I want to thank Cheryl Benton of The Three Tomatoes for bringing the work of Wanda S. Radetti of visitcroatia.com – Tasteful Croatian Journeys to our attention.
We reached out to Wanda to design an itinerary for our trip to Austria, Croatia, and Montenegro. We are sophisticated travelers and have traveled extensively around the world and we have never encountered the level of professional planning and attention to detail that we received from Wanda and her team.
The attention to detail that Wanda put into creating our itinerary went above and beyond our expectations and I highly recommend Tasteful Croatian Journeys’ services without hesitation to any travelers. We had just one word to describe our Vienna and Croatia interlude: “Perfect.”
Carol Carollo – New York, NY
July 25, 2013 – The Three Tomatoes
We just returned from a wonderful trip to Croatia and Slovenia in early June planned by Wanda. We took our 3 college age children with us and had an adventure through Croatia and Slovenia. Our children have travelled overseas with us since 2000 and this year our daughter mentioned that we should go to Croatia! CROATIA??? Where is Croatia?? As a long time subscriber to Traveler magazine, I immediately looked up travel agents in Croatia and found Wanda. What a gem she is! Wanda worked with us on an itinerary and made suggestions based on the information I gave her about our interests. The hotels were beautiful, the tour guides were informative and fun. Best of all was the boat we chartered in Split and took to Dubrovnik. My husband’s sister and her spouse joined us for the boat trip and it was great. Everything exceeded our expectations, the hotels, food, tours and most of all the boat. Such memories we now have and the kids have stated that it was one of THE BEST trips we have ever done together. I have recommended Wanda to all our friends after they view our pictures and tell them ” You HAVE to go!” Thank you Wanda again for the incredible and lasting memories you helped to create for our family.
Sharon G. – VA
July 23, 2013 – Condé Nast Traveler
We travelled with our 2 sons (7 and 10 years old) to Croatia in June of 2013. Wanda at Tasteful Croatian Journeys created a wonderful and meticulously planned experience for us. Over the course of a few efficient phone calls, Wanda listened to our interests, provided thoughtful suggestions (all of which proved to be great) and ultimately devised an itinerary that met our objectives.
Our itinerary over 10 days brought us from one end of Croatia to the other and included a day trip to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. At each location she arranged a just-right hotel (down to the room), an informative, nice, punctual and English fluent guide, and always punctual, safe, incredibly polite drivers. She carefully thought through the best times to tour cities, take ferries and so on, as well as great stops as we travelled from place to place. Wanda’s attention to detail is second to none. She knows the individual guides, drivers and rooms at hotels. Wanda has a concierge on the ground in Croatia, who phoned us twice in Croatia (at a perfect, non-obtrusive time) to ensure we were happy and our needs were being met. When we returned, Wanda sought feedback on all aspects of our journey and asked specific probing questions to ensure that she continues to provide a great experience going forward.
We highly recommend Wanda and Tasteful Croatian Journeys to anyone planning a trip to the beautiful country of Croatia.
The LeBlang Family – CA
July 2, 2013 – Condé Nast Traveler
Wanda/Julie/Iva:
Thank you for making our Dalmatian Honeymoon Interlude a success.
Overall it was a great trip, we wish we had a few more days of course as it went by too fast. Here is some specific feeback. I am missing some of the guide names as I am not sure where I put the travel notes right now but I wanted to send this while the information was fresh in my head.
1.HOTELS:
Atrium hotel- very nice, the 7th floor is the newest and our room was immaculate and spacious. The gym and spa were nice. I actually needed to repair my manicure and they had shellac! So was thrilled. And enjoyed checking out the Joker mall nearby.
Hotel Vestibule Palace- room was small but a unique experience. we had too many bags to make it comfortable. The staff was nice and they had a lovely rose petals on our bed.
Kanobas Varos- we had dinner here and the service was poor, food okay and seemed a little cheesy.
Bayamonti- we ate here for lunch and it was one of the best meals we had. We had an excellent fish dish.
Both were excellent and well informed. The only issue is the younger guides tend to try to tell you all the information they know and it is overwhelming. We prefered the more mature guides that could flow with the information a bit better.
– we enjoyed a nice jog around Marjan Park. Though it is poorly marked. We also took a trip to Trogir. This was okay but we probably could have done without this…our fault because we added it based on tour guide recommendation.
