Best Vacation of My Life: Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik

Croatia | Jul 3 - Jul 11, 2023

Very conveniently located. Incredibly helpful staff who had rooms ready early and made us several dinner reservations. Delicious breakfast that was included in the price of our rooms.

One of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in! We were originally going going to stay at the Beach Bay Hvar, but I'm so happy our plans changed. I think this hotel was a much better fit for my family. The rooms were small, but if you're doing Hvar correctly, you're not spending much time in the rooms. I loved the included breakfast each morning, and I loved the bar space in the evening. The location cannot be beat. We were literally five steps from the ferry when we arrived on the island; however, the hotel does a nice job of keeping the lobby space quiet, serene, and private. While this hotel does not have a pool, its sister hotel (Adriana Spa) does and is a very short walk away. It was super easy to walk into that hotel, show our hotel key, and take the elevator up to the spa and/or rooftop pool for a relaxing break from sightseeing. Overall, I would recommend Riva Marina Hvar hotel based on location and sea view alone. Everything else was the cherry on top! (Side note: Hvar was my favorite stop on my trip, and I wish I was still there now.)

One of the loveliest hotels I have ever stayed in. I really wish I could have stayed one more day. It felt incredibly luxurious, our room was very large by European standards, the breakfast each day was incredible, and overall, I felt lucky to be there. I also think the location was PERFECT. It's right outside the walls of the city, which I think is ideal. If you can afford it, I'd recommend this hotel again and again.

Doris was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. I am only taking off one star because some members of our group were slightly picky eaters and felt awkward when they did not want to try things like squid ink pasta or sardines. We loved the prosciutto, cheese, truffle pasta, bread, gelato, and of course, the wine. We also felt like we actually learned a lot about the city of Split in addition to its cuisine.

Our tour guide, Elena, was wonderful: friendly, funny, knowledgeable, and clearly took great pride in the sights. Krka was beautiful, of course, but I especially enjoyed the stops to Trogir and Skradin.

So happy to see other parts of the island outside of Hvar Town. Our guide, Tea, was simply lovely. She was friendly, kind, answered all of our questions, drove expertly up very scary mountain roads, and took a great deal of pride in her island. I would recommend Tea as an island tour guide to anyone. Also, I do not remember the name of the gentleman who was our guide for the olive oil tasting, but he was great, too!

We saw some truly amazing sights. Highlights were the Blue Cave, Palmizana, and Stiniva Cove. I am only taking off one star because the trip was actually quite long--maybe longer than eight hours. We were very tired of swimming and sun by the time we got back to the hotel. The captain/guide were very friendly, but this trip might be more suited to groups of friends in the 20s or 30s than families or older travelers.

Alberto was amazing! I loved him. He walks kind of fast, which was fine for me, but might be problematic for some visitors.

Each of the three islands was beautiful. Lunch was tasty, though if you order the fish, please know you will receive an entire large fish. A very large boat with a large group, so less personal than some of the other day trips/boat trips/tours we experienced on our trip. But if you prefer a more anonymous tour, this is probably for you.