When my husband and I wanted to plan a week in the Cotswolds, we knew Jonathan and Katie and their group were the ones to contact. We had utilized them previously for a trip to Ireland, and trusted their knowledge and professionalism.

As before, they excelled in every facet of this trip. We explained that we wanted to spend days with cultural activities, hands-on experiences, plus have downtime just to be. The accommodations and itinerary they put together suited us perfectly (thanks, Jonathan, for encouraging us to stay at the Whatley Manor; it is a VERY special place).

From visits to a cheese-making factory, a trip to a brewery that uses the same equipment and techniques it has for hundreds of years, to a tasting at the wonderful Cotswold Distillery (the first full-scale distillery in the Cotswolds), to visiting Bath and the myriad of beautiful villages in the area, everything worked perfectly. The drivers and guides who took us on these adventures were second to none, and provided us with so much information on the area.

As if that were not enough, Wendy and Jonathan’s staff arranged for an incredible WOW Moment during our stay at Whatley Manor. We spent a day with Ricki Weston, their Executive Chef, foraging in his favorite places and then returned to his kitchen where he gave us a lesson in cooking, and even prepared a meal for us. What a special experience; thanks to you both, Wendy & Jonathan!

Jonathan’s team made our vacation a smooth and seamless experience, and we will not hesitate to call on them again.

The hotels chosen by Jonathan’s team were outstanding for the most part. The Manor House in Castle Combe and Lainston House just outside Winchester were both exceptional, with beautiful grounds, great food and very helpful staff. We especially enjoyed sitting in the garden and taking in the view at Lainston House. Great Fosters, near Heathrow, was a beautiful place and we had a fine dinner at their Michelin-starred restaurant, The Tudor Pass. (This 7-course meal took more than 3-and-a-half hours, so be prepared for an investment of your time.) However, their breakfast buffet was a bit skimpy, our bathroom was a bit grungy, and the staff left a great deal to be desired. One girl at the front desk was very friendly and helpful, but just about everyone else acted like we were imposing upon them.

Jon Moorhouse was the driver-guide on our first trip with Jonathan in 2022, and my mother and I were so glad to see him again! Jon massaged our itinerary to take advantage of better weather, and, knowing our interest in churches and cathedrals, made sure we got to attend a service with music at Wells Cathedral, found a cathedral for us to visit while we explored Wales, and even took us round to visit his own parish church. (The church was a gem, by the way, but to protect it from Instagram I won’t name it.)

We began by visiting Westonbirt Arboretum and Bowood House & Gardens, where we had a lovely walk around the lake and enjoyed the “Capability” Brown landscape. We explored Wells Cathedral, where we met Basil, the Cathedral Cat. He has a bed on the ticket counter and an official identity badge. We also visited nearby Glastonbury Abbey, which we felt like we could have skipped. We took a day off from touring on a Bank Holiday and enjoyed The Manor House and the village. Castle Combe really is charming, with a lovely little country church and war memorial. I know we had to spend the holiday somewhere, but maybe it shouldn’t have been in “England’s prettiest village,” which may also be England’s smallest village and was simply overrun with selfie-takers. Ugh!

We spent two more days touring with Jon. We drove into Wales, visiting Tintern Abbey (much more interesting than Glastonbury), Raglan Castle and Brecon Cathedral. Then we visited the gardens at Stourhead House, which were simply magnificent, on our way to Salisbury Cathedral. Jon deposited us at Lainston House and it was time to say goodbye! Based at Lainston House, we explored Winchester, touring the cathedral and the historic city center, and taking the “Keats Walk” through the water meadow to the 12th-century Hospital of St Cross. (This walk was pleasant but would be simply breathtaking in the autumn.) Moving onto Great Fosters, we finished up our trip by spending a day at Hampton Court Palace, where we attended Evensong in the Chapel Royal.

We enjoyed our trip very much, especially reconnecting with the world’s (or at least England’s) greatest driver-guide. Everything went smoothly and we were confident that Jonathan’s office would step in if we experienced any difficulties. Thank you, Jonathan and Katie, for another memorable trip!

Kitty Yancey on an Irish Cob horse at Sheen Falls Lodge, outside Kenmare.

My partner, Barry, and I are just back from a 10-day vacation in Dublin and Southwest Ireland (May 26-June 4) that exceeded our expectations. We never have experienced more warm, helpful, fun and friendly English-speaking locals and such magnificent countryside. The trip was tricky to plan, since hordes of Americans and other nationalities are descending on the Emerald Isle this year, and the summer tourist season started early. As a semi-retired travel writer, I know Ireland but was not familiar with County Kerry and decided we needed help to make the most of our stay, especially since hotels were booking up fast and we like the perks that Wendy’s WOW List agents provide. We consulted with a few travel specialists, including Jonathan Epstein and his efficient team, including Ireland-based Norma. They charge a fee to prepare an itinerary, but know every nook and cranny, have access to drivers and guides if needed and recommend a well-curated selection of lodgings. They mapped out a great stay, including hiking guides and drivers, since we didn’t want the stress of driving on the left on Ireland’s tricky country roads.

In the end, we opted for two of their hotel choices and decided to explore on our own. We stayed at the small and personable Dylan in Dublin, which is in an upscale residential neighborhood within an easy walk to the main tourist areas, and the amazing Sheen Falls Lodge outside the town of Kenmare, a country manor by a roaring waterfall that is a very special place to stay. I rode at their stables, and we did independent walks on hundreds of acres surrounding the property. The hotel shuttles you for free into nearby Kenmare, packed with pubs playing all kinds of music and very good eateries. I wound up singing along with a group of merrymakers playing American country music at a sidewalk cafe. That was a common experience. Interacting with pub-goers was easy and memorable.

Spectacular experiences and scenic views, wonderful guides and drivers, exceptional dining and accommodations. Fabulous planning and forethought, unparalleled logistics and advice, fantastic communication and attention to detail. We had a remarkable trip to Ireland.

From our initial conversation with Jonathan and throughout the planning process with Katie, we received exceptional care and guidance for our trip to Ireland. Katie listened, advised, researched, followed up and created an amazing itinerary for us. This was our first experience with someone on The WOW List and they were wonderful, outstanding, and world-class.

The food tour in Galway with Claire as our outstanding guide was delicious. From coffee to chocolates (including vegan options), it was a tasty way to begin our trip. Dromoland Castle was exquisite and every experience was incredible. Thank you Katie for encouraging us to participate in falconry, everyone agreed it was a unique experience and the highlight of the trip. We were hesitant to dine in the castle at the Earl of Thomond due to a food allergy. Katie encouraged us and confirmed that the restaurant could accommodate our restriction. The chef prepared the best meal of our trip and Raquel provided impeccable table-side service, double checking each course for the food allergy. Beautiful dining room, delicious meals for everyone, fabulous service, a real treat! Our horse-drawn carriage ride with a delightful guide completed a fantastic stay. On our way to Killarney we visited Limerick, bringing Frank McCourt’s book Angela’s Ashes to life. King John’s Castle provided magnificent views and allowed us to connect with our younger selves on the seesaw and playing other courtyard games. Rain did not deter us in Killarney, as we drove the Ring of Kerry and visited Ross Castle and the Muckross House. Dublin was our last stop and we had an informative and delightful tour with Ger. Our itinerary provided an array of activities and gave us a comprehensive view of Ireland.

A special note about our exceptional driver/guide, John Clancy. We spent 5 days together and felt very comfortable talking, dining and touring together. He went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of, moving the car to pick us up, changing the itinerary when the drive had too many switchbacks etc. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to view Ireland through his eyes and learning about this wonderful country.

Scotland was absolutely fabulous. We are more than happy with our destination choice, timing, and with Jonathan’s office. The sunny weather we enjoyed was unprecedented, my sister-in-law learned how to appreciate Scotch from our driver/whisky expert/guide John McElwee, and I discovered I loved haggis and black pudding. Who knew?!

Here are some bits and bobs of feedback from our merry band; my husband and myself, and my brother-in-law and his wife…

Accommodations

Gleneagles
Wow. Quite possibly one of the BEST hotels in which we have ever stayed. Warm, genuine regard from the staff. A beautiful grand dame of a hotel which did not disappoint. Fabulous breakfast buffet, top-flight dining in all venues. Fun American Bar with a really chill jazzy vibe. Andrew Fairlie, the two-star Michelin restaurant, did not disappoint. Falconry was breathtaking and fabulous (as long as you did not mind watching the raptors eat formerly live chicks…). In retrospect staying here might have been better at the end of our journey, for some relaxing and elegant recharge prior to the trip home.

Ness Walk
Again, genuinely warm and welcoming staff. Great location and proximity to restaurants for walking, but the riverfront was all torn up with construction. Great breakfast and the dinner we had onsite was wonderful. The rooms we had were small and had minimal storage for clothes and such. It felt like a wee step down after the stunning stay at Gleneagles. Their bar was open 24/7, perhaps for those needing a wee dram in the wee small hours?! The TV oddly required two remotes and we needed to call the concierge to get it working; she noted that this was a fairly regular part of her job, as the TVs are near impossible to suss out on guests’ own! Probably our least favorite, but still a good experience.

Isle of Eriska Hotel
What a beautiful setting! Another grand dame of a hotel. Public areas are beautiful. Our room was spacious and well appointed. Would not be accessible for those with mobility problems as there are no elevators and rooms are either on second or third floors; luckily our new hips and knees were functioning fairly well! Scotland was unseasonably warm for this time of year, and there was no AC—the advice was to open windows, but there were no screens, so we got to share our lodgings with wee midges. Service was mostly gracious…but a bit inconsistent. The fairly new manager, Massimo, was warm and welcoming—especially after we told him we had met his mom at Johnstons of Elgin the day previous, who told him to call her! That night, however, our toilet stopped working, and housekeeping was not able to fix it, so the desk man on duty said it would need to wait till the morning (!). Later he called us with a new scheme—the room next to ours was being renovated, and they could give us a key to use the loo in case we needed it during the night (!). Still not optimal. At some point Massimo evidently called to see how things were going—heard about this—and came back to the hotel himself to see if this could be fixed—and when it could not even though it was now late at night, called in maintenance to fix things. Which they did. His behavior should be a model for the rest of the staff, many of whom were quite new/in training, it seemed.

We waited a day for the perk offered by Jonathan’s office, a cream tea, and when it did not appear we asked staff, who curtly remarked that we should have stepped up to get this at the beginning, and it required 24 hours advance notice (!). I suppose we could have gone to Massimo but opted to let this go. On check out he did credit our bills for a bottle of wine as an apology for any inconveniences during our stay.

Overall…. Staff needs work. Some were fabulous, others did not seem to know what they were doing and perhaps did not care. Quite the disconnect from the stunning surround.

Kimpton Charlotte Square
Nicely located in the thick of things. Our room looked out at another wing of the hotel and wasn’t optimal; our companions’ room had a lovely view of a town square. Staff were quite busy, understaffed most likely, but always helpful and kind. After so many wonderful Scotch tastings we enjoyed an entertaining gin tasting with Michael in the bar. Hotel was very busy with a number of meetings/conventions, so not as relaxing as our previous accommodations, but still a good vibe.

Activities

Falconry at both locations was wonderful. Had a fascinating walkabout in St Andrews. Stirling Castle was an absolute highlight. Thoroughly enjoyed the distilleries. Deanston was especially wonderful as we saw all parts of the working floor. Our stop at Pitlochry, House of Bruar, was great—we just stayed in the Sale Barn and made some great buys. Dunrobin Castle was a great comparator to Stirling Castle, leaving nothing to the imagination. The Balvenie Tour was also spectacular—and it enabled us to skip the Speyside Cooperage, as Balvenie had their own cooperage operation. Johnstons of Elgin did not disappoint, nor did their retail store! Culloden Battlefield was sobering; reminded us of our own history at Gettysburg. The Edinburgh food-and-drink walking tour was lovely and informative, as was the Old Town Walking Tour the next day. For the latter, we wound up taking a taxi up top to the Castle, then walking our way down. For exploring the city, best to use the on/off bus.

Dining

All the Gleneagles venues were top rate. The breakfast buffet was the best we have ever experienced!

The Tom Morris Bar and Grill at St Andrews was a great place to soak in golf history and have fabulous fish and chips.

In Inverness, The Mustard Seed was a disappointment. Crowded, hot, understaffed, and poor service as a result. Overcharged us on our bill. Would not recommend.

As disappointing as The Mustard Seed was, Rocpool was exquisite! Cool vibe, great music, outstanding food and drink, welcoming owner (who knew our driver quite well).

Torrish at Ness Walk was quite good.

Isle of Eriska Hotel dining was first rate. Ee-usk in Oban was a bit of a disappointment—again, seemed a bit understaffed, and the seafood was so-so. Beautiful setting on the waterfront, however.

BABA at the Kimpton was fabulous, though not for everyone if they did not like Eastern/Mediterranean food. We were so stuffed after our food walk we wound up cancelling Scran and Scallie and had bar food at BABA. We were quite tired after our Old City Walk in Edinburgh so cancelled Monteiths and walked across the street to Browns, recommended by our driver, which was wonderful.

The WOW Moment

Quite simply…WOW!! Our whisky tasting at The Malt Room was over the top. There was a marvelous charcuterie board to get us started, and we were treated to a selection of 5 rare Scotches to sample. It was a fabulous experience and we think it was one of our trip’s highlights. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this experience. 5 stars plus.

The Driver

John McElwee went above and beyond on this trip with us, and truly was the ingredient that made our journey so special. By the time we finished spending time together he felt like our “Da”! His knowledge of Scotch and Scottish history is encyclopedic. He is a skillful driver with a wonderfully comfortable vehicle. Everyone in Scotland seems to know, and love, John, so we were able to use his influence while gaining entry to activities, pubs, you name it! He packed all of our suitcases into his car after leaving each hotel with the ease of a Rubik’s Cube Master. He looked at our activity suggestions in the Itinerary and advised which we might skip in favor of others which might hold more and different interest. Simply stated, having John as our driver made this vacation. He was kind, gracious, funny, and the best ambassador Scotland could want.

Overall Experience
11!! on a scale of 1 to 10.

Thanks again for making this trip wonderful, and memorable. We have a number of countries still on our bucket list, so you can count on us being in touch soon to plan the next adventure!

Sheila Morse and husband Dick Smith at Killarney National Park’s Torc Waterfall.

From the initial planning stages to nearly the end of our time in Ireland everything was wonderful. Jonathan’s office not only created a thoughtful and thorough itinerary for us, they went out of their way a couple of times. The first was that we had a great preliminary conversation with Jonathan Epstein (just a few days after he’d suffered a concussion) and Katie Stewart. The last was assisting us to connect with one of our hotels who had double billed us in (unintended) error.

My initial approach was to downplay the importance of nice hotels, as we intended to spend so little time in our rooms. Thank goodness Jonathan convinced us otherwise. Each of the three hotels reserved for us were not just great places to sleep. The ambiance, breakfasts, locations, special welcomes in each room, staff — all were superb and much appreciated after a full day of exploring and learning.

• Windows in our room in the Great Southern Killarney hotel opened on to an inner garden. Despite being very near the downtown area, it was dead quiet at night. Hotel staff recommended and reserved excellent restaurants during our stay. We thoroughly enjoyed an Irish whisky tasting one evening after dinner.

• Mount Juliet near Kilkenny was beautiful! Our “windows” were doors opening into beautiful green spaces. It was lovely to have a delicious cake and local honey waiting for us in the room. We ate wonderful breakfasts there, enjoyed drinks at the bar, and also a delicious dinner during our stay. We don’t play golf but this is a golf lovers’ (and equestrian) paradise!

• The Dylan hotel in Dublin was extraordinary! Again, superb breakfasts and drinks on the house one evening. It was within walking distance of every place we wanted to see, and a good place from which to set out on our walking tour of the city.

We had naively thought that it was possible to drive far greater distances than the itinerary we finally settled on. Again, Jonathan’s gentle guidance proved wise. We travelled from Shannon to Killarney and ventured out from there for three days, then to Kilkenny for two days, and on to Dublin for three. That, in fact, was a lot to take in and we now are eager to plan more trips to Ireland through Jonathan.

Weather was the only thing that didn’t sync up with all these extraordinary arrangements.… During the beginning of April this year we experienced rainy, cold, blustery winds, and moments of sunshine. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

We can’t think of anything to avoid, although our walking tour guide in Dublin could not hold a candle to our driver/guide the rest of the trip. I think it was because the weather was, still, cold and rainy — enough to put a damper on anyone and anything.

Brendan Glynn was our driver/guide for all but Dublin. He met us at Shannon and spent five full days with us. When we parted company, I felt that we were saying goodbye to a brother. Brendan is smart, gracious, well-prepared, discreet, funny, full of stories, and has a vast store of knowledge about everything we were seeing. He’s a fabulous driver. He provided valuable and entirely reliable recommendations throughout our stay. We had the great good fortune to be able to spend down time with him, too. There were days when we spent 12 or more hours together and we did not, for a moment, tire of his company. I lost my debit card and could not make satisfactory arrangements to get cash. Brendan allowed me to transfer funds from my bank to his and, in full faith that the transfer would be executed satisfactorily, advanced me Euros. I’m afraid any other guide would have a tough time meeting our expectations after having spent time with Brendan.

On our first afternoon of touring, we met a friend in Kildare. We had a bit of private time with her after which Brendan drove us all out to Helen’s Bar at the end of the pier in Ardea, Kilmackillogue and joined us for dinner. The pub was filled with locals only: a couple of men played dice, there was a women’s knitting group at a long table, and a book club met in an adjacent room. For all the fancy meals we had in Ireland, this simple meal of mussels and the like was exquisite! The fact that Brendan agreed to join us only added to the special nature of the evening. After that, we had several pints and/or meals together!

Brendan took us to Dingle Crystal, a small seemingly out-of-the-way artisan craft shop where we saw some of the most beautiful crystal designs we’ve ever seen. Despite the fact that this place seems to be on at least a few tour guides’ itineraries, we were made to feel uniquely welcome by Sean Daly, the owner, and his sons. We spent time in the glass cutting room getting a glimpse of how they ply their craft and my husband purchased two beautiful whisky tasting glasses. We are not shoppers, so this was our only purchase, other than a couple of books, the entire month we were away!

During our time in Kilkenny, Brendan was able to arrange with the owner of Jerpoint Park to open up weeks in advance of her scheduled opening date. Maeve gave us a private, guided tour of the Lost Town of Newtown Jerpoint, a 12th century settlement that she and her husband found was on land they bought to farm and which they excavated and reclaimed, inch by inch. We learned so much about the time, the confluence of events and landscape, and the special import of that particular location. This particular visit was a highpoint of our 8 days in Ireland!

The drives and views were incredible, all day every day!

Brendan recommended two restaurants in Dublin that were extraordinary: we enjoyed Matt the Thresher twice and Hugo’s. At Hugo’s we met the owner, courtesy of Brendan, and discovered that she and my husband had worked in the same Vermont ski resort area some decades ago!

We had a fantastic trip to Ireland, planned primarily by Katie on Jonathan’s team, that got us to spectacular parts of the country and opened doors we couldn’t have on our own. We focused on the west coast of Ireland, mostly along the Wild Atlantic Way, and enjoyed stunning scenery, excellent food, and welcoming locals. Dromoland and Ballynahinch Castles were amazing properties to stay at, and our driver Fergus went out of his way to make us feel welcome in his country and to make sure we were getting the best experience. The true highlight was a private food tour in Galway with Sheena, who highlighted the best of the new Irish culinary scene in the city. The WOW Moment Sheena and Katie arranged was something we never would have thought to do on our own, but was amazing. We had a private Irish dancing demonstration and lesson with a highly accomplished dancer and musical accompaniment by an excellent fiddle player. While I can’t say I got any good at Irish dancing, I can say that my wife and I had a blast and can’t wait to go back to Ireland to explore even more.

We are just back from the Cotswolds and Wales. Jonathan Epstein and Katie Stewart arranged a perfect trip for us. This is our third trip with them and all were seamless. Jonathan Moorehouse and Shan Eastwood were our guides. They made our trip very enjoyable and we cannot say enough good things about them. Our goal was to experience the English and Welsh countryside and the villages. We did all that and more. Thanks again to Jonathan, Katie, Jonathan and Shan.

Our family went to Ireland in late March 2024 on a trip planned by Jonathan and Katie. We had a wonderful trip that started in Dublin (stayed at the Shelbourne), went to Ashford Castle in Cong and ended at the K Club outside of Dublin. Jonathan and Katie arranged wonderful guides that provided a perfect mix for us and our two children. We did a walking tour of Dublin, a food tour of Galway and a day trip to Connemara that included a sheep farm visit (highlight of the trip). It was a great mix of city and countryside. The guides were extremely friendly, knowledgeable and flexible. Jonathan and Katie were able to guide us down to the specific rooms at each hotel that were the best setup for our family. This is the third time we have used Jonathan and can’t speak any more highly of him and his team.

My husband and I had a wonderful trip to Ireland with the help of Wendy Perrin WOW travel advisor Jonathan Epstein (specializing in the British Isles). I told Jonathan’s colleague Katie Stewart about the type of trip we wanted, and she created a 10-day itinerary reflecting all the activities we hoped for.

Katie listened carefully and made adjustments so that we were sure to have time every day to walk or hike and to see spectacular scenery, as many antiquities as possible, and charming towns to visit and shop in. In addition, she worked within our budget and sent us to hotels we will never forget.
Within the first two days we knew we had been in good hands. First, Katie set us up for a half-day tour of Dublin to give a sense of the city and its history. The surprise was that our guide happened to be the owner of the guide company, Pat Liddy, who has a vast range of knowledge about Dublin, and who is extremely charming and intelligent. What a great introduction for that trip!

After a short stay in Dublin, we set off to see some of the West Coast. The surprise that day was our driver, Dolan Stevens, who picked us up to tour with us for the next 8 days. I could never have found such a terrific man had I searched for drivers myself. Dolan became “a friend” after a few hours with him. He had humor, knowledge, kindness, and humor. He followed Katie’s schedule and even added a few towns we hadn’t heard about.

We enjoyed a day driving down the Dingle Peninsula, with stunning views of the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs and stopping to explore some ancient stone “igloo-shaped” houses that were thousands of years old. Dolan squeezed a great deal into that (and every) day for us: Stops at Muckross House, picturesque oceanside towns, and the entire peninsula fit in that first day. We were so glad to have a driver on the narrow roads along the ocean as well as the countryside. Never did we take a wrong turn or even have to read a map.

Among the stops we liked so much were the hours we could walk/hike in gorgeous areas. Our driver knew exactly where to park and which hikes were suited to our abilities. We enjoyed the visitors’ path on the edges of the Cliffs of Moher, where the ocean’s frothy waves crashed against the brownish cliffs. And on a second day out, we took a beautiful path across rolling green hills of Connemara National Park.

Besides the natural beauty, we loved our accommodations. One favorite was the Ballynahinch Castle (actually a glorious country house) with its many sitting rooms, crackling fireplaces, friendly staff, and exquisite suite overlooking a fast-moving stream. If we’d had more days there, we would have spent hours walking the many paths of the extensive grounds. Our last hotel was one we’d never heard of: The K Club. It’s a world-wide known golf hotel in an enormous enlarged country house with acres of greenery and paths around the courses. We were booked there because it’s only an hour to the airport, but it was the most elaborate hotel we stayed at! We discovered original oil paintings on the walls. Originals, including a large Botero! and some Modigliani! I’m certain that we wouldn’t have had such pleasing rooms everywhere if it hadn’t been for the relationship between our agent and each hotel.

I can’t leave out the marvelous sheepdog training exhibition we were lucky enough to see. Katie was so enthusiastic about this stop that we agreed to include it. And was she ever right! No one would believe that little, young dogs could tell a group of sheep exactly where to sit or run, but we saw it, standing a mere 20 feet away with the trainer using either voice commands or a whistle. It’s a NEVER forget experience.

This was the fourth trip we planned with Wendy Perrin. I’m so convinced that the WOW agents have made them each exceptional. In Vietnam, Sicily, the area of Florence in Italy, and in Ireland, our travels were easy and enormously fulfilling. I influenced my daughter-in-law to use one of her agents for Panama, and she, too, was extremely grateful. At this point, I wouldn’t plan a trip abroad without finding a WOW agent so that I could relax and know I’d have the best of everything.

The medieval ruins of Lindisfarne Priory in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England. Photo: Traveler John Masko

Jonathan and his team are expert at both designating superior lodging and choosing guides, but also keeping track of staff/ownership fluctuations that might shift the character of a guest’s experience. We are well traveled but a couple of the hotels recommended by his office were among the finest that we’ve ever enjoyed. Also, at our request, the team was able to arrange a tour of a specialized facility that generally doesn’t offer tours.

Another significant aspect of Jonathan and his team is that they are hyper-responsive to the issues/concerns that inevitably arise:

— I think, without exception, that our many queries over the months were responded to within hours, and there was never any question as to whether the response was correct or that it had been rushed/poorly-thought-out,

— It was obvious that our guides were chosen because of expertise in our areas of interest, and they seemed very aware of our passions and hobbies, sometimes in minute detail.

— I have no doubt that if we had had a significant lodging concern during our trip that wasn’t being addressed by the local vendor, Jonathan’s staff would have intervened immediately on our behalf.

Jonathan and his office generated and constantly revised a meticulous and well-organized virtual itinerary — including pictures and descriptions — that worked nicely in the related phone app that we used daily during our trip.

I’d note that while Jonathan’s office makes dining recommendations, reservations were left to us, as were flight and auto rental arrangements/reservations. Because we’ve planned way-too-many trips ourselves, this was no problem for us.

Overall, we were delighted with both Jonathan and the whole staff, who organized one of the best trips of our lives.

In terms of Scotland itself, I’d say that the Scottish people are generally delightful: We found the Glaswegians (folks from Glasgow) especially talkative and spontaneously helpful. Although we ate well throughout Scotland, I’d single out two excellent restaurants in Glasgow: Cail Bruich; and The Gannet.

I’ve been wanting for decades to visit the holy sites of Iona (Scotland) and Lindisfarne (England). We had the opportunity to visit Lindisfarne this time and would note that, other than getting some exercise with a hearty walk, visiting Lindisfarne Castle was a disappointment. However, we found Lindisfarne Priory haunting and inspirational.

The island of Islay is great for everyone loving peaty scotch whisky. The warehouse tasting at Bruichladdich was worthwhile, fun and educational.

A final note: We’ve driven through much of western Europe — Italy, Ireland, France, England, et al — with both manual and automatic cars. Most everyone knows the usual driving challenges: Drivers ignore rules in Italy, and there are motorbikes buzzing around your car like mosquitoes; there are narrow, almost one-lane roads with hedgerows in Ireland; etc. But in country areas of Scotland and northern England, there are narrow country roads with hedgerows…and frequent massive “lorries” hurtling around corners at 50 miles per hour. It can be unnerving: Several times I was amazed that neither we nor others lost side mirrors.

Vicky Pendell and family at Dublin’s Pearse Lyons Distillery, which is housed in a former church.

Some of “our kids” (spouses of our kids) had never been on a “Family Trip” before and they were astounded at the level of detail and quality of EVERYTHING, as were our own children. There were ten of us ranging in age from early 40’s to mid 70’s and we could not have had a better time together! The hotels were 5-stars, above and beyond, our driver guide Martin, who picked us up on our first day and stayed with us for 6 days total, was phenomenal; he was a treasure trove of historical information wherever we drove, he was the epitome of a gentleman, taking care of all of us and our varied needs constantly, checking on arrangements for future outings, and more. There were very real tears shed when we said good-bye to this man as he dropped us at our final hotel in Dublin, at the end of our trip.

Katie and Jonathan suggested a variety of activities that made everyone happy, including a falconry walk at our first hotel (Dromoland—a 16th-century castle that truly set the tone for what a spectacular trip this was going to be…). We learned so much from Liam about the role falconry has played throughout history and throughout our language—all fascinating! Our outing to the Cliffs of Moher was truly breathtaking…and enroute the countryside alone was worth the trip. A trip to Caherconnell Farm provided us with an incredible sheepdog demonstration, followed by our getting to know the pups up close and personal, followed by artisanal cheeses and hot toddys served in a charming back room of the farm shop. The staff at Dromoland were all amazing and the foods and drinks we had there were simply the best! Weather was beautiful for us our first few days but the day that our daughter and sons were set to play Dooks, one of the oldest golf courses in Ireland, winds kicked up and rain pelted down, yet they played anyway and said they would do it all again for the experience of playing that course!

We sadly left Dromoland after 2 nights and went to Killarney for 3 nights, where we completely enjoyed all of the amenities offered at The Europe, our hotel there. Every one of us utilized the fitness center, spa treatments, pools, hot tubs, steam rooms, all while enjoying the most gorgeous views from our rooms overlooking Lough Leanne. The hotel staff was SO SO helpful and accommodating…. Padraig arranged a birthday dinner at a local restaurant for us one evening, and it was one of the best meals we had during our stay, at a lovely little restaurant owned by the same family since the ‘50’s, and they even prepared a special birthday dessert for our daughter. Across the street from our dinner we found a small authentic pub where we enjoyed lively Irish music afterwards. Killarney was a lovely little town and we spent time exploring there in between hiking nearly 7 miles through some of the most diverse, rugged and beautiful landscape I’ve personally seen. It was such a thrill to be able to do this with my kids!!! On our last night there, I asked for help in getting some drinks and appetizers brought to our suite so we could have a small cocktail party for all of the family. Padraig once again rose to the occasion, brought huge candle-filled lanterns to our room “to create more ambience” (as if the beautiful view wasn’t enough!) and we had the most lovely little “party” with our kids on our last night there.

Next morning on our way to Dublin, Martin took us to the Rock of Cashel where we stepped back hundreds of years in time to explore that historic site, and also had a delightful lunch in a locally owned place where Mary, the owner, made us feel like their most important customers of the day! On to Dublin for our last 3 nights and the Shelbourne Hotel did not disappoint either…incredible staff, a sumptuous high tea service, delicious foods and drink, and within walking distance to some very cool parts of the city. Pat Liddy was an exceptional guide for our half-day walking tour there; he was so interesting we stopped for coffee together so we could hear more about all he was showing us! Seeing The Book of Kells, and the “Long Room” (the massive library at Trinity College) nearly had us in tears; the books are shelved floor-to-ceiling and it was a sight never to be repeated, at least not in my mind. Our final evening here, Nikita helped me arrange a special dinner in a private room for our family, next to a smaller room alongside where an Irish duo came to entertain us before dinner. The Irish pipes and the violinist were incredible—we were clapping, laughing, singing, playing flutes along with the duo, and ended up dancing before they were done! The dinner was exquisite, with a gorgeous linen-laid table, crystal, and servers timing the “reveal” of each dish just perfectly. We felt like royalty. What a way to end our time together!!

None of us will EVER forget this trip and it only solidifies my thinking that when it comes to trip planning, Wendy’s WOW List of agents is the ONLY way to go. Even the simplest things, like having airport transportation already set up, is worth any extra cost. Knowing you are with a knowledgeable guide and that your group is NOT part of a busload of 50 or more people, is worth any extra cost! (Our vehicle, by the way, for the ten of us, was incredibly comfortable and luxurious—a Mercedes “van” that was all windows and comfortable seating for our group!) This was our fourth trip using Wendy’s resources and it will NOT be our last. Kudos to Jonathan, Katie, Norma and all the staff who made this an unforgettable family trip. The connections and reconnections that were made in our little group of ten were priceless.

We had a fabulous first trip to Ireland in September, thanks to Jonathan Epstein and Katie Stewart! Our little group—my husband and I, our daughter, and her friend—only had a week to squeeze in the trip before the kids were due back to college. And our decision to go was comparatively last-minute given the increasing popularity of fall travel. Knowing we couldn’t see everything, we still hoped for a varied sampling of the culture, history, and sights that make Ireland special, and Jonathan and Katie absolutely delivered!

We started at the stunning Ashford Castle, which offered impeccable service and surroundings, wonderful dining and activities, and the perfect base for a food-tasting tour of charming Galway one day, and for exploring Sky Drive, Connemara National Park, and Kylemore Abbey on another. Then, making our way to the lovely Cashel Palace Hotel, we first enjoyed a spectacular day on a “Secret Ireland” guided yacht trip on scenic Lough Derg, stopping to visit both a modern home with an inspired art collection, and a restored medieval tower castle. Everyone was welcoming, and spoiled us with food and drink and fascinating stories.

Another day we spent the morning at Rock of Cashel and afternoon exploring Kilkenny, soaking up more of Ireland’s history. Throughout the trip, our primary driver-guide was always ready, anticipated things we might need or want to see, and always game for making little adjustments in our itinerary to ensure we made the most of each day. Our last two days in Dublin were full but not rushed, and our guides there were equally perfect—extremely knowledgeable as well as fun to be around. Highlights included a walking tour brimming with history and stops at pubs with special literary significance (for our bibliophiles), as well as visits to Trinity College, Kilmainham Jail, and several museums. Jonathan and Katie listened carefully when we talked about our interests and goals for the trip, and arranged an itinerary that hit all the right notes. We made wonderful memories and look forward to seeing more of Ireland soon!

We booked a trip to England from September 15 to September 24, 2023. We spent three days in Bath and the remaining time in London. All the tours, pickups and hotel reservations made by our travel agent went exactly as planned. The two hotels—the Queensberry in Bath and the Milestone in London—were excellent. The hotel staff in both hotels were very warm and welcoming. All our tour guides were great and ensured we had a full and entertaining time. I would highly recommend Wendy Perrin’s group if you are planning a vacation. For us this trip was one of our memorable traveling experiences.

Just back from the beautiful country of Ireland. This trip was different than past trips thanks to the stellar itinerary that the folks from Jonathan’s office put together for us. We focused on the west coast of Ireland and our new favorite: County Donegal. Micheal and I were treated to the stunning and rugged coastline views, including Slieve League, which I had never heard of before. These are cliffs on the Donegal coast that are not to be missed. While on the west—Jonathan’s group set up a border collie / sheep herding demonstration. It was so interesting and fun—the dogs and their skilled trainers are amazing. From Donegal, we made our way east to Derry and ultimately Belfast. We toured an entire day on the coastline north of Belfast in County Antrim. Our driver/guide Colm made the trip so much better with his knowledge, wit and that undeniable Irish humor. I loved the pace and the time spent in three main areas. Everything was planned to perfection and the guides in Ireland were the BEST!

Jonathan and Katie did a wonderful job with hotel selections and suggestions for restaurants, etc. Scotland was a wonderful experience. Jonathan did a great job asking us questions about what we were looking for and made wonderful recommendations from what we gave him.

Jonathan’s office did a fantastic job planning our month-long vacation to England and Scotland. We traveled with our three young children, and they come with their own set of unique touring and lodging challenges. The team did a wonderful job of finding the perfect accommodations for our family, with knowledge of which properties would best suit our needs and put us right where we’d want to be in each locale. More than that, however, they did a fantastic job finding the most patient, knowledgeable, and caring guides and drivers who were so kind to us and our (busy) children. In particular a big shoutout to Susie in the Cotswolds for her kindness to our children, and Murray in Scotland for braving both us and the conditions (it rained a lot but was still wonderful). Jonathan planned a 28-day trip and not once did we have any logistical, lodging, or touring issues. It was a fantastic trip.

We had a wonderful trip. Jonathan’s team curated a terrific itinerary that took us from Dublin to Mayo to Clare, Kerry and then back to Dublin. They arranged a private driver for our party of five, which included my parents who are 82. The driver, Kenny, was wonderfully knowledgable of the history, people and culture. He was also exceedingly kind. It made the entire trip so easy and pleasant and definitely worth the $.

My wife and I traveled with our 3 adult children to Northern Ireland and Ireland July 1-12, 2023. Jonathan and his team planned and executed our entire trip for us from beginning to end. The logistics of the trip were essentially flawless. The itinerary was a combination of the typical tourist agenda with some unique and more personalized experiences thrown in, and most importantly, a cadre of guides whose authenticity was only exceeded by their graciousness.

We were delighted that Jonathan got on the phone with us for our first meeting, which he assured us is only a certainty with clients referred through Wendy. Indeed, when this came up in conversation during our trip, one of the experienced guides remarked that it was distinctly unusual to speak directly with him! It was Jonathan’s strong suggestion that we include Northern Ireland in our itinerary instead of just Ireland, and we are glad that we did. Our experience in N. Ireland was the soul of our trip, and we could never have understood the country without that experience and the help of our guide for 3 days while there, Mark Murphy. His authenticity was palpable, in addition to being a consummate professional. For example, he not only took us through a small Catholic village to watch children learning the Irish sport of hurling on a field surrounded by Irish national flags, but then took out his equipment so we could all give the game a try on an adjacent field. Every experience with Mark was like that, including his lessons on tasting Irish Whiskey at Bushmills and getting me the opportunity to hold the great N. Irish golfer Rory McIlroy’s PGA championship trophy at his home golf club in Belfast! We also spent a morning at Tracey’s Farmhouse Kitchen, making (and eating) delicious soda bread along with other delectables. Like all the folks we encountered, Tracey was an absolute delight, and we loved getting to go out to the countryside and spend some quality time with people who were so happy to share their lives with us.

We then went on to spend 3 days in Dublin, staying at a classic property called The Shelbourne. This gorgeous masterpiece offered impeccable service and a perfect location. One of the benefits of working through Jonathan’s office are some small perks offered to you at each of the hotels, and we enjoyed oysters and Guinness in the beautiful lobby bar at the Shelbourne one early evening before heading to dinner. We had less time than we thought in Dublin, and probably only did about half of what we intended, but we really enjoyed the city.

Galway was our next stop, and we used that as the base for our exploration of the Connemara National Park and the Cliffs of Moher. Once again, our guide for 3 days, Anne Marie Lally, was lovely and extremely accommodating. She made sure we found the shopping that we needed, and the restaurants that would satisfy us. Another absolute highlight of the trip is the Killary Sheepfarm. It’s on an absolutely beautiful fjord, and it’s fascinating to watch the sheepdogs in action and to participate in shearing the wool off the sheep. Tom, a 3rd generation proprietor, is eager to share his place, and it helps keep the lights on for these family businesses.

Our last stop was Dromoland Castle. At this point we had been on the move constantly for 10 days, and I think it was brilliant planning to let us decompress at this gorgeous castle for a few days before returning home. They do make you feel special there, although it is an expensive treat during the peak season.

As you can see, we left the planning and logistics entirely up to Jonathan, Katie and their team. We are glad we did, and I don’t think we would have changed a thing. As Wendy has written about before, the real difference maker is the quality of the guides and their gracious attitude and terrific knowledge and pride in their homeland. Perhaps the only thing I would do differently is giving a bit more guidance on special or unusually good restaurants or places to eat. We were told to rely on the concierge at the respective hotels, and they were fine for the most part, but it was a mixed bag. We did get shut out of one place since we made no reservations ahead of time, and another restaurant we tried was fairly pedestrian. Restaurants change from time to time, and it’s hard to predict individual tastes, but perhaps a few “classics” should be suggested in each area that capture something unique about that particular place.

It’s always hard to decide on the “value” of any trip. From our perspective, having Jonathan and his team create our trip for us was “invaluable”! Most of the cost was not the guides and extra experiences, which really made the whole trip! It was more the hotels, airfare, etc in peak season and there is only so much you can do about that. We chose not to, but I’m sure you can be guided to less expensive hotels and shoulder-season prices to make an experience more affordable. We rarely travel anymore without using Wendy’s WOW List planners, because you really do get spoiled. Thanks again to Wendy and Jonathan!

Johathan and Katie were wonderfully prepared to help me put together a last-minute trip to Ireland with two of our grandchildren. Having been there twice before, I wanted to see “what I had missed.” There are things they know about that you will not know is important just by reading a guide. They were also able to find us hotels and restaurants and get them booked in a short period of time. We felt confident that our drivers and guides and experiences would be perfect for our 15- and 14-year-old grands! Thanks for all your help.

My husband and I traveled to Ireland, May 12-29. We had worked with Jonathan Epstein and his team on a pre-pandemic trip and it was such a good experience that we asked them to help us again. Once again, the arrangements were flawless. We wanted to see a part of Ireland we had not been to before and we wanted to cover a lot of ground before meeting a group of friends on the Aran Islands. On our previous trip, Jonathan had suggested we use a driver/guide and it was such a wonderful experience that we asked if Sean might be available to drive us again. We were delighted that he could be our guide for this trip also. Sean is a great raconteur, well versed in Irish history and culture, and his knowledge added immeasurably to our experience. Sean, knowing we like to walk everyday, identified several off-the-beaten-track locations for us to stop and walk for a couple of hours. They were highlights of the trip and we never would have found them on our own. Jonathan and Katie choose wonderful hotels for us in every location and advised us on room selection; we were very pleased with all of the accommodations — the rooms, the facilities and the service were all top-notch.

Our trip was fabulous! We were very happy with the destination, timing and our trip planner. I would have no hesitation recommending our planner to others.

Our planner recommended and coordinated our hotels, several guided tours and all transportation to/from the airport and to secondary locations throughout our travel. In addition, they connected us with the concierge at each hotel to assist with the coordination of dinner reservations. We were traveling with our teenage children and they recommended a nice variety of experiences that would appeal to them and us. For example, a tour of the sites in London where Harry Potter was filmed, tour of street art in Shoreditch, tour of Westminster Abbey and surrounding areas, including watching the changing of the guard. We knew we wanted to spend a couple of days outside of London and our planner coordinated a driver/guide to take us to Castle Combe, Lacock Abbey and Bath. This was the highlight of our trip and we never would have been able to come up with that part of the itinerary on our own. I would highly recommend this!

Two of the hotels, in particular, that were recommended by our planner were beautiful and unique: Royal Crescent (Bath) and Kimpton Charlotte Square (Edinburgh). I was “wowed” by the service and accommodations. These were, without question, the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in.

Our trip planner added loads of value to our trip. First, this was a huge time saver for me. We had never been to the U.K. before and I never would have found the amazing hotels and experiences we had on our own without a ton of research. Second, at each hotel, we received room upgrades, early/late check-in & check-out, and/or a credit towards services at the hotel. Third, they had a very handy app that held all of our travel and reservation details (hotels, meals, drivers, tour guides). Finally, they provided helpful tips on the customs of each country we visited (public transportation, tipping, weather, phone and electrical usage).

View from Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland. Photo: Melvin Woodworth

In 2019, when we promised our daughter a trip to Great Britain as a 40th birthday gift, we expected to give that gift in 2020. Our daughter is an avid devotee of Harry Potter, Downton Abbey and many facets of British life. She is also a passionate, amateur photographer and author of fan fiction, with an abiding desire to be accurate in her writing. She felt that she had reached a plateau in her research of British times and places, and could refine her work if she could experience the sights, smells, sounds, flavors and textures of the places where her stories take place.

The pandemic postponed our trip until 2023 and during that interval we were able to refine our list of goals and fortuitously become aware of Wendy Perrin’s team and The WOW List. Wendy’s team put us in contact with Jonathan’s team. What a blessing!

Unfortunately, the delay also tempted us to compile a list of desired experiences that far exceeded the time and resources we had available for the trip. Jonathan was wonderful, and gentle, in helping us refine and organize our list to maximize the success of our journey.

What we wanted most of all was a sensory experience of Great Britain, bringing to life a broad sampling of the different historical, regional and hierarchical offerings of the island. Our wish list included castles, abbeys, manor houses, local foods and gardens. We wanted to visit the big cities, small villages and rural farmlands. We wanted to minimize the barriers between us, as visitors, and the people of England and Scotland.

By the time we had honed our wish list, Jonathan’s team had a real sense of who we were and what we wanted. We divided our time around four major centers: London and surroundings; Bath and the Cotswolds; York and northeastern England; and Edinburgh and rural Scotland. In each of these locations we had one or more walking or driver guides, who was a resident in the selected area and extremely well versed in the many facets of the location. Our guides, Angus, Adge, Howard, Val, and Davaidh, were surprisingly well informed about who we were, our itinerary and what we were hoping to experience.
Many of our desires were predictable (to name a few): Hyde Park, Kensington Palace and Gardens, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Big Ben, Parliament, Highclere Castle, Bampton, Castle Combe, Broadway, York Minster, the Shambles and the Jorvik center, the Cotswolds and Moors, Salisbury, Magna Carta, Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Inverary Castle, and, of course, fish and chips and other local cuisine.
Other “must haves” were less predictable: Camden Market, Abney Park Cemetery, Avebury Henge, Haggis, All Butter Eccles Cakes, the Alnwick Castle Poison Garden, a coin shop, and the Costco in Stevenage. In every case, our guides were able to help us satisfy our desires.

Beyond that, the guides were able to suggest modifications to our schedule, suggesting experiences we had not thought of, adjusting our schedule to be more efficient or carving out time for desires we had given up on. Several of our favorite stops had not been on our list of desires, such as the Two Chairmen Pub, Castle Howard, Writer’s Museum in Old Town Edinburgh, up close and personal with Highland Coos, Eilean Donan Castle, Dalmally-Lochawe, Whitby-Goathland train station, a Tartan factory and Inverary Jail.

Our history lessons were of the usual kinds: names; dates; and events. Our visceral learnings were all through our senses: the incredible accommodations that provided us a glimpse into a life of luxury and privilege — Roseate Hotel in London, The Manor House at Castle Combe, The Grand in York, Intercontinental The George in Edinburgh, Inverlochy Castle and Cromlix; the peaceful and rich openness of the moors; the smell of salt air, sound of waves, beauty of dunes and beaches of the North Sea; the sights and sounds of Morris Men in Bampton; the timeless cry of bagpipes near the ancient walls of Edinburgh Castle; calm, clear waters of the many Lochs reflecting sky and mountains; and the feel of cobbles underfoot in the early-morning and late-at-night walks.

Perhaps the greatest parts of our trip were the personal reflections of our guides. Each in his or her own way expressed a deep love of their land, their nation and their people. The social hierarchy was expressed in ways that reflected a candid acceptance and pride of their system. The history was related in ways that honored and respected each culture’s contribution to the current nation. Their gift of many stories was priceless. Special thanks to Jordi, the Concierge at The Grand in York, who went above and beyond to help make our time in York relaxing and memorable.

One guide assured us that the “Seashell of Lisson Grove” had the best fish and chips in London. Another assured us that the “Oyster House” in Scotland had the best fish and chips in Britain. We tried both. However, we cannot agree with either, only because we haven’t tested the fish in every other restaurant. What we can agree on is that they were both so wonderful that we would love to return and test the fish in every place, so that we can know for certain.

Nancy and Guy Mazarin enjoying their WOW Moment in the wine vault of Ashford Castle.