Also the live music around the palace at nigh was wonderful.
We almost missed the ferry beacuse the tourguide and hotel manager had told us to wait in the wrong place by the cafe in the pier. It was actually on the other side. Luckily we are both athletic because we sprinted to make the ferry when we realized at 7 minutes to 5 that we were in the wrong place.
2.. Tour Guide: our tour guide spoke spanish which was great for carlos. She did not give us the full two hours but did give us a lot of information. She cut the tour about 25 minutes short.
Sebastian and Gaspar are fantastic. The boat in great condition. However, I did get a bit seasick as the first night was rough. We would have liked an intinerary of the islands we would visit beforehand in our travel notes.
The food on the boat was fine and by the last day they understood. I would have prefered more fresh food. We were a bit tired of pasta. The wines from slovenia were quite good.
1.Villa Dubrovnik— amazing! we had a great room on the 4th floor with amazing views of lokrum island and the city. We loved the modernity of this hotel yet charm. The food was excellent and creative! We would have liked two more days here to relax and enjoy! We both had excellent massages there on our last evening. Very good. Our favorite accomodation… truly a gem.
We were not able to take advantage of the classical music being played at the churches in the evening but we would have liked to experienced this…
You were right the Posta Vecchia was an excellent ending. They also provided champagne and rose petals in the room. We were in the Ancelio suite and it had a great view of the water. We were able to take a nice bike ride around the seaside when we arrived as well… Thank you for recommending this. It was very convenient to the airport and we would hope to return. Dinner at the hotel was okay. Great setting and view, though not our best meal. And expensive…
Let me know if you have any questions! And we hope to visit Istria at some point!
THANK YOU!
Best,
Rebekah & Carlos – Dorado, Puerto Rico
June 2013
The Tasteful Croatian Journeys Team has exceeded all my expectations. The only word to describe my vacation is “perfect.” I look forward to working with the Team in the future.
J.A. – New York, NY
June 25, 2013
Wanda, Iva and team,
Thank you for putting together an amazing trip that we will never forget. We’ve had a hard time describing to our friends how special Croatia is with all of its undeveloped and pristine natural beauty and world class sightseeing. It’s safe to say that our shortlist of favorite hotels in the world has been expanded. In addition, the guides and drivers that you selected were top notch. Every part was special. We commend the Tasteful Croatian Journey team on the availability of a local contact. We have worked with several travel specialists in the past, and have never had a local concierge or someone who was regularly in touch, checking in to make sure everything was going well.
Kate Carlson – PA
June 10, 2013
Wanda
We are sitting in the Frankfurt airport en route home but I wanted to dash off a note of thanks before boarding. We had a marvelous trip and loved Croatia and Montenegro. Everything you arranged was executed perfectly. We had a wonderful time with Ratko and Gaspar on board our sailboat. They were knowledgeable, interesting and fun to be with, and Gaspar was a superb chef. The islands were lovely and the boat itself very comfortable.
The hotels you selected were well located and comfortable, and our guides were easy to be with and very knowledgeable and interesting. We had an excellent driver and interesting conversationalist (Vladimer) spend the day with us to Montenegro. He also took us to the airport this morning which was great.
So, Wanda, thank you so much for making this trip so special for all of us. My birthday cake, and the rose petal-strewn room for Adam and Laurie’s anniversary were very nice touches. We certainly would have no trouble recommending you to any of our friends interested in coming to Croatia.
We wanted to thank you again for a wonderful visit to Croatia. We truly loved the country, the people, and the history.
All of us on the trip are very appreciative of your efforts on our behalf.
Arthur Selkowitz – CT
June 3, 2013
My 4 year old daughter and I recently used Wanda’s services on a trip to Dubrovnik this past July.
My daughter and I left my husband in Cannes, France after we spent a wonderful 5 days there. My husband had to return to work. I decided to travel on to Croatia with my daughter. I was a bit concerned with how I would manage this trip alone and was also unfamiliar with Croatia since this was my first visit. I decided to read through your “best travel agents” section of one of my recent Conde Nast magazines and found Wanda’s information. I contacted Wanda and discussed my plans with her, the restrictions of traveling with a 4 year old, not wanting to fly more than one place (Dubrovnik) but wanting to experience as much of the region as possible, and not feeling comfortable with driving ourselves. Wanda immediately understood what I was looking for and put together the most amazing itinerary for us!
