I'm trying again on this issue because I guess I wasn't clear -- or may be not interesting enough!

My husband and I hope to be visiting Dubrovnik in September and to stay at the Villa Adriatica. They've indicated that they can accomodate us, and they want a 20% deposit. That's fine, but how do I do it? I don't want to send credit card information via email. For that matter, do they even take credit cards? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Hi, krystal:

I am dealing with a very similar situation right now, and found the following thread to be helpful. You may also find other threads by searching under the term "bank transfer."

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

You can either wire the deposit to their bank (Teo will give you the necessary info) or send them a traveller's check in euros, available from AAA.

Thanks for the insights.

Just for the record, have you ever given a waiter your credit card and have him take it away from your table to process it? If so, the odds of identity theft there are FAR greater than they are putting your number in an email. And if you still are squeamish, then break the number up between two emails.
Of course, Villa Adriatica is the only place that can tell you if they actually accept credit cards, but I'd be surprised if they don't.

Last year I wired Teo's bank the money. No trouble at all. My tiny bank screwed around for the longest time figuring out how to make the transfer, but once they had educated themselves things went fine.

We wired money last year for our sobes. We were a bit nervous but it worked out fine.

Patrick, it's your turn to be surprised. No credit cards at the Villa Adriatica.

For our stay at Villa Adriatica last fall, I simply sent a personal check in USD to the owner's bank for the deposit and sent a photocopy of the cover letter and check to the Villa.

dcdee:

Why didn't I think of that? It cost me something like $30 to wire a bank transfer to Teo's bank in Zagreb. Since I had a lot of time, a personal check should have been sufficient, as long as I told Teo it would take a few more days. They were very accomodating, and I'm sure they would have held the room, especially if I had scanned in the check and cover letter and sent them as an e-mail attachment to the Villa.

Live and learn.

Thanks all for the 'words of wisdom'. I'm sure I'll have more questions!

I think you were lucky, Dcdee. A lot of places in Europe will not accept checks (either personal checks or travellers' checks) in US dollars because of the cost of the conversion. A tribute to Teo that this was not a problem!

Hi Nukesafe and Alohatoall--I agree that Teo was very accommodating to accept payment in this fashion although my assumption is that any conversion charge was deducted from my payment before it was deposited to the Villa's account-- in other words charged to me rather than Teo. Even so, it was much less than it was going to cost for a wire transfer or international money order. It probably wouldn't work so well for last minute arrangements but I made payment several months in advance so there was plenty of time for the check to clear.

All private accommodation and many small hotels require payment by SWIFT transfer which can cost up to $30 a transfer. I think the best plan is to book through an agency that handles Croatia reservations. You don't pay any more and you can pay online by credit card.

Jeanne
http://www.croatiatraveller.com

Jeanne, that has not been my experience in booking places for our May trip. Three private accommodations, including the Villa Adriatica, let me send travellers' checks in euros (available at my local AAA office) to avoid the $30 wire fee.

DO NOT SEND TRAVELERS' CHEQUES BY MAIL! I sent a 100 euro cheque, hoping to avoid the bank transfer fee, but it never arrived. I sent it with an international secure delivery option (like a domestic return receipt)but that didn't help. Once you endorse the travelers' cheque, it is just like cash. AmEx will not reimburse you for lost cheques have been endorsed. Teo held our reservation anyway and I paid him in full when we were in Dubrovnik. He said I "should have" sent a US check...but he never told me that via email when I told him of my plans. Live and learn!