My husband and I (Nancy and Guy Mazarin) just returned from a fabulous two-week vacation in Ireland (May 18 – June 1). We worked with our tour operator Jonathan to develop our trip. We agreed not to try to see all of Ireland, electing a more leisurely pace by spending time at some spectacular locations, particularly Ballyfin and Ashford Castle, where we enjoyed the extensive onsite activities and amenities. The food at Ballyfin and Ashford, as well as the restaurants selected, was delicious and the pubs were as much fun as expected. My husband started drinking Guinness and I tried a different gin every night. One of the most memorable moments of the trip occurred at Ashford Castle, where we were treated to a special WOW Moment, a wine and cheese tasting in the wine vault of Ashford Castle.

Jonathan coordinated our entire trip down to the smallest detail, providing expert advice about where to stay, what to see, and even when to visit. Jonathan’s team of guides and drivers were extremely professional, knowledgeable, and personable. We toured and were delivered from place to place in comfort and style.

Anyone planning a trip to Ireland can depend upon Jonathan to personalize and execute a wonderful trip.

We just returned from a fabulous trip to Ireland (May 24-June 4). Jonathan and Katie S. did an excellent job of planning a customized trip for us, we are so happy that we used a trip planner. Our driver/guide, Donal, was the best, so knowledgeable and personable. The itinerary was great with wonderful hotel stays everywhere. Some of our highlights were the hawk walk with a falconer at Dromoland Castle, a sheep herding dog exhibition, the Cliffs of Moher, the Jameson Distillery tour, the Galway food and spirits walking tour. Ireland is a beautiful country with very friendly people!

Jonathan and his team called initially to discuss our travel goals and wish list. They also followed up with emails to confirm various details. As a result they were able to put together an itinerary that kept us busy and met all of our wants and needs.

The highlight of our tour was our time in Belfast. We bonded right away with our driver/guide, Dee. Her insights, humour and knowledge made her the perfect guide for us. We thoroughly enjoyed all of our time with her.

Both hotels, The Culloden Estate in Belfast and The Shelbourne in Dublin, that we stayed at were outstanding, with first-class service and the little extras (thanks to Jonathan’s company) adding to our stays.

Our two cooking experiences were fantastic. First, in Northern Ireland, we had a great time with Tracy at her Farmhouse. Also, we left our Dublin lesson totally stuffed after a wonderful dinner with Alex Gardner.

The food tour in Belfast and the Titanic Museum and Epic Ireland in Dublin were first-rate!

The Powerscourt Distillery event was superb, with unique food tastings that complimented the whiskeys that we sampled. Same with our “Whisky on the Rocks” at the Giant’s Causeway. As we sat to enjoy our Bushmills, a pod of at least ten dolphins swam by just offshore.

A superb trip, well planned with great guides, drivers (we didn’t have to drive at all) and events!

Hayden and Robin Stone at the Cliffs of Moher.

Having used Wendy Perrin’s WOW List last year to travel to Greece, we chose Jonathan Epstein to book our trip to Ireland and his team made the entire process extremely easy and valued our input every step of the way. This was a mother and adult daughter trip that was supposed to happen 3 years ago. My daughter was studying abroad in Ireland and my trip to visit was cancelled and she had to come home due to Covid-19. She never travelled around Ireland because she was waiting on me to get there. She has since graduated, but we still wanted to see Ireland, so booked the trip on a whim one night while talking! I had planned this trip once before on my own and really didn’t want to do that again, so I looked at Wendy’s list and contacted Jonathan. I had a lot of specifics I wanted to do and see and even some specific places I wanted to stay. Jonathon and his team (Katie and Katie) were more than willing to plan the trip — they were incredibly accommodating and included everything we wanted and more.

We started our trip by flying into Dublin and then heading straight toward the west coast to stay in the historic Dromoland Castle in County Clare. Upon arrival in Dublin, we had a driver and tour guide, Donal, waiting for us and he would be with us for the duration of our trip. Donal was absolutely fantastic, and we cannot rave about him enough. He was extremely nice, accommodating and very knowledgeable about the history of Ireland and about each area and town we visited. He gave us great recommendations and was very flexible with our schedule and adapted it to the weather.

Speaking of weather, the weather on our first day in Ireland was less than desirable. Originally, we had a falconry lesson scheduled when we arrived at the castle. Unfortunately, due to weather we had to cancel and had afternoon tea instead. The tea was really lovely and I’m glad we got to experience it. The staff at Dromoland was wonderful and worked to rebook the falconry lesson around our schedule two days later, and it was a fascinating experience. The falconry guide, Dave, was very knowledgeable both about the magnificent animals we were interacting with and the grounds of the castle. Dromoland Castle was an extraordinary experience all around!

While staying at Dromoland Castle, we took day trips to go explore the west coast of Ireland. Our first full day was spent in Galway doing a food tour through the city and experiencing the best food the city had to offer. Our guide Regina was great. She was a chef herself and you could tell she thoroughly enjoyed sharing the amazing food that Ireland, and Galway specifically, had to offer. During this tour, we had the best raspberry croissant with red striping and a delicious raspberry puree center. We also had a whiskey tasting where we tried Irish Poitin, which is Ireland’s version of American Moonshine, and it definitely made you cough on the smallest sip. The other highlight for me of the food tour was at lunch when we had local oysters. I am not usually a fan of oysters, but Regina described them as a little burst of fresh saltwater, and that’s exactly what it was!

Our next day was spent sightseeing. We went to the Cliffs of Moher, Burren National Park, and went to a sheepdog demonstration at Caherconnell Sheepdogs. The weather this day was stormy, so Donal had us skip the cliffs in the morning and circle back to them in the afternoon in hopes of better weather. This ended up being a great decision and I’m glad Donal was looking out for us. We ended up having the clearest blue sky and were able to see the cliffs perfectly and it was definitely a top highlight of our trip. The Burren National Park was also very cool to see; with the dreary weather it was giving futuristic doomsday vibes. In the Burren, there is a perfumery that uses the wildflowers in the park to make perfumes. Both my daughter and I found one that we like and treated ourselves to a new scent. The sheepdog demonstration was interesting; I was not really sure what to expect going into it but it was really fascinating and we saw two lambs being born, which was beautiful.

On our third day, we checked out of Dromoland Castle and headed over to Limerick City to stop and visit King John’s Castle and the Hunt Museum. We then continued on to Killarney, and checked into the Killarney Park Hotel. This hotel was so beautiful, and our room was perfect. That evening we had a very interesting whiskey tutorial and tasting with the head of spirits at the hotel. The next day was spent driving the Dingle Peninsula and exploring Dingle. Here, we went to Louis Mulcahy’s pottery shop and local art galleries. We also had to get some more Murphy’s ice cream. Thursday was spent exploring part of the Ring of Kerry. We started with visiting Muckross House and Gardens and each got a scarf from the Muckross weavers. I got to watch as mine was getting finishing touches from the weavers and is one of the coolest souvenirs I’ve gotten during all my travels. We also explored the town of Kenmare and took a chocolate-making class at Lorge Chocolates. Neither of us had ever done a chocolate-making class or anything of the sort before, and it was very fun and educational. Benoit Lorge ran the private lesson with the 2 of us and he was so enthusiastic and passionate about his chocolate and the quality of chocolate that he creates.

Friday was Saint Patrick’s Day and we left Killarney and headed to Dublin. This was also our last day with Donal, and we were sad to part with him. He truly was one of the best things about our trip. We stayed at The Shelbourne while in Dublin, and it was gorgeous. While we were in Dublin, there was also a big rugby match between Ireland and England and the Irish Rugby players were staying at The Shelbourne as well. It was quite fun to be in the middle of everything going on! For Saint Patrick’s Day, we walked over to see a bit of the parade and then went and had a pint and a bite to eat at a pub close to our hotel.

On our last day, we did a walking tour of Dublin in the morning and got a history lesson on St Stephen’s Green, Georgian Dublin, Dublin Art Museum and the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Our tour guide, Kate, was very personable and entertaining. She did not have us down to go to the Book of Kells, but found out that we were supposed to based on what we were told, so she worked with her boss to make sure we were able to go that afternoon. That evening we took a private cooking class with Alix Gardner’s Cookery School and there we learned how to make all the essentials for a true Irish feast. We made scones, soda bread, shepherd’s pie with lamb, and a Guinness cake. My daughter and I both cook a lot and consider ourselves to be decent cooks, but I think we both learned new techniques that we’ve applied to our cooking since. The food was delicious and we got to take home our leftovers. We managed to bring a whole Guinness cake on the plane home with us to the States! A slice of Guinness cake after a full day of traveling was well worth the trouble of packing it.

Overall, our trip was absolutely fantastic and we both had such a good time. All the activities we did were great and the food was amazing. Ireland will always hold a special place in our hearts.

We were lucky enough to travel to Ireland from May 1-9, 2023. Our trip planner, Katie Stewart, helped us to plan an extraordinary trip. Because we had limited time (7 days, excluding travel to and from) she took the time with us prior to our trip to make sure we got the most out of our time. She suggested we fly into Shannon and out of Dublin so that we didn’t waste time doubling back to airports. She asked us about our goals and then provided us with options to finalize our itinerary.

We started off at Dromoland Castle, and that was an experience we will never forget. Not just because of the attentive and impeccable service, but also because of the grounds, the time we spent with a Falconer on the estate and the live music in the bar area at night.

We hired a personal driver/guide and this was the absolute BEST THING WE COULD HAVE DONE. This took all of the stress out of having to rent a car, navigate directions and drive on the opposite side of the street. We were able to relax, take in the sights and enjoy our time while Peter, our driver/guide, took us to our destinations in a luxurious executive stretch BMW. This was all set up by Katie Stewart.

Peter, our guide from Pro Bus, is now considered family. He was respectful, fun and informative. We highly recommend talking to Katie about hiring a driver/guide.

In Dublin, Katie set up a 3+ hour tour with an historian and professional tour guide. This was lots of fun and informative. If you want to see something specific that may require reservations and/or timed entrance — make sure to let Katie know so you can get those tickets ahead of time to avoid lines and also to ensure you are able to get in.

We did visit the Guinness Storehouse and although we weren’t sad that we went, it was not what we expected. We are from Bourbon Country and are used to guided Bourbon distillery tours and thought this would be similar. It isn’t a guided tour that shows the production facilities or brewing process. It is more of a self-guided museum. with placards and a tasting room. They push a lot of people through on a daily basis and it is crowded and somewhat commercialized. Unless you feel like your trip wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Guinness, there are many other places you could spend a few hours in Dublin.

While in Dublin, we stayed at the Shelbourne and it was lovely. Attentive service, beautiful rooms and great location. While in Killarney, we stayed at The Killarney Park hotel. It is a locally-owned hotel and the staff were some of the best we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. It is also centrally located and we were able to walk to and from bars/restaurants very easily. Our desire to walk to places and interact with local people was all discussed ahead of time with Katie and she made suggestions for hotels based on these talks.

We highly recommend Katie and will use her for future trips.

We have just returned from London and Ireland. Our trip was fantastic, thanks to the superb itinerary from Jonathan and Katie. We had wonderful guides throughout Ireland, and I don’t know how we could have possibly enjoyed the superb experience we had without their knowledge and the ability to get us comfortably from one magical place to the next. We learned so much about the culture and history of the regions we visited, which added to the pleasure of visiting Ireland. The hotels that our trip planners selected were beyond amazing. One treasured memory is staying in the Europe hotel and overlooking the most beautiful lake and mountain scene imaginable!

Wendy, thank you so much for what you do and connecting us with Jonathan Epstein and his team. Jonathan, Katie Stewart and Katie Galvin went over and above to make sure everything was in place for our trip to Scotland. From hotels, guides, drivers, dinner reservations and more, they offered a wealth of excellent resources and support that we wouldn’t have had access to on our own.

We have to mention Jim Johnstone, our driver/guide for 8 days, who was outstanding! He was very knowledgeable, experienced, personable and just delightful to be around. We feel very fortunate to have had him as our guide — he was the icing on the cake!

We will be forever grateful for everyone who contributed to this trip of a lifetime and will definitely use Wendy Perrin again for another extraordinary trip!

Thank you!

We wouldn’t plan an international trip without a Wendy Perrin travel specialist. Jonathan Epstein and his team made our trip to Scotland amazing. The hotels were exceptional and our guide/driver could not have been any better. We love to visit new places and having an expert like Jonathan who knows the area very well makes all the difference!

Jonathan and Katie planned our March trip to the UK (Scotland/England).

The weather in early March was surprisingly mild. As a result our itinerary was unaffected and we experienced the full beauty of Scotland.

We had a great introduction to the whisky industry during our WOW Moment at The Pot Still in Glasgow. It was a great way to start our journey. Our guide John was a true difference maker the five days we were together. He eagerly shared his knowledge of Scotland and drove us through the country with high-speed Internet available to us for the inevitable interruption. John also has a vast knowledge of the whisky industry and its history in Scotland.

The hotels we used were all top-notch and we will look forward to returning to Gleneagles to take advantage of all the activities they have to offer. Unfortunately we did experience a day of bad weather during our time at Gleneagles. The American Bar at Gleneagles is a must-visit if you are a hotel guest.

Our guide in Edinburgh was Val, and she had an incredible knowledge of the city and pointed out many out-of-the-way places that truly brought the city to life for us. Neil toured us through Stonehenge and Oxford, providing a lifetime of knowledge about that part of England. Our experiences were greatly enhanced by the services of these people. We were able to see and learn so much more by not wasting time being lost or trying to figure out which side of the road to drive on. Thanks to Katie and Jonathan for planning this great experience and for connecting us with such outstanding people.

My friend and I took our four teenage sons on a March spring break trip to Ireland. We worked with Jonathan Epstein, Katie Galvin and Katie Stewart. They worked as a team with us and each of them could not have been more helpful and professional. We all spoke about what we were looking for on our trip. It was the perfect mix of sightseeing, adventure, and downtime, which was perfect for all of us. Our tour guide and driver for most of the trip was Frank Kelly. I can’t speak highly enough about our time with him. Frank got to know the boys and their interests and went out of his way to add to the itinerary with activities such as Gaelic Games and time with a local club soccer team. Our boys loved getting to spend time with other teens from Ireland.

Jonathan’s office chose the perfect hotels for our stay and activities. Some favorites were our boat ride in Killarney National Park followed by a 7-mile jaunting cart ride. Our time in Galway and the Galway food walking tour was a hit for all. While the rest of our group did Gaelic Games, I did a walking tour of Dublin with Kate McCartney and had a wonderful time walking the streets of Dublin learning about the past and present.

This is my second trip that I have done going through your WOW List. Your trip planners make vacations memorable and special. I will never plan a trip without going through Wendy Perrin and I freely share this advice with others. :)

We recently returned from a trip to London with our family of 10 people that we had planned with Jonathan Epstein. We traveled over the Christmas holidays with our children and 4 grandchildren, aged 10-13. Jonathan and Katie’s attention to detail was superb! We stayed at the One Aldywich Hotel in Covent Garden. The hotel was amazing in every way! Our kids each had a 2-bedroom suite to accommodate their families of 4. We arrived the day after Christmas, and the kids had gifts waiting for them in each room with their names on them. The adults all had Christmas stockings filled with treats. All of the rooms were beautiful, and it was a perfect choice for people traveling with families. Our guide, Alex, was with us for 4 days. He and Olivia, our driver, exceeded all of our expectations. Alex was great with the kids and his scavenger hunt in The British Museum was a real blast! A highlight of the trip was traveling to Hampton Court to learn all about Henry VIII and his six wives. Later that same evening, we went to the theater to see Six, which is about all of the wives. The kids also loved their visit to the Chelsea Stadium. Everything went like clockwork, from our arrival in London to the time we left for home.

To celebrate my husband’s birthday I surprised him with a trip to London. And more importantly, with tickets to an English Premier football match between his two favorite teams, Chelsea and Arsenal. It was an absolutely amazing trip from start to finish thanks to Jonathan and Katie. They curated a perfect few days for us in London, and all of their recommendations were first-rate and spot-on. The highlight of the trip was most definitely the football match, but everything else was a very close second. Jonathan recommended we stay at Beaverbrook Townhouses in Chelsea, and I never want to stay in another hotel. The hotel has 14 beautiful rooms and a bar of my dreams. It is perfectly located and the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating (the manager went out to get my husband a sandwich when he was suffering from dramamine-induced jet leg). Jonathan’s office helped plan three separate tours while we were there; a walking tour of Chelsea, a history and food tour of Borough Market and a “In the Footsteps of Winston Churchill” tour ending at the Churchill War Rooms. All of the tours were fantastic and by the end of each one we felt like we were old friends with the guides. I highly recommend the food tour—be sure to go hungry, as you’ll be tasting your way through the market. It was a great trip and we’re ready to go back! Thank you Jonathan and Katie.

What started off as a trip planned just for the Laver Cup in London for 5 days, grew into a few more days’ length so that I could have a wonderful and active trip to explore beyond the tournament and the city! Jonathan and Katie guided me to select the English countryside to start my trip off, and it was an excellent choice. I was transported to what felt like a different time period while staying at Lucknam Park Hotel in the Cotswolds, with its lovely rooms, grounds and staff. The guides for this trip were also a big part of making it as fabulous as it was. Peter, my tour guide in the countryside, helped me navigate so many amazing sites like Bath & a Roman baths tour, Cotswolds village stops, Stonehenge, & the tower climb at Salisbury Cathedral, all in 2 days! Once back in London, Emma, my London tour guide, was like touring the city with a friend! We had such a great time walking around, seeing the sites, and learning about the history of London, including its culture with tea, coffee, beer and gin! Staying in Mayfair was a great spot too, with its close access to the underground station nearby. Of course, being at the tennis tournament for 3 days was a true highlight as well, but the other days along with the ease of travel, even arriving the day of the Queen’s funeral and being there throughout the mourning period, were also a standout! It was a historic time to be in the UK and I would not hesitate to use Jonathan’s team for my next journey to those areas!

We recently returned from 12 days in Scotland. To plan our trip, we worked with Jonathan Epstein and Katie Stewart – they listened to our travel preferences and designed the perfect trip for us. Scotland is an incredibly picturesque country and the people we met there could not have been more welcoming and enjoyable.

Some of the highlights….
On our first day in Edinburgh, Jonathan arranged a full-day walking tour with Paul, a dynamic and knowledgeable guide. As we wandered the Royal Mile going in and out of churches and museums, he pointed out architectural details, and shared stories and the histories of the landmarks and of the country. Many things we would have missed on our own that made us understand and appreciate the city even more.

St Andrews, a picture-perfect town with amazing golf, pubs, and restaurants. Wish we were there longer.

The Culloden Battlefield tour, our driver recommended the visitor center and tour and we were so glad she did – it was incredibly informative and gave us a deeper understanding of Scotland’s history.

Jonathan also arranged for us to drive through The Great Glen. The natural awesome beauty of the place was breathtaking.

Every hotel we stayed at was amazing and we were given exceptional treatment while there – no doubt because of the relationships they shared with Jonathan. Our favorite hotel, where they went above and beyond in every way, was the Airds Hotel in Port Appin. A small, family-run place, we felt at home the minute we walked in. Ryan, the manager, Luka and Norbert were incredibly professional, yet so friendly – I felt sad saying goodbye when we had to leave…and the restaurant served some of the best food I’ve ever had.

On our last day in Scotland, we had our WOW Moment. After our day of touring the Glasgow area, we were dropped off at The Pot Still pub – a small homey place with hundreds of whiskies lining the walls. We sat at a table in the back of the place with locals all around us enjoying drinks with friends. There we were welcomed by Chris, who knew more about whisky than anyone I’d ever met. He spent 2+ hours explaining the intricacies of Scottish whisky, the differences between single malt, single grain, and blends. He told us where the various distilleries were and how the locations and production styles affected taste. And while we listened, we ate haggis pies and tasted a variety of different whiskies. That afternoon was the highlight of our trip, and one of the reasons we’re already talking about a return trip to Scotland.

Jonathan and Katie planned a magical 2-week tour of Ireland from July 19 – August 3, 2022 for me and my husband. From our first phone call with them I was impressed with their curiosity about our desires and goals for our trip and their professionalism in planning a detailed, illustrated itinerary. They made some small changes and additions that we requested and answered all of our questions promptly.

When I told Jonathan that I had recently watched the movie “Belfast” and loved the Netflix series “Derry Girls,” he suggested that we might enjoy traveling off the beaten path a bit to Northern Ireland. That ended up being excellent advice, as we really felt like we were on an exciting adventure instead of following a more predictable itinerary through the south.

We started in Dublin and had a memorable tour of Powerscourt, Glendalough and the lovely Wicklow Mountains with Mark as our driver and guide. We highly recommend staying at the Trinity Townhouse Hotel, which was in the perfect location for exploring Dublin.

We then traveled to Belfast and Derry, where we toured The Murals and learned the sad but interesting history of political and religious conflict from our private guides. Our hotel in Belfast, The Culloden Estate, upgraded us to a fabulous suite and provided us with tickets to the Titanic Museum (fascinating—don’t miss it!).

On to the Donegal region for perhaps the most awesome sights of our trip during our hike up Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in all of Europe! We stayed at the Lough Eske Castle, another lovely hotel where we were treated like royalty.

Our last stop was in Galway, which was a nice contrast to the previous towns. We spent several hours one day with Paula, who instantly became our friend, took us on a fabulous food tour, and taught us so much about traditional Irish culture.

After one last night back in Dublin, we returned home happy with many warm stories and memories. We were absolutely charmed by Ireland and feel like we soaked in the magic every minute of each day. It truly was a trip of lifetime that would not have been as memorable without the excellent guidance and advice from Jonathan and Katie!

We (two couples) had a fabulous trip to Pugllia and Sicily thanks to the expert advice and planning by Jonathan Epstein and Marianna Mazzuccato. We had worked with Jonathan several years ago on a trip to Ireland and were confident about receiving the same service for an Italian adventure.

After several calls working through our goals regarding activities, hotels and budget, Marianna put together a preliminary itinerary. We greatly appreciated the transparency regarding hotel choices. We were easily able to pick and choose the hotel and room type in each location—each choice already vetted by Jonathan’s team. Additionally, Marianna provided us with a myriad of different excursions, particularly curated to meet our desire to be active and busy. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly—our all-day trip to and around Mount Etna was a highlight—and included several impromptu stops at a honey farm and a local olive-oil cooperative.

Marianna also provided an extensive list of restaurants for each city—making it much easier to navigate the local food scene.

Our trip was two weeks total—we could have stayed even longer!

London and Scotland for a week each in late August, 2022. The Milestone in London was super: location, people, rooms, food and The Bar. All of the guides were great!! Prompt, nice, funny and SO knowledgeable. Everything went very smoothly and I would use Wendy Perrin again for sure.

We used Jonathan Epstein’s office for a trip to Ireland June 8-20, 2022. His travel planner Katie Stewart was our go-to contact. Our group consisted of two couples. We are old friends and travel together often. Jonathan and Katie met with us on Zoom and listened to our wants and ideas for our trip. They then came up with an itinerary that checked all of our boxes. They had great recommendations and steered us away from a few things that they thought we would not enjoy.

We flew into Shannon and spent our first three nights at Gregans Castle in the Burren near Ballyvaughn. The hotel was wonderful. The cozy bar and the restaurant were exceptional. We met our driver/guide there and started a great adventure. Our guide Brendan was absolutely perfect for us. He had great insight into what we would enjoy and could turn on a dime if something was not working. We asked him a million questions which were answered graciously and had great discussions with him on Irish politics and customs. We went to Galway for a day and moved on to Killarney for three more nights at Cahernane House. The men played a round of golf there and Brendan wrangled reservations for us at several popular local restaurants. We never had a bad meal. Murphy’s Bar was a favorite. We drove to Dingle and around the peninsula. Ireland is an enchanting place.