She set up drivers to take us everywhere, we literally had no worries, they also had car seats in the cars so I didn’t have to drag a seat from the states. She also set up personal walking tours in towns as well as gave us fabulous recommendations for sights, restaurants, etc. Lastly, she picked a fantastic hotel for us on Peljesac (I was using Hilton points to stay in Dubrovnik). Given that I didn’t know much about the region except Dubrovnik, Wanda guided us to visit the Peljesac peninsula with a stay in Orebic and trip to Korcula. What a treat! It was probably the best part of our trip (although everything was so wonderful). Without Wanda’s guidance, I would probably not have thought of visiting this area near Dubrovnik. She also set-up an amazing day in Montenegro, again with a great driver and sights/meals planned the whole day. Again, another favorite part of the trip! My daughter and I ended up having the best experience ever, with no “hiccups” or problems. Wanda made sure all the staff she used were the most professional and responsible. Everyone was on time and courteous. They all even interacted well with my daughter and were very gracious when she had “her moments” that only a 4 year old can have. I really can’t say enough about how wonderful everything was!
Overall, I think I gave Wanda a bit of a challenge with travel with a young child and limited time and flexibility. She made it magical and a very easy and enjoyable schedule. I have told all my friends about how using a great travel assistant is truly worth the money because you can never replace the experiences and care that you receive!
Julie Sievert – IL
October 31, 2012 – Condé Nast Traveler
Wanda planned a customized journey for us (my husband and my parents). We went end of May 2012 for two weeks. It was a fabulous trip! Wanda and her team planned a trip of a lifetime. Every recommendation was superb – from the hotels, restaurants,sights, guides, drivers, etc., etc. There is a local concierge, so if you have a problem, they are on the same time zone and so helpful. My father had a medical issue and she was in touch with us every day and helped find a doctor.
Croatia is a beautiful country, especially the coast. Two of our favorite places were Istria and the island of Korcula. Our trip wouldn’t have been the same had we not used Wanda. I highly recommend Tasteful Croatian Journeys to all Conde Nast Traveler readers. They will have amazing memories!
Karen Herman – FL
October 25, 2012 – Condé Nast Traveler
I am writing to tell you of an absolutely wonderful travel experience that my wife and I recently enjoyed thanks to a travel agent we found through Conde Nast. By way of background, I should tell you that my wife and I travel two to three times a year, mostly to Europe but also to South and Central America, Africa and the Middle East as well as domestic US locations. We enjoy high end properties and rely on private guides to ensure we get the most out of our visits.
In July of this year we decided to plan a trip to visit Slovenia and Croatia around our anniversary (September 2nd. We tend to be last minute types). Having taken a wonderful trip in January that was planned by a Conde Nast award winning travel agent, we decided to tap you as a resource for this trip and were fortunate to find Wanda Redetti of Tasteful Croatian Journeys recommended to us. I immediately emailed Wanda and asked if she would be able to help us plan our trip which, of course, she was happy to do.
Over the course of about two weeks time, Wanda worked with us to plan, what turned out to be, an absolutely wonderful trip. Wanda began by asking questions about past trips we had taken, our interests and our travel style. She then presented a suggested itinerary and worked with my wife, by telephone and email, to tweak and adjust it as necessary until we were completely satisfied with the arrangements. Throughout the process, Wanda was professional and courteous of course but, most important, also helpful in making suggestions that enhanced our trip. She was a pleasure to work with.
As for the trip itself, it went perfectly. We visited six cities in eight nights (we like to cover a lot of ground when we travel) and everything worked exactly as planned. Drivers who transported us from place to place were pleasant and professional, private guides were knowledgeable and interesting, hotel staff were welcoming and accommodating and, all in all, things could not have gone better. Perhaps best of all, Wanda provided us with an in-country contact person who coordinated everything behind the scenes during our travel. While we only spoke with Iva once during our trip – and then just to say hello, not to address any concern – it was comforting to know that she was watching over our trip and ensuring that all went well.
Given our experience, I highly recommend Wanda Radetti to any of your readers who may be considering a trip to the same area. We had a wonderful trip thanks to Wanda’s planning and arrangements and I am confident that any of them will as well.
Bruce Jakubovitz – New York, NY
October 10, 2012 – Condé Nast Traveler
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