After a night in Split, we took off the next morning to start our island-hopping along the Dalmatian Coast. Our tour, booked through Split Excursions, departed from the dock by the main promenade. The speedboat ride from Split takes about an hour to Hvar. In late May, the water was still quite chilly. I highly recommend bringing a jacket along with a long sleeve shirt to wear, as the wind can get quite frisky. Once we arrived in Hvar, we met with a local guide who showed us around the old town, and then had a few hours on our own.
A hike to the top of the fortress yielded some of the gorgeous photos below. As the day progressed, the weather became quite warm- particularly in the sun or while we were moving.
We made our way over to the Pakleni islands mid afternoon, an approximately 20 minute trip by boat. We spent a leisurely two hours there sunbathing (bring your towels, bathing suits, and sunscreen!) along the crystal clear water (see below). Busy season doesn’t start until July, so the afternoon was wonderfully quiet and relaxing. A note of preparation: as with many of Croatia’s beaches, the shorelines are quite rocky and pebbled. We found a restaurant to the right as you pull into the dock that offered beds for rental which we opted for, which made for a much more comfortable time than the limited rocky shoreline that others headed for. Bring flip flops if you want to take a dip in the water!
There’s not much to say in terms of dining and getting there, since Split Excursions really takes care of everything (they gave us sandwiches and some fruit as our lunch for the day, which was a nice added bonus). We found Hvar and the Pakleni islands among our favorite spots during our honeymoon- particularly in late May since it isn’t crowded yet and the temperature is just warm enough to make soaking up the sun extremely pleasant.
Next up: The Plitvice Lakes! For more photos and information on our honeymoon adventures, see: