Mediterranean · Croatia
Hvar & the Pakleni Islands
Gorgonian walls and caves in the Pakleni Islands, 10 to 20 minutes by boat
Hvar has more than 15 dive sites, most of them in the Pakleni (Paklinski) Islands, 10 to 20 minutes out by boat: walls hung with red and yellow gorgonians, the shallow cave at Vela Garska, the chimney inside Poseidon Pillar and a merchant boat sunk some 150 years ago. From Jelsa and Vrboska, a second pool adds the tunnel under the Kabal peninsula and the vast chamber at Lučice. The sites range from easy dives for newly certified divers to deep walls for the experienced.
About diving in Hvar & the Pakleni Islands
Diving off Hvar is mostly by boat, though one base also runs a beach entry dive from its own shore. The ride out to the Pakleni Islands takes 10 to 20 minutes, the lighthouse at Baba is about 20 minutes out, and the furthest site is just short of an hour away. There is no fixed timetable: the site is chosen each morning to suit the weather and the level of the divers on board. A second base, in Jelsa and Vrboska, dives its own set of sites, so the two harbours give two different pools rather than one.
Below the surface the islands are walls, caves and rock pinnacles. At Baba the bottom slopes gently from 5 to 20 m before a wall of yellow gorgonians, orange and yellow sponges drops to 30 m and in places 40. Tunnels, chimneys and a large flooded chamber cut through the rock, and the walls carry red gorgonians, sponges and algae. Scorpionfish, moray and conger eels, forkbeard and the occasional lobster hold in the cracks.
The island suits a mixed group. Zala Luka and Tatinja are rated for all categories of divers, and Vela Garska for beginners as well as the experienced, while the deeper sites, from the 37 m floor of the Lučice chamber to the 50 m foot of Stambedar, are for divers with depth experience. Currents often run along Robert's Wall, a recently found wall of small caves, drop-offs and crevices where lobsters and eels are frequently seen.
Best time to dive Hvar & the Pakleni Islands
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
The diving season runs from 1 May to 1 October, in step with the island's tourist season of May to September, when Hvar can be very busy, above all in August. August also brings the warmest sea, averaging about 25 °C, while February is the coldest month at about 13 °C. No month inside the season is singled out as the best for the diving itself, and from October to April dives are arranged on request rather than on a schedule.
Dive types & marine life
John dory shelter around the Paulina, where a conger eel is occasional. At Smočiguzica, seahorses can turn up in the bay where the Jelsa boat moors, and skittish eagle rays are an occasional sight gliding along the underwater precipices.
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Wreck
- Night
- Eagle rays
Best dive sites in Hvar & the Pakleni Islands
- 1
Lučice
Cave entered through two windows at 3–4 m into a chamber about 30 m across, its floor at 37 m.
- 2
Vela Garska
A 70 m long wall to 30 m with a 20 m long cave only 5 m below the surface.
- 3
Stambedar
Wall dropping to 50 m through a forest of red gorgonians, red algae and sponges.
- 4
Poseidon Pillar
Rock breaking the surface, with a sunlit chimney that starts at 30 m and exits at 11 m.
- 5
Kabal
A 25–30 m long tunnel crossing under the Kabal peninsula.
- 6
Vodnjak
A 5 m tunnel at 35 m, with red gorgonians from 15 to 40 m.
- 7
Paulina Wreck
Wooden English merchant boat sunk some 150 years ago, on sand sloping to 30 m under yellow sponges.
- 8
Zala Luka
Big wall running from the coast to open sea, its top at 10–25 m and its foot at 30–50 m.
Site guides
Wall
A bay slope that steps down onto a second sandy terrace
Wall
A big Admiral anchor hanging on the very edge of the cliff
Wall
A gentle slope turning into a wall below the Baba lighthouse
Pinnacle
A bell-tower-shaped underwater mountain at the archipelago's west end
A tunnel crossing beneath the Kabal Peninsula
Pinnacle
A sunlit chimney climbing through the inside of the rock
Wreck
A wooden boat's cargo left on the seabed after the hull rotted away
A cave running into the rock just below the surface
Wall
A gorgonian wall running from the shore out to open sea
How to get to Hvar & the Pakleni Islands
Split Airport lies 25 km west of Split. From Split, a fast ferry reaches Hvar town in about 1 hour and the car ferry takes about 2 hours to a port near Stari Grad; a fast ferry also runs from Split to Jelsa. Boats leave for the Pakleni Islands from Hvar, and a second centre is based in Jelsa and Vrboska.
Photos from Hvar & the Pakleni Islands
lostajy · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Hvar & Pakleni Islands CROATIA (long version) · Ocean Frames on YouTube
Scuba diving Hvar Croatia · Bernhard Heigl on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can divers pick which site they visit around Hvar?+
Not on the regular boats, which keep no fixed schedule; a private dive can be booked to choose a site that suits the diver's certification level.
Are there night dives on Hvar?+
Night dives at Kabal are organised only in perfect weather and for advanced groups.
Is there a wreck to dive off Hvar?+
The Paulina, an English merchant boat sunk some 150 years ago, lies in a small lagoon. Tatinja is an old wreck whose wooden boat has gone, so neither is a steel-hull dive.
Sources
- Dive Sites – Aqualis Diving Center Hvar Croatia — Aqualis Diving Center Hvar
- Aqualis Dive Center Hvar Croatia — Aqualis Diving Center Hvar
- Scuba Diving Black Pearl Jelsa – Dive Sites — Black Pearl Diving Center
- PADI ronilački centar Hvar — Black Pearl Diving Center
- Hvar Average Sea Temperatures — SeaTemperature.org
- Hvar – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Split – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- A low pine-covered islet with a pale limestone shore above clear turquoise water under a blue sky by lostajy, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
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