The Hill of Crosses was torn down and rebuilt repeatedly under Soviet occupation. Photo: Traveler Chris Kloes

My husband and I had an incredible trip to the Baltics this summer. Jay’s team helped us plan the trip and we are very happy that we chose them.

While the Baltic countries are often lumped together, each is quite distinct, with its own history, culture, and food. We love to travel and are grateful to have explored many countries around the world. We had heard wonderful things about the Baltics, and wanted a trip both to the major Baltic cities, but also “off the beaten path” where we could explore smaller towns, meet local people to learn about culture and history, and explore Baltic cuisine.

Our trip started when we took the ferry from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia. The ferry is huge, clean, and super easy to board and disembark. Tallinn is charming—with a quintessential medieval walled old town. We appreciated the classic things to do in Tallinn, and enjoyed a food tour with an American expat, who helped jump start our trip. We sampled local fare, like smoked cheese and fried black bread with garlic, which were both delicious! We also sampled the incredible local fruit. We also did some more unusual activities, as suggested by Jay’s team. For example, we went bog shoe hiking! We learned that Estonia has many pristine bogs, many over 6,000 years old, where you can walk in them using special shoes, kind of like snow shoes. Our guide showed us how to use them and also introduced us to much of the flora and fauna that you can find in the bogs. It was so much fun and a truly unique way to learn about Estonia. We also enjoyed the up-and-coming artist area of Telliskivi. There were lots of hip restaurants and many galleries and shops to explore there.

One other cool thing in Tallinn—we had a WOW Moment, which is a special gift from Wendy Perrin to us for being loyal customers and having booked several trips with their planners. Our WOW Moment was a private sunset cruise on the Baltic Sea outside of Tallinn. It turned out to be a beautiful sailboat, with a venerable local captain and his trusty first mate. This boat was huge—we were so delighted! Of course, the sun sets at 10:30 p.m. or so in Tallinn in June. So, we were cruising on our own private sailboat with the beautiful glow of the sun starting at 9 p.m. at night. We were just thrilled with our adventure, and very grateful that we have had enough trips with Wendy’s travel specialists that they arranged it for us.

We also visited Saaremaa and Pärnu, two smaller towns in Estonia. Saaremaa was charming, with lots of old windmills and a lovely 800-year-old castle. Our hotel room looked out at the castle. The hotel—the Ekesparre Boutique Hotel—was thoroughly charming, cozy, and elegant at the same time. We loved the breakfasts here and it was a great location to walk, wander, and explore. We also had one of the best meals of the trip here at Resto Hafen, a local seafood restaurant within walking distance from our hotel and that was on a small marina. Everything was so simple but perfectly prepared; fresh, with lots and lots of seafood and tasty local veggies.

Pärnu was also lovely. It is a beach escape for many Estonians. We rented bikes and had lots of fun cruising around while we got the lay of the land. The beach was very approachable, with families and friends staying out late into the still-light evenings, even at 11 p.m. and later. We stayed at the Hedon Hotel and had an amazing spa experience here. The spa had 13 separate stations, including 5 different types of saunas and 3 types of pools. To say we were truly relaxed afterwards is an understatement!

We left Estonia for Cēsis, Latvia. This town has the most interesting castle we saw on our trip. It was built in the 13th Century and there is so much you can learn about Latvian history by visiting. The castle is incredibly well-preserved for a place that was sacked by Ivan the Terrible! While in Cēsis, we stumbled upon a pan-European bike race that was ongoing, taking over the city streets. It was the kind of experience that is serendipitous and makes you feel like a local!

We left Cēsis for time in Riga, the capital of Latvia. It’s a lovely town with a sizable walled city center that has many lovely churches and historic buildings. Riga has the most amazing food market you can imagine, called the Central Market. The market is housed inside of several former zeppelin hangers and each hanger has its own theme, like one for meat, one for dairy, one for seafood, etc. Our guided tour of the food hall was one of the highlights of the trip, for sure.

As we were leaving Latvia, we stopped at Rundale Palace in Latvia — this place was incredible and so surprising in a fairly remote location. It is the Versailles of Latvia, for sure. The palace is enormous and impressive, with incredible furniture, decoration and art. It’s amazing to think that it was later used as a school and in total disrepair as recently as 20 years ago.

Finally, we ventured into Lithuania for the last segment of our trip. Lithuania is the biggest of the Baltic countries and the only one that is predominantly Catholic. We had a stop at the Hill of Crosses as we made our way to Vilnius. The Hill of Crosses is just that, a living monument for Lithuanians to celebrate the dead but also other events for the living, like a baptism. There must be literally millions of crosses of all sizes. It made you appreciate the resilience of the Lithuanian people, who rebuilt the monument in the cover of night every time the Soviets tore it down during the occupation years. And from there, we went to Vilnius, a lovely city that we knew nothing about. It also has a walled city center, with red roofs, lively streets and squares. We took a guided city walk to ground ourselves in the history of the city and the country.

Throughout the trip, we were thoroughly impressed with our guides and drivers. Some of the most interesting conversations we had were with our drivers, who knew so much about the social and political history of the places we were visiting. And our guides were uniformly excellent, personable with just the right amount of local flair and color thrown into our tours and activities.

Finally, we need to shout out to our local contact, Adam. Any time things needed attention or if there was a hiccup in the plans, he was there to help and make sure our experience was excellent. We called upon him a few times to help us with adjustments, questions or recommendations—he always came through. We think having a local contact like Adam, available both through WhatsApp and via phone, really makes the difference between a great trip and an extraordinary one.

We should also mention that this is a trip we had originally planned to take in the summer of 2024. When we had a family medical issue that kept us from being able to travel, Jay’s company worked with us to reschedule the trip. We truly appreciated the flexibility and compassion.

This is probably the 8th or 9th trip we have booked with a Wendy Perrin-recommended travel specialist and we are hooked! The local expertise, personalization, and help on the ground are incredible and we feel fortunate to have found such a trustworthy source for our travel planning.

Thank you for guiding us to Jay for our trip to Normandy. While we only used their guides for the beaches and Bayeux, his staff went out of their way to assist us in Paris. In fact, when we arrived, Elena met us at our hotel with chocolates and cake to help us all celebrate the anniversary of our travel companions. In addition, she stayed in close touch with us while we were in Paris and let us know that she was available to help make any arrangements that we might need. She went above and beyond what was promised to us.

From the minute we arrived in France, everything worked seamlessly. Because our first hotel didn’t have a/c, we decided to change our hotel in Bayeux fairly late in the planning stages. Nevertheless, the replacement accommodations worked out beautifully. Our guides in Normandy were superb! We’re giving a shout out to Matthew, who gave us the history and took us to the American Cemetery. His knowledge of French history and WWII brought it to life for us. In addition, he is part of the group that is trying (and succeeding!) to identify the Jewish Soldiers who were long ago buried in mass graves, or, because the Jewish soldiers were told to remove dog tags or any other items that would mark them as Jewish, in graves that have crosses. The bodies can now be returned to their families or be buried with a Magen David. Remarkable!

The WWII jeep trip with Amandine and Philip was extraordinary in its own way. Perhaps the most meaningful exclusion we had with them was when we visited the British Cemetery. Surprising to us all, German soldiers are also buried there. The British Cemetery is much smaller and less grand than the American cemetery, but every bit as moving.

