Dear Wanda,

I have been meaning to send you a brief note about our trip and the services that you planned for us this summer.

First of all, we loved all of the hotels – great locations and service, especially the hotel in Dubrovnik which was fantastic!!

Our guide Dukan in Montenegro was excellent.

Our guide Elena in Dubrovnik and our driver Mato were excellent.  We thoroughly enjoyed the day in Konavale including the wonderful hospitality of the family at Kameni Dvori and meeting Antonia at her studio and learning about the silkworms.

The day cruise to the Elaphiti islands was wonderful –  the yacht, captain and crew, equipment and service were excellent – they were great hosts and we especially appreciated the private music and attention to detail.  Lunch at Marcos was very special and delicious.  All in all a comfortable and beautiful day. 

We enjoyed our drive through the Peljesac Peninsula, the stop for oysters and mussels in Ston, and the visit to Grgic Vina which was very pleasant.

Restaurants Orsan, Nautika, Lesic Dimitri and Dvor were great.  We did NOT enjoy restaurant 360 in Dubrovnik – the service was inferior as was the food, and we were very disappointed in this venue – a real tourist trap.

The only other disappointment was the private yacht cruise from Korcula to Split – the yacht was not very comfortable at all, they had poor equipment (only one snorkel with a child-size mask and some floaties – really inferior), the fruit salad was not good, and the snorkel stops were not very good either.  We did not feel that the captain and crew were very engaging  (they were quite a contrast to the great crew on our Elaphiti cruise).   The lunch stop was great though. 

Our guide in Split – Harry – was wonderful and we really enjoyed our tour of Diocletian’s palace and the substructures with him. 

We also enjoyed our trip to Krka Falls very much.

We would like to thank you for providing us with our Croatian concierge Iva as she was very helpful both before the trip and while we were in Croatia.  It was nice to know that we had someone we could call for help at any time, and Iva was very gracious at all times.

We loved our time in Croatia and would definitely go back!   Thank you for helping us to plan and organize our trip so well!

Best regards,

Pam Doray & Fred Merz – Philadelphia, PA
June 2017

The following was written to Conde Nast Traveler, as a review of our services;

Dear Christine,

I apologize for a rushed review on Wanda but as I mentioned in my earlier email we are leaving for Hong Kong in a few hours and I still have much to do before I leave.

To give you some background on me –so that you know I have some credibility with my feedback – my husband, Roy, and I have traveled to over 110 countries and our daughters around 80. I have used travel agents in the past to help with our many trips and at least 8 of them were on your Top Travel Specialists list. I have just returned from a stay at the 5 Amans in Indonesia and am presently planning a family trip to Namibia in December. As it is our 30th anniversary year Roy and I are indulging ourselves with at least one international trip a month – mainly to revisit places we went on our 3-month honeymoon back in 1987. In fact, we only decided last week to go to Hong Kong when I found a cheap flight on Scott’s Cheap Tickets.) So, you see we love to travel and explore and have a good idea of what constitutes a successful trip for us.

Last year I had planned and paid for a trip to Ethiopia over the Christmas Holidays. However, the declared State of Emergency in Ethiopia made us postpone the trip to another time and look for somewhere else for Christmas (we typically surprise the kids with a trip presented to them on Christmas morning for departure that day or Boxing Day; we pack up a gift under the tree which is their clue for them to guess the destination. A fun tradition which sadly we have had to curtail the last couple of years now we they have to juggle time off work).

It was tough finding a substitute for Ethiopia very last minute that was as exciting a destination. In the end, my daughters looked up best spots to spend New Year’s Eve that were a little off the beaten path and came up with Dubrovnik- so we rented a place in the old city. However, it soon became clear that there might not be much to do in winter in Croatia, typically a summer destination, as it was cold and lots of places were closed for the season. Therefore, I needed to get help on filling up time from someone who knew the country and could suggest some unique activities.

