Wanda,
Thanks for your recent letter sent after our return from Croatia. I wanted to tell you that we had a great trip. All the drivers and guides that you arranged for us showed up when scheduled and did an excellent job on our behalf. The hotel accommodations also worked out well. We enjoyed the food, wine and the people that we met along the way.
Our seven day hike with Country Walkers also went well, although we had several days of wet weather during this period. We ended in Dubrovnik as you know and really enjoyed our time there. If I were to book that portion of the trip again I would probably pass on the day trip to Montenegro and spend an extra day in Dubrovnik. However, that was our choice at the time and I have no complaints about how the schedule was arranged.
Thanks again for the good recommendations and service that you and Iva provided. I would be happy to serve as a reference sometime if that is of value to you.
Bob Buuck – Bloomington, MN
September 2013
These pages are filled with clients singing the praises of Wanda Radetti and her team of Iva and Julie. Lynn and I are most delighted to join the chorus! Our recent two-week September/October trip to Croatia was spectacular. The hotels were superb, the guides were great, the restaurant recommendations (and food and wine) terrific, and the national park and seacoast were as breathtaking as we had imagined. Wanda and her team were on top of every detail, starting with thoughtful and responsive planning and continuing with great execution right through the trip. It was also terrific to have concierge Iva on the ground in Croatia to provide any assistance needed and solve any problems. Beyond this, Wanda was right… there were lots of surprises along the way. We loved the amazing Jaffa ice ream (vanilla/orange/chocolate) and the three champion moyen-sized poodles we met on our walk in Hvar. We liked seeing wine and olive oil made for family use. Highlights were an afternoon sail in Hvar on a picture-perfect afternoon and sword dancing in Korcula. And we heard some phenomenal music, especially from the Split cathedral chorus. But most of all, we will remember the wonderful people we met all along the way, many of them long-time friends of Wanda. We can’t wait to go back to Croatia, hopefully next time by sailboat!
We can’t recommend Wanda and her colleagues at Tasteful Croatian Journeys more highly!
Bill Martin – New York, NY
October 22, 2013 – Condé Nast Traveler
We have just returned from two weeks in Croatia with day trips to Slovenia (Bled) and Montenegro (Kotar) arranged by Wanda and her staff. The trip was magnificent and the choice of acommodations and places to visit was perfect. Wanda’s staff, guides and drivers, was helpful, had superb language skills (for us English) and were fun to be with. We had a excellent mixture of guided time and free time and were able to see many places without being rushed.
Wanda listened to what we wanted from our trip and delivered it as promised. Croatia and its neighbors are beautiful, user friendly countries and Wanda will make your visit a memorable one.
Larry & Margaret Ballonoff – CO
October 5, 2013 – Condé Nast Traveler
Wanda and Iva,
We are back in Houston readjusting. Arrived home Thursday evening. Wanda, I wanted to thank you, Iva and Julie for your help in organizing a terrific trip. The Dalmatian coast is a stunning as advertised and a pleasure to visit. The people with whom we interacted impressed us with their love of country and fierce independence. Everyone was proud to be a part of an independent Croatia and the sacrifices they made for that outcome were on full display. Impressive. The importance of tourism to the economy was evident and our drivers, hotel staff and guides were attentive, helpful and flexible to any wish we had. The weather also cooperated…we had beautiful weather throughout our Tuscany and Croatia trip with the exception of our day in Kotor where we got pummeled by rain. We still had our tour, but missed the beauty of Kotor Bay and obviously canceled our trip up Mt. Lovcen which was in the clouds. No one can guarantee the weather!
We tried several of your suggested restaurants. Filippi’s in Korcula, by far, served us the premier meal of our trip. The others were good, but after living in Brussels for 11 years our comparative food bar is set fairly high! I did not appreciate the extent of the wine production in Croatia, but we worked hard to sample much of it!
