Sixteen scheduled services connect Split with Hvar island. Thirteen reach Hvar town. Two carry vehicles — and only one of those, state line 604, docks at Hvar town. Bring a car on the other and you land at Stari Grad, twenty kilometres away.
Every service on the corridor
The 2026 state coastal line register lists 68 routes nationally. Sixteen of them touch Hvar island, run by four operators, and they do not all go to the same place. Three ports on one island share the name in casual use, which is where most of the trouble starts.
| Line | Operator | Type | Cars | Arrives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 604 | State line | Car ferry | Yes | Hvar town |
| 635 | State line | Car ferry | Yes | Stari Grad |
| 9602 | State line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| 9603 | State line | Catamaran | No | Stari Grad |
| 9604 | State line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| 9608 | State line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | Jadrolinija | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | Jadrolinija | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | Kapetan Luka (Krilo) | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | Kapetan Luka (Krilo) | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | Kapetan Luka (Krilo) | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | Krilo Shipping Company | Catamaran | No | Jelsa |
| — | TP Line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | TP Line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | TP Line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
| — | TP Line | Catamaran | No | Hvar town |
Ten of the sixteen are commercial lines carrying no public service obligation. They run to summer demand and are not guaranteed to exist in February. The full 68-route network has a finder that shows which of them survive the winter.
The mistake that costs an afternoon
Hvar town is the harbour on the postcards. Stari Grad is a separate town twenty kilometres away on the north side of the island. Jelsa is a third place again, further east. All three are on Hvar, and the boat you book decides which one you wake up in.
“Hvar” is three different ports
Line 635, the car ferry most drivers end up on, sails to Stari Grad. From there it is a road transfer to Hvar town, or a bus that runs a handful of times a day. Line 9603 and the Krilo Shipping service to Bol land at Jelsa, further east again.
Of the sixteen services, thirteen reach Hvar town itself. Two carry a vehicle. Only one service does both. If the address you have booked is in Hvar town and you are bringing a car, that single line is the whole of your choice — everything else means a drive at the far end.
The second-order point matters more than the ferry: Hvar town restricts vehicle access and parking is limited and paid. For most visitors on this island the car is a liability, which makes the slower crossing also the wrong one.
services reach Hvar town
The whole network is open to you
Four operators, catamarans and car ferries alike, and the fast craft are the direct ones. Foot passengers also get the through-boats that carry on to Korčula and Dubrovnik.
What it costs
Croatian ferry tariffs run on two dates that are not the same date. The timetable changes when sailings are added for the summer; the fare table changes on 29 May, and reverts on 27 September. There is also an islanders’ tariff, roughly a third of the visitor fare, which is not available to you.
Crossing
Travelling as
Tariff period
A blank on a vehicle row is not missing data. The fast craft on this coast are foot-passenger vessels and no car tariff exists for them, which is the clearest possible statement of what a hire car does to your options here.
What do you need to work out next?
You know which boat. These usually come next.
Where to stay
Which part of Hvar should I stay in?
Hvar town, Stari Grad and Jelsa are three different holidays.
Getting around
Which other islands connect from Split?
Brač, Šolta, Vis, Korčula and Lastovo, all from the same terminal.
When to go
When does the corridor thin out?
Ten of the sixteen services are commercial lines that stop for winter.
Planning
Can I string several islands together?
The chain runs south, and the legs that break are the ones nobody mentions.
Ferry data: Agencija za obalni linijski pomorski promet (ZOLPP), 2026 state coastal line register and per-line timetables.