Croatia Travel Blog

20 January 2008 2 Comments

The Pakleni islands roll out directly from Hvar town into the blue Adriatic. They are the primary destination for tourists, locals and naturalists to get sun and relax. The Pakleni islands are made up of 5 main islands, Sv. Jerolim, Marinkovac, Sv. Klement, Stipanska, and Palmizana. We took a water taxi to Sv. Jerolim Island, the closest to Hvar.

The islands take their name from “Pakleni Resin”, the resin that was once used to coat ships. They are know for their secluded rocky beaches, deserted coves and sun inspired hills of lavender and rosemary.

Three of us decided to spend the day at Sv. Jerolim. Our trip took us to Sv. Jerolim, the first island in the chain. The water taxis from Hvar town leave often, so catching one is pretty easy. The crowds are heavy in the mornings, so be prepared. The taxi was a cool wooden boat, much like the one we took to Korcula.

The boat arrived at a nondescript landing and in a small cove on Sv. Jerolim. We walked over through forest trails to another cove that was featured a couple of small, run down beach stands selling beer and food, and rental shops. The beach area looked completely uninviting. One small area looked to be populated mostly by larger German tourists, while the other, more remote rock beaches were naturalists, looking suspect of anyone approaching with clothes on. I thought we had made a huge mistake and gone to the wrong island. I almost suggested renting a boat and heading out to a cove, which is what others seemed to be doing. Laura, ever the intrepid traveler, found a guy working at one of the bar stands and asked if there was somewhere more inviting we could find. He gave us directions to another part of the island and sent us on our way.

We hiked up a small trail directly behind his hut and took a right where the trail ended. When we crested over the top of the next hill we were greeted with the most magnificent views I have ever witnessed. Rolling hills that descended onto a gleaming white rocky shoreline that bordered the coast for as far as we could see. There were no trees, the edge of the forest we had initially gone through was behind us. Instead, fields of lavender and rosemary covered the ground for as far as we could see.

As we made our way down the slopes and rustic trails, the eerie shape of the rock beaches came into full view. The landscape was alien and primitive. Giant formations of flat topped rocks jutted out of the Adriatic to form walls and platforms of stone. There was no one else in sight, it was if we had the entire island to ourselves.

The multi-level rocks acted as stairs in some areas, and in others we had to literally climb up to make it to the next section. We kept going hoping to find a spot that was flush with the water. Some of the areas rose several meters above the ocean and would have been impossible to use as a swimming area. Eventually we came upon a cove where the rocks and the Adriatic met.

In my quest to find the perfect swimming area we walked right past a nude couple who apparently expected someone to approach them from the land side. It was no matter, they waved and wandered back to their own private cove close to there boat, which I also did not see until it was too late. Our destination was certainly worth the adventure and hike to get there. We picked an area where the stone rocks created a natural step into the warm, crystal water in the cove. I could see a few boats docked further down the cove, but beside our naturalist neighbors, we had a private spot with no one else around. The swimming was fantastic, visibility was at least 100 meters. The odd thing about swimming in Croatia, is there are no fish. The area might have been over-fished, or maybe I was never in the right spot to see them.

After a couple of hours in paradise, we hiked back to the original tourist cove area and had lunch at a restaurant that was up from the main beach. The views were good and the beer was really good. It had been an adventure filled day. We had found something special, and witnessed some incredible sites that we would have not found if we did not look for them.

The secret to the the Pakleni is to not stay in the tourist areas, ask where the private areas and trails are and go there. Or, even better, rent one of the small cove boats and go search for your own paradise cove. Later I found out that sea urchins can be an issue, so where something to protect your feet when you swim anywhere in Croatia.