Testimonials 2011

May 2nd
Wonderful, full day driving all along & through Hvar – seeing and experiencing many centuries of industry wine, lavander.... beautiful scenery + wonderful conversation about families that have lived for centuries! Wonderful meal, we will remember and tell to our friends and family!!! Thank you
Bonnie & David from Texas

May 19th
We have seen many demonstrations that Croatia is different than rest of Europe. Hvar has amazing roads backed to the hills of the coast. We had fine wine and excellent dinner in olive grove. Only in Croatia.
Jeanette & John. Sidney Australia.



May 20th
Hello Ante !!
How are you today ?..... so busy i think !!! I just arrived at my office. Wake up at 04h15 very hard and tired !!! Just some news for confirming you that all my clients are so happy after the discovery of HVAR !!! Thanks so lot you and your staff !!
It was a nice experience and i hope coming soon in Hvar !!
Friendly gerard
Gerard – VIP French Group

May 24th
A most enjoyable afternoon with Dražen, ending with a realy memorable dinner in the olive grove. Dražen was a most knowledgeable and interesting guide/driver with lots of insights into the area and wineris. The drive along the coast was spectacular, but not for anyone scared of heights!
John & Faye. Sidney Australia.



May 27th
A very well thought out, relaxing, informative and thoroughly enjojable jam. Dražen was the perfect host who always was conscious of ensuring that his two guests had an enjojable time. What a wonderful way to see a beautiful island Hvar. Many thanks.
Elizabeth & Greg - Brisbane Australia.

June 2nd
Ante! This was an absolutley great experience. We have no words to thank you! We will be back soon.
Sanda&Robert. Laskia&Mathu - Switzerland

June 6th
We have just enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with Dražen. We started with a drive along the coast. Than we visited two fabulous vineyards and enjoyed the wine tasting and matching foods. Finally we ended up in the olive grove for dinner. A delightful meal and the best view one could ever imagine. Thank so much you Dražen for a fabulous afternoon.
Stan & Shee Byrne - Australia.

June 7th
Our party of 8 has just returned from a very enjoyable day. Our driver took us to some stunning villages which we would never have found without him. His driving skills were excellent. He explained about the local activities and showed us some very interesting sites. We all enjoyed a swim at beautiful bay and continued our journey around island. We are all so glad we booked the trip and would highly recommend our driver/guide to anyone thinking a booking a trip while they are on Hvar. Once again thank you for a fab day. Happy trips ahead from:
Sue, George, Kay, Joan, Bill, Ann, Steve and Paddy - UK



June 8th
Great day out for two. Our guide informative and friendly made thoroughly unforgettable trip. Nice afternoon shooting the breeze about wine and food. It has been a good trip and it has run smoothly. This idea is good and it’s worth keeping.
Sean & Shevli - UK

June 18th
We are so pleasd to have seen the“real“ Hvar, pretty villages, azure seas,hillside vineyards, lavander fields. We loved the wine taisting and especially the roast lamb dinner in the olive grow with the marvelous wiev. The singing was an unespected bonus. Thank you to our guide Dražen for a great afternoon.
Deborah Humble - Sidney Australia

June 24th
We have arrived home but also feel as though we left a home in beautiful Croatia. The trip you planned for us exceeded our expectations and I echo all testimonials regarding our wonderful, professional guides, they are the “best.” The beauty of Croatia is a testimony to it’s people who show such pride in the work they do for tourism & love of their historic treasures and National Parks. Everyday of our 2 week trip held special events we would not have known about if we were on our own. The two winery tours in Hvar were suburb especially enjoyed Ivo Dubokovic’ friendly, relaxed hospitality and amazing wines. These were topped off with the highly anticipated dinner in the olive grove & we were not disappointed. Simple & serene and a great chef. It was here my cousin looked out at the amazing view of the mountains & olive grove and said “zasto su otisli” Why did they leave? I hope to some day return to the place my grandparents left.
Beautiful Croatia!
Thank you for your expert planning.
Donna & Dennis Mucha – Florida, USA



June 26th
It is so nice ta have the opportunity to see the real, whole Hvar and not just the Hvar old town harbour. Tasting such delicius wines especially from the smaller vineyard that was family run, was such a unique and special treat. Not to mention the spectacular dinner overlooking the olive grove, a delicious meal we are sure not to evr forget. Thank You so much for making our trip to Hvar island and Croatia absolutly amazing and unforgetable! We will be sure to recommend this to our friends and family.
Pam &Candy McMaster - Washington D.C. USA

