Brac Island – Live La Vida Blog

Hello again! After our time in Zadar, we headed off to Split for phase 2 of our trip. One of the highlights of our time there, was the day trip we took to the island of Brač off the coast. We chose a company called Summer Blues for this trip. We had done a great deal of research (both online before our trip and while walking the promenade talking with promoters) so we were confident in our decision. (It didn’t disappoint).

The beautiful Catamaran boat for our trip!

They offer two different trips to the islands (and if we had more time / money, we probably would’ve done the other one too!). We chose the trip to Bol and Golden Horn Beach. This tour only runs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and costs 75 euros per person. You can also take a trip to Hvar & Pakleni Islands. This tour only runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and costs 83 euros per person. (Children 4-14 are half price for both trips, and 0-4 are free).

Split harbor / Marjan Hill in the background

You meet the tour at the dock at 8:30am along the Riva. The boat departs the harbor at 9:00am and it’s about a 1 hour ride to the island of Brač. The boat cruise started off with a welcome drink–either a rum & coke or a screwdriver. It seemed a bit early for hard alcohol but we weren’t going to turn down a free drink on our vacation! They also gave us sandwiches that were pre-wrapped. Some people ate them on the boat and others saved them for later.

Once we arrived to Bol, the boat docked and we walked 5 minutes to a waiting bus. We took the bus to the highest point on the island of Brač–Vidova Gora. The ride took almost 30 minutes to the top, but our guide on the bus told us a bit about the island’s history along the way. Brač is the 3rd largest island in the Adriatic and home to almost 14,000 people. It’s main industries include tourism, fishing and producing wine at local vineyards on the island. They are also very famous for their white stone–which is claimed to have been imported to Washington D.C. to make the White House! Once the bus couldn’t take us anymore of the way up, we walked 15 minutes to the viewpoint! You are able to see the golden horn beach below from Vidova Gora.

Vidova Gora (Golden Horn Beach to the left of Mark’s head)

After 15 minutes of exploring and photo taking, we got back on the bus to head down to Zlatni Rat (aka Golden horn beach) up close. It took almost 40 minutes to get to down to the beach. Our bus actually broke down part of the way and we had to wait for a replacement bus to come grab us. It didn’t take too long and the tour continued on. (This was the only glitch of the day). Once we got dropped off at Golden Horn beach, we had to walk a while before actually getting to the beach. There are bathrooms in the wooded area behind the beach, but they cost money to use–so be sure to have some coins on hand!

View of Vidova Gora from Golden Horn Beach

We had a little less than 2 hours to enjoy some time on the beach. We learned on our tour that the shape of the beach actually changes depending on the wind. Sometime’s it’s straight, other time’s it’s curved. The beach was much larger than I had imagined, and it took almost 10 minutes to walk from the start to the end (not counting the wooded area at the beginning).

Once our time was done on the beach, we followed the walkway back to the docks in Bol to meet the group. (We even snagged a key-chain made of the famous white stone for our collection en route). When we were all back on the boat, we departed for our cruise around the island. They gave all of us a salad with some chicken and veggies in it for lunch. (Very simple but filling enough). They also served some cake and fruit for desert–so there were plenty of snacks until the end! Part of the reason we chose this company was the unlimited soft drinks (which included beer)! We totally took advantage of the free drinks (note the two beers I’m holding in the picture above).

After a little cruising, we stopped at a swim spot called Lučice. We were able to jump off the boat into the water and swim around for a while. We had about an hour or so at the first swim spot before heading to a second location in a bay off the island. In both areas we were completely alone with just our group. There were no other tours or boats anchored and we had the area to ourselves. It is still unbelievable to me how crystal clear the Adriatic is!

View from Golden Horn Beach

After our final swim, it was time to head back to Split. We were able to enjoy the sunset from the boat as we cruised back. They played some music while we enjoyed our last beers and chatted with the new friends we had made along the trip!

View from Vidova Gora

Overall, I highly recommend this boat cruise for anyone visiting Split (who isn’t planning on staying on the islands). Although it was a little out of our normal travel budget, it was incredibly worth it! It was one of the highlights of our trip through Croatia. The views we experienced alone were worth it (not to mention the food & unlimited beer).

Cheers, Amanda

– Posted on February 11, 2018 by amandasharon4

Source: https://livelavida.com/2018/02/11/island-of-brac/