I’m a slow mover on the water – wooden canoes, paddleboards, and sailboats with the sail down rocking gently on the surface, are my perfect speed. I’d debated for over three weeks about visiting Hvar because there were only two options: A ferry/catamaran that was relatively expensive for a 45 minute trip or the only other vehicle on offer, a speedboat. I couldn’t leave the Split area without getting on the water and everyone I had met so far raved about Hvar, so I decided trying a speedboat for the very first time would be part of my adventure.
I’ve never been on a mechanical bull but I have been in a wind tunnel and I will say an 8 hour speedboat tour must be like if a wind tunnel and a mechanical bull had a baby and then that family went on a baby rollercoaster. That about sums up my experience on Thursday.
The tour guide and captain, Lara and Vilayi (Captain V), were two athletic college students trying to make summer money to fund school. They jumped from boat to dock with ease and eagerly described every stop of the day. I was assigned the very first row next to Lara, which meant, unlike the 11 other passengers on the tour wedged in on rows of padded wide rectangle seats, I would be left wide open in front with only the two handles on either side of the captain’s chair to keep me in the boat. No seat belts, no life jackets. I had checked the weather service beforehand and it promised a beautiful 71 degree, sunny day. What the weather service failed to mention was unusually strong winds for this time of the year, which would come into play soon after we started out. The tour not only included Hvar, but also the Blue Cave and Blue Lagoon, along with a surprise stop of the captain’s choosing.
The captain announced, as we pulled away from the dock, that if we wanted to keep our hats and maybe even our sunglasses safe, we should remove them now because once we got out of Split Bay, we would start to encounter “slightly rougher seas”. Lara pulled out her cellphone and blue-toothed a full Mamma Mia playlist along with other 70-90s greatest hits to distract us from the ride and off we went.
I locked my ankles underneath my padded seat and secured my daypack to the one bar available in front and dug in. The next 90 minutes was a harrowing mix of the front of the boat lifting off the Adriatic Sea at the cusp of a wave and then crashing down as it passed, over and over. Captain V expertly twisted and turned into the choppiness to try to avoid the worst, but the high winds kept the waves rolling into us. Again and again, we would dip and turn, rise up and slam down. The passengers behind me, with their kneecaps securely wedged into the seat in front of them, giggled at the ride. I , on the other hand, without that added security, grasped desperately for any bar or secure item I could find as I slid and lurched and righted myself. Did I mention I’m a canoe, sailboat kinda girl??
Our first stop, 89.9 minutes later, was the Blue Cave. We were lucky that despite the high winds, the water level was low enough to allow entry, which is not guaranteed this time of year. Every other Mamma Mia and Hvar tour captain also made the Blue Cave their first stop, so there was quite a traffic jam at the entrance.
We were transferred to a wooden boat, which made me extremely happy, and we sailed peacefully around the corner, maybe 3 minutes, to the entrance to the cave. Depending on the time of day and cloud coverage, the Blue Cave would be any shade between electric blue and cobalt with only the sunlight that snuck in both below and above the cave.
Up to four boats were allowed to wedge themselves into this small cave and it remained at four for the five or so minutes we were inside. The water is still cold this time of year and the jellyfish were out in full force.
Every guide had a different fact they wanted to share and made sure the boats didn’t bump into each other.
We were quickly shuttled back to the start of the tour so another group could go in and we returned back to our speedboat. Captain V assured us the ride would be less bumpy closer to this particular group of islands and off we went.
Our next official stop was Vis, which is a small town whose claim to fame was Mamma Mia 2 was filmed there a couple of years ago. At the time, Croatia was cheaper than Greece. Now that Croatia has joined the EU and adopted the Euro, that is no longer the case, but it’s a great stop timing-wise for breakfast.
Lara recommended a cafe called Fabrik, where I enjoyed a truffle mortadella sandwich, replete with arugula, large caper berries, olive tapenade, homemade mozzarella and goat cheese and finished off with fresh aioli on Neapolitan pizza dough formed into a fluffy wrap. It was a decent sandwich, if a little pricey at the princely sum of 15 euro for just the sandwich. I drew the line on 5 euro for a tiny 7 oz Coke Light given I’m retired. If I was going to have permanent whiplash from our speedboat, at least I’d have a decent meal in my stomach while I recovered.
We climbed back on our speedboat, which I had dubbed Godzilla, and headed over to Stiniva Cove. On the way, the Captain stopped at the Green Cave, which isn’t usually free, but he noticed the ropes blocking the entrance were down.
There is a small air hole at the top of the cave and legend says if the light shines on you while you are inside, you will have good luck for the next 100 years. I don’t plan to live until 158 but I was still encouraged by the sentiment.
I was lucky to have the full light hit me, and then we were right back out.
The next extra we received from Captain V was a closeup of the sediment layers that created most of the smaller islands. Each band pictured below is 1000 years worth and the bottom layer is actually coral. Other spots had visible terra cotta colored lava frozen in time.
Now that the speedboat wasn’t attempting to separate every vertebrae in my back, I almost enjoyed the ride.
We were back on our itinerary and soon reached Stiniva Cove. In the summer, with jellyfish gone because the water is warmer, the tour hands out goggles and snorkels and visitors can swim to the tiny beach seen here. Some brave souls were swimming anyway and I kept hoping the jellyfish were staying away.
Since no one would be snorkeling, this stop was cut short and we headed over to the Blue Lagoon, the last water-based attraction before we reached Hvar, our final destination. Luck was with us and the wind calmed down just enough that it was only the baby roller coaster and Godzilla was on break.
A few of the Europeans on the tour planned to swim, so we were given a full hour to laze on the beach and test the water. Still cold but no live jellyfish in sight. Once we docked, I realized that three other speedboats had also docked around the same time, and the small beach was overrun in a matter of minutes.
We are still technically in the shoulder season with the full blown Summer season not starting until June, which made me wonder how many inches of sand per guest would be available later.
Captain V and Lara arrived promptly an hour later and whisked us off to Hvar, which they promised was less than 10 minutes away. To get there, we had to go back into the main part of the sea and Godzilla’s battle against the wind and waves restarted with a vengeance.
All the bumps and jolts were worth it when the Hvar skyline came into view.
As with all my other Croatia adventures, cream to sand colored buildings topped with terra cotta tile roofs gave way to the mandatory fortress on a hill.
We had just under two hours in Hvar to enjoy a late lunch, shop for various lavendar items that are produced from the massive lavendar farm that covers the back half of the island, and take pictures.
I seriously debated skipping the final leg of the tour and returning by the very large, very calm and sturdy looking catamaran that would arrive at the same departure time of 4:30pm, even if I had to pay for a new ticket. Unfortunately, Lara didn’t find me on Whatsapp and I didn’t want to just leave without checking out with them and holding up the rest of the tour. I had no choice but to endure the full hour home on Godzilla with a wind/wave combo that rivaled the morning’s version.
Captain V admitted to me, after all the other guests had left and I was tipping them out for an excellent tour, that the ride home was especially rough for him as he tried to keep the lurches and dives to a minimum. He would be taking the next day off to rest. Given the poor guy had stood the entire day, and had to absorb all that energy while driving Godzilla standing up, I couldn’t blame him.