Brač bar and club guide

At a scenic high point on the promenade, plush cushioned wicker chairs and sofas and meditative world music tempt you to this pine-shaded terrace cocktail bar and admire the view of windsurfers and Hvar beyond. It gets a good crowd by late afternoon and stays lively.

Benny’s Bar puts on of nightly DJs or live music all summer including an August jazz festival to coincide with the film one. Follow the beach around to the aqua park at uvala Banj east of town, to find a contemporary, fashionable and large bar. It’s the cool place to be, drinks are reasonably priced and there’s plenty of fun to be had on the slide, in the pool or down the helter skelter.

Downstairs is an open-air, multi-terraced and stone-columned affair, with sea views. The bar inside has stone archways, a pool table and a boat hanging from above. The cavernous feel is livened by reliable reggae sounds. Upstairs, over the harbour and Sv Ante chapel, there’s a rooftop restaurant serving octopus salad, steak and grilled tuna – but most are here for the beer.

In the main square, this open-air cocktail bar features wicker chairs on a stone patio and between pine trees that grow through the floor. By day, palm-frond umbrellas shade tables filled with coffee drinkers. By night, a DJ spins tunes from a stand with the venue name spelled out in giant wooden letters. Ask for a signature mojito or daiquiri. For football, all eyes face the flat-screen TV by the DJ perch.

Mainly locals frequent Pjerin, where neon pulls you in off the crowded strip. The music is a mix of disco, hip hop and Croatian. The young staff is charming, if sometimes lost. You’ll find it near the busy corner of 1 Svibnja.

Between the port and the Vele Luke area, this is the choice of locals who care to have a quiet cocktail – like a B52, Banana Colada or a Semafor (‘Traffic Light’) – or mixed drink on the terrace covered by a terracotta roof. Plop down in one of the cane chairs under the old stone house, sip on a cold one on the tile-floored patio, listen to relaxed pop tunes over the speakers and drink in the sunset views across the harbour.

Between Selca and Gornji Humac, this hacienda-style spot offers seclusion and flexible nocturnal time-keeping. A young crowd jigs to house music until dawn amid the olive trees in the open air.

The Caffè Bar Marina has a small terrace on the harbour with an outdoor cocktail bar and a large, elegant bar indoors. After dining, a lively crowd of fun seekers comes here for a quality cocktail or a shot of local grappa. There’s techno, pop and Croatian music and a lively staff, while warm local regulars give the place a lived-in feel.