Following our week in Dubrovnik, we took a bus to Split and then a ferry to Hvar, one of the biggest islands off this part of the Dalmatian coast.

Hvar is a lovely little island with its main hub, Hvar Town, comprising a picturesque historic port with some great architecture in a spectacular setting. This is another historic World Heritage town sat on a harbour with a backdrop of mountains with a hilltop fortress and fortified city walls. There are amazing views from the top of the hill looking down on the town and harbour which is constantly busy with boats going backwards and forwards all day long taking tourists to and from nearby islands and beaches.

Hvar is regarded as quite glamorous and it certainly attracts a glam crowd who pack the many bars and restaurants in the evening. There are some excellent restaurants but as usual there are options for all budgets with inexpensive cafes and the omni-present bakeries for those of us with not so deep pockets.

Here are some photographs from the harbour area

 

 

 

Some photos around town

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some views on and from the hillside and from the fort above the city…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stari Grad

 

Stari Grad is Croatia’s oldest town and lies about half way along the island of Hvar near the main ferry port. It’s a pleasant enough excursion as the journey is scenic and there are some interesting old buildings to stroll around for an hour or two. The town was almost totally dead on the day we visited and there didn’t seem a lot of accommodation for tourists around the place. We completed a quick tour, sunk a couple of beers and got back on the bus to Hvar Town. Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent 5 nights in Hvar staying in a nice apartment 10 minutes outside of the old city. Five nights was perfect for us as slow travellers but this is really a very small place and everything the town has to offer can be seen in a leisurely day trip and is by many visiting via a cruise ship.

 

Next stop Split!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cavtat is a small picturesque village about 20km south of Dubrovnik . There is very little to see but there’s a nice seafront walk and it’s a pleasant excursion by bus from busy Dubrovnik and a nice place to pass a few quiet hours over a leisurely lunch – there are some nice restaurants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Dubrovnik from Kotor on 1st June 2016.

Generally regarded as the pearl of the Adriatic and the jewel in Croatia’s crown, Dubrovnik is at the extreme south of  the country. Its probably Croatia’s main tourist town and like many of the towns on this coast it’s best seen early in the morning or in the evening when the hordes of cruise passengers have returned to their ships.

The old city stands at the foot of a mountain and is encircled with massive stone walls complete with towers and forts. Its possible to walk around the tops of the walls which give some awesome views over the city within and the ocean.

The city, rebuilt after an earthquake in 1667, was bombarded and extensively damaged during the Siege of Dubrovnik over a 9 month period during the War of Independence in late 1991/1992. Repairs were completed over a period of 10 years or so and it would be hard to believe the extent of the damage except that its clear that most of the red tile roofs across the city are new but there is still plenty of evidence of war damage all over the city.

The city is stunning with a maze of narrow streets filled with shops, bars and restaurants leading off a  main street paved in marble. There are plenty of historic buildings, churches and museums to keep keen photographers and history buffs busy for days  and dozens of street cafes provide plenty of opportunity to sit and people watch.

Some photographs….

 

 

 

 

We very much enjoyed our Dubrovnik visit and especially so as our good friend David Laughlin was able to join us for a few days. We enjoyed a good few drinks and some nice meals together!

Our visit was at the beginning of June in which is fairly early in the season but it was already very hot during the day and the cruise crowds were a pain but nevertheless this is definitely a highlight of a visit to this part of the world and we highly recommend it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left Bodrum on a flight to Zagreb via Istanbul on 23rd May 2016. After a few days in Zagreb we would fly to Dubrovnik and then travel by bus to Kotor in Montenegro where we would stay for 5 nights before returning to Dubrovnik.

A drive of half an hour or so from Zagreb airport got us to Apartment Balling which is in an old  commercial building on the outskirts of the city centre. The building is far from pretty and there are liberal quantities of “street art “ in the area but the apartment itself is excellent being recently renovated to a high standard with high ceilings and an interesting mix of old traditional furniture and modern stuff. A large and very well kitted out kitchen make this a perfect place for people wanting to self cater. We loved it!

 

 

 

 

We were met at the apartment by the owner and within half an hour we were off out looking for somewhere for a drink. We went in the first bar we came to only a few hundred yards away an after one beer we were off to the supermarket to stock up on provisions.

We had 2 full days in Zagreb which has a very nice historic cathedral, full of lovely old architecture and the usual markets and European squares with open air restaurants and bars – all very attractive.

There are a number of museums in Zagreb but as museums are not ordinarily our cup of tea and those in Zagreb don’t get good reviews, we passed on these. However, we did allow ourselves, against our better judgement, to be talked into a walking tour around the city and whilst the tour Guide was mildly entertaining we didn’t really learn anything that we hadn’t already read in our Guide Books.

We found 2 days to be enough for Zagreb and we would not return unless in transit to somewhere else. Nevertheless we had a very pleasant time wandering around the city, its squares and botanical gardens (a tad disappointing) and enjoyed a couple of decent meals, one at Vinadol a highly rated local restaurant and very nice too and another at a very acceptable Indian Restaurant, the Royal India – our first curry in months! Otherwise, with breakfast taken in the apartment, our lunches were snacks bought from one of the countless excellent bakeries to be found in this and every other Croatian town we visited. Here are some photos :

Jelacic Square

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop, via Dubrovnik, Kotor, Montenegro.