Lovely friendly country full of history including the devastating Balkans War of the 1990s, which still weighs heavily on the local population and is the subject of several museums and exhibitions. Lots of tourism, especially in the old town of Dubrovnik, and consequently food and hotels are not bargain-basement priced, although not ridiculously costly. Very hot when we were there, but plenty of great watering holes to keep us hydrated! Food was good and restaurants, mainly in the open air, were very friendly. Korcula is a beautiful island, and we particularly enjoyed the winery tour by open-top minibus that let us enjoy lots of local produce (not just wine!) We travelled to and from the island by catamaran ferries – very pleasant. Well worth a visit, but choose your time of year carefully if you don’t like 33 degree temperatures.

North Portugal in May was sunny and mild but breezy. Porto is an interesting city and 3 days are easily filled looking around and sampling the local produce. Viana is a smaller town within easy striking distance of the Spanish border (20 minutes by train), with enough to see and do to occupy another three days.