About
Adventure Driven Vacations (ADV) is top rated adventure tour operator in Croatia. We are proud to be the first skydiving company in Croatia under EASA SPO regulation.
We specialise in development and guiding of our own adrenaline charged and outdoor activities: Tandem Skydiving, Rock climbing, Kayaking, Hiking and Custom Tours. Our base and drop zone is in Zadar Region, just in the middle of the National parks Kornati and Paklenica.
We are proud members of:
- Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)
- United States Parachute Association (USPA)
- National Association of Croatian travel agencies (UHPA)
ADV is motivated by a simple idea of creating a perfect Adventure Driven Vacation for you. We want you to make beautiful memories in active contact with nature, in the air, sea and land.
Our mission is to put a big smile upon your face!
All the tours we offer are guided by our professional instructors with years of experience. For all activities we use our own equipment which is maintained on the top level.
Your safety is our priority!
Once in a while everyone imagines what it would be like to live out some kind of adventure; something totally new and different from their everyday routine. Some people are inspired by movies, family, friends, or some memorable magazine photo. Others are inspired by the pure wish of exploring a variety of new thrills which make our life so exciting.
Every day should be an adventure and with this thought in mind, our story begins…
Our goal is to safely guide you through new, exciting Adventure Driven Vacations which we have designed just for you. We specialise in the elements of Earth, Air and Water, and first time adventurers are our absolute favourites!
After you have boarded the airplane for a skydiving tandem jump or aerobatic flight, climbed your first big wall, experienced kayaking or motorcycling in scenic surroundings or even better, done all of this in one week your Adventure Driven Vacations have just begun. However, we must warn you the ADV lifestyle is highly addictive!
Your old friends may not understand the ‘’new’’ you, the topics that you used to talk about may seem bleak and uninteresting now but don’t worry, a whole new army of ADVenture loving people are just waiting for you to share your stories with them.
Where better to do this, then hanging out at our weekly ADV parties, sipping on cocktails, listening (and playing?) to live music by our resident drop zone band surrounded by people who love life and nature. This is where the fourth element comes into play as we chat around the Fire and plan our new ADVentures together.
Now would be the perfect time to introduce our team, right?
Grgo
- ADV founder and owner
- Tandem skydiving instructor
- Pilot
- Motorcycle guide
Although it wasn’t that easy for him, gravity was something that actually drove him forward in life and didn’t hold him back. Grgo is ”The Head” of the ADV team in more than one way. He is actually the founder and owner of ADV and once you see him in person the other reason will become crystal clear; there is no way you could ”slap on a smile” of that size on a normal sized head. He has tried it all: windsurfing, cliff diving, athletics, skydiving, ADV motorcycling, climbing, sailing…
Not only tried, he excelled in all of these, but Grgo being Grgo rarely brags about his outstanding achievements. If there were a world championship in modesty, he would be world champion but yet again he wouldn’t tell anyone… And now, after a 12 year successful IT career he is ready for a new ADVenture.
Special techniques:
- Very long blues guitar solos
- Downwind parachute swoop manoeuvre
- Indestructible optimism
Good to know facts:
He has had a skydiving licence since 2001. and the following ratings: skydiving instructor and tandem pilot license, USPA coach, SL/I, TI and USPA S&TA – Safety and Training Advisor. Not only that but he has a Private Pilot License (PPL) and is starting training to be aerobatic pilot.
When he is not in the air he is shredding the continent on his motorbike. He has accumulated more than 70 000 km in the past 3 years and has been everywhere from the Alps all the way to the Nordkapp. He is the proud owner of the ”Iron Butt” certificate for endurance riding when he covered 2500 km in less than 36 hours on his way to the northern most point of Europe.
Some facts you might be interested in:
- 10+ years of Sales & Business Management experience in leading international IT companies (IBM, Ericsson).
- Has a proven track record of business project management, software solutions and innovation projects
What else?
If we told you that he is a passionate windsurfer, has a skippers ”C” licence, AIDA F2 free diving licence, loves snowboarding, mountain trekking and cycling you would say that we’re just sucking up to ”The Head” so we’ll just stop here. Oh yeah, did we mention that he plays lead guitar in drop zones resident blues band? No? Well he does. Honestly.
Over and out.
Vanja
- Skydiving instructor
- Tandem skydiving master
- Motorcycle guide
- Climbing guide
Iiiiiiiihhhhhhaaaaaaaaa!!!! Don’t worry this is not the mating call of some wild animal it is just Vanja’s specific way of expressing his love of life, nature and all adrenalin related sports. Very often, when everyone else has thrown in the towel after an exciting and tiring day, Vanja puts on his party hat and before you know it, everyone’s dancing and having a blast. He is one of our team’s most experienced skydivers and one of Croatia’s best B.A.S.E. jumpers so you are in safe hands be it in the air, on the sea or on the rock. After a day spent with him you will have trouble wiping that big smile of your face!
