The Palmižana garden
A botanical garden created by one family from 1906.
Jules Verne Times Two — CC BY-SA 4.0 · eric spenle — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marinas002 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · sailn1 — CC BY 2.0
An archipelago of about **twenty small islands** scattered directly off Hvar Town, the nearest a few minutes away by boat. The name is often translated as the «Hell''s Islands», which is a **common mistranslation**. It comes from the word **paklina** — the pine resin once extracted from the islands'' trees and used to coat wooden ships'' hulls against leaks. The name is purely industrial and has nothing to do with hell. The islands are all but uninhabited and covered in pine woods running down to the waterline, and their shores are a run of **small rocky coves** whose water is among the clearest in the Adriatic. The best known is **Palmižana** — with a marina, a **botanical garden** created by the Meneghello family from 1906, restaurants and organised beaches. **Jerolim** is the closest to Hvar. **Vlaka** and the outer islands are far quieter. Note: access is by **regular water taxis** from the Hvar quay, running morning to evening. Note: **entirely seasonal** — the boats all but stop outside summer, and are cancelled in wind.
A botanical garden created by one family from 1906.
Water among the clearest in the Adriatic, among the pines.
Far quieter than the near ones, half an hour out by boat.
Directly off Hvar Town, 10-20 minutes by boat
**Three days** is a sensible plan. One for **Hvar Town**: the square, the cathedral, the Arsenal and theatre, and the climb to **Fortica** before sunset. One for the **Pakleni Islands** — a boat out in the morning, swimming and lunch at Palmižana, back in the evening. And one for **the interior and east**: Stari Grad and Tvrdalj Castle, the **Stari Grad Plain** by bicycle, then Jelsa or Vrboska. With **two days**, drop the Pakleni Islands or cut them to half a day. With **only one day**, it is better not to stay on the island at all — a day trip by catamaran from Split covers Hvar Town on its own. ⚠ The island is **very long** (68 km) and the roads are slow and mountainous; do not assume everything is close.
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