Did you know that the radiant white stone used to built the White House in Washington came from the Croatian island Brac?
The other attraction Brac is famous for is Zlatni Rat, the long pebbly beach at the city Bol that extends lasciviously into the Adriatic. If you see any tourist poster of Brac, be sure that the beach you see is Zlatni Rat.
Brac is the largest island in central Dalmatia, with several towns, sleepy villages and a dramatic Mediterranean landscape of steep cliffs, inky waters and pine forests.
We stayed at a 700 year old newly renovated stone house in Sutivan with magnificent ocean views and yes, our own swimming pool. The owner of the house, a German doctor, had superb taste and his renovations were done so tastefully. A modern high end kitchen touching the old stone walls, the steps to the 2 stories of amazing bed rooms and bath rooms were lined with reclaimed wood and beautiful art and sculptures. And the highlight for all of us, our own swimming pool: all this nestled in the old and narrow part of Sutivan, right above the harbor. The house was maintained by a Croatian super who did not speak any English. Thank god he knew of google translation. He spoiled us many times with fresh tomatoes, vegetables and olives from his own garden. We found this gem on airbnb. Here is the link.
Sutivan is a cute little village with a tiny harbor, a beach, a promenade with several good local restaurants, an outdoor arcade for kids (heaven for Hendrix) and an excellent ice cream stand. Our favorite restaurant was Kannoba Bokuncin, right by the ocean at a quiet part of the harbor with friendly (but slow) staff and delicious local food and great wine. Had the Čevapi and the Tuna dish which was fantastic. We sat there for hours eating and drinking while enjoying the peaceful ocean view.
Supetar, the next village over offers lots of water fun. The swimming cove has a great inflatable play area, water slides into a swimming pool and pedellos. There is also an outdoor arcade with many games, paradise for kids any age. The water sports base in Supetar (Rent A Roberts) offers plenty of boats trips, jet ski rental, fly board etc. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset jet ski afternoon and also rented a boat. We drove along the coast and stopped at a great tavern in a tiny village to have lunch. Jumping into the clear blue ocean to go snorkeling was so much fun. Our plan was to make it al the way around the island to Bol to admire the famous Zlatni Rat beach but it was very windy and choppy water so we couldn’t make it there.
I highly recommend the wine tasting we did in a small town called Nerezisca, kind of right in the middle of the island. Driving through the olive groves to get there was magical. When we arrived at Markos beautiful garden surrounded by old stone walls and historic buildings we felt home right away. We tasted local wines as well as different type of Grappas. It was paired with a delicious cheese which the family makes in their basement. During a tour of the wet room in the basement we learned that the cheese is a cross between a parmesan and a really good English farmhouse cheddar. We bought a whole big round piece which only lasted a few days. So delicious. We also loved their olive oil and our favorite dip was the Tuna paste. We think he should sell it in jars! The wines were good but not amazing but the whole experience was very lovely. Marko was a nice host (he gave us fresh rosemary from his garden for our dinner) who had many stories to tell and we enjoyed hanging out with his kitten and the land tortoise.
Our favorite restaurants in Brac: Ranjak
Outdoor dining under olive trees with delicious local specialties. What could be better? It was worth the 20 minute drive along windy roads from Supetar. We pre-ordered the octopus peka, a local slow roasted dish with octopus, potatoes, vegetable and lots of rosemary. It was so delicious. The wine was also local and equally delicious. What a great night.
We definitely needed a great dinner since we had spent the last 3 hours in the emergency room in Supetar. Hendrix slipped on the tiles of the public pool by the water slide and cracked the back of his head open pretty bad. His head was bleeding heavily and we knew this could only be fixed with stitches. Although it was a scary event, the ambulance, the people at the pool, the doctors, the nurses, everybody was so helpful and friendly. The doctor managed to calm Hendrix down because he was very scared of his first ever stitches. Thank god the head healed pretty quickly and he is fine now. That was the evening we had pre-ordered the peka and almost couldn’t go because of the emergency room excursion. We ended up going and were all very happy to have a beautiful and delicious outdoor dinner after such a dramatic afternoon.
If you asked me which island I liked better, Brac or Hvar, with kids or without, it’s hands down Hvar. Hvar town has more of a mediterranean city vibe with amazing food mixed with great beaches and tons of water fun. Tons of fun for adults and kids and families. Brac is less lively (no old town around, Supetar doesn’t even come close to Hvar town) and Brac definitely felt more old-fashioned, more of an all inclusive hotels vibe rather than a more modern mediterranean atmosphere with smaller hotels or apartments, shops, alleyways, a harbor, taverns and live music.
Tags: Brac with Kids, Family Vacation Brac, Favorite Things to do with kids in Brac, Fun Stuff for Kids Brac, Supetar with kids