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Contents 31 May 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island 1 June 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island 2 June 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island 3 June 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island 4 June 2023 - Sighteeing on Naxos Island & Ferry to Tinos 5 June 2023 - A Wasted Day on Tinos! 6 June 2023 - Walk & Sightseeing on Tinos Links to My Other Blogs 31 May 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island, Greece Rain was forecast at midday, but as the weather forecasts have often been wrong we decided to climb up Mount Zas. Mount Zas is 1,003 metres high and the summit is the highest point in the Cyclades Islands. We drove up to an elevation of about 700 metres before starting the hike so the elevation gain was only 300 metres. It wasn't a difficult hike and the round trip took us 2.5 hours. Unfortunately the weather forecast was correct! We reached the summit of Mount Zas in cloud and there was no view as a result. Soon after having our lunch we heard thunder and decided to descend as fast as we could. It soon started to rain lightly and it made the rocks slippery. Luckily we each had a hiking pole which made the descent a lot safer. Some hikers without poles really struggled. See my blog "Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide" for more information about visiting Naxos. 1 June 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island, Greece As the weather was sunny and hot we decided to explore the beaches south of Naxos Town. These beaches are the best on the island. We started by driving as far as we could to the south west of Naxos Town and then slowly driving up the coast back towards Naxos Town. Agiassos Bay was the first beach we saw and we had the large sandy beach to ourselves. We swam there, but after a while the wind picked up and we moved on. We next stopped at a beach on the Alyko promontory known as Hawaii beach due to the vibrant blue colour of the water. We didn't swim there though. A bit further is Mikri Vigla beach, which is very popular with kite surfers. There were lessons taking place. It was fascinating to watch people learning to kite surf. Just before we reached Naxos town we parked at the popular Ayios Prokopios beach and had a walk there. 2 June 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island, Greece The weather forecast for Naxos was for rain in the afternoon so we thought we would be able to do a walk in the morning. Unfortunately the weather forecast was wrong again and the rain began soon after we started our walk. Initially it was light rain but it soon became a bit more substantial. It was a 3 hour circular route via 3 villages and it would have been very nice in dry conditions. By the time we got back to the car we were wet and ready for a hot shower. When we arrived at the house we couldn't find the house key. I must have dropped it during the hike! I tried calling the house agent, but there was a problem with our phone and she couldn't hear me. The only option was to drive to the agency office in Naxos Town. We were wet, the weather was miserable and we were miserable! Luckily the agency office was open, but they had to get the spare key from the owner and have a copy cut for me. We finally got into the house about 2 hours after we had first returned. The rain continued until 19.00. 3 June 2023 - Day Trip on Naxos Island, Greece We drove through the mountainous centre of Naxos to the far north of the island and then returned on the coastal road. The coastal road is also mountainous. Unfortunately there are very few places where you can pull in to take photos. For the driver (me!) it makes it difficult to enjoy the scenery as you can't take your eyes off the road for long. We stopped first at the hillside village of Aperathou, which is the nicest village on Naxos. We were lucky that there were very few other tourists. I could see from the restaurants and shops that it is a popular place. We next stopped on the main road above Koronos. I didn't want to risk driving down to the village as I was concerned the streets would be narrow and it would be difficult to turn around. We had a quick walk down the steep lanes and then back up! At lunchtime we reached the small resort of Apollonas at the northern end of Naxos island. It was a bit windy and we decided not to swim. On the way back to our accommodation we stopped off near the village of Flerio to see 2 kouroi. They are partly finished marble figures abandoned around 570 BC as they were broken during transport. We could have seen these kouroi during our walk yesterday, but we were too wet and it wouldn't have been enjoyable. 4 June 2023 - Sighteeing on Naxos Island & Ferry to Tinos Our ferry to Tinos wasn't until 15.30 so after checking out of the apartment we drove to the nearby villages of Halki and Filoti. Halki is very nice, although it is popular with tourists. There are a lot of churches and also some nice walks. However, we didn't have time for a walk. There isn't so much to see in Filoti but there is a nice church. It was a 2 hour ferry ride from Naxos to Tinos as we went via Mykonos. As usual at Naxos there was no indication where to wait for the ferry. Happily everything worked out and there was no difficult maneuvering on the ferry. In the evening we drove to Tinos town and found a restaurant that served good souvalaki and gyros. The owner was very hospitable and spoke English well. We had a quick walk around the town which was interesting as it caters for a lot of pilgrims. The street up the hill to the main church has a carpet on one side so that pilgrims can crawl up to the church on their hands and knees. See my travel blog "Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide" for information about visiting Tinos. 5 June 2023 - A Wasted Day on Tinos! It wasn't a very productive day. We relaxed at the apartment in the morning and I planned what we could do on Tinos. I found a circular walk on the Allroutes hiking app and in the afternoon we drove to the village of Falatadhos to start the hike. Unfortunately I couldn't get the app to work once we were there and the signs for the route weren't clear. A bit demoralised we drove back to the apartment. We could see a beach from our apartment and decided to drive there for a swim. We should have walked as it was difficult to find the road to the beach. We went down a couple of bad and narrow roads before we managed to locate the beach. We had a quick swim, but then noticed that the plastic protection for the car's under carriage had come loose. We went to the same restaurant as the previous night and the friendly proprietor recommended a garage for fixing our car. It hadn't been a good day and it got worse as we drove back to our apartment! 2 port policemen flagged us down and asked for our car ownership document. We had left all our papers at the apartment for safekeeping. They weren't happy when I told them we had left them at our apartment. They were even less impressed when they asked for my driving license and I told them it was at the apartment as well! We were very fortunate that we got away with a verbal warning. Luckily in Greece they can't issue on the spot fines. 6 June 2023 - Walk & Sightseeing on Tinos, Greece In the morning we drove to the garage recommended by last night's restaurant owner and arrived there at 08.30 just as it was opening. Unfortunately the mechanic only arrived at 09.15. He was very helpful and quickly reattached the plastic underneath our car. Whilst repairing the car he noticed that the front brake pads required replacing. He ordered them from Athens and said they would arrive the next morning. The cost for everything was only Eur 120 if we paid cash and he didn't want any money in advance. Very trusting! We then drove to Livada beach which is a 45 minute drive to the north west of Naxos town. The map showed that the road descending to the beach wasn't paved but in fact only the last 3 kilometres wasn't paved. It was a pleasant 40 minute walk on a well marked trail to the lighthouse on Papargyros Cape. The scenery was great and we had the trail to ourselves. Afterwards we drove to the 570 metre high Exobourgo "mountain" in the centre of the Tinos island. There are a number of pretty villages at the base of the mountain. We drove around the mountain stopping at a few of them. Tripotamos was the most interesting one as it has a lot of old buildings, enclosed alleys and churches. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide

Contents 24 May 2023 - Rest Day at Koroni 25 May 2023 - Another Rest Day at Koroni! 26 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Syros 27 May 2023 - Day Trip to Ermoupoli 28 May 2023 - Hikes to Komito Lighthouse & North of Kini 29 May 2023 - Hike in Northern Syros 30 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Naxos Links to My Other Blogs 24 May 2023 - Rest Day at Koroni, Greece We woke up to sunshine and there was little wind. After having driven 4,000 miles in the last month we didn’t want to do any more driving today. There are 2 beaches a short walk from our house and we decided to go to the Agios Triada beach. It’s about a 10 minute walk down to the beach and we took our 2 camping chairs and umbrella with us. The beach is very nice with a cliff behind it, clean sand and clear water. Initially we were the only ones there, but a few other people came later. At this time of year the water hasn’t yet had a chance to properly warm up. However, it was warmer than the sea in the UK at the height of summer! After a couple of hours the wind picked up and we lugged our stuff back to the house and had lunch on the balcony. It’s a hard life. 25 May 2023 - Another Rest Day at Koroni, Greece! In the morning we walked down to the local beach again and then returned to the house for lunch. In the late afternoon we decided to walk 40 minutes into Koroni along some narrow tracks. We had chicken gyros for supper. 26 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Syros, Greece We had a reservation on the 15.00 Blue Star ferry from Piraeus to Syros. We didn't want to miss it as only certain ferries can take cars and we had paid for our accommodation on Syros. We therefore left Koroni at 09.00, even though it is only about a 3 hour drive from Koroni to Piraeus. It was a pleasant drive along good and uncrowded highways until we got to the outskirts of Athens. The road then deteriorated and became busy. We saw one small car pull out a bit too far and a passing lorry ripped off its bonnet. I am conscious that one small error like that could ruin our trip. We arrived at Pireaus at 13.30 which was slightly earlier than the check in time of 14.00. We knew the ferry departed from gate 7 and the ferry was already there. There was no official controlling check in and we had no idea what to do. It was very chaotic as there isn't much land at Pireaus's port and trucks were busy moving trailers into the vessel. I parked the car on the edge of the port and Lani asked one of the officials near the ferry what we should do. He told her that we should get on the ferry not realising we had a car. He therefore wasn't too happy when I tried to drive onto the ferry! I was quickly stopped and told to park in a small area near the vessel. We waited there until 14.30 watching cars and trailers being driven onto the ferry. Then they allowed us, and the few remaining cars, to drive onto the ferry. We were last as the ferry was stopping at many islands and we were getting off at the first island. The chaos didn't stop there as the ferry wasn't a roll on/roll off ferry! I drove up the ramp onto the upper level for vehicles and an official told me to steer the car into several places and I had no idea where he wanted us to park. He then wanted me to reverse into the back of the vessel along a very narrow passage with cars on either side. However, he wanted me to do it by just following his signals. It wasn't a pleasant experience. It was a 3.5 hour ferry ride and it was warm enough to sit outside at the rear of the ferry. Luckily driving off the ferry was far less stressful! Our apartment was on the other side of the island, but as it is a small island it only took half an hour to drive there. The apartment was very nice and the owner was very welcoming. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" for more information about the apartment. 27 May 2023 - Day Trip to Ermoupoli and Ano Syros in Greece Today we drove back to the port of Ermoupoli on the eastern side of Syros. Luckily parking was easy to find and we walked around, and up, the main streets. Unfortunately most of the churches were closed. We had a quick lunch of chicken gyros at one of the many waterfront restaurants. Afterwards we drove up to the top of the nearby hillside town of Ano Syros. Again the church at the top was closed and there wasn't much to see at the top. See my blog "Syros, Greece: Travel Guide" for more information about visiting Syros. 28 May 2023 - Hikes to Komito Lighthouse & North of Kini In the morning we drove a short distance to Komito beach and then walked to the lighthouse on the most southerly point of Syros. The walk only took about an hour and a quarter but it took longer as we stopped a lot to take photos and enjoy the scenery. After lunch we drove about 20 minutes north of our apartment to the coastal village of Kini. From there we walked for half an hour along a good track to the nudist beach at Delfini. Soon after that the trail petered out and we decided to return. 29 May 2023 - Hike in Northern Syros, Greece The northern part of Syros has very little habitation and is very mountainous. It is a nice change to the southern part that has houses and villages dotted everywhere. We drove to Kambos, which is where the road ends. We then walked to Cape Dhiapori, which is the northern most point of Syros. The walk was very scenic and took us about 3 hours and 15 minutes. 30 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Naxos, Greece The ferry from Syros to Naxos goes via Mykonos. It was very easy driving onto the ferry and there was none of the complicated reversing that we had to do on the ferry from Pireas to Syros. The ferry was fairly empty until we stopped at Mykonos. Several tour groups boarded the ferry there as the ferry was going on to Santorini, which is another favourite island for tour groups. There were 4 huge cruise ships anchored off Mykonos, so it was probably really overrun by tourists. The ferry only took 75 minutes to reach Naxos and we arrived there mid morning. Our accommodation was in the village of Galanado, which is a 15 minute drive from Naxos. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2" for more information about the apartment. Later in the afternoon we wandered around Naxos town and had dinner there. There were quite a few tourists, but we really liked the town. See my blog "Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide" for more information about visiting Naxos. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide

Contents 17 May 2023 - Day Trip to Epidaurus 18 May 2023 - Nafplio to Monemvasia 19 May 2023 - Monemvasia 20 May 2023 - Monemvasia to Koroni, Greece 21 May 2023 - Rest day in Koroni 22 May 2023 - Day Trip to Koroni 23 May 2023 - Day Trip to Methoni and Pylos Links to My Other Blogs 17 May 2023 - Day Trip to Epidaurus, Greece Epidaurus is best known for it’s ancient theatre that dates back to 320 BC. The theatre could seat 14,000 people and has excellent acoustics. Epidaurus is a large site and also has a stadium and the remains of the medical and spa facilities it was renowned for. Epidaurus is only a half hour drive from Nafplio and we arrived there at 08.30. We went to the theatre first and there were only 2 other people there. Unfortunately the tranquility was ruined by someone noisily strimming the grass. We spent half an hour there appreciating the theatre. As we left the theatre at 09.15 we saw the first tour group and by the time we got to the rest of the site there were several more groups! Unfortunately most of the buildings in the rest of the site were just ruins and we weren’t that impressed by them. Before leaving Epidaurus we returned to the theatre and now there were lots of tourists. Each group demonstrated the incredible acoustics by clapping and dropping stones in the middle of the stage. See my blog "Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide" for more information on visiting Epidaurus. Afterwards we drove to the coastal village of Palea Epidhavros to visit the Ancient Theatre of Epidhavros. However, we couldn’t find it, even with the aid of Google maps and road signs. It seems that it is closed. The coastal village was very pleasant though. We returned to our apartment for lunch and had a restful afternoon in Nafplio. 18 May 2023 - Nafplio to Monemvasia, Greece The 18th May is International Museums Day in Greece and there is free admission to both museums and archaeological sites. We had therefore decided to visit 3 archaeological sites on the way from Nafplio to Monemvasia. This would save us Eur 48 in entrance fees. The first site was the Palamidi fortress above Nafplio which was mainly built by the Venetians in the early 18th century. It was a 15 minute drive from our apartment, but it would have taken a lot longer if we had climbed up the 900 steps to it! We spent about an hour and a quarter wandering around the fortress in warm and sunny weather. There are excellent views of Nafplio and the coast. There were very few people in the upper fortress and although the lower fortress was busier it didn’t spoil our visit. See my blog Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 for further information. The second site was Tiryns which isn’t very well known and isn't visited by groups. The fortress is over 3,000 years old and inside are the remains of the settlement and a palace. The main feature of the site are the impressive remains of the huge fortress walls. It only took about half an hour to see the site. See my blog "Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide" for further information about visiting Tiryns. The third site was Mycenae which is about 3,500 years old. Unfortunately it is very well known and visited by tour groups. There is usually an entrance fee of Eur 12 and we wouldn’t have visited if it hadn’t been free, as there isn’t enough to see to justify the entrance fee. We arrived there at 12.15 and I hoped that a lot of groups would have left the site to have lunch. Some coaches had left, or were leaving, but there were still a great number of coaches in the car park. We could see tourists snaking up the hilly archeological site. Not my idea of fun, but luckily it was free! We mainly wanted to see the huge walls of the fortress and the famous Lion Gate. Initially there were just too many people in front of the Lion Gate to be able to appreciate it, but fortunately the groups left after a while. For further information about visiting Mycenae see my blog "Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide". We spent about an hour at the site. The highlights for me were actually off the main path. There were great views of the fortress walls to the right of Lion Gate and no one else was there. Just below the walls were 2 large and impressive tombs and again we were the only people visiting them. Whilst we were driving to Monemvasia the engine malfunction light lit up on the dashboard. This had happened 9 months ago, whilst we were in Ireland, and we had been very concerned. After a few days the light had disappeared and it hadn’t lit up again until now. I checked the oil and as the engine seemed fine we decided to continue and hope for the best. We arrived at Monemvasia at 16.30 and were pleased with the apartment that we had booked. It was compact, but had everything we needed and the hostess had left us oranges, eggs, cake and jam. