Ferry, Ferry how does my garden grow? Someone is waxing lyrical!!
But seriously a ferry was the way we decided to journey from Dubrovnik north to Hvar.

Early start as we had to be at the wharf and pick up the tickets for the ferry at 10am. Little were we to know it took 5 minutes and then we had to wait an hour to board and another hour to cast off. So by midday we had been doing a lot of reading and sitting and were getting a little antsy - especially since we wanted to keep an eye on bags and seats etc so it was only 1 by 1 that we moved around.

First port of call was Korcula where we noticed many backpackers get off and others back on. Korcula looked pretty as per the photos but seemed very similar to Dubrovnik so we don't think we missed a lot.

2hrs later we passed Hvar and wished we could get off; especially when we saw the place we were to stay. But obviously the port wasn't deep-water enough so we had another hour as we headed to the other side of the island. Buses galore awaited us so it was much cheaper than the expected taxi.

Into Hvar town to the first real swarm of touts offering places to stay. Ignoring them all we found once again an exorbitant price to get a taxi to our hotel (2kms away). Oh for eastern europe or the middle east where it was only a couple dollars a day.

It was a long day travelling, even when just sitting, so we wanted to get out of the room upon arrival. A quick walk into town along a very nice seaside boardwalk, it didn't seem a long 2kms but definitely wasn't a path to wheel or carry our bags.

Back to the hotel for dinner as our room booking wasn't what was requested from Australia so they had offered us a complimentary bottle of wine, and 2 steaks later we had finished our 2nd best meal on the trip. To top it off the wine given to us cost more than the whole meal!!

Next day was exploration of course. Into town and up the back streets we found our way to the fort above the town. Not as bad as the steps in Hong Kong but with the great day it was hot and long. But magnificent views to be seen. Down a back road into town gave us some insight into the non-tourist area of Hvar town before lunch (another roll with cheese and meat from breakfast) and a leisurely stroll back to our resort.

Later we were back into town at night for a wander and a feel of the city after dark, a check of the pubs to see if any rugby game was on and surprisingly a burger for dinner. Hard to get simple fare in Croatia. Think Italian for food all the time.

So day two was a long stroll along the coast keeping in mind the NZ game to be played. Not a lot of luck for either a sandy spot or the game (but we saw a local soccer game played) so it was just a laid back day walking the shoreline. We decided on a nice dinner back in town (tried the pork and chicken - not too bad) then back to our room for another early night. The heat and effort of sightseeing each day had bed calling around 8 or 9pm.