An afternoon on Hvar by e-bike

Plan it: Best Sailing Routes in Croatia, Day by Day

Hvar's middle is a different island from the one most people meet. Away from the yachts and bars of Hvar Town, the land between Stari Grad and Jelsa is vineyards, olive groves and dry-stone walls laid out by Greek settlers, two small harbour towns joined by a pine-shaded coastal road, and a string of stone villages in the hills above. It is close enough to ride in an afternoon, and an e-bike makes the hills a pleasure rather than a chore.

The route follows the island's official UNESCO Heritage cycling circuit, number 704. It mixes quiet asphalt with short gravel stretches across the plain and some modest climbing on the way back, so a trekking or mountain-style e-bike is the right choice.

Route 704 through central Hvar. The straight northern line crosses the Stari Grad Plain; the winding southern line climbs through the villages. Use it to understand the loop, and a current cycling map or GPS track to ride it.

Why ride it from Stari Grad

The tourist board describes the circuit starting in Jelsa. Because it is a loop you can join it anywhere, and starting in Stari Grad, heading for Vrboska first, gives the best afternoon:

Stari Grad → Stari Grad Plain → Vrboska → coastal road to Jelsa → Vrbanj → Dol → Stari Grad

That order puts the flat countryside and the seaside riding before lunch, makes Jelsa your lunch stop, and saves the inland villages, and the climbing, for when you have eaten and the day is cooling.

On the map: ride out across the fields north of the D116 road, follow the shoreline from Vrboska to Jelsa, and come back through the villages south of it. Map data © Google.

Your afternoon, hour by hour

The stops along the way

Stari Grad Plain

Leaving Stari Grad, the ride enters Starogradsko polje, the broad agricultural plain that gives the route its name. Greek settlers divided this land into long, regular plots in the fourth century BC, and the layout has survived so well that UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List in 2008. Grapes and olives still grow here, more than two thousand years later.

This is heritage you read in the landscape rather than in one monument. Pause where you can look along several field edges at once: notice the long stone boundaries, how the tracks line up, and the small stone shelters farmers built among the plots. Keep to the lanes and leave the gates and crops alone. These fields are still somebody's work.

Vrboska

Vrboska sits at the head of a narrow inlet, with small stone bridges joining its two sides, which is why it gets called "Little Venice". Get off the bikes and walk: cross a couple of the bridges and look back along the water from both banks.

Above the waterfront stands the fortress-church of St Mary of Mercy. After an Ottoman attack damaged the earlier church in 1571, the village rebuilt it as a place where people could shelter and defend themselves, which explains its heavy walls. Walk around it even if it is closed, and go in if it is open. Vrboska also has a small Fishing Museum, a good stop if you are on a sailing holiday and curious about the working harbour behind the pretty one; check its hours before counting on it.

The coast through Vitarnja

The 4 km from Vrboska to Jelsa is the best riding of the day. The road stays close to the sea, the shore breaks into small coves, and pine trees shade much of the way. Traffic is light, but it is still a shared road, so ride steadily, slow down where you cannot see ahead and pull right off the road for photos. If your phone tries to send you inland to the main road, it is not following the coastal route.

Jelsa

Jelsa makes a perfect halfway stop. After lunch, walk the harbour, then step into Pjaca, the main square, which grew up around a freshwater spring. Its fountain dates from 1934. Just behind it, St John's Square is the gem: a small octagonal chapel surrounded by tall stone houses, built when Jelsa's seafaring families were prosperous. It is worth a slow look at the doorways and balconies, not just a photo. If you have a few minutes more, the leafy Perivoj park, laid out in 1870, is a quiet place to sit before the climb.

Vrbanj

The road from Jelsa climbs inland, and this is where the e-bike earns its keep. Vrbanj is a farming village of old stone lanes on the edge of the fertile plain, with the parish Church of the Holy Spirit (1793) at its heart. It is also the birthplace of Matija Ivanić, who led Hvar's popular uprising in the early 16th century. A short wander around the church and the lanes near the route is enough.

Dol

Dol is quieter still, spread across two small valleys with the Church of St Michael on the rise between them. Stone houses, courtyards and cultivated terraces make it a lovely contrast with the two harbours you saw earlier. Take your photos, then roll down to Stari Grad.

Back in Stari Grad

Stari Grad is one of the oldest towns in Croatia: Greek colonists from the island of Paros founded it as Pharos in 384 BC. Finish with a coffee or an ice cream on the waterfront. If you have time before or after the ride, Tvrdalj is the one visit to make, the fortified summer house of the Renaissance poet Petar Hektorović, with its fishpond, dovecote and verses carved into the walls. Nearby, Škor Square, built on the site of an old shipyard, is the prettiest corner of the old town.

Where to have lunch in Jelsa

Two good choices, depending on the kind of lunch you want:

• Me & Mrs Jones — our first choice for a harbour-view lunch. Mediterranean cooking, seafood, grilled fish and pasta, right on Jelsa's waterfront promenade at Mala banda 247. Telephone: +385 99 423 9455.
• Konoba Nono — for a traditional Dalmatian setting, with a vine-covered terrace in the lanes above the parish church and grilled fish or meat. Peka is a speciality, but it has to be ordered in advance. Telephone: +385 91 735 2335.

Kitchen hours change with the season, and outside the main summer months some places keep shorter hours. Call before you set off and ask whether they will be serving at 14:00.

Something more: a swim at Vitarnja

If the weather is kind, add a 20–30 minute swim at one of the Vitarnja coves between Vrboska and Jelsa. They are directly on your route. It moves your return towards 17:45, which the plan above already allows for.

Navigation and practical tips

• Use the official cycling route, not car directions. Open the "UNESCO Heritage" route on the Jelsa tourist board's cycling page and ask the rental shop to load the circuit on your phone. Car navigation sticks to the D116 and misses the scenic lanes.
• Start in Stari Grad and ride towards Vrboska first. That is the direction everything in this guide follows.
• Start with a full battery. The climb from Jelsa to Vrbanj is where you will want the assistance.
• Check the bikes suit gravel. The stretch across the plain is unpaved. Tell the rental team you are riding route 704 and ask about tyres, locks and the return time.
• Bring water, sun protection, a helmet and a charged phone. The plain has very little shade, and on a hot summer day an earlier start is more comfortable than noon.

Frequently asked questions about cycling on Hvar

Is the route 22.73 km or 25–30 km?

The official UNESCO Heritage circuit is 22.73 km. Starting from Stari Grad's town centre, riding into the harbours and making small detours adds a few kilometres, which is why we plan the afternoon at 25–30 km.

Do I need an e-bike?

Not if you are a fit cyclist, but it makes the afternoon far more relaxed. There are 237 m of climbing in total, most of it on the inland return through Vrbanj and Dol, and an e-bike lets you enjoy the villages instead of recovering in them.

Is the route paved and traffic-free?

No. About 92% is asphalt and the rest is gravel across the plain, and parts of it are shared roads with local traffic. Ride at a pace that suits your experience.

Can children ride it?

It depends on how confidently they ride on gravel and around traffic. Talk the route through with the rental shop before you set off.

Can I combine the ride with a yacht charter?

Yes. Stari Grad, Vrboska and Jelsa are all popular stops on a sailing week in central Dalmatia, so the loop fits neatly into a day in port. See our Hvar island guide for berths and anchorages, or find a boat in Croatia for your week.

Sources

Route figures and visitor information from the official sources below. Restaurant details are as listed by the Jelsa Tourist Board; opening hours, access and lunch service should be confirmed for your travel date.

• Jelsa Tourist Board — cycling routes
• UNESCO — Stari Grad Plain
• Jelsa Tourist Board — Vrboska
• Vrboska Heritage — fortress-church of St Mary
• Jelsa Tourist Board — Jelsa in a single day
• Stari Grad Tourist Board — Tvrdalj
• Croatian Encyclopaedia — Vrbanj
• Jelsa Tourist Board — Me & Mrs Jones
• Jelsa Tourist Board — Konoba Nono

Header photo: Stari Grad (Old Town), Hvar Island by Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Resized from the original.