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further information on the apartment. 19 May 2023 - Monemvasia, Greece We had a leisurely start and only left our apartment at 11.00 for the short walk to old Monemvasia. It is on a small island and is now connected to the mainland by a causeway. It was founded in the 6th century, but most of the buildings date from the 11th century onwards. We were pleased to find that there weren’t many tourists, or large groups, wandering around the Monemvasia's old lower town. It was very pleasant wandering around the picturesque old streets and walls. The weather was sunny and the sea views were excellent as a result. After wandering around Monemvasia's lower town for an hour we started the climb up to the upper town and the citadel. There is an impressive entrance gate and tunnel between the lower and upper towns. Most of the population used to live in Monemvasia's upper town, but now the majority of the houses are in ruins. The main surviving buildings are the impressive Church of Hagia Sophia, which was built in the 12th century, and the Citadel. We had a picnic lunch at the Citadel and returned back to our apartment at 14.30. See my blog "Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide" for further information on visiting Monemvasia. We wanted to have a cheap dinner so we went to a restaurant that served gyros and souvlaki. I had a gyros, which is a pitta bread stuffed with slivers of chicken, salad and french fries. Lani had the souvlaki, which turned out to be the same, except there were chunks of chicken instead of slivers of chicken! They both cost Eur 3.50 each, but we made the mistake of also ordering one Greek salad for Eur 8 and we struggled to finish it. 20 May 2021 - Monemvasia to Koroni, Greece Our accommodation for the next 6 nights is a 3 bedroom house in Koroni. It’s only a 3 hour drive from Monemvasia to Koroni, but we wanted to go via the site of Mystra. Mystra is an abandoned Byzantine town dating back to 1249 and is fairly well preserved. We left Monemvasia at 09.00 so we could reach Koroni at a reasonable time. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive to Mystra and we parked at the entrance to the lower section of Mystra. Mystra is on a steep hill with a lower town, upper town and a fortress at the top. This meant that we had a steep climb up to the fortress, but coming down would be easy. The alternative was to park at the entrance of Mystra's upper town, but we thought most groups would do this. We thoroughly explored Mystra in 3 hours. The houses and fortress of Mystra are in ruins, but there are several churches and a palace that are intact and in good condition. There were a few tour groups but we managed to avoid them. See my blog "Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide" for further information about visiting Mystras. We were disappointed to find that the massive Depot’s Palace was closed for restoration. When I consulted my 2004 edition of the Rough Guide it stated that it was closed for restoration “that looks set to continue for a number of years ahead”. I am sure they didn’t think it would take over 19 years to restore it! There are 2 routes from Mystra to Koroni. The old way is over the Langadha pass, but a new toll highway has been built which is longer in distance but shorter in time. I wanted to drive over the scenic Langadha pass and selected that route on Google maps. Unfortunately something went wrong and we ended up on the new highway. It was probably for the best as the engine malfunction light was still lit up on the dashboard and driving over the pass would have put the engine under more strain. We were also delighted to find that there were no toll charges because of the national elections. We stopped off at a Lidl’s on the way to stock up on groceries and reached the house at 16.30. It is a very nice 2 bedroom modern house set in olive trees and with good sea views. Just after we had unpacked it began to rain and the wind gusted strongly the whole evening. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further information about the house. 21 May 2023 - Rest day in Koroni, Greece Today was a rest day and we wanted to enjoy the setting of the house. The house is in an olive grove and on a hill overlooking the sea and the Mani peninsula. We woke up to sunshine, which was a surprise as the weather forecast predicted rain for most of the day. We had breakfast on the balcony and by mid morning had to move to a shaded area as it was too hot in the sun. I took advantage of the hosepipe at the house to wash a month of dirt off the car! The weather changed for the worse in the early afternoon and we spent the rest of the day inside relaxing. 22 May 2023 - Koroni, Greece It was meant to rain again this morning, but it was actually partially sunny when we woke up. We decided to look around the nearby town of Koroni in the morning as the revised forecast was for rain in the afternoon. The buildings of Koroni mainly date back to the period 1206 to 1500 when the Venetians occupied the town and used it as a fleet supply base. There is a fortress on the hill above the town and we started our visit by wandering around it. The interior of the fortress now contains several buildings including the nunnery of Timiou Prodhromou. We particularly liked the small church of Saint Sophia that dates back to the 8th century. We then walked down to the town of Koroni and wandered along the seafront. We were hoping to have an early lunch in one of the seafront restaurants, but decided not to as none of them displayed their prices. The main shopping street is one block inland from the seafront and we wandered along there looking for restaurants and bakeries. In the end we decided to go back to the house for lunch and on the way back bought a big bag of about 40 oranges for Eur 6.20. Our house has a juicer and we love fresh orange juice! 23 May 2023 - Day Trip to Methoni and Pylos We woke up to nice sunny weather and the forecast for the rest of the day was good. After a leisurely breakfast on the balcony we drove to Methoni, which is about a 40 minute drive west from Koroni. Methoni has a very impressive fort dating back to the 13th century and we stopped there first. My old edition of the Rough Guide stated that it was open every day, but to our disappointment we found it is now closed on a Tuesday. Luckily Methoni's fort is very impressive from the outside and it is possible to walk around about three quarters of the fort. We did manage to peer inside through the gate and the exterior does appear to be much better than the interior. Afterwards we drove a short distance north to the town of Pylos. We found a parking at the harbour and it was free, like many of the car parks that we have used so far in Greece. A nice waitress persuaded us to eat at a waterfront restaurant and as they didn’t have calamari I joined Lani in ordering chicken souvlaki and fried potato. Both the setting and food were very nice. Afterwards we walked to the fort, but we found it was also closed on a Tuesday like at Methoni. We drove a bit further up the coast and then went back to Koroni on the inland route over the mountains. Initially the road was good but it soon became narrow and had many potholes. The scenery was nice but after a while the weather changed and it rained heavily. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 The Peloponnese to the Greek Island - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide

Contents 10 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Lake Ohrid 11 May 2023 - Ohrid to Meteora, Greece 12 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Meteora, Greece 13 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Meteora, Greece 14 May 2023 - Meteora to Delphi, Greece 15 May 2023 - Delphi to Nafplio, Greece 16 May 2023 - Day Trip from Nafplio to Corinth Links to My Other Blogs 10 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Lake Ohrid It continued raining during the night, but to my relief it was dry when we woke up. We had a leisurely start and at 10.30 started to drive 30 kilometres south along the lake to the 16th century Monastery of Sv Naum. It is virtually on the border with Albania. The Bradt guide book says that the road is narrow and can be quite busy. I didn't think the road was particularly narrow and luckily it wasn't very busy. It took about 30 minutes to drive there and there was good car parking for Eur 0.60. We were concerned that the monastery might be overwhelmed with tour groups, but we were relieved to see only 1 coach in the car park. The 2 chapels in the old monastery are very small and beautiful. We were pleased that for most of the time we were the only ones in the chapels. By the time we got back to Ohrid the weather was brightening up. We could have driven to a couple of villages on the north western side of the lake, but decided to have a relaxing afternoon and walk around the very nice town of Ohrid again. See my blog Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide. 11 May 2023 - Ohrid to Meteora, Greece We woke up to cloudy weather again, but since it was a travel day it didn't matter. We left at 10.30 and soon found that our sat navigation was directing us towards Albania! It probably did that as it may be the quickest route to Greece. However, we don't have car insurance for Albania and it isn't possible to buy it at that particular border. I therefore input the name of the Greek border town and that put us on the correct route. The cost of petrol is 37% higher in Greece than North Macedonia so we filled up just before the Greek border and also used all our left over North Macedonian currency. It only took us about 10 minutes to cross the border. Both the Greek passport officer and the customs officer were very friendly. Our UK car insurance covers us for Greece so we didn't have the hassle and cost of buying car insurance at the border. As we got closer to Meteora it began to rain. Google maps as usual was very good at finding our apartment, although it didn't help that we had been told the wrong street number. We arrived at 16.40 and we had lost an hour due to Greece being in a different time zone. The apartment was compact but nice. We bought some groceries at Lidl's and had our evening meal at the apartment. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further details of the apartment. 12 May 2023 - Sighteeing at Meteora, Greece Meteora is famous for its medieval monasteries that are perched on high pinnacles of rock. See my blog "The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide" for useful information about visiting Meteora. Unfortunately none of the 6 monasteries at Meteora open before 09.00 and they all close by 17.00. We woke up earlier today as my plan was to start visiting Meteora's monasteries early in order to avoid the tour groups for an hour or so. We left our apartment at 08.25 and it was a 20 minute drive to the first monastery of Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's). We got stuck behind a tour bus and as we drove up we could see several other tour buses ready to depart for the monasteries. It seemed that my plan wasn't going to work! We managed to get to the entrance gate before the tour group. When it opened at 09.00 we were the first people at the ticket office and then we immediately walked to the small chapel. We had the chapel to ourselves for 5 to 10 minutes before the tour group arrived and broke the tranquility. Tour groups take over sites and have little consideration for others. Luckily we had seen enough of the chapel and looked around outside. More and more groups came and soon there was a long queue to enter the chapel. By the time we returned to the car park there were 13 tour buses parked there! After visiting Agios Stefanos we drove to the nearby monastery of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity). Agia Triada is famous for being a film location in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. It is certainly in a very spectacular location. Luckily it isn't frequented by many tour groups. We parked at about 09.50 and there was only 1 tour bus parked there. It was about a 10 minute walk from the car park to the ticket office and we could see a small queue of people waiting to enter, as this monastery only opens at 10.00. The queue had dissipated by the time we got to the ticket office. We looked around the exterior until the tour group had left the chapel so we could enjoy the chapel in relative peace. At 11.00 we drove back to our apartment for an early lunch. We intended to visit the Monastery of Great Meteoron next. My plan was to visit it at about 12.30 when hopefully the tour groups were having lunch and the half day tours had been completed. As we drove from our apartment to the Great Meteoron we could see a lot of tour buses parked outside restaurants. At the monastery itself there were only 2 tour buses but a lot of cars. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the entrance and we were pleased to see a large group of school children leaving the monastery. The Great Meteoron is the largest monastery at Meteora and probably the most popular. We spent an hour looking around and our visit wasn't spoiled by too many visitors. Our final monastery visit for today was the small nunnery of Roussanou. Parking was easy to find and it was a 10 minute walk down to it. The chapels at the Meteora monasteries are small and this was no exception. Before driving back to our apartment we drove to a couple of view points so that we could admire the dramatic scenery of Meteora. 13 May 2023 - Sighteeing at Meteora, Greece We had 2 more monasteries to visit today. We went to the Agios Nikolaus (St Nicholas) monastery first and reached the steps leading up to the monastery 10 minutes after it had opened. We were pleased to see that there were very few cars parked there and even happier that there weren't any tour buses! Apparently Agios Nikolaos isn't usually visited by tour groups due to the steep climb up to it. It is certainly a steep climb up and it took us about 10 minutes. We went straight to the 2 room chapel and spent about 15 minutes enjoying the beauty of the chapel in relative tranquility. Independent visitors are usually quiet and don't spend too much time in the chapels. In comparison tour groups take over the entire area whilst the tour leader explains the paintings at great length. At Agios Nikolaos visitors only have access to the chapel and roof top. There are really good views of Meteora's impressive scenery from the roof top. After visiting Agios Nikolaos we drove to the view points that we had visited yesterday. Apart from the dramatic scenery there are very good views of the monasteries. A lot of visitors come here at sunset, but yesterday it was cloudy and this evening there is meant to be a nice sunset. At 11.15 we returned to our apartment for an early lunch like we had yesterday. The plan was to visit Varlaam Monastery when the tour groups were having their lunch. We got to Varlaam monastery at 12.30 and although it was busy there were very few tour buses parked there. It took about 10 minutes to climb up to the ticket office and we had to queue for about 5 minutes to buy our tickets. Unfortunately we had a group in front of us and some of the women had to buy wraps as they weren't wearing dresses. We got to the chapel before the group and could enjoy it before they arrived. When the group took over the chapel we decided to stay and benefit from the tour leader's commentary! We left at 13.30 and by then groups were streaming in and it was like a zoo. I much preferred the 4 smaller monasteries to the 2 largest and most popular monasteries at Meteora. 14 May 2023 - Meteora to Delphi, Greece We woke up to grey skies and light rain. At 09.45 we started driving from Meteora to Arachova and Google maps showed that the journey should take 3 hours 10 minutes. Arachova is 10 kilometres from Delphi and is a nicer town to stay in. The weather improved as we drove south and after a couple of hours it was sunny and 22 centigrade. About an hour before Arachova we were stopped by a policeman as we were entering a town. We feared the worst, but he just wanted to inform us that we should take a new and better route. Neither Google maps nor our Tomtom sat navigation liked this change of route and directed us back into the town on another road. This time 2 policemen stopped us and told us that we should continue on the new road as it was better. In reality there must have been something happening in the town and they didn't want us to enter. The new road was in a very good condition and it went over the mountains. It was very scenic and we could see snow on the distant mountain. However, it was certainly longer than our original route and we only arrived at Arachova at 13.50. I had booked an apartment and a reviewer had reported that the streets around the apartment were narrow and difficult to park on. He was unfortunately right! We checked in and very soon afterwards drove to the archaeological site at Delphi. See my blog "Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide" for useful information about visiting Delphi. By the time we reached Delphi at 14.45 the number of visitors had greatly subsided and virtually all the tour buses had left. As a result we found a very convenient parking spot, which would have been very difficult to find earlier in the day. We visited the museum first and wandered around it for 45 minutes. They had some nice displays, but a lot of the narrative was complex and difficult to understand. The most famous exhibit is the bronze Charioteer that dates back to the fifth century BC. Afterwards we walked around the archaeological site which is on a steep hill. It was a bit underwhelming to begin with but became more interesting as we went on. It was quiet and peaceful as there were very few visitors and no groups. It was also hot and I wouldn't want to visit Delphi in the summer. We spent 3 hours at Delphi and then returned to Arachova for dinner. We walked around the nice town in the evening. 15 May 2023 - Delphi to Nafplio, Greece We had a relaxing morning in Delphi and only left for Nafplio at 11.30. The drive was very scenic through mountainous countryside. We easily managed to locate the apartment we had booked and were very pleased with it. It is very spacious with 2 floors, 2 bathrooms and 2 balconies for about Eur 78 per night. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further details of the apartment. In the early evening we walked into Nafplio and wandered around. It is fairly upmarket and is popular with well off Athenians as it is less than a 2 hour drive from Athens. See my blog "Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide" for useful information on visiting Nafplio. There are 3 fortresses in Nafplio and we wandered up the Akronafplia fortress, which is the closest to the town. It is derelict but there are good views from the top and it is free! 16 May 2023 - Day Trip from Nafplio to Corinth We could have stopped at Corinth yesterday on our way to Nafplio, but I was worried about the security for our luggage in our car. In hindsight we should have stopped and it would have saved a 1.5 hour round trip drive to Corinth today. See my blog "Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide" for information on visiting Corinth. We set off at 10.15 to visit Acrocorinth which is the ancient acropolis of Corinth. Its fortifications and ruins were erected by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, Venetians and Turks. We were pleased to find on arrival that entry was free and there were no tour buses. The old, worn stones on the path are very slippery at the start and we were pleased that it was dry, as in the wet they must be treacherous. We spent an hour and 45 minutes exploring the large site. The double wall fortifications are the most impressive feature of the site. We were lucky to finish just before it started to lightly rain. We had driven over the Corinth canal many years ago but hadn't stopped. In those days the main road from Athens to the Pelopennese had a good view of the canal. When we drove over the Corinth canal yesterday it was on the new toll road and we didn't see the canal at all. We therefore went back to the bridge that we drove over a long time ago. We parked the car at the southern end of the bridge and walked over both sides of it. Unfortunately no ships were in the Corinth canal and the weather was a bit dismal. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide

Contents 3 May 2023 - Day Trips in Novi Sad, Serbia and Sremska Kamenica, Serbia 4 May 2023 - Rest Day in Novi Sad, Serbia 5 May 2023 - Novi Sad to Tetovo, North Macedonia 6 May 2023 - Tetovo, North Macedonia 7 May 2023 - Day Trip to Skopje 8 May 2023 - Tetovo to Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia 9 May 2023 - Sightseeing in Ohrid Links to My Other Blogs 3 May 2023 - Day Trips in Novi Sad, Serbia and Sremska Kamenica, Serbia We were both feeling tired last night from the stress of obtaining the car insurance at the Serbian border and locating the apartment. I woke up late and felt like I was getting a cold and by the afternoon I knew I had one. As our apartment is very close to the centre of Novi Sad we decided to explore it today and set off at 11.00. We crossed over the Danube to see the imposing Petrovaradin Fortress which mostly dates back to the early 18th century. It is free to wander around Petrovaradin fortress, but there is a charge for the museum which we weren't interested in visiting. There were a lot of teenage school children there and the girls spent most of there time preening themselves and posing for photos! We spent about an hour at the fortress before walking back over the river to the centre of Novi Sad. Most of the buildings in Novi Sad date back to the mid to late 1800's. Some people say that you can spend a whole day exploring Novi Sad. However, by 14.00 we felt that we had seen all the major sites. See my blog "Novi Sad, Serbia: Travel Guide" for further information. It was too early to go back to the apartment so we took a 20 minute bus ride to Sremski Karlovci. This is a historic town 11 kilometres south east of Novi Sad. The Bradt guide book says the town "is one of the most attractive in all of Serbia thanks to its unspoiled character and wealth of Habsburg period architecture". We spent about an hour looking around. It is a nice enough town, but I am surprised that the Bradt guide book rates it so highly. We got back to Novi Sad at around 16.00, bought some groceries and relaxed. 4 May 2023 - Rest Day in Novi Sad, Serbia We woke up to grey skies in rather dreary surroundings and luckily my cold wasn't any worse. I had planned to do a 1 hour drive north to the town of Subotica. However, as I read up about Subotica I realised that it probably wasn't as special as the Bradt guide book made out. Subotica is very Hungarian in terms of both its' buildings and population. Unfortunately the main buildings of interest only date back to the early 20th century. Since we have a long drive tomorrow to Tetovo in North Macedonia we decided to have a rest day in Novi Sad. Another option had been to take the train into Belgrade. We decided not to go as the Bradt guide book used phrases such as "dreary", "Eastern-bloc greyness" and "grim monoliths of high rises" when describing it! In the morning we walked south along a nice path along the Danube until we got to the Strand. The Strand is a park by the Danube that has a sandy beach and is apparently very popular in nice weather. It was deserted today as the weather is cloudy. In the afternoon we walked north along the Danube and then had another quick walk around Novi Sad. 5 May 2023 - Novi Sad to Tetovo, North Macedonia We set off for Tetovo at 09.00 in sunny weather. After driving for about an hour we discovered that the printout of our Airbnb reservation for Tetovo didn't have the owner's phone number. As our cell phone package doesn't include roaming outside the EU I was worried we would have problems meeting up with the owner. Luckily the next service station had free wifi and I messaged the apartment owner and he quickly sent his phone number. Now I could relax and enjoy the drive. The scenery was nicer than in northern Serbia and it became hilly and rural. It was a 2 lane toll motorway most of the way through Serbia. Unfortunately one of these lanes was closed because of road works for many sections. There wasn't much traffic, but every time they closed a lane they reduced the speed limit from 130 kms an hour to 60 kms an hour. No one did less than 80 kms an hour in these sections! If I had driven at the speed limit I would have been very unpopular. We were very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the border of Serbia and North Macedonia as there was hardly any queue. We had feared that it would be like the border between Croatia and Serbia where it took us 1 hour to pass over the border. North Macedonia's immigration and police were very helpful and spoke English. As we didn't have car insurance for North Macedonia they held our passports until we had purchased the insurance at a nearby booth. It cost Euro 50 for a 15 day policy and it only took 5 minutes to purchase it. In comparison it took us 40 stressful minutes to buy the car insurance for Serbia and it cost Euro 230! As we got near to Tetovo we had very impressive views of snow covered mountains. We reached Tetovo at 16.30, but as usual our TomTom satellite navigation system took us to the wrong area. Google maps is much more accurate and got us to the apartment. Luckily I was able to make a roaming call to the apartment owner and he came out to meet us. Our apartment is on a road just off the main shopping street. It was very busy and all the parking spots were taken. We decided to pay Euro 20 for 3 days of parking below the apartment, but it wasn't an easy place to park. In the evening we decided to eat out. We had chicken burgers and chips and it was nice eating out for a change. 6 May 2023 - Tetovo, North Macedonia In the morning we drove 17 kilometres to the Popova Sapka ski resort, which is 1,000 metres above Tetovo. There was still a lot of snow on the hillsides, but not enough for skiing and all the chair lifts were closed. Both the road up, and the ski resort, were very quiet. There are a number of hikes that can be done here in the summer time. We didn't come prepared to do a hike and there was probably too much snow anyway. As we couldn't get a good view of the mountains from the ski resort we walked half an hour to a nearby hill. In the afternoon we looked around the vibrant town of Tetovo. There are very few sights to see, but it was nice walking around and seeing the locals go about their daily routines. We went into the Green market and a very friendly man gave us some tea on a stalk. We have no idea how to use it though! The main site in Tetovo is a mosque called the Sarena Dzamija, which means coloured or painted mosque. It is small but very beautiful. It was built in the mid 15th century. See my blog "Tetovo & Skopje, Macedonia: Travel Guide" for information about visiting Tetovo. In the evening we bought a small rotisserie chicken for Euro 4 and ate it in the apartment. It was delicious. 7 May 2023 - Day Trip to Skopje The drive from Tetovo to Skopje only takes about 40 minutes as there is a highway most of the way there. There are tolls on North Macedonia highways but the rates are very low. There were 2 toll stations and each time we had to pay MKD 40 (Eur 0.63), or Eur 1 if we didn't have MKD. I had read about some cars being broken into at Skopje car parks so we emptied the car as much as possible and tried to choose a good parking lot. I always use Google reviews to select a car park before going somewhere as it saves a lot of hassle at the destination. We parked at a multi storey car park at the Vero Shopping Centre in Skopje and lucked out as parking is free at weekends. It was only a short walk into the centre of Skopje. I had planned to mainly visit the old Turkish area. The rest of the city is fairly modern due to earthquakes and the last big one rocked Skopje in 1963. To reach the old city we had to walk a while through the modern part. We walked along the north bank of the Vardar river for a few hundred metres until we reached Stone Bridge and it was very impressive with many statues. We could see that modern Makedonija Square on the south side looked very nice and decided to visit it on the way back. The old Turkish area starts just north of Stone Bridge and there were plenty of signs of tourism and quite a few tourists. That was quite a surprise as in Tetovo we seemed to be the only tourists. However, Skopje is the capital city and there is a lot more to see than in Tetovo. It was a hot day and the temperature got up to 31C. It was a bit difficult finding some of the sights and we became a bit tired, hot and dehydrated. We visited the covered market, Church of Sveti Spas, Kale Fortress and the Mustafa Pasha Mosque. The only entrance fee was for the church and that cost Eur 2 for the two of us. On the way back we visited the Makedonija Square area and I ended up liking this modern part of Skopje more than the old part. See my blog "Tetovo & Skopje, Macedonia: Travel Guide" for further information about visiting Skopje. 8 May 2023 - Tetovo to Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia There are 2 roads going south from Tetovo and Skopje to Lake Ohrid. They both start on a 2 lane highway to a town called Gustiva. The main road continues straight down to Lake Ohrid, but a more scenic road branches off to the west and goes through Mavrovo National Park. The Bradt Guide book recommends taking the longer and more scenic route through the Mavrovo National Park and describes the Park as a little Switzerland. As it only involves an additional hour of driving we decided to take this scenic route. We set off at 09.30 in sunny, but hazy, weather. The Mavrovo National Park is very forested and in the distance there are views of snow capped mountains. There weren't many places to stop on the way and we continued past Mavrovo Dam until we reached the Monastery of Sv Jovan Bigorski. The current structure of the monastery dates back to the 18th century and is well known for the relic of St John the Baptist. It is an attractive monastery in a scenic and tranquil setting. There are about 30 monks who live at the monastery and one of them kindly showed us around the ornate chapel. Unfortunately no pictures can be taken of the interior of the chapel. There is an Eur 2 entrance fee to enter the chapel, but it is free to walk around outside. The Bradt Guide Book mentioned that the village of Janche was amongst the prettiest ancient Mijak villages. We therefore entered it on our Tomtom sat nav system and found ourselves driving about 3 kilometres up a steep and narrow road with numerous hair pin bends. It was a bit hairy and luckily we only met 1 car coming down. The village at the end wasn't very special. I think the sat nav system took us to the wrong village as I later saw in the Bradt Guide that Janche is very accessible and the village we drove to certainly wasn't! Our next stop was at Lake Debar. We were shocked at how much plastic was both on the lake shore and floating in the lake. North Macedonia doesn't seem to have a good rubbish collection system and people throw their rubbish everywhere. Our last stop offs on the way to Lake Ohrid were to the villages of Vevcani and Oktisi. The Bradt guide book says that Vevcani is "a truly beautiful village of old style houses" and that many of the inhabitants are in local dress. We only found a few old buildings and no one was in local dress.There were several very nice new houses built to a high standard. Bradt doesn't seem to have updated their guide book very well! We decided to skip the village of Oktisi as a result. We reached our apartment at Ohrid at 15.30 and were very pleased with the quality of it. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1". After doing some shopping we walked along the esplanade to the old centre of Ohrid. The weather was still very nice and it was fairly busy. We were very impressed with Ohrid and looked forward to exploring it further tomorrow. 9 May 2023 - Sightseeing in Ohrid The forecast was for rain and unfortunately it was correct! We woke up to rain. By about 10.30 it stopped raining and we set off to explore the sights of Ohrid. See my blog "Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide" for useful information when visiting Ohrid Town. There are many churches in Ohrid and the first one we saw was the Church of St Sophia which was built in the early 11th century. We didn't pay the Eur 3 entrance fee to look inside but just admired it from outside. We walked a bit further north along the coast to the beautiful church of Sv Jovan Kaneo which was built in the 13th century. Our guide book says it is the most frequently visited church in Ohrid. There were lots of people there but luckily most of them were leaving. Again we didn't go inside and saved another Eur 6! There is a steep path from the Church of Sv Jovan Kaneo to Tsar Samoil's Fortress, which dates back to the 10th century. The entrance fee is Eur 2 and at the entrance there was a sign warning people to be careful. We soon found out that it is because the steps along the fortress walls were extremely slippery when wet. The views were good despite the poor weather. From Tsar Samoil's fortress it was a short walk to the 2,000 year old Roman theatre. It was free and it didn't take long to see it. A little bit higher up from the theatre is the Church of Holy Mary Perybleptos. We liked seeing it from the outside, but decided again that it wasn't worth forking our Eur 3 to go inside. We walked down to Ohrid's old town and stopped at a restaurant to look at the menu. While we were looking at it started to rain heavily so we decided to have lunch there! We both had a North Macedonian dish of stuffed peppers and enjoyed it. We spent the afternoon in our apartment as it continued to rain. In the evening we walked in light rain southwards along Ohrid's promenade in order to stretch our legs. The bad weather was very disappointing. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide Tetovo & Skopje, Macedonia: Travel Guide

Contents 1. Vicenza to Koper, Slovenia 2. Koper to Lubljana, Slovenia 3. Lubljana Day Trip 4. Lubljana to Lake Bohinj, Slovenia 5. Lake Bohinj Day Trip 6. Day Trip from Lake Bohinj to Vrsic Pass 7. Lake Bohinj to Novi Sad, Serbia 8. Links to My Other Blogs 26 April 2023 - Vicenza to Koper, Slovenia We woke to sunshine for a change and the weather forecast is good for a few days. Today we drove 3 hours from Vicenza to the old coastal towns of Piran and Koper in Slovenia. We didn't leave Vicenza until midday so that we could arrive at our new accommodation just after the earliest check in time of 15.00. Our Tomtom satellite navigation had problems locating our new accommodation and tried to take us down some very narrow tracks. We were becoming very frustrated and tried Google maps instead and that did the trick. I was surprised to find that our apartment was one of seven apartments in a building. The owner was very friendly and the apartment was very clean and nicely furnished. However, I am concerned that there is a connecting door with another apartment. I dislike such doors as they let in noise. We will see what happens tonight! We drove about 20 minutes to Piran, parked outside the town and took the car park's free bus into the old centre. It is probably misleading to say free as the parking is about Euro 3 per hour! In summer Piran is jammed with tourists and parking is difficult. Luckily for us there were very few tourists and there were plenty of parking places. We walked around the old Venetian town for about 2 hours and then had supper on the seafront. It was warm enough to sit out and we had very good grilled calamari and sardines. I have done a blog on "1 Week in Slovenia" that provides detailed information on the places that we visited in Serbia. 27 April 2023 - Koper to Ljubljana, Slovenia Last night we had our best night's sleep since leaving home and there was no noise from the adjoining room. We checked out at 10.30 and drove 5 kilometres to the port of Koper. Parking can be a real problem at Piran, and it is very expensive, but at Koper there are plenty of car parks near the city centre. We were about to pay at the machine when a man kindly informed us that it was a public holiday and parking was free. Not only is it a holiday today but also May 1st and 2nd! This does cause a problem with grocery shopping as no supermarkets are open on public holidays. It also seems they won't be open on 30th April. We will have to stock up tomorrow! We wandered around the historic buildings of Koper for a couple of hours in warm and sunny weather. We forked out Euro 4 each to climb up the Bell Tower for views of the city. I don't think we will bother doing this in other towns as it is a lot of effort and cost for very little benefit. We had lunch at a very small eatery outside the market called Fritolin. It is recommended in the Lonely Planet guide book for cheap and fresh seafood. We both ordered grilled calamari and chips and with a soft drink it cost Euro 22. We ate it at one of the few basic tables outside and it was very good. Afterwards we walked an hour and 15 minutes along the coastal promenade to Izola. It was a very nice walk and was popular with the locals who were cycling, roller blading and walking. We had a quick walk around and after buying some bread for tomorrow's breakfast, and gelato, we took a short bus ride back to Koper. It was then just an hour's drive to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, where we had booked an apartment for 2 nights. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1". I knew that we would be sharing the garden with the owner's parents. However, we were shocked to see that there were 4 people moving a pile of soil, and sifting it, only about 3 metres away from our apartment's windows. They were all talking very loudly and it was like a construction site. The apartment was otherwise very nice and the parents were friendly. By 18.15 I had had enough of the noise and texted a complaint to their daughter. They stopped at 18.30 and agreed to only work the next day whilst we were sightseeing. It did take the edge off things though. 28 April 2023 - Day Trip to Ljubljana We drove to Lidl's in the morning to do some grocery shopping since all the supermarkets will be shut from Sunday to Tuesday. We didn't realise that it was in central Ljubljana, but luckily there was hardly any traffic and driving was easy. Parking was also easy and only cost Euro 1.50 for an hour. After unloading the shopping at the apartment we walked back into Ljubljana and it only took about 20 minutes. Initially it was exceptionally quiet for a capital city but after a while it got a bit busier. The guide books say there is nothing in particular to see, but we found it to be a very pleasant city to walk around. We walked around for about 4 hours and it was very relaxing compared to the crowded towns of Verona and Venice. We had taken sandwiches for lunch, but there were a lot of outdoor stalls selling great smelling food. We walked up the hill to the castle, although you can use a funicular for about Euro 4. It was expensive to enter (about Euro 12), but free to walk around the grounds and even to climb up onto the walls. In Italy we spent a fortune on public toilets as they charged from 70 cents to Euro 1.50 in Venice. In Slovenia there are plenty of clean toilets and they are all free! Great for old guys who need to pee often! 29 April 2023 - Ljubljana to Lake Bohinj, Slovenia We left Ljubljana at 09.30 to make our way to our next accommodation at Lake Bohinj. Going directly would take only about 70 minutes, but our plan was to visit Skofja Loka, Radovljica and Lake Bled on the way. It was very easy driving out of Ljubljana and once we had got off the motorway we drove on pretty, rural roads with the snow covered Julian Alps in the background. We reached the historic town of Skofja Loka after about 30 minutes. There is quite a large historic core and we spent about 2 hours wandering around. Then it was another short drive to the town of Radovljica. The historic centre there mainly consists of one street of 16th and 17th century houses. It only took about half an hour to wander around. A 15 minute drive later and we were at Lake Bled. Slovenia is a very compact country! We experienced traffic congestion for the first time in Slovenia. Lake Bled is obviously very popular and it was a beautiful sunny and warm day on a holiday weekend. We turned off at the first parking sign we saw and the charge was Euro 15 for 4 hours or Euro 25 for the whole day! This is as expensive as Venice, but we decided to pay for 4 hours rather than have the hassle of driving around trying to find somewhere cheaper. It was a very short walk to the lake shore and it was very busy with many local tourists. I dread to think what it would be like in the summer. We walked the 6 kilometres around the lake and it was only busy at the start and end. It should have only taken about 90 minutes, but it actually took 3 hours with a lot of stops, a lot of photos and congestion on the trail. Apart from the number of people it is a very nice path around the lake with great views all the way. It is so photogenic with the island, the castle perched above the lake and the snow covered Julian alps in the distance. Some people were swimming and the water didn't feel that cold. It took 30 minutes to drive from Lake Bled to the apartment we had booked at the village of Stara Fuzina, which is on the shore of Lake Bohinj. Our apartment is on the attic level of a "Swiss chalet" and the owners live on the 2 lower levels. I selected this Airbnb apartment as it had good reviews and I prefer not to have people clunking around above us. The woman running the apartment was very friendly and offered us some honey liqueur. I readily accepted and as it was too harsh and strong for Lani I forced myself to drink hers as well! We had a basic supper of bread, cheese and salad in the apartment and then a very good night's sleep. 30 April 2023 - Day Trip around Lake Bohinj Lake Bohinj's weather forecast was for rain today, but when we woke up it was misty and dry. The mist soon cleared and at 10.15 we started walking the 12 kilometres around Lake Bohinj. We decided to go along the southern side of the lake first, but unfortunately the trail followed the road and trees often blocked the views. We got to the end of the lake at 11.45 and had our sandwiches at a picnic table overlooking Lake Bohinj. The weather was still dry and warm and there were some sunny spells. Clouds covered the tops of many of the snow covered mountains of the Julian alps. There is no road on the north side of Lake Bohinj and the trail is close to the lake. However, there are a lot of trees that partially obscure the views a lot of the time. We got back to our apartment after 3 hours. Lonely Planet states that Lake Bohinj is more beautiful than Lake Bled but I don't agree. However, it is far less touristy. In the afternoon we rested on our apartment's balcony. The weather forecast tomorrow has now also improved and it should be dry. If so we will drive about 1.5 hours up to the top of the Vrsic Pass which is at 1,611 metres. It is usually closed due to snow until the end of April or early May and it has just been opened for this year. 1 May 2023 - Day Trip from Lake Bohinj to Vrsic Pass A few days ago the weather forecast for Lake Bohinj was dismal and over 1 inch of rain had been forecast for today. Luckily weather in the mountains is difficult to predict. The weather forecast improved and we woke up to some sun and views of the snow covered mountains. We started driving to the Vrsic Pass at 09.20. When we reached Kranjska Gora, at the turn off to the pass, the view of the Julian Alps was superb. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to park quickly enough to take a photo and the mountains partially clouded over. There are numerous parking spots on the way up to Vrsic Pass and we used them to enjoy the views and take photos. After 46 miles of driving, and 26 hair pin bends up the pass, we reached the top of the 1,611 metre high pass at 11.30. The road was a bit narrow around the hair pin bends, but otherwise it wasn't a difficult drive. We had originally planned to go back down the same way, but we decided to go down the 24 hair bin bends on the other side. The hair pin bends weren't as tight and the scenery wasn't as dramatic as on the way up. We looked out carefully for the site of the memorial Russian Chapel built by Russian prisoners of war in 1916. Unfortunately we missed it and decided not to drive back up to locate it. The fastest way back to our apartment would have been to go back up Vrsic pass and return the way we came. The alternative was to do a longer circular route, which we decided to do in order to see different scenery. The road was narrow at times and it was slow progress as we had to drive carefully. We reached our apartment at 15.00 after driving 130 miles. 2 May 2023 - Lake Bohinj to Novi Sad, Serbia We woke up to the rain that they had been forecasting for the last 2 days. If it had to rain then today wasn't a bad day for it. We left Lake Bohinj at 09.00 and estimated it would take us 8 hours to reach Novi Sad. We had informed the owner of the next apartment that we would arrive between 17.00 and 18.00. One of the problems with booking apartments, rather than hotels, is arranging a time to collect the keys. We can estimate the driving time from Google maps but there are often delays. With this journey the border with Croatia and Serbia was the big unknown. Particularly since we couldn't buy car insurance for Serbia in the UK and had to buy it at the Serbian border. It was a fairly relaxing drive despite the rain and spray from other vehicles. The highways aren't congested in Slovenia and Croatia like they were in Switzerland and Italy and the drivers are less aggressive. The scenery was very unspectacular and it wasn't improved by the bad weather. Most of the time we drove at about 110 kms an hour, despite the speed limit being at 130 kms an hour. There were no border formalities at the border between Slovenia and Croatia as both countries are part of the Schengen area. It seemed that we would get to Novi Sad at about an hour earlier than expected, but then we reached the border between Croatia and Serbia! There was a huge queue of cars and despite us choosing the best lane it took one hour to enter Serbia. Then we had the issue of buying car insurance. We were relieved when a helpful policeman directed us to an office where we could buy the insurance. Unfortunately the person there didn't know how to issue the insurance and had to seek assistance over the phone. This man was becoming very frustrated with the process and as his English was poor we didn't know what was really happening. After 30 minutes the insurance was issued and we had to pay. Until then we didn't know the cost, but I thought it wouldn't be more than Euro 50 for the 4 days we would be in Slovenia. The amount was RSD 21,000, but we didn't know what this equated to in real money. We couldn't google it as our phones didn't have roaming for Serbia. We tried to pay by credit card but it was rejected. The man then said we could pay in Euro and it was Eur 230! I did query it, but in the end we had to pay, which left us feeling ripped off. Later that evening I researched it and discovered that it is virtually only UK car insurance policies that don't cover Serbia. There were a few comments on the internet about the prohibitively high cost of insurance at the Serbian border so we weren't cheated. However, if I had known what the cost would have been I wouldn't have chosen a route going through Serbia. When we left the Serbian border we texted the apartment owner that our ETA was 18.15. Unfortunately when we got to Novi Sad it was difficult to find the apartment and we didn't get there until 18.35. We booked the apartment through Booking.com and the apartment had excellent reviews. However, no review mentioned that the apartment block dated back to the communist era and didn't look nice on the outside or in the common areas of the building. The apartment itself was a very spacious apartment on the Danube with 2 bedrooms and 2 balconies. It costs only Euro 45 a night! Unfortunately they skimped on items like cooking utensils and there were a few other things that needed attention. See my blog Novi Sad, Serbia: Travel Guide for details about Novi Sad. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

Contents 1. Cornwall to Dover 2. Dover to Troyes, France 3. Troyes to Bern, Switzerland 4. Bern to Vicenza, Italy 5. Verona Day Trip 6. Vicenza and Padua Day Trips 7. Venice Day Trip - Day 1 8. Venice Day Trip - Day 2 9. Links to My Other Blogs 18 April 2023 - Cornwall to Dover Today is the start of our 3 month road trip to the Greek Islands. We are driving down to Greece through France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia. Then we return to the UK on the coastal route through Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and northern Europe. We will be having a lot of stop offs on the way so that we can see some of the most interesting places in these countries. We will have just over one month in Greece and the rest of the time will be spent driving there and back. We wanted to do a road trip with our own car as flying is so much hassle and at the moment car rental costs are very high. It is also very convenient having everything in our car for the whole trip rather than lugging it on and off planes, trains, buses and rental cars. The other determining factor was that it seemed more exciting to do it this way. We have never been to Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro before and driving down enables us to visit these countries. The drawback of this road trip is that our Ford Focus is almost 10 years old and I am not very mechanically minded. Two months ago our car broke down due to the clutch. Then when we had a major car service we were advised to change the cambelt and auxiliary belts. Altogether this work cost GBP 2,300 and hopefully it will mean that nothing goes wrong with the car during our trip! Today we drove from our home in Cornwall to Dover and it took about 6 hours. We are staying at the Premier Inn near the Eastern Ferry Terminal. The cost of the room was GBP 45, which is a good rate these days. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further details. Once we reached Dover we drove over to the nearby National Trust car park (GBP 5) for the white cliffs of Dover. We did a nice 1.5 hour walk along the top of the cliffs. The views of the cliffs weren't that great and I expect that we will see the cliffs better from the ferry tomorrow morning. For supper we had a takeaway from Tony's Fish and Chips on the London Road. Tony is quite a character. The portions were massive and the quality excellent. Hopefully the cliff walk will have burnt off a lot of calories! 19 April 2023 - Dover to Troyes, France The departure time of our ferry to Calais was 09.10, but we had to be there at 08.10. We got up at 06.30 and got to the docks at 07.50. It didn't take us long to get through French passport control. We were then surprised that our car was searched and we even had to open up the hood of the engine. We were pleased to discover that the passenger areas in the ferry were empty and it was therefore very peaceful. As the ferry pulled away we went out on the deck to see the white cliffs of Dover. Unfortunately it was a bit of a grey day and the white cliffs didn't look their best. It was only a 1.5 hour ferry journey and before we disembarked at Calais I turned on our new TomTom sat navigation device. I selected the route from Dover to Troyes in France that I had set up before leaving home. In the past we have used the inbuilt sat navigation system in our car, but this only covers the UK. Our inexperience with the TomTom soon caused problems! After a short while the TomTom directed us to a payment booth that we thought was for the motorway. We were very puzzled when the machine asked us for a reservation number and therefore decided to go to another machine instead. I suddenly realised that we were queuing up for the channel train back to Dover! I had to ask the driver behind us to reverse back so we could get out of the queue. We managed with a lot of difficulty to get back to the main road and then the TomTom kept directing us back to the channel tunnel! Our confidence in the TomTom was sinking. I decided to delete the route and just enter Troyes as a destination and it was to our great relief that it resolved things. My mistake was starting the route on the TomTom in Calais rather than Dover. I thought that the TomTom would realise we had already completed the Dover to Calais portion of the route. It hadn't and had been taking us back to Dover so we could start the pre-set route from there. We lost 35 minutes due to this issue. After that the journey went well on excellent toll autoroutes that cost us Euro 37.60. We could drive at 130 kilometres an hour most of the way and it took 6 hours to reach Troyes. Luckily we filled up with petrol at Dover as we later discovered that petrol is more expensive in France. At Troyes we are staying at a Kyriad Hotel for Euro 84 a night. It is very nice and hopefully it will stay quiet so we can have a good night's sleep. It is only a 10 minute walk to the old centre of the town. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further details. Troyes (pronounced like trois) doesn't seem to be a very well known tourist attraction. However, it has a fantastic, and sizeable, medieval centre of timbered houses. Better than anything I have seen in the UK. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and looking for cheap eating places at the same time. We found a popular small Thai restaurant called Koboon and our dinner cost Euro 26. I had my favourite Thai dish of Pad Thai and Lani had something a bit more adventurous. Tomorrow we are going to Bern in Switzerland for 1 night and it should be about a 5 to 6 hour drive there. 20 April 2023 - Troyes, France to Bern, Switzerland We both had a very good night's sleep as the hotel was very quiet and the bed extremely comfortable. I really dislike thick duvets and this hotel had a nice light one and the pillows were great. We could also open the window which is no longer possible at many hotels. We left Troyes at 09.00 in sunshine and were hoping to stop for lunch at one of the good service stations along the auto route. Unfortunately we had to leave the auto route before midday. A bit later we stopped at a large Intermarche supermarket and ate in their restaurant. It was really busy and we ordered the plat du jour of roast chicken for Euro 9. We could have had the 3 course set meal for Euro 13, but we didn't need the extra calories and thought it might take too long. The scenery had been mainly flat across France, but as we got close to the Swiss border it became hilly. As we got onto higher terrain the temperature dropped from about 15 centigrade to 3 centigrade and it lightly snowed. There was no one manning the French/Swiss border, but there was an unfriendly man selling the Vignettes for the Swiss motorways. They should cost CHF 40, but it cost a bit more as we paid in Euro and lost on the exchange rate. The motorways in Switzerland were so much busier than in France. Bern was the first city we had driven through since leaving the UK and it was also busy and congested. It didn't help that our TomTom sat nav took us to a factory rather than to our hotel! We had to use Google maps to find our hotel. We are staying at the new Los Lorentes Residences hotel on the outskirts of Bern. The rooms are very good and have small kitchenettes. I was a bit worried as there is a huge skate park behind the hotel. Luckily no one was using it which may have been due to the rain. See my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" for further details. There is an Aldi next door to the hotel so we bought some food for an early supper. It soon stopped raining and we took the nearby tram into Bern at 18.00. All hotels in Bern give their guests a Bern pass which allows free transport on the trams. I came to Bern on business in 1990, and really liked it, but Lani has never been to Bern before. I therefore thought it would be a good stop off on our way down to Greece. It wasn't as special as I remembered it but it could be because the weather wasn't great and I was tired. We spent 2 hours walking along the 4 main streets in the historical centre. Luckily it now stays light quite late and it was getting dark just as we returned to our hotel at 20.30. 