Hvar and the Blue Cave

Our arrival in Hvar by catamaran ferry was beautiful.  The waterfront area was much busier than Zadar with numerous boats anchored next to each other, sometimes four deep.  But, the Hvar waterfront is much less busy than the commercial Split waterfront. 

Hvar is another beautiful Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea.  It is busy yet quaint with 13th-century walls, a hilltop fortress and a main square with a Cathedral. The origin of the name “Hvar” is from the Greek word Pharos that means lighthouse.

We are all happy to be in one place for three days.  

When we met the tour company that was to take us on the water all day they announced that the blue cave was closed (due to high winds and surf) and had been for four of the past seven days.   We could either book for the next day or go and take our chances that it might open later in the day.  We decided to take a chance because the winds the next day were predicted to be stronger. We were only about 15 minutes into the trip and they announced that the cave was open.  The Blue cave was about an hour away and the boat captain changed the itinerary and took us there as fast as he could.  All the boat captains got the same alert and did the same thing.  We got there and had a two-hour wait!  So, our larger boat left and took us to a swimming place where you could jump into the water and swim while we waited.

So, a little about the Blue Cave! 

It is on the island Bisevo in Croatia and is one of the most unique natural phenomena in the world. 

The cave was originally accessible only by diving as it had one natural entrance below the sea level. An artificial entrance large enough for small boats was built in 1884. The natural entrance to the cave, located on its southern side, is said to resemble a vault on the ceiling of a grotto. It is through this submarine-like opening on the ceiling of the cave that sunlight gets in and creates an iridescent blue glowing effect all around the cave. The cave receives more than 10,000 tourist visits every year!

Each boat that enters the cave carries only 12 people and the entrance to the cave is so small that we needed to huddle and crouch in the middle of our wooden motor boat to enter.


What a beautiful color.  The clearest, richest blue you can imagine!  It was worth the wait!   



For dinner we walked a short distance to a local restaurant - Passarola.  We had a great dinner highlighted by a superb waiter and excellent local wine.


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