Dear Wanda,

I didn’t think it would take me this long to get back to you, but life has a way of getting really busy once back from a vacation!

Again, Mike and I had a wonderful time, and fell in love with Croatia and its people. I’m so glad that you encouraged us to start with you in Trieste, as it was charming and provided such a great introduction to the Istrian region. I do want to say that our guide there, Edi, was really great, and I hated that it was the one time during the trip that I was in a lot of pain, so I hope he didn’t think we were uninterested. I wanted to be a sponge soaking up all he had to say, and I could barely think straight! Thankfully my back pain did not linger and impact the rest of our trip. In fact we went to the Castello di Miramare that afternoon and really enjoyed that. While mentioning Edi, I want to say that all of the guides were excellent, providing both historical and cultural background, as well as a feel for what it’s like to live in each place now.

We loved the mix of hotels that you selected, and felt that they really fit the locations. We had really good restaurant experiences, with one exception (below), and have told many that the table we had at Restaurant Puntalina in Rovinj was our best sunset dining experience ever! The food was really good, but the setting, table and staff were fabulous. Again, we thought you recommended a really good mix of restaurants, and we enjoyed the variety, from the local food/casual, relaxed atmosphere at Konoba Varos in Split to the marvelous dining experience at 360 in Dubrovnik–expensive, but so worth it. They deserve that Michelin star!

Again, thank you so much for a wonderful trip! We will definitely be big advocates for Tasteful Croatian Journeys.

All the best to you and your team,

Paula & William Morgan – Westfield, NJ
May 2018

Dear Wanda,

I thought I would share a few observations on what was a wonderful vacation:

1. Driver and guides – excellent all the way around.  Good information; knowledgeable and at times very funny with a sense of humor.  All our connections were on time and worked out perfectly.
2. The national Park;
   1. More beautiful than the falls we experienced in Peru.
   2. Ethno House – the person who checked us in was impatient, rude and gave poor information.  If not for the driver we never would have experienced the park.  He was terrific and commented on the man at the reception as “a bore.”  We did not have tickets and hence could not enter at gate 3. He even said that with tickets gate 3 would not allow us to pass.  Bad information.  Again the driver to the rescue.
   3. The hotel was fine, but the food is second to our least favorite.  Just adequate.
3. Split:
   1. Great city and the rooms were perfect and convenient.
   2. Spur of the moment lunch – Bokeria – highly recommend
   3. Dinner – Zinfandel – near top of our list for best meal
   4. Lunch at the waterfront was a sister to zinfandel.  I still salivate over the short rib sandwich.
   5. Museum of the sculpture is not to be missed.
4. Korcula – what can I say.  Just spectacular
   1. Hotel was perfect and great breakfast
   2. First night dinner – Filippi was terrific – you should always recommend
   3. Best meal on the trip was – Restaurant Dvor – 5 minutes from Hotel and Black pasta was sensational.  Great service and good wine selection
5. Dubrovnik
   1. I may have missed this but I believe instructions were we needed to get our own ferry tickets.  Driver purchased them so would be good to know in advance on the itinerary.
   2. Great city and Hotel was 4 star all the way.  Can’t imagine a better place.
   3. Excellent breakfast
6. Montenegro – I would suggest skipping.  Too far and too much car sitting
   1. The lunch stop was by far our least favorite.  Pretty tasteless, expensive and spotty service.  I suggest a different location.
   2. Return from Montenegro – Our driver picked a lunch spot that had a waterwheel.  Food and location were great.  Good call on his part as it was a rainy day.
7. Other:
   1. You might encourage people to sign up for international phone coverage.  Was disadvantage not having that option

Gene Ross – Virginia Beach, VA
May 2018

Dear Wanda,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Every step of the way on our admittedly unusual journey was handled with impeccable care by both of you and your team, and I could “feel” all the caring work that you both put into making our travels memorable. Everything was absolutely delightful. I know you have your favorite places that you wanted us to see, including fabulous Istria (which we will go back to in a New York minute, as they say), and your preferred restaurants and hotels, and I thank you for arranging those for us: it was all verging on the spectacular all the time, and that’s not easy to do. But you did it.

Especially when you stretched to accommodate my interests in the less traveled areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Montenegro. I can imagine the effort to find just the right “special” hotel and guide for us in Podgorica (which turned out to be a lovely quiet respite for us). But you did it. And our guides always commented that you were checking on us, even when we didn’t know it, just to be sure that all was always in order. We felt extremely well-taken care of, thanks to you. Our guides were all superb, knowledgeable, patient, open and willing to share their stories (and you know that is what I was looking for!), and I hope we weren’t too much of a bother for them. I would very much like to stay in touch with them, especially Dino, our guide in Sarajevo, who was a wealth of knowledge, and our fabulous guide in Istria. Even the drivers were world-class and extremely helpful.

Mirela, once again, I apologize for not being able to meet up in Opatja: that would have been lovely and special for us: we were tired at the end of a long day, and anticipating another wonderful Croatian meal that evening! Next time we are in Croatia.

Thank you once again for advising me, and for putting together a simply marvelous tour of an incredible country and region.

With warm regards,

Dean & Sheryl Foster – Brooklyn, NY
April 2018

Dear Wanda!

Everything has been so wonderful.  I’m enjoying my last few moments on sunshine from our beautiful terrace overlooking Dubrovnik. We will not hesitate to recommend your company to friends and Mirela was indispensable!  A few photos are attached.