I found Wanda on several top list, including Conde Nast’s and gave her a quick call expecting not to get hold of her in the office or to get a response of “it’s too late at this stage to organize anything”. Instead, I ended up talking to a lovely, warm lady who engaged me at every level. She listened to everything I said I needed to make a trip successful, she asked me lots of questions to get a detailed understanding of how my family functions and she then told me about herself and her love of Croatia and why it would make a great NYE destination, as long as I was aware that it would not be the typical holiday spot for most tourists and had some limitations –which she thought she could get around by substituting other interesting options.

I mentioned to Wanda that we had an interest in seeing as many countries as possible in that part of the world and she said no problem and that if we were interested in history and culture then Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro were perfect destinations and she could set up day trips from Dubrovnik. Plus, she suggested we threw in a night on the beautiful island of Korcula which we would be sure to have almost to ourselves. Wanda then set to work and over the next couple of days sent me lots of information and options to have a look at and choose. I loved her interest in my family, her determination to make sure the trip was tailored to our specific interests and most of all her infectious love and enthusiasm for her country. She was available at any time of the day to answer my questions, got responses from people on the ground very quickly and was able to suggest luxury experiences when I asked for them and or cut back on items I did not think worth spending money on. Altogether, what could have been a stressful trip to organize turned into an enjoyable one with Wanda’s charm and warmth giving me confidence that it would be a success.

In the end, we had a great trip but there is no doubt in my mind that if I had not had Wanda set it up we would have been wandering around an empty city wondering where all the action was and how to access it.
Furthermore, everyone we came into contact with on the tour, whether guide or driver, had a genuine respect and admiration for Wanda and took pride in the fact that she had selected them to represent her as they had personally been interviewed by Wanda. We distinctly had the impression that they took special care in looking after us because of their relationship with Wanda. It was impressive how they all knew her and spoke so highly of her.

Some aspects of the trip to point out. Please excuse the bullet point style:
• The guides and drivers were of the highest caliber. Everyone was a specialist in their area and spoke English well and paid great attention to making sure we were happy with what they were doing. We particularly grew fond of our driver, Marko, and ended up asking him to drive us to Albania last minute. He took it in his stride even though he had had never been there and attempted to drive us to Albania on the day that the coast line had it worst snowstorm in years. We were that confident in his driving that we were prepared to risk the cliff side roads. However, the conditions became so bad that we had to abort our trip. In the end, he took us to a very lovely mill restaurant in Montenegro where we spent hours enjoying the warmth of an old historic building with superb food while the storm raged outside. It was wonderful!
• Wanda has her contacts in Dubrovnik that represent her while we were in the country. They did an excellent job of contacting us, keeping up with our itinerary and dealing with any questions we had about the itinerary. This was a very helpful addition to Wanda. Furthermore, if I had a question or a guide sensed we were not happy about something, within minutes we would get a call from Wanda or her rep asking if they could help. This too was impressive- especially since we are talking about the holiday period when most of them would normally have been off work during the low season. We definitely felt that Wanda was managing the operations from across the waters and keeping a close eye on us. However, she is so conscientious and detail orientated that nothing went wrong.
• New Year’s Eve in Dubrovnik was a huge surprise; one moment the old city was empty then the next it was full of glamorous, people dressed to the nines and crowding the streets until late into the morning. A huge stage had been assembled in the main street and hundreds of locals turned out to enjoy the free music, the spectacular fireworks and the other celebrations. The city came alive and it was fascinating to watch the crowd sing along to popular songs in Croatian and give any stranger a hug. There was hardly a tourist in sight. Wanda made it even more special for us by booking us a prime seat at the nearby Pucic Palace Hotel where we had the table all evening long so could join the crowds in the streets in between courses and drinks. Wanda also, had told us to go to a Christmas music concert in a Franciscan Church which turned out to be very moving with the locals singing traditional Christmas hymns. We would not have had this experience if Wanda had not told us to go. On NYE day itself, the main streets were still alive with people as the city offered free champagne and oysters (yes – FREE champagne and oysters) to all the crowd while listening to the Symphony play. It was a wonderful way to spend the day, especially as the sun came out and the place was sparkling.
• Both the trip that Wanda organized to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro were a success and it was great to have everything taken care of and running smoothly, like all the formalities of the border crossings, the guides ready on arrival and the comfortable transportation. Our guides were very informative and the historical education side of the trip was one of the best aspects of the trip. We found that though the history is so recent we were unfamiliar with most of the details, therefore we spent a couple of evenings in our rental place (overlooking the Cathedral) watching the excellent 10 hour BBC Documentary on “The Fall of Yugoslavia”.
• Our trip to Korcula would have been a disaster if it wasn’t for Wanda. The stunning little gem of an island was closed up and it was drizzling and grey. However, Lea, our guide was extraordinary. She is from Korcula and pulled out all the stops to ensure we were happy with our visit: she organized the museum and church to be opened up for the day just for us and had people of consequence meet us to explain some of the history of the time. She took us up into the mountains for the most incredible meal at a picturesque, tiny restaurant which was closed for the season but she had the chef and his brother open it up and roast the meat for 8 hours just to ensure that we had the best food on offer on the island. She even had them open up the last bottle of their best wine. We were most impressed.
• Wanda suggested that we spend the day in Konvale at a traditional NY festival when small shop owners open up to the public for a day to let visitors have a taste of their products. We visited a small museum of local artefacts which showed a farmer’s lifestyle, sampled homemade spirits and liqueurs, and had the traditional green soup only made at this time of the year. It was a heartwarming day as we interacted with a lot of the locals and everyone was genuinely welcoming – and surprised to see us turn up. It was another totally unexpected and unique experience that we would never have known to do if Wanda hadn’t set it up.

