Arrival times
Flights seem to either arrive early (which means an early start in the UK) or late afternoon early evening which can limit transfer options.
Note: late evening arrivals mean that you will miss the main dinner period of 7 till 9pm at the hotel. They have provided sandwiches on arrival for late travellers. If traveling independently and arriving late evening it would be wise to warn the hotel of your approximate arrival time and ask in advance about food. Our transfers / independent travel and transfer pages have more information that could be helpful. Many people opt to travel a day earlier and spend an evening exploring the wonderful narrow streets within the walls of the ancient Diocletian’s Palace. Rooms are easy to find through Booking.com and Airbnb. Leave a message on the group facebook page if you’d like recommendations.
Hair dryers and kettles
You will find hairdryers in a black bag at the top of the wardrobe. The rooms do not have kettles, but it is worth bringing a travel kettle or sometimes room kettle can be requested from reception.
Hangers
If you’ve brought lots of clothes, then ask for a few more hangers to be sent to your room when checking in
Ironing
The hotel has an ironing room but does not provide irons in the rooms. We recommend taking a travel iron.
Internet
The Wi-Fi access is free within the hotel, at checkin you will receive a code. Note: just before meal times when most people are back at their rooms it slows down.
Towels
Large blue pool / beach towels can be obtained from the hotel. A towel card will be provided when you arrive, this can be exchanged for a towel by the pool or at reception, return the towel and collect your card before checking out.
Chemist / Pharmacy
there is a chemist in Bol. It’s is just past the main Konzum supermarket further up on your left hand side. It closes at 3pm each day.
Supermarkets
The main supermarket ‘Konzum’ in Bol harbour closes at 1pm on Sundays. But up the hill when walking past the ‘Pekara’ bakery (look for the yellow and blue sign set back from the main walk way and on your left) up the hill there is another supermarket that is very well stocked ‘Studenac’ this does not close until early evening.
Climate /Temperatures
It has been an average of 22 to 26 degrees during the day on previous trips (May Bolbeats / Oct Bolsoul). And can be warm or cool at night. We recommend taking layers clothing wise. There can be the occasional down pour of rain, which clears up within 30 minutes to 1 hour. A light weigh umbrella or rain mac for travel is recommended. Also bring sun block.
Exploring
it is well worth turning left out of the Borak and walk along the paved coastal path through the pine trees along to Bol Harbour. If full of energy, follow the coast round past the end of the harbour and along, further up you will find small specialist shops, and beautiful views of the monastery. For keen swimmers the water is beautiful and clear, but the Adriatic is cool in May and October. There are some stunning small eaches and coves to explore. Or sit and picnic and enjoy the sunset. If turning right out of the Borak and walking past the Elaphusa you will find a bicycle hire company (in the opposite direction from Bol harbour) you can walk with the sea on your left and up to Ziatni Rat beach. Note further up the coast it is pretty, but the home of the nudist beaches. So please respect others privacy.
Breakfast
If having a late night and not wanting to get up for breakfast, there is the option of purchasing brunch by the pool. Or having a late breakfast or lunch next to the sea at the great beach bar NOA 3 minutes stroll from the hotel. Or wander into Bol harbour and stop at one of the cafes for a wide variety of tasty snacks. Well worth a visit is the take away “Food to Go”, top of the steps on the side street above Vendetta.
Dinnertime drinks
Although breakfast and dinner is included in your booking. Drinks in the evenings in the dining room are not. You can charge the cost of drinks to your room, or pay for them at your table.
Pool bar menu
You can pay in cash or add your drinks and snacks to your room bill.
Bars
In addition to the pool bar at the Borak, there are picturesque beach bars along the walk way toward Bol harbour. And lots of bars and cafes in the harbour.
Food
Croatia food reflects a long-standing combination of Adriatic and Mediterranean influences. The food provided at the Borak and reflects this. There is some noticeable repetition across the week with regard to vegetables, fruit, pudding and breakfasts. But meat, fish and vegetarian dishes are rotated across the week and there is a wide choice. We also recommend taking a wander early in the week to see Bol harbour, and explore the lunchtime offerings at the restaurants. Fresh ingredients, and large pizza’s that are often adequate for two to share, are some of the positives we look forward to when visiting Bol. The fresh grilled Tuna steaks at NOA beach bar succulent, tasty and good value for money. Meat is popular in Croatia, with Brac known for its lamb. But they also have specialities that include Risottos’, roasted vegetables, cured hams, fish dishes and bread. If enjoying the music and not wanting to wander too far, snacks can be ordered at the pool bar. There is the inventive Vegan street food restaurant BioMania serving tasty seasonal local organic food, and multiple ice cream parlour's, amongst our favourites “Aroma Gelato” and “Gelato Valadero”.
