Here are some tips on the best towns, beaches, and restaurants, of one of the most beautiful islands in Croatia: the island of Brač.
We were in Croatia in July and Brac was my absolute favorite part of the trip.
We chose this island first, because it was one of the biggest ones, and second because it is said to have the best beaches.
Since we weren't in the mood for parties but more for relaxing and spending time in the sun, we thought Brac was the right choice.
We rented a car and took the ferry from Makarska to the island.
We stayed accommodated 4 days in Bol, and 4 in Supetar. But we would always drive to other places to explore what the island had to offer.
BOL
Bol is the most famous among tourists but also, in my opinion, the place with the best beaches.
Bol city center
The city center is very charming! Small, rustic and full of life.
We drank the best cocktail of the whole trip at Varadero bar and ate the best Squid risotto at Konoba Dinko restaurant.
We also spent the whole time eating ice-creams. Sometimes more than 3 per day. There were so many good options!
The Beaches in Bol
We spent a morning at the famous Zlatni Rat beach. To be honest, it really disappointed us. It was extremely crowded and not very clean so we ended up moving to another beach in the afternoon.
We enjoyed Bijela Kuća beach a lot. A bit hidden and not that big, but definitely beautiful.
Nude beaches are actually very common and a big part of Croatia's culture. They are normally small and very paradisiac. There was a big mix of people on these beaches from families with kids to older people but I never felt observed or harassed. There's just something very special and liberator about being naked on a beach.
Another lovely beach was Martinica beach. Long, not very crowded and with a beautiful view of the Bol Dominican Monastery.
But where we spent most days was at the beautiful Grabov rat beach. This one is a nude beach, and if you want to stay there you really have to be completely naked, if not you will be told off.
Nude beaches are actually very common and a big part of Croatia's culture. They are normally small and very paradisiac. There was a big mix of people on these beaches, from families with kids to older people, but I never felt observed or harassed. There's just something very special and liberator about being naked on a beach.
POVLJA
After a long day at the beach in Bol, we went home, took a shower, got the car, and drove to Povlja to find a restaurant for dinner.
When you're driving up in the mountain and start approaching Povlja, you have the most amazing views. We stopped at a viewpoint alongside the road and stood there for a while, looking at the sunset, with the village, the ocean and the mountains in the background.
The village is very small and located basically around a harbor. Along the harbor promenade, you'll find a handful of restaurants completely full of people. As we discovered, Povlja is famous for its superb local cuisine.
We had dinner at Konoba Kala restaurant. This was our favorite restaurant on Brac island. We ate the best mussels we have ever tasted! There was live music, great local beer, and everyone was so friendly.
SELCA
Selca is known for the art of stone masonry and it's centuries-old traditions. Every building in this small town is made of Brac white stone, very similar to marble.
We were there only for a couple of hours and visited Župna crkva Krista Kralja, an enormous white stone church. This alone, was worth the visit.
We also discovered, completely by chance, the Obrada kamena Majk Jakšic quarry. We are quite curious about these types of things and decided to go in and snoop around. The owner came to greet us and showed us her little shop, where she sold beautiful handmade stone pieces. We couldn't resist and ended up buying a couple of them.
SKRIP
On our way to Supetar we stopped in Škrip, the oldest settlement on the island.
There you'll find cute stone houses, prehistoric town walls, several sarcophagi, reliefs, and medieval graves.
When we were there everything looked a bit abandoned and there wasn't anyone besides us, or so we thought. When we entered the Kaštel Cerineo there was an old woman who started talking to us in Croatian. I understand Italian, and Croatian has a lot of similar words and sounds, so I could understand a bit of what she was trying to tell us.
She told us that the castle had been in her family for many generations and that she still lived there. She unlocked a big wooden door and led us to an old basement full of different types of bottles filled with homemade liquors and olive oil. While we tasted several of them, she told us all about the castle history. How it had been destroyed several times and rebuilt by her family. Now the building is protected by UNESCO.
A bit up on the road you'll find the Muzej otoka Braca. A museum filled with the interesting history of Škrip.
SUPETAR
We only visited Supetar because it was where we would take the ferry to Split, but now I wish we would have stayed there a bit longer to explore the city better, especially the old part. We walked through the old streets at dinner time and everything looked so nice and rustic. We wanted to have dinner at the restaurant Vinotoka, because we heard it was really good, but it was fully booked.
It was clear to us that the beaches closer to the city were not really our style. Very busy, not that pretty, and very near restaurants, bars, and water parks.ped in one place to play some arcade games and we stopped to drink a cocktail in one of the many bars that were in that area.
The beaches:
It was clear to us that the beaches closer to the city were not really our style. Very busy, not that pretty, and very near restaurants, bars, and water parks.
We spent one morning at Vela Luka beach, which we really enjoyed. It's a little bay enclosed by rocks and pine trees. There is just a tiny part that actually has pebbles/sand but most people use the concrete and stone decks that are all around the bay. There are also places with grass under the trees to lay your towel and relax in the shadow. It was definitely a popular place, especially among families with kids.
From Vela Luka beach we walked along the coast, through a path in the forest, until we reached Mutnik beach. This was definitely our favorite beach in the area!
It's a long pebble beach, with very few people and with amazing snorkeling opportunities. We spent the whole day with our head underwater looking at the sea bed and all the fishes.
I would say that the only bad thing about this beach was that the pebbles were a bit bigger than usual and we definitely needed to use the beach shoes to walk around.
SUTIVAN
Every time I looked for "the best beaches in Brac", Sutivan was a place that kept appearing in the searches so we decided to go check it out.
We soon found out that the access to Sutivan center is closed to cars during the summer months. If you want to go to the beaches there, you can either walk or take the local bus.
Because we saw so many people on their way to the beaches, we were a bit afraid that they would be too crowded and so we decided to explore the rest of the coastline.
Along the coast, until the tip of the island, you'll drive by many small nice coves/beaches.
We ended up in beach Justitija or beach Erot, I'm not 100% sure which one. It was basically deserted and so stunning! Surrounded by nature, with white round pebbles and very peaceful.
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