About us

As one of our guides would always say: don’t look upon us as your guides, but as friends making the trip more comfortable for you. We don’t smile out of professional courtesy, we smile because we feel that way and because we want to. We don’t do something because we expect something else in return, we do it because it’s the nice and the right thing to do!

We find these thoughts to be both our motto and the cornerstone of our professional policy. We are honest and try not to exaggerate. It would be selfish to say, that with us you’ll get to see the best and the most awesome places in the world because there are a lot of beautiful locations all across the globe, each special and unique in its own way – and all worth discovering and experiencing. But what we can say is that we hope you get to visit all of such places, wherever they may be, along with our very own little corner of the planet – where we would be delighted to be both your hosts and friends.

We are here to help you experience the grace and beauty of Croatia’s landscapes with the hope of having a great time and an awesome adventure that will make you smile when you return home. Our trips are a mixture of nature, knowledge, culture, food, and activities. We created packages that include all of the above with the goal to show you some of the best things Croatia has to offer, but if you wish to make any adaptions more in line with your own preferences we are at your service.

Our name – Anima Croatica – stands for Soul of Croatia in Latin( both registered names). The name represents our desire to show you the essence of the places you visit: we want to show you both, the highlights of a country as well as its hidden domains that are off the beaten path. We wish to share history with you, enjoy homemade food together and take turns toasting for health, love, and joy with the best local wines!

Your Soul of Croatia /ACDC/Anima Croatica Destination Company team

Soul Of Croatia – word of the owner

Welcome! My name is Roberto Pinčević, but most people know me as Robi. I am the owner and director of Soul of Croatia or ACDC- Anima Croatica Destination Company L.L.C. and I am the person “and face” behind the whole project.

I am a very proud and happy husband and father, a big sports lover, an outdoor person, and more.

I will be honest with you from the first moment and let you know that I was a little bit shy for a long time to write something about myself, since I don’t like to push myself in the first plan, but I was friendly and advised more than once that this is a necessity, and that people who don’t know me and my company, want to know the face behind the scene. So here I am.

I will try to introduce myself and write my story in short.

I was born In Dubrovnik and spent my early years on the Pelješac peninsula in the countryside. I believe that being in nature from an early age set a strong foundation for my love for nature and exploring. Now, when I think about my school days and my escapes in nature, I am glad there was no mobile phone then, and my mum didn’t know at every moment where I climb on rocks or trees, sneak into caves, bike where you would not even go with your tractor, kayak to the open sea… As a parent, I think I would be freaking out if I know my son does the same things. Or I was braver as a kid than now!

While in high school in Dubrovnik, sports and music were always a big part of my life. I played soccer throughout my education and wanted to be a successful player as many kids do, but many injuries, unfortunately, stopped me on my way to at least try or do more. At the point where is realized I will not play anymore on a level that I wanted to, that moment actually set the path for my future decisions in my life.

After high school decided to study law ( and later I added mechanical engineering) in Zagreb. While studying I played some soccer as recreation and in a few tournaments as much as my health would allow me to, but since I had a bad leg injury that prevented me to play soccer for a longer period, I was not able to run. I needed a substitute sport so I used my hands now by playing ping-pong/table tennis and I joined a rowing team at University.

During one of the rowing training, one of my friends asked me if would I like to do some rafting. I needed a summer job so I said yes. Next thing you know, after lots of training and whole summer on rivers, guiding river rafting and kayaking and multi-sport tours I got the IRF ( International Rafting Federation) certificate.
I liked what I did, so I did it season afterward as well, and next one, and next one, until it became my full-time job. At this time was not working only in the field but in the office as well.

Meanwhile i realized I have a need to learn more, and to be able to present every aspect of the country to my clients, in the terms of knowledge and skills so I became a licensed tour guide in Croatia, a local and city guide for a few cities and counties in Croatia, including Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik. To those, I also added the Croatian mountain rescue certificate and bike guide certificate. At the same time, I went to extra education to be able to run my own business.
A few years ago I went on a sailing trip, and I loved it. It was like I came home. One thing led to another and some time afterward I got my skipper license to do sailing in beautiful Adriatic.

I was collecting my experience in a local company but also having experience with quite of few international companies. I will mention some of the US markets as REI, Backroads, and Austin adventures, as may be known to a wider number of people.
In 2012 I got a TOP GUIDE award from REI that I was very proud of. I was very nice to be recognized for what you do.

I met many great people and got new friends over the years and those new friendships are one of the biggest benefits in the tourism industry. As I try to present Croatia, and Croatian culture I also get interested in other cultures and languages. Although I mostly work with English-speaking areas, over the years I learned at least one or few words or even sentences from 11 more languages. This doesn’t put me in a category of a fluent speaker but it’s nice to say thank you in any language.
My clients sometimes called me renaissance man, and to be honest, for a while I didn’t know what does it mean. Doing many different things was quite normal for me.

Altogether this has put me in the position where I was able to do really wide specter of trips and activities all over Croatia and neighboring countries.

After years of working in tourism for others and having a conversation with the boss in a family, a.k.a. my wife, we decided that the time has come, and our future is our own, family-owned travel company. We put all of our knowledge and passion into it.

I personally have done all the trips that we do, in all the locations and activities. I kayaked and rafted every river, hiked every mountain, biked every road, swam to every beach, been to all of the hotels and restaurants, eating all the food you will eat. Even if I eat too much sometimes, I prefer to say I collect energy for the season!
So, when I say you are traveling with a genuine insider I mean it.

There is a “Robi signature” on all of our trips and a surprise element as well, often spontaneous. We might go to someone’s terrace and eat homemade food, or eat a salad picked just a few moments in someone’s garden. With the permission of the house and garden owner of course ????

If you like jokes, and you make people smile, you are at the right place and you are more than welcome to share jokes with me and other members of the group. I am always willing to learn new jokes. BTW, have you ever tried to Google search ” find Chuck Norris”? No? Try it!

People that we work with also think alike, and we are very happy because of it.

I still guide as much as I can since I have a big passion for guiding.
I treat all my clients as my friends, and as I wrote before, friendships are priceless! I am very happy to hear about parenting joys from my friends from all over the world who have kids as I do.
On our tours, I always try to provide the best possible experience, show as much as possible, talk about history, tell memories, and show the same as would show to my closest friends. As an amateur photographer, I take pictures of people in action during the trip, and give them afterward, hoping it is a nice memory of the trip. All the pictures on our web represent the trips as they are since I personally took all the pictures you can see there!
I always try to ensure and design the right and meaningful experience!
If you are happy I am happy!

If this is the moment where I should write why to travel with us, why are we better than others, I can’t say it! I respect everybody and can speak only for myself without competing.
But I can guarantee that you will get the best possible experience and be welcomed with an open heart and that we will introduce you to our spirit.
Our clients are coming back, and it speaks for itself.

By traveling with us you are getting insider knowledge, supporting a local economy, and “feeding a couple of mouths directly and quite a few more”. We will be honored if you choose us, and we are thankful for all former and maybe again future clients.

Well, I already wrote much and to know more about me, I suppose you will have to visit! ????

Sincerely

Robi