What a stunning holiday. This was our first holiday in mariadz in the Mediterranean, we needed a good break and we found both places welcoming and beautiful. We have had no real exposure to either country before apart from a day trip to Dubrovnik on a cruise ship 17 years ago. We did not know what to expect of the people and knew nothing of the languages so we were very grateful for the excellent English spoken everywhere. We will try harder next time and at least we are now starting to pronounce the islands better!

On this trip we travelled every day, so we could see as much as possible. We have found some places where we will definitely return and very few that we think are done. A return next year will see us stay in some special anchorages for a few days and explore some new ones too.

In total we travelled nearly 500 miles and added seventy hours to the engine which seems to prove that the med either has too much wind or none at all. In our case none or in the wrong direction. That said, we had glorious weather for the end of May and early June with only one short storm, although it was a doozy! It also meant that despite filling up in Montenegro, we used quite a bit of fuel, about 285 litres. We were actually told that Croatia was cheaper for fuel than Montenegro but didn’t check that. Montenegro was substantially cheaper than the €2.20 that Brindisi expected. That was so bad that we contemplated filling up by can which would have meant 50 litres at a time but would save 60c a litre!

However, the great experience does cost, Croatia in particular is suffering very high inflation as it normalises under its new position in the EU. However, there had been evidence prior to this that cruising in Croatia was expensive, when the cruising permits were introduced which, although an annual charge, are now €250 for a cruising permit and tourist tax. In addition, there are the national parks when you come into a pretty normal looking harbour to be told to pay €40. Restaurant prices were also high with a couple of meals coming in at over €150 for the two of us. One was pretty normal fare too but the other was a special meal with a fantastic view (you may have seen the photo…. 😀). It is definitely getting more expensive, as are a lot of Mediterranean countries. We will be able to report on Greece later in the year.

Our encounters with officials went very well which,upon going, was probably our biggest concern. But now we are used to the routine of police, harbourmaster and customs. Our papers are now very much in order although our crew sheet could be better and will be properly printed for future adventures. In both Croatia and Montenegro we were fortunate to have someone guide us through the process which definitely made things easier.

Although we spent a couple of days in marinas which went well, the point of this holiday was to spend time in quiet bays with crystal clear water. We definitely achieved that, whether it was in site of tree covered mountains descending into the water in Montenegro or the bays of Croatia with trees to tie a line to. We got used to med mooring with a line to shore although with two people it isn’t easy. Taking our time seemed to do the trick as well as being able to laugh at your own mistakes which were frequent but, as they say, no one died – everyone got to go home, so it is all good.

It may have taken some time, and a little cajoling, but the dolphins eventually arrived and when they did the display was amazing and made us both smile. I think I know the real reason they turned up….. you know you have really got to book these guys, they are busy, busy, busy!

We also had our first attempts at using a drone to get video and pictures. I will let you judge but I suspect there is a little more work to do after our initial attempts.

As usual, there were a few problems with the boat and we have a small list of things to fix prior to our summer week in Greece, which will probably be a lot busier than Croatia in June.

Finally, it reminded us why we do this and why we still have plans to travel the world, doing this for a long time sounds like heaven.