Best regards,

Lindsay & Edward Timlin – Rye, NY
May 2018

Hello Wanda

On behalf of all of us who traveled to Croatia this April, THANK YOU! We had the most wonderful, informative, relaxing time discovering this beautiful new country thanks entirely to the plan you made for us.

Throughout our 10 days – in Dubrovnik, Korcula Island and Split, we met guides who clearly love their jobs and showing people their city. Each one was nicer, funnier and more enjoyable than the last and their English is as good as ours.

Our hotels were spectacular – whether the Hotel Grand Villa Argentina in Dubrovnik, the Hotel Korcula de la Ville on Korcula Island, or the Marmont Hotel. We think our favorite was the Hotel Korcula – sitting on the grand terrace watching the sun set into the Adriatic is as serene as one could want. We spent a good deal of time on that terrace watching boats and people.

The wine tasting trip you suggested was great – we liked what we tasted so much we sent more than a few bottles back to the states. We then went to Ston with our guide and tried the famous ston cake – unfortunately we couldn’t bring that back with us or we would have.

Mirela Benić, the in-country concierge truly is a ‘personal guardian angel’ – she watched over us and even when we didn’t realize it, she was checking all our steps and arrangements to assure no plan went awry. When we decided to adjust our travel at one point she followed up behind the scenes to be sure it would work as we, the naive travelers, anticipated.

In all, we look forward to returning to Croatia and would tell anyone thinking of going not to step foot in the country without your expert planning and recommendations.

Again, thank you for all you did to make our first trip to this beautiful country an extraordinary experience.

Sincerely,

Bob & Cathy Twomey & Leslie Taylor – Metuchen, NJ
April 2018

Dear Wanda!

We are home but wanted to thank you for a wonderful vacation. With the exception of the rooms at the hotel in Dubrovnik, everything was exceptional. Your country was beautiful. We would definitely recommend Tasteful Croatian Vacations to our friends.

Susan Pinto – Wellesley, MA
September 2017

Dear Wanda,

The trip was amazing and exceeded all expectations! It was truly a magical week. All of us can not say enough about Gulet Linda, Captain Toni and crew!

Our group would like to rebook with Gulet Linda for 2020 and take a route north from Split and plan to spend additional “land” days in Istria/Pula.

Though I will miss staying at Villa Dubrovnik again, just a beautiful hotel!

Though 2020 seems a long time away, we will all look forward to working with you again for planning another amazing Croatian Holiday!

Hope all is well and you are enjoying the summer!

Warm Regards,

Peggy Tonelli – Andover, MA
June 2017

Wanda-

At long last, I am sending just a few of the many photographs we took during our fabulous trip to Montenegro and Croatia. As I have told you previously, our trip was splendidly organized by you and your team in every respect. The drivers and guides were informative, courteous and punctual, and the hotels were excellent without exception. Your concierge’s restaurant suggestions also were terrific. My family was impressed with the way in which every detail was arranged, and send their thanks once again.

I wanted to make special mention of the services that your concierge provided in locating our family members in Montenegro. My family in California had lost touch with our Montenegrin relatives over the past couple of decades, and we were not able to give you many details with which to work as you began the search. Nonetheless, after piecing together the information we were able to provide, your concierge located them and put us in touch. We were able to arrange a truly remarkable meeting with a multi-generational group that had gathered to meet us in Gornji Brceli, the birthplace of my grandfather. The photo of the large group below is from that amazing afternoon. (I am in the lower right, my brother is in the lower left, and my mother is, appropriately, seated in the middle of the photo.)

Our interpreter, Mina, was tremendous…she worked quite hard as the language barrier was substantial. She did a wonderful job, and was (very endearingly) swept up with the rest of us in the emotions of the day. Although all 12 days of our trip were fantastic, that day stands out as a monumental event for our family, and particularly for my mother who had never seen her father’s homeland. You and your colleagues, and your concierge in particular, have our gratitude for making that experience possible.

Mark Gustafson – Durham, NC
September 2017

This trip was truly outstanding. All the guides, drivers and accommodations were the best one could hope for. I especially appreciated the little extras afforded me due to my somewhat limited mobility. We added a couple days in Rome which Wanda Radetti arranged with no problems and the tours were artistic gems.

Bob Thurston – Greensboro, NC
October 2017

Dear Wanda, 

I have been home from my visit to Dubrovnik for a couple of weeks now so I have given this email some serious thought. 

Ms. Batinic was a delightful guide and quite engaging but I cannot recommend her as “a licensed architectural specialist’ as was stipulated in our contract (attached.)  I am not asking for a refund but I strongly suggest that you not promote or accept Ms. Barinic in that role for any future clients.  I was too polite to resist going to her haberdashery or her art gallery but I did turn down her offer to watch the feeding of the pigeons at noon.  I had expected much more in-depth discussion of such things as the unique redesign of the city’s main street following the 1667 earthquake which utilized the newly developed Renaissance principals of perspective.  She mentioned this feature but could not point out or analyze the technique.

When I visited Split, I had a wonderful tour with a young woman who had both the history undergraduate degree as well as a graduate degree in historic architecture that I expected with your guide.  I hope that you can find someone like that in Dubrovnik.

Respectfully,

Darleen Melis – Salem, CT
October 2017