I know there are things I have missed saying that would continue to emphasize what a great job Wanda did for us – but unfortunately, I am out of time. So, I hope that the above will suffice. Bottom line, I loved working with Wanda. She is the kind of person I would enjoy having dinner with or as a friend and it was easy to leave it up to her to organize the trip. I highly recommend her to anyone thinking about traveling to this part of the world.

Let me know if you need anything else from me. I have lots of photos. Also, feel free to use and edit any of my comments.

Best of luck in getting the list finalized.

Photos by Dubravko Lenert

Hello Wanda,

You did indeed succeed in giving our family a lovely experience in Croatia!  As I’ve mentioned it was our first all family trip and both the Villa Lorena and Novigrad were perfect for our needs.  The house was lovely, of course, spacious, right on the Adriatic so that with the sliding doors open we could always hear the water and feel the wonderful ocean breezes.  We all appreciated being able to walk (and some of the group took long distance runs) through the town and along the water.  We all loved Istria- not many tourists, so many hilltop towns, Roman ruins, opportunities for wine and olive oil tastings.  As I told Iva, the two highlights were the places most unknown to us – our day in Slovenia and Plitvice National Park.  Slovenia touched all our hearts and we would all like to make a return visit- and Plitvice was just the prettiest National Park we’ve ever seen! 

The logistics of our group of eight worked well- car logistics were smooth, despite the initial very unsettling interactions with the folks who delivered the car.  Iva was always available to us to make or tweak reservations and to help us deal with a problem that came up in the house (the broken washer).

And you were absolutely right about staying at the Esplanade Hotel- besides being a lovely hotel with an interesting past, it was in a great location with very helpful staff.

Our only suggestion would be that if you have others going to the incredible Damir and Ornella restaurant in Novigrad to warn them about the price.  The food and experience were fabulous, but the price was a big surprise.  It would just be nice to know ahead of time.

Thank you so much for all the back and forth correspondence as we worked out the details of the trip.  We were able to give the whole family an adventure they will always remember!

All the best,

Christine Kasman – San Anselmo, CA
June 14, 2016

Dear Wanda,

Overall was a great journey filled with deep culture, lots of great history, incredible sites and excellent guidance. You truly listened what we wanted to experience and your handpicked guides quickly became our friends and connection to the local flavors.

