Pakleni Islands

The Pakleni Islands begin less than a mile off Hvar Town and are visible from its waterfront. Sixteen islands and islets make up the chain, which runs roughly ten kilometres to the southwest and adds up to a little over seven square kilometres of land.

Where the Name Comes From

The name has nothing to do with the Croatian word for hell, despite the resemblance. It derives from paklina, an old word for the pine resin once collected here and used to seal and waterproof wooden hulls. The islands supplied that resin to Hvar's boatbuilders for centuries, and the alternative name Paklinski Islands preserves the link more clearly.

Sveti Klement

Sveti Klement is the largest island of the group at 5.3 square kilometres, which is why locals also call it Veliki otok, the big island. It holds three small settlements: Palmizana, Momica Polje and Vlaka. Palmizana Bay, on the northeastern shore, is the one most visitors see.

The gardens above that bay date from 1906, when Eugen Meneghello bought a stretch of scrubland on the island, built a villa and planted it with palms, agaves, cacti, eucalyptus and aloe among the existing pines and rosemary. He took in guests almost from the beginning, first friends and later travellers, and four generations on the family still runs villas, bungalows and two restaurants within the same planting.

Jerolim

Jerolim is the closest of the islands to Hvar Town and the quietest of the three main ones, with a rocky, undeveloped shoreline and no settlement. In November 2011 CNN placed it at the top of a list of the world's best naturist beaches, and it has been associated with naturism ever since. Amo Beach has a bar and restaurant attached; the coves on either side of it are usually far emptier.

Marinkovac

Marinkovac absorbs the traffic that Jerolim does not. Stipanska Bay is the site of Carpe Diem Beach, a day club that runs on into the night through the season and is the reason a good number of visitors come out here at all. The other side of the island is calmer: Mlini beach, and Zdrilca, the narrow channel between Marinkovac and Sveti Klement, where the water is shallow and sheltered enough for families with small children.

In and On the Water

The water around the archipelago is clear enough that snorkelling needs nothing more than a mask, and the bays on the outer, seaward side of Sveti Klement such as Tarsce and Stari Stani stay quiet even in August. Kayaks and canoes are the practical way to see the indented coastline properly, since much of it is only reachable from the water.

Protected Since 1968

The archipelago has been protected since 1968 under the Croatian designation of significant landscape, and its waters and pine forest also fall within the EU's Natura 2000 network. The protection covers what is under the surface as well as above it: seagrass meadows, reefs, and the sea caves cut into the outer shores. Building is restricted as a result, which is why the islands still have only a handful of hamlets and dirt tracks rather than roads, and why the local community's own eco-tourism ventures have shaped development more than large operators have.

Anchoring and Weather

ACI Marina Palmizana sits in Palmizana Bay on the northeastern coast of Sveti Klement, 2.4 nautical miles from Hvar Town. It has 211 berths, takes boats up to 25 metres in up to 8 metres of water, and is seasonal, open from 1 April to 31 October. Vinogradisce, on the opposite southern shore of the same island, has its own moorings operated separately from the marina and is one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet cruise in Croatia. Vessels too large for the marina generally lie off the bay and run a line ashore. Smaller piers are scattered around the other islands for day boats.

Which side of the island you use depends on the wind. The bora falls from the mainland out of the northeast in dry, gusty bursts and is at its strongest between autumn and spring; it sends a chop straight into Palmizana Bay. Southerly weather does the same to Vinogradisce. Through the summer the prevailing wind is the maestral, a northwesterly sea breeze that builds through the early afternoon and drops around sunset, steady enough to sail on and rarely a problem at anchor.

Summers here are hot and dry rather than extreme. Average highs in July and August run around 27 to 30 degrees Celsius, with short spikes higher during a heatwave. The sea lags behind the air and peaks in late August and September at roughly 25 degrees, which is the best stretch of the year for swimming and comes just as the summer crowds start to thin.