The Field School of Hvar on a Budget
Our mission at Field is to serve families while strengthening our island’s future. It takes resources to provide first-rate experiential education for children and to facilitate a well-ordered seasonal community on Hvar. These costs drive tuition prices that are out of reach for many families. But it’s worth looking a bit closer - with some ingenuity, participating in The Field School of Hvar and other programs like ours can be more affordable than it might initially appear.
Use Field as a summer hub. The Field School of Hvar will be hosting numerous free, public workshops and open hours for both children and adults starting in June 2026. Stay in the town of Jelsa on Hvar and curate your own ideal schedule, combining Field activities with the many local events that light up the riva in summer. Organize your own childcare swaps and cowork at Cafe Prošperin. We are happy to have you in our community.
Camp. Adding to the hub story, families do not have to stay on our campus. They are welcome to book more luxurious digs, or to stay at Camp Mina, which is a 10 minute bike ride away from our learning center and coworking. Camp Mina is located on a gorgeous, kid-friendly sand beach with an aquapark nearby. It’s quiet at night and generally offers a great family vibe. The charming town of Jelsa is very close on one side, and bay after bay of fantastic beaches lie on the other. There are plots for both tents and campers.
Outstanding family travel for teens. Teens can participate in The Field School of Hvar for free, serving the community as Junior Guides. Note that this is still a family slow travel experience, while teens gain impressive resume-building skills and stories as Junior Guides, parents and other adults are fully included in our Community program. This is a way for families with teens to spend an extended period of time - even the whole summer - on a fabulous Mediterranean island at a modest cost. Of course, if there are younger siblings, they can just join The Field School!
For homeschool families. Consider coming to The Field School of Hvar during the academic year. Tuition is much lower, as is the cost of accommodation. In the summer, a month of tuition is €2,600 and basic accommodations cost roughly the same. In the fall or spring, monthly tuition is €1,200 and the cost of housing likewise falls by half. If a family enrolls for both fall and spring, the tuition discounts further to €600 per month, plus enrollment and books. Those who shop around will know that this is an extremely good value for intellectually ambitious, hands-on learning led by superb educators in small groups.
For large families. For families enrolled for the full academic year, there is an additional 50% discount for every sibling after number three!
Teach with us. If you are a professional educator who is passionate about nature or artisanship, and you have the right to work in Europe, we are eager to hear from you! View vacancies.
Come to Switzerland! Visiting Switzerland does not usually lead to cost savings, but Field’s Family NomadFest in the Swiss Alps at the end of August is only one week long and does not include full-time, drop-off programs for children, so program fees are considerably less.
7. Working Vacation
We all probably wish that those two words would not be used in the same sentence! But the reality is that parents do have to work, especially if they want to do extended travel. The Field School is designed to support parents who are working remotely in a number of ways.
Summer camp hours align with the working week in the Americas (2pm-9pm CET is 8am-3pm EST).
Coworking space with reliable wifi
Hotspot “starter packs” available to borrow for free from our lending library
Apartments equipped with simple workspaces
8. Family vacation and summer camp wrapped in one.
Building on the “bleisure” concept, The Field School of Hvar and programs like it offer a much-improved summer vacation experience combined with a truly memorable, joyful camp for children. While not inexpensive, our program is essentially a two-for-one, discounting the two chunkiest “discretionary” costs that families have in the summer.
9. Major savings of slow travel
In contrast to a “10 day, 3 city tour” or a Disney resort, families can settle into a more home-like routine while they on Hvar. Parents shop at the grocery store and cook in their apartments, rather than eating out for every meal. Free or cheap family activities are ample and delightful: mornings on the beach, evenings on the piazza with a gelato or glass of wine. Apartments are larger than a typical Airbnb, so families can bring more with them and buy less when they arrive. Field’s group discount with the Fontana makes our accommodations much less expensive than comparable units in the Mediterranean in the high season. Finally, by staying in one location longer, families also slash many of the big and small costs associated with constant relocation. There is no need to rent a car. Few taxis. No hotels. No luggage storage. No random splurges to pacify exhausted kids (and parents)!