Croatia Days 6 & 7: Hvar E-Biking & Ferry to Dubrovnik

On Day 6 we woke up in beautiful Hvar in our tiny but great boutique hotel rooms (the whole trip we did 3 kids in one room, James and I in the other; all 3 hotels were great about adding an extra twin for Landon and it worked out perfectly). The hotel breakfast was even better than in Split and we enjoyed the indoor/outdoor setting with pool and ocean views.

Today we opted for an e-bike tour that would take us all around the island of Hvar.

We did e-biking in South Africa (Capetown wineries!) and the kids LOVED it. So much so that when Kaleigh through it out as an option all of them immediately jumped on it, so e-biking we did!

I'm so glad. As I noted on the last post, I really had no idea Hvar was so large and lush!

It turns out Hvar itself is home to 5 separate UNESCO heritage sites, the most of any area in Croatia, and we got to see them all.

We biked 20 miles and the beauty of e-bikes is it wasn't hard, it's just pleasantly active.

From Vrboska ("Little Venice") to Jelsa, Dol, Vrisnik, and more, we saw achrological digs that were still unearthing Greek ruins from 300 BC, ancient churches still in operation, lavender fields and vineyards, and more crystal clear blue water sparkling off every coast.

We stopped for famous gelato in one of the towns and just generally were in awe of how beautiful and historical everything was around us.

We learned about a special local wine called plavac mali and how there was a 30 year period when most of Europe’s grape vines caught a disease but Hvar was untouched, so they could charge nearly anything for their wine and the Catholic church was their biggest customer.

We got back to the hotel about 2, accidentally all took naps for a few hours, and then sat by the pool for a bit.

Once properly recharged, we walked our beautiful path of steps down to the town for dinner.

We ate at a little restaurant right along the water. I still couldn't eat any of the incredible looking bread, but my local wine was a comfort in a difficult time.

After dinner we ate gelato for the second time of the day and millionth time of the trip as we watched the sun set over the harbor.

Day 7 brought us one final breakfast at our new favorite hotel and a walk down to the ferry! Once again our hotel porters came to the rescue by driving down the luggage, so we could meet our bags at the boat and head off for Dubrovnik! After our long drive on our first night in Croatia, it was so nice to approach our first and final city by boat in the light of day. The ferry was easy and efficient and took about 3 hours.

We met our driver when we disembarked from the ferry and took a short 15 minute drive to our new and final hotel! It was great - right on the water with multiple pools and restaurants, all with incredible views.

We immediately got a late lunch and it was one of the best meals we had on the trip!

After lunch the boys went to go swim at a natatorium they found while the girls and I got dressed in swimsuits and walked around the various rocky beaches and inlets that surrounded our hotel. We didn't actually get in the water, but we looked like we might!

We were supposed to do a private guided walking tour of Old Town Dubrovnik that evening, but a big storm looked like it was rolling in, so we connected with our local travel company (Kaleigh always works with a local on-the-ground partner) and they connected us with our guide. She was free the morning of our final day, which we had wide open, so we opted to push it back and I'm so glad! We ended up walking to a great pizza dinner and then sitting on our balconies watching the lightening roll in across the sea while I drank some of the incredible bottle of wine I bought for $15 in Hvar.

It was a lovely lazy first night in Dubrovnik. The next morning would be our full day on a boat jumping off all the rocks we could find and we couldn't wait!