We left Killarney for Cashel and the Cashel Palace. On the way we stopped in Middleton for a tour of the Jamison Distillery. This was informative and very enjoyable. Our room at the Cashel Palace had a wonderful view of the Rock of Cashel and we had a delicious and very fun dinner at Mikey Ryan’s Bar and Kitchen. The Rock of Cashel is part of the grim history of the English exploitation of Ireland and is a beautiful monument to the Irish people.

We left Cashel for Dublin and Brendan deposited us at the Conrad Dublin. We were sad to say goodbye to our new friend. The best decision we made for this trip was to have a driver/guide. The driving would have proved challenging and even dangerous for us to undertake on our own. We gleaned so much more enjoyment from the trip by being able to look at the scenery instead of worrying about where we were going. We learned a tremendous amount about the people and history of this beautiful country and had a blast doing so.

Many thanks to Jonathan’s team for making all of this possible.

My husband and I have just returned from a fantastic 3-week trip planned by Jonathan and his team. From our first conversation with Jonathan and Katie, we knew we were in good hands. We had some idea of the places we wanted to visit and things we wanted to see; they listened to us, asked questions, made suggestions, and put together an itinerary that was better than we hoped.

Because we were traveling to different cities (Belfast, Dublin, Killarney, Cong and Galway), Jonathan suggested a driver rather than self-driving, and he was so right! Having the pressure of driving removed gave us so much more freedom to explore the areas and enjoy the days. Also, the drivers did not just drive, they provided historical facts, made suggestions of out-of-the-way places to visit, knew the best local places for a pub lunch, the best place to buy a special gift, the place to stop for the best view/photos, etc.

The hotels Jonathan suggested were truly amazing. In each, we felt very special, and we are sure Jonathan’s connections made a huge difference. The Merchant in Belfast, the Shelbourne in Dublin, and the Killarney Park in Killarney were all wonderful; it is difficult to describe how nice it is to walk into a hotel and be greeted like an old friend! And Ashford Castle…there are not enough superlatives to describe this hotel…top-notch service, magnificent rooms, excellent restaurants & bars, and an attitude that ‘nothing is too much to ask.’ We could have certainly stayed there longer.

We had too many outstanding experiences to list here, but some were: visiting the area of the ‘Troubles’ in Belfast, including the murals and Wall of Peace; tours of the Book of Kells and Kilmainham Jail in Dublin; Rock of Cashel; Dingle peninsula; the Hawk Walk and cruise at Ashford Castle; a day trip to the Aran Islands; sheepdog demonstration; Cliffs of Moher; and a food tour in Galway. Many of the activities we would not have known about had it not been for the suggestion of Jonathan and Katie.

Thank you, Wendy, for another memorable WOW Moment. Sitting on one of the columns at the Giant’s Causeway sipping Bushmill’s Reserve whiskey gives a new meaning to ‘whiskey on the rocks.’ Everyone passing by us was jealous!

Thanks, Jonathan and Katie for putting together one of the best vacations we have had. We cannot wait to return to Ireland!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  We are just back from Ireland and are thrilled to recommend Jonathan Epstein as a travel planner. Our family of 4 (including 2 college-age sons) spent 8 days in Ireland and worked with Jonathan and Katie Stewart in planning a trip that our family will always remember. From our first telephone call, I felt like a valued client, and they took my ideas of the way we wanted to travel and the top things we wanted to see, then designed an itinerary that was better than I could have ever planned.

One of the first recommendations that Jonathan made was to use a driver rather than to drive ourselves. Although I was nervous about spending days with someone we didn’t know, we all heartily agree that it was one of the best things we did. Not only did our drivers, Gerry and Seamus, know details and have suggestions we would never have known, but spending time with someone who loves and knows Ireland added an unexpected dimension to our trip. Seamus always knew places to stop for lunch, unexpected detours with the most amazing views, a perfect spot for coffee or for shopping, and the best local pubs with music that our boys would love. When we told him about one son’s interest in prehistoric and Celtic history, he took us to several out-of-the-way stops and tiny towns where we saw stone circles and ruins, and also had fun pub lunches away from crowds of tourists. Our boys learned all about hurling from Seamus and we talked about and watched matches on the trip.

We made a large circle around the Republic of Ireland, starting and ending in Dublin. We saw Cashel and the historic Rock of Cashel, Cork, Cobh, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, the Burren region, Galway, and Dublin. Jonathan suggested the behind-the-scenes tour at the Jameson distillery, which was excellent, and a food tour in Galway which was one of the highlights of the trip. We explored towns and countryside, hiked through the Burren area, saw historical Irish sites and ruins, and explored the city highlights of Dublin. He managed to weave it all together in a way where we felt like we saw an incredible view of the country without being rushed.

The hotels where we stayed were wonderful, with beautiful rooms and grounds and exceptional service. The Cashel Palace and Greghans Castle were places where we wished we could stay for a month, and the kind of places where we got to know staff and felt like welcome family rather than just customers. All of the hotels and venues knew Jonathan and his company. Having Jonathan and Katie plan this trip was worth every penny. We were able to relax and enjoy the scenery without worrying about every detail or running over sheep on windy Irish country roads! It truly makes a difference to work with a professional. I can’t recommend them more highly, and this trip will be a part of our family’s memories always!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Jonathan Epstein and Katie Stewart custom-planned a special trip to London for my grandson and myself. They managed almost everything, from hotel accommodations to an itinerary perfectly suited to the very specific interests of my 15-year-old grandson. …..”no Crown Jewels, little to no pageantry. Everything history, specifically World War 2 and Churchill. “ Our guides heard his wants and tweaked tours to maximize his experience. His attention never flagged, a testimony to their skill.

London in June, 2022 was daunting. Unbelievable crowds, skyrocketing prices, and rampant covid…I did bring it home with me and am recovering well. Am I glad we traveled now? You bet! The trip was a priceless experience for both of us, one I’d be happy to do again. Hopefully I’ll take my younger grandson to Europe next summer, and hopefully he’ll choose another destination Jonathan covers!!!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL We had wonderful time on our family trip through Ireland with the knowledgable guidance of Jonathan and his staff. Our initial planning was spot-on with terrific advice and insight on everything from hotel choices to efficient and enjoyable sequencing of our many selected destinations to the pros and cons of spending more for extras. Jonathan was quick to understand our special requests as we returned to Ireland for the first time in 25 years, bringing our teenaged daughters to see so much that we remember fondly. He seamlessly wove together an itinerary to include both the common (Ring of Kerry, Dublin museums) and the somewhat less travelled (Cahir Castle, Rotunda Hospital) and wisely counseled us to arrange for a private driver.

This expertise was even more appreciated when we had to reschedule our trip from June 2020 to June 2021 and then again to June 2022. Jonathan and his team did all the leg work to rebook our rooms, guides, and driver—and even secured additional perks and discounts along the way.

Some highlights of our trip that circled Dublin – Cong – Killarney – Laois (Ballyfin) – Dublin: We had gorgeous rooms, amazing service, and real value-added perks at the hotels where we stayed. The staff often mentioned Jonathan’s company, and it was clear that Jonathan had a connection with them. The suggested tours and activities were exactly as described—and sometimes even more appreciated by our teenagers than we had expected. The food tour in Galway and the sheepdog/lamb experience were real highlights that we would not have pursued without Jonathan’s urging. Our driver Pat was jovial, punctual, kind and flexible—as well as completely at ease driving in any number of crazy or frustrating settings. We were so grateful not to have had to drive—or even to have had to select a driver!

Our only disappointment is that we were due to have a WOW Moment on this trip—this was confirmed when we rescheduled the dates from 2021 to 2022… but somehow Jonathan and his team forgot about it. A key staff member left during that time and I suspect the ball was dropped during her transition. We got a sincere apology, but we definitely felt a bit shortchanged.

That one omission notwithstanding, we would definitely work with Jonathan again if we were to return to Ireland. His assistance made our trip easier, more fun, and a better value for us.

Response from Wendy:

I am dismayed that Jilda’s WOW Moment was missed—a highly unusual circumstance thanks to a Covid-related snafu—and we will certainly more than make it up to her on her next trip! As a reminder to all travelers, here’s how our WOW Moments project works, and here are the rules for redeeming your WOW Moments gift certificate. While every WOW Moment is a surprise, if your final trip itinerary does not include mention that this surprise will occur and when, by all means let us know immediately at info@wendyperrin.com.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  After two years of waiting to re-book our Scotland/Ireland trip with Jonathan, we were ready to leave behind the reality of COVID, meet warm and generous folks, and experience the wonder of our world.

Driver/guides, from kind-hearted Neil Spowart and dry-witted Robert Mcelwee in Scotland, to youthful Jordan Schmidt in Ireland, became fast friends and wonderful ambassadors for their countries. Treacherous, single-lane roads were no problem for them and while they kept us safe, we were happy to watch indescribable scenery pass by. How many different ways can you express the word “beautiful”? We were simply filled with awe. All three drivers tapped into our sense of adventure, making diversions from our itinerary, exploring less traveled mountain roads and stopping often for photo opportunities and walks. Three different drivers came down with COVID the day before we expected to meet them but these three incredible substitute drivers were found overnight. Pandemic related problems were quickly solved as Jonathan only works with the best companies.

Jonathan has relationships with magnificent hotels and we entered each one with excitement. Stately Culloden House, thank you for your kindness, and a shout out to Stephen for figuring out a way to retrieve items we had left in Edinburgh! Glenapp Castle welcomed us with beautiful gardens, views of Ailsa Craig, and attentive staff. What a magical place overlooking the sea and what a glorious sunny half-day boat ride and tour of Ailsa Craig we had!

In Ireland, Killarney Park Hotel gave us the best hotel greeting of the trip, with warm smiles, elegant rooms, lit fireplaces and the feeling of being in a real home. How fun it was to do a Jonathan-provided perk of an Irish Whiskey tasting in the library our last night there! Thinking no hotel could top Killarney Park, we made our grand entrance into Ashford Castle and felt like royalty coming home. We experienced good food, sumptuous rooms, walks in gardens, a lake cruise, and a juice sommelier at Breakfast! But the Hawk Walk at Ashford and the wonder of communing with a hawk, seeing it fly off your hand and return, filled us with such childlike joy. What a perfect ending to to a life-affirming trip!

Thank you Jonathan Epstein and Katie for orchestrating a magnificent tour for us! Our spirit of anticipation of what would be down the road continued from start to finish and we were never disappointed! And thank you Wendy Perrin for always introducing us to the world’s best travel experts!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL My mother and I returned last week from 10 days in the Cotswolds (June 5-14). Our trip was planned by Jonathan. This was our first time to use a trip planner and we weren’t sure what to expect. Jonathan and his team made everything go smoothly, from our airport transfers to dinner reservations, and we had exactly the trip we had envisioned.

During our initial consultation, we discussed what my mom and I wanted from the trip and listed our must-see sights. Jonathan then designed a trip where we based out of three beautiful villages (from small and remote Painswick and Lower Slaughter to bigger and more bustling Chipping Campden) and worked our way from south to north, ticking items off our sightseeing list along the way: Tewkesbury Abbey, attending Evensong service at Gloucester Cathedral, Sudeley Castle & Gardens, Kelmscott Manor, St Mary’s Church in Fairford, Hidcote Manor Gardens, Kiftsgate Court Gardens, and Blenheim Palace. One of the gardens we wanted to visit wasn’t running their normal tours because the head gardener was out on medical leave. At no cost to us, Jonathan was able to arrange a short private tour with the general manager of the property, after which we were left to enjoy a pot of tea in the magnificent garden.

All of our accommodations were outstanding (in fact one of them, The Painswick, couldn’t have been more perfect if we’d designed it ourselves), with superb locations, amenities and food. For our last night before flying home, we were booked at The Runnymede on Thames. Though only 10 minutes from Heathrow, it’s right on the river. After a long day of sightseeing and then driving back to London, we were able to spend one final glorious summer evening enjoying gin & tonics outside by the river.

Jon, our driver/guide, was a simply a gem. He was prompt, professional, knowledgeable and lots of fun! Ahead of our visits, he provided us with printed materials about our chosen sights so we could familiarize ourselves and make sure we didn’t miss anything that would be of interest to us. He booked lunches for us at wonderful local pubs so we didn’t waste valuable time looking for a place to eat or standing in queues. He chose beautiful scenic routes and stopped in several villages along the way so we could have a short ramble, and he gave us good advice on our plans for the days we were on our own. After a visit to Blenheim Palace on our final day, he drove us away from the tourist crowds to the little village churchyard where Winston Churchill is buried. This was the perfect way to end our trip!

Jonathan and his team allowed us to really relax and enjoy ourselves, making our “dream trip” a reality.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Another great trip from Jonathan Epstein and his team!

After a 2-year delay due to Covid restrictions, my son and I were able to finally make it to Northern Ireland and Scotland for a great 7-day trip which included visits to Belfast, Islay and Glasgow. This was my third time using Jonathan and every trip has been fantastic. We landed in Dublin where we were met by Jimmy, our driver-guide for the first leg of our trip – Jimmy was excellent. The drive to Belfast from Dublin gave us a chance to see the Irish countryside and learn more about the evolution of Northern Ireland since the “Troubles” were resolved in the 1990s. The natural beauty of the area remains strong and while you can tell that the area is still struggling to recover from Covid, the experience was top-notch including a private Bushmills tasting that Jonathan arranged for our hotel. Our next stop was Islay, which remains an undiscovered gem. Hard to get to, but worth the effort, especially if you are a fan of peated scotch. Our driver-guide David – also excellent – guided us through two full days of distillery tours and sight-seeing, including a private, “behind the scenes” tour of the Laphroaig distillery – what an incredible experience! Our final stop was two nights in Glasgow with John McElwee – John is a superstar when it comes to driver-guides. John led us on a trip to Oban where we had the best, freshest fish & chips that we’ve ever eaten, not to mention a great tour of the Oban distillery. We finished up our trip with a visit to Culzean Castle and Burns Memorial Gardens before heading to the airport for our flight home.

Overall, this was another amazing trip delivered by Jonathan’s team. It was astounding what they were able to pull together in a world still trying to recover from Covid. Their knowledge of the hotels and the sights guarantees great trips, but the secret is the quality of the driver-guides. The driver-guides have all been excellent. They are the difference between a very good trip and a fantastic one. It is very likely that I will be using Jonathan and his team again in the future.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL I was extremely satisfied with Jonathan and Katie, the two people I worked to plan our family vacation in Ireland. They were able to take an amorphous concept that I had in my mind and make it tangible.
They arranged the perfect house for us to rent, with just enough amenities that we were not isolated, but enough space to enjoy and relax.
All details were as they promised, from the airport pickup, to the tour guides, to the restaurant recommendations.
We are a difficult family to travel with since two people have celiac disease. Jonathan made the experience seamless. Each restaurant had full menus from which to choose and that made my wife and daughter extremely happy. Similarly, at our hotel in Dublin for our last weekend in Ireland, the hotel staff knew about the dietary needs and we did not need to even address it.
Most importantly, Jonathan and Katie were both kind and patient with all my questions and worries, especially since we began planning while Covid restrictions were still significant. I am thankful for their skills and we will use their services again.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  This trip was planned for 2020, rescheduled for 2021, and then I was finally about to make it happen in April 2022. Jonathan’s team did a great job with the logistics. The properties were perfect, the driver/guide is now a friend, and the suggested activities/tours, and restaurants were very good. Ireland is a gorgeous country with absolutely lovely people and is a must-see destination. Jonathan and his team know Ireland inside and out and are great for personalizing your trip.

And, thank you so much to Wendy for the WOW Moment! A cheese and wine tasting in a very special wine cellar was amazing! The sommelier at Ballyfin was excellent!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL Having lost a sibling earlier in 2021, my husband and I reached out to Jonathan Epstein in October to see about organizing a trip to Ireland for the remaining siblings and in-laws some time in 2022. Jonathan didn’t even flinch when we mentioned the group totaled 18, 3 of whom have mobility issues. Jonathan and Katie Stewart went right to work helping us think through best time of year to travel with a group that large and destinations to reasonably cover in a two week period. Then came the hard part. All accommodations, restaurants, sight seeing venues and transportation had to be largely wheelchair accessible — not an easy feat in historical venues — and had to meet local Covid requirements and capacity limits in effect earlier this year when most of the bookings were finalized. Jonathan, Katie and the team did an absolutely spectacular job for our family! The accommodations were all 5 star (Adare Manor is beyond 5 stars and not to be missed! and The Europe is so special right on the Lake), meals were a delightful mix of everything from pubs to gorgeous private rooms, the itinerary perfectly captured the scenic beauty of Ireland and the history and vibrancy of Dublin, and the private transportation was amazing. We were met at the airport by our incredible guide Brendan and chief driver Martin and instantly knew we were in great hands. They became part of the family, along with relief driver Patsy, and taught us so much about their beautiful country while appreciating the banter on the bus and often participating in it. For most of the group, this was their first time abroad and to say this was a trip of a lifetime is an understatement! Every detail was thought through by Jonathan, Katie and the team. They strongly recommended and booked an early private tour of the Book of Kells, they organized a private tour of the Kilmainham Gaol, helped us work with The Epic Museum for some research into ancestry (not an easy task for a family named Kelly) and presentation to our group, they organized a private music experience for our group that was one of the highlights of our trip, shared knowledge of exceptional crafts people for those interested in bringing back crystal and jewelry, organized an informative and memorable Falconry experience for the group and arranged for a private whiskey tasting at an up and coming distillery. With a group this large, there were of course some challenges to overcome. When a personal wheelchair proved too difficult to travel with, Brendan miraculously produced a scooter we were able to utilize and travel with for the length of our stay — I still don’t know how he sourced this but without it, that couple would have missed so much! At each stop, Martin and Brendan set up and repacked 2 wheelchairs, a scooter and an additional mobility device. We didn’t travel light but these gentlemen never made any of us feel like a burden and did whatever they could to make sure wherever we stopped could be enjoyed by all of us. Jonathan, Katie and the team were very helpful when some of the group experienced Covid (no one was seriously ill) and we will always be grateful for their assistance. (Covid restrictions of all kinds were eliminated just prior to our arrival and Ireland experienced a surge in cases as did most of Europe as a consequence of lifted restrictions). The final challenge came as an organized trucker protest was setting up just as we were heading to the airport. Jonathan’s transportation partner, Bruno, was exceedingly kind, calm and helpful in ensuring we made it to the airport in time for our flight! My husband and I have worked with a few of the listed travel specialists and I can honestly say that Jonathan Epstein was an absolute joy to work with and is absolutely worthy of a WOW label. I would work with him again in a heartbeat and highly recommend him without any reservation!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  We took an incredible trip to Ireland using Jonathan and his team. They were very responsive in listening to what we desired and were patient with us when we felt the need to postpone during the Covid crisis. They booked us beautiful five star hotels and breath taking rooms. I figure they must have a map of each room at each hotel so they can fulfill your request, we never walked into one of our five hotels and thought they could have done better! It was always spot on. After our long flight they were thoughtful without asking by booking us two nights of rest before our touring at the Ballyfin. Every need is taken care of there by the experienced staff. After two days we caught our breath and the most professional driver/guide picked us up. Frank Kelley is a professional like no other. His knowledge on our touring was vast and his professionalism can not be beat. We moved on to Sheen Falls Lodge, Gregan’s Castle, Ashford Castle and the Shelbourn in Dublin to end our trip. We spent 6-8 hours a day with Frank. He found us wonderful restaurants and pubs for lunch. Took us to all the wonderful sights Ireland has to offer. Everywhere we went the hotel staff fondly talked about Jonathan Epstein. He and his company made a very good impression on not only us by the hotels we stayed at. Jonathan’s team booked all our dining reservations and most of our tours. We did also manage to add a few tours to our itinerary at the suggestion of our driver. We would definitely use Jonathan and his team for a future trip.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  We travelled to London and The Cotswolds in March of 2022.

Our team, led by Jonathan Epstein, was exceptional. They helped us pick the perfect hotels for us (in London, The Goring, and in the Cotswolds, Lucknam Park) and for that reason alone they were worth it- we were so overwhelmed by all of the choices. Our transfers and all of the details that can be very tedious and annoying were all seamless and we didn’t have any kind of logistical stress during our whole trip.

The tours they chose for us were perfect and we got guides that were great for our family. We especially loved the Mini Cooper Harry Potter tour, and our tour of Oxford and the Cotswolds. They helped us organize our days so that each day was special but not overwhelmingly busy.

The Goring was amazing- the service was the best we have experienced and it was so charming and English. The bar, breakfast service, and afternoon tea were great and the rooms were beautiful. Housekeeping went above and beyond and the concierge is incredible. The location is great too.

In the Cotswolds we stayed at Lucknam Park, which is a beautiful, expansive property. My daughter loves horses and my son loves being in nature and we all really enjoyed it. It was a great change of pace from London and a relaxing way to end our trip.

In terms of Covid, it really wasn’t a concern of ours. The UK has dropped all protocols and it feels very pre-pandemic over there, which we loved.

This is our second time using Wendy Perrin and it certainly won’t be our last. Before, we always figured with the internet you really don’t need a travel agent. But we have learned that the value-add makes it well worth it. The headaches are removed, the itinerary is thoughtfully organized, and you have access to special experiences you wouldn’t otherwise have. We highly recommend Wendy Perrin!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL We could not speak more highly of Jonathan and his team at the offices, as well as on the ground in Ireland. With three and a half weeks’ notice, they planned a fabulous 10 day trip to the Republic of Ireland for our family of two adults and three teens from 2/28/22 to 3/1/22. (We had put off planning, due to Covid concerns, and Covid hardly impacted our trip at all.) We gave them a budget and a couple of wishes and they prepared the perfect trip for our needs.

We stayed two nights in Dublin, where we did a lovely and informative walking tour with Fiona. The next day, our fabulous guide, Brendan, picked us up and spent the next 8 days driving us around. We spent three nights in Galway and three in Cork. During the days, we explored the countryside and visited both historic landmarks and out of the way finds. Along the way, Brendan charmed us with his unending knowledge of historical facts, local stories, jokes, and quick wit. As Jonathan had predicted, Brendan is now on our Christmas card list!

Some of the highlights included: visiting the Book of Kells and the Long Room in Dublin; a fantastic food tour in Galway with Clare; experiencing a private demonstration of sheepdog work in Connemara and getting to know Tom, the farmer; a tour of the Midleton distillery with a whiskey tasting; and visiting the Irish National Stud Farm. Each family member loved learning about the rich history and culture of Ireland. Our kids, aged 20, 18, and 14, were the perfect ages for this trip, as there was so much to learn but also a lot of time in the car to see the far-flung rural sites. We were fortunate to attend a Gaelic football game where Brendan, a former player, could explain all the rules. The kids are very into sports, so this was a definite highlight. In all, the itinerary was a perfect mix for all our interests, and the right amount of moving from one hotel to another.

We were aware how much work Jonathan, Katie in his office, and Brendan did to make sure we were treated as VIPs everywhere we went. Our schedule frequently changed on the fly, due to weather or our wish to stay longer to learn more about a particular place, and Brendan was able to arrange upcoming situations to fit, every time. He could always call ahead to the perfect restaurant to get us right in, and he knew people everywhere we went to pave our way. The weather was rainy and cold sometimes, and one morning it even snowed. This really did nothing to set back our enjoyment of the trip. In addition, we had the bad luck for four out of the five of us to catch a bug over three days, and Brendan was adept at organizing around these problems, always thinking of our needs and what would work to continue a fantastic vacation for our family.

