Hey Steve,
That was such a great trip! I’ll never forget it!
Thanks so much for all your help.

Hotel Electra was excellent! Best location, best breakfast buffet, clean and comfy room the most attentive staff (went above and beyond).
Grand Beach wasn’t as over the top attentive but very friendly, buffet was good but not like Electra, short walk to town, a little sketchy as far as walking on the narrow road with a lot of crazy traffic. But the hotel itself was gorgeous and surprisingly quiet for Mykonos. Big modern and clean rooms.

Modernity suites was beautiful and an excellent location. But, because they are built in the old caves it wasn’t as comfortable. Dark and The small A/C didn’t reach the bedroom and I was very hot at night. They brought the breakfast to you and it was pretty good. The service was excellent although it was just one guy doing everything. He was like my personal concierge :)Not the hotel vibe which was totally fine but different.

Hi Steve
OK, we have had time to read through the itinerary in detail…. it looks AMAZING!!!! At first I thought it looked pretty expensive, but once I got into what was included, the price seemed very reasonable. I took notes in an outline form so I could see at a glance where we would be, and what we were doing each day. This is an INCREDIBLE trip! So, for our questions:

What dates are we looking at? (I notice it is Friday to Thursday, 14 days.) Are the dates to be decided later? (Fine with us.)

Our list of what is included says 2 nights at the first hotel, Hotel Esplanade. Is that a typo (1 night?)

It wasn’t clear if the “Circle of Istria” excursion was included. Since it is listed at the end as optional, what would the approximate price be? Would the guide ride with us in our car, or drive us? (doesn’t matter, just curious)

When we do the walking tours, is it just us with the guide, or will there be a group?

Confused on when we turn the car in. The itinerary says “our driver will pick you up and take you to Split,” so I thought we turned in the car on Day 8 before we go to the island of Krapanj. However, I think that wording was an error and we keep the car until Day 9. (Our 7-day rental is Zagreb to Split.) Is it just an error in wording?

We are very excited about this itinerary! Thank you soooo much!

Hi Steve:
Paul sent me the email with your feedback request. First of all, we had a WONDERFUL time in your country!! The people were lovely, the scenery exquisite, the history so rich; and I had a marvelous time with Paul!! J Loved the private tours and the little extras of flowers, wine, cheese, etc. Perhaps the title of the trip could change to highlight the rich history….to contrast the old from the new. Although we had truffles and wine, I saw the focus on history and current times.
More specifically:
Day 1 in Zagreb: the hotel was charming and one of a kind. I felt like a queen!
Petra was a wonderful guide that afternoon and introduced us to Zagreb beautifully. I would of liked one more day there in fact. The restaurant that night was good in my opinion but not one of my favorites from the trip. Fun to see the young musicians in the town square after dinner. Saw our first truffles in a Croatian store and began to get the importance of this delicacy.
Day 2 in Moscenicka Draga and Opatija- views and history unbelievable. Enjoyed the conversations with Allan. Heard about the famous writer, ballerina, musician, and artist from Opatija. Probably our warmest and sunniest day we had in Croatia as we ate lunch by the water.
Appreciated the evening in Rovinj and taking a golf cart to our hotel. Liked the concept of a boutique hotel; however, showering was difficult for Paul d/t the set up. Enjoyed our dinner at Puntiluna- one of my favorite meals and restaurant location! The sunset was beautiful!
Day 3 in Motovun, Paladini, and Kostanjica- one medieval town after another with beautiful views during the drive. Saw the similarity in each town with the church, town square, meeting room, and cemetery. Fascinating experience learning about the truffles and cooking demonstration. Enjoyed the lunch eating truffles in all foods!
Enjoyed the “hunt” to find the truffles with the dogs and leader. Maria was great informing us along the way- really knew her history in this part of Croatia. Really got a good feel of Istria with the wines, figs, olives, etc. On our own for dinner and we ate at Aqua 2- fun place and they took care of us well.

Day 4 in Plitvicka Jezera National Park-wow, a true wonder of the world I was not aware of! The waterfalls were everywhere and I was so impressed how safety was kept in mind for the visitors. Nadja was our tour guide and she knew everything about the park. It was interesting to learn about the effects of the winds from the south, northeast, and from the sea…. This kept on coming up in discussion from one tour guide to the next, and we understood why!
Liked our hotel in Zadar- one of my favorites d/t details in bathroom and room. Staff was ultra nice and accommodating to us.
Day 5 in Zadar first- Paula was our guide and we really felt her energy; she was fun loving. Loved the illumination aspect on the seacoast and the sea choir. Of course she showed us the old city. Drove to Sibenik where Daniel gave us a tour. We got to know Daniel well as our driver- very responsible and accommodating. We spent a lot of time talking about the homeland war and how his city was affected/ saw the landmarks. Another wow moment for me hearing about this difficult time. We had a late lunch in Trogir- this was a favorite restaurant for both Paul and myself. And off to Split.