July 2nd
Thank You for the fabulos experience today! We had a great timeat the wineris and at our olive grove dinner – we feel so lucky to have such a wonderful dinner plus amazing views of the island. Unforgetable!!
Erin & Patrick - Boston, USA

July 5th
Wov....what an experience. We had very special afternoon. An authentice wine tasting experience to an wonderfull dinner in the olive grove. Words cannot how special this day was. Thank you Hvar Tours and Ante....Best...
Burke Family - USA



July 17th
Croatia, we were privileged to travel with your best! History, ancient and modern, knowlege you cannot get from a text book. Wonderful towns and adventures and much food for stomach and mind.
The Canadians: Vancouver, Elmonton, Ottawa, Geneva. Thank You

July 13th
Our first wine tasting event wich was educational and enjojable. We didnt expect the tour of the local erea and the education on this tour aspect but it was really enjojable and exceded our expectations of the trip. Thank You so much.
Bes & Mich Weller from Preston - England

July 19th
Thank You so much for such good information and great company. I am very impresed with Your knowledge and ability to speak English. We felt truly privileged to share Your country. Thank You from Canada.
Dean & Susan

July 24th
Thank You for the fabouluse experience! Amazing wine, grappa and olive oil.
Sofie & Marcus Stocholm - Sweden

July 25th
Wine was delicious and the whole tour was wonderful and splendid. Keep it as it is as long as You can. Special thanks to our guide Dražen.
Isabelle & Hubert



August 4th
Wow. What a lovely experience we have had. THANK YOU. We have tasted some delicious wines and have been guided through them step by step. Fantastic! A great wine tour wich we;ll recomend to our friends and family. Hvar wont became touristy _ its PERFECT as it is now. So, once again a very big THANK YOU. An amazing end to our honeymoon.
Much love.
Tony & Laura London - England

August 5th
We have enjoyed so much being with You today from the comfort of Your car through the knowlege You have taken care to give us. Also the wine tasting You delivered was very personal & interesting & the wines were very, very lovely. Plus the history & love for Croatia that You feel waqs a pleasure for us to learn about from the agriculture, churches, land and economics, trough family lifes, traditions, lavender and food.
Thank You so much.
Lisa & Gabby - London, England

August 7th
What an incredible day! A perfect way to see and learn about your wonderful island and country. We appreciated Your sharing so much about the history and current culture. The birthday cake and celebration in the olive grove will be a favorite memory for our family. We cant thank You enough for Your hospitality. We will certainly share stories of our day and encourage others to visit. May we meet again.
Lee. Kelly, John & Hillary from California



August 14th
Hi Ante,
Sorry for the delay in writing you back. We’ve been enjoying Hvar too much for me to get on email!
The picnic was AMAZING. Diane was so surprised, she had tears in her eyes and was speechless—a hard thing to do to my wife, as she would tell you! The food was superb and plentiful, your partner (Babo?) was professional yet friendly and we got the added bonus of finding out great information about the island on the ride to and from the picnic. The setting was even better than I gathered from the photos and the service was superb.
Your service is truly a giant step above any other that we have used - anywhere. I will be happy to recommend you and, as a journalist, if I get the chance to write about Hvar, I will certainly mention you as well. Thanks for helping to make Diane’s 50th birthday one that she’ll never forget! I look forward to taking another of your tours in the future. We are talking about returning during lavender season in late May, and will be in touch if we work that out. Keep up the good work!
All the best,
Mike Franco - USA

August 22nd
Such a wonderful & lovely experience. Thank you for showing us your beautiful island, and explaining its history.
The wine tasting was amazing & the wine developer very friendly & informative. This has been a special holiday for my boyfriend & I, and this wine tour has made it even more so….
We look forward to drinking our wine at home & remember this day.
Lots of love
Laura & Luke - UK

August 26th
We had amazing time with an even more amazing island inland insight on our wine tour of Hvar.
Both wineries were welcoming and enjoyable and the dinner met and exceeded any expectations that we could ever hope to have. Our compliments to Ante and ultimately to our gracious host Drazen.
Tim & Melissa - New York



August 27th
We had a very nice time visiting the wineries, particularly Ivo’s winery – very unique. We also thought that the restaurant was a unique experience. It was a very pleasant way to start our trip on Hvar. Appreciate the insight on the history, culture, local tradition and so on.
Jean & Hain Fleischhacker

