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108 messages

Marija Mance

I have always loved traveling, meeting new people and learning about their customs and beliefs. I experienced my first trips through sports, which I have been practicing for many years (and still do, as much as time allows). That's a great way to meet "real" people in different countries... and that has always remained the main motive of my travels.
Spending time in nature is something that comes naturally to me... from my earliest childhood I went with my parents to harvest grapes, pick mushrooms and wild asparagus. That's the reason I greatly appreciate the tranquillity that being in nature provides, and try to incorporate it into every trip.
As a foodie, I also always loved to taste different food and drinks, and I gradually became interested in history and architecture.
So, my interests are diverse, and I believe that the travel itinerary should be adapted to the special interests of each traveller.

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"Croatia and Slovenia are small, so it's really not a problem to get to know both countries well, and cooperate with extremely warm people who live here.
My interests are diverse, so I think that I can write equally high-quality programs for a young couple who wants a self-drive trip, as well as for a family with children, as well as for a luxury trip for the 30th wedding anniversary, as well as for a gastronomic adventure, as well as for a honeymoon..."

How did you get involved in travel?

"I started as a tour guide and representative in various European and North African countries. After 10 years, I retired from life in a suitcase and started working as a sales manager in an outbound travel agency specialized in group travel. I gradually realized how beautiful my country is, and decided to present its treasures to foreigners by creating customized itineraries - so, I went from the outbound to the inbound sector."

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"I was visiting Bali with my two friends. As usual, I decided to avoid the tourist routes as much as possible, so we rented a van and explored the interior of the island - volcanoes, temples, small remote villages... While we were exploring the Mother Temple, it started raining, and we got completely wet. We sat down in the van, soaking wet, and started without even knowing where we were going, and ran into a village where a procession was taking place. The road was jammed with people in traditional costumes, women carrying baskets of fruit on their heads... we opened the windows and filmed, and a little boy came up to me and held out his hand - and I ran out of sweets that I had brought to give to the children (I learned that in the south of Tunisia in the Berber villages) and I had nothing to give him. My face became sad and I must have looked all miserable with wet hair and clothes... and then a young woman approaches the van, gently pushes the child forward, reaches into the basket on her head and hands me a beautiful apple. For no reason at all, I just burst into tears - I simply felt some connection between all of us, understanding, love..."

Marija is part of the following groups: Slovenia Travel Agents, Croatia Travel Agents
Top itineraries and travel advice

Favorite experiences

Family Farm Visit & Authentic Croatian Meal in Konavle

Just south of Dubrovnik is the beautiful Konavle region, which hosts various traditional villages. You'll join a local family at their farm in the little village of Cilipi. After touring the farm and getting to know your hosts, you'll learn how to prepare a delicious, authentic Croatian peka...

Sailing Tour: Blue Cave, Vis Island, Blue Lagoon & Pakleni Islands

This exciting full-day excursion covers the islands of Biševo, Vis, Drvenik Veli, and the Pakleni islands on a beautiful sailboat—a great way to explore the Adriatic and visit a few of the stunning and individual islands that make up the Dalmatian coast. You'll set out from Hvar Town and first...

Recent trip reviews for Marija

6 Wonderful Days in Croatia
Croatia | Oct 20 - Oct 26, 2024

Dorothy
Dorothy C.
Visalia, CA | Reviewed on Nov 19, 2024
Highlights:
* Day 1 -Our Hotel and view from our room in Dubrovnik was amazing! The many options for meals (which were delicious) and the beautiful views from those areas were great! The beautiful pools, and the safe places to jump into the Adriatic and swim was really exciting!
* Day 2 - Our friendly local guide, Alberto, was SO knowledgeable about the history and people of Old Town through the centuries. He shared great tips for our own self-touring that afternoon. An extra highlight...
Read more

