What should you know about healthcare and emergencies in Hvar?
Emergency number
112
Police: 192. Ambulance: 194.
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: armenian-lawyer.com, basedremotely.com
Scope: named hospitals/ER facilities with trauma capability in Hvar
Good to know
Good to Know
- 112 is genuinely universal in Croatia — the same number reaches police, fire, ambulance, mountain rescue, and sea rescue, so on Hvar you don't need to know which separate number to dial; just call 112 and describe what's wrong.
- 112 operators can take calls in English and German as well as Croatian, which is useful for nomads and tourists on Hvar during the busy summer season.
- Because Hvar is an island, response times for ambulance or mountain rescue in remote coves or hiking trails can be longer than in mainland cities — give the 112 operator your exact location (a pin/GPS coordinates from your phone helps a lot) rather than just a landmark name.
- 1987 (road assistance/HAK) is for breakdowns, not medical or safety emergencies — for anything urgent, always use 112 instead.
- Hvar island itself has no full hospital — only Health Centers (Dom zdravlja) in Hvar town, Jelsa, and Stari Grad that function as first-response emergency rooms for stabilization, GP care, and minor injuries.
- Anything serious — major trauma, fractures needing surgery, cardiac events, etc. — gets stabilized locally and then transferred to Split by helicopter or speedboat, which can take time depending on weather and boat/helicopter availability, so factor this into your risk calculus for adventure activities on the island.
- For any emergency (medical, police, fire), dial 112 (EU standard) or 194 (medical-specific) — both work from foreign mobile numbers.
- EU citizens with a valid EHIC and visitors from countries with a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Croatia generally don't pay for emergency care; everyone else should expect to be billed per the standard tariff, so travel insurance is strongly advised.
Official Safety Apps
HR112 Upozorenje
- Purpose
- Croatia's official early-warning and crisis-management app; it notifies users located in an area affected by a crisis (wildfire, storm, other hazard) with alerts and safety instructions.
- Platforms
- iOS and Android
- Publisher
- Croatian Ministry of the Interior — Directorate of Civil Protection
Safe in Dalmatia
- Purpose
- Consolidates 112 emergency information and safety guidance aimed at tourists and residents of the Dalmatian coast and islands.
- Platforms
- Web-based (safeindalmatia.hr), promoted regionally
- Publisher
- Regional civil-protection/tourism safety initiative for the Split-Dalmatia County area (which includes Hvar)
Dedicated National Numbers
Police (Policija)
- Number
- 192
Fire Brigade (Vatrogasci)
- Number
- 193
Ambulance
- Number
- 194
Maritime Search and Rescue at Sea
- Number
- 195
Road Assistance (HAK)
- Number
- 1987
Hospitals
Dom Zdravlja Hvar (Hvar Town Health Center) – Emergency Room / Hitna Pomoć
- Phone
- +385 (0)21 717 099 (emergency room); +385 (0)21 778 046 (general practitioner)
- Hours
- 24/7 for emergency care
- Address
- Ul. biskupa Jurja Dubokovića 3, 21450 Hvar (Majerovica area, near Hotel Amfora)
- Trauma Level Designation
- None — this is a primary-care Health Center (Dom zdravlja) with an attached emergency room, not a full hospital. It is the main first-response emergency facility for Hvar town and the western side of the island.
- Services Notes
- Provides general practitioner, gynecology, pediatrics, lab, and radiology services in addition to the ER. Serious trauma, surgical, or intensive-care cases are stabilized here and then transferred by helicopter or speedboat to a hospital in Split.
Dom Zdravlja Jelsa (Jelsa Health Center) – A&E / Hitna Medicinska Pomoć
- Phone
- +385 (0)21 765 122
- Hours
- 24/7 for emergency care
- Address
- Pelinje b.b., 21465 Jelsa (western edge of Jelsa town, shares building with the general Health Centre)
- Trauma Level Designation
- None — a Health Centre A&E unit, not a hospital.
