Arrival times
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.
Ian and Carl provide information about transfer before each event, see the group Facebook page for more information or contact them direct. At present the transfer cost is £25 per per person, each way. This includes travel from Split Airport to the Ferry Port. Your Ferry ticket, and then travel from Supetar Ferry Port to the hotel. The cost of transfers need to be paid in cash after arrival.
Croatia is a wonderful country to visit, so 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 in Split. Rooms are easy to find through Booking.com and Airbnb. Leave a message on the group facebook page if you’d like recommendations. See our transfers / independent travel and transfer section for useful info if you wish to arrange your own travel.
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 mid-day on Sundays. Due to new licensing laws in Croatia the times have changed slightly.
An alternative supermarket is the Studenac – open during the week and on Saturdays. To find this second supermarket, look to your left just before reaching the Konzum Supermarket, at the back of the square, there is a set of steps, you need to walk past the ‘Pekara’ bakery (look for the yellow and blue sign set back from the main walk way and on your left.) Take the steps up to what looks like a narrow alleyway, this will open up a little to a small car parking area, and the door to the Studenac supermarket is on your left.
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 lightweight umbrella or rain mac for travel is recommended. Also bring sun block.
Mosquitos / insect bites
Mixed results here. Usually in October and May it has not been a problem with regard to insect bites. But sometimes the little critters have been out in force. We’ve been taking some repellant and bite cream just in case.
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 beaches 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, you can pop out to have a late breakfast 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. An additional option 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. 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. Note: during the tourist season extra Catamaran’s run to Bol, but these are more expensive than the normal jadrolinija Catamaran that runs once per day, normally at either 4pm or 4.30pm from Split Ferry Port to Bol, and Mon to Sat early morning from Bol to Split. It is used by local commuters and costs less than 10 Euros per person.
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 8 Euros 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 in the late afternoon, and will take you direct to Bol bus station, not the hotel. (It is a 5-minute taxi ride from the bus station in Bol to the Borak Hotel.) It is better to pre-book a taxi from Bol Harbour to the hotel, although it is a short journey the people at the local taxi rank charge significantly more than pre-booked services. If wishing to return to the harbour and take the Catamaran, the hotel staff can book a taxi for you.
Currency
Croatia adopted the Euro at the start of 2023. 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.