Jane contacted me in April of 2021 to plan a trip for herself and her friends to Croatia and the Balkans in the fall of 2022. I had previously organized a trip for them through Southern Africa, a trip many of them remembered as a "trip of a lifetime".
So expectations were high, but Jane had done her homework. She came prepared with a list of things she wanted to include and together we worked putting together a great itinerary showing the highlights of Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Some of her friends even tagged on Albania as an extension.
After we had created an itinerary outline I contacted my partners in Croatia and as I knew what Jane and her friends loved to do while travelling, they were able to make some great suggestions. We included a walking tour of Ljubljana, followed by a wine tasting in a 300-year old wine cellar. They spent three nights in former President Tito’s summer residence overlooking Lake Bled. Then they were off to the hilltop towns of Istria where a gastro tour with truffle lunch awaited. After visiting the famous Plitvice Lakes we took them to a local farm for an intro to cheese making (and of course a tasting).
The list goes on, a list of exclusive experiences, many of them inaccessible or hard to come by for individual travellers: cultural experiences, scenic boat rides, dinner in an abandoned village, a cooking class, oyster tasting and of course all those beautiful towns Croatia is famous for, from lively Dubrovnik to intimate Trogir and ancient Split.
As travel goes there were a few small issues but nothing that could not be solved quickly on the spot. And after Jane returned she sent me the following feedback:
"Wanted to let you know that we have all arrived safely back in Toronto after an amazing holiday. Croatia and all the countries we visited are really something. It was an awesome trip. I must commend your Croatia partners for choosing wonderful activities and excursions. And the meals that we had provided were all exceptional. I think we did a good job of picking very interesting and unique hotels that, maybe had a few quirks but were definitely right in the old parts of the cities and very enjoyable.
Stella, our tour leader - although initially we had a few reservations about her - she ended up being a great tour guide. Very competent in getting us where we needed to be and into the hotels promptly, very knowledgeable about the country and she had quite a unique sense of humor and had us laughing many times with her stories, etc.
I know everyone had a wonderful time and would highly recommend visiting this part of the world to anyone.
Thank you so much for helping me plan this amazing trip and all the work you did getting it organized."
Over the past 25 years I have built up a great network of trusted suppliers. I work with a select group of great adventure tour operators - companies that have an established reputation and that I know and trust.
For these type of tailored-for-you trips (I call them private journeys) I work with the best in-destination tour companies. I work closely with you and them to design and book your next dream vacation.
You can read more on this style of trip here. And while Jane's group had 16 people, your own private adventure group can be as small as 2. Popular destinations are Italy, Croatia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, India, South East Asia, East and Southern Africa, Peru, Patagonia, Costa Rica, the Arctic and Antarctica.
But that's only for starters as we have partners all over the world.
Contact me to start planning your next private adventure tour.