Restaurants
If you don’t want to walk too far we recommend NOA beach bar for a lunch right by the sea, fresh food and good value for money with a beautiful setting. Bol has some great restaurants. Lots of places have pizza ovens and make their own fresh pizzas, they also have fresh meat, fish and vegetables, with many dishes influenced by Italy and other Adriatic neighbours. At Topolino’s to the left as you walk into Bol they have large fresh Pizza’s which are easily shared by two at lunch time. Wonderful views of the sea from their tables. Reasonable prices and polite staff. Further down Pumperella gets good reviews for it’s steak, fresh burgers, and tuna on hot stones, home made pitta pockets and grilled vegetables. Polite and very accommodating staff. Please add any other restaurant reviews to the Bolsoul / Bolbeats Facebook pages if you try them.
Gifts
Croatia is quite big on making chocolate, and Bol has small specialist stores selling Croatian chocolate, olive oil and honey. The small market stalls on the walk way leading to Bol Harbour have various items of Brac stone, and olive wood. Toward the end of October the stores and stalls start to close up. If you see any gifts you wish to take home we suggest buying them by the middle of the week in case the place you visited is closing up toward the end of the week.
Travel
For a small extra fee we may be able to add you our group transfers, this will be dependant on your flight times. Please contact Bolsoul for more more details.
If you would like to travel independently there are three stages.
1. Transfer from Airport to Split Port.
2. Ferry or Catamaran from Split Port to Brac.
3. Taxi from Supetar to hotel, 35 minutes, or Taxi from Bol harbour to Bol 5 minutes.
A pre-booked taxi from Supetar to Bol takes approximately 35 minutes, and the cost of a minibus taxi that will take 6 - 7 people with their cases costs only 10 Euros more on average than the cost of a taxi to carry 1 - 3 people.
For example Standard Car, max 3 passengers – 58 Euros, a minibus for up to 7 people (with luggage) 65 Euros.
It is a good idea to pre-book before travelling.
The following website has been tried and tested several times.
https://croatiatransfers.hr
Bus travel
The Croatia public bus service runs quite large modern coaches on its routes. And is a very cheap alternative to taxis. Most journeys are approximately £5 for a 30 to 35 minute journey, but do check times, as they often only run once per hour. See travel page for website links. In Bol, by the red and white tourist office by the bus station, there is a timetable fixed to one of the exterior walls. Note however the public bus from Supetar to Bol stops running at 20:30 / 8.30pm, and arrives at Bol bus station at 21:21 / 9.25pm. (It is a 5-minute taxi ride from the bus station in Bol to the Borak Hotel.) Bus and Ferry time tables do change, therefore it is worth checking online.
Currency
Croatia will be adopting the Euro at the start of 2023. And there are bank machines at the hotel and easily available in Bol harbour (the first is to your right as you pass the Bol bus stop and tourist information, which near the Stina Winery.) However they do charge for withdrawls. It is useful to carry some Euros for the initial travel in case of needing to purchase a drink on the boat / Catamaran, or snacks along the way. Not all bars, cafes and restaurants in Croatia take card payements. The ferry requires cash payments for refreshments.
Ferry/Catamaran travel and luggage
When boarding the Catamaran all of your cases have to be stored near the front door, we recommend having a small bag packed in your luggage to put any valuables into, so to keep items with you. On the ferry there is an up escalator but only stairs down. If travelling with heavy cases, there is space down on the car deck to put large cases against the wall of the ferry and not take the up to the seating deck. But do keep your valuables on you. There are toilets and a bar on both the Catamaran and the ferry, and it is possible to move around easily. The Ferry is a much larger vessel and smoother. The Catamaran smaller, but fast, and quite smooth. Note if the weather is a little up and down, the Catamaran is sometimes cancelled, however there is a Ferry that runs 30 minutes after the designated Catamaran time from Split to Supetar. And a coach / bus is laid on from Bol back to Supetar if the Catamaran is cancelled. For independent travellers the hotel reception staff can telephone on the morning of your travel to check if the Catamaran is running.
Travel sickness
For anyone that gets travel sick, the road are winding from Supetar to Bol. We recommend taking a seat that allows you to follow /watch the road. All of the taxi drivers we’ve been picked up by through pre-booking have been very experienced and polite but some drive rather fast. So we recommend your telling them if you are prone to travel sickness and wish for them to drive at a steady pace.
Mosquitos / insect bites
Mixed results here. Usually in October and May it has not been a problem with regard to insect bites. But during October 2022 the little critters where out in force. We’ve been taking some repellant and bite cream just in case.