Verdict: A laid-back Dalmatian beachy paradise perfect for a May half term holiday doing very little indeed (there’s not even a pool)!
We loved: Waking up next to the sea, wandering along the beach for dinner, exploring the rocks along the coast and popping into Hvar to remind ourselves what real life looks like. Lovely friendly staff, endless pancakes for breakfast, peacocks on the patio and baby tortoises tucked away in the gardens meant this place ticked lots of holiday boxes.
Hints: Palmizana is on a tiny island; Sveti Klement, near Hvar — another brilliant place found at iescape.com. We stayed in the White Villa, right next to the sea and took the speedboat option from Split airport rather than the slower ferry. While it felt amazingly decadent arriving by speedboat, the return trip felt pretty bumpy to us land-lubbers!
This part of the world is all about the the boats. Small boats for whizzing around the coast or hopping to Hvar, and big boats full of Dalmatian cruisers and large ferries. In fact, sometimes the small bay here is pretty busy with boaty day-trippers, but, in May at least, the resort still felt peaceful and relatively secluded.
This was us arriving at The White Villa; so close to the sea you can almost touch it! You can walk around this tiny island and as it’s car free it feels very safe for kids. We did go for a couple of short walks — and Garry ran round the island — but I can’t honestly say we explored it fully! Too busy soaking up the sunshine, messing about in the sea and perfecting our doing-absolutely-nothing technique.
Whiling away the days with some fancy beach art…
… and messing about in boats…
… taking a wander in the lush grounds, walking to the marina, popping out for dinner (best steaks ever right next to the sea!) and playing story dice with newfound friends= holiday heaven.
Who doesn’t love trees on a beach?!
Boy. Sees rock. Throws rock.
Tense times at the 2014 Croatian snail race. Who will take the prize? (And, indeed, who will survive?)
FIVE ON HOLS | WE GO PLACES 