Sail to hidden coves off Hvar by private boat

A scatter of pine-covered islets twenty minutes off Hvar Town, with water clear enough to read the seabed at fifteen metres and coves that a boat can reach and a road never will.

The name has nothing to do with hell, despite the usual translation — it comes from paklina, the pine resin once used to seal wooden ships. The archipelago runs about eight kilometres, and only a handful of the islands have anything on them at all.

A private boat is what makes the day: you choose the order, you stop where the water looks right, and you avoid the two or three bays that the shuttle boats fill by eleven. Palmižana has the marina, a botanical garden and lunch; Jerolim and Stipanska are quieter; the far side of Sveti Klement is usually empty.

Most of the day is spent in and out of the water. Bring a mask — the visibility here is exceptional and the seabed is a mix of seagrass meadow and pale rock that makes everything easy to see.