Thank you to the Wendy Perrin group for steering us to Jay and his team. We have now had more than a decade of wonderful travel due, in no small part, to you!

Traveler Phil Hoch visits the gravestones at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague.

Just back from Prague, and why you need a WOW List planner and travel insurance:

My wife and I returned home a week ago from a long-awaited trip to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Ljubljana. From the initial call with Jay, to all our interactions with his colleagues Kaylea, Denis and Nikoleta, we were sure we were in good hands heading into our trip. We had such a great itinerary mixing city highlights with countryside tours and everything in between. Prague was a magical start. From the Astronomical Clock, to the Charles Bridge and the Bone Church, we loved every moment. And every meal and ice cream and pastry!

On the last evening, in the middle of the night, I woke up violently ill, and had to be transported to an emergency room. At 2:30 am, my wife called our local contact, Denis, to see if he could help bridge the language barrier we were experiencing. He answered, spoke to the nursing staff on our behalf, and couldn’t have been more concerned about my health. The fact that he answered at that time and jumped right into action was beyond spectacular. He also made sure our hotel could hold a room for us for a few days since we were supposed to check out that morning. While we initially thought it was food poisoning, we now believe it was a norovirus. We stayed in Prague at the hotel four more days and as I was still not feeling well, we flew home early as it was clear I couldn’t complete the rest of the itinerary.

I don’t know what we would have done without Denis being there for us. He also got the process going to determine what we missed so we could file a trip insurance claim, and helped us pay the ambulance fee, which wasn’t collected at time of service. We are in the process of filing a trip insurance claim, made easier by the team’s efforts.

While I’d like to forget how Prague ended, it was magical until the end. And when we do travel to complete this trip in the future, you can bet it will only be with Jay’s company, and only with Denis involved!! (And with trip insurance, because you never know.)

Traveler Sheila Morse and her husband at a restaurant in Korcula, about to eat “THE BEST SQUID EVER!”

There is no way, had we attempted to plan this trip on our own, that we would have had 1/100th of the enjoyment of the amazing three weeks in Croatia and Slovenia that was provided under the care of Nikoleta, and all of Jay’s team members. We went from initial planning questions, to a proposed itinerary, followed up by in-depth questions and suggestions, to a more refined proposal and then a final itinerary. This was a trip that was months in the planning, that integrated our general interests with our local friends’ availability, and that successfully accommodated my husband’s particular handicap. Daily notes on the itinerary were SO useful! Providing photos of pick up and meeting points is a genius touch in a truly wonderfully detailed plan.

Every hotel choice, the rooms, and the breakfasts, were perfect or near perfect. Transfer drivers and tour guides throughout the tour were personable and attentive and knowledgeable. The itinerary was well-balanced between activities and free time, types of activities, and timing. We appreciated early morning and later evening starts to avoid the intense mid-day heat. In each case, hotels were conveniently located and provided comfortable downtime space. After a few times of touring old city/town centers I thought perhaps we had seen enough. But in fact, each was different and each guide focuses were different.

We had one intentional WOW event and one unplanned! We were escorted through the old town of Dubrovnik to Local. Marija, Zlatko, (owners) and their children, Lea and Josip, were so very gracious and welcoming. As we were enjoying our welcome drink, a pomegranate liquor, Marija explained how their business came about and evolved over the past years, from 2 places for gelato in the old city to a review in the WSJ, to becoming friends with the reviewer, to sourcing local produce and hosting guests in their homes to opening the new place in the old city just one month prior to our visit. While we had great conversations at our dining table, periodically we stopped all discussion to focus on the exquisite taste experience—the most amazing tomatoes, fresh cheese, and prosciutto as Zlatko explained how it was made and the ways it is different from other countries’ more mass production processes (I will never look at an Italian prosciutto the same way again!), the octopus or veal Peka. The wines and olive oil were some of the best we enjoyed in our 3 week adventure. The amount of food served and wine poured is exceedingly generous! Each time you think you cannot eat another bite, something new to taste is presented. It is true that we were warned to come hungry. Probably it would have been better to not have eaten for two days prior to being indulged at Local. We are so very grateful to have been treated to this experience!

The second AMAZING experience took place on our very last night in Croatia with Tea and Kristo, of DuOlife. Tea took us to her and Kristo’s olive groves for the best of several olive oil tasting experiences we had throughout our itinerary. (If anyone thinks that experiencing olive oil, wine, and food tasting experiences three, or four, or more times in Croatia is too much, it’s not. Each experience was different; we learned something new each time, we were so grateful to get briefly acquainted with our hosts; and I feel that we could have made good friends in many different places had we the time.)

Kristo gave the best talk ever, and is attentive to every nuance of each question. He was charming with the children of the couple who joined our experience, and exceedingly patient. We sat at a long table in the dusk and later under the stars, the quarter moon, and the Milky Way pairing olive oil with orange (!), chocolate, and tomatoes, enjoying food treat after food treat and Tea’s homemade breads (WHEN does she have time to bake the breads and prepare the food and pick up her guests AND maintain a full-time job??), drinking good wines, and just talking with our hosts and the other participants. I often host many people over long dinners and conversations, and this felt just exactly as if we were at home with family. But that’s not all. The tasting was to end at 9 pm. Long after 10, Kristo and Tea drove all of us to the top of Srd peak to view Old Dubrovnik lit up far below.

In short, the entire experience turned out to be so much better than we’d hoped or imagined, thanks to Jay’s team. We are so very grateful.

I recently returned from a wonderful trip to the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and Poland. I originally started planning the trip on my own as I often do, but quickly realized that there were a lot of logistics involved in traveling to four countries in one trip. After spending a lot of time researching my itinerary, hotels and transportation options, and not making much progress, I contacted Wendy to see if she could recommend a travel company that could provide support while still allowing me to remain independent while traveling. She recommended Jay’s company.

I spoke him about my goals for the trip. He gave me feedback and helped fine tune my itinerary both on the cities and sights I was contemplating and to ensure I had enough time in each location. I then worked with a couple of his team members to select hotels and finalize transportation between each location. It was an easy process. His team has a large database of vetted hotels and provided multiple recommendations based on the level of comfort I desired—all via links on their website so I didn’t have to spend lots of time evaluating where to stay. They also recommended the best transportation options and once all was finalized, they booked everything for me.

A unique element of the company is that the traveler can choose their desired level of support while in country—from being mostly independent to a full-service approach, complete with full-time guides, drivers, etc. As an experienced traveler, I chose to be mostly independent. I had a walking tour in each city when I arrived, which was really helpful and fun. The guides were top notch and really helped me understand and appreciate the history and culture of each place. I also chose a couple of day trips out of the city and the team arranged those as well. Otherwise, I was on my own, although they checked in on me periodically throughout the trip to make sure things were going well or to advise me of any logistical changes.

This approach gave me the flexibility to schedule my days as I wanted and to make changes on the go if I so desired. I could linger in a restaurant over a particularly tasty meal, spend a half day at the Royal Wawel castle vs. just seeing the highlights, or visit the incredible St. Mary’s Basilica twice in Krakow, and explore some beautiful off the beaten path neighborhoods in Vilnius to get a glimpse of everyday life in the city.

