Well, to be honest, I don't know where to start. We have just returned from our 25th Anniversary trip to the area and couldn't happier. When we start planning this trip a couple years back, we looked at a few different ideas before settling on the Balkans. we had even considered a Rick Steve's tour before using the services of Doclea and Dijana Krkotic, https://docleatravel.com, to help plan what would become a fabulous memorable time. I know that others on here from Texas Travel Mom and Mr. E have used her services before and Im so glad for their recommendations. I started talking with her almost a year to the day before we met her to discuss what it was we were looking to do and what we wanted to do and visit. She helped to craft a trip from that with our input and guidance on what we wanted to see and do. We visited the coastal area including Perast, Kotor and Tivat but one of my favorite places was in Bar at the Start Carsija hotel. Great location next to the old fortress and the old town area with great food. Sadly we couldn't visit Dino's for supper as had been suggested as they were closed for a family funeral. We had been looking forward to it. Of the 5 wineries we visited throughout our holiday, the best was Garnet Winery. Yes, it is remote, but so worth it and glad we had Dijana with us that day to take us up there. The whole experience up here was our favorite and so glad we went. We did mange to bring home a few bottles of wines from the various wineries as they were all so good. She also arranged for us to visit an olive grove and have a tasting here. This was great. It turned out that our guide grew up in the same city as the son's owner who gave us the tour and they were able to connect as our guide wanted to find out their supplier for goats cheese. It helped to have cash for these types of purchases as well. My only regret was that we didn't have enough time in Sarajevo. I felt we just scratched the surface of Bosnia but that just leaves more for our next trip to the area. If your looking for a guide to help craft a great trip, look her up, you won't miss it.
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Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26652 posts
If it wasnt for Dijana my visits to Montenegro probably would have been one and done. In my 5th today.
But more important is that you enjoyed. A 25th is a big deal. I remember mine. So I am very pleased for you. I also get a nice feeling when someone else has an understanding of why I appreciate someone or love a destination, so you did me good as well. Thank you.
Oh, I just got a message from a friend who is a guide in Dubrovnik (also very excellent if someone needs a name), she said June has gotten as bad as July and August 5 years ago. So I stepped out on to my balcony and took a photo of the half empty Budva beach and said, send them here. The point, you were smart staying ahead of the trend. These are the new back doors to Europe and they are amazing.