Hvar is a small island located on the Dalmatian coast in Croatia. It’s known for great food and amazing swimming spots! I just spent a week there, this is my 3rd visit to Hvar and love it more each time I return.

Getting there:
The easiest way to get to Hvar is a fast ferry from Split and takes 1 hour. If you want to bring a car, you need to take a big ferry that comes into Stari Grad. There is a bus from Stari Grad to Hvar town. There are 3 companies that run ferries from Split to Hvar, Kapetan Luka, Jadrolinija and Krilo. 

Transport:
If you stay in Hvar town, everything you need is in walking distance. You can hire cars, quad bikes or scooters on the island. There is a bus station in Hvar town and loads of taxis.

Where to stay:
Hvar town is the place to be. Cute alleyways and shops, amazing food and a port that provides day trips to swimming spots and neighbouring islands. There is a mix of air bnb, hostels and hotels here. Other places you could stay include Stari Grad or Jelsa. Cute small towns with restaurants but I recommend coding on day trips and staying in Hvar. 

What to do:

SWIM! Croatia is known for it’s amazing clear water so get to the beach. By land, I recommend Pokonji Beach which is walking distance from Hvar town. There are restaurants and sun beds available. If you have a car, visit Dubovica Beach which has a small beach bar. You can get a water taxi for 50 kn return to close by islands Jerolim, Carpe Diem beach or Milni. 

Boat day: I highly recommend hiring a boat with HvarBoats and seeing the island! We visited the red rocks, hidden underwater caves and had lunch on a gorgeous island. The itinerary was organised by HvarBoats based on what we wanted to do. We loved it so much we booked again for 2 days later and explored the island of Vis. Again we were treated to see some exclusive swimming spots and a submarine tunnel. The company was so professional and responsive, I cannot recommend them highly enough. 

Wineries: Hvar has some amazing wineries. We visited Duboković Winery in Jelsa and had a tasting of 11 wines with olive oil for 150 kn each. It has a really cool atmosphere. Some other wineries that were recommended were Wine Tomic, Bilo Idro and Hora Hvar. 

I would recommend having a car one day to drive and see Jelsa. It’s a cute port village where a lot of the wineries are based. There are lots of great restaurants in this area and on the way to Jelsa too. 

Restaurants: We were never disappointed with any meal in Hvar. Every restaurant had amazing food and great service. Hvar is known for amazing seafood (lobster, tuna steak and mussels) and cevapi which are mixed meat sausages. Some of our favourite restaurants in Hvar town included Dva ribara (who gave us 20% off for being Aussie), La Bocca and Fig for breakfast (this is a must)! Kava 37 has great coffee. 

We went to Palmižana on our boat day and ate at Laganini Lounge bar & Fish house. It was fancy AF but worth every cent. We were hoping to get to Zori restaurant on Palmižana island for dinner but the water was too choppy. I’ve heard great things though. 

Going out: Carpe Diem Beach is usually the place to be. To get there, you take a taxi boat from the main port which is 50 kn return. During covid it was open but not the usual vibe. We spent time at Hula Hula bar for sunset then headed to Carpe Diem Bar which was loads of fun. If you have a group, definitely invest in a bottle and private table. Was well worth it. 

We ended up meeting up with some other Conscious Travel Community members and spending majority of the week with them! Amazing how the universe aligns!

Here are our top tips for the Lake District. It is an absolutely gorgeous part of the world. We went in February 2019 right after some snow; the mountain tops were so magical and we had blue skies.

Our group was 9 people who were all strangers. We drove from London to our accommodation in Boot. Check out the video below and what people had to say about this trip.

Testimonials from our travellers

The Catbells walk was absolutely stunning! This was definitely the highlight of the trip! The scenery for the van as we drone to different lakes was beautiful. The driving route was well planned and allowed us to make the most of the day. The lunch stop was really delicious food as well.

The weekend away to the Lake District was amazing. Such a magical place and it was so nice making new friends and having a great time travelling. I felt like we were all part of a community by the first couple of hours on the trip ( and many of us were solo traveller who had just met) and good friends by the end. Would recommend doing this and other trips if you want to travel and make new friends.

Jordan is an amazing country filled with great food, culture and history.

Jordan borders Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and Israel and Palestine to the west. If you have the opportunity to head to Jordan here are a few things that will help plan your trip:

• 💰 Jordanian Dinar is used and is basically the same conversion as GBP £
• 🇯🇴 In Jordan, they speak Arabic
• 🚕 Uber and Gett are transport apps to use
• ✈️ You will need a visa that costs around £60 (or Jordan pass)
• 🎫 The Jordan pass costs around £70. It waives the visa cost and covers your entrance fees into most top attractions. Highly recommend it!
• 🌡 Average temperature in summer is 32 and winter it’s 10.
• 🍽 Average meal was 6-7 JOD. We ate lots of mixed grills, hummus and Middle Eastern food.
• ⛑ We found Jordan to be relatively safe. People were friendly. We have heard taxis can scam you but we had a great driver (contact me if you need his details.

Places to visit:

Petra was by far my favourite place to visit and is an absolute must. We stayed right across the road from the entrance which was convenient as it opens at 6am. Between 6-8am there were no tourists and it was much more enjoyable. Again camel rides are available here but I recommend doing the 2K walk to the monastery. It was well worth it.

Amman is the capital city. You will most likely fly into here. There are some sights outside the city including: Ajloun Castle and Jerash (ancient city). Apart from that, it’s a busy city with markets and shops.

