I invite you for a ride through the secluded bays on the island of Hvar near the village of Bogomolje. I'll show you all the bays on the northern side, which are accessed from Bogomolje. Ready? Let's go!
We start our journey in the village of Bogomolje. It's the first civilization near these bays. In the village, there's a large square where the main social life takes place. There's a post office and a shop with basic groceries. Most owners bring fresh bread to their guests in the morning, which is simply handy.
Male Gaćice Bay
From the square in Bogomolje, we turn onto an asphalt road leading to the bays. This asphalt road goes all the way to Bristova Bay and ends there. Just before Bristova Bay is Male Gaćice Bay, but it's not visible from the road – it's an open bay without its own beach. There are two houses there, and they have their own concrete piers for swimming. One of these houses is for rent.
Bristova Bay
In Bristova Bay, there are a few houses for rent, including one guesthouse. However, it doesn't operate as a restaurant; it cooks only for its guests. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage – if I'm staying in the bay outside the guesthouse, I simply can't go there for dinner. On the other hand, crowds of food-hungry tourists from surrounding bays don't come there. The beach in the bay is pebbly and quite large.
When we started coming to Bogomolje in 2009, Bristova was the only bay with an asphalt road. To reach the other bays, one had to turn off this road, and back then, it was a macadam road. Again, this had its advantages and disadvantages – some tourists never dared to drive to these bays because of the macadam road, and it also highlighted the romantic atmosphere of a secluded Robinson Crusoe-style retreat. On the other hand, it was a rather difficult circumstance for the owners of these retreats – when it was necessary to replace a dishwasher, empty a septic tank, or bring building materials for necessary house repairs – all of this was complicated. Today, asphalt leads all the way to Stara Bay, and then it's macadam again. The paving of the macadam road influences the entire political life of the municipality. Even the owners of the secluded retreats contribute significant money to the maintenance or construction of the road. Here, the romance of remoteness is already becoming quite expensive.
Vele Gaćice Bay
So, when you turn off the main asphalt road, the first bay is Vele Gaćice. It's a small bay with a single house that the owners rent out. Below the house is a small pebble entrance to the sea, and then a large concrete pier with sun loungers. The advantage is that there are no other houses in the bay.
Stara Bay
Here in this bay, there's a beautiful pebble beach comparable to the beach in Bristova Bay. However, there are also more houses for rent here. The current asphalt road ends beyond this bay (data from 2021) – in the future, the asphalt should be extended further. For now, we continue on a macadam road.
Zavala Bay
The next bay is Zavala. For me, it's a natural bay, the forest reaches right to the sea, and the secluded accommodations are surrounded by mature pine trees. All four houses in the bay are actually right by the sea, and the surrounding forest protects them from the strong afternoon sun. Each house has its own swimming pier, and then there are rocks. There is no pebble beach in this bay, and that should be taken into account.
Solotiša Bay
The last bay is Solotiša Bay, where the road ends. In the bay, there are five houses for rent; the sixth house is not rented out and serves only its owners. Each house has its own sunbathing pier, and then there's also a small shared pebble beach. One of the owners here has a small homemade konoba (tavern), cooking mainly for his guests, but by arrangement, he will also cook for other guests from the bay. This is again both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is that one can go for a really good dinner in the evening (according to some guests, food prices are higher, the easiest way is to ask for the price beforehand), and the disadvantage is that sometimes a food-hungry day-tripper arrives here by boat. Nevertheless, we pleasantly rested from civilization in the bay.
Southern Bays
These are the bays on the northern side with a view of the Biokovo mountain range above the Makarska Riviera. There are also bays with secluded accommodations on the southern side; there is no asphalt road there (only some sections are paved), and the bays are more scattered – from Bogomolje, you descend via two roads. If you're coming from Sućurje, the first left turn just before the village of Bogomolje leads to Smokvina Bay with a beautiful pebble beach. The second left turn is from the main square in Bogomolje, and this road leads to Lađena, Pelinovik, and Smrska bays – all three have a pebble beach. However, Lađena Bay cannot be reached by car; you need to park in the adjacent Gornji Pelinovik Bay and walk to the secluded accommodation via a forest path, or arrange with the owner to transfer your belongings from this adjacent bay by boat.
I'll write more about these southern bays another time. I hope I've enticed you a bit for a secluded holiday.
Quite a few older generation owners still live in the bays; they don't have internet and only make accommodation reservations by phone. You can't always reach them because, in addition to renting out secluded accommodations, they also earn a living from their agricultural production – olives, lavender, etc., and they are not always on the phone or simply don't have a signal (yes, such places without a signal still exist). You either have to keep trying or book through some portal. Either way, a holiday in a secluded accommodation is a real experience.