21st April 2023 - Bern, Switzerland to Vicenza, Italy I had intended that on the way to Vicenza we would stop off for a few hours at Sirmione, which is a town on the southern shore of Lake Garda. Unfortunately the weather forecast for Lake Garda showed rain until 17.00 and we decided not to do a stop over there. The journey from Bern to Vicenza is meant to take less than 6 hours. As we weren't allowed to check in to our accommodation at Vicenza until after 17.30 we decided not to leave our hotel in Bern until 11.00. I therefore informed our host at our apartment at Vicenza that we would probably arrive between 17.30 and 18.30. That turned out to be widely optimistic and we didn't arrive at the apartment until 20.30. We had a 45 minute hold up at the Gothard tunnel and then another 45 minute delay at the Swiss/Italian border. We have no idea why we were held up at the border as we couldn't see any cars being stopped. Due to these delays in Switzerland we ended up on the motorway at Milan around the evening rush hour and the traffic was horrendous. After that we experienced some dangerous driving well above the 130 km speed limit. We therefore weren't too surprised when there was a serious accident near Verona which delayed us by at least another 30 minutes. We were exhausted by the time we reached the apartment in Vicenza. Luckily we found the apartment easily and the owner of the apartment was very pleasant. We went to a Pizzeria restaurant just a minute's walk away from the apartment. The pizza was very good and cheap (Euro 7 each) but I had a couple of beers to relieve the stress and they cost more than my pizza! As our car was parked on the street we unpacked it completely and only went to sleep at midnight. 22 April 2023 - Day Trip to Verona We slept until 07.45, which is late for us, and after a relaxed breakfast we went to a small supermarket just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. As a result we didn't set out for our day trip to Verona until 10.30 a.m. We decided to drive to Verona as it was easier than taking a bus from our apartment to the train station in Vicenza and then taking a train to Verona. It was only a 40 minute drive to Verona and we parked in a large multi storey car park just outside the old city. Several travel blogs had recommended buying the Verona pass for Euro 20. So we went to buy them at the tourist office next to the Roman amphitheatre. It turned out not to be a good decision as the amphitheatre was closed for a few days and it would have been cheaper just to pay the entrance fees at the remaining attractions. We were surprised and disappointed there were so many tourists in Verona considering it was only April. The majority were Italians and it was probably a combination of nice sunny weather, a Saturday and the following Tuesday being a public holiday for Liberation day. We spent about 5 hours wandering around Verona, but we were feeling a bit tired and jaded from the previous days' long drive. We decided to climb the 368 steps up to the top of the Torre dei Lamberti to avoid the charge for the elevator. We were rewarded with good views of the city from the top of the tower. We also visited the Duomo Cathedral, Castelvecchio (castle) and the Basilica di Santa Anastasia. We skipped Juliet's balcony as it was just too crowded with tourists trying to get their Instagram or Facebook photo of it. Any way in reality it is only a 13th century inn! 23 April 2023 - Day Trip to Vicenza and Padua We both woke up feeling a lot better and well rested. We took a short bus ride into Vicenza and wandered around the historic centre for a couple of hours. Fortunately it was far less busy and less touristy than Verona . As it was a Sunday we didn't go inside any churches. Like yesterday the weather was sunny and a very pleasant 23 centigrade. I would have liked to have seen inside the Teatro Olimpico, which is Europe's oldest surviving indoor theatre, but tickets cost Euro 11. There were museums open, but we aren't very interested in visiting museums and it is also expensive. We enjoy just wandering around and admiring the architecture of the town from the outside. We bought some sandwiches for lunch and ate them at a park. Then we took a 20 minute train ride to Padua (Padova) on a very nice and modern train. Padua is another very historic town and is lively as it is a university town. I really liked Padua and although it was lively it wasn't overly touristy like Verona. The main attraction is the Cappella Degli Scrovegni chapel which is famous for its' art work. However, you have to book in advance and it is expensive. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and then returned to our apartment by train and bus. 24 April 2023 - Day Trip to Venice After having had 2 very good days of weather we woke up to rain and it lasted until mid morning. As soon the rain stopped we drove to Venice and arrived there at 12.00 after a 50 minute drive. We parked at the Tronchetto multi storey car park which costs Euro 25 per day. We had thought about taking the train there, but we would have had to take a bus to the Vicenza train station and the train only runs once an hour. Going by car was therefore more convenient but more costly. It is possible to take a water taxi from the car park to St Mark's Square but it costs Euro 9. We decided instead to do the hour's walk there in order to save money, but also to see a bit of Venice on the way. The route was reasonably well marked and there were also many other people on the route. When we got to the Rialto Bridge it was really crowded and it continued like that to St Mark's Square. I dislike being in places with so many tourists but Venice is so special. We had brought sandwiches for lunch as we had been told that food was really expensive. I am sure the restaurants are expensive, but slices of pizza could be bought for Euro 2.50 which didn't seem bad. We had booked tickets online for the Doge's Palace in order to avoid queuing and the tickets cost Euro 15 each. Our reserved entrance time was 16.00 but they allowed us to enter at 15.30. I am not a big admirer of paintings after being dragged around Florence's art galleries as a teenager. However, I found the Doge's Palace to be very spectacular due to the opulence of the art work on the walls and ceilings of all the rooms. The prison cells were the exception! We took 2 hours to wander through the Doge's Palace. Afterwards we walked over to the ponte dell'accademia which has good views along the Grand Canal. We didn't feel like walking back to the car park so we bought 24 hour water bus passes for Euro 25 each. We can then use these passes when we come back to tomorrow. It took us 45 minutes on the water bus to return to the car park. The views were great from the standing area at the front of the boat and it was easier than walking! 25 April 2023 - Day Trip to Venice We woke up to rain and thunder and the rain soon became very heavy. We therefore relaxed in our apartment until the rain stopped at 10.30. The weather forecast was for rain until mid afternoon but we decided to start driving to Venice and hope for the best. Unfortunately we soon drove into very heavy rain on the autoroute to Venice and unlike some other drivers we kept our speed well below the 130 km per hour speed limit. We reached Venice at about 11.30 and sheltered in the multi storey car park! We had an early lunch in the car and when the rain eased off at midday we set off for the nearby pier for the water bus. It was a 45 minute ride to the cathedral at San Giorgio Maggiore along the wide Guidecca Canal. Initially we sat inside the boat and sheltered from the wind and damp, but there were no views as all the windows were misted up. After a while we moved to the open area at the back of the boat to take advantage of the views. Luckily the weather was really improving. There was no entrance fee for the cathedral and we decided not to pay Euro 8 each to go up the tower. All these entrance fees really add up, particularly when you are on a 3 month trip! The interior was very impressive and from the outside there are excellent views across the lagoon to St Mark's Square. We took the short water bus ride over to St Marks Square and had another look around. It was just as busy as yesterday! Then another short water bus ride over to the church of Santa Maria della Salute. Entry to the church was free, but there would have been a charge to go up the bell tower if it had been open. We spent a couple of hours walking around the nearby area of Dorsoduru. The weather was now sunny and warm so we treated ourselves to gelato. Thankfully this area is far less busy than the areas around St Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge. At 16.00 we decided to call it a day and took a 30 minute water bus ride back to the car park. The water bus route back was along the very spectacular Grand Canal with ancient buildings on both sides. Links to My Other Blogs Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

Contents Syros, Greece - Sea View Studios Naxos, Greece - My Family Home Tinos, Greece - Lefkopetra Andros, Greece - Lorentzia House 2 Parga, Greece - Tresor Apartments Gjirokaster, Albania - Artur's Apartment Himare, Albania - Mihalis Apartments Berat, Albania - Luis Penthouse Kruje, Albania - Hotel Panorama Kotor, Montenegro - Fortress View 2 Apartment Trogir, Croatia - Apartment Roko Brac, Croatia - Little House Rab Croatia - Apartment Stela Rab Croatia - Palit Hills Superior Apartments Rovinj, Croatia - Apartment Dado Ortisei, Italy - Apartment Salman Metz, France -Metz Kyriad Metz Centre Links to my other blogs 1. Syros, Greece - Sea View Studios We booked this through Booking.com for Eur 79 per night for a 4 night stay. We took advantage of an off-season free upgrade to a 2 bedroom apartment. It took us half an hour to drive from the port at Ermoupoli to the apartment near Finikas. The route to the apartment was very well signposted by the owner and there is ample car parking space. The owner (Manos) met us and showed us our apartment. It was in pristine condition and well equipped. The only negative was that one bedroom didn't have an exterior window. The other only had a small window high up on the wall. Both bedrooms had large openings onto the lounge. This made the bedrooms suitable for families, but perhaps not for 2 couples. There are about 6 other apartments. I think they are all studio apartments. The one with the best location seemed to be number 5 on the upper floor. It was a corner unit with an additional side window and an extra terrace on the side. None of the other apartments were occupied while we were there so I can't comment on noise. It was certainly very peaceful when we were there. We really liked the location of the apartment. It is in one of the more unspoilt parts of southern Syros. I highly recommend these apartments. 2. Naxos, Greece - My Family Home We booked this property for 5 nights through Booking.com at a rate of Eur 75 per night. It is in the small village of Galanado, which is a 10 minute drive to Naxos Town. This was our favourite property so far. There is nothing above it and only one end is attached to another building. It has 2 spacious bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room and a modern bathroom. Outside is a large private terrace with some shade and distant sea views. The property is in pristine condition and well equipped. It has a new washing machine and there is air conditioning in both bedrooms. All windows had mosquito screens and shutters. We thought parking might be a problem but there are 2 good sized car parks about 100 metres away. There was always plenty of space in both of them. We really liked the village as it wasn't touristy and the locals were friendly. The only downside was that the church broadcast their Sunday morning sermon on a loud speaker. It was atmospheric to start with, but it went on for at least 3 hours. 3. Tinos, Greece - Lefkopetra We booked this apartment for 4 nights through Airbnb and it cost Euro 70 per night. When I booked it, it seemed that there was only one unit. Unfortunately there are actually 5 apartments, but they are all listed separately on Airbnb. We had apartments on either side of us and the balcony of the upper apartment was above us. I always try to avoid this scenario due to noise issues. The apartment next to us was occupied for the first 2 nights and we could hear them through the wall. For the final 2 nights the top apartment was occupied and we could hear them as well. The accommodation felt a bit neglected. In particular: The floor was painted concrete and some of the paint had worn off. The bathroom was small. The shower was so small that it was impossible to avoid making contact with the shower curtain. There was only 1 bowl and 2 plates for an apartment advertised for 3 people. On the positive side: The terrace was very nice and had good sea views. It had an adjustable awning for shade. The beds were comfortable. It was a 10 to 15 minute drive into Tinos town. 4. Andros, Greece - Lorentzia House 2 We booked this house through Booking.com for 4 nights at a cost of Eur 65 per night. It is spacious as it has 120 square metres of space consisting of 3 bedrooms, 2 living/dining rooms, a kitchen, bathroom (with a washing machine), a large terrace and a parking area. The house is rented out by a very welcoming family. The mother and daughter met us and only the daughter spoke English. They gave us a pack of bottled water, fruit, eggs and raki. The house is a bit dated, except for the modern bathroom, but it is very comfortable and clean. There are excellent sea views from the terrace. The house is reached by driving up a steep paved road for about 10 minutes. The entrance to the driveway requires a sharp turn off the steepest section of the road. I found it a challenge. There is a popular taverna about 5 minutes' walk away. The main coastal resort of Batsi is about a 20 minute drive. We prefer more modern accommodation and didn't like the approach, but it is very good value for money. 5. Parga, Greece - Tresor Apartments We booked this apartment for 1 night through Booking.com for Eur 79. The cost per night would have been less if we had stayed longer. We really liked the apartment and it exceeded our expectations. There are 4 apartments in the building and we had half of the top floor. It is shown in the photo below and our apartment had both the balconies shown in the photo. The apartment has been built and furnished to a very high standard. It is in pristine condition. The main living room has a kitchenette and a sofa bed. The bathroom has an excellent shower. The bedroom is very comfortable and has its own balcony. There is parking on site It is a 10 minute walk down to the waterfront. We really liked Parga even though there were a lot of tourists. It was a nice change to be in a bustling town after the quiet Greek islands. I highly recommend this apartment. 6. Gjirokaster, Albania - Artur's Apartment We booked this apartment for 1 night through Booking.com for Eur 38 and it included a good breakfast. Incredible value! It is a bit old fashioned but was clean, spacious and comfortable. There was a terrace off the bedroom and a seating area outside the entrance to the apartment. Both areas had shade if required. The apartment was on the ground floor, but we didn't have any problem with noise from above. All windows had mosquito screens so no problems there either! There was parking on the street just outside the apartment. It is a 10 minute walk to the centre of town and half an hour to the castle on top of the hill. 7. Himare, Albania - Mihalis Apartments We had booked a Penthouse Apartment for 3 nights through Booking.com for Eur 50 per night. The Penthouse Apartments are on the top floor (4th). They don't have a kitchen and are the smallest apartments (30 square metres). When we arrived we asked to see some of the other apartments. The normal apartments are double the size of the Penthouse Apartments and they were very spacious and looked very appealing. We were then shown a Delux Apartment which was fantastic. There are only 2 of them and they are both on the top floor (4th). They are 70 square metres consisting of a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. We were shown Delux Apartment 403 (Lizeta) which is a corner unit with 2 huge balconies. The other Delux Apartment isn't a corner unit and only has 1 balcony. The Booking.com price for a Delux Apartment was Eur 105, but we were offered it for Eur 80 and took Delux Apartment 403. The apartment is a 10 minute drive from Himare along a dirt road. The road is a bit rough in places, but we didn't have a problem with our Ford Focus. We did drive carefully as we had broken a front spring in Greece. It is a 12 minute walk down to Livadi beach, which is one of the best beaches in Albania. It is a long pebble beach with restaurants, umbrellas and sun loungers. The sea is great for swimming. I highly recommend Mihalis Apartments and its location is much better than scruffy Himare. 8. Berat, Albania - Luis Penthouse We rented this apartment for 1 night through Booking.com for Eur 45. It is a penthouse apartment on the 7th floor. It is amazing value as it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large open plan living/dining/kitchen area, a huge terrace and underground parking. It is really well furnished and even has satellite TV and Netflix. It is a 20 minute walk into the centre of Berat. The underground parking is down a steep ramp and a bit tight. The host directed me in and out of the space and we had no problems. Unfortunately they have just started to build on the site next to the apartment. It didn't disturb us as we were there at the weekend. It is very likely there will be daytime noise on weekdays. It is probably not a big issue if you are sightseeing during the daytime. 