Dear Wanda,

We returned to the US yesterday after a wonderful time in beautiful Croatia and wanted to once again say thank you to the whole Tasteful Croatian Journeys team and Vicki Czarnowski for helping to make our trip so enjoyable.
Villa Stanzia is a magnificent property, in a stunning location, furnished and finished to the highest standards, it is the definition of a luxury property. Everyone of our guests was in awe of the property and its location. Hana and Mirela were extremely helpful, and although I never had the pleasure of meeting the latter in person, she was always available to help with reservations etc.
The Hotel in Dubrovnik is excellent and could not be better located in terms of its accessibility to the old town and its position right on the waterfront. Marina is an excellent tour guide and provided great insight into the history of the city.
In short we would not change a thing of our time in Croatia!
Again, thank you all,

Kind regards,

Ken and Pat Young – Bluffton, SC
July 20, 2022

PS: For what it’s worth, Zagreb and Dubrovnik airports are a delight compared to most of their more established European counterparts!

Hi Tia,

We are very happy with our decision to have Tasteful Croatian Journeys plan our recent 2022 vacation in Croatia. We enjoy independent travel but knew we had much to gain from the guidance of a travel professional. When I called Tasteful Croatian Journeys, Tia clearly explained how they work, she listened to my preferences and asked all the right questions. Tia custom-designed an Istria-focused vacation with a mix of independent exploration and a professionally prepared itinerary of outstanding accommodations, activities, local guides, drivers, and a luxury rental car delivered to our hotel. Once in Croatia, and as we traveled about, driving from Rovinj to Zagreb, it was comforting to stay connected with Mirela their local concierge who lives in Croatia and was available to help us with reservations, suggestions, or any travel issue. Tia, Wanda, and team met our highest expectation for a luxurious, low-stress, relaxing vacation and a memorable connection with the people and places we visited.

Bob and Sue Stevens – Southwick, MA
July 20, 2022

Dear Wanda, Tia and Mirela,

What a talented threesome! Our Croatia trip was so well planned and perfectly reflected our preferences. The hotels were all first rate; the drivers and guides exceeded our expectations. We learned a lot of history and we plan to continue reading about the areas we visited. The food was delicious!

Most of all, we loved the hospitality and genuine kindness of the people we met, from the beginning in Rovinj to the end in Kotor. We were welcomed with smiles and a happy spirit.

Please pass on our appreciation to everyone who made the Croatia Journey so special. We will recommend you whole heartedly without reservation. We hope to return to Croatia again.

Beverly and Michael Hastings – Lafayette, CA
July 7, 2022

Dear Wanda and Tia,

We recently returned from our 20-day Croatia/Italy vacation prepared by Tasteful Croatian Journeys! To sum up in a few words, our overall journey was fantastic from start to finish. Every detail of the trip from planning with to the actual trip experience was very enjoyable and non-problematic. The Hotels in Zagreb, Split, Korcula, Dubrovnik, and Positano were well located and all 4-5 stars.

The prearranged private transfers to/from airports, private guides/transportation in all of the Cities, private vessel arrangements in both Croatia and Italy and restaurant suggestions were excellent. Having Mirela as our boot on the ground in Croatia and Italy gave us peace of mind and made for a very stress free-enjoyable trip. Any small issues were solved quickly with no negative impacts.

We highly recommend this company and team if you are a planning a trip to Croatia/Italy. They are great to work with and are extremely responsive.

P.S. We selected Tasteful Croatian Journeys thru Conde Nast Travel. We have worked with other travel specialist (Brazil, Thailand, Australia, Costa Rica) from Conde Nast, and found each one to be very knowledgeable in their specialty, recommend wonderful accommodations and know how long is needed in each location! Their recommendations have been spot on!

Anne and Art B. – San Diego, CA
June 20, 2022

We had the most unforgettable Honeymoon in Croatia planned and executed by the incredible team at Tasteful Croatian Journeys.
TCJ was recommended to us by a friend who had used them to plan a family vacation a few years back. From the moment we started speaking to Tara, we knew we were in good hands. She helped tailor our trip to be exactly what we wanted and worked within the budget we gave her. We wanted a balance of adventure and relaxation, and she gave us just that.
Once in Croatia, Mirela made sure everything went seamlessly. Every activity, transfer, and hotel check-in was taken care of for us. We didn’t need to think about a single detail. On a rainy day in Split, we weren’t able to go on our planned rafting trip, but Mirela had a list of alternatives for us to choose from and booked something else for us right away. The hotels, excursions, and ride transfers were top-notch. All of the people we interacted with along our trip were professional, courteous, and made sure we had the best possible experience.
Before this trip, we didn’t know much about Croatia, but the team at TCJ gave us a taste of the best things Croatia had to offer. We biked in the countryside of Brac, tasted local cuisine in Split and Dubrovnik, hiked in Plitvice National Park, and relaxed on beautiful pebble beaches. It was an experience created just for us, and we would recommend the team at TCJ to anyone.

Lauren Leppla & Steven Gaglioti – Trumbull, CT
February 4, 2022

Dear Tasteful Croatian Journeys Team

We returned from our visit to the western Balkans at the end of October, 2021. Out trip was absolutely wonderful. The execution of all of the arrangements from hotels to restaurants to tours and transportation was flawless. The guides were knowledgeable and pleasant, the vehicles were well prepared and the destinations were fabulous. My family and I have traveled all over the world and I must say that the Tasteful Croatian Journeys team cannot be beat.

