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We took a car ferry from Split to Supetar on Brac after staying 4 nights in Trogir (see my blogs Split, Croatia: Travel Guide and Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide). We then stayed 4 nights on Brac Island and during our stay took a passenger ferry over to Hvar Island for the day (see my blog Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide).
Contents
1. Supetar on Brac Island
Supetar is the port and main town on Brac. Supetar has a small historic centre around the harbour with lots of restaurants on the waterfront. To the east of the harbour is the port and to the west there is a seafront promenade. When the seafront promenade ends a coastline path continues westwards to some hotels and beaches. The beaches aren't very special.
On the hill above Supetar's port, and by the large roundabout, is a shopping centre with 2 good supermarkets (Lidls and Tommy). There are 2 small supermarkets in Supetar's historic centre but the selection is limited.
2. Day Trip to Sutivan, Lozisca, Vidova Gora and Skrip
We drove the short distance from Supetar to Sutivan and parked at a free car park at the entrance to Sutivan. We really liked the small town of Sutivan as it is unspoilt and classy. It had reasonable beaches at each end of the small town, with toilets at the eastern beach.
There is limited parking at Lozica, just before the traffic light in the centre of the village when driving from Sutivan. There isn't much to see apart from a very fancy bell tower and that can be better appreciated from a distance.
We drove on to the 778 metres high peak of Vidova Gora, which is the highest point on any Adriatic island. There is a free car park below the peak and there are good views.
It is even better if you walk for 10 minutes from the car park to the peak of Vidova Gora. There are excellent views over to Hvar island and Zlatni Rat beach at Bol.
We drove back to Supetar via Skrip, which is the oldest continually inhabited settlement on Brac. The Rough Guide book describes Skrip as a "sleepy nest of stone houses with heavy stone roof tiles". It sounded very nice but the reality was that Skrip wasn't very special!
Skrip does have a few nice stone buildings but there aren't enough of them to make an impact. The village is also very spread out and there are newer buildings that spoil its appearance.
3. Bol and Zlatni Rat Beach
I was concerned that parking at Bol would be very expensive as reviewers were complaining they were charged Eur 5 per hour or Eur 20 for the day. However, this charge is for the main car park for the Zlatni Rat beach on the west side of Bol.
We parked in a wooded car park off the left of the main road just before reaching Bol's waterfront. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be marked on Google maps. It is then a 10 minute walk to the eastern end of Bol's old town and a 15 minute walk to Zlatni Rat. We were charged Eur 2 per hour for parking.
The centre of Bol is small and mainly consists of 2 streets running parallel to the seafront promenade and harbour. It is pleasant strolling around but it only takes about 30 minutes to see everything. Ferries to Hvar and Dubrovnik depart from Bol's eastern pier.
From Bol it is a very pleasant walk along a wide and wooded seafront promenade to Zlatni Rat. The promenade is lined with hotels, restaurants and cafes.
Zlatni Rat is Croatia's most famous beach, probably because of its shape as it juts out on a cape with fine shingle beaches on either side. It wasn't too crowded when we were there but that was in late June.
4. Ferries from Brac to Split, Hvar & Dubrovnik
Ferries between Brac and Split
The only car ferry that goes from Brac is a Jadrolinija ferry that sails about every 1.5 hours between Split and Supetar on Brac island.
Tickets for the ferry can be purchased on Jadrolinija's website. It cost us Eur 33 for our car and 2 passengers. The ticket is valid for the day selected and not for a specific sailing.
There are several negative Tripadvisor reviews about the signage to Split's ferry terminal and also the signage to the piers at Split's ferry terminal. However, we found that the signs were very good. If you enter "Ferry Port of Split" on Google maps it will almost get you to the correct pier.
Vehicles park in lanes at the pier when waiting for the Split to Supetar ferry. Vehicles board on a first come first served basis. We arrived 1.5 hours ahead of the departure time and were 12th in the queue. There are toilets in the nearby terminal building.
We were directed to park our car on the main deck of the ferry and it was very straightforward driving on to the ferry at Split and driving off at Supetar. However, we saw cars driving down the ramp to the lower deck and it was extremely narrow. I was very pleased not to have to do it.
The morning before we took the ferry from Supetar to Split there was terrible traffic congestion in Supetar. We were informed it was due to vehicles queuing to board the ferry and that it was even worse in the peak season. As a result we took an early ferry (07.45) the next day to avoid this issue. We arrived at Supetar's port at 07.15 and boarded the ferry without problems.
Ferries between Milna, Brac and Hvar Town/Korcula/Dubrovnik
There is a daily passenger catamaran that departs from Milna on Brac Island to Hvar Town, Korcula and Dubrovnik. It departs Milna at 09.50 each day and arrives back at 19.50.
We took this catamaran from Milna to Hvar Town for a day trip and it arrived at Hvar Town at 10.30 and returned at 19.00. This gave us plenty of time to see both Hvar Town and Stari Grad. See my blog "Hvar Island, Croatia" for details.
The tickets for the catamaran cost Eur 15 each way and can be purchased online from TP Line. Tickets can also be bought when boarding the ferry, if there is space.
We parked our car at a large car park near the entrance to Milna. There is a ticket machine there and it costs Eur 1 per hour. There is a daily maximum charge but the machine didn't state what the maximum was so we paid for 11 hours.
A local guy told us that no one checks for payment at the car park but we didn't want to risk it. It is then a 15 minute walk to where the ferry docks on the northern side of Milna's harbour. Enter "TP Line catamaran ferry terminal" on Google maps.
Other Ferries to and from Brac Island
KL operates high speed ferries on 2 routes that stop on the island of Brac:
Brač (Milna) – Hvar – Korčula – Mljet (Pomena) – Dubrovnik
Brač (Bol) – Makarska – Korčula – Pomena(Mljet) – Dubrovnik
5. Accommodation in Supetar, Brac
We stayed in a 1 bedroom apartment in Supetar for Eur 73 per night. There is also a 2 bedroom apartment available. Both apartments are in separate detached buildings and can be booked through Booking.com. I have reviewed them on my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" (number 12).
6. My Other Blogs on Croatia
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