Ask any travel guide for the best beaches on Hvar island and you will get the same handful of names. And they are not wrong, because Dubovica is beautiful, Zaraće is dramatic and the Pakleni islands are the Pakleni islands, after all.
But there are parts of this coastline that belong to the people who grew up here and swam here as children. Whose parents and grandparents swam here before them.
Majda has frequented beaches on Hvar long before Villas Hvar existed. This is her personal map of the best — and your new favourite guide.
Veli Dolac
"It isn't very famous, and that's exactly why I love it. It somehow feels hidden, yet it's easy to reach. It has shade, the sea is crystal clear (just like all the beaches from my list). It’s a beautiful pebble beach, and there's an unpretentious little restaurant just above it if you get hungry - and I am often hungry."
Lučišće
"Simply breathtaking and wild. It's not the easiest beach to reach as you have to walk down for approximately 10 minutes (very similar to Dubovica beach) and up for even more. It’s rarely crowded, although it has become more accessible since the new Dubovica – Sveta Nedjelja road opened in June 2026. In any case, it is worth every effort!”
Zečja
"My mother used to swim at Zečja with her sister and brother when they were children, so every time I'm there, I feel connected to her. It's a deeply emotional place for me. It's also beautiful in a very unassuming way — the kind of beauty that doesn't announce itself, which makes it more attractive, not less. You'll often meet locals from the nearby villages here. This part of the island is called Plame, and it's where my mother lived before she married my father. The whole area feels like a second home on the island to me.”
Mola Stiniva
"There are plenty of wonderful beaches on Hvar, but Mola Stiniva is personal to me for the same reason as Zečja — it is connected to my mother and her family. For generations, the surrounding land has belonged to her family, and that changes the energy of a place. The beach itself is wide and wild, pebbles and crystal-clear water embraced by dramatic cliffs behind. Next to the main cove there is a smaller one, Lučica, which is strikingly beautiful and exciting at the same time - more intimate, wonderfully romantic, with the remains of a small stone cottage at the bottom of the bay. There are also perfect rocks for anyone with decent cliff-jumping skills.”
Molo Zaraće
"This beach looks like a movie set from every possible angle. Stone steps carved into the cliffs on one side, dramatic rocks on the other, big white stones along the shore, crystal-clear turquoise water and a little church watching over everything from above. It's pure cinema."
Podnožica
"This beach makes the list primarily because of what sits right next to it — Šanpjerin, my favourite beach bar on Hvar. Excellent café latte, delicious bruschetta, great cocktails and plenty of beautiful people. On one side you'll find the family beach Podnožica, with a small pine forest full of hammocks for anyone who would rather swing between the trees in deep shade than order another round. On the other side, an equally lovely pebble beach that, by some strange miracle, is almost always less crowded than Podnožica. When I'm at Šanpjerin, I always turn left."
Dubovica
"Everybody loves Dubovica because it is undeniably amazing - and with good reason. But for me, its beauty has never been just about the scenery. I spent two years of my life living in the castle by the sea in Dubovica with my former partner, so this place carries a different kind of emotion. Some memories are beautiful, some are painful, but all of them are unforgettable and shaped me as a person. Spending a winter in a place like that changes you forever."
Gorma
"A small, unpretentious pebble beach with a molo running through the middle that gives it its particular character. Next to the Gorma beach is the family beach Petarčica, where there's a coffee bar - perfectly decent, but the vibe on Gorma is something else entirely. My cavalier Sofija is also considerably more welcome there, which, if I'm honest, is reason enough for me."
Mala Milna
"When my father was alive, my family used to gather at Dinko's restaurant at Mala Milna. My parents loved it. The place has a wonderfully retro atmosphere that brings back memories of gentler times, when people were more connected, conversations happened face to face, and life moved at a different pace. I still eat there often every summer, with some of my favourite people on earth. And when you get past the hill, on foot or by boat, you'll find two more secret coves beyond it that most people never reach. Dinko also runs a small old-fashioned taxi boat between Mala Milna and Hvar Town. It is, honestly, one of the closest things to a Mediterranean time machine that still exists on this island."
This is how an island looks when you have lived on it long enough to have history at every cove. The best beaches on Hvar are places where things happened, families gathered and someone's mother swam as a child. We share these not to replace the guidebooks but to offer something they can't — and for the record, Majda could have kept going. This list barely scratches the surface.
If you would like help planning a stay that goes beyond the obvious, we know this coastline like the back of our hand. Contact info@villashvar.com to learn more.