In addition, Jonathan and Katie booked us the perfect hotels for our needs and budget with very short notice. They were all very high quality and we received wonderful service.

Lastly, this is our second family trip through Wendy Perrin, the first being to Colombia in 2020. It is even more clear to us that Wendy brings enormous value to the trip. Using her service guaranteed an agent who is not only an expert in the region, but also plans a dynamic, exciting, varied, and completely personalized holiday. We received the royal treatment wherever we went, and problems we faced were quickly arranged away. Each of us are experienced travelers, but we would not have been able to do the volume of planning required to make this trip happen so well and so quickly, or to sit back, relax, and experience all the joys of Ireland while trying to manage the myriad logistics on our own. For sure, we will be using Wendy from now on, whenever it is appropriate. Thank you so much to everyone involved, for making such a success of what was a very important trip for our family, before two of our children launch!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  I am just back from a magnificent visit to London thanks to Jonathan Epstein. Work and family obligations kept me from traveling for a few years and then when I finally was able to travel again the pandemic happened. As a regular reader of Wendy Perrin’s newsletter, I finally decided last fall that it was time to start traveling again, but that the services of an expert trip planner were probably in order. Wendy directed me to Jonathan and his wonderful colleague Katie who were super attentive to my interests and also my circumstance as a woman traveling alone. I could not be more grateful to them.

When Katie told me this might be one of few chances I would have to meet and hear mostly Brits in London I’m not sure I really believed her. January in London is the off season after all, but still I never expected to see Westminster Abbey with only 5 other visitors! The same was true almost everywhere I went, whether Churchill’s War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s, Hampton Court Palace, Tower of London, British Museum. The food markets were busy but mostly with locals, and the same was true in the pubs and restaurants. Londoners were COVID cautious and respectful, with almost universal masking.

My tours were fantastic and my guides were smart, knowledgeable and fun. I really felt like I’d made new friends when we parted company. Jonathan and Katie steered me toward a few tours I might not have otherwise done – as a great travel planner should – and that made my days especially interesting. Alex and Emma made London come alive for me, not just through great history lessons and fun facts, but also by showing me different ways to experience the city. I would not have thought about London street art but Alex is an expert and I had so much fun learning about it from her. And Emma’s history of London in four drinks ended up in a gin distillery – what’s not to love about a great history lesson with a gin and tonic in hand! I really wanted to visit Hampton Court Palace again and fit in a visit to Oxford. Simon, my driver guide, made the day extra special by suggesting we include a stop at Runnymede and also asked if I’d like to attend Evensong at one of the college chapels in Oxford. The day was filled with great conversation, meaningful history, glorious sites and capped by a beautiful service at New College chapel.

My hotel could not have been more perfect – not just the room, also the dining room and mostly importantly the caring staff. Located across from Kensington Palace with easy access to the tube and bus and all of Hyde Park, I almost felt like a local. The Milestone is quintessentially English – just what I wanted.

Between the time I booked the trip and finally left the Covid rules must have changed three times. Jonathan and team kept me updated and reassured. Like many other travelers have said, I almost felt safer in London than I do here at home.

Thanks Jonathan and team for a memorable trip!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL I returned from a two week trip to Ireland in early October 2021. I was interested in a trip to Ireland and looked at many organized tours, but none were satisfactory. I reviewed Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts and reached out Jonathan Epstein.

Jonathan and Nicole listened to all I desired to do in Ireland but also want I did not want do. They put together the perfect tour with a private driver guide. The hotels were spectacular, excellent dining reservations were made. The driver guide, John was outstanding! He was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and it was hard to say goodbye. Every detail was taken care of.

The tour needed to be rescheduled twice due to Covid. Nicole rebooked hotels several times graciously. She replied quickly to any questions and offered helpful tips and suggestions.

I cannot recommend Jonathan Epstein and his team enough. I absolutely will use them again for future trips!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Our family makes an annual trip to the UK which due to Covid was not possible. As soon as travel restrictions lifted we were on our way. We reached out to Jonathan Epstein, whom we had worked with a few years ago for a trip to Scotland, and started planning. Jonathan and Katie, she is amazing, scheduled a call with us and and made our trip to London fantastic. We were only in London for a few nights but stayed at an amazing hotel, The Goring, which is on a quiet street in the middle of everything. We had amazing dinners lined up, our favorite was called The Ivy Asia, our 17 year old daughter LOVED it. We had a tour set up called Hidden London, as we have been to many of the known sites, and our guide was fantastic. Now for Covid…we filled out all the required paperwork and did all the tests for Covid, easy with ZERO issues. Jonathan’s team provided us with all the links and ensured we had tests waiting for us. Other than the paperwork and the tests we moved around London with no problem and only wore masks on the Tube and in Ubers. We even attended a show where we just needed to show proof of vaccination. We were thrilled to be back in London and working with Jonathan and Katie made it perfect.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Jonathan and Nicole applied such useful knowledge of every aspect of our three-week trip to the UK. They walked us through the complexities of the vaccination procedures, always staying on top of the latest rules. They checked in on us during our trip, made sure that we had dinner reservations on the arrival day for each new city, and provided the friendliest and most knowledgeable guides for us. We never used to have guides, but the difference is night and day. They all knew Jonathan and Nicole intimately! I can absolutely endorse Jonathan’s team as our forever “go to” agency for the UK, Ireland, and Italy.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Jonathan and Nicole did an absolutely fantastic job curating our trip to Ireland. With our tight budget, we were out of our depth and overambitious with where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do, but Jonathan and Nicole helped focus our attentions. They treated us like royalty throughout the entire process. No inquiry about our trip was too small; no detail overlooked. This gave us an excellent experience in Galway and Dublin that we will cherish forever.
In the months leading up to the trip, Jonathan and Nicole monitored the COVID entry requirements and kept us updated, relieving us of the stress of wondering if there were any changes that would negatively impact our trip. Nicole gave us the necessary information to obtain our COVID tests for reentry into the U.S. at a clinic right around the corner from our hotel.
When we told Jonathan and Nicole that we were fine to take a train from Dublin to Galway, they suggested and arranged for a private driver to meet us at Dublin airport when our flight arrived at 5:05 am and drive us the 2 and a half hours to our hotel in Galway. This made our arrival into Ireland seamless.
We relied on Jonathan and Nicole’s expertise and knowledge of Ireland for experiences, accommodations, dining options and travel logistics. As a result, all of our experiences and dinner reservations went off without a hitch. We would not have thought to go to dinner at any of the restaurants Jonathan and Nicole recommended and we would have missed out on some truly incredible meals and dining experiences.
Our accommodations were wonderful and the staff at those places were very friendly and helpful. When the hotel in Galway overcharged us for our stay, Nicole contacted them immediately and procured a refund of the overpayment. I wasn’t able to accomplish this on my own when checking out of the hotel that morning so having Nicole as our advocate was a real bonus.
When I booked separate activities for us, Nicole happily added the details to our itinerary for me. Nicole arranged a number of private tours for us with local guides, something we wouldn’t have been able to do on our own. The value received by having Irish natives show us their cities was immeasurable. We were better able to interact with the locals and get a non-touristy perspective of Ireland. When I went back to one of the restaurants on our food tour in Galway for dinner, the owner fit me in without a reservation because I had been there earlier with our local guide, Sheena. I think I might have been turned away otherwise.
Jonathan and Nicole saved us so much time, energy and money by planning this trip for us, which allowed us to just go and enjoy ourselves. It was wonderful and comforting to know that all of the details had been capably handled by Jonathan and Nicole. I would highly recommend the private food tour in Galway. Spending that private time with a local was a priceless way to learn about Galway and its people and to have meaningful dialogue about the similarities and differences between U.S. and Irish cultures. It was also a fantastic opportunity to get additional suggestions from a local about places to go and places to avoid as tourist traps.
The next time we go to Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales, we will be contacting this WOW list planner!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Barbra & I just returned from a wonderful trip to Scotland. We can’t thank Jonathan and Nicole enough for creating some fantastic memories for us! They connected us with an expert driver/guide, Robert McElwee, who took us to places we would have never thought of and led us through an exploration of this historic and majestic country. The hotels they chose were perfect, from the grand Scotsman in Edinburgh, to the St. Andrews Rufflets country house, the riverside Inverness boutique hotel, magnificent Inverlochy Castle and the comfort of Kimpton Blythswood Square Glasgow prior to our return. Each place and every restaurant they recommended made us feel totally safe and secure in these times of pandemic, and we had no problems with any of our necessary testing procedures. The pace was tailor made to our preferences and each day was filled with marvelous views and fun and illuminating events. They even arranged great weather for us! Thanks for putting us in touch with this talented crew.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  I can’t say enough about Jonathan and his team. After asking him in March to create a golf itinerary to Ireland for my husband and I and another couple, the other couple ultimately decided they wanted to go a different direction. However, when they backed out less than three weeks before we were supposed to leave because of COVID concerns, I sheepishly asked Jonathan if he might be able to pull something together on extremely short notice for just the two of us. What he did exceeded every expectation. He got to work right away and had an exceptional itinerary planned within two days. We played some of the best golf courses in the world along with a full itinerary of sightseeing, private sheep dog and falconry tours and a private tour/tasting at the first new distillery in Dublin in 125 years, Teeling Distillery. Our private driver/guides, Brendan and Noel, were exceptional and were full of interesting information about the good, the bad, and the ugly of Ireland. Brendan and Noel both went above and beyond to make our trip as stress free and relaxing as possible. From getting laundry done, shipping items back to the United States, setting up COVID travel testing and giving us Euros out of their own pockets when it proved difficult to change money, there was nothing they wouldn’t do for us. Brendan even met us on the 18th green at Doonbeg to present us with a gift and take a few pictures on our 16th wedding anniversary. The staff at the hotels told us that there would be no room services provided because of COVID protocols but each day we returned to find our rooms immaculately cleaned and made up. I have no doubt that Jonathan had a hand in this. When we were accidentally double billed at one of the hotels, I contacted Jonathan and he immediately got to work on the problem. I know he felt terrible about the extra charges on our credit card but I wasn’t concerned. We were in good hands and he wasn’t going to let anything take away from our Ireland experience. Thankfully we had no COVID troubles and the testing to return to the United States went off without a hitch but Jonathan gave me peace of mind when he told me that if something were to go wrong, he would make sure we had comfortable accommodations to catch up on Netflix while we quarantined and I have no doubt that he would have. I can’t recommend Jonathan and his team enough. They were thoughtful, considerate and took care of our every need and their attention to detail percolated down through everyone we dealt with on our travels, as well.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  We are recently back from a truly wonderful month in the English countryside and am very grateful for the fine work Jonathan and Nicole did on our behalf. My wife and I have travelled to the UK many times before, but given Covid this time we wanted to skip the cities and really focus on the English coasts and countryside. From my first call with Jonathan to Nicole’s excellent and efficient hotel & restaurant bookings, we were very happy. We are experienced travelers in our 50s and typically do all the bookings ourselves, but given the specifics of this trip we wanted professional assistance and we sure got it. Their local knowledge and hotel recommendations were spot on and the trip exceeded our expectations. Thank you very much.

It has become our practice to consult Wendy Perrin’s WOW list whenever we plan a trip. This time our goal was to spend Christmas in London.

Although we have been to London several times, we know that the holidays can be a challenge due to closures on the holiday.

Wendy suggested Jonathan Epstein and he certainly came through for us. We had an initial phone conversation with Jonathan and Nicole, his associate. This is an important step when planning a trip with a WOW advisor. We were able to discuss our previous visits to London and our desire to see and do something new. They asked us a lot of questions, which was beneficial.

We had a hotel in mind that we stayed in on a previous visit. Jonathan, however, strongly advised us to select another hotel, The Stafford. We are so happy we took his advice. It is a much smaller hotel than the one we were thinking of and that proved to be a big factor in feeling like we were “going home’ at the end of each day of touring London. The friendly and efficient staff quickly knew our names and treated us royally. The hotel was first class and it was decorated beautifully for the holidays. There was even a small Christmas tree in our room.

As we had already seen most of the highlights of London on previous visits, Jonathan suggested other tours we would not have thought of. One was a Charles Dickens walking tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. We understand now how London during Dickens’ time influenced his writing.

Another highlight was a private “Behind the Glass” after hours tour of The Churchill Cabinet War Rooms. We had seen the War Rooms before, however, nothing can compare to actually going into the rooms not accessible to the public in the evening when it is closed. Our guide was passionate about the history of this place and she made it come alive for us with the many stories and facts.

These are tours we would not have discovered on our own.

Jonathan and Nicole executed a WOW Moment for us during our stay. It was a surprise private tour and tasting of the amazing wine cellar at our hotel. It was built in the 17th century and used as an air raid shelter during WWII! The Master Sommelier, Gino, gave us the tour and impressed us with his knowledge. It was very special!

Given the shorter time period of this trip, we feel Jonathan was able to help us plan the perfect amount of activity and also allow time to walk about London and enjoy the beauty of the lights and amazing window displays and decorations everywhere.

Jonathan and Nicole certainly added value to our holiday in London and we would not hesitate to call upon them again.

Another flawless performance by Jonathan and his team. From start to finish, every step of our trip was flawless. Their ability to fully understand their clients and anticipate not only the places, hotels, and activities that make for a perfect trip continues to shine through. From Perth to St. Andrews to Edinburgh, every day was bespoke and brilliant, as ever.

Jonathan Epstein did a wonderful job of planning an extensive itinerary for our 3 1/2 week self-drive trip to Wales, a bit of England, and lots of Scotland for mid-September to mid-October 2019. Unlike most of our trips planned by one of Wendy’s experts, this was not an itinerary with guide and drivers everywhere. For the most part, I went to Jonathan to get suggestions for accommodations and a broad outline of how best to spend our time. For a relatively modest planning fee, we got far more than I’d expected. For each of our stops (almost all were at least three days each), Jonathan laid out a list of highlighted things he recommended we do. He was spot on for so many of them and though I’d faithfully perused my guidebooks, he had so many creative ideas and brought to our attention lots of things I’d not considered and in some cases even heard of. I was quite impressed that this modest planning fee yielded a full-fledged itinerary, all hotel reservations, restaurant reservations and much more. Nicole Baratelle ably handled all logistics and was responsive to every detail and question I raised. Unlike a trip we did earlier in the year, it was clear to me that while we were on the trip, both Jonathan and Nicole were actively monitoring it and were quickly responsive on the few times we got back to them.

Now, mind you, this wasn’t one of the best trips my husband I have taken. But that was no fault of Jonathan and Nicole. The weather gods were determined to make me pay for 13 previous trips to the UK where I’d experienced virtually no rain and thus it rained on 22 out of 26 days on this trip. The weather kept us from doing a number of things we’d expected to do, such as hike the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in Wales (locals told us not even the Welsh would hike that path in rain and 40 mph wind gusts). We did have one truly glorious day of full sun in the Yorkshire Dales. We never made it to Mull, Iona and Staffa, our principal reason for staying at Isle of Eriska resort. Mull became essentially off limits when we learned our dates coincided with Mull’s off-road rally (which Jonathan and Nicole should have known about) but we then made plans to hire a private boat for a full-day trip to all three islands. Alas, the weather did not cooperate and two days running our boat trip could not go. Deep into the trip in Scotland when we had completely wearied of the incessant rain and checked with them to see if we could leave our relatively isolated lodgings a night early (and couldn’t), Nicole came up some great ideas of additional things to do that made us glad we’d stayed put. Our accommodations were a bit of a mixed bag. Some we’d expected not much of turned out to be wonderful, especially Northcote in Lancaster’s Ribble Valley — a place I’d never even thought of going. While we found the Ribble Valley fine, its charms were a bit fleeting. However, it’s a great place for food. Northcote is not to be missed. We had the single best dish we’ve eaten anywhere in the world — and had it on two nights it was that good. Plus Northcote was a great base for us to see parts of the Dales I’d not been to before and the Lake District for a day since my husband had never been there. Thornbury Castle as a base for southeast Wales made for long daily treks as it is across the estuary in England (and had an irritatingly loud wedding our first night there) but we didn’t see any better base in our travels across southern Wales. The Marcliffe Hotel in Aberdeen was an unexpected pleasure. Though principally a golfing hotel, we loved our room, the food was excellent and it was wonderfully located for exploring Scotland’s eastern coast.

Finally, the one time we did have Jonathan and Nicole arrange a guide for us yielded one of our most memorable trip highlights — a day spent salmon fishing on the River Stincharfor with superb ghillie Gilbert Browne who taught us to fish for salmon (it is a different method from fly-fishing and a lot harder on the body), and regaled us with tales of how the 9th Duke of Wellington has been pestering him for years to sell him Gilbert’s side of the river, and how wild salmon have been decimated by the invasion of Norwegian-owned salmon fish farms and sea lice. The latter has much to do with our not catching any salmon that day (neither did he). He was so chagrined we didn’t he didn’t want to accept pay for the day (we insisted).

The only minor glitch in the trip was a restaurant reservation on a night that the restaurant was closed. It shouldn’t have happened and it precluded us from having a dinner at a place we’d very much wanted to eat at. However, I highly recommend Jonathan. The bang for the buck was exceedingly high and he and Nicole were both creative and responsive. If they’d only had an in with the weather gods….

Jonathan arranged a perfect trip for our group of 4 friends to Ireland. A perfect combination of golf and exploring the culture and natural environment of this beautiful country. He suggested and arranged the perfect accommodations based on the golf courses we were interested in playing. Most importantly, Jonathan found the perfect host, Frank, who not only drove us for 9 days but gave us impeccable attention and personal tours tailored to our interests. Highlight included a semi-private viewing point for the Cliffs of Moher (away from the tour buses), a private sheep farm and border collie demonstration, master craftsmen shops along the Dingle Peninsula, and the best seafood lunch stops of the entire trip.

We had Jonathan Epstein plan a trip to Ireland and Scotland in October, 2019. We thoroughly enjoyed working with Jonathan and his associate, Nicole. They were responsive, accommodating, and made the planning easy. They were also flexible with last minute changes and had great suggestions. The most valuable asset was the guides they booked for our trip in Ireland and Scotland. We loved not having to worry about transportation or directions. Each guide added their own character to our journey and we enjoyed every minute. All of the hotel suggestions were wonderful with one exception, but Jonathan corrected the error in a timely manner. There were several small perks at each hotel we reserved through Jonathan and we had breakfast included every morning, which was wonderful. Every step of our trip was available on a travel app, which made our days easy to navigate. I would recommend Jonathan’s help for any trip!

An excellent experience on our visit to the Cotswolds. Jonathan and Nicole REALLY listened to what kind of trip I wanted and tried to accommodate it in every way. They arranged for us to have the nicest rooms at the most charming hotels with local “flavor” and outstanding service.

All of our emails and questions were promptly answered with great care.

Our guide, Michael, was probably the most knowledgeable and gracious in that region…. including where to find the best local pubs for lunch….places we would never have found on our own. These small, local pubs had some of the best food on our trip and really added to the enjoyment and authenticity of our experience.

Michael knew all the back roads and most picturesque villages. He had an interesting story to tell about every stop on the way.

This region of Britain is exquisitely beautiful and if I have a chance to do more travels in the UK, I would definitely call on Jonathan and Nicole to point me in the right direction.

He and his assistant listened to our “to do list ” and assembled an itinerary that was just perfect! They made suggestions but did not “push” anything on us! The guides were extremely knowledgeable, on time, and friendly! The lodging was amazing! Everything went like clockwork! We saw so much that London had to offer. They suggested we visit the countryside and it was truly a highlight we won’t forget! We returned from our trip with many, many wonderful experiences!!

This was going to be our first trip to England. We had interviewed another England specialist, but thought her trip was too expensive and relied on too many meetings with wealthy people who owned estates and needed tourists to subsidize their lifestyles. So we went with Jonathan. We had already planned to stay with friends the first three nights in Nether Wallop in Hampshire. Jonathan had the remaining seven days to plan. My husband wanted to see Stonehenge and the Churchill War Rooms in London, I wanted to see anything royalty.

We were convinced to spend four days in the Cotswolds, Not knowing that you needed to spend only one day there to get an idea of what they are like, this was overkill. We had made the mistake of telling Jonathan we didn’t like to pack and unpack a lot. So we spend four nights in the Cotswolds, this was definitely overkill. I think Jonathan should have told us, that all we needed was really one day. We were stuck with a driver, who ran the agency that Jonathan subcontracted out to be our driver. My husband and I called him “the yapper” as all he did was yap. And not about any history, as he knew nothing. He was a former brick salesman and he could tell us about the brick, but nothing else. When we got to Stonehenge our first day, we were dropped off and told where to get our admission tickets, and where to get the shuttle bus. We had no guiding whatsoever. The rest of our four days we were driven around and told “You can stop here, and look at this garden or here”. All our previous trips prepared by Wendy Perrin advisors we were escorted with either knowledgeable drivers or drivers and guides. This driver did have a nice car and dressed well.

The room that we stayed at Barnsley House was extremely hot, with no air conditioning. The room was right next to the kitchen, and very noisy. This was one of the specialty suites also! The gardens that were so highly acclaimed were nothing special at all. We stayed at The Barnsley House in the Cotswolds and were told we were to have our WOW moment one evening. After an amazing WOW moment we had on our trip the previous month in Argentina with a private chef, and small string quartets playing we were most excited. This WOW moment was dinner in an alcove in the garden. We were given the regular menu and had no clue that our dinner would be comped by the hotel. That was it. A comped dinner. Another night’s dinner at the hotel we were charged 50 pounds for another guests wine! As we couldn’t stand our guide we cut everyday’s tours short by an hour so we could rest at the hotel’s swimming pool!

After four days traveling in the Cotswolds seeing lots of thatched roofs and brick buildings, with a side trip to Bath we drove to London with a stop at Oxford where we were told we could wander around by ourselves! In London we stayed at The Goring Hotel, a place I had always wanted to stay at. Unfortunately there was construction going on in the garden everyday. So our garden views that we paid extra for, were unsightly and noisy. Jonathan never told us that construction was going on and that another hotel might be a better choice. Our room was lovely. We did enjoy our guides in London. I wish we would have spent more time there and less in the Cotswolds. Although we did do the Churchill Museum pre opening tour, there was no time to see the other exhibits in the museum as we had to race to the next stop.

We found nothing special with this travel advisor’s planned trip. There was hardly any thought or creativity at all. The whole idea was to have someone else plan an exciting trip for us, not to wish that we had never gone on it. We found England extremely poor value for the money we spent, The whole idea of using a WP advisor is to get knowledgeable and personal guidance. We have used Wendy Perrin advisors for trips to Scotland, Italy, Kenya, The Maldives, Chile/Ecuador, and Argentina. We have recommend WP to numerous other people. Friends of our are shocked at our experience. They pushed me to write a review. I hesitate to write negative reviews, as I ordinarily vote with my feet by not going someplace again or not use a service again. We took this trip in May. It is now late October. If i had to write the review earlier, it would have been even more negative.

Wendy always say to complain write away if something is not working out. If you are given the owner of the Subcontracted agency to be your driver, who one would think would be the best and most knowledgeable driver, what can you do? If your hotel reservation had cancellation fees if you don’t stay there, you don’t change it. If your WOW moment is a dinner at the hotel in a garden where other guests stumble upon you, what are you to do? (Remember you are told that the dinner will be a WOW moment, but nothing about it is WOW. The only way to we could confirm that someone thought this was a WOW moment was that we didn’t see the bill upon check out at the hotel.) You suffer and wonder why this travel advisor got such rave reviews.

