The Pakleni Islands: the best send-off we could ask for

We arrived at the Pakleni Islands thinking it would be just another boat day, a pretty excursion before heading home and not much else. It became, without us planning it at all, the perfect close to a trip that had been running at full speed up to that point.

It's not an archipelago of big plans or checklist tours, and you can tell from the first minute. It's a taxi boat from Hvar's harbor, no fixed route, hopping between two or three coves throughout the day depending on the spot and mood you find — we ended up switching coves twice just because the captain told us "the next one's even better."

We ate with our feet almost in the water, at a restaurant by the sea, no rush, nothing to do but be there and let the hours pass.

After days of history and partying, Pakleni gives you exactly the calm you need, right when you need it most. Almost like it was designed on purpose.

What surprised us most was the contrast with the previous days. After Hvar's energy — beaches with music, beach clubs, long nights — Pakleni offers exactly the opposite: silence, clear water and the feeling of being in a corner very few people know about, despite Croatia's most party-heavy island sitting fifteen minutes away by boat.

When planning the trip, we gave Pakleni one day without really knowing what to expect, almost as filler. In the end, on the ferry back to the airport, we agreed on the same thing without even discussing it: it was, without question, the best dinner of the whole trip.