Special techniques:
- Big, fat smile during free fall, the faster the speed, the bigger the smile
- Head down abseil pose
- Positive energy power plant
Good to know facts:
He is an experienced tandem skydiving instructor and a member of the Croatian Free Fly National Team. Since 1999, when he started skydiving, he has made over 2100 jumps and participated in many national and international competitions achieving great results. He has been a B.A.S.E. jumper since 2005 with over 500 jumps from various fixed objects (windmills, buildings, chimneys, cliffs, antennas). He was a referee in the World Base Race in Switzerland in 2013. He is also the only one in Croatia, and one of the few people in the world to have combined alpinism and B.A.S.E. jumping when he scaled the 350m wall of Anića Kuk in Paklenica with his jumping gear and then jumped of from the top. Iiiiiiiiihhhhhhaaaaaa!!! or what!?
Some facts you might be interested in:
- Hairstylist/creative last 15 years
- Co-owner of „Frizeraj“ – the coolest hairstyling studio in Zagreb
- Owner of numerous certificates from prestigious London and Amsterdam hairdressing academies
What else?
Where do we start? If he’s not jumping of something, or climbing up something he is either kite surfing or scuba diving. During winter Vanja hits the snow and goes snowboarding; off-piste off course, and on the rare occasions when he is at home he enjoys painting and drawing. Phew! Anything else? Well, he is a wicked bass guitar player and you will surely have a chance to hear him play at one of the dropzone parties!
Aldo
- Skydiving tandem master
- Motorcycle guide
At first glance, Aldo may look like a big tough guy but at the second glance you will actually see that he is a big, tough guy who swears a lot. Many have tried to change him and all of them have failed. Once you get to know him, you will see that he is actually a very cheerful guy and once you see him playing with his dog you will see his gentler side. If you know that he is an ex military police member, then all of the puzzles fall into place. He spends every moment he can outdoors, skydiving (over 1300 jumps), skiing, snowboarding, kite surfing, wake boarding, mountain biking… Aldo is at home in any situation and even if the unthinkable should happen, he will find a solution to the problem. He may swear a lot while doing so but the problem will be resolved in no time. That’s Aldo for you!
Special techniques:
- Surviving in tough conditions
- Strong communication skills esp. In delicate situations
- Dog whisperer
Good to know facts:
Skydiving licence since 1997 and following ratings: International USPA D license, International USPA COACH,International USPA static line and assisted deployment skydiving instructor, international tandem instructor license. He has more than 1300 jumps (400 camera jumps). He’s a Ski and Snowboard guide and he plays drums as well.
Facts you might be interested in:
- 1991 – 1995 Military Police with special forces – command with 120 people
- 1997 – self employed in Service for precise mechanics and Medical systems
What else?
No one can destroy a 4×4 vehicle as quick as him!
Anamarija
- Chief of drop zone manifest
- Head of travel agency
We call her ‘The Slayer’ and she is head of our drop zone. Anamarija has special talent of keeping all drop zone staff in line with the plan and she makes us safe and on time to do all what we have to do for the day. She loves skydiving and has already jumped tandem and is looking forward to jump more. When she’s not at the drop zone you can find her on concerts, actually she is a big fan of music and in fact one of the people who is in teams that organize biggest music festival in Croatia. She is also the head and organizer of our ADV special events and our weekly blues parties at our drop zone.
Special techniques:
- ‘Just do what I said’ attitude
- Choosing best music for your video material
- Psychological and sociological experiments on staff
Some facts you might be interested in:
Has Masters degree in Sociology and Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology. Years of volunteering experience and President of NGO for over six years.
- Is terrified of heights but did tandem jump and she is trying to rock climb
- Knows almost every band in Croatia
What else? Her nickname is ‘Mexican Slave Master’ and some say she can kill people and puppies with her eyes. Also, she loves to sing.
Sinke
His nickname ‘Apolon’ says it all. He is an extraordinary professional and always smiling, no matter what.
- Chief rock climbing instructor
- Sea kayaking guide
In one short sentence, we can say that Sinke is natural born rock climber with long tradition of climbing in his family. He is type of guide you want to have by your side on the rock, very patient and methodical. If at any moment during your climb you feel scared or doubt yourself, he will do his best to motivate you and surely you will climb to the top. He is in the sport from the moment he made his first steps and we are still not sure if he walked or he learned to climb first. He organized his first trekking tours with his father when he was in elementary school. What more is there to say about Sinke? He is The Climber! Currently, he climbs 8a level routes and plans to improve this level as all real climbers do.
Special techniques:
- All day free solo climbing
- Hitchhiking the Europe naked
- Setting of new climbing routes barefooted
He has a brain of engineer, he started his academic education at Faculty of Chemical engineering and technology but after some time he decided to leave college because the call of nature was stronger and he started to climb professionally.
His favorite vehicle is his bicycle. This year he is planning to do 200 km bicycle tour in one day just to get warmed up for ADV season.
Please just take a look at his climbing project planned for this year:
- Climb as many 8a level routes in Croatia
- Free climb all routes in Rujičin kuk at Dabarski kukovi in one day
- Take the gold on BWSC Paklenica competition
What else?
His favorite saying is ‘Under the circumstances…’. As already mentioned, he is very polite and always willing to help. Also, you won’t find better translator of specific Croatian words and sayings to English. You could say we have our personal C3PO!