RealCroatia

Highlights:
* Day 1 -Our Hotel and view from our room in Dubrovnik was amazing! The many options for meals (which were delicious) and the beautiful views from those areas were great! The beautiful pools, and the safe places to jump into the Adriatic and swim was really exciting!
* Day 2 - Our friendly local guide, Alberto, was SO knowledgeable about the history and people of Old Town through the centuries. He shared great tips for our own self-touring that afternoon. An extra highlight was that we were able to meet
Marija, in person that a.m. as she was there with another group and made a point of finding us to meet in person. That was a fun surprise.
* Day 3 - Marija planned our seamless arrival of our rental car and we were on our way to Split. Our local tour guide, Ivana, met us at our boutique hotel and it was a convenient walk to Diocietian's Palace. Ivana, who grew up in Split, was a great guide and pointed out the amazing features of the Palace, as well as sharing her experiences as a young girl growing up during the 5 year war.
* Day 4 - We had a beautiful drive to Krka National Park. The waterfalls there were spectacular and this day was a highlight of our trip! On to Zadar where we checked in to the Hotel Bastion, with views of the harbor nearby and easy
walk to experience the Roman and Venetian ruins on the Old Town peninsula. Lots of restaurants to choose from as well!
*Day 5 - Drove to the most famous National Park in Croatia, Plitvice Lakes where Marija had already provided tickets for
us to tour the area. Again, the waterfalls were stunning, and were so worth the walk, in spite of the cloudy day! Then on to
the capitol, Zagreb. We had another seamless transfer to our hotel after dropping off our rental car. Our driver was a great young man who shared his perspective about the 5 yr. war (at my urging). He had been a "celebration baby." His
father had survived the war, married his mother and he was born. He shared that every year they go back to the city in Eastern Croatia, where his father had fought alongside other Croatians to remember those who were lost, such a poignant story.
*Day 6 - Met up with our local guide, Josie, at our hotel and got a great tour of the center of Zagreb. Josie is a vibrant and energetic young woman who loves her city and was so excited to show the many highlights and learn from her about Zagreb's history..... from the City Square, to the famous Cathedral of Zagreb, St. Marks Church, the Dolac Market (amazing daily fresh produce, meat markets, bakeries, wine/olive oil specialties galore!), and riding the Funicular Railway from the upper town back down to the lower town. It was a FUN last day and we topped it off with having an authentic Croatian dinner where the locals go to have a great meal (one of Josie's favorites that she recommended to us). We were not disappointed!!! The BEST local food and great people!
*Day 7 - Marija arranged for our on-time driver to pick us up at 4:30 a.m. for a short, relaxing drive to the Zagreb Airport.
We had plenty of time to relax, buy a few more souvenirs and talk about what an AMAZING trip we'd had.
THANK YOU MARIJA!!!

Bruno did an excellent job of curating the exact trip we asked for. Every person we were set to meet with (guides, car drop off, drivers) were on time, knowledgeable, and helpful. Small extra touches like parking links in larger cities were greatly appreciated.
Bruno was in communication daily, and was available to answer questions that we had. He responded always quickly and thoughtfully.
The overall trip was perfect!

Hotel Reviews

Best Western Premier Hotel Astoria

Zagreb

Hotel is located close to the bus terminal, but a short walk to the city center (15-20 minutes). Friendly staff, very accommodating, great breakfast buffet. Rooms are slightly smaller than other hotels. We had to leave at 4:15 in the morning, and they had packed a breakfast to go for us. Enjoyed our stay there!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Union

Ljubljana

Amazing location, right off the city center square. Friendly staff, wonderful room. There are multiple hotels with a name close to this, and it is connected to another hotel, so we had some confusion as to exactly which hotel we were supposed to be at. Parking is under the hotels, and very, very tight. Lovely breakfast. Dinner was available, but we did not eat here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Martis Forum Heritage Hotel & Residence

Poreč

Super cute boutique hotel a block from the sea. Parking is off site, but they will come and pick you up with a golf cart. Located on the peninsula, it is very close to many restaurants and coffee spots. Nice breakfast in the morning. We also had a lovely dinner there in the evening. Stayed there as a jumping off spots to many areas in the region. We were there in October, so the experience might be different in the summer, but it was a quiet, lovely place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Degenija

Rakovica

We did not stay in the main hotel, but the house next to it. Room was fine. Nice breakfast in the morning, with a restaurant attached. They have a pool, but the weather was cool and it was closed. It looked very nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bastion Heritage Hotel—Relais & Châteaux

Zadar

Beautiful Hotel, right in the heart of the old town of Zadar. Walking distance to all the sights in the area and lots of restaurants. Wonderful breakfast, Michelin restaurant at the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Kind and welcoming. Always greeted us so warmly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Skradinski buk

Skradin

Cute hotel located in Skradin. Easy walking to everything in Skradin including the marina. No air conditioning, but large windows that opened and a balcony to sit on. End of season, so staff was a bit skeleton, but still kin and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Balatura Split Luxury Rooms

