My wife and I had a food tour this evening with Elvis from Tour Mage. What a great experience. He brought us to 3 different places to try local cuisine including cevapi, Turkish coffee, and Baklava this evening. He also took us around and explained some of the history including the siege of the 90’s. So much history here. I tend to get the feeling that there is still underlying tension to this day but maybe I’m wrong. Who knows?
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26927 posts
If I had known I would have told you to say hey for me. I hired him through Dijana last Fall to to drive me around BiH for a couple of days. Very decent gentleman and very informative. She chose well for you guys.
Tension in the country? Oh yeah. Thats a whole discussion of its own.
Glad you are enjoying the trip. The posts are great and the resources and experiences are helpful.
Posted by
Lexington, KY (formerly Southeast US)
4804 posts
I'm glad you had a nice experience with the food tour. I liked Sarajevo quite a bit. There is a lot of history there and, agreed, still a lot of tension in the country.
Posted by
OP
Grande prairie., Alberta, Canada
110 posts
Did anyone use him to visit Mostar? Looks like he covers that area as well. He was great for us, especially as we (Canada) were about to play Bosnia in our opening match at the World Cup.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26927 posts
Last year i asked Dijana to get me a transfer from Kljuc in BiH to Sarajevo. Kljuc is where I stay when I go fly fishing. Sarajevo is the airport i have to use. In past years the hotel got me a transfer but this time their price had gone up a bit so ....
Well, before long the transfer plan became a "tour" Kljuc to the falls at Kravica to the Dervish Blagaj Tekija monastery to Mostar for the night to Sarajevo.
Great 2 day tour, and a great driver ... Elvis. But it could have been anyone she would have sent. I trust her reference. So far they have all been good, and quite a few over the years.
In a few locations where i know agents and trip planners I dont book the transfer direct. I let the agent handle the transfers so I can complain if there is an issue and because one person is responsible for everything it makes changes and coordination easier. It's one of the benefits of using an agent and usually costs the traveler nothing as they get paid through the providers.
Yesterday I decided to cancel all our plans and just stay at the beach. One WhatsApp message and 2 transfers and a boat ride ... gone; no cost. If I had booked directly with a driver for a short cancelation he might want $. Today a whole new plan, again just one WhatsApp message. Last year i had to cut a trip short. One call, new transfer to the airport, new hotel room for the night prior, and a partial refund on a non refundable room that I didn't use (because the agent had a relationship with the hotel).
In Rome or Paris or Vienna or Budapest this sort of help is a less necessary. But the backdoors are still challenging and that's a lot of the enjoyment.
Posted by
TX, USA
6283 posts
I have used Elvis at Tour Mage through Dijana - but not to Mostar. On my first trip, he arranged a couple of long day trips out of Sarajevo for me with other drivers and all were excellent. Then I used him when I was on my own (second trip) for 2 day trips. No qualms at all in recommending.