Rick Steves Adriatic tour

My husband, Jerry, and I mostly travel independently, hiring drivers and guides when necessary. I began planning a 3-week trip to Slovenia and Croatia for 2015, but when I priced out the trip using the services of a guide/driver, it was more than I cared to pay, so I began looking at group tours. 

I had used the Rick Steves audio tours in Athens and Rome with great success, and his “Best of the Adriatic in 14 Days Tour” had many departures in September and went to my six top must-do locations: Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Pula, Plitvice Lakes, Split and Dubrovnik.

For two people, the cost of $7,225 (including a 2.5% discount for paying with a check rather than a credit card) covered the land tour, all breakfasts, half the lunches and dinners and all gratuities.

The tour was fabulous. Our guide, Saso Golub, was excellent. His English and his knowledge of the region were terrific. He handled my food issues (I don’t eat shellfish or pork) with imagination and humor.

In addition to making the six stops mentioned above, we spent a couple of days island hopping and drove to Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Saso is Slovenian, so he could guide groups only in Slovenia. For historic towns in Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, we had local guides; each was knowledgeable and spoke perfect English. 

The hotels all were different and interesting. In Dubrovnik, where we were located more than walking distance from town, Saso led us into town by bus and provided us with the bus tickets.

Rick Steves’ Europe (Edmonds, WA; 425/771-8303, www.ricksteves.com) was great to work with. Our pre-trip information warned us to pack lightly, since we’d be expected to ferry our bags from the bus to our hotel rooms and back. All tour members did so without complaining.

The emphasis on packing lightly and being able to walk and climb stairs attracted a group we felt very compatible with. Although I worried about the size of the group (28 people), it was a wonderful group and there was plenty of room to stretch out on the 54-person bus.

The only thing that would have made this tour better would have been having more nights in some locations. I understand that many people may not want to travel more than two weeks at a time, but I wish there was a 21-day Adriatic tour option. Similarly, for some of the company’s other tours, I’d like to see an option of more nights at some stops instead of more stops.

I highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in the Adriatic countries.

NILI OLAY
New York, NY