Boat tours from Hvar

Private means private. The boat, the skipper and the whole day belong to your group, so the itinerary bends to you: departure time, how long you float in a lagoon, where you eat.

The price covers the skipper, fuel, drinks on board and snorkelling masks, plus a discount voucher for selected restaurants and bars in Hvar town. Lunch, cave tickets and konoba stops are paid on the day.

Our boats carry up to 12 passengers between them. For bigger crews we send two boats that cruise together, which groups usually end up loving even more.

Not a tour, just a ride? Beaches, the Pakleni islands, Split Airport or any harbour in Dalmatia: our water taxi runs all season with fixed per-boat prices.

If you only have one day and you want the photographs everybody comes back with, take the Blue Cave and Vis. It is the longest crossing and the only one with a queue in it, but Modra špilja, Stiniva and the Green Cave in a single day is hard to beat.

If you want the most swimming for the least sea time, take the Red Rocks and Pakleni islands. Nothing on that route is more than about forty minutes from Hvar town, which also makes it the easiest day with children.

Zlatni Rat is a beach day with two open-water crossings; Korčula is a town day with three hours of running in it. The sunset cruise is two slow hours and the easiest thing on the list; the party boat is the same coast run for a different reason; big game fishing starts before six in the morning and is the only tour with a price per boat published on the page.

Every tour leaves from the riva in Hvar town and the hour is yours. That is the point of a private boat. On the Blue Cave day it is worth using it: the scheduled boats from Hvar and Split all cast off around 10:15, so leaving at nine is the difference between ten minutes of queue and ninety.

The season runs April to October. In July and August book a few days ahead at least, because the boats and the best skippers go first; in May, June, September and October you can often book for tomorrow.

Bring swimwear and a towel, sun cream and a hat, water shoes for the pebble beaches, cash for lunch and cave tickets, and something with sleeves for the run home. Drinks, an ice box and snorkelling masks are on board.

If the weather turns we reschedule to a day that suits you or refund you in full. The skipper reads the sea every morning and will usually suggest swapping to the sheltered side of the island rather than cancelling a whole day.

These are fast boats on open water. They are not suitable for wheelchair users, and we would not recommend the long crossings if you are pregnant, have back or neck trouble, or are travelling with children under two. The sunset cruise and the Pakleni islands day are the gentle ones.