Day 6 in Split- we ended up touring Split this am as it was too hectic to do the day before (recommendation to split this up) – we met Ivica who was so knowledgeable and insightful about the palace and Croatian history. It was very cool to be staying in the palace from so many years ago. Enjoyed our free day walking about; enjoyed our dinner at Mezzgoon; recommend this restaurant BTW. That afternoon we did climb “the hill” as we looked over the city and went to the archeological museum.
Day 7 in Ston- unfortunately the boat trip was cancelled d/t weather but had lunch at your prearranged place- staff was very attentive and the food was delicious. Great atmosphere.
Drove on to Dubrovnik where I was in awe of the buildings in the old city and views. The hotel was beautiful but not as convenient as the other nights traveling to the old city. However, it was truly amazing to see the bar “on the rocks” both at the hotel and another one in old town. What special views of the Adriatic Sea!!

We went to a classical concert that Fri night arranged by Sonya which was sweet on her part. Wonderful opportunity to hear music afar and see the talent of the Croatian people. Walked around the old city as this is certainly another wonder of the world!
Day 8 in Dubrovnik- we decided to cancel our tours this day d/t bad weather. We adventured to town later that afternoon via bus and toured the shops/ listened to jazz/had dinner. A nice day to relax.
Day 9 in Dubrovnik- we met Sonya in the am and received the formal tour of the old city as well as cable car experience. She was very knowledgeable and we heard her reflections from the recent war. Later that day we went to the infamous evening at the “cousins’ home”-enjoyed all the home made food, learned about the history of their farm, heard music performed by the girls, etc. The family was lovely and so inspiring how everyone gets along- such team work! My only concern is that it is a bit awkward with only 2 guests present – a lot of work for them.
Day 10- got up early for flight to Zagreb and then home.
Again, a wonderful trip, thank you for all your planning and small touches! J Appreciated the other Sonya’s help too as she checked in frequently with us.
If you talk with Daniel, our driver, I believe he has a CD of the acapella group I heard at the palace in Split. We were going to listen to this in the car and then forgot. I did send him my US address.

Best Regards

Hello Steve,I wanted to tell you I had a wonderful time on the FAM in April. I had been to Croatia before but had not seen much of the country. The guides were excellent, Sanya took good care of us and her daughter is fantastic. Our driver, Nicoli, has the patience of an angel and got us where we needed to be though it was difficult fitting everything on the schedule on time. I loved the hotels, I must say that the hotel in Dubrovnik, Hotel More, is very nice but due to the construction going on 24 hours day I would not recommend it until the work is finished.

The food….a gastronomic paradise! I could go on and on about the wine tasting, the truffle farm, Plitvice Lakes, the food, but you know all about it.What a surprise I had when we went to Kameni Dvori outside of Dubrovnik – to find out that Ivo Mujo’s grandmother is the sister to my aunt’s mother! What a small world!After the FAM we rested in Hvar which was nice after all our trekking over the country and now I am back in the office and hope to promote Croatia as a safe destination with great food and great people.

Hvala,

Hi Steve,

I’m just now back at my desk and catching up but I wanted to relay to you how very pleased our group was with every part of the tour, the driver, and especially the guide. Louis was moved by the entire experience.

I also wanted to express my gratitude for your assistance to Kim in managing the Tianna Lucas late arrival. It was a perfect start to our trip for that group and won’t be soon forgotten.

Thanks again.

Anjie

Hello Steve,I wanted to tell you I had a wonderful time on the FAM in April. I had been to Croatia before but had not seen much of the country. The guides were excellent, Sanya took good care of us and her daughter is fantastic. Our driver, Nicoli, has the patience of an angel and got us where we needed to be though it was difficult fitting everything on the schedule on time. I loved the hotels, I must say that the hotel in Dubrovnik, Hotel More, is very nice but due to the construction going on 24 hours day I would not recommend it until the work is finished.

The food….a gastronomic paradise! I could go on and on about the wine tasting, the truffle farm, Plitvice Lakes, the food, but you know all about it.What a surprise I had when we went to Kameni Dvori outside of Dubrovnik – to find out that Ivo Mujo’s grandmother is the sister to my aunt’s mother! What a small world!After the FAM we rested in Hvar which was nice after all our trekking over the country and now I am back in the office and hope to promote Croatia as a safe destination with great food and great people.

Hvala,