Response from Wendy:

There’s an important takeaway here for travelers, not just in England but anywhere: Express any disappointment to the trip planner during your trip, while the situation can be fixed. I wish Linda had followed this piece of advice that I send to each traveler shortly before departure (as part of my Trip Support System described here):

“If you should end up with a guide you’re not comfortable with (a rare occurrence, but possible), and that guide is assigned to you for more than one day, report it to your travel specialist immediately. If you wait till you get home to register your complaint, the travel specialist does not have the opportunity to fix it during your trip—and they often can. Report the situation even if you’re worried it might get the guide in trouble. Sometimes personal styles just don’t mix. Waiting till you get home to complain does not benefit anyone.”

Jonathan says the same: “I wish they had emailed us or called us just once during the trip to vocalize disappointment. I could have juggled guides, added experiences, layered in guides for the sites they visited, switched hotel rooms, even switched hotels and probably without penalty. It breaks my heart to get an email like this as we could have helped during the trip.”

Jonathan also says that his driver-guides in England do not go into sites for the most part because most travelers like to explore independently.  If a traveler wants lots of special VIP touring with guides inside the sites, of course Jonathan can set that up, but he got the strong impression from Linda that she did not want VIP touring. She had made clear that she did not want the level of expensive arrangements that the other England specialist had proposed for her.

It’s a shame that Linda found England to be poor value for the money. It’s certainly true that the U.S. dollar does not stretch nearly as far in England as it does in Argentina (Linda’s trip the month before the England trip). I’m sorry that Linda did not enjoy her WOW Moment, which was dinner in a private pavilion in this renowned garden. Most of all, I’m sorry that the Cotswolds didn’t appeal more to her. The Cotswolds are one of the world’s legendary picturesque landscapes with charming villages—the quintessential historic English countryside—and normally travelers want to spend at least several days, if not weeks, there.

Jonathan and Nicole did a wonderful job helping us plan a visit to London and the English countryside. We had fabulous experiences with all the driver/guides they chose. We were very happy to leave the driving down narrow country lanes and tiny villages to the very knowledgeable experts. The hotels were fabulous! They helped us find terrific restaurants in London and beyond and took care of everything….we felt like, well, royalty!

My husband needed gluten free meals and wherever they sent us, the restaurant was prepared. That was really, really helpful. If we had one thing we might do differently, it would be allowing for more time to walk through those ancient footpaths. Of course our guides would have accommodated, but we had so much to see!

Linda Johnsey, Ireland October 2019

Wow, did we just experience that? Thank you so much to Jonathan Epstein & Nicole Baratelle for creating an extraordinary birthday trip for my husband. After my trip planning conversation with Jonathan, I realized that he had asked all the RIGHT questions. I felt strongly at that point that I was in good hands planning this trip. It was one wow moment after another on a daily basis while we were on this two-week odyssey.

Thank you for suggesting a driver because he made all the difference in the world. I am so thankful that we had Seamus Hester as our driver because he truly went above and beyond the call of duty. He asked us at the beginning of the trip what we were interested in experiencing. He exceeded our expectations and made sure we experienced Ireland to the fullest. Even after a full day of driving us around, he would take us to Irish pubs after dinner. His lunch recommendations were spot on to our requests for delectable seafood. The highlight was finding the volunteer at St. Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh that shared so much information about the details of the structures interior. That was a very special moment in time.

Sheen Falls Lodge proved to be a very memorable place. Thanks again Jonathan for the room upgrade. What a treat! Falconry at this facility was spectacular. The falconer asked us to place our iPhones on Slo-Mo mode and the videos are incredible. Gin tasting by John was another Wow moment. Can someone really spend more than one hour talking about gin? What an experience, we loved every minute of it! However, being driven to dinner in their 1936 antique car was the highlight.

Ballynahinch Castle is keeping a secret from everyone. I signed Don up for clay pigeon shooting. One question from the instructor, Don responds and the universe opens up. Three test shots & feedback from the instructor and Don is shooting at 100%. The secret is the instructor is Shane Bisgood. He has trained US Olympians. What??!!?? My husband had a lesson with this man and Don enjoyed every second of it. The lessons learned will last a lifetime and be passed on to sons and grandsons.

Lastly, our driver was building up our stay at the last castle of our journey. He kept telling us we were going to experience our very own Downton Abbey moment. Day after day he would make this comment. Wow, we did indeed experience this moment! Incredible! So glad we stayed 2 nights instead of one. I could have stayed there a full week. Opulent is the only adjective to describe the last castle.

There are many more exceptional moments to describe and they were all created by Jonathan. You delivered on my request for any exceptional birthday trip for my husband. It was perfect! Thank you!

Our 20th-anniversary trip designed by Jonathan Epstein was perfect in every way.

I am a control freak and plan all our family trips, but I knew I wanted this trip to be stress-free and extraordinary. I have followed the WOW List for years and decided to reach out to Jonathan. After a couple of lengthy conversations, asking questions regarding our interests, likes, dislikes, lifestyle, expectations, etc., I knew I could let go and trust this expert.

Our twelve days in Ireland were meticulously put together without one detail neglected.

We did not want to see the touristy Ireland; we wanted to experience the local scene. Jonathans suggested itinerary did precisely that. We connected with our driver/guide and felt as though we were traveling with a dear friend. We drove through the beautiful countryside and experienced small villages. With Jonathan’s insider knowledge, he arranged two walking tours with local historian experts, a private sheep herding demonstration, a hawk walk at the oldest falconry school in Ireland and numerous restaurant recommendations, and reservations. I didn’t worry about a thing.

Jonathan and his assistant, Nicole, found the perfect accommodations for our trip, making sure the number of days at each place was timed in tandem with the things to do/see in that area. We stayed in a luxurious castle, and small, quaint manor houses, and was surprised with a room upgrade at our first stop. During our planning stages, every time I reached out to Jonathan or Nicole via email, a prompt response was received.

Our anniversary trip was our most memorable to date. A fantastic experience, all because of the vast knowledge and incredible attention to details Jonathan offers his clients. I think my vacation planning days are over. I will call Jonathan for future trips. His passion for Ireland comes through in the journeys he plans for clients, and his colleagues equally respect him as an authority.

Jonathan and Nicole did a superb job planning our trip to Ireland, in fact they planned it twice!Last year we had to cancel the day before we were supposed to leave since our son got very ill. This year there were thankfully no problems so we went to – Dublin, Cork, Killarney and Galway! Jonathan and Nicole are a great team! First Jonathan listens to what you want to do, gives you his ideas originating from his extensive experience, and then listens again to how you want to use his suggestions. Nicole then makes the major arrangements. Finally you work with both of them to “accessorize” the trip. But it is not only the trip itinerary they help with – they also help with problems. When we had to cancel last year, Jonathan was up late calling the hotels to cancel for us if we were within a full cancellations time. When we realized a sister hotel was more to our liking after checking in, through calls Jonathan made it happen that we changed hotels. One scene that made us smile was the day both general managers walked us from one hotel to the other, as if we were dignitaries! Finally we had our first WOW Moment which was great fun! We were not told what it would be, only the time to be in the lobby, So the day of the event the hotel manager lead us through the city to a……. wonderful private whiskey tasting complete with a knowledgeable teacher, films, very expensive whiskey and a glass to take home! My husband had been worried about what this surprise WOW Moment would be, needless to say he was all smiles by the end of the time! So long story short – Jonathan and his organization certainly added value to our trip to lovely Ireland, and we would definitely recommend Jonathan and his organization to others that plan to travel to “The Emerald Isle”!

Jonathan planned a trip for four of us to Scotland. We enjoyed the trip immensely. Starting with great seats for the last night of the Edinburgh Tattoo through to the last day at Blenheim Castle, the sights were well chosen and spectacular. Our hotels were mostly top quality with one exception and the restaurants were foodie quality. A disappointment was Macallan distillery, where we had a Disneyland-like experience with a guide who had a memorized script. But then our driver-guide found another visit not on the itinerary that was spectacular: Oban Distillery. Our guides were wonderful, flexible and informative. Our only concern was the amount of time we had to spend in the car, but given the distances in Scotland, there wasn’t much choice.

Lin Knudson and Michael Waterford: Tour through Scotland, England and Wales starting with Edinburgh then York plus the Yorkshire countryside, Lake District, North Wales and the Cotswolds, ending in London, six stops in 17 days. Lots of rural palaces, castles, abbeys and manors.

What did the specialist do: great advice and meticulous preparation, good selection of restaurants and drivers/guides, also lodgings. Particularly helpful with guiding us for York and North Wales. Excellent detail, kept up to date, and the Axus app. to take it all with us on phone and tablet. With one exception, the people in the lodgings and restaurants they chose were really friendly and helpful. We could never have done this on our own. Specialist did not participate during trip and we did not contact them.

Would particularly recommend:

Edinburgh – Guide Fraser Parkinson, deeply knowledgeable and very attuned to the needs of the visitors. Restaurants: Ondine – excellent food in modern decor near the Castle. Also The Kitchin (sic) near the Forth estuary for outstanding execution and service, both have great fish.

York: Jorvik takes you on an underground rail trip through a reconstruction of the 9th century Viking settlement, the good, the bad and the surprising. We were surprised so we did it twice. Restaurant: Melton for good food in simple surroundings.

If you are in North Wales or North West England, try to visit Chester. Roman, Medieval, Victorian all still to be seen. Chance highlight; a sandwich with Father Bob in St. Peter’s At The Cross (half café, half Anglican church and built starting in the 14th century) under stained glass windows depicting the last supper. Ancient city walls and streets with black and white double decker shops called the Rows, but the shopping is modern and plentiful.

Cotswolds: Buckland Manor near Broadway took us back a few centuries, with mod cons, good food, great service and lovely grounds. Didn’t want to leave.

London: Milestone Hotel opposite Kensington Park, small with outstanding service, and excellent food in a Tudor dining room.

Lake District: would not go back to Holbeck Ghyll, a country manor. Downgraded our booked accommodation to cater to a large group. Laundry poorly done and expensive

Jonathan and Nicole made our vacation to England, Scotland and Wales truly enjoyable and effortless. They prepared a detailed itinerary that exceeded our expectations. The driver/guides and guides were prompt, knowledgeable, excellent drivers and delightful to spend time with on our days out. We enjoyed the hotels — each one a gem with lovely rooms, great service and delicious breakfasts. We asked for days packed with history and sightseeing and they made each day interesting and enjoyable. Jonathan and Nicole had excellent restaurant suggestions for each location – we had many memorable dinners.

I highly recommend Jonathan and Nicole – their expertise, excellent relationships with hotels, guides and restaurants made our trip a delight. I look forward to having them plan another trip for us!

Jonathan and Nicole were able to anticipate our exact desires and place us in the most lovely settings. From the moment we landed in Heathrow, driving to the perfect location in the Cotswolds for a base of operations, and then on to London for a first class time, we knew we had made the right choice. Both hotels were absolutely perfect, and treated us a honored guests since we were from their travel agency. We can’t say enough about them!

Jonathan and Nicole were very responsive and quick to answer any questions we had. They provided a room upgrade at dormy house which is a fantastic hotel in the Cotswolds. All of the drivers and guides were on time and friendly. I would recommend hiring Jonathan for help planning your trip to the U.K.

First of all, the trip was superb. Ireland was fantastic. If the weather experienced could be accounted to our Travel Specialist’s efforts, he would need a new title. Travel Miracle Worker comes to mind. Once on the ground we wished for more time at each location, but the schedule developed allotted us the opportunity to see as much of Ireland as possible.

The driver selected was absolutely wonderful. Total recommendation for Richard Curtin for any Ireland travelers wanting a courteous and knowledgable driver/guide. The accommodations selected were 5 star all around. Beautiful settings and wonderful amenities were the norm for our stays throughout southern Ireland. Logistical changes were handled with professionalism and excellent service. Customer satisfaction was evidently Jonathan’s objective.

Jonathan provided assistance with accommodating our daughter mid trip, arranging for her stay and making sure that we had adequate transportation for the added person. This was all handled with minimal concern and planned so that our trip went on without a hiccup.

To all involved – we truly appreciate your effort in making our trip one to remember for a lifetime.

As usual, Jonathan, Nicole, and their team effortlessly managed our trip to the Cotswolds, from planning through our return. Attention to detail and comprehensive knowledge are the hallmarks of their team, and – even for a mere long weekend- they delivered once again.

This 2 week trip to the South West of England (Sussex, Cornwall, Devon, Cotswolds, New Forest, Jurassic Coast) was our third trip using Jonathan’s team, after Ireland and Scotland, and Jonathan and Nicole have been consistently excellent. They are the best at getting back to you super promptly no matter the query or concern, and the relationships Jonathan cultivates with his chosen properties throughout the UK have always resulted in warm, wonderful service wherever we have stayed. This translates to added value during the planning process when we received some automatic upgrades as a perk, as well as an occasional additional upgrade – upon request and availability – while on the trip. Every place we stayed was amazing, and greatly enhanced our travel experience. Other hotel perks through Jonathan’s connections that we enjoyed on this trip were an airport transfer, picnic, wine tasting, kitchen and wine cellar tour, house history tour, full English breakfasts, welcome 1/2 bottles of champagne – all complimentary. I appreciated that when giving the lists of restaurant choices in each area, Nicole included what nights the restaurants were closed, which made the planning/choosing easier and more efficient. One bit of advice I would give is to double check during the planning process, and again just before traveling, the opening and closing times and dates of any sights, museums, gardens, houses, etc. that you plan to visit, so that you don’t plan your itinerary around seeing something that turns out to be closed on that day. Also, you may find, for example, that the grounds open at 10:30, but the house, palace, castle, museum, etc. doesn’t open until 12. Another tip would be to consider purchasing a membership in the National Trust – you can do this online or at one of their sights. If you plan to visit enough of them, this can save you money over paying the entrance fee each time. We are grateful to Jonathan for his advice to see this part of England – incredibly overflowing and chock full of outstanding sights – as one trip, and do Wales and the Lake District as a separate trip. We were originally thinking of doing it all in one 2 week trip, which would have been a big mistake!! Looking forward to planning that next trip with him someday soon!

We loved the trip that Jonathan and Nicole put together for our 10 days in Scotland. In the initial phone call, they really got to know what we were looking for, our travel style & interests, as well as what we didn’t like with past travel experiences. They provided great suggestions and recommendations. They were prompt and responsive to all of our questions and they arranged everything including accommodations and restaurant reservations. Even with all of the planning, our itinerary allowed for a good deal of flexibility (which we took advantage of depending on weather and our driver guides additional suggestions).

Our driver guide, John, was absolutely wonderful. He was prompt, helpful, so fun to spend time with, and extremely knowledgeable (about Scottish history, locations he thought that we should visit and when these places would be less crowded, and whisky). He got to know us quickly and made some wonderful alterations in our itinerary even fitting in Roslyn Chapel on our last day with him which was one of the highlights of our trip.

We would highly recommend Jonathan & Nicole and would use them again for future trips to the UK or Ireland.

Jonathan and Nicole did a wonderful job putting together a 10 day trip to Ireland for us and our two friends. They were very accommodating when we said the ladies like to sightsee and the men golf. Everyone was happy! Our driver Martin was always on time and very funny. Jonathan’s team was very good at keeping us organized and recommending and booking restaurants too. We visited Dublin, Cork, Killarney and Galway and everything in between. Our driver Martin did such a good job of incorporating stops on our long drives and recommending great places to stop to see or to catch a bite. I give our travel agents an A+!

The two factors probably most responsible for making our trip to the South of Ireland special were the driver guide and the hotels, both selected or recommended by Jonathan Epstein. A third factor was all the important detail work done by Nicole Baratelle. A few of the things we did that stand out in our memories, that were the result of Jonathan and Nicole’s suggestions, include doing falconry, visiting the Gap of Dunloe by horse cart & boat, and making chocolate with a chocolatier. And I loved the mobile phone app that lays out, in easily accessible form, all the details of the trip. I would definitely recommend Jonathan’s group for anyone looking for a high-end trip to Ireland.

That said, everything did not go as planned.
– While the food overall was good, our meal at the high-end restaurant at Mount Juliet was a terrible disappointment. In a chance conversation with a former pastry chef at Sheen Falls Lodge, I was told that he had had a similar experience at that restaurant.
– We missed both a Food Tour in Cork and a visit to a Sheep Farm near Kenmare because of some scheduling mix-ups. Fortunately, we were able to “recover” in both instances with good alternative suggestions from a contact in Cork and our driver guide.

We chose Jonathan through the WOW list after deciding that we did not want to plan our trip to Ireland ourselves. We have traveled all over the world and I have planned many of those trips myself. But as we have aged (sadly), and as our bodies, (even more sadly), have aged along with the accumulating years, we have decided to use travel specialists to pave the way as painlessly as possible when we travel to unfamiliar places.

Therefore, we spent 4 days in England on our own with family, and then used Jonathan and Nicole to plan a 15 day trip in Ireland. Our priorities were: no driving! We wanted a car and driver for all but the last 4 days in Dublin; we wanted help in planning an itinerary that included approximately 2 hour hikes each day – so more countryside than cities; and we wanted to be based at hotels for at least 3-4 days from which to make day trips. We eat lightly now, especially in the evening, so we did not want dinner reservations, but were happy to receive restaurant recommendations, some of which we did use. We also wanted excellent guides.

Jonathan and Nicole were exceedingly prompt and responsive to questions and concerns by phone or via emails, even when Jonathan was out of the country. Jonathan made lots of suggestions about activities, etc.. some of which did not interest us, like a food tour, but we researched them and actually agreed to others and were glad we did. My husband is passionate about plants so they arranged a private tour for him on the Burrens, in County Clare, which he found excellent. And both of us loved a private demonstration of sheep herding with border collies.

The hotels were top notch. We especially loved Castles Ballynahinch and Gregans. But most important for us was Will, our driver/guide and the very comfortable car he drove us around in. He was not only an excellent driver, but very knowledgeable and extremely flexible so that our itinerary was revised several times as we thought of additional things we wanted to do. We had beautiful scenery, good food, and edifying conversations about everything under the sun. We had no difficulties on the trip that we needed to discuss with Jonathan – one document was missing from AXUS, which Nicole immediately supplied – but if there had been a difficulty I’m sure it would have been taken care of.

It’s hard to pick out just one or two peak experiences because there are so many possibilities. Driving the SW coastline, which is what we did, is something not to be missed. The history of Ireland, fascinating but confusing at best, is also something we’re still reading about. Our visits to various museums were important. But here are some of the add-ons that we both found special: a ferry ride to Inisheer, one of the smaller, less touristy Aran Islands. This was a fabulous trip on a gorgeous day. We three (Will did everything with us – except shopping!) hiked to our hearts content and then had lunch on picnic tables in front of a woman’s house who was cooking lobsters and crab claws in her kitchen. Or a trip to a donkey sanctuary after I fell in love in with 2 rescue donkeys that the owner of Gregans Castle had from that sanctuary. And in Dublin, an excellent theatre performance at the Gate Theatre that was playing “The Glass Menagerie,” with an Irish cast.

In summary, this was a wonderful trip. We loved Ireland and were grateful that our experience was such a positive one, due, in no small part to Jonathan and his team’s expertise.

Jonathan Epstein and his team planned and executed a memorable introduction to Ireland. When we first contacted Jonathan we laid out a long list of desires relative to our eight night stay. Jonathan took the time to learn what kinds of experiences were important to us. He also learned what held no interest for us (such as pub crawls and whiskey tastings). He could have simply built a plan that met the stated objectives, but he went beyond that. We expressed interest in visiting Waterford to see the famed site of much of Ireland’s crystal industry. Jonathan suggested that we would be better off bypassing Waterford to stop instead at a small crystal factory on the Dingle Peninsula.

We indicated little interest in staying at fancy places like castles for fear of finding an environment that was too pretentious for our simple tastes. Even so, Jonathan recommended a stay at the highly regarded Dromoland Castle after assuring us that the staff there was friendly and down-to-earth. In both these cases, and in several others as well, Jonathan’s advice was perfect. We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the master craftsman at Dingle Crystal and watch him as he worked (we wound up buying some of the pieces that he personally had crafted). Our stay at Dromoland, especially the falconry experience, was a highlight of our trip.

All the other elements of our stay were excellent at well. The lodgings at Dylan in Dublin and the Killarney Park Hotel in Killarney were both excellent and perfectly located within easy walking distance of interesting places to eat. The Cliff at Lyons offered a unique opportunity to stay at a small 18th century village that has been remade into a stunning one-of-a-kind hotel.

Besides planning an excellent trip, Jonathan’s team followed through with perfect execution. The logistics were flawless. Everything happened exactly as planned. In addition, all our guides were excellent and added greatly to the enjoyment of our stay. We would recommend Jonathan to anyone planning a trip to Ireland.

Worked with Jonathan on a trip to the Cotswolds. He spent time with us before the trip to get an understanding of our interests and expectations and provided a wide range of options for us to choose from. When we had settled on the ones we were most interested in, he recommended lovely hotels and arranged for drivers. All the people we worked with were knowledgeable, prompt and flexible. Jonathan even included a side trip into Wales so I could visit the bookstores in Hay on Wye. Our trip was absolutely problem free and a week of delight.

Jonathan and Nicole planned a terrific trip for my wife and me to Ireland between April 25 and May 6. We are experienced travelers but were concerned about driving in Ireland and the fact that we were totally unfamiliar with the country. We told Jonathan and Nicole that we wanted to avoid crowds and very touristy places. In addition, we liked to be outdoors, to hike and see great scenery especially along the coast. They hit all of our “likes”.

They planned a great trip and helped us pick wonderful hotels and restaurants that were very commensurate to our tastes. We had a great walking tour of Dublin and great suggestions for sights and pubs. We especially liked the Dylan Hotel in Dublin in a great quiet part of town. The Cliff House right on the ocean was another favorite.

Our driver/guide Brendan was great! He quickly got to know us and our likes and dislikes and thus made appropriate changes to our schedule to maximize our pleasure. So glad we got a driver so I didn’t need to worry about wrecking the car, but also since I could enjoy the scenery and not be worried about where we were going. Furthermore, Brendan had such a depth of knowledge about all the sights and history. We never would have seen or learned so much on our own.

We strongly recommend the services of Jonathan and Nicole.

Jonathan and his team did a great job in planning our trip through southern Scotland and the Lake District in England. We have residences in other parts of Scotland and spend a lot of time in the country but had never been to the southern part of the country. From the first phone call it was clear that Jonathan knows his stuff including many locals places that tourists would never frequent. He also read us perfectly and chose accommodations that perfectly matched our travel style.

In planning our trip he made recommendations about places to visit and – more importantly – to avoid which would not have been obvious by trolling the internet. He saved us from ourselves and prevented some costly mistakes.

We have no hesitation in recommending Jonathan and his team for planning a trip to any place where they have expertise.

Working with Jonathan was a fantastic experience. We are very seasoned and frequent international travelers so I wasn’t certain if I needed to use a travel agent for a one week trip to Ireland. After speaking with Jonathan for two minutes I knew I did. And I am so very, very glad I did so. One of the best travel decisions I have made. Jonathan made the planning so effortless on my part. His team arranged everything — even restaurant reservations. Our logistics were not easy — our party was arriving from different continents on different days — but he handled it easily. His recommendation to visit the countryside (falconry, sheep dogs, castles) made our trip. And the local guides were great — so flexible and accommodated our interests, including an impromptu side visit to Sean’s Pub in Athlone (oldest pub in Ireland according to Guinness World Records).

