16th - 20th August 2007.
We originally planned to drive for about 3 hours and find somewhere to stay between Zadar and Split but nothing seemed to interest us and we just kept on driving right past Split and beyond. The coastline south of Split is beautiful and it draws thousands tourists to its beaches. A few too many for our liking so once again we kept travelling. We ended up driving all the way to Dubrovnik in one go taking the coastal road all the way instead of the new motorway that runs almost all the way down. We found a great place to stay six km's outside of Dubrovnik. Villa Paradis is perched on the side of a hill, where several tiers of accommodation sit up the hill. Our room was on the top level with three other rooms and a massive shared balcony. The upside being spectacular views of the coastline and the offshore islands, the downside being the 234 stairs we had to climb to get up there after going for a swim at the private beach.
Speaking of the beach, you couldn't really describe it as a beach, more an area of concrete that allows easy access to the water. Small platforms set up with sun lounges and umbrellas are dotted amongst the rocks for our use and there were only ever a handful of people down there at any one time. We spent the day in Dubrovnik on Saturday, and apart from it being hot and crowded it was a great day. The old town is surrounded by walls and the views from the surrounding mountains are amazing. We found a small restaurant down an alley for lunch and I had an ice cream for dessert. Mandy bought some shorts and a top from one of the many shops we visited.
Villa Paradis also boasts a very nice restaurant that we ate at three nights and were looked after by our waiter Drazen, although they only served a particularly nasty Slovenian beer the food was great. I haven't found too many beers that I don't like but this was a real stinker. We spent our days swimming and reading and exploring this incredible coastline. We hadn't done much research on Croatia before we left but we think it has overtaken Switzerland as our favourite country in Europe. The people are the friendliest and the scenery breathtaking. Next up, we head back north somewhere familiar.... More thumbnails ...
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