Cedo was a gem and made us feel as if he always was looking out for our best interests from the time he picked us up from the airport until the time he returned us to Venice.

Sandra provided us with great energy and an unbelievable amount of history.

The Istria peninsula was beautiful and so diverse.

I would like to have spent a couple of days in Rovinj.

“Harry”, the guide in Zagreb, gave us a lot in two hours. We felt like we were spending time with a friend.

Mira made us feel like we went behind the scenes of Dubrovnik.

The day in Montenegro was excellent. The driver was excellent and very professional.

Guide in Spit was informative but in a rush to see his grandmother.

Villa Eugenia was excellent! The front desk could not have been nicer. In fact, I believe for the first three nights we were the only ones staying at the hotel.

Regent Esplanade – beautiful hotel, great location but front desk had a major attitude problem. Pucic Palace – great spot, small room but the stuff was very helpful and upbeat.

Hotel Ambasador – very helpful, too large, but served its purpose for last day in Croatia.

Hilton – beautiful property, fairly helpful, overpriced for what it is, but it was nice to stay out of Venice proper. The rooftop pool was a nice place to wind down after all the traveling.

Croatia has so much to offer…it would have been nice to spend more time wine tasting, maybe two nights on the Peljesac Peninsula.

Thank you again for planning our trip and providing us with such a personalized experience.

Regards,

Richard Magid, President [Sound Board Consulting Group] – Boonton Township, NJ
July 13, 2008

Dear Wanda,

We had a wonderful time on our trip and I’m happy to thank you.

Our accommodations were all great, the children enjoyed everything and it was a great combination of touring and relaxing at the end on the beautiful beach in Rovinj and exploring Istria at our own pace. It was a wonderful family experience.

My best memory is of my father and the children splashing each other in the Adriatic while I watched from my comfortable lounge chair on the beach.

The only thing that was missing from our trip was music. Zoe and I so enjoyed hearing traditional Croatian music being played at the restaurant of the hotel in Dubrovnik, but nowhere else did we hear much music. In Rovinj, all the music seemed to be American. I was surprised. But we did really enjoy the Moreska and folk singing show we saw in Korcula. That was wonderful!

Best wishes,

Rene Babich & family – New York, NY
February 10, 2016

Dear Wanda,

Thank you for putting together a wonderful trip for us.

The hotels were beautiful and the tour guides were knowledgeable, professional and very friendly. All this made for a true vacation. The house you found for us in Umag was perfect, in a great location and met all our needs. Samira was a pleasure to deal with.

The cooking day in Zagreb was one of the highlights of the trip. The girls had so much fun and the food turned out to be delicious.

Thanks so much for the attention you invested in the details of planning our Rome and Croatia Interlude for our family.

Sincerely,

Anita Bacchia & Family – New York, NY
August 11, 2016

Dear Wanda,

I’m sorry to be so tardy in getting back to you.  Believe it or not, this is the first opportunity I’ve had since returning home to actually sit down and compose a letter of thanks.  Since we came home we have adopted a 7 year old cat who has given us a run for our money (doing fine now).  We also spent four days in Vermont with friends enjoying the fall foliage.

But I have had you on my mind a lot and I just want to tell you how much we loved Trieste, Croatia and Montenegro.  What a beautiful part of the world!  Our itinerary couldn’t have been better.  Where to begin?!  All of the hotels were wonderful, each in their own way.  No cookie-cutter lodging at all.

The Hotel Duchi in Trieste was a venerable old place in a perfect location.  Our window looked out over the piazza and we loved watching all the goings on down below in what was obviously the center of the old city.  We loved Harry’s Bar where we ate our breakfast and had dinner on our first night in town. Our room was small, typical of European city hotels, but we managed.  They could upgrade the electrical outlets and add a few more; my converter didn’t work there and there were very few places to plug things in anyway.

