How to rent a villa on Hvar – Here's what to consider before booking

In planning a vacation, one considers budget, number of travellers, and the duration of one’s visit. But the most important question beyond these practical essentials is: how do you want to feel when you are on holiday?

The answer might seem obvious – you want to feel great! But there are different ways to enjoy one’s time abroad, and Hvar offers a wonderful spectrum of experiences for a variety of travellers seeking different things. For example, Hvar Town’s nightclubs are the highlight of Europe’s summer music season. But Hvar Town is a tiny corner of Hvar Island. Stari Grad offers refined nautical luxury and farm-to-table dining. Jelsa is gorgeous while being affordable and laidback. Ivan Dolac, Zavala, and Sveta Nedelja are beach towns. Farther east, there are opportunities for true solitude and escape. The mountain villages of Pitve, Svirče, Vrisnik, Dol, and Vrbanj offer a feeling of refreshment and traditional Mediterranean rural life.

Some people want to do absolutely nothing on holiday – they want a break from over-packed schedules and demanding lives. Others want to get active – a change of pace from sedentary routines. Or to explore history and culture through cuisine, archaeology, and museums. And there are those who are looking for new friendships and relationships in a celebratory, carefree setting. All of those experiences are available on Hvar, but not all at once or in the same place.

Think back over previous vacations and activities. Which ones did you really love? When did you feel most alive and like your best self? What do those places and moments have in common? Once you know what conditions make you thrive, then you can build your holiday on Hvar around those characteristics. If you are a Hvar Away guest, tell us what a true getaway looks like for you and we will work tirelessly to make it happen.

We have already written , so we won’t reiterate all of that here, but be aware that aside from Stari Grad, Jelsa, and Hvar Town, all other destinations more or less require a car in order to get around. The mountain villages are quite close to those three main towns. The seaside towns on the southern coast are about 30 minutes away, but have their own handful of restaurants and bodegas. Finally, everything east of Jelsa can be considered truly remote.

Within each of those regions mentioned above, you have rentals that are more or less walkable. Even in Pokrivenik, a gorgeous bay on the largely undiscovered northern coast of Hvar, there are some rentals which are right on the water, and others that require a longer walk. A 15-minute stroll to the beach can get old if you’re schlepping cushions, snacks, a cooler full of drinks, towels, an umbrella, and all the rest of it.

Likewise, in Hvar Town, there are rentals that are directly on the Riva (a water-side pedestrian thoroughfare), which is always noisy at night, and there are villas perched high above the town, which require an arduous walk up countless stairs every time you want to return to your room.

Look closely at where properties are placed and don’t hesitate to if you have questions about the ideal spot. We only include well-positioned properties in our portfolio of villas, but we can explain our rationale to you so that you can better understand your destination.

When you’re scrolling through pictures of villas online, you’re probably thinking about the views, the ambience, common spaces, and appliances. When browsing on Hvar, you’re also likely thinking about the proximity to the sea. You might not be thinking about who will be there to make sure that everything runs smoothly, but this person or company is so important to the quality of your stay."

Don’t book if the owner or manager doesn’t have a strong track record of positive reviews, or else you might wind up in a poorly maintained property with photos from 10 years ago, or having long negotiations to make sure someone can let you in when you show up at the door.

If you can, call the property manager to ask a few questions: what happens if an appliance breaks? What would you do if we had a medical emergency? If something goes wrong in the middle of the night, will someone be available to help us?

Finally, a limited number of property managers on the island, including Hvar Away, offer a concierge service, which is a huge bonus that a lot of people don’t appreciate. If you are staying somewhere far from a grocery store, we can deliver what you need. If you don’t want to hire a car, but want to travel someplace far away, we can arrange a taxi service for you. We can recommend and book restaurants for you, and even design fully tailored itineraries with our unique . We don’t believe in wasting precious holiday time dealing with errands, reaching out to and relying on unknown vendors, or sitting through mediocre activities.

For nightlife enthusiasts, the best time to visit Hvar is during the high summer from late June to the end of August when clubs are bustling. Families with children usually travel during the school holidays from mid-July to the end of August. Other visitors might prefer the shoulder season (May to mid-June and September to mid-October) for its spectacular weather and lower prices, with fall offering warmer seas and more reliable weather compared to spring.

Digital nomads and long-term travellers can explore Hvar in winter, though accommodations may be chilly (and sometimes leaky!); however, those who enjoy solitude and nature will find it a paradise. Despite often heavy rains from late November through December, the other winter months are cool and sunny, ideal for outdoor pursuits, though the island is very quiet with most restaurants closed.

We've written about the best time to visit Hvar with a more detailed look at the island’s seasonality to help you understand what to expect at whichever part of the year you choose to arrive.

Once you’ve zeroed in on your dream property with the perfect location, amenities, and price – then you’re ready to book! We recommend not waiting to do so – our most popular villas are usually already fully booked for the upcoming season by February!

You can choose between booking through a third party platform like Airbnb or Booking.com, or booking directly with the property owner or local agency. We may be biassed, but we recommend the latter! By booking directly with the owner or the local agency they have nominated, you are cutting out the middleman and supporting local business. The price is also usually lower as the savings from cutting out the third party platform’s fee are often shared between you and the property owner or agency.

We don’t recommend ever paying for your accommodation in cash. Too many things can go wrong and you have no recourse under those circumstances. A lot of transactions happen in cash in Croatia for a variety of historical and tax reasons, but very few villa or apartment rentals are handled in this way, and we strongly discourage you from rolling the dice here.

Booking directly with the owner via bank transfer is somewhat safer, because there is a paper trail, but it can still put you in a difficult position if you are unsatisfied with your stay for whatever reason. Using your credit card is more strongly recommended, but this isn’t often an option when booking directly with property owners and even with most local agencies as they lack card processing facilities (not us, though!).

Airbnb and Booking.com both have strong refund policies and customer support teams in place designed to protect guests. We recommend booking with agencies, like ours, which match or exceed those customer protections. If you find an agency like this, book with them directly. Most importantly, dealing with a human being is almost always easier than getting on the phone with essentially a software company.