Highlights:
* Day 1 -Our Hotel and view from our room in Dubrovnik was amazing! The many options for meals (which were delicious) and the beautiful views from those areas were great! The beautiful pools, and the safe places to jump into the Adriatic and swim was really exciting!
* Day 2 - Our friendly local guide, Alberto, was SO knowledgeable about the history and people of Old Town through the centuries. He shared great tips for our own self-touring that afternoon. An extra highlight was that we were able to meet
Marija, in person that a.m. as she was there with another group and made a point of finding us to meet in person. That was a fun surprise.
* Day 3 - Marija planned our seamless arrival of our rental car and we were on our way to Split. Our local tour guide, Ivana, met us at our boutique hotel and it was a convenient walk to Diocietian's Palace. Ivana, who grew up in Split, was a great guide and pointed out the amazing features of the Palace, as well as sharing her experiences as a young girl growing up during the 5 year war.
* Day 4 - We had a beautiful drive to Krka National Park. The waterfalls there were spectacular and this day was a highlight of our trip! On to Zadar where we checked in to the Hotel Bastion, with views of the harbor nearby and easy
walk to experience the Roman and Venetian ruins on the Old Town peninsula. Lots of restaurants to choose from as well!
*Day 5 - Drove to the most famous National Park in Croatia, Plitvice Lakes where Marija had already provided tickets for
us to tour the area. Again, the waterfalls were stunning, and were so worth the walk, in spite of the cloudy day! Then on to
the capitol, Zagreb. We had another seamless transfer to our hotel after dropping off our rental car. Our driver was a great young man who shared his perspective about the 5 yr. war (at my urging). He had been a "celebration baby." His
father had survived the war, married his mother and he was born. He shared that every year they go back to the city in Eastern Croatia, where his father had fought alongside other Croatians to remember those who were lost, such a poignant story.
*Day 6 - Met up with our local guide, Josie, at our hotel and got a great tour of the center of Zagreb. Josie is a vibrant and energetic young woman who loves her city and was so excited to show the many highlights and learn from her about Zagreb's history..... from the City Square, to the famous Cathedral of Zagreb, St. Marks Church, the Dolac Market (amazing daily fresh produce, meat markets, bakeries, wine/olive oil specialties galore!), and riding the Funicular Railway from the upper town back down to the lower town. It was a FUN last day and we topped it off with having an authentic Croatian dinner where the locals go to have a great meal (one of Josie's favorites that she recommended to us). We were not disappointed!!! The BEST local food and great people!
*Day 7 - Marija arranged for our on-time driver to pick us up at 4:30 a.m. for a short, relaxing drive to the Zagreb Airport.
We had plenty of time to relax, buy a few more souvenirs and talk about what an AMAZING trip we'd had.
THANK YOU MARIJA!!!

Local specialist: Marija Mance
Marija
Marija Mance
Local specialist in Rijeka, Croatia | Replied on Nov 20, 2024

Dear Dorothy and Greg,
I can't thank you enough for this wonderful review - and for the surprise, too :)

All I can say is: you're very welcome, and I'm extremely happy to have met you!
I wish you many great travels and all the best!

Warmest regards from Croatia!
Marija

Croatia was was an amazing destination and Ma...
Croatia | Jul 21 - Jul 28, 2024

Kara
Kara D.
Madison, NJ | Reviewed on Sep 04, 2024
Croatia was was an amazing destination and Marija created an itinerary that was perfect for our adventure loving family. I love Croatia is still a bit undiscovered. Each city had something magical. I loved that we were able to combine history, outdoor adventure and relaxing beach time all in one vacation. Most of all I was mesmerized by the architecture and mix of old and new. Read more

Croatia was was an amazing destination and Marija created an itinerary that was perfect for our adventure loving family. I love Croatia is still a bit undiscovered. Each city had something magical. I loved that we were able to combine history, outdoor adventure and relaxing beach time all in one vacation. Most of all I was mesmerized by the architecture and mix of old and new.

Hotel Reviews
Plitvice Holiday Resort
Grabovac

We loved being in up in the trees. We've never stayed anywhere like it. The grounds were beautiful with fun things to do for the kids.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
It's very modern. Just a bit small in the bathrooms
Royal Neptun Hotel
Dubrovnik

This was a lovely way to end the trip. It was very luxurious with multiple pools and restaurants. We loved the beach access and the ability to "cliff jump". We wish there were more lounge chairs.