But that was a minor inconvenience which was resolved easily when we arrived at our second hotel, the Monte Mulini in Rovinj, a splendid place with every 21st century amenity.  Our devices were quickly charged and back up and running.  Our room was beautiful, overlooking the pool and the bay and the sea beyond.  The staff was extremely helpful and pleasant.  When our sea plane ride was cancelled and we needed to quickly shift gears and depart the hotel at 4:30 the next morning, they were most accommodating, even packing us a picnic “breakfast” to take with us on our ride to the airport. And they were so nice to ship the clothes we left behind in our room while packing in the early morning, half asleep.

The Hotel Vestibul in Split – what can we say about that?!  Unique in all the world!  Ancient stone walls coupled with contemporary furnishings!  Such fun to sleep in a bona fide castle, even if for only one night. 

The next day it was on to the island of Korcula and the Hotel Korcula de la Ville.  It was such fun to pull up to the dock and walk across the street to our charming old hotel.  We had a lovely room with a balcony overlooking the waterfront.  We were told it was only one of three such rooms in the place.  We learned that Jackie Kennedy Onasis had stayed there, one of many luminaries to have done so.  We liked to think that perhaps she enjoyed the same room we did.  We spent a lot of time sitting out on the wonderful veranda, reading and sipping afternoon tea, watching the people going by.  We did find our bathroom there to be somewhat inadequate (to say the least).  We’ve been in bigger facilities on a boat.  It was very difficult to manage the narrow little shower in the tiny bathroom.  Wall space was wasted on a towel heater, while there was nowhere to even put a toothbrush.  But we managed and it was not a big deal.  We realized that there weren’t a lot of other hotel options there and we wouldn’t have missed Korcula, or the hotel, for the world!

Hotel Villa Dubrovnik was over-the-top amazing!  We had a beautiful room with a balcony overlooking the sea, the island of Lohrum, and a peak at the old city to our right.  Fabulous!  And of course up-to-the minute in all the amenities.  We didn’t know what to expect when we drove up to the entrance and all we saw was a little building housing an elevator.  But we were whisked on down to the lobby where we were greeted by the delightful staff, who did everything to make our stay memorable.  Breakfasts on the terrace were incredible! 

And finally, Zagreb.  We found the city to be so interesting after having spent our entire stay previously on the Adriatic coast.  An easy, short flight away and we were in Eastern Europe – it could have been Vienna or Budapest.  And the Esplanade was the perfect hotel in which to reside while visiting such an old world city.  After the super contemporary feel in Dubrovnik, it was a real change of pace to stay in an opulent old world hotel.  Our room was lovely and spacious and elegantly decorated.  We had no view except for an interior courtyard space, but that didn’t really matter.  And one of our best meals of the trip was our lunch at Le Bistro!

Speaking of restaurants and meals, you sure know how to pick ‘em!  We had some of the finest cuisine and amazing culinary experiences of our lifetime  while on this trip.  Invariably, when we would show up somewhere we would be taken to the best seat in the house.  You must have lots of clout in Croatia!  And that says a lot about you and your company.  We enjoyed too many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to mention each one individually, but a few stand out as particularly memorable.  My dinner in Trieste at Antica Ghiacceretta, a simple sea bass smothered in mushrooms, was melt in the mouth delicious.  That fish was so fresh he must have been swimming in the sea hours before. 

Restaurant Monte in Rovinj was totally amazing.  It was a rainy night when we went there, one of the few less than perfect weather experiences we had on our whole trip.  We had trouble finding it on those little narrow streets, but when we walked through the door it was the beginning of a sensory delight.  The decor was amazing.  And the food!  The presentation, the combinations of textures and tastes – WOW!  The chef must be a genius!  We had the five course tasting menu with wine pairings and one course was more beautiful and delicious than the last.  But the coup de grace was the little piece of dark chocolate sprinkled with fresh lavender at the conclusion of the meal!  That did it for me.  I can still remember and salivate over that little morsel!  We talked about our experience all the way back to the hotel in the pouring rain as we walked along under our umbrellas.