9. Kruje, Albania - Hotel Panorama We initially reserved a standard room with a balcony for Eur 66 with Booking.com. Shortly before our stay they advised us of upgrades and we paid an extra Eur 2 for a standard triple room with balcony. It is very good value for the best hotel in Kruje. The front desk clerk kindly offered to show us the room. We were delighted that it had a fantastic view of the castle and bazaar. The room was not close to the elevators, nor did it have a connecting door, two of my pet hates. A couple who checked in shortly after us weren't so lucky. They had been given a room facing the street. They requested to be moved to a room facing the castle but there were none available. Everyone wants a room with a castle view. The later you check in the less likely that you will get one. There is free parking in an underground car park opposite the hotel. It was very busy when we arrived as it was a Sunday. A friendly attendant helped us find a parking spot and helped us with our luggage. I gave him a couple of Euros for his efforts and he was delighted. A Tripadvisor review mentioned that the food at the hotel was good and very reasonably priced. We don't normally eat at hotels but gave it a try. I can confirm that the reviewer is right. It can get busy so it is probably best to make a reservation. A few hotel reviews mentioned that the early morning call to prayer from the nearby mosque disturbed them. We certainly heard it, but for us it added to the atmosphere and wasn't a problem. We found that there was very little to see in Kruje. There is the reconstructed bazaar, consisting of an alley lined with shops, and a ruined castle. It was disappointing, but we really liked the hotel and the great view from our room. 10. Kotor, Montenegro - Fortress View 2 Apartment We booked for 6 nights at Eur 77 per night through Airbnb . It is a 2 storey apartment in a separate building. This building is at the rear of the owner's house and there is another rental apartment on the top floor of their house called Fortress View 1. The apartment is a very short walk to the estuary and we went there several times to swim. It is possible to relax on small concrete piers. It is very convenient but close to the road and there is a bit of algae in the water. The centre of Kotor is a 20 minute walk away along the road running along the estuary. Initially there isn't any side walk and we didn't particularly enjoy the walk. Most of the time we drove in and parked for about Eur 1 per hour. The ground floor of the apartment comprises a living area with a sofa bed, dining table, kitchen and bathroom (with a washing machine). There is a staircase to the bedroom and balcony upstairs. The upper bedroom is open to the lower floor. The apartment is very comfortable, quiet and has an off-road parking spot. The only negatives were: There was no shade on the balcony until the afternoon. The ground floor doesn't have enough natural light. There is no place to eat outdoors as there isn't a table on the balcony. The parking could be a bit tight when there is another car in the carport. The Fortress 1 apartment above the owner's premises would have better views, but one reviewer stated that there was some noise from the owners. 11. Trogir, Croatia - Apartment Roko We booked this apartment through Booking.com for Eur 69 per night for 3 nights. The apartment has: Covered parking A living area with a sofa bed, dining table and kitchenette. There is an air conditioner in this area. A bedroom with a 5 foot bed. There is a fan but no air conditioner. A bathroom with a washing machine. A balcony with a retractable awning. The apartment is in a very convenient location as: It is a 10 minute walk into the centre of Trogir. It is on the coastal road so it is convenient for getting out of Trogir by car. There is a large supermarket about 200 metres away. We received an extremely warm welcome from the family who own the apartment. On the day we left it was the wife's birthday. They gave us a big plate of various cakes that took us several days to eat. They take great pride in their apartment and it is very clean and well equipped. It was very quiet. 12. Brac, Croatia - Little House We booked this apartment through Airbnb, but it is also available with Booking.com. Our apartment had 1 bedroom, but there is also a 2 bedroom apartment available on Booking.com. We paid Eur 292 for 4 nights. The apartment is compact but very clean, well equipped and comfortable. It has a nice small garden to sit out in, but we were bothered by mosquitoes. Fortunately there are mosquito screens on most of the windows so they weren't a problem inside the apartment. It is an easy and pleasant 10 minute walk to the centre of Supetar. There is a car parking spot opposite the apartment and the main road is easily accessed from the apartment. The main road is very close to the apartment, but the traffic noise didn't bother us. 13. Rab, Croatia - Apartment Stela We booked this apartment from Booking.com for Eur 71 per night. It is a very spacious 2 bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms and on-site parking. When booking the apartment it appeared it would be the ground floor. I try to avoid booking ground floor apartments as I am concerned about noise from above. I booked it anyway as it was difficult to find a better alternative. It also seemed that the owners lived above the apartment. I presumed they would be quiet for their guests. The apartment was on the ground floor as expected. Unfortunately an extremely noisy family was in the apartment above us. The owners were in the attic apartment at the top. I complained to the owners and they were very apologetic. They had learnt how noisy this family was over the previous nights. They had never had such a problem before. They very honourably offered us a refund for the remaining 3 nights. Luckily I managed to find alternative accommodation on the internet. Apart from the issue of the noise the apartment was good. It was only a 10 minute walk into the centre of Rab. The exterior of the apartment building doesn't look great but the inside is well done. 14. Rab Croatia - Palit Hills Superior Apartments We booked this apartment through Booking.com for Eur 117 per night. It would normally cost more but there was a last minute cancellation and the rate was discounted. The apartment is managed by an agency in Rab. The keys have to be collected from their office. There is parking and the agent was very pleasant and helpful. The rental must be paid for in cash, even though Booking.com states that cash isn't accepted! The apartment is on the 1st floor with a 1 bedroom rental apartment below it and the owners' apartment above. We had no problems with noise. The apartment is very modern, nicely furnished and spacious. There is an open plan living, dining and kitchen area with a balcony leads off it. Both bedrooms open onto another balcony and one of them has an ensuite bathroom. The main bathroom has a washing machine. It is apparently a 15 minute walk into Rab but it looked further and we always drove in. There is parking in front of the apartment. 15. Rovinj, Croatia - Apartment Dado We booked this apartment through Booking.com for Eur 61 per night. It was very good value despite it being a 10 minute drive from Rovinj. The apartment is on the top floor of the white building shown in the photo below. The owners live below and we didn't have any problems with noise. The hostess was very welcoming and takes great pride in the apartment. It is spacious, very clean, nicely furnished and well equipped. There is parking in the carport of the building. I highly recommend this apartment. 16. Ortisei (St Ulrich), Italy - Apartment Salman We booked this apartment through a German website called Bookiply.com for Eur 111 per night. The apartment is also available on Booking.com but costs about 10% more. It was a very good price for an apartment in the Dolomites in July. It is a spacious 1 bedroom apartment with a modern bathroom, dated kitchen and a lounge/dining area with a sofa bed. There are 2 balconies on either side of the apartment so if it is sunny one of the balconies always gets the sun. There is a washing machine in a utility room by the apartment's entrance and it is shared with the owner. It is a fairly steep 10 to 15 minute walk down to the centre of Ortisei. The walk back up was a bit tiring,especially after a long hike. An advantage of being higher up is that the apartment had good views of Ortisei, the surrounding mountains and Sassolungo. We made a conscious decision not to use our car at all during our 6 night stay. There is good parking in front of the apartment. The apartment is on the first floor and there are apartments above and below it. Noise was never an issue, but we could sometimes hear people walking above us. The hosts live in the apartment next door. 17. Metz, France - Kyriad Metz Centre I booked the room for Eur 89 on Kyriad's website as members (free to join) receive a 10% discount. It would have cost Eur 99 if I had booked with Booking.com. The hotel is in the centre of Metz. Fortunately it was in a quiet area as it was a Saturday night and Metz was buzzing. We stayed in a Kyriad hotel in Troyes at the start of our trip and it was excellent. The Kyriad in Metz wasn't as good and the rooms are small. It is a bit like an Ibis hotel. The hotel has an agreement with an underground car park about 5 minutes walk away and it costs Eur 9 to park a vehicle overnight. It seemed fairly secure and we left most of our luggage in the car. We probably wouldn't have done that at the start of our trip! The highlight of our stay was Metz itself. It is a very pretty town and it was packed with locals eating and drinking at the numerous cafes and restaurants. 18. Links to my other blogs UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7

Contents: Our Booking Process Dover, England Troyes, France Bern, Switzerland Vicenza, Italy Koper, Slovenia Ljubljana, Slovenia Lake Bohinj, Slovenia Our Booking Process Novi Sad, Serbia Tetovo, North Macedonia Ohrid, North Macedonia Meteora, Greece Arachova, Greece near Delphi Nafplio, Greece Monemvasia, Greece Koroni, Greece Links to my other Blogs 1. Our Accommodation Booking Process When I initially thought of doing the trip I intended to book accommodation only a few days in advance. I wanted to have flexibility over the length of stay in each location. I changed my mind once I had researched in more depth. I then knew more or less how much time we would need in each location. Delaying booking would probably have resulted in missing out on the best accommodation, particularly towards the end of our trip when we were getting into the peak holiday season. So in January I booked all the accommodation for our trip from 17th April to 17th July. We had the option for cancelling accommodation depending on the property. We only cancelled once for an overnight stop in Corinth, Greece. For this apartment we were able to cancel the day before our arrival. Having all the accommodation booked up could have been an issue if there had been serious problems with our 10 year old car. We did have problems with our car on the Greek islands when we needed new brake pads, springs and shock absorbers. All these parts had to be shipped in from Athens. Luckily it didn't delay us in getting to our next accommodation. In the past I have mainly used Tripadvisor and VRBO to research the various accommodation options. This time I mainly used Booking.com and then Airbnb if I couldn't find anything suitable on Booking.com. I prefer Booking.com over Airbnb as: Accommodation is usually cheaper on Booking.com. It is much easier to search, filter and sort properties on Booking.com. The property descriptions on Booking.com usually state the square footage whereas Airbnb don't. I found the square footage to be one of the most useful metrics. Hosts on Airbnb do sometimes cancel bookings, but that doesn't seem to happen on Booking.com. When searching for properties on Booking.com I mainly used the following filters: "Your Budget" - I entered Eur 40 to Eur 100, except for expensive locations like in the Dolomites. In most cases we paid around Eur 60 to Eur 80 for an apartment. "Review Score" - I entered "Superb: 9+" for apartments and "Very Good: 8+" for hotels. Reviewers are often less critical of private accommodation as they have met the host. "Parking". "Free Wifi" - Virtually all accommodation has this. There are many other useful filters and if my initial search resulted in too many results I used a few more filters. I then sorted the results by price and reviewed the properties for: Type and positioning of building. I don't want to be disturbed by noise and therefore prefer top floor apartments or standalone small buildings. Customer rating. Square footage. Number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Number and size of beds. Negatives and positives in reviewers' comments. Position of the property on the Booking.com map. Once I found suitable apartments I would Google the property name and look at any reviews and prices on Google or other booking websites. Usually Booking.com was the cheapest, but occasionally Airbnb was more competitive. Our apartment in the Dolomites was 10% cheaper when booked through the German booking website Bookiply.com. I used Airbnb's website when I couldn't find anything suitable on Booking.com. There are various filters that can be applied, but frustratingly none for reviewers' scores. This meant that the results showed far too many properties. To make matters worse I couldn't find any way to sort the results, for example, by price or reviewer scores. Also the square footage isn't indicated which makes it very difficult to ascertain the spaciousness of properties. It was therefore a real chore finding suitable properties which is why I only used Airbnb as a last resort. I booked 32 properties for our trip and the average cost per night was Eur 77. They were very good value as most of the properties were apartments, or small houses. Most of them were very spacious and of a high standard. The best value accommodation was a deluxe 3 bedroom penthouse apartment in Berat, Albania for only Eur 45 per night. The most expensive was a hotel room in Bern, Switzerland for Eur 126 per night. It was a very time consuming process but worth it. We saved a lot of money and the good accommodation made our long trip much more enjoyable. I wouldn't have enjoyed staying in cramped hotel rooms for 3 months. 2. Dover, UK - Premier Inn at the Eastern Ferry Terminal This hotel is only a 5 minute drive from the ferry terminal. Unlike most Premier Inns they do have rooms with twin beds rather than one bed and a pull out sofa. All twin rooms are on the upper floor which is a positive for me. As there is no air conditioning the windows can be opened, which is something else that I like. We had a room overlooking the main road, but it wasn't a problem as there was a constant traffic flow rather than vehicles stopping and starting. The rooms facing the sea would be better and quieter. You can phone them about a week before check in to try and request the location of your room. They usually won't change your room on the day of arrival. I always find the duvets at Premier Inns to be a bit too thick and warm. I am a bit precious so I always take my own blanket. I booked about 3 months in advance and got a good rate of GBP 39.00 for 2 people in a twin room. 3. Troyes, France - Kyriad Troyes Centre Before trying to find accommodation in Troyes I had never heard of Kyriad Hotels. I was therefore surprised to learn that they had an extensive chain of hotels in and outside Europe. I booked due to the good guest reviews, reasonable price and central location. We booked through Kyriad Hotel's website as their free to join loyalty program provided the best price. We paid Euro 81.90 for a twin room and Euro 10 for underground parking. There is free parking opposite the entrance to the underground parking but we were concerned about the security of our belongings. Breakfast is extra. We brought some muffins to eat from home and used the free coffee and tea in the room. Both the front desk staff spoke excellent English and were very helpful. As usual I asked for a room away from the elevators and with no connecting door and they got that right. The hotel is a 10 minute walk from the centre of medieval Troyes and it is certainly very worthwhile having a 1 night stopover there. 4. Bern, Switzerland - Los Lorentes Apartments In 2023 the newly opened Los Lorentes Apartments in Bern were offering a reasonable rate by Swiss standards of CHF 120.60 for a room with a kitchenette. Parking is available in the car park below the hotel for an extra CHF 10 per night, but it must be reserved before arrival. The parking is convenient as there is an elevator going directly up to the guest floors. There is an Aldi store about a minute's walk away. Just outside the Aldi store there is a bus stop for the buses going into Bern. The hotel provides a Bern pass that allows free use of these buses. Check in is done on a self service machine. We had a problem but there were 2 very helpful staff in a nearby room that sorted it out. The only potential drawback is that there is a large skateboard park at the back of the hotel. We overlooked it and no one used it while we were there. Perhaps it is no longer in use. It would be best to check guest reviews before booking or request a room away from this area. 5. Vicenza, Italy - Mansarda Al Ferrazzi We booked this apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Euro 78 per night. It can also be booked directly with the owner and the rate should be cheaper. The owner may require a deposit by bank transfer. The accommodation consists of a very large open plan apartment on the second floor. This is the top floor, there are no other apartments adjoining it and the owners live below. We didn't have any issues with noise. The furnishing of the apartment is perfectly adequate but not of a luxurious 5 star standard. There is a balcony running along 2 sides of the apartment building and some part of the balcony always gets the sun. There is a bathroom with a small shower stall, bidet, toilet and sink. In the basement there is a washing machine and dryer that guests can use. Parking is about 100 metres away in an area just off the quiet road. We were always able to find a space. There is a supermarket, a good pizza restaurant and a bus stop a few minutes walk away. During weekdays the bus leaves about every 15 minutes and costs about Euro 2 for the 15 minute ride. There is also a Lidl supermarket about 2 kilometres away. The owner (Christina) is very helpful and speaks fluent English and we really enjoyed our stay. 6. Near Koper, Slovenia - Apartmaji Sobe Zvezda We booked this apartment through Booking.com for Eur 75 per night. It can be booked directly for about 25% less, but you would have to transfer a deposit. We were allocated Apartment Lavandar 1, which has an extra large double bed. This consists of 2 single beds right next to each other with 2 separate thin duvets (with extra blankets available). This was ideal for us and we got an excellent night's sleep. Only 2 of the 6 apartments at Apartmaji Sobe Zvezda have extra large beds. The apartment was compact, but of a very high standard, exceptionally well equipped and clean. Lani loved it but our room had a connecting door with apartment Lavendar 2. Usually I try to avoid this as noise easily transmits through connecting doors. Luckily our neighbours in apartment Lavandar 2 were quiet. The apartment is about 4 km inland from Koper and we easily visited Piran, Izola and Koper from it. 7. Ljubljana, Slovenia - Luxury Studio Apartments This apartment cost us Euro 89 per night through Booking.com. I had several messages with Mateja (the hostess) before arrival. On the day of arrival she notified us that she was away and her mother would meet us. We arrived at 15.15 as agreed but found that both parking spaces were occupied. Mateja's father soon vacated 1 parking space and then her mother let us into the apartment. Everything in the apartment was fresh and clean. The mother then indicated that the shared garden was a mess. They were both working on it. There was a huge mound of soil 3 metres from our patio door and only 1 metre from the patio itself. The mother indicated that they would be clearing it the next day. We weren't too bothered at the time. Soon both parents were working in the garden and talking very loudly. Then another couple came to help and the volume of noise increased. By 18.15 I had had enough and messaged Majeta that it was like being on a building site. They did stop work at 18.30 and it was agreed that they would only continue the next day while we were out. It was a very bad start to our stay. The apartment is about a 25 minute walk into Ljubljana. There is a small supermarket 5 minutes walk away. We drove to the Lidl's supermarket in central Ljubljana. It took less than 10 minutes to reach it. Driving in Ljubljana is very easy without any congestion. In the end we enjoyed our 2 night stay there. I would be reluctant to recommend it as the parents talk very loudly and use the shared garden a lot. However, the apartment does receive very high review scores. 