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Jacoline is the best travel planner we’ve ever used. Extremely knowledgeable, timely in response, and generally a pleasure to work with. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
After the success of our trip to Paris and Provence in the spring of 2023 (so expertly planned, postponed due to Covid, postponed again due to Covid and finally, wonderfully executed three years after originally planned!) designed by Michael Eloy, we knew that we would seek out the help of Michael’s colleagues to help us plan our trip to Greece. Wendy Perrin connected us to one of her WOW List planners, Jacoline Vinke, to start the process.
Jacoline began by listening to us and asking questions. We knew the type of vacation we wanted and what was important to us, but had no idea of where to go in Greece or how to create our desired trip. She presented us with two rough sketches to begin and we worked together to refine our trip.
Jacoline and Evan created our dream trip! We visited Athens, Nafplio, Sifnos and Naxos and met the most lovely guides and hosts who welcomed us into their business, vineyard, farm or home. We enjoyed everything from archeological sites (as far back as the 12th century B.C.) to an olive press factory, truffle hunting followed by lunch in a vineyard with freshly grated truffles, an evening of Greek music and dance and a homemade dinner with a local organic farmer and his family, a visit to three pottery workshops with the opportunity for a short lesson, a lovely free-range animal farm, several days on the water snorkeling and seeing beautiful islands, a cooking lesson and time to rest, relax and enjoy the most amazing views from our hotels. And the food!!!
Jacoline and Evan took care of all the arrangements and reservations. Private transfers were smooth, our car rentals were easy, guides were on time, hotels were lovely. We were given options and information to make the most of our trip.
Thank you both. And thank you, Wendy.
Greece is a wonder. Our travel planner, Jacoline Vinke, was excellent and very responsive. We visited Athens, Sifnos and Santorini in that order.
We did not do a cruise but instead took ferries so we could immerse in the culture. The food was fantastic. The people were great. Amazing history.
Athens is a very cool city. Our trip to visit the Acropolis with our private tour guide and our hotel Perianth penthouse were highlights of Athens. Beautiful view and every day, we would return from our excursions and relax in our private pool overlooking the stunning Acropolis. Fabulous breakfast at hotel. We loved our romantic dinner on the terrace at Cafe Avissinia. Food was incredible. Service top-notch. Great view of Acropolis. Walking tour was wonderful and loved our guide.
Our next stop by ferry was the island of Sifnos and our incredibly romantic hotel, Nos. The most unique experience we had was visiting Narlis Farm on the island of Sifnos. George and Dina made us traditional breakfast followed by a cooking class and tour of the farm. We loved George & Dina so much. They have such pride in the farm and the family history. The food was outstanding and we loved George’s humor! Huge highlight.
We also took an RIB skippered boat trip to Polyaigos and Kimolos and loved it. Stopped often to swim in the turquoise waters and saw many incredible yachts along the way. It was very hard to check out of Nos, an oasis of beauty on the island. Outstanding staff, breakfasts, pool, dinner was memorable and our favorite hotel of the trip.
Last stop was Santorini, which is stunningly beautiful but has become overrun with tourists, traffic and buses so I would recommend other islands. But despite that, there were great highlights. Our hotel was one of a kind, a cave hotel called Perivolas which is gorgeous and a welcome haven from all the tourists crowding the city of Oia. We also did a private guided tour of the amazing archeological site of Akrotiri. Fascinating.
The highlight was a private sunset sailing cruise of the Caldera with dinner on a perfect evening. The boat, Serenity, was beautiful. Food and drinks were so good. The crew was stellar.
We bade goodbye and flew to Athens where we stayed overnight at the Sofitel Athens for our very early morning departure. That was so convenient to be able to walk across the street to our gate.
Trip was well planned and executed. Kudos to Jacoline’s team!
We recently returned from a lovely 10-day trip to Greece, which Jacoline Vinke and Evan LaRocque planned for us.
Our first stop was Athens. The private tour of the Parthenon was fabulous, as was the E-bike tour of the city. But equally memorable was the view from our hotel. We were travelling with another couple and Jacoline suggested we share the penthouse suite at the Perianth. What an incredible view of the Parthenon, especially in the evening when it was so beautifully illuminated!
We knew we wanted to visit Athens and Santorini, but asked Jacoline to pick a 3rd stop. She hit a home run with her selection of Sifnos — a beautiful little island where we took a fun cooking class and enjoyed a half day on a private skippered boat trip on the wonderfully blue Aegean Sea. The scenery was breathtaking. The small hotel Jacoline selected was lovely. The overall ambiance was upscale yet relaxed, and the room amenities were outstanding. The staff was extremely personable and made us feel very special.
Although our husbands enjoyed driving around the island in our little car (we requested something fun), they were a little hesitant to venture too far in the evenings because of the winding roads. As a result, we chose not to try all of the local restaurants that Jacoline recommended. No worries, however, as the food at the hotel was exceptional and there was a wonderful family-run restaurant on the beach (also recommended by Jacoline) which was an easy and pleasant walk from our hotel.
On to Santorini, where we enjoyed wine tastings and an interesting tour of island excavations. Jacoline also arranged a private evening cruise on a 46 ft catamaran. We stopped several times for a quick dip in the sea and the captain and 1st mate prepared a lovely dinner for us. What a wonderful way to watch the sunset.
There were a lot of moving pieces to this trip and we couldn’t have done it without Jacoline and Evan’s help. When one of our guides cancelled at the last minute, due to Covid, Jacoline was quick to find a replacement. And Evan immediately notified us when a ferry schedule changed.
Many of our guides volunteered that we were in excellent hands when working with Jacoline’s office. We agree.