Guest Reviews

The opportunity of Mladen and Joy showing me their home country made the experience of seeing Bulgaria very fulfilling. The country is beautiful, the people are warm and friendly, the foods and wines are great, and the history is very interesting. The guide was very knowledgeable about the entire country.

A wonderful cultural experience in becoming familiar with Bulgaria and its history. A very, very impressive guide. The service was great and the attitude was even better. Excellent value for money. This trip should be a must if we are ever going to understand what other people have gone through in their lives as a result of politics, wars, education, etc. We saw an unbelievably beautiful country with an abundance of natural resources that have been badly used by political programs. It is an eye-opener.

A great trip and wonderful experience! Wines and food were great! The service can be slow. But to be honest, a lot better than I expected. The guide Kamen was outstanding !!!!! Very knowledgeable and he read the group’s interest well. A well thought thru trip in all aspects. A trip I could never do on my own. Fun group. Excellent value for money.

Mladen and Joy did a fantastic job, showing us so many aspects of Bulgaria, helped to realize the beauty of the country.  The trip was most beneficial because of the personal stories including what life was like under the Communists.  Wines were wonderful from the many SB, Roses to Malbecs. Again much enhanced by Mladen’s knowledge of both wines and country. Great variety, quality, and quantity. Wineries were fun & educational. From the first meal with all eyes popping after seeing our first Bulgarian salad to our last meal food was great. Food experience went from everyday Bulgarian to Fusion fantastic choices.  Our guide Kamen was extremely knowledgeable and was a perfect addition to the group. I told friends prior to the trip that I would come back as an expert on Bulgaria, little did I know how true that was thanks to Kamen.  Loved it all: villages, cities, resorts, monasteries - all with their individual stories. Museums gave new education on Bulgarian history. I can't say enough about the visit and the performance at the School of Bulgarian Folklore & Dance. Wow!

Excellent value for money. The trip exceeded my expectations. Because Bulgaria is still an undiscovered country, this trip enlightens you on all aspects of culture, history, beauty, and an understanding of the people. Great immersion into wines, foods, and understanding of what living under communism was like.

Your service, experience, enthusiasm, charm are all spectacular. You and Mladen both make the trip! Magical on all levels!

Joy was amazing. Very attentive; always joyful. Anticipated our needs, and always tried to meet any need we had. A great leader with much passion. I loved the variety of winery styles!

Joy, the trip was magnificent! You and Mladen did a perfect job. I am grateful.

Joy, I want to thank you for organizing and leading such a memorable trip. The whole experience was incredible. You took care of every detail and made the us feel like part of your family. I can’t wait to travel with you & both again.

We did not really know what to expect. The food, the wine, the truffle hunting, the cooking class were all terrific. Not too much time spent on the bus. The private tour of the Vatican was so inspiring and wonderful. It would be very hard to replicate this trip as an individual. This is a unique experience to meet some great new people, taste some delicious wine and to learn more about them. This is a trip anyone who has not been to Italy can enjoy as can people like us who have already visited Italy numerous times.

Joy did an exceptional job designing and executing our trip. Her comprehensive attention to detail provided everything from knowledgeable local guides, special wine and dining experiences, to making our hotel check-in experiences seamless and easy. I think that she did an exceptional job choosing the personnel, the special experiences, the hotels, the driver, the guides....which resulted in an experience that we would not have been able to achieve without her savvy skill. The Sommelier Mladen is a rock star! His smile, laughter and warm personality added to our enjoyment of the trip. His knowledge and wine selection at our evening meals were definitely value added to our experience. It was a very special experience. Again, many aspects would not have been possible without Joy's planning and execution. We made many wonderful memories and will treasure those moments of awe, delight and laughter forever.

The design and management of this Italian experience were very well planned and professionally run. There is no better and stress-free way to experience Italian culture, art, architecture, culinary styles, and regional wines.

This trip was so amazing for us. I was nervous not being involved in the trip plan like I normally would be. I have to say it was better than any trips I have planned. To us this was a perfect delivery of an amazing wine, food and history experience in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Scenery that takes your breath away; experiences that you are not likely to find yourself; with a relaxed, seamless execution; and a love for the experience that is contagious. A sommelier added tremendous value to our trip. Mladen made the experience fantastic - growing a deep appreciation not only for wine but the soulful nature of experiencing wine and making new friends. His deep understanding of wine and his enthusiasm for it was one of the many highlights of our trip. He helped grow our appreciation at a much deeper level.

I felt like I was in a dream of pure magic. Every need was well taken care of above my expectations. Mladen was what made the trip so special. His high energy, sense of humor, knowledge of fine wine, food and life is what I love the most about the trip.

If you are looking for a 5-star trip that exceeds your expectations and if you have a great Sommelier like, Mladen Stoev, as your guide we would highly recommend this trip! The careful planning and attention to our needs and comfort made our experience an exceptional one. A trip that was as perfect as one could hope for!

I would recommend highly and not hesitate to travel with Mladen & Joy again and this wonderful group who I can now call my friends. We laughed always, drank and ate fine foods every day and experienced beautiful parts of Italy. Love the truffle hunt, the cooking class, the dinner with Salvatore Ferragamo. The Sistine Chapel was an unbelievable experience. Many thanks for the trip of a lifetime!!!! It was positively the most wonderful travel experience I have ever had. Every detail was taken care of with worry free travel for all. Made friends for life!

This trip was well planned and seamlessly executed. It provided fabulous Italian experiences including not just truly amazing food and wine, but exploring hilltop villages, truffle farm, organic farm, and cheese making, all at the same time while making new friends from our club! Traveling together is just more fun! Also, there were many simple pleasures difficult to put value on -  like not having to schlep luggage from place to place, but transported for us to the next hotel and placed in our room by the time we arrived! Job well done both Mladen and Joy!

Joy is extremely professional and has a great attention to detail for the benefit of providing a luxury client experience. This was a magical trip, scenery, food, wine, accommodations superior!

We had experiences and saw things we would have never known to exist if we had tried this on our own.

Joy was absolutely the best. We have done two trips with her and each on was so unique. This was totally different from our trip to Italy. Every last detail was sooo perfect! Can’t recommend a better person than Joy.

Joy arranged for us to enjoy Switzerland to its fullest. Good agenda, great sites to see, fabulous hotels, great meals and all in all just a great experience with wonderful memories!

A trip you must take. The country was clean and the people were very pleasant. The scenery is breathtaking. Joy's attention to detail was remarkable. She always listens to our suggestions regarding the trip. Will be travelling with her again.

This wonderful trip has special Swiss wines pared with the scenery of a life time enjoyed by van, train, chairlift and boat. Don’t miss this spectacular week of vino and views!

This tour met or exceeded our expectations in all regards. Although we lived in Switzerland for several years, we thoroughly enjoyed the exposure to many new sights and a more in depth understanding of the history and culture. Joy, Mladen and the tour guides were all outstanding and made this an experience we will long remember. Joy’s detailed preparation before and her hands on involvement during our trip where beyond our expectations. We cannot offer a more positive evaluation of her role in making this a fabulous experience!!

The trip exceeded expectations — plenty of pleasant surprises popping up around the itinerary. This Bordeaux trip seems somewhat unique because of the reputation, long history, and 7000 Chateaux, and each of the properties we visited brought something new and different. Final evening was a glorious crescendo — the visit to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, wine tasting in the garden, the band playing authentic American music, and then the spectacular Michelin 2 star meal with a country flair — again, unforgettable. Many thanks to you, Mladen and your local partners for a most enjoyable trip.