Croatia

What an amazing trip to Croatia- the Dalmatian coast! My husband and I had an incredible experience on our very first VBT self guided vacation! Yes, we are already talking about another and we haven’t even made it back home. From the luxurious hotels, detailed itinerary, to our amazing host, Andrej, we had the best time! We were throughly surprised how much we were connected to our host since we were on a self guided tour. Andrej went above and beyond to make sure we were well taken care of. One thing that would have been helpful to know is that If you do go to Mljet National Park, you can bring your bike on the Krilo ferry. We didn’t realize we would want our bikes until we were already there. There are paths all around the lakes for bikes and you can rent there too. Excellent experience with VBT! I highly recommend this trip!

I just returned from a VBT cycling trip, and while the cycling routes and views were absolutely stunning, the hotel accommodations were some of the worst I’ve ever experienced on a group trip. The first two hotels were dirty, poorly maintained, and nowhere near the “4-star” standard advertised. Linens were stained, bathrooms smelled of sewage or urine, drains were clogged, and even the pools had visible mold. These properties were closer to budget motels than quality hotels, and the going nightly rates were a fraction of what we paid through VBT. By the time we reached the third hotel, which was finally nice, it felt like an insult that we only got one night there after five nights of subpar conditions. Other travelers in our group felt the same way and were equally disappointed. The cycling itself was fantastic, but the accommodations were a huge letdown and made the trip feel like a poor value. Unless VBT seriously improves the quality of its hotel partners, I would not travel with them again.

VBT has outdone themselves with this trip. The tricky logistics getting the yacht and the van with the bikes in the same place each day was impressive. Our very capable and enjoyable trip leaders Mario and Duje along with Irena, who drove the van, made it look easy. Traveling aboard the well appointed yacht on the beautiful Adriatic and bicycling on the islands and into small towns with olive, grape and figs along the way made a perfect vacation. Thank you to John Zelig, Jason Shumacher, and Adrianna Perry who adroitly helped get our group ready and together.

The Croatian bike trip was an amazing, unique trip of all the nine VBT biking trips we've taken

This was an absolutely delightful experience. I am very impressed with VBT's way of supporting the local economy by hiring local guides, and setting up dinners with locals. Our hotels were great, the guides were wonderful, and i learned so much about local culture and history. Our guides, Mario and Neven, are just wonderful people and so helpful fun to be around.

This was a fantastic trip taken at the perfect time of the year in September. We were able to ride, swim and dine in gorgeous settings every day. The chance to meet the locals in their homes for dinners and to hear of their lives in Croatia was priceless. We were very fortunate to have two excellent guides in Nevenka and Natasha; they were both so knowledgeable and accommodating, we couldn't have asked for better leaders!

This was a wonderful trip! Despite some rainy weather, the hikes were beautiful and well paced. Lovely to see two different countries and learn from our knowledgeable and fun guides about some history and culture. The hotels were top notch and convenient to things during free time. We had a great group and we definitely laughed a lot!

This trip exceeded my expectations due to Dani and Vida, our amazing guides.They were able to share their personal stories in a professional manner that enriched the trip and we became friends. They were aware and alert to each individuals needs and responded to those needs. They were knowable and worked smoothly was a team. I would travel with Country Walkers again due to Dani and Vida.

We had an amazing time on this trip and could not have been happier with our decision to take our first ever group tour with Country Walkers. Everything about our trip was seamless. Our tour guides, Dani 1 and Dani 2, were knowledgeable, mature, funny and amiable, each in his own way, and added greatly to the trip/experience. Their local knowledge of culture, food, people, history was unmatchable. We had deep trust in them, and we knew that although everything seemed to go smoothly, they were constantly working behind the scenes to adjust plans due to weather, changes in schedule, etc. They made it look easy, but we knew it was not. Of course the hiking was nice, the views and location fantastic. The food was sumptuous and always different, so we sampled many things and felt we got exposed to all kinds of traditional Croation fare. The wine and grappa were always flowing generously. The eating locations themselves were unique. We heard rumors that this tour was being regrouped or cancelled and were quite surprised as everyone in our group seemed quite happy indeed. It would be a shame to lose these fantastic guides/guys.

This walking tour was awesome. The different venues, hikes and lodging was all terrific . The single factor that made the trip so good, were the two Guides. Dani and Dani were so thoughtful, knowledgeable, and their trips to lunches and meals and wine tasting, at various venues were remarkable. Getting to know some of the locals at these venues, and visiting places off the beaten path, were one of the high points, in my view.