All of my hotels were great—I was upgraded three times too! And the many transportation logistics all went off without a hitch. Jay’s team provides your itinerary digitally via their website. I could add to it as well so that I could see my full schedule each day all in one place. They also have recommended restaurants and other tips for each city on their website, which was helpful.

I would recommend the company to anyone, but especially to those who are looking for a semi-independent way of traveling. I also heartily recommend this part of Europe—each country was so beautiful and distinct, with a fascinating history and so much to see and experience. There were no heavy crowds, the locals were all friendly and eager to help or just have a conversation, and this part of Europe is very reasonable, too.

Jay and his team organized our trip through Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo from June 4 through June 16, 2025. My husband and I were the clients. This part of the world is not frequently traveled by tourists, especially Americans. But everywhere we went we were embraced by the locals.

Jay’s team did a terrific job of managing the itinerary in locations where tourist infrastructure is not up to par with most other European countries. The guides were the best available—friendly, knowledgeable, and flexible. We had an unexpected issue with noise at one hotel (that had assured us previously of quiet), and Jay’s representative quickly responded to our anxious plea—on a Sunday morning—and immediately found us a fantastic option that was perfect for us.

From planning to arrival back home we dealt with four of the company’s staff, including Jay himself, and every person was exceedingly professional, courteous, friendly, and service-oriented. The trip was fascinating, interesting, fun, arduous, eye-opening, and enlightening. The team made it all possible.

When you get to the Charles Bridge at sunrise, you have Prague to yourself even in peak season. Photo: Traveler Leila Beasley

Jay’s colleague Melita helped us coordinate a trip to Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland in June 2025, handing us off to Prague-based Adam, our wonderfully helpful direct contact. From the driver who picked us up at the airport in Budapest at the start of our adventure to the driver who transferred us to the Krakow airport at the end—and every transfer driver and private guide in between—our experience was magical. Those who dislike crowds would be advised to visit this part of the world earlier in the season than we did. Budapest and Prague are enormous cities—much bigger than we’re normally comfortable exploring—and they are absolutely FULL of tourists, just like us. Nevertheless, our guides helped us navigate and begin to understand their rhythms. Esther, our walking tour guide in Buda, got us out to Fisherman’s Bastion for pictures before the crowds arrived; by the time the other daytrippers had descended on Buda, we were quietly exploring a deserted side street!

Our guide in Prague suggested we wake early to best enjoy the Charles Bridge; we took her advice and got out to the bridge at sunrise the next morning—and had the place essentially to ourselves.

Our guide in Wroclaw suggested we hop on a Vistula river cruise. She helped us buy tickets right there on the spot, and we ended up discovering Japanese Gardens and more hidden delights upriver.

In Krakow, our guide pointed out restaurants and viewpoints and helped us determine what to see at Wawel Castle when we returned a couple of days later.

Private transfers enabled us to enjoy a few of our favorite moments of the entire trip. For example, we had lunch and a fascinating walking tour in Bratislava on our way to Český Krumlov. We toured fabulous Hluboka Castle, which I’d never even heard of, en route to Prague. And the rural architecture museum in Opole between Wroclaw and Krakow bowled us right over.

Our entire trip was eye-opening, exciting, and magical—but Poland stole our hearts. From the moment we arrived in Wroclaw, we were enchanted. Krakow streets are lined with breathtaking churches and chapels; each one is a marvel. And of course no trip to Krakow is complete without a solemn visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau; there are no words to describe that experience, so I won’t even try. A trip to the breathtaking Wieliczka salt mine, one of the very first UNESCO World Heritage sites, completed our Polish adventure. From the food to the architecture to the music to the people, we loved Poland and look forward to returning.

Every hotel was ideally located and exceedingly comfortable; Amber Design Residence in Krakow in particular was a gem, and a place we never would have found on our own. We’re so grateful to Melita, Adam, and their team for designing such a magnificent adventure for us!

Traveler Marcy Fields said the picnic in Istria, with food from their guide’s farm, was “beyond imagination.”

From the moment we stepped off the plane in Ljubljana, our trip went perfectly as planned. No glitches, delays or issues checking into our rooms. Tea, who met us at the airport, set the tone for what we could expect on this trip. Everyone we encountered, whether the tour guide or the driver, could not have been more pleasant and full of pride for their respective countries.

We connected instantly with our guide/driver, Miro, on our trip to Lake Bled in Slovenia, and were so pleased he was our driver the next day to Rovinj. We were sad to see him go. Rovinj was a beautiful waterfront town and we loved how it’s a bit off the beaten path. Not too crowded but with many things to do and see. Our day trip to Motovun was a true highlight of our trip. Maslinka, our tour guide, was so interesting and shared so much history about the Istria region. The picnic she provided with food from her farm was beyond imagination. It felt like we were in a movie. Plitvice National Park was also amazing and we were so glad it was included in our itinerary.

When we got to Hvar, it was next level. The water was like nothing we’d seen before. It felt like each place we visited got a little bit better. We enjoyed the outdoor restaurants and Pakleni Islands as well while there. While a bit crowded, we very much enjoyed Dubrovnik and a highlight of our stay there was lunch at the Panorama Restaurant on top of Mt Srd. The views were stunning and it was absolutely heavenly there. Our tour of the walled city with Vlaho was better than we expected. What a knowledgeable and interesting young man.

I have to say in closing Martina, our travel representative, made our trip. She could not have been more responsive and also on top of everything before we arrived somewhere. It was such a wonderful touch meeting her in person in Dubrovnik. I could go on and on but I think it’s evident we had a fabulous trip! Thank you.

My wife and I just returned happy but tired from our 11-day Italy excursion celebrating my recent retirement planned for us by our travel team. We visited three areas—Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terra, Turin, and Venice. We enjoyed wonderful private and “skip the line” tours throughout. The highlight in Monterosso was the amazing seaside scenery. While we had pleasant weather during our stay, it was too cold to swim for us. This is a location that may be worth braving the summer crowds for so you can swim in that beautiful sea.

In Turin, the highlight was the day trip to Barolo and the surrounding towns with a private a winery tour and tasting. A case of wine will be shipped home soon. Venice is a place that has to be seen to comprehend its story. Highlights were the private tour of St. Marks, and the day trip by boat to the islands of Murano and Burano, where we got to see glassblowing practiced in an artist’s studio. Valentina, our trip planner, was wonderful throughout, always available by WhatsApp for any questions or concerns. We would never have been able to see and experience so many wonderful things without her guidance. I highly recommend her team.

Traveler Barbara Schoenfeld appreciated proximity to the historic district.

May 4 to May 7, 2025
Jay made a fulfilling visit to Slovenia happen for us. With only two full days to work with, he booked us into a AS, a cozy boutique hotel that was perfectly located in Ljubljana’s historic center. Great choice because we were able to walk to all of the must-visits in the historic district and shoe-horn in a terrific walking food tour. On our out-of-town day, we hiked the Vintgar Gorge (great experience and you must wear helmets) and then headed to Lake Bled, where we rode a rowboat to the iconic island and scrambled around to explore the church. The highlight of his team’s facilitating our trip was our spunky, irreverent but informative English-speaking driver Taja.

