I was bummed that I couldn't go to Greece this year, but Montenegro and Croatia have been the next best thing. Montenegro's the next Croatia – the same type of cuisine, history and scenery, but without the, prices, notoriety and crowds (though they're starting to catch up). It's a newly independent country, as of 2006, so right now is an interesting time to be there. Budva is the country's resort town, with pebble beaches and a reconstructed old town (the original was leveled by an earthquake in 1979). Nearby is Kotor, another walled old town.

It's apparent as soon as you cross over into Montenegro from Bosnia that the influence in the food is more Mediterranean than Balkan – olives, smoked ham, pizza, pasta, risotto, seafood. My food choices were more limited in Serbia and Bosnia because I'm not much of a meat-eater (apparently I haven't been to Sarajevo yet because I didn't eat a cevapcici – a pita with minced lamb meat). I've eaten pretty well here though. Italian is one of my favorite cuisines, and I've had some great pizza, risotto and pastas. I'm even enjoying the local smoked ham, even though I usually don't eat ham.

As much as I liked Dubrovnik, dealing with the tourist crowds was a bit overwhelming, as well as restaurant hosts that try to lure you in. That was especially true on Saturday, when some cruise ships were in town. I was almost ready to turn around and leave. A walk atop the old town walls was nice, probably my favorite activity in the old town. But I was probably at least 5 years too late visiting this place. For a more tranquil experience, head up to the Lapad peninsula. There I felt like I was walking among the locals rather than other tourists.

Overall, the Dalmatian Coast ranks pretty high among all the places I've been. The Adriatic is a beautiful shade of blue/green – definitely a big step up from the grey Baltic I saw earlier in the trip. I even bought a small bottle of the water in Korcula. Hvar, the trendiest of the islands, was definitely a highlight. Never mind the fact that I couldn't stay at the resort with the waterfall – the Green Lizard Hostel rocked, especially my roommates! I wish I'd stayed longer.

I wasn't sure I'd enjoy Split, the second largest city in Croatia and a major port. Like most of the towns on the coast, you can pretty much see it all in just a few hours. It's pretty touristy, but I can feel more of a local vibe here that I couldn't feel in Dubrovnik, at least not in the old town area. The guy who manages my hostel, Al, is a British ex-pat who was attracted to this town for its energy, which he didn't find anywhere else.

Now I'm in Zagreb, and then I'm headed for Slovenia. I can't believe it's all over in just over a week. I feel like I've been traveling for months, and in a way I feel like this trip has been more mentally and physically draining on me than previous trips, probably because I've been moving every few days, rather than staying put somewhere for about a week. In fact, Croatia is the only country in which I'm spending more than a week. It's a great place, but not as cheap as I would have hoped.