvar island with a car

• A luxury villa with a pool in the hills is a real category here, and villas on Hvar are usually in the interior rather than on the coast.
• You will need a car. The interior roads are fine but there is no bus worth relying on.
• The landscape is lavender, vines and dry stone, and it is the part of the island most visitors never see.
• Best for groups, and poor for two people without a vehicle.

Hotel Hvar options: the best hotels in Hvar, by type

Hvar has an unusually top-heavy market for an island of its size, because the yacht crowd supports it. Here is what each category means and where it sits.

Luxury heritage hotels in Hvar Town

• The Palace Elisabeth hotel, properly Palace Elisabeth Hvar Heritage Hotel, stands on the main square in the old governor’s palace, in the heart of Hvar Town, and is the landmark of the luxury heritage hotels here.
• The building is Venetian, which is unsurprising given the Republic of Venice ran this coast for centuries and left the architecture behind.
• These are small. A heritage hotel on Hvar means forty rooms rather than four hundred.

Resorts, spa hotels and the Riva marina

• Amfora Hvar Grand Beach Resort sits on the bay west of town and is the largest resort on the island, with a swimming pool complex and its own stretch of shore.
• Adriana Spa Hotel Hvar faces the harbour with a rooftop pool, and is the obvious spa hotel choice if you want to be on the water.
• Riva Marina Hvar Hotel is on the Riva itself, beside the marina, which is either perfect or unbearable depending on your tolerance for the evening.
• Beach Bay Hotel and Valamar Amicor Green Resort cover the newer mid-range end just outside the centre.

Boutique hotels, apartments and the smaller end

• A boutique hotel on Hvar usually means a restored stone house in the old town with ten or fifteen rooms and a courtyard.
• Town House Rosario and Hidden House are landmarks of that type, tucked into the lanes behind the square.
• Apartments are the bulk of the market outside Hvar Town, and in Jelsa or Stari Grad they are the best value on the island.
• Maslina Resort near Stari Grad is the design-led alternative away from the town.

These are listed as landmarks, not recommendations. Nobody here has stayed in them and we do not print rates, because Hvar prices swing enormously between June and August. Check current prices and availability yourself.

Things to do on a Hvar trip: day trips and experiences on Hvar

How you plan to spend the days should feed back into where you sleep, because the island is long and the boats leave from one end.

• A boat day trip to the Pakleni islands is the single best experience on Hvar, and the taxi boats go from the Hvar Town waterfront rather than anywhere else.
• The Spanish Fortress above the town centre is a twenty-minute climb for the view over the harbour and the islands. Go at sunset.
• Wine tasting in the interior, around Jelsa and the plain, is how you explore Hvar island properly. Plavac Mali is the local red.
• Walk or cycle the Stari Grad Plain, the ancient Greek field system, which is flat and shaded in parts and free.
• Blue Cave and Vis full-day trips run from the main town on Hvar in season and take most of a day on the water. It is the Hvar experience people remember.
• Visit Hvar for the lavender in late June if that is the picture you have in mind. It is a short window.

Getting to Hvar, and why the port matters

This is the practical heart of choosing where to stay on Hvar island.

• Catamarans from Split take about an hour and dock in Hvar Town harbour. Foot passengers only.
• Car ferries from Split take around two hours and dock at Stari Grad, roughly 20 minutes by road from Hvar Town.
• A bus meets most ferries at Stari Grad, but the last connection is earlier than you think.
• If you book a hotel on Hvar in Hvar Town and arrive by car ferry, budget for a transfer at both ends of the trip.
• There is no airport. Split is the nearest, and Dubrovnik is a long way round.

Beaches and the Pakleni islands

• The best beaches in Hvar are not on Hvar. The Pakleni islands, a fifteen-minute taxi boat from the Riva, have the clear Mediterranean Sea water and the pine shade.
• Palmižana is the busiest and easiest of them, with restaurants and a marina.
• Dubovica, on the south coast between Hvar Town and Stari Grad, is the pretty pebble bay people photograph.
• Beaches in Hvar are pebble and rock, as everywhere in Dalmatia. Bring shoes you can swim in.
• Jelsa and Vrboska have shallower, calmer water, which is why families end up there.

Choosing where to stay on Hvar by travel style

Planning your trip to Hvar: how long and when

• Three nights is the minimum to make the ferry worthwhile, and a week suits Stari Grad or Jelsa better than Hvar Town.
• The best time to visit is June and September. July and August are hot, full and expensive, and the lavender is out in late June.
• Book months ahead for August. The island has a fixed number of rooms and they go.
• Many places close from November to April, including most restaurants and the fast catamarans.
• Things to do in Hvar beyond the beach: the fortress above town, a wine tasting in the interior, a boat day, and the Stari Grad Plain.

Planning the rest of the coast? See our Croatia itinerary, where to stay in Split and how many days in Dubrovnik.

Check hotels on Hvar →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best area to stay in Hvar?

Hvar Town for a first visit of two or three nights, because everything is walkable and the boats and restaurants are there. Stari Grad if you want quiet, history or a full week. The two are about twenty minutes apart by road and offer genuinely different holidays on the same island.

Is Hvar Town too noisy to sleep in?

In July and August, the streets around the Riva and the main square are loud until late. A room a few streets back or up the hill is usually enough, and the bays just outside town such as Podstine are quiet while still being a ten to twenty minute walk from the centre. Outside high season the town is calm.

Should I stay in Hvar Town or Stari Grad?

Hvar Town if you want the harbour, the nightlife and the Pakleni island boats on your doorstep. Stari Grad if you want the oldest town in Croatia, the UNESCO plain behind it and a quiet evening. Stari Grad is also where the car ferries dock, so it is the practical choice if you are bringing a vehicle.

Which port does the ferry to Hvar arrive at?

It depends on the boat. Fast passenger catamarans from Split dock in Hvar Town itself, taking about an hour. Car ferries take around two hours and dock at Stari Grad, roughly twenty minutes by road from Hvar Town. Check which one your ticket is for before you book a room, because the two ports are on opposite sides of the island.

Where are the best beaches on Hvar?

The Pakleni islands, a fifteen-minute taxi boat from the Hvar Town waterfront, have the clearest water and pine shade. Dubovica, on the south coast, is the photogenic pebble bay. Beaches on Hvar itself are pebble and rock rather than sand, so swimming shoes help, and Jelsa and Vrboska have the calmest water for children.

Do you need a car on Hvar?

Not if you stay in Hvar Town or Stari Grad, which have ferries, taxis, boats and buses between them. You do need one for a villa in the interior or for the eastern end of the island, where the bus service is thin. Note that Hvar Town’s old town is closed to cars, so parking means leaving the vehicle on the edge.

How many nights should I spend on Hvar?

Three nights minimum, or the ferry time eats too much of the trip. Three nights covers Hvar Town, a boat day to the Pakleni islands and one trip inland or to Stari Grad. A week works better based in Stari Grad or Jelsa, where prices are lower and the island rhythm is more normal.