We toured Central Europe from April 16th-April 27th and visited the countries of Hungary, Austria, and Czech Republic. It was a trip to celebrate our recent college graduate. Our planner listened to what was important to us and crafted an itinerary that fit our interests, abilities, and budget. We were thrilled with the private tours and the knowledgeable guides that were selected for us. I would enthusiastically recommend them.

Erin, Brandon and Kylie enjoy cream puffs at a cafe around the corner from Notre Dame.

We had a wonderful trip to France and the Netherlands. We wanted to take our 12 year old daughter on her first international trip over spring break (1st week of April 2025). She has been in love with Paris for years so we knew that was our main destination but also wanted to visit another country.

Wendy connected us with Jay’s travel company and they were able to suggest going to Amsterdam. This was a great time to go because the Keukenhof flower gardens, which are only open a couple of months each year, would be open. The Keukenhof visit was a highlight for us. We spent about 4 hours there but easily could have stayed longer. One piece of advice—you can buy an entrance ticket + bus ride combo ticket. The bus ride is about 45 minutes. If you do this option, I would suggest getting to the bus early. Even though you have already purchased a ticket, you have to wait in a pretty long line to get checked in and wait for your group to get called to board a bus. We got to the bus around 9:30am but didn’t get to Keukenhoff until 11:15am. As we had dinner plans for the evening, this ate into the amount of time we were able to stay at the gardens. The ticket says it is a hop on, hop off bus transfer, which is slightly misleading to how long you will actually have to wait. Other highlights in Amsterdam are the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum.

We fell in love with Paris more than we had expected. We stayed at Hotel le Canopee. It is a small boutique hotel and was absolutely perfect for us. The staff is so wonderful and they make it feel like you are coming home at the end of a busy day. The rooms are very clean and quiet at night. We will definitely stay here again. We did opt for a private intro to Paris tour and a private Louvre tour. These tours were possibly the only thing we weren’t 100% pleased with. We had never done private tours before so I think it is just important to be in touch with your tour guide prior to the tour to make sure you are all on the same page with what you want to accomplish in your time together. Our guide was very nice, knowledgeable and great with our daughter, I think we just didn’t get the experience we were hoping for.

The rest of the time in Paris was magical. Notre Dame has reopened and if you get there first thing in the morning, the lines are minimal. We did the audio tour which I highly recommend. We did a day trip to Loire Valley for a castle and wine tasting tour, which I would highly recommend. We snuck over to Disney Paris for 1 day. It is extremely easy to take a 45-minute metro ride which drops you off right at the front door of Disney. Other things to not miss are Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.

Having a local contact was one of the best parts of our trip. Not only was she helpful with dining reservations, but also met us upon arrival to help get oriented. We had one issue with a ticket voucher and were able to get in contact with her and get it easily resolved. It was also comforting knowing we had someone to reach out to locally that could help us if we had any issues or emergencies.

We had a wonderful trip and would definitely use this team again. The whole process was easy and everyone was a pleasure to work with, from the moment we first reached out through the follow up when we arrived back home.

I had never used a travel expert before, but after having to cancel our 40th Anniversary trip to Italy twice due to an illness, I did not have the energy to re-book it again.

Then I found Wendy Perrins site. I knew it would cost more than If I booked it, but I wanted it to be stress free and perfect! And so it was. Wendy connected us with Jay and his team, and they handled everything from booking classy yet affordable hotels, to drivers and guides who picked us up at the airport and various train stations along the way in Northern Italy.

We visited Lake Como, Lugano Switzerland, Cinque Terra, Bologna, Verona, Milan. They arranged special tours like an eight-hour guided trip around Lake Como, which was awesome. And best of all, we had a contact to call or text every step of the way during our 11-day adventure. It felt like they were holding our hands as we wobbled across the cobblestone streets in every city. They would text us each day with reminders as to what the plan was for the day and who our driver was going to be.

I have already recommended my niece and her fiancee to Jay’s company for their June 2025 honeymoon in Italy, and I highly recommend them to anyone who just wants to enjoy the experience without stressing about buying train tickets, planning tours, or hiring cabs etc.

Bravo Jay. Standing Ovation to Wendy Perrin. We will contact you for our next big adventure!

Wendy Perrin connected us with Jay’s team and they planned our perfect babymoon. The tour guides were informative and responsive to our needs. We knew we wanted to see the small towns around the Alsace region and they encouraged us to also explore Heidelberg. And we’re so glad they did. The old-town tour, ending at the castle, gave us one of our best days. The small towns surrounding Alsace were exactly what we were looking for—old world, charming and historic. A special highlight was our WOW Moment, which took us touring the Lalique factory. It was fantastic! This area of France is not to be missed!

Emily Campbell and family before climbing down (and up) the Hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe’s 241 steps.

When I first reached out to Jay Ternavan, he responded very promptly even though he was overseas. After exploring a few destination options based on my dates and budget (including Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland), Jay helped me to settle on Spain and Portugal and brought in Art Sindlinger to work through the next steps. Art helped me plan the trip based on the who (me plus 2 recent college grads – their first time to Europe), why (graduation trip), how (mix of culture, history, outdoors) and where (seeing a lot of two countries but at a relaxed pace). He also suggested a slight alteration of dates so that we could attend the St. Anthony Festival in Lisbon (so fun!) and was able to accommodate a late addition of one guest to part of our itinerary.

When we settled on the itinerary, I received a very detailed email and access to my personalized website where I could see details on my hotel and excursion options, and then my final itinerary. It was very easy to navigate the site with my local host Maria Pereira (based in Lisbon) to make those selections. And the site had useful information about tipping and insurance, for instance, and other local details like services and dining. And at every stage I had someone I could reach out to with questions or changes.

I am so glad that I decided to work with Jay’s company—it was an important trip, and I got too busy at work to spend a lot of time on the details. Jay, Art and Maria were tremendous in presenting great options that matched our styles and what we wanted to do. They helped us create special memories!

Molly Whisenant, Rance Raney, Thad Whisenant, and Leah Raney dining at Dvor in Split.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND Jay’s company!!!!! They planned a fantastic trip for the four of us (2 couples) to Croatia and Montenegro! I appreciate that they listened to us regarding what we wanted to do and did not push us to do a “standard” itinerary. We had certain things we wanted to see and do, and Jay’s experts made it happen. They made great suggestions based on what we wanted out of our vacation. We loved Croatia and Montenegro!!!

From the moment we landed, the trip was perfectly planned. Our local guide, Tea, met us upon arrival to our hotel. She made sure we had all of the information for our trip and answered any questions we had about details. She also made great suggestions for places to eat and bars to visit. Our favorite restaurant was Dvor, a Michelin restaurant in Split…delicious! During our wine tastings, we were surprised at how good the Croatian wine was, especially the white wine! One of our favorite days was a boating excursion to the Elaphiti Islands. The Adriatic sea was gorgeous! After a morning of swimming, we stopped on the island of Sipanska Luka and had a delicious lunch by the water. Our guide even made reservations for us. It was a perfect day.

Jay’s team definitely added value to our trip. We did not have to waste any valuable vacation time doing follow-up or planning. It was done by Jay’s offices and Tea. They also stayed within our budget and suggested some fantastic hotels. We especially loved the Heritage Grand Perast Hotel in Perast, Montenegro. It was a lovely hotel right on the water, looking out over the Bay of Kotor. In the evening, you could sit outside on the plaza with a cocktail and musicians played nightly for the guests.

The Weld family strolling through Riquewihr, France. Photo: Jarvis Weld

My husband, our 23-year-old son, and I traveled to Germany in June/July, picking up our 16-year-old son in Munich for the last two days, following his school exchange trip. We specifically requested hiking, so Jay and his team recommended three days in the Black Forest, then some time just over the border in Strasbourg, France, before taking the train to Munich. Their expert advice helped us design a plan that would not have occurred to us.

Neil Cameron was our agent for Germany. Starting in Baden-Baden, we enjoyed an informative city walking tour with Klaus, then a free afternoon. The next day, Karl led a day-long hike through the countryside, visiting the new castle, old castle ruins, vineyards, country lanes, small towns, a monastery, and many Black Forest trails. We completed 12 miles with 1800 feet elevation, exactly as we had requested. The following morning, we indulged in the Caracalla baths neighboring our hotel before a driver took us to Strasbourg, France.

Karen was our agent in Strasbourg. He arranged a surprise wine tasting at the hotel bar as a thoughtful introduction to the wine country of Alsace. The first day, Florence led a walking tour of the lovely old city, leaving us a free afternoon to rest and do some shopping. The next day, Christophe steered us on a 6-hour driving tour of the countryside, where we explored the fascinatingly restored 14th-century Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg. We also visited the town that Disney reproduced for Beauty and the Beast, Riquewihr, and learned about developing biodynamic wine at a tasting at the Achillé winery. Switching countries for a few days and learning about the unique culture of Alsace added so much to our trip.

Next, we took the train to Munich, as we love train rides. We met our other son and explored Munich on our own.

For our final day, Neil Cameron and Wendy Perrin had planned the perfect WOW Moment for us. Allowing a little lead time for preparation, we rode the train an hour into the Bavarian Alps with the delightful Stephanie. We hiked from the town of Tegernsee on deserted forest trails and saw a chapel on top of the peak, where Stephanie treated us to some Himbeergeist, a raspberry spirit. We saw many peaks, alpine meadows, walked through pastures with cows with bells on, and had a delicious alpine lunch at a chalet on the mountain. A train ride back to Munich completed the day. We can’t say enough how perfect Wendy, Neil, and Stephanie made this WOW Moment for our family.

This was our third family trip planned with Wendy Perrin’s help, and I can’t praise her services enough. After Wendy passed us to Jay, Jay called us and asked for an outline of our wishes. Going back and forth with planning in the web portal Jay’s offices use was seamless and easy. They easily stuck to our budget. The hotels they recommended were each an exceptional level of service for the price level we requested. We had the perfect mix of activities and time on our own. They also provided us with suggestions for restaurants and activities during our own time. It was so comfortable to have all the drivers, services and hotels prepaid, and we had VIP service and little surprises everywhere we went. Both Neil, in Germany, and Karen, in France, were in touch with us every step of the way. We did not have any hiccups, but if we had, I am confident they would have dealt with it immediately.

Thank you to Wendy Perrin, to everyone on Jay’s team, and to each of the drivers and tour operators for giving us a trip where we could relax, enjoy exploring new places, and create wonderful memories with our two sons.

Jeremiah Beasley in the Romanian countryside. Photo: Traveler Oscar Beasley

My college-bound son Jeremiah and I enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime, father-son bonding travel experience in Romania. Our travel agent Jay Ternavan actually suggested Romania in the first place because our family is particularly interested in Orthodox churches, monasteries, and icons; Jay worked with us to create a city/countryside balance of experiences. From start to finish, Jay and his incredible team ensured that the entire trip was smooth sailing. Jemmy and I particularly enjoyed private transfers between Bucharest, Sibiu, Sighișoara, Brasov, and Gura Humorului, for several reasons. First, it was such a delight to have all location-changing logistics handled by an expert. Second, each private transfer became a mini-vacation, because each featured a beautiful Romanian treasure—Cozia Monastery, Biertan, and Bicaz Gorge, for example—that we would have missed had we traveled via train. And finally, I genuinely enjoyed getting to talk to our drivers and learn about their lives.

Particularly in late spring/early summer, Romania remains off the beaten tourist path. This means that Romanians are delighted to greet visitors and prices are low. Among our favorite experiences were walking tours in Sibiu and Brașov; two separate meals with Romanian families; Peleş Castle; and the painted monasteries of Bucovina. This region in the northeast of Romania is even less likely to see American visitors than the rest of the country—and worth every ounce of effort required to get there. The painted monasteries were a bucket-list item for us that did not disappoint and cannot adequately be described in words. Suffice it to say they were the most poignant finale to our Romanian adventure.

Jay and his team listened to our lodging requirements and found us unique, charming boutique hotels in each locale that knocked our socks off every time. Their expertise was invaluable to ensure that we squeezed the last drop out of every day of our trip. We are now interested in delving more deeply into the Balkans, and I can’t imagine doing so without consulting Jay first.

Jay’s office handled our visit to Switzerland exactly as requested. The staff who qualified us as to what we were looking for in preparing the itinerary, our appointed contact Eduardo to the arranged transports — all were excellent. Rain wasn’t great, but a little beyond their control! Lucerne great, Hotel Anker great, Jungfrau not to be missed. Hotel in Interlaken not perfect, but overall, excellent!

We had a wonderful trip full of special experiences thanks to the expert planning of Jay Ternavan’s team. The personalized attention from our representatives Ciaran and Neil made the trip interesting and hassle-free. The preparation, details, and suggestions helped make this a trip of a lifetime for us.

We are just back from our trip to Italy, celebrating my niece’s 25th birthday. We had an amazing time. We travelled to Florence, Trequanda and Sorrento.

Florence was beautiful, we had a private walking tour of the city and the Accademia Gallery. The David was magnificent to see in person.

We drove to Trequanda with our guide Daniele. Daniele was terrific, he was very knowledgeable about the areas we visited. He was also helpful with ideas and suggestions during our four days together. The scenery of the countryside was inspiring. The wine tasting at Brunello di Montalcino and the lunch at Taverna Squarcialupi were highpoints.

Sorrento was lively. Our drive around the Amalfi Coast was amazing, so picturesque. We enjoyed our time in the villages of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Another highlight was our private day trip to Capri and experiencing the Blue Grotto.

On our last day we took a cooking class, lots of fun and visited Pompeii, which was incredible.

The trip was well planned, we were able to see a lot in 10 days. Lorenza Ridolfi, our destination coordinator, was communicative and easy to contact when we needed her. We all had a great time!

Flavia on Jay’s team made this trip very special from start to finish. We had a fabulous time and all her recommendations were spot-on. Thank you to Flavia for all her planning, drivers, hotels, tours, food recommendations, places to visit, local information, and easy to contact. We fell in love with Italy.

I would highly recommend Wendy Perrin/Jay’s office/Flavia Cretella for your future trip to Italy. So nice when you can actually enjoy your vacation without any worries.

Venice: Left LAX 9/20 arrived 9/21 to Venice (Marco Polo Airport). Our flight from Paris to Venice was delayed and we let Flavia know so she could contact driver. Driver took us to Boat Taxi which took us to dock closest to our hotel. Loved our view and location of Hotel Antiche Figure. Flavia left nice welcome gifts in our room. A junior suite Room with Grand Canal View. And WOW what a view. Bonus—breakfast included. Group Walking tour of Venice on 9/22 with the most amazing guide. We had a private Gondola ride in the evening (a must if you have never done it). A little chuckle—gondolier did not talk much but put on a big smile at the very end of the ride for photo. We had dinner by the hotel which had a fabulous octopus appetizer and a great dinner. Tour of Murano Island glass museum/factory 9/23. Incredible on how they do the glass blowing. Headed back to hotel. Met with Flavia in person at the hotel. So nice to meet the person who planned the perfect vacation. Had the best “cicchetti” and wine at Ostaria Dai Zemei. No vehicles, bikes, scooters in Venice, just boats. Love walking through Venice.

Train station is across the canal from the hotel. Took out luggage over the bridge and caught the train to Florence 9/24. Driver picked us up and took us to Hotel II Guelfo Bianco. Breakfast included. Walked around Florence to see the famous sights, Duomo/Cathedral of Florence, Galleria dell’Accademia, Ponte Vecchio and surrounding areas. Many areas for food/drinks. 9/25 Florence Street Food Group Tour—amazing guide—which covered Sant’Ambrogio food market, Piazza Santa Croce, Santa Croce district and Panino al Lampredotto—great food & gelato. Guide told us about a great place for dinner with the famous Bistecca Steak. 9/26 Driver picked us up and took us to train station. Slight snag…our train couldn’t get to station due to a fatality. Called Flavia and we went to the train main customer service and they were able to put us on another train to Rome. Driver met us at Rome Train station and took us to our hotel, Charme Spain Boutique Hotel. Located in the perfect spot to get to many famous locations in Rome. Welcome to Rome Twilight Walk with Gelato Small Group Tour with another great guide. Guide gave us her favorite restaurant—which had the best meatballs (Polpette), pasta, wine and of course an Aperol Spritz. 9/27—took the metro to get to meeting place. 7:15 am early morning Pristine Sistine Early Entrance and small-group Vatican Tour. Amazing knowledgeable guide. All I can say is wow! Love all the history here.

Walked all around Rome-so many great places to eat & drink. Found a Michelin restaurant hidden in an alley—amazing food—Poldo e Gianna Osteria. 9/28 10:30 am Premium Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill group Tour—another fantastic knowledgeable guide. Walked all over Rome. Found another restaurant recommended by our hotel, which was fabulous. 9/29—Driver picked us up from hotel (we left our luggage at the hotel) at 6am and drove us to the Ryder Cup (Marco Simone Golf & Country Club). What a day…walked 12 miles all around the course, shopped for golf-related gifts. Walked off Ryder Cup property to meet driver, who drove to our hotel to pick up our luggage, then drove to Ryder Cup to get us, then drove to Civitavecchia and dropped us off at our hotel. Next phase—catch a cruise. Thank you for making our vacation special!

Sarah Black tasting oysters and homemade cherry liqueur at a small oyster farm off of Croatia’s Pelješac peninsula. Photo: Traveler Sheelah Black

What a delicious time we had in Croatia with Jay’s team leading the way. The itinerary worked beautifully and my daughter and I felt that Jay really heard us when choosing hotels and experiences. We wanted to be a little out of the fray in Dubrovnik and he sent us to Villa Orabelle, where we swam in the sea just below the hotel with cliff divers, a cave to explore and lots of locals.

Besides swimming in the pristine waters in every city, our favorite experience was dinner at a private home, curated as if in a 5-star restaurant. Our local fixer, Anamaria Andrici, was SO wonderful. She planned an extra gratis wine tasting with 3 of her colleagues and some other clients at a new wine bar in the old town. It was great meeting her friends and chatting about local life and wine. They told us that Jay Ternavan kept them all on staff during Covid out of his own savings, lovely.

A surprise experience came when Anamaria booked an out-of-the-way restaurant called Lunga Mare in Hvar. The chef greeted us at the door (he has won multiple cooking awards) and after singing Happy Birthday to another diner, he sat down with us to chat, sent us gratis wine and desserts and his son drove us back to our hotel!

I have to add that the oyster tasting excursion by boat was so interesting, learning how they “farm” oysters and then we ate them along with steamed local mussels, yum.

By meticulous planning, Jay kept us away from the crowds in the city (by going on tours early) and into the countryside for wine tastings, sailing jaunts to a small village and top-notch guides for each of the 4 cities we visited. We felt totally cared for and would go anywhere Jay books travel.

Phil and Liz Tidswell enjoy a gondola ride in Venice.

Phil and I highly recommend Jay Ternavan. He arranged everything for our trip. We just had to give him some dates, places we’d like to visit and asked for suggestions from him and he came back very quickly with a proposed plan. He took the worry out of all our trip details and made our trip stress- and worry-free. Some of the excursions were included in the trip and he also recommended others. When it came to accommodation he suggested a few in each place we were staying and we got to choose the one that suited us best. All were fabulous. His contact in Italy was available every step of the way and kept in regular contact to see if everything was going fine. She even arranged for some gifts at our accommodation such as champagne on arrival. We loved all of the excursions, restaurants and places of interest he recommended. All the personal guides we had were fabulous. We have no hesitation in recommending him and plan to use him again.

I wanted to celebrate my eldest daughter’s graduation from high school with a family trip to Greece, a destination that was at the top of her wishlist. We worked with Jay and were thrilled with our experience. In the planning phase, he listened to our goals and travel style and really tried to understand the kind of experience that we wanted. He worked with us to try and avoid (as much as possible) the crowds and crazy pricing for Greece in June 2023. He recommended some destinations that were a bit off the radar, as well as making sure we hit the important highlights like the Acropolis.

The trip went off without a hitch. Every pick up and drop off was on-time. Cars were clean and spacious and drivers pleasant. Tour guides were fun and knowledgeable. Highlights were the walking tour of Athens, the Sirocco beach club in Milos, and especially the catamaran boat trip in Milos. This last was everyone’s favorite! The hotels were in wonderful locations where we could walk and explore a bit on our own. Jay’s onsite contact Maria was fantastic and accommodated all our last-minute request and changes. Would definitely recommend Jay’s office and will use again!

Our trip was excellent, with just a couple of exceptions that I attribute to myself rather than to Jay and his team.

Jay was great to work with as we reviewed options and selected hotels, etc. on the front end. He (and I assume his local agents, particularly Phillipe) were very knowledgeable of the pros and cons of the various islands, etc. All of the excursions, ferries and transfers were easy and user-friendly from our standpoint. We missed our planned boat trip on Milos dues to my daughter being under the weather, but our day-trip from Paros was excellent. We’re very glad to have landed on Milos and Paros rather than, say, Mykonos or Santorini, so Jay’s guidance in that respect was excellent.

In retrospect, I should have upgraded two of our hotels, but – again – I don’t attribute that to Jay and his team. In Athens, knowing it a bit better now, I should have selected a hotel in the Plaka or Kolonaki neighborhood rather than in the Psiri where we stayed. It was still a nice hotel (18 Micon), but not ideal with our kids in tow. Also, on Paros, our pick of Hotel Zefi was not ideal. After such a lovely stay at Milos Cove on Milos (which is a beautiful and relaxing spot with an excellent chef and staff), Zefi seemed enough of a downgrade that I actually relocated the family to the Cosme for two nights and the Parilio for two nights. If I had told Jay we wanted a 5-star as opposed to 4-star accommodation, I’m sure he would have suggested those among others. As it was, though, I was not fully attuned to the difference between 4- and 5-star in Greece (it seems a bigger jump between the two than in the US).

Overall, I would absolutely recommend Jay and his team. I would just do a little more research myself before making final selections.

Jay and his team saved the day! I contacted Wendy (and then Jay) very late — just 1 month before my trip. I was working with a solo travel agent (a friend of a friend) who simply didn’t have time for me. I was stressed and frustrated. A friend recommended Wendy’s site and lucky for me, Wendy’s team was able to connect me to Jay.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Jay and his office. From my first phone call with Melita (who assured me she could have an itinerary for me to review the following day), to our last text with Neil (our local guide), I felt supported by an expert team who was knowledgeable, responsive and respectful.

All of our guides and drivers were top-notch. The hotels were great as well. Neil provided insider restaurant recommendations that made us feel like we were among the Berlin locals and not eating at a tourist trap. And when our train to Berlin suddenly got canceled, Neil had us rebooked before we even had time to stress about it.

Of all of our tours, we really loved the private food tour which exposed us to the local flavor (not just the typical German food) in Berlin based on the influences of their large Vietnamese and Turkish communities. The day trip to Salzburg and the Eagles Nest delivered on exactly what I wanted — breathtaking views of the Alps — and left me yearning to return some time soon.

Thank you for saving the day and making my trip memorable, enjoyable and low-stress.

We were a family of four traveling to Germany, Austria and Croatia. Jay was a joy to work with. He listened to our best moments from other trips and created a customized itinerary that kept us active and engaged while also allowing time to relax and enjoy the destination we were in. We had an itinerary in mind and he advised us to drop one location in favor of spending more time in another—which we really appreciated. He arranged for local contacts who worked with us to plan a surprise birthday cake for our son and kept in contact with us the entire time. Starting off with a bike tour of Munich the day we landed was a good way to shake off any jet lag! Both the Charles Hotel in Munich and Dubrovnik Palace were over-the-top amazing with their service and views respectively. I would recommend him wholeheartedly.

We just returned from our trip arranged by Jay Ternavan. We went to Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia for 9 days. Let me start by saying I would absolutely recommend Jay. I gave Jay and his staff the feeble directions—“I’d like to go to the Balkans, please help.” And the trip he planned was incredible. It was exactly what I wanted, a mixture of history, culture and natural beauty. We met and had dinner with a Bosnian family in Sarajevo, we stayed in Diocletian’s Palace in Split, we saw the Christmas decorations lighting in Ljubljana and so much more. All of the local contacts were friendly, knowledgeable and professional. I can’t say enough good things about this experience. Thank you for recommending him to me. I certainly would add him to your WOW List!

This was our first trip since before the pandemic. We were two senior couples that wanted to visit Croatia. We used Jay’s office to help plan our 20 days there, and all I can say is WOW. We had no worries because of the pandemic, as we spent most of our time outside. We are very happy we went when we did. It was a busy late September, early October in this part of the world, but not so busy that we couldn’t relax. We never felt at risk at any time.

Jay took the time to understand the type of trip we wanted, with a nice mix of history, food and wine experiences, and local culture. After going back and forth a couple of times, we agreed to this curated experience. He suggested we add Slovenia, which we did, and we are extremely happy we did so. All our hotels were ideally located and offered top-notch service. The tours and experiences that were suggested were above and beyond. Each day, we would wonder can they all be that good? The one that blew us away was a wine tour in Hvar where we met Mario, a winemaker who basically does it all. His passion for his art was contagious and we came away with more than a few bottles. We had many short city walks with knowledgeable guides, many who were not afraid to talk about some of the hot topics of the day. The people are extremely friendly, in spite of exhaustion after a busy short-staffed season. Everyone went above and beyond.

One of the things that impressed me most about Jay’s team is the amount of information that was available on our trip itinerary online. There was ample information for each destination. Restaurant recommendations, where to do laundry, best gift shops and more. We didn’t have to go searching too far to find out what we needed to know.

Our on-the-ground agent, Lucija, was accessible any time and was easy to reach if we had a question—not that we had many, as everything was so well planned from the minute our driver picked us up in Zagreb to the last driver dropping us off to come home. We never had to worry.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Working with Jay to plan our first trip to Croatia was fantastic. The trip was my husband and me along with our 18 year old daughter. Jay’s team was wonderful, from the first phone call to the final text message I received at the Split airport prior to our departure from our local contact wishing us well. They listened to us on budget and what our family likes to do and made great suggestions. Our trip consisted of nine days in Croatia traveling to Dubrovnik, Korcula and Split. They handled the arrangement of all accommodations, excursions, transfers and dinners and even made a last-minute change for us when our daughter wanted to eat in the heart of Split on our last evening. We had a local contact who greeted us at our first hotel, walked us through our trip, gave us additional suggestions on things to do and see, and was available throughout the trip for questions. She was wonderful! We would recommend working with Jay and should we find ourselves wishing to travel to one of the areas where he specializes we will definitely use his services.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  We had an amazing trip to Italy. All the recommendations that were given regarding experiences, accommodation and travel all worked out excellent. All the hotels were outstanding especially in Rome and Florence. All the organization regarding travel tickets, museum tickets and car pickups all worked out without a hitch.
There were no issues regarding Covid or health risks.
The trip planner definitely added value to the trip by adding convenience, removing any concerns regarding travel and assistance with accommodations, ticketing all added value to the trip.
Will strongly recommend the day trip to Cinque Terre.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL Our trip was simply amazing! What a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime trip to Southern Italy.

It started with the planning and Jay’s responsiveness to my 4 itinerary changes. In summary – three cities and 10 excursions met my hopes and dreams for this trip for my children.
ROME – Walking tour; Colosseum, Bones, Crypts & Catacombs; St Peters Basilica and the Vatican; & Gelato, Espresso, and Tiramisu tours.
SORRENTO – Train ride to Naples with an immediate private driver pick up at the station for our tour of the Amalfi Coast with visit to Positano and drop off to our hotel in Sorrento. Olive oil tasting one evening and an all-day excursion from Sorrento through Pompeii/Mt Vesuvius and Vineyard Sorrentino, with gnocchi-making class and wine tasting. All day excursion – small group boat tour to Capri with the bonus of being able to get into the Blue Grotto was stunning.
NAPLES – highlights were the Pizza making class and our private tour of Naples.

Jay did a fantastic job at the start asking questions to obtain an understanding of what I was looking for in this trip: small group or private tours, to identifying exactly what experiences we wanted, to where and type of hotel stays. He followed up 30 days prior to our trip and again the week before.

Daniela Chacon, our travel contact in Italy, was a life saver – she handled everything with a positive attitude, flexibility, and guidance on a daily basis – from our lost luggage and 3+ hour delay in being able to leave the airport upon arrival to us being about 10 minutes late for our initial tour (she contacted the company who had the guide wait for our arrival), meeting us at our initial hotel with a welcome bag, daily check-ins to confirm the next day’s agenda, immediate responsiveness to when a tour guide did not meet us at one of our excursions (original guide fell ill and company was sending another guide so was about 60 minutes late) – this hiccup was made palatable because of Daniela’s responsiveness and continued communication with us regarding the plan – we still had a fantastic time!

Our favorites: Olive Oil tasting, Vineyard Sorrentino, Capri, and the Gelato, Espresso and Tiramisu excursions.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL Our trip planner for a 9 day trip to Croatia was Jay Ternavan. (Caveat: We planned an eight day cruise on Katarina before COVID hit. After waiting two years, we coupled the cruise with a family trip so spent nearly 3 weeks in Croatia. Jay handled the family portion of the trip, June 4-13). Once Wendy connected us, the entire trip planning experience was seamless. Jay was professional, detail oriented but not bothersome. Even made personal phone calls to clarify our goals for the trip. He asked good questions to better understand what we were looking for and what our price point was. The personal website he built for us kept everything centralized and added tremendous value to the overall experience. Everything was right there in front of us, with extensive details on our hotel, the excursions, history of the country, the restaurants and very importantly, tipping directions. Even the payment process was on our website and very clear/concise. Jay was also very patient with us since planning for 5 is really a contact sport…..lots of ideas/preferences/wishes flying around. He never got frustrated with us or gave up trying to find the “perfect” group activity. And the trip was planned in a way that we could really just relax and enjoy. We never had to worry about getting from the airport to the hotel or finding our guide or getting on our boat. All of the directions were incredibly clear. Our timing was impeccable as we beat the summer crowds AND heat. We also dodged the COVID testing for return to the US by 23 hours! Lucky us. Croatia itself was spectacular. Unbelievably beautiful, the people really stood out. So friendly, so helpful and so engaging. And everyone had enough English to be helpful, since our Croatian is very, very bad! But I’d be remiss not to mention the superb food and wine. And of course the grapa. Drinking wine on a boat as the oyster farmer shucked fresh oysters for us had to be a highlight. A very important component of our trip was our local Croatian expert, Ivana Laca who we were introduced to about 30 days before our departure from the US. She turned out to be our friend….our hand holder….and our emergency kit. She was a true delight. She suggested restaurants and made dinner reservations for us. If it was too windy to sail, she was talking to us immediately regarding Plan B options. She made sure my sister in law’s birthday was a memorable evening and surprise. Even when our flights back home were cancelled, she was there immediately making sure we had lodging and a shuttle to the airport as our return plans “evolved.” Lots of special touches. She was truly a godsend. We’ve only been back a few days but we already miss Croatia and want to return. And everyone had a wonderful time…..no small feat when you’re dealing with a 29, 30, and 55 year olds….to say nothing of retired people like us. But there was something for everyone. (We did not hear one siren for three weeks, only saw two police cars, never saw a homeless person and felt totally safe everywhere we went, no matter the time). COVID felt like a non-issue though we did discuss with our Croatian hosts how hard the past two years have been for them. One final bit of advice. Bring Dramamine! If you are at all prone to motion sickness, between the boats and small, switchback roads, Dramamine was a vital component of our trip! We highly recommend Wendy and Jay…..and Ivana. I would use them again in a heartbeat. We had a wonderful family trip with pictures and memories that will last a lifetime.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL We left the United States on Sept. 17 and traveled for 16 glorious fall days to Croatia. On the FIRST morning of the trip my husband and I were visiting a small village in Istria with a guide, and I slipped on wet cobblestones. I broke my wrist, and we seriously just considered going home. However, I reached out to our local contact, Antonija, and she took over from there. We absolutely could not have continued our trip through Croatia had it not been for Jay and his team, and in particular, Antonija!

Naturally, we had to make some itinerary adjustments, doctor and hospital appointments, but Antonija worked everything out for us.

As for Croatia, it is now on my all-time favorites list…We started in Rovinj (and Istria) then worked our way south to Dubrovnik. All the towns, accommodations, drivers & guides were chosen for us by Jay and his team, and all are praise worthy! My personal favorite was the small island of Korcula and Taras Lodge Hotel. It was a small boutique hotel right on the Adriatic with the bed facing the water. Every morning when I sat up, I felt like pinching myself … is this real? And the people of Croatia are incredible as well. They are all kind and accommodating. And just glad to have us in their country! One extremely special evening was actually in a local family home in Dubrovnik. Jay set up a “dinner with locals”. We joined 8 other travelers to eat Peka on the owner’s outdoor patio…

Our Covid travel experiences were also fairly easy. We had a local PCR test 3 days before leaving on British Air. For our return, Antonija had a driver pick us up at our local Dubrovnik villa and take us to a small medical center for a rapid test. Our results were received within an hour!

This was our first time to travel with local experts, and we absolutely do not plan to travel any other way in the future. I cannot say enough about the secure feelings we had on this trip!!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL I just returned from a 5 day trip to Sicily 10.26 to 10.31 with Jay.  Jay and his in-country contact, Giorgia, were incredible to put it mildly. I would love to say it was a perfect trip, and ultimately it was, however, I traveled to Sicily during the first ever Medicane (Mediterranean Hurricane). I got a crash course in why you use a seasoned travel specialist. My flight to Catania was delayed by two hours because of weather and when we saw the news reports some of us panicked because of flooding and severe weather. However, Giorgia stayed in contact with the people on the ground and assured me every step of the way that all was fine at my destination. She called my driver and hotel and notified everyone involved I would be late. It happened again on my move to Siracusa, and Giorgia was right there rerouting me, changing and upgrading my hotel, contacting my expert driver, who got me to my destination safe and sound. So even though my timing for the terrible weather was awful, Giorgia and Jay’s expert help salvaged my trip and I ended up having a lovely time. Also, their website and cell phone are invaluable. You get so much information about your destination which helps in touring and dining. Really loved traveling with them and plan to use Jay again.

We had a great trip to Croatia. Working with Jay to plan in advance helped us settle on Dubrovnik, Hvar, and Split. This was a family trip with college-aged kids, so there were diverse interests and goals and Jay found a way to make it work for everyone. He listened carefully to our hotel preferences and delivered great choices in excellent locations. The plans for each day were well thought out, keeping us busy with diverse experiences but not overwhelming (and with plenty of time for wandering, shopping, and just hanging out as a family.)

Once in Croatia, Jay turned us over to his local partner, Josipa, who took great care of us and made sure everything ran smoothly. She made us excellent restaurant reservations, really just what we were looking for, and made sure each day went according to plan.

Probably our favorite (and most unusual) experience was having a cooking class in a farmhouse in the countryside outside Dubrovnik. We cooked with our host and his mother, picked the ingredients from the garden, drank their delicious home-made grappa, visited his nearby cousin where we milked a goat and got cheese, ate a great dinner, and — most interestingly — learned about his family’s history of over 500 years in that same farmhouse, in that same location. Very memorable!

All of the local providers — tour guides, drivers, speed boat captains, etc — were all top notch, interesting, knowledgable, and fun.

Overall, a really, really good trip. Would certainly recommend Jay, Josipa, and their team!