Mala MilnaHvar Island

Mala Milna, Little Milna, is a hamlet of a dozen stone houses around a small bay on the south coast of Hvar, just west of the larger Milna beach and about two and a half nautical miles from Hvar Town by boat. It is the kind of place that seems to have been left out of the century: a short stone jetty, a beautiful pebble beach curving round the head of the bay, boats pulled up on the shore, and the sound of the sea against the wall of the konoba.

The beach is the first reason to come. It is one of the prettiest on this coast: smooth pale pebbles, pines for shade behind, and water that is calm, shallow and warm from late morning because the bay is narrow and well sheltered. It stays clear enough to see the anchor set, the entry is gentle enough for children, and the rocky walls on either side of the bay are good for snorkelling.

The second reason is lunch, and here the bay gives you a choice. Gostionica Mala Milna sits right on the water, serving grilled fish, octopus, peka and the family's own wine at tables a few steps from the jetty, and it is the traditional lunch our skippers recommend most on the south coast: unhurried, local and exactly where a boat wants to be. Notos, the bar and restaurant alongside it, is the modern counterpart, with a more contemporary menu, cocktails and a lounge feel for a long afternoon by the water. Book either in July and August, because the tables are few and the bay is well known to sailors.

Mala Milna is reachable by a rough road from the main Hvar road and by a long coastal walk, but almost everyone arrives by sea, which keeps it quiet even in peak season. Our South Coast & Hidden Beaches tour calls here for lunch after the morning swims, and on a self-drive day it pairs naturally with Milna next door and with Dubovica and the Zaraće bays further east.

Moor at the jetty if there is space, or anchor in the bay and swim or tender ashore. Give it two hours: a swim before lunch, lunch, and a second swim before you leave.