Croatia

The drive from Slovenia (which is shaped like a chicken) to Croatia is an interesting one. Once you head off the highway onto the border crossing road it's as if you have been transported back in time. The single track road winds its way through small villages and countless numbers of small hostelries cooking suckling pigs on spits over open fires. The smell of charcoal and roast pig permeates the air..lovely.

Once through the border the roads then open out again onto large dual carriageways that are empty. Our first sight of the coast was stunning, shimmering sea with white limestone mountainous islands.

Our first stop off was on the largest island of Croatia, Krk, which is crossed by a toll bridge from the mainland. A number of the campsites in the area are associated with hotels and this means that you can take advantage of the hotels facilities, like tennis courts, bars, spas, etc. Our campsite was camping Njivice smack bang on the coast. Well it was 60 paces from van door to sea.

 I'd heard that the sea in Croatia is unbelievably clear and I can confirm that where we were this was absolutely true, it is the closest thing to swimming off the big island of Hawaii. The lime stone pebbles make the water quality very high as there are no sand particulates to cloud the water. But it also means that getting in and out of the sea is quite painful on the feet, however this is solved by purchasing a natty pair of beach shoes for 50 Kuna (£5) which are simply a more up-to-date version of jellies.

Njivice is a small fishing village with a number of bars and restaurants all overlooking the sea and ranging from contemporary looking to converted caravans, this gives a good mix and the prices are very very cheap, two meals wine and beer £8. The language is very different from the rest of Europe with a most pronounced Russian twang to it.

 Sea View from the jetty bar

Now this is recycling at its best. Once your empty your water bottles you walk up to the onsite wine shop and get them refilled with red or white wine, this little lot was 1.60€ cheaper than the water........