Local Attractions

About Hvar and its attractions

The Island of Hvar, recently voted amongst the top 10 most beautiful islands in the world, is situated just off the Dalmatian coast. Hvar is a special island steeped in culture and natural wonder. The Island is surrounded by the crystal clear blue waters of the Adriatic sea. Hvar known for its seductive smell from lavender fields, undulating in purple brilliance, and the grapes and vineyards turning the suns rays to the very best wine, Hvar has become synononous with natural beauty and traditional culture.

Within Croatia the island of Hvar is famed for its pleasant all year round good climate. It is characterised by its gentle winters, warm summers and large amounts of sunshine, notching up an impressive 2715 hours of sunshine a year, higher than anywhere else in Southern Europe, making it a very pleasant summer and winter destination.

Zavala is situated about 80 m above the sea. The village has a harbour with a jetty and a road link with Jelsa. Zavala is famous for its excellent white wine (bogdanjuša). Below the village, a string of beautiful beaches are lapped by a crystal clear sea. The most attractive is at Petrašcica (with a cave). The beaches gave the village its original name Zaca (from žalca which means beaches) by which the village harbour is still called.

Zavala's attractions include the summer residence of the family Dubokovic-Nadalini (Biedermeyer style, about 1830) with the chapel of St. George (1866); further west, the former residence of the first owner of Zavala, Count Tadije Kacic (about 1630), and the residence of Zavala's 18th-century owner with the old chapel of St. Peter (1727) at the eastern end of the village.

Zavala is a great base to explore Hvar by car or boat or indeed to visit some of the other nearby Islands.