The next night at Puntulina was also beautiful.  We were escorted to a charming corner table on the porch hanging over the harbor as the full moon rose and the lights of the old town came on and sparkled in the water.

We had many beautiful lunches and dinners in Korcula, most in those cute little restaurants perched high above the sea.  We can’t remember when we’ve had so much delicious fresh seafood, fresh vegetables, wonderful local cheeses, olives, truffles, and wine. 

Dining in Dubrovnik was also very special.  We loved our evening at Dubravka Restaurant outside the city walls, watching the sun set and the lights come on to illuminate the old walls, with the swifts flying about eating all the mosquitos and the boats coming in for the night.  The next night at Restaurant 360 Degrees was another incredible experience watching, all the lights come on in the old harbor.  What a romantic spot!  And of course, each night we were escorted to the best seat in the house!

And then there was our magical lunch at Stari Mlini in Montenegro.  What a place!  I must have shot over 100 photos there alone.  A true feast for the senses with the water cascading down from the mountains behind us into the sea in front of us, while we were nestled into a little grove under the trees to enjoy our lunch. 

The only dining experience we really didn’t enjoy was our final night in Zagreb.  Vinodol was a bit of a disappointment – large and noisy and not terribly attractive, and the food, being more Eastern European than Mediterranean, was heavy and not very tasty.  But with all the wonderful culinary experiences we did enjoy along the way, we could hardly complain about one less than stella experience.  We went back to the hotel bar and had a night cap and went to bed very happy.  It was hard to get up the next morning and pack to leave Croatia.

Our drivers and guides were all wonderful.  Everyone was a delight to be with.  We had many interesting conversations with them about their culture and ours. All spoke perfect English – made us feel embarrassed that we only speak one language.  The guides were all fonts of knowledge and we learned so much about Croatian history and culture. They are all keepers in our estimation!  Everyone behind the scenes did their part seamlessly as well.  Our one minor glitch, when the driver failed to show up to fetch us at the Zadar Airport to take us to Split, was handled very professionally by his employer.  Because we were two hours away and it would have taken him a long time to get anyone to replace the errant driver, he wisely advised us to take a taxi whose driver would be met and paid by one of his people when we arrived at the Palace.  Our taxi driver spoke virtually no English, but he was able to communicate with the driving company and we got the job done.  Our two hour highway ride in the pouring rain in the tiny taxi was a bit unnerving, but all’s well that ends well.  Too bad we couldn’t have had our sea plane ride, but those things can’t be helped.

Our skippers on our private boat trip to Korcula were great too.  We left Split in brilliant sunshine and as we motored along, to our left we could see blue skies and sun dappled islands, but to our right were ominous black clouds approaching.  The skippers were following the storm on radar and keeping us apprised of it’s progress.  They told us we would probably have time for a stop in Hvar if we wanted to do that, but we deferred to their better judgement to press on for Korcula to keep ahead of the storm.  We arrived at our destination just in time!  They were delightful…and very professional. 

The itinerary you had planned for us was marvelous.  We know there is SO much more of Croatia to see and experience and we may very well want to return someday to visit again.  But for a first trip, it was perfect.  You had us busy with drivers and guides some of the time and we learned a lot from them. But you also, wisely, allowed us a lot of free time during which we carved out some interesting experiences of our own.  In Trieste, we visited the Revoltella Museum where we saw some 19th & early 20th century Italian art that we had never seen before.  In Istria, we loved being turned loose in the hill town of Motovun where we hiked beyond the tourist-oriented shops and restaurants and explored the back lanes where “real” people still live. Lunch on the terrace of an outdoor cafe is where we had or first experience of truffles.  Yum!  On our day of leisure in Rovinj we took a walk from our hotel all around the nature trail along the water with lovely views back to the city on a hill.  It was a warm sunny Saturday and couples and families were out swimming and sunbathing on the rocks.  Memorable! 

