Day 3, Koper, Slovenia

Off ship, into lift on dockside and you are in the town, 2 mins walk to the old town main square. Lovely clean place, worth going inside the old tower (3 euros) lots of metal steps to climb, about 50m, great views at the top. The buildings in this part are very old, loads of little alleyways with gift shops. Coffee is about 1 euro (stark contrast to Rome), plenty of places to stop. From the main square down some steps, turn left into another square with a fountain. Straight on and out via the old wall, you are now in a modern part of town. Turn right and follow down to marina, lovely spot, plenty of shops. There is a modern shopping centre here although we did not go in. Spent some time wandering the marina. Follow the road back towards ship and there is a family park with safe swimming area. Koper is really lovely but you will struggle to fill more than a couple of hours unless you venture further afield or have lunch.

Split , Croatia

Ship docks about a 10 minute walk from the centre, there are buses and taxis waiting. The walk is not scenic, it takes you past loads of little stalls selling drinks, food and cheap souvenirs, as this is also the ferry port and main bus station it is very busy. Once you reach the "other side" it is nicer. Almost straight ahead is an archway, this takes you into what remains of the old cathedral, it is now lined with craft stalls, this leads to old roman ruins, this is probably the best part of Split. The remaining time was spent wandering the small streets but they are very narrow and extremely busy so window shopping proved difficult. A very uninspiring meal at “big Nacho” restaurant in the converted square area was a disappointment. Split has a lot of history and a pretty harbour, some magnificent ruins and loads of shops but it is very "touristy" and seemed a bit overwhelmed when we visited.

Dubrovnic, Croatia

Another shuttle bus payment to get us into the old town, probably 20 minutes, loads of traffic, dropped off near one of the "gates" to the old town. Was not expecting it to be so busy, absolutely heaving. The old town is wonderful, well preserved and maintained, almost like a film set (parts of 'game of thrones' is filmed here along with other movies), but it was far too busy to enjoy properly, every cafe and bar was rammed. Spent a good hour or so but it was far too hot, low 30's, the side streets are extremely steep. Gave up on the cable car as it was 15/20 mins walk away up a steep hill. Probably best enjoyed over a couple of days as there is lots to see. The coastline is magnificent, lots of islands and hills, very scenic. Loads of people selling trips, tours, buses and boat trips, it was all a bit much, particularly were we were dropped off, traffic is a nightmare with buses and cars trying to manoeuvre through the crowded streets.

Had to get a tender to shore, not too much of a wait. Extremely picturesque area, surrounded by very scenic hills/mountains, you sail into a valley/gorge – either get up early to see when you arrive or be ion deck when you sail away – not to be missed. This is a lovely walled city. Plenty to see, loads of little alleyways and squares, not too crowded. Some nice restaurants. A lot of the old buildings are closed off or are used for other purposes so you cannot go in. There is a route up into the hills (3 euros) taking you past an old church and up further to what seems to be a ruined fort, but the route is steep and slippery, someone said it was 1500 steps and with the temperature in the low 30's few people braved it. Outside the walls there was not too much, on the opposite side to where the shop moored there is a shingle beach and swimming area and a couple restaurants.

Very wet and windy day so not ideal, but from what I seen it was a decent place, some local history and sights, plenty of shopping