People searching for Hvar usually find Hvar Town first. It is the famous one, and for some holidays it is the right choice. Sucuraj is 77 kilometres away at the other end of the island, and it offers something different. Here is an honest comparison, so you can decide which one fits.
Choose Hvar Town if
You want nightlife, restaurants with long menus, shopping, and a harbour full of yachts. You want to be in the middle of it, and you do not mind paying more or queueing in August. The architecture is genuinely worth seeing, and the Pakleni Islands are on the doorstep.
That is a real holiday and plenty of people have a wonderful time there.
Choose Sucuraj if
You want to sleep with the window open and hear nothing. You want the beach five minutes away and not full. You want to cook when you feel like it, eat fish that came in that morning, and finish the evening in a garden rather than a queue.
Sucuraj is a working fishing town of about 400 people. It is not a resort, and it has not been arranged for visitors.
Families
This is where the difference is clearest. The village is small, the traffic is light, and children can be given a bit of freedom. The beaches have shallow, gentle entries. Nothing runs late, so nobody is kept awake.
In Hvar Town, a family with young children spends a lot of the day managing crowds and heat.
Getting there and away
Sucuraj is the easiest part of the island to reach from the mainland. The ferry from Drvenik takes 30 minutes and runs 10 to 11 times a day in summer. Hvar Town is a longer crossing from Split, or a two-hour drive from here.
If you want day trips to the mainland, the Makarska Riviera and inland Dalmatia, this end of the island is the practical base.
Value
Prices are lower at this end for almost everything: accommodation, a meal out, a coffee by the harbour. You are not paying the premium that comes with the famous name.
The honest downsides
There is no bank, though there is an ATM and an exchange office. There is no petrol station, so you fill up before the ferry. The shops are small. Some konobas take cash only. And there is very little to do after 11 pm.
Some guests worry Sucuraj will be too quiet. That is a fair question to ask, and the answer is usually yes, it is quiet, and that turns out to be the reason they come back.
Doing both
You do not have to choose completely. Stay here, and give Hvar Town one early morning. You will see it at its best, and then come home to the quiet side.
Planning your stay in Sucuraj? Check our available apartments.