Authenticity & Character
Infuse the property with more Croatian history/art
Location
A bit far from the city center but we wanted to be by the beach so we made the trade-off
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
We're spoiled as Americans - this felt like a high end American hotel. Good beds and spacious
Hotel Luxe
Split

Too modern for my personal tastes but the location is perfect. And we loved our balcony. The air conditioning wasn't really working.

Authenticity & Character
Just a matter of taste it was very modern
Location
Walking distance to all the restaurants, waterfront
Staff
They tried to help with the air conditioning. The breakfast staff was friendly and helpful. The front desk helped us find our rental car pick up.
Cleanliness & Comfort
It was very spacious. Very clean.
Best Western Premier Hotel Astoria
Zagreb

This hotel has old world Croatian charm. The rooms are smaller so we had to rent a separate room for our kids. The breakfast was the best on our trip. Something for everyone!

Authenticity & Character
It felt old world and charming.
Location
A bit of a walk to the center of town with the restaurants
Staff
They allowed us to store after we checked out. They called the airport to try to find our lost luggage.
Cleanliness & Comfort
The rooms were small.
Activity Reviews
Private afternoon Zagreb walking tour
Private afternoon Zagreb walking tour
Zagreb

Joseph was amazing. She had passion for her country and culture. Shared her own love of sports celebrities from Croatia. Shared the concert locations she loves to frequent. She shared where she likes to vacation. And of course she was wealth of knowledge about Zagreb's history, architecture and all the little secrets. I really loved the story about where the Nazi's stored their weapons and how it was flooded. We loved the furnicular. And it was so special to be there when locals dressed as historical book characters and stopped to talk to you in that time period. Joseph told us about the books and how she read them growing up. This was so special.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
The guide Joseph was amazing
Transport
Our guide met us at our hotel which was very helpful
Sea kayak tour of Split - group tour
Sea kayak tour of Split - group tour
Split

Red Adventures was a terrific outing. The equipment was well maintained. Rami was knowledgeable and fun. We absolutely loved the cliff jumping. It was our 16 year old son's favorite part of the trip.

Quality of Experience
Cliff jumping
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
We took an uber - Kim Kim made it very clear where to go. Kim Kim could inlcude the name of the tour company and they could have a sign at the location. We didn't find them right away.
Full day small group speedboat trip from Split
Full day small group speedboat trip from Split
Split

This was my favorite excursion. The blue cave was captivating and were there at a great time for the light to be vibrant. The wait was really long but ,maybe those who run the caves can pre-book the tours at a certain time. I loved island hopping. The check-in experience prior to leaving wasn't great. The woman said they didn't have my name when it was clearly there and she was rude.

Quality of Experience
I loved having time to go swimming and stop at a beach bar. I also loved walking up to the fort on one of the islands for the spectacular view. Loved everything about it.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our guide booked us a restaurant which was amazing. And it was so helpful for us to go directly to the restaurant vs. trying to pick the best one. We didn't have to walk around reading each menu and deciding.
Transport
I loved our boat - nothing fancy. It was open air with the sea water splashing from time to time. So relaxing
Private afternoon Dubrovnik walking tour
Private afternoon Dubrovnik walking tour
Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is the most striking of all the cities we saw. The layout and town center really made you feel like you went back in time. Our guide Mr. Alberto was such an interesting person. He played piano professionally and spoke about the arts in Croatia. He had such love for his city having grown up there. He also spoke about the challenges with the increase in tourism. He recommended dinner locations which is always helpful.

Local specialist: Marija Mance
Marija
Marija Mance
Local specialist in Rijeka, Croatia | Replied on Oct 07, 2024

This is truly a great review. It is very helpful for both us and the travellers when someone rates accommodation and experiences, and explains so nicely what they liked and what they didn't like and why... and the photos are just amazing!
Thank you Kara for everything, it was a pleasure to be your "host" - to you and your wonderful family!