I must also commend the staff at the Vestibul Hotel in Split. By far, the most attentive, helpful and professional group we encountered. Chris ate something that did not agree with her at lunch the day we climbed Biokovo so we stayed in our room that evening. Looking for something simple, the Vestibul chef made us a pizza(it was not on the menu) and apologized that it would take a half hour because the dough had to be made first! They then did not charge us for the pizza! Top notch. With the exception of our final ride to the Split airport, all of our drivers were timely, helpful and conversant.
The hotels were fine. The Vestibul was fairly expensive, but the great location and staff were worth it. The Excelsior in Dubrovnik was just as advertised…great location and view of the old city. We received an upgrade to a suite, so had double the view and amenities. The Lesic Demitri in Korcula was unique. I have never stayed in such a room before! Great location, obviously, but Tony and his staff were more laid back and we really didn’t see much of them. Although we enjoyed the room and hotel, my value system says that it was not worth the hefty rate Tony charges! We probably would have been just as happy and the Hotel Korcula which offered the same city access, perhaps without the price tag.
We bit off a bit more than we expected on our climb of Mt Vorsac in Biokovo. It t was steep and quite rocky footing all the way and a cold I picked up in Tuscany had me working hard by the end of the ascent. But we made it and felt accomplished after it was all over and we had a cold beer at the bottom! Marnel is a different character…very independent, environmentally conscious and looking for a life away from the beaten path. But he knew his way around the mountain and was very patient with us as we made our slow decent. I gave him an extra large tip knowing that he was facing some cost issues that I assume he has discussed with you. Marnel very much would like to continue a relationship with you and your tours. He is just inexperienced in the business world and quoting appropriate fixed pricing. Someone just needs to help him over this hump and he will do fine. I would suggest though, that if you do work with him going forward, that he develop several possible hikes of varying lengths and difficulty that he can discuss with his hikers beforehand to find the appropriate degree of difficulty. He has these and we discussed them…and in hindsight we might have been better suited to a less strenuous trek.. Marnel deals mostly with “professional” trekkers, so just has not had a need to deal with those a bit older and perhaps a bit less ready for the big climb! We did walk the walls from Ston to Mali Ston, but missed out on the Kotor walls due to the weather.
As you know, we did have a few hiccups in our plans. In Split, Iva advised us after we arrived that the guide could not make a 10:30AM tour. We had to accelerate our morning some to a 10AM tour and change to the original guides son to show us around. All worked out OK, but this late change surprised us. When we were on top of Biokovo eating lunch, Marnel asked whether we would have a problem taking a bus back to Split. I said “no way” as politely as possible. This is when we learned of the cost pressures he was feeling. He called the car/driver back from Split and everything proceeded as planned from there. With Chris’ intestinal issue, anything other than a car back would have been a big issue. Again, a surprise to us at the time. In Korcula, our guide showed up at 9AM instead of 10:30 as agreed. We just weren’t ready and asked her to come back at 10:30 which she did. The tour was fine, but was shortened to 1 1/2 hours and we felt that maybe she had a noon commitment to meet and rushed us some. Can’t be sure of this though. Finally, we had the no show car pick up in Trogir. I’m just glad we decided not to wait and arranged the hotel transport to take us(luckily he was there). So nothing terminal in any of these misses, but I’m certain this is not the quality product Tasteful Journeys wants to provide. One simple fix to your in country procedures would have averted all of these issues. Rather than assume those you contract have it right and will remember, call/contact each provider of services the day before to reconfirm that all is understood and lined out properly. If this had been done proactively by your in country staff, all of the above items would have been identified and averted. Food for thought.
Wanda, thanks for everything. Despite the hiccups we had a great and memorable trip.
Iva, thanks for your help too and a special thank you for the magnet and brochures you left us in Trogir. It was much appreciated.
Glad to discuss any of this with you further if you wish or think it would be helpful.
Dave Lusignan – Houston, TX
September 2013
Our trip was absolutely wonderful! I only wish we could have stayed longer. From the tours to the restaurants to the hotels, everything was fabulous. I would whole-heartedly recommend the company to anyone looking to plan a trip to Croatia.
Evmuser – MD
October 3, 2013 – Condé Nast Traveler
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