One of the disappointing aspects of traveling anywhere in the world today, especially near water, is the prevalence of huge cruise ships and the thousands of people they disgorge into tiny little places of historic interest and beauty.  We encountered the problem last year in Venice and the Cinque Terre, and we encountered it again in Croatia.  When we arrived in Split for our brief stay there, the tourists were swarming through the narrow streets in droves.  After short while, we escaped and walked along the waterfront, then hiked up the Marjan Hill.  We enjoyed the beautiful vistas and had lunch overlooking the city at a cute little restaurant at the summit.  By the time we returned to the hotel to meet our guide and venture out into the palace streets again, the crowds had thinned somewhat and the experience was much more pleasant. 

After spending time with our guide in Korcula, we took a nice long walk along the coast, again escaping the crowds who managed to descend upon even that island.  Another day we took a bus ride out of town to the small town of Lumbarda.  We loved that.  We walked around the little harbor and up the hill where we encountered laborers harvesting grapes in one of the vineyards.  We strolled through the beautiful olive groves and enjoyed magnificent vistas of the sea below. 

If we thought Split was overrun with tourists, Dubrovnik was even worse, if possible.  How sad that these places of fragile beauty and historical importance are being destroyed by the magnitude of tourism that they are not only allowing, but actively encouraging.  But there’s nothing we can do about it.  It’s a 21st century reality.  So we made the most of it, with our guide and while on our own.  On Sunday, we did enjoy a quiet lunch at the Banje Beach Club, watching all the sunbathers and swimmers having fun.  In the afternoon, we took the boat ride out to Lokrum Island and loved walking the trails out there – a wonderful place to escape the crowds and take in the beautiful views with the magnificent walled city in the distance.

After our tour in Zagreb, we took a nice walk through the botanical gardens near our hotel.  And then it was time to depart.  All in all, a fabulous experience from beginning to end.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Iva, without whom our wonderful trip would not have been possible.  She was the glue who held everything together.  And we know how much work she did behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly and to fix things quickly when they didn’t go as planned.  She was always available when we needed to contact her for any reason.  And she always had answers to any question, no matter how insignificant, and she always had solutions when big things happened, like the change in flight plans midway through our journey.  Thanks for your invaluable support, Iva. 

With that we must close this long missive.  Again, we apologize for taking so long to get back to you both, but it was not because we weren’t thinking of you and appreciating all that you did.  We have already recommended your services to people who have inquired about our Croatia trip.

Kathy & Bill Dixon – Duxbury, MA
October 20, 2016

P.S. Thanks also to Leftheris for putting us in touch with you last spring.

Dear Wanda, 

Hope all is fine with you. Bob and I enjoyed a delightful lunch yesterday with our friends Bob and Nancy Thurston.  They have just recently returned from there fabulous time in Croatia.

It was sweet to hear that several of our guides remembered us and sent their good wishes to us via Bob and Nancy.

We all agreed that we have been spoiled by you and your team.

We still miss Croatia and the people we met.

Our trip this past September is still a close memory.

We were talking this past weekend that we both wish Korcula  was only a short flight from the U.S. so we could  just spend a long weekend under our umbrella with our toes in the Adriatic as often as would like to!

Have a great day.

Beth & Bob Fonorow – Summerfield, NC
September 2016

My husband and I just spent 13 amazing days traveling through Croatia. Our travel consultant in NYC, Joanne Colombo with Frosch, connected us to Wanda Radetti of Tasteful Croatian Journeys. The four of us did a preliminary conference call so that Wanda could get a feeling for the type of trip we were looking for. A week later, Joanne presented us with an amazing itinerary tailored to our needs. Everything about this trip was top notch and perfectly orchestrated. TCJ provides a concierge in Croatia who was always available to answer questions, make reservations and to make any last minute changes for us.

I can’t recommend either of our travel consultants more highly.

Carrie Morgan – Easton, PA
October 11, 2016

Dear Wanda,

I finally have the opportunity to respond to your inquiry about our recent trip! I’ll try to be as brief and specific as possible….

