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Trip Reviews
France:
Trips planned by Joël Massé
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Escorted with ease: Travelers Karen Lindfors and Patrick Moore went seamlessly from cruising to Calanques.
South of France and Paris, May 14-June 8, 2026
From food tours to ancient Roman sites to Luberon villages to hiking in the Calanques, our journey to southern France was impeccably planned by Joel. He listened to both our desires and our budget and delivered on both. He suggested lovely hotels which were well situated. We especially enjoyed our four nights at Vallon de Valrugues in St Remy de Provence. The hotel is an easy walk from the village, but out of the busy tourist center. A bonus is that it has an outstanding new restaurant, Oria, that is yet to be discovered, but is worthy of Michelin star recognition.
We also loved our three nights in Aix en Provence at the Villa St Ange, which has an inviting pool and lovely gardens. The sightseeing and tour options Joel suggested were varied and enjoyable. We marveled at how many pieces were fit together to make each day a perfect experience. We chose not to drive ourselves so, as an example, on one day we were picked up at our hotel by one driver, taken to our morning boat tour of the Calanques, then picked up by another driver and transported to a few miles to a point where we met our guide for an afternoon hike, and finally met by a driver to take us back to our hotel. Joel and his team are always available and answered our questions promptly. We would not hesitate to use him again for travel in France.
Two glorious weeks in France. Many thanks to Joel who helped us plan 5 days in Paris, 5 days in Provence, and 5 days in the Cote D’Azur. He found us a hotel in a fabulous location in the 7th arrondissement, allowing us to walk almost everywhere. Travel to Provence and the rental car pickup was seamless and we had perfect locations as well. The bike tour through the Luberon Valley was a highlight. The guide was fantastic. We also had a driver give us a wonderful tour, allowing my husband to take the day off from driving and enjoy the sights. Our Nice hotel was also in a wonderful location. A highlight of our time in the south of France was a sunset sailing cruise in Cannes.
My October trip to Corsica was a huge success, thanks to very careful planning by Joel and his colleague, Nathalie. They listened carefully to my travel objectives and planned a trip that more than met my expectations. They took my age (87) into account and booked comfortable—in some cases, luxurious—hotels. Through their contacts in Corsica, they found a very knowledgeable and companionable guide, Ludovic, who helped me navigate the sometimes rough terrain of the island and taught me a great deal about its complex history and culture. I couldn’t have managed the trip without him.
If I have any criticisms at all, they are minor and of my own making. I may have slightly overestimated my own endurance. Thanks to my guide, I made it through fine; but a day less or a day more, with some R and R built in, might have been desirable. My other criticism is also minor, and it has to do with accommodations for older people and those with disabilities in Corsica. There is very little attention paid to this in hotels and public places—almost no railings in public places, for example. Older people and anyone with a disability should keep this in mind when contemplating a trip to Corsica. On the good side, people are so kind and friendly that they make up for it in courtesies of every kind.
Corsica is a gorgeous and exceptionally interesting place; the terrain is breathtaking; the food is wonderful; the culture—to the extent I was able to experience it—is unique. I would encourage people to visit it and to make their plans through Joel and his colleagues. Thanks very much, Wendy Perrin and associates, for a trip well planned and executed!
Joel was terrific! Starting with the trip planning (for two couples), he was responsive to our requests and was very flexible. His original plan had too many guided days, and we are a group which likes to do independent exploring. We ended up with a mix of guided and independent days, which was exactly perfect.
Major shoutout to Joel for hiring drivers and guides who were on time, let us know exactly where we would meet them, and who were knowledgeable and friendly. We were especially impressed with Thomas, who advised us that he would meet us at the head of the train at Gare de Lyon, and did. (We had a bad experience with a driver meeting us at Atocha in Madrid and who it took an hour to find.)
His hotels were great choices, although the first one (and this was not Joel’s fault) assigned each couple terrible rooms upon check-in. While my husband and I were able to move, our friends were stuck with a subpar (to say the least) room. To make up for this, Joel treated us to a lovely dinner—a really kind gesture on his part.
I think the best thing I can say is that we definitely will use Joel and his company to plan our future France trips, and for any other countries they cover. His attention to detail, ideas about our guided tours, and his responsiveness are remarkable.
Great job, Joel!!
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