Jadrolinija Ferry Boat or Katamaran, Hvar

When you're going to Hvar from Split, there are many different options when it comes to the ferries. One way is to take the boat over to Stari Grad, then comes the two options can either take a ferry over wherever can not bring a car, it takes about an hour and a half over, or you can take the ferry over the one can take the cars it uses about 2 hours. If one is to stay in Hvar town, one must came from Stari Grad to Hvar town, then you can either take a taxi or bus.

The other option is to take the ferry from Split to Hvar Town, it also takes about an hour and a half, stopping right on the harbor!

The price ranges between the different ferry options, but is about 40 kuna!

We took the Jadrolinija car ferry from Split to Hvar. For 2012 one-way tickets cost 39Kn pp and normal cars
265Kn
- there's no discount for return tickets. During high summer there are seven sailings, out of the season this drops back to four.

With just a few exceptions, Jadrolinija's local ferries cannot be booked in advance. Tickets for both car ferries and high speed passenger services can only be bought ON THE DAY. The website given here is very good, use it to check times, fares, etc for all Jadrolinija's services - local and international.

You can't pre-book a place on the ferries so the routine is to turn up at least half an hour or so before the ferry is due to depart, park your car in the queue, go and buy your ticket and then wait for the ferry to begin loading. During the summer there is obviously high demand and you might miss the ferry you are aiming for if you don't get there early and then you'll have to take the next one but, with the centre of Split only a five minute walk from the ferry terminal, you can easily fill in the time waiting for the next one.

The ship has plenty of seating both inside and up on deck and there's a cafe. The loading and unloading of cars was very efficient so the whole exercise of getting across to the island was really hassle-free, just a lazy cruise in the sunshine with Split falling behind us and the islands slipping by slowly as we sailed between Brac and Solta on our way around to Stari Grad (the main port on Hvar), a voyage of about 2 hours.

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If you want to visit the island by car you should take the ferry or catamaran. There are daily ferry lines from Split to Stari Grad and from Drvenik to Sucuraj, as well as catamaran lines from Split to Jelsa and from Split to Hvar town. During summer season (June 1 to September 30) there are up to 7 ferries from Split to Stari Grad (out of season only 3-4) and 11 ferries from Drvenik to Sucuraj (out of season only 6-7).

We took the ferry from Split to Stari Grad at 17:00. Arriving to the port almost three hours prior to departure, we bought the ticket and and left the car in the line for embarkation which usually begins half an hour before the departure. It is recommended to arrive to the port one hour earlier and during the summer season you better book it in advance since the ferries get full quickly. For two people and the car we payed 142 kunas (June 2010). The trip took two hours. On the return we took the ferry that leaves Stari Grad at 11:30.

If you want to reach island Hvar (and don't have your own boat) you should travel from Split, Drvenik town on Makarska Riviera, Ancona/Italy, Pescara/Italy by ferries or catamarans. This is the only way to come to the island. There are daily ferry lines from Split to the town of Hvar. Ferries from Italy sail only during summer season.

You buy your ticket on the day of your trip. We left Split at 8:30 and arrived at 10:30. Cost 42km ( under $10.00) each way . It was a nice boat and pleasant trip. Best to buy a one way ticket ..not a problem to buy one for the trip back on the island . It might be a different ship leaving at the time that best workd for you. Gives you the flexiblility. The terminal arrives at the terminal about 3km from the main town.The bus arrives to meet the ferry and take you to town.

Jadrolinija has several ferries and catamarans between Split and Hvar every day. One-way ticket for one person costs 35 kunas in ferries. Car is 260 kunas.

Catamarans go to town Hvar, ferries to Stari Grad. Busses are waiting next to the ferries, so it's easy to get to Hvar, Jelsa or Stari Grad from the harbor.

If you´re feeling like leaving Hvar or perhaps visit the island of Brac, you´ll need to go by boat or ferry.

The ferries only departure from Stari Grad every morning (08:30 when we were there in June 2005).
So for us it was a so called "speedboat" that was the only option. For the expensive amount of 150 Kn per person we left Hvar in the morning towards Brac. The boatride were supposed to take 45 minutes. We arrived to Brac after 1 hour & 15 minutes that felt like 3 hours.

These speedboats have many different routes, and also lots of different daytrips to beaches.
Tickets are for sale by 3 different companies: Atlas, Pelegrini & Fontana.
All of these three boatcompanies have their office along the boatport sidewalk in the middle of Hvar city.

We used the Jadroljina ferries mostly to move between the islands and mainland. I loved the ferries. The staff was very friendly and the ferries were all very clean. Just beware that refreshments on the ferry is extremely expensive.

Catamarans and car ferries to Hvar are available from several points on the Croatian coast. The most popular ferry is the Split-Hvar ferry.

We were traveling north from Montenegro, so we took the Drvenik-Sucuraj car ferry. This picture was taken from the harbor in Drvenik as we boarded the ferry. The Croatian coastline was beautiful!

Passenger boats leave Split directly for Hvar several times a day; car ferries also leave Split for Stari Grad, a town on the island, several times a day. Tickets may be bought through a ferry agency, Jadrolinija, or through travel agencies. Ferry service to Stari Grad operates daily from Rijeka, in northern Croatia, and once a week from Ancona, Italy.

The neighboring island of Brac has an airport, with daily flights from Zagreb on Croatia Airlines, www.croatiaairlines.hr ; round trip from $174 (ask about specials). There is ferry and boat service from Brac to Hvar daily.

The Croatian Tourist Office in Hvar is at Trg Sv. Stjepana 1 (St. Stephen Square)