Day 26 - Tuesday 7th June

This morning we would be catching the 7:45am catamaran ferry back to Split. We set the alarm so we could pack up, check out and be at breakfast when they started serving it at 7am. The porter took our bags around to the wharf on the other side of the marina.

It had been windy when we were having breakfast on the hotel terrace and we'd wondered whether the seas would be rough. As it turns out, it wasn't too bad. However, a few people looked unwell. Perhaps the wind helped because the return trip to Split was about 20 minutes shorter than the trip to Hvar a couple of days ago.

After we disembarked, we were surprised to find that nobody was waiting to take us to Dubrovnik. A few minutes later after most other people had left the wharf area, our driver, Florio, drove up. He said he'd been waiting at a different wharf where the ferry normally docks and had to drive around to our wharf when he saw the ferry had pulled in there.

The trip to Dubrovnic took us along motorways for about half the trip and the old highway for the remainder. Florio said that the government decided to build a system of motorways after the war in the 90s. Much of it has already been completed but the section near Dubrovik is still under construction.

We stopped at a roadside restaurant for a coffee break after about two hours. We noticed that they had an open fire in an outside area. Florio explained that they were preparing a traditional Croatian meal called peca for their lunchtime guests under a heavy steel dome on the fire.

About 100km from Dubrovnik, the road crossed into Bosnia-Herzogovina for about 20km and then back into Croatia. At each border crossing we had to show our passports. Florio said that the motorway would eventually avoid this excursion into Bosnia because they would be building a 2km long bridge across the bay next to the sea.

The scenery on the trip from Split to Dubrovnik was amazingly beautiful. We had a great view of the coastline, villages and islands - especially when travelling on the old highway.

Our hotel, Villa Dubrovnik, is a short distance south of the centre of the city. It is built below the road next to the sea and so all you see at street level is an elevator that takes you down the cliff to the reception level. The hotel is very new and very modern.

The guest rooms face the sea. Directly ahead is the island of Lokrum. To the right, you can see the old town with its city walls and fortress. Our room is on level 4, the same level as the reception. Although it's not as big as the spa suite we had at Hvar, it is plenty big enough.

When we checked in, they told us that they have WiFi throughout the hotel and even down on the beach in front of the hotel. This works well. Even better, when I was plugging in my laptop I found they also have a cable internet connection. It was good to have a fast reliable internet connection.

When we left our room to explore the hotel, a staff member was walking down the corridor. She cheerfully answered questions we had. Next to the pool, we noticed a young couple we'd seen at our hotel in Hvar. It turned out that they are from New York and on their honeymoon. They'd already been here for one night and think it is a wonderful hotel.

Because we were hungry, we went looking for somewhere to eat but instead lunch found us because a chef and waitress appeared from a nearby doorway and told us they could prepare anything we want for lunch. They cooked us a nice seafood meal with beer and wine. We were starting to get the impression that the service here was outstanding.

We noticed that the hotel is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group. It is a 5-star boutique hotel - much more fancy than anything we normally stay in.

Alan, our agent, had organised a walking tour of the old town in Dubrovnik. Our guide, Ivana, was waiting for us in the hotel reception at 4:50pm. Initially I thought that this was an unusual time for a tour to start but it all made sense when we found out that we'd be using the hotel's 5pm shuttle service to take us down the hill to the town.

I was watching out for a bus or a van. As it turned out, the shuttle service was in a large Mercedes sedan and we were the only passengers. A very fancy shuttle service.

The walking tour of the town lasted two hours and took us through most of the streets and plazas in the old town. It didn't include a walk around the walls of the old city and so I resolved to do this walk on another day. Ivana was a very knowlegable and personable guide.

We had dinner in one of the many open-air restaurants in the old town and then walked back up the hill to our hotel rather than using the shuttle service. The walk took about 20 minutes.