What's on in Hvar (Hvar Island), Croatia through the year

Busy — Winter (Christmas) holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: The island shuts (1 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: The island shuts (1 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring (Easter) holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Za Krizen procession

  2–3 AprEaster & Holy Week

  On the night of Maundy Thursday six villages in the island's interior set off at ten and walk twenty-five kilometres between each other's churches, barefoot cross-bearers in front. UNESCO-listed, and nothing to do with the town. Source ↗

Still on: The island shuts (1 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring (Easter) holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Za Krizen procession (2–3 Apr), The island shuts (1 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Lavender in flower

  10 Jun – 10 Jul · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The hillsides above Brusje and Velo Grablje, on the old road out of town, go purple for about three weeks from mid-June, and the abandoned village holds a festival at the peak. Source ↗

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  15 Jun – 10 Oct · usually

  The Pakleni islands, ten minutes out by taxi boat, are where the swimming actually is. Water taxis run into October; the last ones back are the thing to check before you commit.

Peak crowds — High season on the waterfront, Summer holidays in Croatia

• Season

  High season on the waterfront

  1 Jul – 31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Yachts double-park in the harbour, the town square is a queue and prices are Croatia's highest. The interior villages twenty minutes away carry on as though none of it were happening.

Still on: Lavender in flower (10 Jun – 10 Jul (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — High season on the waterfront, Summer holidays in Croatia

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually)), High season on the waterfront (1 Jul – 31 Aug)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Wine harvest

  1 Sep – 5 Oct · usually

  Plavac mali comes off the south-facing terraces above Sveta Nedjelja in September, some of it from slopes too steep to work with anything but hands. The cellars pour while they work.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually)), Wine harvest (1 Sep – 5 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The island shuts

  1 Nov – 15 Apr · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Nearly everything on the waterfront closes and the catamarans drop to a couple of sailings a day, weather permitting. Bura gales cancel those without much notice.

Busy — Winter (Christmas) holidays in Croatia, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: The island shuts (1 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))