Koper and tour guide Graeme

[coconut1]

I am looking to book a private tour in Koper. I have contacted Graeme, but I am a bit uneasy with his policies. He wants a non-refundable deposit of 180 euros almost a year in advance of the tour. The deposit is non-refundable even if the ship doesn't make the port.

 

Does anyone have experience making this large deposit with him? Are there any other private guides for Koper?

 

Thank you.

[dln929]

We're just off the Voyager and our first stop was Koper. There were lots of tours being offered right there on the dock. (Graeme was already booked so he wasn't an option.) We ended up going to the Slocjan Caves, which were spectacular, for only 40 euros per person. This included transportation and entrance fee. There were many other tours being offered as well, similar to those offered by RCI. You might want to write to the Tourist Bureau at Koper so see if they're going to continue offering tours on-the-spot[ like the one we took advantage of. They won't recommend any one particular tour operator, though.

[pilotdane]

Depending on what you want to do Koper is a very easy and friendly port. There is an information booth on the dock manned by local students that can help you out in addition to many tour vendors.

 

Taking the public bus to Piran is a popular, safe & easy trip that can be done for about $6 versus $75 through the cruise line. Also the old town of Koper is right next to the dock so it's an easy walk.

[Toledo Cruiser]

We're just home from a week on the Seabourn Spirit. For Koper we used a guide service I found in Rick Steves book. We had a super day at Lake Bled. We toured the castle and took the boat ride to the church on the island. Then we had a very good and reasonable local flavor lunch. You can contact Tina at tinahiti@gmail.com. I'm sure she will arrange for you whatever you would like to do for the day.

 

Also, the search feature at the top right of the page will help you with your research.

[6rugrats]

I would never book a tour guide, no matter how good, that would not refund if the ship did not make the port. I'd find another guide if that's the way you want to go.

[abccruiser 2]

I book a tour with Graeme for next Aug 2012, I relunctantly sent him the deposit.I even email him why the deposit 1 year in advance and if deposit could be smaller ie 50 euro.He said he is already booking for 2012. I have book many private tour and most don't want money until that day. Alot of CC member have used him so I went ahead book it with him, so I quess I better show up on the dock that day.

[squaremimi]

We're just home from a week on the Seabourn Spirit. For Koper we used a guide service I found in Rick Steves book. We had a super day at Lake Bled. We toured the castle and took the boat ride to the church on the island. Then we had a very good and reasonable local flavor lunch. You can contact Tina at tinahiti@gmail.com. I'm sure she will arrange for you whatever you would like to do for the day.

 

Also, the search feature at the top right of the page will help you with your research.

 

I just came back from the Adriatic sea cruise and was with Tina at the Koper stop too. We went to lake bled, the bled castle and Ljubljana as well. Tina also brought us to try the Gelato which was the best gelato I've had so far. Also the signature dessert 'the cream cake' was excellent too. Anyway, we had a very wonderful day with her and you won't go wrong with her.

[Calif Cruisers]

Coconut1, we just came back a few weeks ago from an Ocean Princess cruise and our last stop was Slovenia. We booked the tour with Graeme and all seven of us on the tour thought it was one of the highlights of the cruise. We split the initial deposit between the three groups. I don't usually pay a deposit in advance but decided to do it based on good reviews on CC. Lake Bled is just gorgeous. It's a bit of a drive to Ljubljana and then to Lake Bled but it is beautiful and Graeme was an excellent guide. The local alpine restaurant he took us to was delicious. I would highly recommend his tour.

[5326jan]

We used Graeme in September and had a fabulous tour. I can recommend him without hesitation! I did send a deposit by paypal over a year ahead of time. If you just stay at the coast you will have a lovely day, but you don't appreciate the beauty of Slovenia until you cross the first mountain range. You then go into a countryside that is much like Austria! :)

[gumdentist]

From a previous post I made>

 

 

 

We also used Graeme for a private tour. I too HIGHLY recommend him. Graeme (pronounced like the American name Graham) is an Englishman who went to Slovenia for a job, met his wife and stayed. So you will have zero language barrier if you speak English. We were there on a Sunday, so Ljubljana was dead as most stores/shops are closed, so we only drove thru the city. Lake Bled is gorgeous. If I was to do it over again, I'd recommend spend the time in Lake Bled & would use Graeme again. It is about 90 minute drive each way. The Slovenian countryside looks like Austria or Bavaria. Graeme met us right as you exit the dock holding a sign.

 

**In Bled there is a wine shop Graeme pointed out. If your cruise line lets you take wine aboard (NCL does for $15 corkage) we picked up a very good bottle of Slovenian white wine (sauvignon blanc) to have with dinner that night.

 

We booked a private tour for 3, all done via email. Graeme wrote back later that, if we wanted, some others could join us and reduce the price. It was totally up to me. I agreed. So we had 7 in the van and the price went down to €135 for all 3 of us. Very honest dealing the Graeme.

 

I think he will also taxi people between Venice and Slovenia.

 

http://www.beldtaxis.com

info@4seasonstravelslovenia.com

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Graeme did require a deposit 10 months in advance for us. He asked for a €100 deposit via Paypal from me. I paid him the remaining €35 in cash at the end of the tour. I too felt uneasy about a large deposit that far in advance & would he show up. I found out Graeme lives near Lake Bled, so he drives over an hour & a half to meet you at the ship and then another hour and a half to drive home at the end of your tour. Diesel is over US$7/gallon. I assume he does not want a 3 hour RT drive for a no show or last minute cancellation. If I was him and had said bookings that far in advance, I don't blame him.

 

As a side issue, when you work with the public you find lots of people who have no common courtesy when it comes to canceling without allowing anytime to rebook another paying customer, or just plain not even showing up. Have you noticed the number of hotels that now require a CC# and have 2 day cancel in advance policies anymore? As you can tell by my moniker, I'm a dentist. If I could get away with requiring non-refundable deposits for my long appointments, I would.

 

BTW, Graeme had a lot of business/guests the day we used him a few weeks ago, so he rented a 2nd van and hired a driver for the 2nd van. 2 points to this. One, that is why you have to get paid if you are him. 2nd, ask him if he can put a 2nd group together if he is booked the day you want to go.

 

Write him and see if any one he booked wants to "share" the tour. He can also taxi people to Ljubjlana and drop them off on taking others to Lake Bled, then pick you back up about 4 hours later.

 

I'm sure there are other options available. This was a lot better than the ship's bus tours.