August 28th
Thank you for a wonderful time in Hvar...We’ve had a great experience with our wine tour & knowledge of the region!
You’ve been great!!!
Santpal, Ashoo, Eric & Ruby - Bangkok

August 30th
What an exclusive experience! The price tag is high but worth the beautiful day. I liked that you brought us to a boutique wine maker and commercial wine maker to contrast. The olive grove lunch is keeper. We’d recommend it to our friends in Singapore. Well done!!!
Regards
Loanne Lim and Felicia Owl

August 30th
Thank you very much for a fantastic experience. Your knowledge and enthusiasm is overwhelming. We have taken our wine and our memories which will last a long, long time. Thanks again.
Joanne & Allan - Scotland



September 2nd
Excellent trip!!! We are very pleased to have learned about the history of the area rather than just seeing the tourist traps, and with the good company and lovely meal. Much appreciated.
Joanne & Allan – New Zeland

September 4th
Thank you Hvar Tours. A magical day touring the vineyards and a outstanding dinner at the olive grove. You’ve made our trip to Hvar very special!!! We will recommend you!
Debbie Murphy, Ann Cahill and Stephanie Peck – CT, USA

September 7th
Thank you so much for such a fantastic tour and day. It was such a memorable afternoon and you made it so special!
Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Wishing you all the best.
Shirani & Gabriel

September 16th
A great tour! It was a great to learn about the history of Hvar & Croatia from the people who know it best. The wine tastings were fantastic too!!! Thanks for a great day.
Julie & David Manegold – NH/MA, USA



September 18th
What a wonderful day!!! We thoroughly enjoyed it all – the history, the scenery, the wine and lovely dinner. You have delightful guide. It was incredible beautiful and very memorable.
Once more, what a spectacular island and country. Thank you! Hvalah!
Lisa & Aaron Kenigsberg – Potomac, MD, USA

September 19th
A fantastic afternoon – very informative and friendly guide and fabulous wine. We enjoyed it very much. The best wine tasting trip I have been on. Thank you very much.
Fox - USA

September 24th
A fantastic and memorable afternoon. We had informative and entertaining guide. The winery visits were interesting and we will remember our olive grove dinner as a highlight of our visit to Hvar. Many thanks.
Sheila Howell - New Zeland



October 6th
Oldtimer Group
Hallo Ante
Visit to Hvar was a big success, due to your help and program. If you need a reference please let me know.
J.J.Dolleman - Holland

November 9th
Dear Ante
Yes - my wife and I enjoyed the tour & found the content to be exactly what we were looking for. I would add however that it was your guide that made the difference. My wife and I are people that like to find out as much as possible about a country, direct from the people who live there. We ask lots of questions and it very much helps that Vesa was so open in our conversations. We really enjoyed spending the day with her.
I think this kind of tour would suit certain types of cruise passengers, however only if it is done in a small group, to give the opportunity for interaction.
Kind regards
Keith MaCaulay