Hotels – A+

Each hotel was better than the next!   We experienced a level of service at all four of our hotels that we’ve rarely if ever experienced before. It’s very possible that, all factors considered, that The Villa Dubrovnik was the finest hotel we’ve ever stayed in, rivalled only perhaps by one or two hotels on the Amalfi Coast that we were only able to afford because we were there in April.  Vestibul Palace in Split was not far behind, and our accommodations in Zagreb and Hvar Town were not far behind. 

Restaurants – A

While we had unforgettably wonderful meals at Divino in Hvar Town (my personal favorite), Lungo Mare, Nautika, and Gallo in Zagreb, the best meals may have been the lunches at Stari Mlini outside Kotor and a completely nameless establishment seemingly in the middle of the Adriatic where our yacht skipper took us for lunch!   The only meal that I would characterize as just okay rather than great was Bokeria in Split.  It should be noted that we received extra attention and care at Lungo Mare and Bokeria specifically because we were clients of yours….a great touch!    

Guides/Drivers – A+

I must start by saying that absolutely everyone everywhere was phenomenally prompt, professional, courteous, knowledgeable.  Nancy and I particularly enjoyed our time with our guides in Zagreb (a young lady),  Marina (I think) in Dubrovnik, as well as the extraordinary Sinisa in Hvar and the warm, friendly, knowledgeable Marko for our day in Kotor. The woman who “took care of us” on the yacht to Korcula….I believe that her name is Diana….may have been our favorite of them all!   Perhaps one driver, Josip, who took us from Korcula to Dubrovnik, failed to pick up on our “social cues”, and talked non-stop for the entire drive….a minor annoyance, certainly not a significant issue.         

Venues

Zagreb – B+
seemed like a very livable, “people-friendly” city…more interesting than I’d expected.  We wished that we could have spent one full day there.  Our guide represented the city quite well.  

Split – B+
became our next destination due to weather issues.   While we loved the Diocletian’s Palace and adjacent Riva area, the city itself impressed us as somewhat mundane.  Nonetheless, it is a “must” on anyone’s itinerary just because of the Palace and it’s amazing 21st Century adaptation.   

Plitvice Lakes National Park – C
Our one big mistake was going somewhere that we suggested, not you!  We took a day trip from Split to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park. What started out as a beautiful day descended into a dense fog once we passed the mountains near the Park, and abated only slightly throughout the day.  There were still thousands of visitors there, and walking the narrow, broken and uneven boards through the Park forced us spend more time looking down at our feet than at the sights.  If we wanted to stop to take a picture, the back-up our pause created was significant. I’d be hard-pressed to recommend the Park to anyone.

Hvar Town – A+
We absolutely loved everything about the island.  The secluded beaches of the Pakleni Islands were a fun contrast to what we experience in the NYC area.  The restaurants were excellent and the laid-back but energetic vibe of the town was great.  I could have spent my entire vacation relaxing there.         

Korcula – A
We were there only for the time it took to have a walking tour in the late afternoon.  We wished we could have spent the night on this beautiful, mellow island.

Dubrovnik – A+   
Nancy and I had been waiting our entire adult lives to visit Dubrovnik.  All the pictures and descriptions in the world do not begin to do it justice.  Absolutely wonderful in every conceivable respect.  I can’t imagine many things in the world surpassing the majesty of a walk along the walls in early evening or strolling along the Stradun on a late summer night. The perspective offered by the cable car was unforgettably beautiful. 

Kotor – A    
A great day trip….far more interesting and beautiful (there’s that word again!) than I’d imagined it would be.  A visit to Kotor should be an absolute “must” on every visitor’s itinerary.  I’m glad that you “insisted” that we keep it on ours.      

Finally, thank you!  

Nine months worth of my endless questions all handled by you with patience and grace.  You can be sure that Nancy and I will tell all of our traveling friends about Croatia and the extraordinary service that you and your staff afforded us.

Thanks again!

Michael Krieg, Account Executive [ABC Television Network] – Plainview, NY
September 27, 2016