Many thanks to Wanda and Mirela. They are the best.!

Stephen Lehrman – Katonah, New York
December 6, 2021

Hi Wanda!

“Everything was absolutely wonderful!! Thank you all so much for jumping through all those hoops to even get us there! All the guides were great, the hotels were great, locations were great – you all really know your stuff! We wouldn’t have changed a thing, please give everyone a huge thank you from both of us and we have been recommending you guys to any of our friends that have asked!!”

Lindsey & Philippe Job – Osprey, FL
August 2020

Dear Wanda and team,

If you get the chance to be taken care of by Wanda S. Radetti and her team at Visit Croatia do not hesitate to take it.  Not only will you find a high level of expertise and professionalism but fairness, joie de vivre, taste and an uncommon ability to quickly master YOUR needs and desires.  The result will be a tailored itinerary that will exceed expectations not just in the venues but in the vendors delivering the services.  My foreign service family has lived abroad for three decades during which time I’ve accumulated 100+ stamps in my passport.  Over time, I’ve gained enough expertise to plan some pretty complicated vacations without help.  I’ve planned an around the world trip with two toddlers, a road trip from Cairo to Damascus during Ramadan with three pre-teens, only used public bus transport while camping the Australian outback with teenagers and hiked the Inca Trail with five adult children.  But when I tried to plan a train trip from Belgrade to the Adriatic Coast culminating with New Year’s Eve in Dubrovnik I was stumped.  The problem?  I was traveling during the (very) off season and hotels, restaurants, entertainment and transportation vendors weren’t sure if they’d be open and would not commit.  This may seem like a minor obstacle.  That is what I thought initially.  But it was not minor and by November I was feeling the pressure. I had eight enthused adults flying in from all over to join this adventure and all I had confirmed was the train and two hotel overnights. Luckily, I asked a well-traveled friend for advice and she laughed.  My problem was solved.  Without hesitation my friend said that Wanda was not only the answer to my problems but that I would be glad that Wanda was brought into my life.  And, I kid you not, within 48 hours I knew that my friend was not over-selling her experience with Wanda.  Working with Wanda is personal. Though we were not on the same continent, and timing was difficult, Wanda insisted that we have an initial talk rather than begin with an email exchange.  During that half hour chat Wanda probed and guided me. I learned that Wanda does not like to say no, but if she must you can trust that she will have a great alternative. At the end of that convivial phone call, Wanda had established our partnership and absorbed my desires.  Two days later I had an exceptional emailed itinerary and confirmed reservations.  To work with Wanda in Croatia is to work with someone who can literally open doors, doors that I previously found closed.  Some doors might be a portal to a medieval castle for your daughter’s fireside birthday lunch or the railing gate of a boat that takes you to oyster beds for a demonstration, samples with all of the Croatian trimmings including passionate Rakija toasts.  Wanda S. Radetti is well known, highly respected and adored.  If you get the chance to work with her and her team you will not question why.

Best wishes,

June Appel – Washington, DC
December 2019

Dear Wanda,

My husband and I wanted to write and thank you for planning our wonderful trip to Croatia. We had an absolutely magnificent vacation and are grateful for your work in making this trip what it was. The country is absolutely beautiful and the people were friendly and accommodating. As we passed your name around, it appears that everyone knows you!

The weather was perfect and we were informed that it was somewhat atypical for the time of year, but we were happy that it was. The hotel was truly wonderful and we are very glad that you encouraged us to stay there instead of within the Old Town. But, we did visit Old Town almost every day while in Dubrovnik. We also fell in love with Korcula, it’s a beautiful place! Our tour guides and drivers throughout. our stay were exceptional.

Thank you very much for all that you have done for us.

Thank you again

Barbara – Overland Park, KS
October 2019

Greeting,

Thank you for a wonderful and well planned trip for us.

Just a few comments on how the trip went. First each of our guides and drivers were on time, knowledgeable and helpful with suggestions beyond their assigned duties.

We may have pushed a little trying to walk the many steps in Trieste on the first day. I got quite fatigued. Maybe it was too long on an airplane and layovers.

           From Cythnia – “Sitting at the crossroads of diverse cultures and civilizations, Trieste enjoys both its legacy as a commercial port since ancient times and its current vibrant multicultural university town. I enjoyed the many architectural styles encompassed in the medieval old city and the neoclassical Austrian quarter. The colossal square, Piazza Unita Italia, faces the Adriatic Sea and buzzes day and night with activity.”

When we arrived in Ljubljana our room wasn’t ready and we were happily upgraded to the presidential suite. In Venice the room was on the first floor and the noise outside on temporary metal walkways over the canal was quite loud. I mentioned this to the front desk and they immediately moved us to and upper floor with the same lagoon view. All our accommodations were wonderful and the locations couldn’t have been better. The room in Split was very small and required walking up several flights of stairs. The benefits of the location of the Vestibule hotel were not enough to offset the inconvenience of having no space to open our luggage and the steep stairs. Nevertheless, the service of the Vestibule was exceptional.This minor complaint is more a reflection of how we were spoiled in the other hotels.

If we were to take the trip again, we would climb to fewer walled cities and take advantage of more experiences like the cooking class. Perhaps visit the Illy plant or a local vineyard or olive oil production facility.

Overall, we had a wonderful time and the arrangements you made were outstanding. We will highly recommend you to our friends and family.

Larry & Cynthia Eisenhauer – Kansas City, MO
October 2019