8. Lake Bohinj, Slovenia - Apartment Katja We booked this apartment through Airbnb for Euro 98 per night. It is in the village of Stara Fuzini and is a 10 minute walk from Lake Bohinj. The apartment is on the top floor of a Swiss style wooden chalet and consists of: A bedroom with a 5 foot wide bed and 2 individual duvets. There is also a sofa and balcony. A kitchen with a double induction hob, microwave and dishwasher. A dining room, with another bed, reclining chair and balcony. A bathroom with a shower and a washing machine. The wife (Katja) welcomed us and spoke good English. She was very pleasant and gave us some very potent honey liquor. We liked the apartment as it was spacious, clean and comfortable. Unfortunately we could hear noise from Katja's family. It was irritating at times as they didn't seem to be concerned about disturbing us. There was too much slamming of doors. However, it was very quiet when we were sleeping. None of the reviews on Airbnb mentioned a problem with noise so we might just have been unlucky. When we left Katja apologised for any disturbance the previous night as it was her husband's birthday. She then gave me a bottle of Slovenian liquor. 9. Novi Sad, Serbia - Green Oak Riverside Apartment We booked this spacious 2 bedroom apartment through Booking.com for only Euro 45 per night. It has excellent guest reviews because it is very spacious, on the bank of the Danube and a 10 minute walk into the centre of Novi Sad. There were no photos of the exterior of the apartment block nor of the apartment's common areas. We were quite shocked when we arrived to find the apartment was in a very ugly communist era apartment block. The lobby, stairs and elevator all looked a bit grim. There was graffiti outside and as it was a holiday a lot of kids were playing in the area around the apartments. The inside of the apartment was very spacious and generally nice. However, some of the interior walls needed to be repainted. The toilet seat in the 2nd bathroom was broken. The cooking and eating utensils were inadequate. The apartment can sleep six people, but there was only 1 table knife! There was also 1 cooking pot and a limited number of plates and bowls. After getting over the initial bad impression we had a comfortable stay and it was very good value. The apartment was quiet at night and we slept well. 10. Tetovo, North Macedonia - Tetovo Apartment We booked this apartment through Airbnb at a cost of Euro 112 for 3 nights plus Euro 20 for underground parking. It is very central as it is just one street back from the main street in Tetovo. The apartment is on the 3rd floor. We liked the apartment as it was modern, spacious and centrally located. Both the main bed and the sofa bed were comfortable. Emil met us and was very pleasant and helpful. We didn't hear any noise from the apartments surrounding us. On the Friday and Saturday nights we had people passing by late at night and talking loudly. Despite this we slept well. There is street parking near the apartment but parking spaces would be very difficult to find. We therefore paid Emil to park below the apartment. The parking bays were very tight but luckily no one parked in the spot next to us. There is a small balcony but there is no table and chairs. There is a washing machine, but the spin cycle is weak. There is a portable electric stove but it only has one hot plate. 11. Ohrid, North Macedonia - Tedi & Kiki Apartment We booked this apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 108 for 3 nights. There are 2 apartments listed and we booked the 2 Bedroom Apartment with a Lake View as it is on the top floor. The top floor is in the attic space so it does have some slanting ceilings with reduced heights. There are: 2 bedrooms with double beds. A bathroom with a shower and a washing machine. A combined dining and living area with a dining table, chairs and sofa. A small kitchen with a 2 burner stove, but no microwave. A balcony with a table and 3 chairs. The apartment is in a quiet residential area and there is a parking space in the grounds that is easy to access. It is a 10 minute stroll along the promenade to the centre of Ohrid and supermarkets are nearby. The host's father checked us in and was very pleasant and helpful. The apartment was very quiet until the very last afternoon. They keep an Alsatian in a small enclosure outside and it barked quite a lot. Apart from that we really liked the apartment. 12. Meteora, Greece - Enjoy Meteora One We booked this 1 bedroom apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 61 per night for our 3 night stay. The listing states that it is a 2 bedroom apartment, but we knew from the guest reviews that in reality there was only 1 bedroom. The other peculiar aspect of the listing is that the building number is stated to be 42, but is in fact 53! That caused us a few minutes of confusion when trying to find the apartment. There are about 4 apartments in the building and they were on the top floor except for apartment number 5. Apartment number 3 is not in such a good location as it is right on the road. Our apartment was number 1 and it faces the back garden which is used for parking. The apartment is compact, but it is newly furnished and in a good condition. Apartment number 1 has: A bedroom with a 5 foot bed and a small table with 2 chairs for meals. A kitchen with a 2 plate stove and a sofa bed. Guest reviews state that the sofa bed isn't comfortable. A nice bathroom with a good sized shower. A balcony with a table and 4 chairs. Parking on the premises. We didn't have any problem with noise, but we could occasionally hear the guests in apartment 2 during the day. 13. Arachova, Greece near Delphi - Patriko We booked this apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 45.50 for 1 night. There are 3 apartments being rented out in the building. Two are on the top floor and one is on the ground floor. We had a top floor apartment. The apartment was clean and very spacious compared to our previous apartment. There was a smoky smell from the fireplace, but it dissipated once we opened the window. The apartment consisted of : A bedroom with a 5' bed A living room with a sofa bed, fireplace and kitchenette. I used the sofa bed and it was comfortable. A bathroom with a shower. The hosts were very friendly and helpful. We collected the key from their apartment, which is in the same building. A few other reviews had mentioned that the roads around the Patriko were narrow and that parking was difficult. I have to concur with this. The host had kindly saved a parking space for us on the street outside the hotel. I thought the road was too narrow to park there and parked a bit further down the street. It is necessary to park very close to the buildings on the side of the road. We walked around Arachova in the evening and it was very pleasant. It is a 10 to 15 minute drive away from Delphi. 14. Nafplio, Greece - Angelos Sweet Home We booked this apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 77 per night for 3 nights. It is our favourite accommodation on the trip so far! It used to be the home of the hostess (Biggi) and it is very spacious, well furnished and comfortable. The apartment is on the top floor of the building and has 2 levels. The lower level consists of: A large open plan living room, dining room and kitchen. There is a comfortable sofa bed. A bathroom with a shower and a washing machine. A large covered balcony with a table and chairs. The upper level consists of: A large room with a 6' bed and a sofa bed. A bathroom with a shower. A balcony with a table and chairs. There is a parking place very close to the entrance to the apartment building. There are several supermarkets very close by and it is a 20 minute walk into the centre of Nafplio. The only negatives are that: The lower floor is a bit gloomy because of the balcony on the upper level. There is noise from the main road about 100 metres away and the vacant land in front of the apartment doesn't look nice. The noise didn't bother us. I highly recommend this apartment. 15. Monemvasia, Greece - Chrysoula's Convenient Triple Room with Yard We booked this apartment for 2 nights through Booking.com for Eur 53 per night. The apartment is on the ground floor of the building and there are 2 other apartments next to it. The owners live on the 2 floors above. The room is compact and is similar in size to a hotel room. There is a 4' 6" double bed, a single bed and a kitchenette in the room. The bathroom has a shower. There is a table and 2 chairs on the small patio outside the apartment. The hostess speaks very little English but was very welcoming. She left oranges, cake, eggs and some jam for us. The room was furnished well and was very clean. It was a 5 to 10 minute walk along the sea front to the new town of Monemvasia and about a 20 minute walk to the old town. We didn't have any problems with noise. There were small mosquitoes outside the room and at night we used the airconditioner as the bedroom window didn't have mosquito mesh. We had a good stay and the price was reasonable for Monemvasia. 16. Koroni, Greece - Lemoni Split We rented this 2 bedroom house through Simply Owners. In May 2023 the cost was GBP 675 per week and the minimum rental period is 5 nights. It is in a very peaceful rural location with 2 good beaches about a 10 minute walk away. It is a 10 minute drive, or a 40 minute walk, to Koroni. We enjoyed our stay but we felt that the house should have been cleaner. The twin room hadn't been cleaned. The other negative is that in the mornings there is no shade on the balcony. When it got too hot we had to sit in the front of the house away from the sea views. 17. Links to my other blogs UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7

Contents Introduction The Kotor Serpentine Road Lovcen National Park Njegos Mausoleum Lipa Cave Links to My Other Montenegro Travel Blogs 1. Introduction We drove from Kotor (see my blog Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide) up the steep, narrow and scenic "Kotor Serpentine" road to Lovcen National Park. We visited Njegos Mausoleum in Lovcen National Park and then drove through Cetinje, the once royal capital of Montenegro, to the impressive Lipa Cave. We took a 1 hour tour of Lipa Cave before driving back on a good road to Budva. We decided to visit Budva another day (see my blog Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide) and continued on back to Kotor. We didn't walk around Cetinje as it is very spread out and it was hot. We drove around this quiet and spacious town and liked what we saw. It looks like it is a very pleasant town to live in. There isn't much of interest to see unless you want to visit a number of museums. We didn't! This drive could obviously also be easily started from Budva, Tivat and Perast. It took us about 7 hours. 2. The Kotor Serpentine Road The Kotor Serpentine road is a historic road that weaves its way up the mountain from the outskirts of Kotor to the western entrance of Lovcen National Park. We have driven on some difficult roads during this 3 month road trip and this was one of the most difficult. The road is only a single lane in many places and climbs steeply up the mountain with numerous hair pin bends. When vehicles meet on narrow sections of the road one vehicle has to partially pull off the road or reverse back. Unfortunately there is often a bit of a drop off from the edge of the road and I was concerned I would damage our tyres if we pulled over. One tactic is to follow other vehicles up. The more the merrier and the bigger the better! This forces the oncoming traffic to give way. Don't drive down the road to Kotor in the morning as we saw several tour buses coming up. Usually the buses expect, and insist, that smaller vehicles give way. Trees often block the views, but drivers should be concentrating on the road anyway! There are not many viewpoints where you can stop so take advantage if you see one. The views of Kotor Bay are fantastic. 3. Lovcen National Park We were relieved when we reached the top of the Kotor Serpentine road. Shortly afterwards we turned onto an excellent new road through Lovcen National Park. We were immediately stopped by a man on the side of the road who was collecting a toll fee of Eur 6. He did give us a receipt so it must have been legitimate. It was a scenic drive through Lovcen National Park. On the eastern side of the park the not so new road steeply descended down to Cetinje. There was very little traffic. Apparently there are a few hiking trails, but we didn't see any trail signs nor did we see any one hiking. It would be quite easy to park the car and hike in the open countryside. Most people seem to just drive through Lovcen National Park or visit Njegos Mausoleum. 4. Njegos Mausoleum We went here as it was highly recommended on the Tripadvisor forum. Also the Bradt guide book says "it's as glorious as anything Montenegro has to offer". Unfortunately I can't confirm this as we were put off by the Eur 8 entrance fee. It was a hazy day and the views wouldn't have been great. I didn't think it would be worth shelling out Eur 16 for the two of us. Since our visit I have looked at photos of the mausoleum on several websites and believe we made the right decision. The mausoleum itself isn't that special in my opinion. The setting is special, but you need a clear day to appreciate the views and justify the entrance fee. The view of the Bay of Kotor is no better than from the Kotor Sepentine Road or from the top of the fortress wall at Kotor. The road up to the Mausoleum was fine and ended at a turning circle at the steps to the Mausoleum's entrance. You then park on the side of the road (see the photo). The Bradt guide book says "good luck in finding a space" but we didn't have a problem. You can get good views of Lovcen National Park by just climbing the steps to the Mausoleum's entrance. It is worth the drive up to appreciate these views The adriacom website provides some historical information and photos of the mausoleum and the views. You can see from their hazy photo of the Kotor Bay that it probably isn't worth paying to enter if the weather isn't good. 5. Lipa Cave Lipa Cave is about 6 kms south west of Cetinje. The final 3 kilometres is along a narrow dirt road which is in reasonable condition. There is a large paved car park at Lipa Cave with a restaurant and toilets. There are 5 tours each day from 10.00 to 16.00 and they last 1 hour. It costs Eur 13.90 for an adult. They do advise on their website that you should arrive 30 minutes before the tour starts. I am sure you can arrive a bit later as long as they have space on their land train. Our train was almost full when we visited in late June, so don't arrive late in peak season. The cave is cold so don't wear shorts and a T shirt unless you are a very hardy soul. We changed into jeans and wore a jacket. The tours of Lipa Cave have very good reviews on Tripadvisor. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The guide was excellent and Lipa Cave was very spectacular. 6. Links to My Other Montenegro Travel Blogs Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide Day Trip to Perast & Herceg Novi Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10