Engagement event
www.tripadvisor.com/Hvar_Tours-Hvar_Island
I’m not quite sure where to start on this review, so I may as well say up front that I cannot give Hvar Tours enough thanks for giving my girlfriend and I the most memorable evening of our lives (I’m not even exaggerating!). Let me elaborate...
A few months ago I was looking for inspiration as to how (or where) in Hvar to ask my girlfriend to marry me and in doing so stumbled across Hvar Tours. Amongst other things they offered a package called “Some Enchanted Evening”, which involved a private speedboat ride to a restaurant, a meal on top of a cliff on a private table and a boat trip back to the hotel. Unlike other trips offered, this particular one was certainly not cheap, but for the one-off special occasion that it was it sounded like exactly what I was looking for (and in the end was well justified).
Clearly I wanted the evening to be ‘just right’ for us, and so I asked lots of questions regarding the evening and Ante Lacman (the founder of the company) answered every one promptly. It quickly became clear that he was very knowledgeable about what he sells and incredibly passionate about Hvar (a trait which we discovered many Croatians to have).
Given the lack of feedback on the internet and the cost of the trip, I was understandably a little bit sceptical when it came to booking and paying for the trip. However, following all the emails, speaking to Ante on the phone, the secure payment process and the presence that the company apparently had in Croatia I decided to take the plunge. I’m so glad I did. Ante had arranged the whole trip to the finest detail. His colleague picked us up from the hotel at 5.50pm and escorted us to a speedboat waiting for us at a pier. The ‘captain’ of the speedboat then took us for a completely unexpected guided tour of the coastline on the way to the restaurant. He even offered to take our photo with Hvar Town in the background, which was a lovely touch. About 20-30 minutes later we arrived at a tiny, beautiful fishing village, where our waiter for the evening was stood to help us off the boat.
He led us up through the family run restaurant up to the most romantic table I could imagine. It stood alone on top of a cliff, with a 180 degree view of the sea. It actually took our breath away – I had not for one moment expected it to be as incredible as it was! We were then given plenty of time just to soak up the view before our food arrived (and catch our breath a bit).
The food was extraordinary (mostly fresh fish/shellfish cooked to traditional Croatian recipes), and the wine was to die for. Seriously, we are quite ‘experienced’ wine drinkers, but this wine was just bonkers. We’ve actually been trying to get hold of some since we got home but apparently there’s only 2,000 bottles produced a year (on Hvar) so it’s quite tricky (and pricey)!
After watching the sun set I popped the question and the setting certainly did the trick. We soaked up the atmosphere for a bit longer and then got the speedboat back to our hotel in the moonlight under the stars, with our (engraved) wine glasses in a wooden case to keep as a memento.
In short, any expectations I had were exceeded in all aspects of the evening. We cannot thank Hvar Tours more for the incredible trip that they arranged. From start to finish they offered a highly professional, friendly and accommodating service. Their website advertises lots of things to do on the island, but in reality they will literally organise anything you want during your stay and it’s probably cheaper than going through a hotel concierge too!
Message from the ‘bride’:
I had no idea that Nick was planning any of this, and I was astounded that he managed to arrange such an awesome evening without knowing anyone in Hvar, or the area, at all!
As Nick said it all ran so smoothly and I was well and truly swept off my feet. I’ve been to some amazing places, but that little spot on top of the cliff is something else. I will never forget it. It’s absolutely beautiful. The food, wine and service at the restaurant was impeccable and the whole experience was just magical.
If you want to make someone feel very special and give them an evening to remember, this is the one!!!
Nick Salomon - UK



Surprise birthday dinner for wife in olive grove
I just enjoyed the Island Culinary Picnic with them. It was an amazing night. We had booked it for my wife's 50th birthday and it actually rendered her speechless (no small feat)! I really think you can't go wrong with the Hvar Tours. They were totally professional and always got back to me within minutes--something I found pretty rare in my dealings with different hotels and tour operators in Croatia. Definitely legit.
Mike

Boat Rental 1
www.tripadvisor.com/Boat_rental_recommendation-Hvar_Hvar_Island
The biggest question I had before going to Hvar was on the boat rental, because I knew there where no sandy beaches in the island and renting a boat is the best option for a day in the sea. After a big search, I couldn't find many answers, but I booked a boat with Hvar Tours.
The only bad thing is that I had to pay in advance, but that's understandable when you have a business like that and the company would have a lot of prejudice if someone booked the boat and just didn't show up. Everything else was very nice, nice boat, nice skipper, great day at sea, so to whoever visits Hvar next summer, I would recommend the company and test that there's no need to worry about the deposit you have to pay in advance, the company is real and everything runs very nice.
Marcelihna - Curitiba, Brazi



Boat Rental 2
www.tripadvisor.com/Small_boat_hire_in_Hvar-Hvar_Hvar_Island
I would be delighted to recommend Hvar Tours DMC www.hvarboatrent.com
I have rented from them several times and the last time there was a minor engine problem. The company did not have an available replacement in their own fleet because it was the height of summer. So they immediately arranged a boat with a different company and sent it out immediately. The boat they sent was a higher specification than the one we rented and we were not charged the difference.
I am delighted by the couteous and prompt service and will certainly rent boats from this company in the future
Adam Boys

Cruise Reviews & News
cruiseforums.cruisecritic.co.uk/
Hi,
We used a company called Secret Dalmatia when we docked in Hvar Croatia. We docked there at 1pm so we only had a short visit. Our guide there was Ante Lacman and he took us to a vineyard where we had a wine tasting and olive oil tasting in a very unique cellar. We then went for a meal in the countryside which to this date is the most outstanding meal we have ever had on a Med. Cruise (6 Med cruises so far...). I would highly recommend this tour company and can't wait to use them again.