- Services Notes
- This is the main emergency facility for the eastern side of Hvar island (Jelsa, Vrboska area). Basic evaluation and treatment only — X-rays and scans must be done in Hvar town or Split, and serious cases are airlifted or taken by speedboat to Split.
Health Center Stari Grad
- Phone
- +385 (0)21 765 373
- Hours
- Not confirmed as 24/7; primarily daytime GP/dentist clinic hours
- Address
- Obala hrvatskih branitelja b.b., 21460 Stari Grad (on the harbor waterfront)
- Trauma Level Designation
- None — general practice clinic; not confirmed to run a staffed overnight A&E unit separate from Hvar/Jelsa.
- Services Notes
- Offers general practitioner and dentist services; for emergencies, patients are directed to Hvar town or Jelsa's emergency units, or transferred to Split for anything serious.
24/7 full-service hospital
- Phone
- Reachable via 112 (emergency dispatch) or 194 (medical emergency)
- Name
- KBC Split (Klinički bolnički centar Split) — nearest full hospital with trauma/surgical capability
- Address
- Spinčićeva 1, 21000 Split, Croatia (mainland — accessed from Hvar by emergency boat or helicopter transfer, or by ferry for non-emergency travel)
- Trauma Level Designation
- Croatia's main regional trauma/tertiary referral hospital for the Split-Dalmatia County, including Hvar island. Not a US-style numbered trauma-level system, but functions as the definitive regional trauma and surgical center that Hvar's health centers refer serious cases to.
- Services Notes
- Any major injury, trauma, or condition requiring surgery, ICU, or advanced imaging on Hvar is stabilized locally then evacuated by helicopter or speedboat to this hospital in Split.
Dialing Notes
When calling from a foreign mobile number, numbers other than 112 should be prefixed with Croatia's country code +385. 112 itself can be dialled directly, without a country code, from any network while inside Croatia.
Mountain And Sea Rescue
For hiking or boating incidents around Hvar's hills and coastline, the same universal 112 number connects to the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS) or the Maritime Search and Rescue Service; there is no separate local number for these on the island.
Universal Emergency Number
- Number
- 112
- Cost
- Free of charge from any landline or mobile, and works even from phones with no SIM card or credit.
- Languages
- Croatian, plus English, German, Italian, Hungarian and Slovak; tourists most commonly use English and German.
- Notes
- Calling 112 also lets operators activate wider civil-protection resources (Mountain Rescue, Red Cross, air ambulance, etc.) beyond just police/fire/ambulance, which is relevant on an island like Hvar where a single call can trigger a coordinated response.
- Description
- 112 is the uniform European emergency phone number which all Croatian citizens and tourists can dial to reach the emergency services in all emergencies, and it has been in use in Croatia since 2005.
Healthcare
- Facilities
- Hvar has a medical clinic well-equipped to handle common health problems. For serious medical emergencies requiring specialized care or hospitalization, patients are transported to mainland hospitals in Split or Dubrovnik.
- Access To Doctors
- General practitioners and basic medical services available on the island. EU citizens with EHIC cards can access public healthcare. Digital nomads with valid private health insurance can access both public and private care options.
- Emergency Services
- Available; serious emergencies require evacuation to mainland facilities.
Pharmacies
- Availability
- Pharmacies (ljekarne) are present in Hvar town. Multiple sources confirm Croatian pharmacies are modern, well-stocked, and professionally staffed.
- After Hours Access
- Pharmacies operate on a rotation schedule; duty pharmacy address posted on pharmacy doors.
- Prescription System
- Prescriptions required for most medications including antibiotics. Digital nomads without HZZO insurance pay full cost out-of-pocket; receipts can be submitted to private insurers for reimbursement.
- English Language Support
- Pharmacists in tourist areas like Hvar generally speak English and provide medication advice.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this emergencies research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Hvar
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.