croatia
The jagged strip of land stretching from the Gulf of Trieste to Dubrovnik, and further south past the coast of modern-day Montenegro, presents one of the most splendid scenes in the Mediterranean. As thousands of islands confuse the coastline, the towns hide some of the finest buildings the Venetians ever built and its inland areas shelter a Europe unchanged since the Ancient Greeks first came along. Prepare to get in deep and up close with spectacular coastal roads, turquoise waters and endless islands.