Luxury Croatia Vacation Review: Split, Ston, Hvar, Dubrovnik, Korčula, Šibenik, Truffle Hunting, Oyster Farm Visit, Food Tour

Overall

• We loved the Zicasso process - from the intake form, to the screening interview, to matching process with a local agent - we absolutely would leverage the same process for our future trips

• Our travel agency (and in particular Ivana) were amazing - communicative - both ahead of the trip and during, made great recommendations based on our style, and advocated on our behalf in the few instances when things didn't go exactly according to plan

• We loved the "private" nature of everything we did - our own drivers, our own tour guides, our own activities - certainly we paid for it, but if that's the kind of holiday you're looking for, our travel company certainly delivered

Pre-Trip / Itinerary Building

• We were clear with our travel agency that for us, food > wine, so we had more activities geared that way (truffle hunt in Split, Oyster farm in Ston, Peka in Hvar, Food tour in old town Dubrovnik). But of course, given that it's Croatia, they recommended a couple of wine-centric activities - which were fantastic

• We questioned whether it was worth it to have 4 stops in an 11-day itinerary - it seemed to us like a lot of packing/unpacking - but the team at our travel agency were especially insistent that we leave Korčula in the itinerary - and we're so glad we did

• We went back and forth on a few of the activities and in particular, the "right" hotel in Dubrovnik. In the end, the itinerary was nearly perfect, and the Hotel in Dubrovnik was the right choice for us

• Each time we adjusted the itinerary, we received an updated PDF file with the updated schedule, costs, etc. And perhaps my favorite communication - in the days before the trip, we received an email with three things: 1) a final pdf overview of the entire itinerary; 2) a one-page summary with dates/times for every activity and transfer; and 3) a separate, detailed pdf voucher for each activity/ticket/transfer across the whole trip

Final observations

• Croatia is gorgeous. The best word I can use to describe it is "Dramatic". The people are incredibly friendly. And there are delicious things to eat and drink everywhere you go

• It was *hot* - 95F/35C every day (from late June through early July. And we did *a lot* of walking. Just be prepared :)

• There is *a lot* to do - between old cities with tons of history, beautiful beaches, restaurants, vineyards, farms, markets - we could easily go back to the same spots for another two weeks and have an entirely new experience

• If you want to see Croatia in comfort, with no worries about logistics, and always feel well looked-after, I highly recommend this travel agency