Our first stop in Croatia was Dubrovnik, the magical old town of narrow alleys, paved marble streets and…. mosquitoes! Within two hours of arriving those damned insects feasted on my blood as if at a Chinese wedding banquet and resulted in multiple (we’re talking double digits) swollen, itchy bites all over my legs.

I hang my head in shame with the admission that we only spent an afternoon in this most historical of towns before heading to Mljet the next morning. Landing at Polace, we went in search of a basic, cheap room….and ended up with one that had a balcony overlooking the water. In an attempt to inject some fitness into our holiday we hired bikes to ride to the two lakes in the lush national park. The initial steep incline from Polace almost had me in tears. We rode along both lakes, stopping twice at secluded coves for a picnic lunch and swim.

The frustrating thing about island hopping in Croatia is that ferries aren’t always frequent and you can’t guarantee that you can get from A to B without stopping at C. From Mljet, we had to get a catamaran from Pomena to Korcula and a ferry from Korcula to Hvar. With a couple of hours up our sleeves in Korcula we took the opportunity to wander around the lovely old medieval town and had great seafood pasta on a leafy promenade overlooking the water.

I didn’t get off to a good start with Hvar, one of the most popular destinations in Croatia and island of choice for the rich and swanky. The crescendo into emotional meltdown began when the bus from Stari Grad port pulled into the ugly Hvar Town bus station. Then there was news from the tourist office that the only ferry to our next destination departed at 6am each day from the other side of the island. We were then offered a sobe “only ten minutes” from town, which of course was actually a 20-minute walk away. Emotional meltdown took place at the 15-minute mark when the old man we were following pointed to a house further up the hilly road we had turned onto. I cursed, stamped my foot and refused to go on.

Things could only get better from that point and whilst Hvar with its marbled streets, moored yachts, loud bars and nightclubs was far from my favourite island, I did enjoy the two days we spent there. Had one of the best meals of the trip at Hannibal – juicy beefsteak and Hvraska Gregada style fish. Visited the nearby Pakleni Islands and got there early enough to enjoy the sun and sea in relative peace before the naked crowds descended. The oldies seemed to particularly enjoy getting into the “naturist” spirit. I am all for a bit of free-stylin’ at the beach but it was it was scary to wake up mid-snooze to a bunch of old naked people spread-eagled on the rocks. How, pray tell, can that be comfortable?

Fortunately we didn’t have to make the trek to the other side of Hvar as we found a private tour operator who took to Bol on the island of Brac. Zlatni Rat is the famous beach and brochures show a lovely, light coloured beach that deceptively looks like sand jutting out from amongst the pine trees. In reality, the beach is crowded and is made of small white stones, the water is freezing and the pine trees conceal snack bars blaring bad mid-90’s dance music.

Having said this, Brac is a beautiful island. The shaded promenade leading to Bol conceals hotel developments and the town centre has retained a charming, understated feel. We hired a motorbike to explore the island and found other picturesque port towns and secluded, shady coves.