October 9, 2025 – There are only three certainties in life – death, taxes, and Hvar being named by Conde Nast readers as one of the top 5 islands.
Shortly after I moved to Jelsa on the island of Hvar back in 2002, an island I had never heard of three days before my purchase, I came across a map of the island on the riva which listed the 10 most beautiful islands in the world, including Hvar. ‘Hvar is one of the ten most beautiful islands in the world’ was a phrase I heard constantly over the ensuing years, without knowing where the claim came from.
Only when I decided to research the claim while writing the first modern guidebook about Hvar back in 2010 did I find the source – a poll from the hugely influential Conde Nast Traveler Readers Awards.
It is a poll which has been hugely loyal to Hvar over the years, with Croatia’s premier island featuring in the island top 10s every year ever since, including best island in Europe on more than one occasion. The exposure this has given to the important US market over the years has been considerable.
Indeed, when one looks at the makeup of tourism in Hvar Town, the main attraction, over the last couple of years, the impact of efforts on the American market has been significant. According to the statistics from the Hvar Town Tourist Board, Americans are now the number one visitors to the town, both in terms of number of visitors and overnight stays. These numbers have been backed up by my conversations with Suncani Hvar Hotels, the leading hotel group on the island, which has seen significant growth in the American market in recent years.
And Hvar once again sits proudly on the list of Conde Nast Readers Travelers Awards, coming in this year at number 4 in the best islands in Europe, behind Crete, Corfu and Sardinia.
This influx of higher-spending American tourists coincides with a shift away from Hvar’s party image, in favour of a bigger focus on culture, gastronomy, adventure and luxury tourism. Despiate a challenging season, the numbers are up on last year, and all bodes well for the 2026 season, where one of the three things is pretty much guaranteed – Hvar will be pleasing Conde Nast readers once again.