Aqaba is a really nice city filled with restaurants, bars and hotels. It’s on the beach! We only spent a few hours there but it is a nice stop if you’re passing through.

Wadi Rum is in the south of the country and is in the desert. Here we went on a Jeep ride and there was the option to do a camel ride as well. I strongly urge you not to as I saw animals being mistreated but each to their own. We camped here (and got eaten alive) so bug spray is a must!

The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth reaching 430 metres below sea level. It’s 33% salt and is called the Dead Sea because of the high levels of salt no fish can live there. If you have done a float tank it’s similar to this but way better. The water feels slimy but you can wear a normal swimsuit there and shower after. You need to bring your own towel or buy one there. 

As there are quite long distances between these destinations, it would be best to join a tour. We did the Travel Talk tour and made some amazing friends but it was targeted at budget travellers. The tour guide was super knowledgeable and shed light on some different tour companies and what they focus on. If I was to go again, I’d look into the intrepid tour as it’s smaller groups and the itinerary is slightly different.

Neighbouring countries are Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. I highly recommend visiting Egypt and Israel and I know you can do longer tours that cross into these countries. We came from Israel so if you have questions about crossing the border you can see the info here.

Israel is completely different to my fear-fuelled pre-conceptions I had.

It is beautiful and clean, the people were welcoming and friendly and there was no one walking around with massive guns like I thought they would be! I had an amazing time travelling around the country, soaking up the culture and history.

• Israel really is the holy land! It’s filled with historical, biblical sights and religious or not, there is no place like it. For me, I could feel strong energies in different places. The main ones being in Nazareth and Bethlehem.
• Similar to Egypt and Turkey, for me visiting Israel was another lesson in dismissing what is portrayed in the media and experiencing a country first hand to form my own beliefs.
• It was amazing to hear and see Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish people living in peace and harmony. It was even more special visiting during December and seeing all faiths celebrating each other’s traditions.
• Palestine was such an eye opener for me and I highly recommend a visit there. I have written a blog about my trip there.

• 💰 Israeli currency is New Israeli Shekels (NIS). £1 = 4.49 NIS. 10-15% tipping is expected.
  
• 🚌 The transport system is called Egged. It’s frequent and affordable except on Friday and Saturdays due to the Sabbath. Similar to an Oyster card, you need to top up a Rav Kav card at a train or bus station.
  
• 🚕 You can hail a cab or use the app Gett to order taxis. Gett is similar to Uber and is metered.
  
• 🚗 We hired a car for the majority of our trip except no hire cars are covered in the West Bank which includes Bethlehem if you intend to visit there (which I strongly recommend you do).

Haifa (recommended 1-2 nights)

North of Israel, Haifa was my favourite place to visit. Not much to do, a few nice sights but the beaches were amazing. In November we swam in the water and shared the main beach with 2-3 other people.

Restaurants:

• Sderot Ben Gurion (street) there are heaps of great restaurants. I highly recommend Shtroudl for amazing local food.
• Beachfront cafes along Carmel Beach

Sights:

• Bahá’í Gardens
• Carmel Beach

Nazareth (day trip)

Known for the annunciation, Nazareth is a very holy place. Apart from the gorgeous church, there isn’t too much to see here. Lots of pilgrimages are taking place and it has great energy about it.

Restaurants:

• Alreda (voted best food in Israel)

Sights:

• Church of The Annunciation (where Angel Gabriel told Mary she would birth Jesus)
• Mary’s Well (also thought to be where The Annunciation took place)
• Nazareth Village

 Jerusalem (2-3 nights minimum)

A must visit location with so much to see and do. The old town has great markets and of course a lot of history. We did a free walking tour around the old city to learn about the four quarters.

Restaurants:

• Deja bu
• Karma (outside city centre, a car is needed)

Sights:

• Old City, entering in Jaffa Gate (there are 5 gates)
• Visit all 4 quarters in the old city (Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish)
• Walk the stations of the cross on Via Dolorosa (30 mins needed)
• Church of John the Baptist
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• Church of Mary Magdalene
• Gethsemane
• Mount of Olives (great lookout over Jerusalem)
• Cenacle (where the last supper was held)
• The Garden Tomb

Bethlehem, Nazareth (day trip from Jerusalem)

Known as the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem is in the middle of the West Bank, Palestine. Tourists are warned not to enter the West Bank due to ongoing conflict with Israel and Palestine but I felt safe the whole time I was there. We were unable to drive our rental car there (uninsured for that area) and I thought it was because it wasn’t safe. I then learnt (and saw) it’s all just politics. People in Palestine were friendly and welcoming, they were polite and respectful. No guns, no violence, no signs of war. However, seeing the wall of separation was the most heartbreaking thing I experienced on this trip. Mostly because I was naive and didn’t know it existed. If you visit Bethlehem, please place your hands on the wall and pray for it’s removal. 
I have written a blog about my experiences in Palestine here.

Sights:

• Church of the Nativity (Jesus birthplace)
• Milk Grotto
• Manger Square
• Wall of Separation

Tel Aviv (2-3 nights)

Tel Aviv is where the airport is. It’s a modern city with great markets, food and beaches. It has a great nightlife too.

Restaurants & Nightlife:

• Cafe Puaa 
• Cafe Yaffo

• Sputnk
• Breakfast
• The alphabet
• Phi
• Teder

Sights:

• Old city
• Jaffa Flea Market
• Carmel Market
• Aviv or Jerusalem Beach (or any of the beaches close by)
• Old Port

If you are considering travelling to Israel and Jordan, I have written some tips about crossing the border here.