You know you are taken care of
Mate planned the itinerary to our needs and physical abilities for our party of 6 (aged 0 to 70!). He was prompt to respond prior to the trip. His van was clean and well equipped (car seats and comfortable). We all had a great time travelling from Dubrovnik to Split, followed by day trips from Split and Split to Zadar. We swam in the Adriatic Sea off the island of Brac, tasted wine from a local winery, ate the freshest oysters in Stolin, sampled lamb, had a brief trip to Bosnia and visited the filming sites of Games of Thrones. Mate was always there to show us the best ice creams and restaurants. As a family himself he was so friendly and patient towards my toddler and baby. Thanks to Mate we feel we saw the best of what Croatia has to offer. If I ever return to Croatia I would not hesitate to hire his service again, and so should you!
Our best vacation day!
We booked a tour with Mate 6 months in advance. He explained that he works with a team, and couldn’t tell us who our guide might be. I’m here to say that we hit the jackpot with Ante! He picked us up promptly at our hotel and told us the day was ours. The plan was to travel from Dubrovnik to Bosnia with a few standard stops in and around Mostar. Before leaving Dubrovnik, he suggested that we drive to the top of the hill for the best view in town, even higher than the cable car. Great suggestion, it was there that we took the best photograph of our vacation! The day improved from there. We followed the itinerary for the most part, but we did make a few additions as the day went on, without complaint, only enthusiasm. We went to Ante’s favorite restaurant in Mostar with a great view of the bridge. We visited the Genocide Museum, which was a sobering and difficult stop, but helped us understand the hardships endured by all so recently. We walked and walked, made an unplanned stop in Međugorje, hiked the waterfalls, and the long drive back to Dubrovnik through all of the border crossings. It was a very long day, but the smile never left Ante’s face. He is an amazing tour guide!!! Don’t forget to tip your guides folks, they work REALLY hard.
Amazing, beautiful Croatia
A wonderful way to travel from Dubrovnik to Split, we spent the day with Josep in a comfortable, leisurely drive from Dubrovnik, there was no hurry and Josep showed us out of the way places, absolutely stunning views. He was very informative and interesting and easy to talk to, he made us feel most welcome. On our way to Split Josep told us about the greenhouses he had where he grew plants in the ‘off season’ so interesting to hear all about his greenhouses, he asked us if we would like to see them, of course us 2 ladies were very keen, have to say my husband was keen to see how it was done as well. It was very special to see the greenhouses and to see how hard this young man works! As we left he presented my sister and I with the most beautiful bunch of flowers for our apartment, we were so touched by this gesture. When we arrived in Split Josep contacted the lady from the apartment and arranged to meet her, he then parked the van and gave us a quick tour around Split, giving us good tips on where to eat and what to see. It was a truly wonderful experience. As our next stop was Zagreb Josep asked us how we were getting there from Split, we had planned to go on the train, he told us the trains take a long time it would be far better to get a bus/coach, but as my husband suffers from motion sickness and is particularly bad on a bus journey that was not an option for us. We mentioned to Josep that we would like to see the lakes as well, he told us to chat to Mate, he was sure it could be arranged. We did exactly that, and in a flash our trip to Zagreb via the lakes was arranged and Josep was our guide/driver. What a wonderful day we had, we arrived at the lakes and it has snowed overnight so the upper lakes were closed, but that didn’t deter from the beauty and the amazing walk we did around the lakes that were open. As it had snowed and the paths were a bit slippery Josep insisted that he accompany us around the lakes, giving us valuable information and some really good laughs along the way. From the lakes we headed to Zagreb, again there was no mad hurry, we stopped for coffee’s along the way, chatted and had a great time. On the journey to Zagreb Josep told us more of the history of Croatia and the war, sharing valuable knowledge with us, showing us places and buildings that we would never have seen otherwise, or known their significance. On arrival in Zagreb, once again Josep contacted the lady for our apartment and arranged a meeting place, as he drove us into Zagreb he showed us different places of interest and explained how to get to them, it was late in the evening and Josep was so kind and considerate he made sure we met with the lady from the apartment and that we got as close to our apartment as possible so we did not have to walk to far with our luggage. We were very sad to say ‘goodbye’ to Josep as we had made a friend, someone who really cares about others, a genuine kind person.
Croatia & more
We have just returned from a memorable trip to Croatia with Mate’s company. When we contacted Mate, he was very prompt to reply and was patient and helpful with all our questions that followed after the initial contact. He put our itinerary together and included hidden gems which a big tour group would not have experienced.
We had the wonderful Slavko as our driver/guide for the whole duration of our trip, 22 Oct – 8 Nov. Credit to him for keeping his sanity intact with 5 females! He was patient, a safe driver and knowledgeable about the places we visited. And, he had a great sense of humour too 🙂
During the last few days of our trip, the weather was against us. Mate and Slavko tweaked our itinerary accordingly to ensure we were indoors when it rained and also made sure we did not miss anything from the itinerary.
The van Mate provided was spacious, comfortable and always clean. Mate contacted us regularly during our trip to ensure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves. He also told us to let him know immediately if there was anything we were not happy about.
Hvala vam puno Mate and Slavko for an unforgettable holiday with beautiful memories!
We will definitely recommend Mate and his team without any hesitation. Until we meet again, doviđenja!
A wonderful and hassle-free holiday
We are a group of ladies ranging in age from 52 -68 and were looking for a reliable guide/driver for Slovenia and Croatia. We found Mate’s company through the internet. His responses to our queries were very prompt and helpful.
For our 9-day trip, Mate had arranged an itinerary that covered an interesting mix of scenic places and also those of historical interests. Mitja (Lake Bled – Zadar) and Thomas (Split – Montenegro) were our driver/guide. They are excellent drivers and a good source of information on those places we visited as well as places to have our meals.
We had a very memorable and enjoyable holiday and were very happy with the services provided by Mate and his wonderful team. We would certainly recommend Mate’s company to our friends and relatives should they decide to visit Croatia in the future.