Split

Located about a ten minute walk into the main area of Split. It was nice to be slightly away from the busy city center. Large deck to sit on, large room with sofa and large bathroom. Parking is difficult if you have a car. tight area to get to (like all the big cities). Suit cases needed to be carried up a flight of stairs from the parking area. Lovely breakfast, with a few items sitting out, but a made to order (the day before) breakfast. I appreciated the desire to not waste food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel More

Dubrovnik

Beautiful view of the Adriatic sea. Large deck to sit on and watch the sunset. Multiple restaurants on site, with an interesting Cave bar. Access to swim in the sea and two pools. Walking distance to other restaurants. 10 minute walk to the bus stop, and about a 15-20 minute bus ride into Dubrovnik.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Zagreb - Arrival

Zagreb

Picked up from the airport, and had someone waiting for us. He was friendly and full of information about the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bruno was great to work with. He's very responsive, giving us good suggestion and was always ready to answer any questions. Our guides were fun and knowledgeable and kind. We had such a great honeymoon without the headache and stress.

Bruno and team served us very well and made our vacation in Croatia memorable. Kudos to our local guides, especially Dora and Mia, who were gracious and patient! Highly recommend this local travel service…brilliant concept!

Bruno was responsive and thorough in his planning—during the trip there was bad weather which would have ruined our excursions—he reached out to us a few days prior to this and reorganized the dates of our excursions for us to ensure we had great weather for each activity! He went above and beyond!

We firstly want to acknowledge how absolutely wonderful it was working with Tina over the months of planning. She was very patient with our needs and questions. We were extremely happy with the hotels she selected, the tours/excursions that she booked, and the overall sailing experience that we sought. While we were in the country, Tina was in daily contact, and we were able to make some adjustments in a timely fashion. The KimKim chat feature was easy to use everywhere.

We found this section of the Dalmatian Coast beautiful and welcoming. The people that we encountered were all friendly and spoke English well enough that we were never lost. The Croatian areas of Split, the islands of Hvar, Vis, and Korcula, and Dubrovnik were very special. The history of that area is very interesting, and we learned a lot from our tour guides and our sailing boat captain.

The sailboat experience out of Hvar, including the owner/captain James, was all that we had hoped that it would be. the weather didn't cooperate for some of the days, but we made the most of it. I would highly recommend James and his 43' Grand Soliel boat to anyone who wants that kind of sailing adventure.

The hotels that we used were 4-star properties and each of them were unique. They were independent properties, not part of a large chain. All of the staff in each of the four hotels were friendly and helpful. The buffet breakfasts were more than sufficient. We think that the favorite hotels were the Piazza Heritage Hotel in Split and the Villa Filaus in Dubrovnik. The locations of all 4 hotels was ideal to our needs.

We really liked and appreciated the transfer services that met us at each new stop and took us and our luggage to the hotels. The services that we had in Dubrovnik were particularly good and very conversational. We learned much about the area as well as the local customs from these drivers. They were very professional.

In summary, we would absolutely consider using KimKim travel services in any future planning of international travel!

I worked with Tina on the Kimkim team to plan a 5 day trip to the island of Korcula. She was truly fantastic to work with as she was kind, patient, knowledgeable and thorough in planning an adventurous, yet relaxing time for our family of 10, including 8 young adults in their 20's and 30's. She arranged a bicycle tour, as well as a walking tour for us with John, who was our guide. The tour included stops at wineries, honey, fig and olive farms. John, as well as the staff at these family run businesses were kind, generous and just plain fun to be with while hearing the history of farming and popular foods in Korcula. John was very helpful, humorous and a pleasure to spend time with. We also went on a water adventure day on a small yacht with Rocco and Zoran touring us around Korcula's beautiful islets, where our family went sea kayaking and snorkelling through crystal clear waters while taking in breathtaking views. Zoran even caught an octopus for us to hold and admire before placing it back into the water! The highlight of the water adventure day was to visit a secluded beach with a family run restaurant called the Extravaganza. Here, we ate the freshest and best outdoor oven roasted red snapper and John Dory fish, and side dishes, in our lives, and rated our culinary experience as one of the top 5 meals that we have ever had. Wow! As well, our dinners out in Korcula and Lumbarda were all fantastic! Thank you kindly for a wonderful memorable trip.

Hotel Review

Hotel Korsal

Korčula

Everything was excellent at the Hotel Dorsal. The staff were professional, kind, caring, patient, and extremely helpful to all of us with our questions and needs. The rooms were quiet, clean and the beds were very comfortable. The breakfasts were excellent and the staff were polite and helpful. We were all extremely pleased with our stay at the Hotel Dorsal and would return if ever in Korcula again.

Authenticity & Character

Wonderful traditional breakfast with food and fruits from the island as well.

Location

Hotel Dorsal is beside a private, lovely, small beach. There is a great view from the hotel and it is central to Korcula Town where there are shops to explore and many restaurants for dining. The hotel is also close to water taxis and other adventure tour access points.

Staff

The staff were all helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Korcula Walk & Wine Tour with dinner

Korčula

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport