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!