I did the Langtang trek in late November 2023 and my blog provides information that will assist you in planning your trek. My blogs Day Hikes on the Langtang Trek and Langtang Trek - Trip Report will also help with the planning. Contents When to do the Langtang Trek Getting to Syabrubesi Itinerary for the Langtang trek Costs, Permits & Guides Hiking Times for the Langtang Trek Information on the Tea Houses for the Langtang Trek Pairo's Tea Houses Bamboo's Tea Houses Rimche's Tea Houses Lama Hotel's Tea Houses Riverside's Tea House Chhunama's Tea House Ghoratabela's Tea Houses Thyangsyap's Tea Houses Gumba Danda's Tea Houses Langtang Village's Tea Houses Mundu's Tea Houses Sindum's Tea House Kyanjim Gumba's Hotels Sherpagaon's Tea Houses Bhanjyang's Tea House Other Langtang, Gosainkunda & Helambu Trek Blogs 1. When to do the LangtangTrek The main 2 considerations for when to do the Langtang trek are the weather and the number of trekkers: 1.1 Weather The best months to do the Langtang trek are: March to early June Early October to mid December The monsoon season is from around 10 June to early October. The views would be restricted and there would be leeches during the monsoon. Click here to see the historic data for the start and finish dates for the monsoon (section 6 of the blog). The winter period from mid December to early March would be cold and there is a greater risk of snow. 1.2 Number of Trekkers on the Langtang Trek The Langtang trek is not a circuit, differing from many of the other Nepali treks which are circular. The same trail is used for ascent and descent so you pass trekkers coming from the other direction. Each person trekking on the Langtang trek has double the impact compared to treks like the Annapurna circuit. Nepal Tourism publishes annual statistics of the number of foreign trekkers on the main treks. These statistics show that October and early November is the busiest period and April is the second busiest period. These statistics only provide a partial picture as they exclude Nepali trekkers. The Langtang trek is very popular with Nepali trekkers so they have a major impact on how busy the trail can get. I believe that the holiday period during the festivals of Dashain and Diwali (Tihar) would be the busiest period for Nepalese trekkers. The dates of these festivals are based on the lunar calendar and take place in October and November. In 2024 Dashain is from October 3rd to 16th and Diwali (Tihar) is from October 21st to November 2nd. The Nepalese often seem to take a holiday after Tihar and there will still be many Nepali trekkers on the trail 7 to 10 days after the end of Tihar. 1.3 Conclusion The trail for the Langtang trek would be very busy in April. March would be much quieter, but colder, and there is more risk of snow on the ground. May and early June would be quieter and it would be warmer. However, there is a risk of some pre-monsoon rain. In autumn the best weather is from late October to mid December. However, the trail is very busy from early October to mid November. The best time to do the Langtang trek in the autumn is probably from about 10 days after the end of Diwali (Tihar) to mid December. 2. Getting to Syabrubesi The Langtang trek starts in Syabrubesi and you can get there by bus, shared jeep or private jeep. It would probably take 8 to 9 hours by bus or shared jeep. Enjoy Nepal Treks arranged a private jeep for me and it cost $180. I left Kathmandu at 05.00 and the early start meant that I avoided the awful traffic congestion in the Kathmandu valley. The journey took 5.5 hours and I had enough time to hike onto Sherpagaon in daylight. I had read blogs stating the road to Syabrubesi was scary but it didn't seem bad to me. 3. Itinerary for the Langtang Trek 3.1 The Ascent for Acclimatised Trekkers If you are already acclimatised you can easily hike from Syabrubesi to Kyanjin Gompa in 3 days. If you are in a rush, and are fit, you could even do it in 2 days. Day 1 - Travel from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi (5.5 hours to 9 hours depending on the means of transport). Then either hike 5.5 hours along the upper trail to Sherpagaon (2,563 metres) or take the lower trail to Lama Hotel (2,480 metres). Day 2 - Hike 5.5 hours to the village of Mundu (3,543 metres) which has 2 good guest houses. Day 3 - Hike 1.5 hours from Mundu to Kyanjin Gompa (3,830 metres). Do a day hike after finding a hotel. See my blog on Day Hikes on the Langtang Trek. 3.2 The Ascent for Unacclimatised Trekkers If you aren't acclimatised you should take an extra day to trek to Kyanjin Gompa. Ideally your extra night should be at Ghoratabela (3,030 metres) or Thangsyap (3,140 metres). They are at a good altitude for acclimatisation and the tea houses are of a reasonable standard. 3.3 The Descent Trekkers continuing to Gosainkunda - It is about an 8 hour hike from Kyanjin Gompa to Pairo. Pairo is the last settlement on the Langtang trek before the turn off to the southerly trail to Gosainkunda is reached. Most trekkers stop earlier at Lama Hotel or Bamboo. See my blogs on the Gosainkunda and Helambu trek. Hiking back to Syabrubesi on the Lower Trail - It would be possible to hike back in one long and tiring day. It would have taken me about 10 hours but someone younger and fitter could do it faster. Most trekkers don't do it in 1 day and spend 1 night somewhere along the trail for the Langtang trek. Hiking back to Syabrubesi on the Upper Trail - If you didn't hike the upper trail on the way up it is worth doing so on the way down. The trail is more scenic and you can spend the night in good accommodation in the pleasant village of Sherpagaon. The hike from Kyanjin Gompa to Sherpagaon would take about 7.5 hours. 4. Costs, Permits & Guides 4.1 Guides In April 2023 the Nepal Tourism Office tried to make it mandatory for all trekkers to have a guide for the Langtang trek and most other trekking areas. They didn't succeed and when I trekked in November 2023 the majority of foreigners were trekking without guides. I had done the Kanchenjunga trek just before starting the Langtang trek and had used Enjoy Nepal Treks to organise the trek. I retained the same porter/guide for the Langtang trek and the cost was $25 a day. I could have done the trek by myself but some of the day hikes were safer done with a guide. Also I continued on to Gosainkunda and wouldn't have wanted to go up Surya Peak (5,150 metres) by myself. The terrain was very rough and there were no other people there. 4.2 Permits for the Langtang Trek A permit has to be purchased for entering the Langtang National Park. It costs R3,000 ($23) and is normally payable at Dhunche which is on the way to Syabrubesi. The office was closed when I got there and I continued on to Syabrubesi. I bought the permit the next day at the Langtang Park office in Ghoratabela. 4.3 Cost of the Langtang Trek I was on the Langtang trek for 7 nights and spent on average R600 ($4.60) per day on rooms and R1,800 ($14) per day on food. I spent a total of R1,800 ($14) on wifi and quite a bit more on hot drinks. I also treated myself to cake in Kyanjin Gompa. The cost of rooms on the Langtang trek would probably be higher in peak season. I used a Steripen to sterilise water so I didn't incur any expense for drinking water. 5. Hiking Times for the Langtang Trek The purpose of these times is to give an idea, when planning your Langtang trek, of how long the sections are. I was acclimatised and wasn't carrying my own pack, but I wasn't walking particularly fast. These times exclude stops for meals and hot drinks. 6. Information on the Tea Houses for the Langtang Trek 6.1 Quality of Tea Houses on the Langtang Trek The tea houses on the first section of the lower route between Syabrubesi and Ghoratabela are old, basic and uncomfortable! The tea houses from Ghoratabela improve and from Langtang to Kyanjin Gompa the accommodation is good. Many rooms have attached bathrooms. The upper route for the first section of the Langtang trek has some excellent accommodation at Sherpagaon. Most trekkers don't use this route on the way up as there is a 1,050 metre ascent. I did go up this route and it was tiring! Some trekkers descend on this upper route but you can't do so if you are continuing onto Gosainkunda. 6.2 Other Guests at the Tea Houses When trekking I try to stay at tea houses that have few other guests and certainly no groups. On most treks you know that no other trekkers will arrive after dusk. Unfortunately this isn't the case with the Langtang trek. A lot of Nepalese do the Langtang trek and they usually do it very quickly. That often entails hiking in the dark with head torches. It isn't at all unusual to have a nice quiet tea house at dusk only to have a group of trekkers arrive as late as 21.00. 6.3 Cost of Tea House Accommodation on the Langtang Trek In the off season I had good rooms with attached bathrooms for R500 ($4) a night at Sherpagaon and Kyanjin Gompa. I was charged R1,000 $7.70) for a room with an attached toilet at Gumba Danda and that was too much. A very basic room at Pairo cost R700 ($5.40). I always determined the price beforehand as the list prices were higher. I never bargained and later met a trekker who had negotiated free rooms at all but 1 place on the Langtang and Gosainkunda trek. He wasn't Israeli! 6.4 Food at the Tea Houses I always ate the local rice and noodle dishes so I can't comment on the western food served at the tea houses. Western food is available along the entire Langtang trek, even at the basic tea houses on the first section of the trek. Dal bhat cost between R650 ($5) and R900 ($7). Black tea cost between R80 ($0.6) and R150 ($1.2). The cost of food increased with the altitude. 6.5 Internet, Electricity and Showers at the Tea Houses I couldn't obtain internet through Nepal Telecoms. I paid for internet at Sherpagaon, Gumba, Mundu and Kyanjin Gompa. The cost was between R300 ($2.30) and R500 ($3). At Kyanjin Gompa the R500 fee covered the 3 nights I stayed there. There wasn't any internet at Pairo. There was solar power at all the tea houses. The tea houses on the first section of the Langtang trek are in a wooded valley and don't receive much sun. I therefore couldn't charge my phone at Pairo. There was free charging at Sherpagaon, Gumba Danda, Mundu and Kyanjin Gompa. I had free hot showers at Kyanjin Gompa and it is likely that there would be hot showers at Sherpagaon, Langtang Village and Mundu. 7. Pairo's Tea Houses There are 2 basic tea houses in Pairo and I stayed at the Namaste Guest House. I had the tea house to myself until 5 Nepali trekkers arrived in the dark. Luckily they were very quiet and I had a good night's sleep. The lady running the tea house was a bit strange. The quality of the tea houses in Pairo is poor, like all the tea houses between Syabrubesi and Ghoratabela. There was no internet or charging of electrical devices. 8. Bamboo's Tea Houses There is at least one basic tea house in Bamboo. 9. Rimche's Tea Houses There is one basic and not very nice tea house in Rimche. 10. Lama Hotel's Tea Houses Lama Hotel is the name of the village and it has more accommodation than any other village on the first section of the Langtang trek. There are several basic tea houses. 11. River Side's Tea House The River Side Hotel is the only tea house at River Side. I had lunch there and the food was good. The tea house is basic and run down like the other tea houses on the first section of the Langtang trek. 12. Chhunama's Tea Houses Chhunama is only 10 minutes from River Side. The tea house here is a bit better than the one at Riverside but still basic! 13. Ghoratabela's Tea Houses There are 2 reasonable tea houses at Ghoratabela, the best so far when walking up on the main trail of the Langtang trek. 14. Thyangsyap's Tea Houses There are about 4 reasonable tea houses at Thyangsyap. 15. Gumba Danda's Tea Houses There are several tea houses at Gumba Danda which is at an altitude of 3,400 metres. I stayed at the Langtang View Guest House as it had been recommended by other trekkers. It is the last tea house in the village when ascending. They have rooms in the main building and also 3 rooms in an annex which have attached toilets. I paid R1,000 ($8) for a room with an attached toilet. It seemed a reasonable price at the time but it turned out to be the most expensive room of the trek. They have 2 good dining rooms. The one in the photo below isn't heated but it is nice during the day as it is spacious and bright. The other dining room is in the main building and it was very warm in the evening. When I stayed everything was great until dark. Four Nepali trekkers arrived and were very noisy. My guide said they had been drinking. I decided to move into the unheated dining room but found that it was occupied by a large group of trekkers. They were having dinner before continuing on to Langtang Village. I therefore sat in the kitchen instead. I was going to stay here on the way back from Kyanjin Gompa thinking I couldn't be so unlucky twice. However, the owner of the hotel at Kyanjin Gompa warned me that many Nepali trekkers stay at Gumba Danda and they were often noisy. 16. Langtang Village's Tea Houses Langtang Village was destroyed by a landslide that was triggered by the 2015 earthquake. A new village has been built on a nearby site that should be out of the path of future landslides. There is a lot of accommodation at Langtang Village and many of the buildings are hotels rather than tea houses. It is likely to be a busy place and popular with groups. 17. Mundu's Guest Houses There are 2 good guest houses at Mundu. I stayed at the Golden Holiday's Guest House and paid R500 ($4) for a really good corner room with an attached bathroom. As is often the case in Nepal the bathroom didn't have a sink. The guest house was very clean and quiet. There was a comfortable dining room and I paid R500 ($4) to use the internet. The other guest house in Mundu is called the Tip Top. It also looked good. My feeling is that Mundu is a nicer and quieter place to stay than either Langtang Village or Gumba Danda. 18. Sindum's Tea House My guide said that the Me Very Happy Guest House in Sindum was very good when he last stayed there. Unfortunately it was closed in late November when I was trekking. It did look nice and as it is a single storey building you wouldn't have people stomping above your room. 19. Kyanjin Gompa's Hotels & Tea Houses I haven't seen a village like Kyanjin Gompa on any other trek in Nepal. It mainly consists of 4 to 5 storey hotels that look incongruous in the mountain setting. It isn't picturesque but there is plenty of good accommodation at very reasonable prices. I stayed at the Buddha Inn and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the nicest hotel in Kyanjin Gompa. I had a room with an attached bathroom for R500 ($4). The bathroom was clean and had a hot solar shower and a hand basin. The disadvantage of the hotel is that it is popular with groups. I wouldn't want to stay there in peak season. Some of the other hotels worth considering are: Hotel Super View Hotel View Point Mountain View Guest House & Lodge There is a popular cheesery in Kyanjin Gompa but it didn't look very hygenic. There are also several bakeries. The most well known one is Dorje Bakery but I was disappointed by the quality of the cakes. 20. Sherpagaon's Tea Houses Sherpagaon is on the upper trail and is a very pleasant village with good views. It is worth taking the upper trail just to stay in good accommodation there rather than the poor quality tea houses on the first section of the lower main trail. There are several tea houses in Sherpagaon and the best one seemed to be the Namaste Guest House. It is at the end of the village when trekking to Kyanjin Gompa. I had a large room with a large attached bathroom. The bathroom wasn't particularly clean but this is probably typical for this type of hotel. I paid R500 ($4) although the list price was R1,500 ($12). The food was good, the owners were friendly and there was wifi for a cost of R300 ($2.20). 21. Bhanjyang's Tea House Bhanjyang is the first village on the upper trail of the Langtang trek from Syrabrubesi to Sherpagaon. It is a steep 2.5 hour walk from Syrabrubesi. The Hotel Mountain View would be a good option if you don't have the time to hike to Sherpagaon on the day you travel from Kathmandu. It looks better than the tea houses on the first section of the lower trail but not as good as the accommodation in Sherpagaon. 22. Other Langtang, Gosainkunda & Helambu Trek Blogs Day Hikes on the Langtang Trek Langtang Trek - Trip Report Planning the Gosainkunda & Helambu Trek Gosainkunda & Helambu Trip Report

Contents Introduction Corinth Canal Acrocorinth Ancient Corinth Links to My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction We visited Corinth while we were staying at nearby Nafplio. We opted not to stay in Corinth as it isn't a particularly attractive city. It is definitely worth a visit to see the spectacular Corinth canal, the fortress of Acrocorinth and ancient Corinth. It takes about 4 to 5 hours to see these 3 sights. 2. Corinth Canal The 6 kilometre long Corinth canal was opened in 1893. It provides a short cut for vessels sailing between the Aegean and Ionian seas. Corinth canal is a spectacular sight. Unfortunately you rarely see ships sailing on it nowadays as it isn't wide enough for most commercial vessels. The best view of Corinth Canal is from the bridge at the northern end of the isthmus. Enter"Díolkos" on Google maps to locate it. There is free parking on the eastern side of the bridge where there are several restaurants. There is a path on both sides of the bridge for viewing Corinth canal. 3. Acrocorinth 3.1. About Acrocorinth Acrocorinth is the ancient acropolis of Corinth and dates back to the 7th century BC. The Romans destroyed Acrocorinth in 146 BC and then rebuilt it in 44 BC. Fortifications and buildings were erected and added to over the centuries by the Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Franks, Venetians and Turks. Acrocorinth is a massive site on top of the mountain and still largely encircled by 2 kilometres of defensive walls. Acrocorinth is definitely worth visiting to see the fortifications, historic buildings and the views. 3.2. How to get to Acrocorinth Acrocorinth is a 15 minute drive from modern Corinth and the final 5 minutes is up a steep paved road. There is a free car park at the top. From there it is a 5 minute walk on some slippery stones to the entrance gate in the fortifications. 3.3. Opening Times & Entrance Fee for Acrocorinth Acrocorinth is open from 08.30 to 15.30 each day. Surprisingly it is free to enter. I cannot see this large site getting crowded even in peak season. The slippery stones and the walk up the hill means that there will be very few tour groups. 3.4. What to See at Acrocorinth We spent an hour and 45 minutes exploring Acrocorinth's large site. The rocky paths, particularly from the car park to the entrance, can be very slippery. Wear good footwear and be careful. If it is raining it would be advisable to postpone your visit. There is very little shade. The main things to see are: Acrocorinth's Fortifications The double wall fortifications are the most impressive feature of Acrocorinth. You get a good view of them from the Frankish Tower at the top of the mountain. Also if you turn right after the entrance gate you can walk on a section of the walls. When looking back the walls are very impressive. The Chapel of St Dimitrios This small chapel was built in the 17th century and it is free to enter. Acrocorinth Mosque or Sultan Ahmed III Mosque This mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmed III after the Ottoman reconquest of 1715. You cannot enter the mosque but you can look into the interior. The Southwestern (Frankish) Tower The exact date of its construction isn't known but it was during the Frankish occupation of Greece in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Frankish tower was restored in 2014. It is possible to enter the Frankish Tower and climb up. You cannot get onto the roof nor see any views. There are good views from the area outside the Frankish Tower. 4. Ancient Corinth 4.1. About Ancient Corinth Ancient Corinth is a 10 minute drive from modern Corinth and is below the Acrocorinth. Corinth was raised to the ground by the Romans in 146 BC and then rebuilt in 44 BC. It was a large city and became the capital of Greece in the Roman era. The city declined after it was plundered in 1147. It is a massive archaeological site but is mostly overgrown ruins. It is still very impressive and worth a visit to see the Temple of Apollo, Fountain of Peirene, the main street (Lechaion Way) and the museum. 4.2. Opening Hours and Entrance Fee Both the site and the museum for ancient Corinth open at 08.00 and in the peak season close at 20.00. It closes slightly earlier at other times. See the odysseus.culture website for details There is an entrance fee of Eur 8 and this covers both the site and the museum for ancient Corinth. 4.3. Parking and Toilets There is free parking and toilets are outside the museum. 4.4. What to See You can spend 1 to 2 hours at Ancient Corinth. There is an interesting museum. The other main sites to see are: 4.5. The Temple of Apollo This impressive temple was built in the 5th century BC and has 7 Doric columns. 4.6. The Main Road (Lechaion Way) This was the main north-south artery of the Roman city. It linked Corinth with the harbor of Lechaion on the Corinthian gulf 3 kilometers to the north. 4.7. Peirene Fountain This beautiful building was constructed by the Romans. It had been a simple spring for many centuries before that. The Romans added a grandiose façade, a great court, and an open-air basin holding 81,000 gallons of water. The Fountain of Peirene was the city’s most important water supply. 5. Links to My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8