Thanks to Jonathan and his team, we had a wonderful trip to the UK (England and Scotland) and made some lasting family memories. When we were walking around London on one of the days my 6 year old son Henry said, “Mom I want to learn another language so I can talk to all kinds of people.” If he takes nothing else away from this trip (which is unlikely because he learned a TON), mission accomplished!

Every guide and driver was amazing- each was totally patient and flexible with our party of five, including a 4 and 6 year old, and had vast knowledge and context of the sites we saw. It is nice to have guides that are conversational on many different topics and don’t just want to lecture. We can’t say enough about the quality of the people Jonathan set up for us.

We had a minor bump in the road the day we were set to leave the Cotswolds and head into London- the Brexit protesters were expected to bring 700K+ protesters into Westminster, which was right where out hotel was located. Despite the time change, Jonathan was responsive to trying to find solutions and his guides “on the ground” worked through some solutions real time. Within a few hours we had a game plan (staying a night in Windsor just outside London) and were able to get on with enjoying our last day in the Cotswolds- which ended up being a fantastic trip to Bath. Because of his relationships with the London guides, Jonathan was also able to move our tours the first day in London to the afternoon so we wouldn’t have to forfeit the fee we paid since we were outside the cancellation window.

Jonathan also graciously made hotel recommendations to us despite us using points for our accommodations. They were all 5 star quality and really special. I know this isn’t most WOW experts preference, but we appreciated the courtesy.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip and saw many awesome sights, had some great experiences and had a lot of laughs while spending time together as a family. We can thank Jonathan and his team for much of that!

For my trip to London, Jonathan Epstein discussed my options in great detail and once he determined my style, he zeroed in on choices and prices expertly. All of our reservations were detailed and uploaded including many extra attractions and restaurants for free time. He was available and prompt and I could not have asked for better service.

Only took us 6 months to get this review submitted from our European trip in June 2018. We have used Wendy Perrin’s Wow list several times now and have had nothing but exceptional travel planners help us craft unique and personalized itineraries. Jonathan helped us completely plan and book a 10-day tour of Ireland with stops at the K-Club in Kildare, The Kilarney Park Hotel in Kilarney and a final stop in Dublin at the Westbury. Quick review of each of the properties — The K-Club and Kilarney Park Hotel were amazing properties with great service while the Westbury had great service but the rooms were underwhelming. Their input and expertise on various tours helped us avoid lines, go at the best times and maximize our experience.
We left the driving and logistics of our entire trip on the island to their recommended drivers/guides which we highly recommend. Both drivers we had were amazing (unfortunately we lost our notes with their specific names – our apologies because we would really like to recognize their contribution to making our trip amazing)! They streamlined and customized to our tastes and we avoided a lot of crowds and got to see and learn about several things that we would have not had otherwise.
We had a few missteps during our trip that Jonathan and his team stepped up quickly and professionally to remedy and make right. We would recommend Jonathan and his team for any Ireland trip.

Fortier Family (2 adults, 10 & 13 year old Children)

Pre planning was great. The phone call, the itinerary, the revised itinerary and the final itinerary sent to us prior to leaving. The properties they booked, were, mostly, great.

Unfortunately, everything they did I could have done myself and they did not add value to our trip. Quite the opposite, as we were extremely disappointed. There was nothing WOW, VIP, extraordinary nor special they did.

RESPONSE FROM WENDY:

I feel the need to weigh in here. I believe it would have been challenging for anyone unfamiliar with Scotland to arrange the Grays’ trip. It’s not easy to find the loveliest properties in Scotland that are priced within the budget that the Grays gave for this trip (including the 20% VAT tax), much less properties located near the types of castles and distilleries that they wanted to visit. Without Jonathan’s input, it would have been tricky to figure out which distilleries to choose, accurate drive times, how many nights to spend in each spot, the details of hotels’ different room categories, etc.  It also would have been hard for the Grays to secure a private driver/guide with the same high degree of knowledge and flexibility (and a Mercedes sedan).

The Grays’ trip budget did not allow for VIP experiences. Jonathan says he explained this to the Grays at the start. He offered them VIP experiences at the distilleries and Scotch Malt Whisky Society, for example, but each time they chose the standard option. At their Edinburgh hotel, he says, they did receive a complimentary gin/ whiskey master class, thanks to Jonathan’s relationship with the hotel.

I probably should have advised the Grays from the start to arrange this trip themselves instead of utilizing a trip-planning specialist:  In the WOW List FAQs—see FAQ #4—I explain when travelers should not use The WOW List.

I want to thank the Grays for sharing their experience because there is an important lesson here that many travelers can learn from:  Especially when we are headed to expensive countries, it’s important to align our trip expectations with our trip budget.

Jonathan and Nicole provided excellent guidance in balancing our scotch tasting trip with history and country experience. They booked all our meals and arranged everything so it was a seamless, stressless vacation.

We visited over 13 distilleries on our trip, driving from Glasgow to the Highlands back down to Perth with a very knowledgeable driver/guide (and excellent driver!)

Our favorites were:

* Tomatin – the guide Ken was excellent. As we had heard the distillery process tour many times by the time we came here, Ken did a great job of explaining the process on a different level- very “user-friendly “- found the right words and comparisons so that we all could understand the process. Also, Tomatin allows you to taste some whiskey from the cask that you cannot buy at home- you can then pick which ones you want and they’ll bottle it for you.

* Edradour- my husband just loves the whiskey and the people there were very helpful picking out something he would like to take home.

* Lindores Abbey- this is a relatively new distillery that is just in the “spirits stage”. It was a good place to fully realize the investment made in each distillery from both a monetary and time basis. We mixed our own spirits here- adding herbs etc to their base spirit. It was fun and again informative.

We loved driving through the magnificent countryside where you can go miles and never see another car. We fell in love with the Highland Cattle.

Visiting Culloden was a highlight. I had much less knowledge of Jacobite history than my husband, but we all learned much from our few hours there. We toured the museum and the grounds. It was an emotional experience.

We enjoyed the castles – like Blair Castle and especially enjoyed seeing the walls of armaments.

We loved the bar at Torridon! The bar itself is beautiful and the selection of whiskeys and liquor incredible. We thoroughly looked forward to cocktail hour after a long day of touring!

We enjoyed all the food in Scotland, from the breakfast buffets to tea and scones. Our favorite dinner was at Gleneagles- the Strathearn Restaurant. We loved the ambiance with the piano and bass player, excellent service and fine food. But the evening was very special for us as about 7 years ago, we took our children to Gleneagles for Christmas. We had a tour of the extraordinary wine cellar and met a charming female sommelier who shared with us some of her experiences. Fast forward 7 years and we asked the male sommelier if he knew of the woman we had met on our last visit. He said – yes- she is now our cellar master!!!! While she was busy coordinating a special dinner in the cellar, our sommelier let her know we were there and she came up to spend some time with us and reminisce. She did remember some of our wine stories!

It was our last dinner in Scotland and it could not have been more special.

While my husband and I had never seen Outlander, our friend had and we were very happy to have visited “the stones” and “Castle Leoch”- a fun Scotland experience!

We look forward to going back to Scotland!

Ireland

Jonathan was excellent. He steered us in the right directions, in particular, how many nights to stay in each location.

We got a room upgrade at the Dylan which was super nice.

We had no destination problems.

Our trip was the most marvelous trips we have ever taken. One of our company manufacturers have sent us all over the world, so we have visited numerous places/cities/countries. Our week-long London trip is now our all-time favorite, without hesitation. Jonathan & Nicole created the most marvelous itinerary for our first trip to London. The Milestone Hotel was simply superb. We have never stayed at a more personable accommodating hotel: concierges all obliging/helpful, Cheneston’s breakfast & lunch, and the Stables Bar excellent food/service, and our accommodations lovely. The Milestone was everything Jonathan and Nicole said it would be and more. The location could not have been better for walking everywhere we wanted to go and catching the Tube/Oyster Pass.

Two times we were with a Blue Badge walking tour guide who was personable, knowledgeable, and also our driver for the countryside tour to Bath and other selective stop-overs was excellent as well. When we return, and we will! we’d ask for the same guides.

Pub/Taverns/Restaurants that were recommended were excellent choices ~ Favorite of “locals” and would return to them in a heartbeat. The Game Bird at the Stafford London was excellent dining.

At the Queen’s theater, we were part of their celebration on October 8th for the 33rd anniversary of Les Misérables production @ the theatre! And that doesn’t happen every day. With marvelous seating, thank you very much, Jonathan and Nicole, for that!

For their entire London itinerary creation, there wasn’t one thing that we didn’t love and cherish. I’m probably leaving something out, but start to finish for our London 25th Wedding Anniversary trip, it was simply splendid. Jonathan and Nicole coordinated our lovely Dublin trip 1 1/2 years ago ~ that also was again perfect hotel locations, walking tours and countryside driver and recommendations were all wonderful. They are the best ever Trusted Travel Agents anyone could use. We feel very blessed to have found them.

Nicole did a fabulous job arranging a great itinerary and also pairing us with a driver/guide who truly made our trip extra special. All the accommodation and dining recommendations (which Nicole also booked!) were exactly as we expected (& as Nicole has explained). The pace was what we wanted and we saw a large amount of Scotland away from the tourist spots. We will absolutely recommend Nicole and Jonathon. Also, the travel app they have with the itinerary on your phone is such a handy tool. We would not have been able to see what we did if we had driven ourselves and appreciate their recommendation to have a driver/guide (well worth the extra money). One of the best holidays we have had in a long time. Highly recommend Nicole who was extremely responsive to all queries and provided great advice.

Our trip to Ireland to celebrate our 25th anniversary was a wonderful experience. Jonathan Epstein and his assistant, Nicole, put together a great itinerary, provided great insight and advice, and had a very reasonable and transparent fee structure. They were very accessible by phone and email throughout the planning stages. The most valuable part of this trip was the driver/guide. Initially, hiring the driver through Jonathan’s team appeared to be at quite a premium over other luxury driver services we could source on our own but, based on Jonathan’s strong encouragement, it proved to be the best part of our experience. Not only are you driving on the left in Ireland while trying to take in all the scenery, and depending on your itinerary, most likely contending with narrow, twisty roads, this is a professional, reliable and very knowledgeable driver and guide (possibly a relationship saver, Ha!) Some days of our itinerary were quite rainy or perhaps not really of interest and our fabulous driver had great alternatives. He told us so much about places we were seeing, history and just great personal insight to Ireland. He was able to make good restaurant suggestions based on what we liked (although, I also always had a good list of options). Although celebrating a milestone, we did not always experience an upgrade or even an acknowledgment but, crucially at the first hotel we were able to check in very early and had a lovely upgraded room (Dromoland Castle) and the final hotel of our trip was very generous with all kinds of “extras” and upgrades (Westbury, Dublin) which was a great ending to our journey. Jonathan most likely has particularly strong relationships with these properties versus the other ones we stayed at (one of which was particularly disappointing, The Cliff House, Ardmore). Everything went smoothly and we had lots of fun traveling around Ireland; hope to return and explore more!

Jonathan and Nicole planned an amazing journey to Ireland for my husband, 9-year-old son and me. From our very first conversation on the phone, I was intrigued by the questions Jonathan asked about our travel styles and interests. This led to an itinerary that truly encompassed our interests and kept our son engaged and entertained. The accommodation selections were spot on and I greatly appreciated perspectives on where to save and where to splurge. Our guides and drivers were delightful, knowledgeable and provided great small additions to the itinerary along the way (a small chocolate factory in the Burren was a particular highlight).

We won’t hesitate to use Jonathan and his team again on a future trip to Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales.

England and Ireland August 8-23, 2018

I contacted Jonathan Epstein to help me plan a British Isles trip after we received a wedding invite to a dear friend’s daughter’s wedding near Bath, England. We only had 2 months to plan the trip, and Jonathan and his assistant, Nicole, jumped right on it. They charged a planning fee, which was increased, due to the close timing of the trip. I felt the fee was reasonable and well worth it, given his expertise in England, Ireland, and Scotland. We ended up planning a two week trip to England and Ireland. Jonathan gave me a choice of hotels but had definite opinions on some of them. I went with his judgments, and my husband and I were very pleased with each location he picked. In particular, Dromoland Castle near Shannon was very expensive, but Jonathan really wanted us to stay there. We were only there about 36 hours, but it was the highlight of our trip. We wished we had spent more time there, and loved every second of our stay.

We had driver guides throughout our trip since we didn’t feel comfortable with the left side driving they do.

Every driver guide and car was terrific—always prompt, helpful and knowledgeable. There were no hiccups ever in picking us up or getting us to any airport on time.

Jonathan also gave us a list of restaurants, which they booked for us almost every night as we wanted. We were never disappointed with any of the choices, and each restaurant had a little special quality to it. It was very helpful to us to have so many details taken care of.

They also used a travel itinerary app called AXUS, which proved to be extremely helpful, since it included every minute detail of our trip and was accessible on our phones. Of course, they also gave us access to a hard copy we could use as well.

In sum, we had an excellent vacation, and are glad we used Jonathan and Nicole.

The recommended drivers and guides were excellent and spot on. The itinerary was generally well conceived and balanced and responsiveness to travel glitches (we had a few minor ones) was excellent. As some other reviewers noted, this planner is very focused on extremely high-end stately homes type hotels (which were indeed amazing and at some of which we got special treatment). I wish they were more flexible to our requests for a more balanced itinerary as I think I would have preferred substituting for some of the very high-end hotels in the country more modest hotels in towns or close to sites.

Johnathan Epstein and his team did a phenomenal job in every aspect of our trip to Ireland. First off they listened to what we wanted to see, do, and eat. They then made recommendations to fine tune all the details with the understanding that we could change things on the fly, thus giving our guides the flexibility to show us the many hidden gems that Ireland has to offer. The hotels were all 5 star with Adare Manor being one of the best hotels we have ever stayed at. They booked our dinners, golf, and excursions that required tickets. No hassles, no anxiety, just fun.

We have used several of your recommended tour companies and Jonathan has exceeded all our expectations. That being said Ireland was just a beautiful country with so much to see and explore. For a trip of a lifetime, you would be remiss if you didn’t contact Jonathan.

Jonathan and Nicole planned a wonderful trip to west Ireland within a short time. We loved the country, the hotels and their suggestions for our itinerary.

Jonathan Epstein planned a fabulous 2 week trip for me and my husband to Ireland and Scotland. Our highlight was the 4 night trip on the Grand Hibernian luxury train through the Irish countryside. In Dublin, the Westbury was a great hotel – helpful and friendly, and the lobby venue was lovely. (And yes, we received early check-in!) The car service in Dublin took great care of us promptly and with care.

Our favorite guide was Robert in Edinburgh. He really went above and beyond to make sure that Tom was delivered in a timely fashion to Kingsbarns for his golf game, then proceeded to show me a lovely time in St. Andrews. And our last nite, Patrick Guilbaud was a highlight.

Thank you for a once in a lifetime experience!

Jonathan and Nicole took the time to understand my family and what was important for each of us to experience during our vacation. They had a creative approach, took feedback and incorporated it into the overall plan. Based on our experience, it’s obvious they know the area and set us up with a great driver who knew the best places to go in Ireland. Our “Hold a Baby Lamb” experience on Slea Head Drive will be a forever-cherished family memory.

I typically plan our vacations but after this experience, will use a Wendy Perrin approved planner in the future. Everything was effortless. Thank you.

This was our first trip to Ireland and we wanted an overview of the country, with an emphasis on historical and religious sites. Jonathon and Nicole asked all the right questions and created an itinerary tailored to our particular interests and travel preferences. (E.g., one of us is 6’4” and bed size is critical!) Due to flight delays, we arrived a day later than scheduled. Jonathon handled the late-night communications, and our driver-guide rearranged plans to enable us to see most of what was originally planned.

We are so glad we took Jonathon’s advice to hire a driver-guide for our trip! Ireland’s narrow roads are a challenge and we enjoyed – and saw – so much more by not having to navigate or drive ourselves. Our driver Donal was one of the highlights of the trip; he was easygoing and friendly and took the time to discern our interests and likes. He then showed us unplanned things he thought we’d enjoy and did research on historical topics of interest. He patiently answered our questions about all things Irish, from history to golf to politics. He even found my ancestral village!

The experiences and hotels recommended by Jonathon and the tour guides he arranged were, as the Irish say, “bang on.” We don’t think we would have found our way to Mount Falcon Estate in County Mayo; it seemed a bit out of the way. However, it was our favorite hotel – ambiance, cool things to do (like falconry), and fabulous food. We were upgraded to a four-room suite (writing room, anyone?) and treated like friends at a house party in the country. Other highlights of Jonathon’s planning included our private walking tour of Dublin, a sheepdog exhibition, and the Galway food tour.

Our well planned and executed trip made each day an effortless journey of discovery. This was our second “curated” trip, and we’re sold on the value added by a good trip specialist like Jonathon.

Jonathan did everything we could have asked for during the collaborative planning stages for this trip over a four-month time frame. (We recommend beginning the process several months earlier given the growing popularity of this safe and spectacular part of the world.) There was no need to contact Jonathan or his very competent assistant Nicole while we were traveling because of the detailed suggestions they made and the follow through during our time in Scotland and Ireland. We had some special requests for a sedan driver and experienced local guide during a part of our trip in rural western Ireland. Jonathan was extremely knowledgeable of the area and able to make the arrangements for a three-day private tour that exceeded our expectations with a guide that even helped us meet a distant Irish relative.

Our June 2018 trip to Ireland was extraordinary in every way. Each hotel was unique and complemented our surroundings in the best possible way. The activities that Jonathan Epstein recommended for our family – a moonlight kayak excursion on a seawater lake filled with bioluminescence algae that flickered when the oar touched the water and the equally unique but totally different walking tour of East London’s street art and Sunday markets- made the trip memorable and will stand alone in our family memory of travel experiences.

The value Jonathan and his talented deputy Nicole provided was the deep knowledge of Ireland and London, their innate ability to suggest areas and activities that were perfect for our specific travel situation and the connections and relationships they have with the people and places we visited. Every restaurateur treated us special and every hotel gave us personal service. I am convinced you cannot replicate the experience on your own or with another travel service that specializes in a broader geographic region.

Jonathan Epstein and Nicole Baratelle were fantastic! The hotels they suggested were all different and equally wonderful. We wanted to stay in a variety of types of hotels, and they delivered—from Cliveden outside of London, to Slaughter Manor in the heart of the Cotswolds, to the Crescent in Bath. The one thing they all had in common was outstanding staff who seemed to anticipate our every need. The drivers and guides were not only knowledgeable but incredibly personable. (But most importantly, we didn’t die in a horrible car wreck on those tiny roads in the Cotswolds, where EVERYONE drives on the wrong side of the road.) Jonathan put together a suggested itinerary of places for us to visit each day, and he was spot on. In addition, at the very last minute prior to our trip, we were able to obtain Rolling Stones tickets for a concert they added in Southampton. Jonathan and Nicole deftly made arrangements to work that into our schedule, and our driver for the day got us there in time (not a small feat) and we had a wonderful driver in a very comfortable car, who delivered us safely back to the Cotswolds. All-in-all, I will never travel to Great Britain again without first calling Jonathan and Nicole.

This was my first time traveling to Scotland, and with limited time, I was keen to see as much as possible of the areas north of Edinburgh and into the Highlands. Jonathan and Nicole spoke with me to understand what I like and don’t like when I travel, and what I was wanting to the experience. They then developed the itinerary and via email, we varied it as more information came to light.

Although I frequently travel alone, this was the first time I’ve used a driver/guide. They found not just the perfect person, Alan, but also developed a full itinerary that we could modify as needed.

This trip was planned only a few months before I traveled. Their hotel and restaurant recommendations were excellent, and they managed to not just get excellent rooms, but additional perks as well. I loved the gin experience at the Principal Charlotte Square (Edinburgh), and having my very own turret in my room in Fonab Castle, Pitlochry – well that was a real treat!

Alan, my driver-guide, has deep knowledge of the areas we visited – this meant that we could get off the motorways and into rural areas where I could photograph old homes, small towns and even animals. Edradour Distillery was the main one I visited & the tour of this family-owned business was fascinating.

Despite having many miles to travel each day, I never felt rushed – nothing was too much trouble for any of the people I interacted with, including Alan. I felt safe and comfortable at all times.

This was a fantastic 5 day introduction to Scotland and set me on track for the 3 week adventure cruise into the Arctic that followed.

Trip – Scotland, May 17 – May 28, 2018 (10 nights)
Destinations – Edinburgh (3 nights – G&V Royal Mile Hotel); Tour of the Highlands – Isle of Eriska (1 night); Torridon (3 nights); Gleneagles (3 nights)

In late May, my husband and I traveled to Scotland for 10 nights starting in Edinburgh and then toured through the Highlands with a driver/guide. Our entire trip from the itinerary, accommodations, touring, meals and guide were all recommended and coordinated by Jonathan. It was our first time working with him and, simply put, we give him our highest recommendations and look forward to working with him again. There’s no way we could have planned this trip without Jonathan and his team’s expertise and efficiency. In working with them, I quickly felt like I could reach out and they would provide a strong point of view with their unfiltered, real opinion; I really appreciate that and it is why we quickly trusted their expertise. Also, they just “got us” upon our initial phone call and narrowed in quickly on a draft itinerary to discuss, based on our personalities and interests.

Another quick piece of context: The last time we worked with an expert travel agent/country specialist was for our honeymoon back in 2011 (international trip); I located this individual through the recommendation of a very prominent, upscale travel publication. It was not a good experience; it was a phoned-in, cheesy itinerary, etc. Very disappointing. Based on that experience, we’ve hesitated to use a travel agent again and prefer to plan our own trips.

When planning our trip to Scotland, my mom referred me to your list, Ms. Perrin. And let me just say, Jonathan and his team fully redeemed my trust in travel/destination experts.

A few more details on how they helped make our vacation so memorable…

First off, his team is simply just organized, efficient & responsive.

Everything from the itinerary “playlist” (that even had a mobile app) where we could easily access our itinerary, scheduled tours, restaurant reservations and other details like summary overviews and recommended sites, etc. for each location to the airport transfers, etc. that were professional, timely and went smoothly. Also, Jonathan and his team just “got us” from the outset and could quickly narrow in on a draft itinerary that would fit our personality, etc. and then quickly locked down accommodations at smaller properties with a small number of rooms.

Beyond that, Jonathan and team created an itinerary and made several key recommendations that made the trip feel one-of-a-kind …

The itinerary and accommodations were spectacular and we could never have planned it on our own. Our driver/guide commented on how impressive and well thought out the itinerary was. He thought I had put it together….which I laughed at and told him that the itinerary and accommodations were the work of a professional.

Jonathan strongly felt we should use a driver/guide for exploring the Highlands, if budget allowed, saying it would add another dimension to the trip. We took his recommendation, and we now can’t imagine not having traveled with our driver/guide, John. We instantly clicked with him, the car was an extremely comfy vehicle (important because we covered a lot of distance), and I feel like we met someone we will keep in future contact with. We learned so much about living in Scotland from John and also because he just got us, we could mold the day-to-day touring recommendations provided by Jonathan seamlessly as we went along.

Additionally, we stayed at four hotels, as I mentioned. I really enjoy trying out different hotel properties and, wow, each was unique and top-notch. Jonathan also strongly suggested that we upgrade from a basic room at two of the locations, and doing so was worth every penny spent. Paying a little extra to have a view of the Torridon Hills with the property’s Highland cows and sheep, as an example, elevated the experience. Another small thing is that Jonathan, through his relationships, was able to get one hotel to waive their strict nightly minimum-stay policy.

We also debated a restaurant reservation in Edinburgh that was a multi-course, prix fixe, creative-menu kind of a thing. Candidly, I was mostly worried my husband would hate it, and it wasn’t a cheap meal. Jonathan’s team said to definitely keep this reservation and, boy, it was not only a top memory of the trip but was placed onto my personal list of the top 5 meals of my life.

I could give many additional examples, but I think I’m getting the point across. The itinerary itself and key recommendations made by Jonathan and team took the trip from good to excellent.

I’d absolutely recommend Jonathan to others traveling to Scotland and look forward to working with him in the future.

Jonathan and Nicole did an outstanding job of planning our tour through Scotland. During the planning stages, we had several phone calls and emails to narrow down an itinerary that would work for us. All of their hotel and itinerary recommendations were excellent.

They quickly rebooked a hotel and activities for us after a hotel closure necessitated changes to our itinerary. They also engaged a guide/driver for us, John McElwee, who was truly outstanding. John is very knowledgeable about Scottish history, whiskey, restaurants, pubs, shopping and the best times of day to visit sites to minimize crowds and maximize photo opportunities. His advice and guidance during our daily activities allowed us to have the best possible experience.

This was a memorable trip, and we are grateful to Jonathan’s team for their assistance.

Excellent in every respect. Totally understood what we were looking for and implemented it. Very easy to deal with and the itinerary was easy to work with on the internet. All hotels, drivers, restaurants, and sights were perfect.

This vacation to Scotland was our second trip with Jonathan Epstein and his team. We worked with Jonathan on our Ireland trip a couple of years ago. Jonathan and Nicole are delightful to work with and provide so much perspective and insight to the various options. We were three couples traveling together and Jonathan’s team worked with all of us to come up with an amazing itinerary. All of the hotels were outstanding and the restaurant and pub suggestions were exactly what we hoped for. We are all history enthusiasts and one of the best things about Jonathan’s team is the caliber of guides and drivers they use. An engaging, entertaining guide truly makes all the difference when you are “road tripping” through the countryside. Our guide, James Campbell, made our trip from Edinburgh through the Highlands a wonderful experience. I would not hesitate to work with Jonathan on another adventure!

Stellar experience from start to finish. Understood from the moment of our first call what I was looking for, and captured it in a perfect experience for me and my daughter. Spot on pacing, guide matches, experiences.

I’m a very independent planner, and this was my first use of an advisor. I was extremely tense in using my first advisor, but am so thankful. They understood perfectly what I needed in my annual trip with my daughter.

I’m so thankful I engaged Jonathan and his team. A perfect Scotland experience. Highly recommend.

Jonathan and his staff did a great job at uncovering what was important to all of the family members who were going on this trip. Their recommendations were right on target as they organized a quick 7-day trip to London & the Cotswolds. The guides we had were awesome and were able to sneak us into some areas the public was not allowed to see. They truly cared about making our trip special. Their recommendation to use private drivers for several of our venues literally eliminated the stress of driving (fighting on which way to go) and was worth every penny!

An incredible Trip! I asked Jonathan to create a distillery tour of Scotland for me and my son. Starting with the selection of an excellent guide (best guide I’ve ever had on any trip), hotel and dining reservations, the selection of the right distilleries and adjustments along the way, this trip was executed flawlessly. The trip also included opportunities to learn about Scottish history and a visit to Gleneagles for a hawking experience that was unforgettable. This is the second time I’ve used Jonathan and his team and I will absolutely use them again for any future travel to the UK or Ireland.

They did a great job and absolutely deserve a spot on the WOW list. This is my fourth time using the list (the first was its predecessor while you were at Conde Nast) – – it has worked well every time. Thanks!

Jonathan really stressed the importance of spending time in the countryside of Ireland and I would have opted to be based out of Dublin and taken side trips to the country. I’m so glad I listened to him because we loved the Adare Manor and the cliffs which would’ve been hard to get to as a day trip. Jonathan truly knows this country, the things to see and where to eat we had great food, which I was not expecting in Ireland.

Jonathan Epstein and his assistant Nicole did a wonderful job planning our trip to Aberdeen. We loved it. We had some snow and a good deal of rain, but that is to be expected in March. However, when the sun came out, Aberdeen was beautiful. We visited some very nice castles, a distillery and other sites Jonathan recommended. Even though most of the castles were closed on weekdays in March, we were able to visit Fraser Castle on Saturday. We drove around and looked at the landscape, the old stone houses and the lovely golf course. We walked in the old town and FootDee and the city center, and visited Slain Castle, too. We were delighted with the Marcliffe Hotel, which Jonathan strongly recommended even though our first inclination was to go elsewhere. We are happy Jonathan insisted on Marcliffe. It is one of the best hotels we have stayed at in all our years of travel. The rooms for both us and our family were very comfortable, clean, roomy and quiet, which was perfect, and the service was excellent. The food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was marvelous, and service in the restaurant, the Drawing Room, and the front desk was wonderful. The owner and all the staff were very friendly, accommodating and helpful. We are grateful that Jonathan was able to get us an extra room at the last minute for our family. Also, our friends and we loved Cafe Boheme. Thanks to Jonathan for that recommendation too. And thank you, Wendy, for recommending Jonathan.

Helen Tepper, Visited Aberdeen, Scotland, March 2018.

We recommend that any of your travelers who are considering a trip to the United Kingdom rely on Jonathan to plan and execute their trip. He will take care of all the details perfectly.

Best trip ever. Just what we wanted and more than we expected. We had experiences that were once in a lifetime. The guides were friendly, conversational, and educational. They were great listeners and quickly developed a feel for us. ( Wayne and Michael, thank you so much!) The sights were spectacular, the restaurants were outstanding, and the history lessons were fascinating. Can’t wait to book our next trip with Jonathan and his staff. They are true professionals. For me, Jonathan and his staff were not only helpful; they were indispensable. Don’t think about visiting Ireland and Scotland without contacting these fine folks.

My son was studying in Cork for a semester so we(my husband and two other adult children) went to visit over Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting several areas of Ireland (our first trip). The guide and hotels were fabulous! Jonathan made sure we had plenty of activity and unique experiences.

My husband and I had the perfect honeymoon in London thanks to Jonathan and Nicole! Their attention to detail, well thought out itinerary, and excitement for our trip made it one we will never forget! Thank you so much for making our first major trip as a married couple so spectacular!

Jonathan put together a fantastic trip with just more than two months notice. After a half hour of preliminary conversation, he was able to garner a quick read of our travel style (quick moving, long days), including the types of hotels and rooms we like, and preferences for guides and touring. We were thrilled with the results: loved the hotels (we were upgraded in all properties) and our driver guide (highly recommend for Ireland) was a perfect fit. I should also mention that Nicole, Jonathan’s assistant, is incredibly responsive and a pleasure to work with.

We expected rain on our trip but did not anticipate a hurricane! While we only lost one day of touring (spent a relaxing day in the spa), we were not aware that our next hotel had closed due to lack of power. Lucky for us, Jonathan and Nicole were right on it and had us booked with an upgrade at another 5 star property.

I would definitely use Jonathan for a future trip and highly recommend him. Be prepared to provide an honest view of how you like to travel and he will tailor an experience to meet your needs.

Our trip to Scotland was absolutely wonderful! It was a VERY last minute trip to look at the University of St Andrews for my son who is currently a Senior in high school. Honestly, we had the most magical time on our short trip. Johnathan got on the phone with me immediately, he was so enthusiastic and intuitive. Everything from soup to nuts was seamless and top notch. We took an amazing walking tour all through Edinburgh and we loved every second. Our hotels were beautiful and exactly what I was looking for. Johnathan and his staff were phenomenal and my son loved the University so much I have a feeling there is a good chance he will be attending next year. We will definitely use Johnathan for every trip back!!! Thank you so much, Wendy for providing this amazing service. I just recently found out about it and it’s what I’ve been looking for!

Jonathan and Nicole did a great job of planning our trip to Scotland. They talked with us and asked questions to find out what our interests were and then came up with a fantastic itinerary for us. The hotels and restaurants they recommended were amazing. We would certainly use them for another trip.

Jonathan and Nicole were an absolute pleasure to work with, and the trip to Ireland was absolutely wonderful. All of the hotels and the staff were superb, especially at Dromoland Castle. The locations of all hotels couldn’t have been better for what we wanted. I can’t say enough about the quality of service provided throughout. Thank you, Jonathan and Nicole!

​We loved all of the hotels they chose and really enjoyed our private driver/guides. It was a great itinerary and we had a fabulous time.

We were traveling to Dublin to drop off our son at Trinity University. Jonathan and his Celebrated team helped us with a city visit to Dublin and then we were off to Scotland to celebrate our “empty nest”. They spent a lot of time learning about our hobbies, our interests and our budget for this trip. They came back with a comprehensive itinerary for us that included multiple cities and a couple rounds of golf. Perhaps the single best piece of advice they gave us was: Hire a driver. HIGHLY recommend you spend at least a small portion of your trip with a driver – they know the country inside/out and can make last minute detours/changes seamless and stress free. The special perks at the hotels that Celebrated customers garner were also very fun and I looked forward to them all. Several months into the planning our focus for the trip changed and several items had to be eliminated from the itinerary (no golf) – these were done with grace and alternatives put in place with no issues at all. And during our trip, we cancelled an itinerary event two days before we were supposed to go (a whisky trail tour). Driver was contacted and alternatives put in place as if they had always been a part of the itinerary.

The drivers were all great. Because they know the area so well, they are able to direct you to some spots you would be hard pressed to find on your own.

All of Celebrated suggestions were fantastic. Even though this was not a golfing trip, we did get to visit top golf courses and because we were at St. Andrews on a Sunday, we were even allowed to walk the course. He’s still talking about the picture we took on Swilcan Bridge.

In short, our trip was just about perfect, and we couldn’t have done it without Jonathan’s help. In fact, we will definitely be back to Scotland and dream also of an Italian vacation. We will not hesitate to contact you when we are ready to start planning!

Everything about our trip to Ireland went just as we had hoped. Jonathan Epstein and Nicole on his team were very helpful with the planning and organizing. Learning from them that U2 was performing in Dublin the night of our arrival was such helpful information in arranging our itinerary. Our driver, Dave Matthews, was friendly, knowledgeable, and flexible. We stayed in wonderful hotels and had some great meals at restaurants that Jonathan and Nicole recommended.

We had a wonderful time, due in large measure to the local knowledge and resources of our travel planner! The itinerary was nearly flawless, and while we flipped several touring days due to weather, we stayed very true to the plan. Generally, we felt that there was a good balance between structured time with our guides and self-touring.

We booked a trip to Ireland pretty much at the last minute for a diverse group in terms of age, interests. Jonathan totally got us — and was even cheerful about some last-minute feedback from the group that entailed re-booking part of the trip. A grand experience.

Johnathan & Nicole on his team put together a great itinerary for our trip to the UK and Scotland. In addition to finding outstanding properties for us to stay in, their recommendations on what to see and where to go along the way were instrumental in our overall experience. We also really appreciated that our complete itinerary, including destination details, sights to see and map links were on an app so we didn’t have to bring any paperwork with us.

We traveled to England in June 2017 for several days prior to taking a cruise. We had a very specific agenda for our stay that included some obscure spots. Jonathan and Nicole easily accommodated our itinerary and also rounded it out with suggestions of their own. These included stays in two beautiful and atmospheric hotels somewhat off the beaten path. The driver/guides they arranged for were excellent at their jobs and were also terrific company. Everything was well-planned and well-done, and everyone was easy to work with.

Found his knowledge of the area extensive and able to form a fabulous memorable trip. Hotel selections tour guides and restaurant suggestions were spot on.

Jonathan and his team were very helpful in both the planning and actual trip. We would recommend them for someone wanting to see Wales and England. We would suggest anyone working with them be actively involved with questions, preferences, dislikes, etc. They are very responsive.

June/July 2017
Northern Wales, the Cotswolds, Bath, and London

Jonathan Epstein and Nicole were a pleasure to work with and we appreciated very much their enthusiasm, flexibility, and availability, especially when we had to make last-minute adjustments to our itinerary due to business conflicts. We fell in love with Ireland! We had a fabulous family trip with our adult children and we are happy to share our thoughts with you.

We loved Gregan and Ashford Castle. In fact, our room at Ashford Castle may have been the nicest room we’ve ever stayed in with a stunning lake view. While our rooms at the Westbury in Dublin were a little disappointing, the team at the hotel couldn’t have been nicer in trying to accommodate us. Patrick was a superb driver and a pleasure to be with. However, our expectation was that he would do more guiding and that simply wasn’t the case. In contrast, Pat Liddy in Dublin and David Byrne who drove us to Glendalough were superb. Pat may have been the best guide we’ve ever had. Another highlight was our hike with Shane in the Burren. He was a character extraordinaire and while at first, we weren’t sure what to make of him by the end of the day we were in awe of his wit and “charm” of the Irish sort. Other highlights were hiking the Cliffs of Moher, Diamond Hill, Croagh Patrick, playing golf with the boys and the falconry at Ashford Castle.

All in all, it was a fabulous and memorable trip.

Jonathan Epstein planned our trip to Ireland for June 2017. He and Nicole listen to what we were interested in for our trip and asked questions to pinpoint our interests and what were important must haves for us. They provided a preliminary itinerary and asked that we review it and provided them with feedback. The itinerary was everything we wanted and so much of what we did not realize we may want. What truly made the trip was the driver/ guides that Jonathan arranged for us. They were amazing and made our trip to Ireland more special under their care and guidance. They took us off the beaten path, introduced us to local craftsman and out of the way eateries. Jonathan’s choice of drivers made our trip very special and memorable.

The advice I would give to anyone using a travel planner is the more information you give them about what your expectations and desires are the better your customized trip of a lifetime. we loved our trip of a lifetime to Ireland.
Thank you, Jonathan and Nicole.

Will definitely use Wendy’s WOW list to plan our next trip of a lifetime. Thank you for providing us with this group of special people who are the best at planning extraordinary travel adventures.

Jonathan was Fantastic!! He and Nicole listened carefully to what we were interested in, asked great questions to clarify the of kind of trip that would best suit us and came up with a wonderful itinerary. They suggested and arranged for all our hotel reservations ( we loved the hotels he recommended), got us excellent drivers and guides, suggested interesting sites, got the entrance tickets when appropriate and recommended and made dinner reservations for us at some wonderful restaurants. I was impressed with how available and responsive they were to questions big and small, and was particularly impressed with how well they know Ireland. We had a Fabulous time thanks to their excellent advice and planning!!

Planning was excellent. suggested places to stay and interesting sights to see along our travel path. Pre-arranged tickets and scheduled adventures for us. Documents sent were clear and concise and had all of the information sent in advance in case any questions had were taken care of well in advance. The trip went very smoothly and we had a great time on our travels. The travel team took care of what we asked and suggested several items that we could do while in that area of travel. All of the places to stay were very well represented and booked in advance for us. will definitely recommend them to others traveling.

Jonathon and Nicole helped us to plan a very personalized trip that met our needs. All questions for trip planning, what to expect, bookings and general questions were answered promptly – including a few quick questions during our trip. Our itinerary was complete, yet allowed for flexibility – necessary with weather and our own changes in energy levels! We appreciated their advice on planning the itinerary so the pace of our trip was not hectic, but well-matched to our travel needs. Our guides and accommodations were great – it was fun to be surprised and amazed with each new stop and person we met! Decreased stress and increased pleasure by working with this team – win, win!!

I think that Jonathan did a great job with what we had him help with. All of the hotels he recommended were fabulous and beautiful with terrific service. I really wanted to experience the manor house type of hotel and we did. I am not sure that I would do that again but that is part of my learning experience in planning travel. The restaurants he recommended and made reservations at were all great but a couple of them were “fancier” than we prefer. Still wonderful food but we don’t really care for the “Michelin star” experience . . . which we didn’t know but now do.

Jonathan and Nicole on his team, were very responsive during the planning process. Always back with an answer the same day or at the latest the next day if I had a question at the end of the day. The perks that they provide were appreciated . . . special wine complimentary one place, cream tea another, picnic lunch another and airport transfer another. All of the hotels were aware we had booked with Jonathan and I’m sure that was reflected in the service we received.

First and foremost, Jonathan knew, much better than I did, what kind of Ireland trip would make us happy. I had several ideas of where we wanted to stay, and, happily, Jonathan patiently but emphatically convinced me that I was picking the wrong places. For example, I told him I wanted to stay in Kilkenny; and he said that we should stop there for lunch on our way back to Dublin. Boy — was he right. He picked spectacular, but low-key (which is what I wanted) hotels, with extremely friendly service, great locations, and lovely rooms and facilities.

I will recommend him to our friends, and I will ask him to plan trips for us when we go to any of the countries he works with. We could not have been happier!

Everything we discussed with our travel specialist ahead of time was followed and put into a wonderful itinerary for us. The hotels were excellent and the cities chosen for us to visit really gave us an idea of England and Scotland.

Traveled to London, Bath, York and Edinburgh in May, 2017.

Just returned from another vacation planned by Jonathan Epstein and Nicole Baratelle on his team. As on our other trip to England and Scottland, it was perfectly planned and organized, as expected. We had never been to Ireland before and we entrusted Jonathan to make recommendations on places to stay, restaurants to eat at, and attractions and cities to visit. Every one of their suggestions turned out to be outstanding. Every one! Their knowledge and expertise led us to some outstanding private experiences at Guinness and Kilbeggan distillery. We were also fortunate to have been recommended to try our hand at falconry at Ashford Castle which was one of the most compelling things that we have ever done.

As usual, the planning process with Jonathan and his team is thorough. They consult with you before the trip and ultimately plan a dedicated and customized itinerary which specifically fit our needs in every way. There is frequent interaction as needed and they always promptly respond to any communication.

Overall, this is a high-end luxury travel company, with highly intelligent, responsive and accommodating people who will always work hard to put together a customized trip of a lifetime.

We have never been disappointed by their efforts. We would and will use them again and would recommend them with our highest possible regards.

Thank you so much for helping us experience many of the joys of Ireland on our first trip to the country. It was simply outstanding. We absolutely love Galway. While our time in Dublin was short, we got to experience many of the treasures of the city. We loved the way Jonathan put the schedule together, to allow the diving portion with David, followed by the walking tour with Brandon. Both guides were outstanding, and our lunch was historic and terrific.

Then we were off to Gregans Castle. What a jewel. Everything about our time in this area was just the best and the hotel is on our all-time favorites list. Outstanding for us at the Castle was the evening we had dinner in the Pub at the hotel. We sat at a table in front of the fireplace and had one of the most romantic dinners ever. What a memorable experience. Our guide, Brendan, was terrific. He knew the area so well that he was suggesting things for us to do while we were in motion. He gave us many options and while we wanted to do them all, we had to give up something. Brendan, now our lifelong friend, was a person with whom it was easy to spend time. He was kind and personable, entertaining and relaxed, and it was a joy to spend time with him. When we come back to Ireland we will definitely ask for him to be with us. One of the other treats we had was a walking tour with Shane, in the Burren. His knowledge of the area was terrific. He is a local farmer but he knew the area so well and gave us a lot of knowledge about the flora and fauna of the area. Everything we did was enjoyable, educational and exciting. And I got a renewed appreciation for Irish whiskey. We realize that our time in Ireland was limited so we are encouraged to come back to Ireland soon.

To sum up, if I was replanning this trip, I would not change anything relative to our guides and accommodations. Everything was perfect. We do look forward to returning to Ireland and will reach out to Jonathan for assistance.

Whatever your expectations are for a glorious trip to Ireland, Jonathan Epstein and Nicole exceed anything you can imagine. Laying the groundwork with numerous conversations about our desires and intentions for this holiday, Jonathan nailed it. Our hotel, dining choices, countryside driving tour, walking tours and itinerary could not have been more perfect. Of all our travels, our Ireland/Dublin vacation is our favorite! We are ready to return with our grown children and contact you again!

Jonathan Epstein and his team exceeded anything we expected. I would highly recommend them to anyone visiting Ireland. A friend who used Wendy Perrin’s WOW List for her travels overseas recommended. I, as well, would highly recommend your experienced travel agencies as well. I have spoken to numerous friends who used our local travel agencies for out of the country travel and all experienced many disappointing issues. Not so with Jonathan Epstein and his team ~ quite the opposite, I am pleased to say.

Jonathan and his team were very professional and responsive to my desires for the trip. I was completely satisfied and could not have planned the trip without him.

Jonathan Epstein and his team at Celebrated Experiences are tops in the field. It is almost hard to believe the company is a big as it is because they make you feel you are their only client. They quickly come up to speed and learn exactly who you are and what you want and work to customize your trip around these preferences. There seems to be no part of the United Kingdom that they are not experts in. They keep very current and are very on their game. Jonathan is sharp and witty and smart – and is someone I will work with again. I wished to travel to a remote and obscure forest in Western England in October and Jonathan planned everything around just that, combining luxurious restaurants and inns with woodsy hikes and chauffeured tours. Marvelous and memorable.

Jonathan and his team were wonderful.
•Starting with our flight delay and change from Shannon to Dublin airport, they helped us to recover.
•They were spot on to have us start driving in remote areas, where traffic was minimal; our first time driving on the left, worked out fine.
•The itinerary they prepared for us met our desires, mainly in the beautiful, remote West, particularly since it was short notice in a shoulder season.
* Pamela’s been recommending Jonathan and Wendy Perrin to her friends since our return. Many haven’t used a travel planner before.
* We learned how essential having a “free day” was to enjoying the two weeks of touring.
• We never felt that we were pushed along on a tour.
• Outstanding driver/guide
• High touch planning at the last minute and over an holiday weekend—outstanding.

The travel specialist had everything organized to the theatre tickets in advance- so we were able to enjoy our trip to its fullest..

Jonathan Epstein and his team offered us extraordinary service from start to finish on our anniversary trip to England in September that will be remembered as one of our best travel and life experiences. After a thorough interview process, Jonathan crafted an itinerary for a walking trip that matched our every intention in the best of ways. Because every detail was attended to in advance, we were able to relax into the adventure and be delighted moment-to-moment as it unfolded. Towards the end of the trip, we received a call from Jonathan, informing us that one of the hotels had double-booked us with a wedding party. Jonathan stated that when mistakes like this are made, it always works out in our favor as he asks the hotels to make up for it. He booked us into an upgraded garden suite in a similar manor house for the same price with two complimentary dinners and champagne thrown in. We are pleased that Wendy Perrin referred us to Jonathan Epstein and his team who supported us in experiencing a trip of a lifetime! Lisa and Craig MacDonnell

Jonathan Epstein helped us plan our trip to Ireland so well that we did not need any help from him when we arrived. . Every detail was covered and we were happy with every hotel, restaurant, pub and sight seeing venture that we did.

We were in Ireland last month for nearly 3 weeks. We landed in Shannon and traveled the coastline of the country and returned home out of Shannon. Our highlights were Galway and Killarney.

Jonathan and his assistant, Nicole Barratelle, were a pleasure to work with and i would highly recommend them to anyone. We will use them again.

This is the second trip that Jonathan Epstein of Celebrated Experiences helped us plan, our first being Ireland in May 2016.  Once again, all of Jonathan’s itinerary and hotel recommendations were spot on.  As with the Ireland trip, we felt very warmly welcomed and well taken care of at the hotels, enjoyed several room upgrades, and a special “Celebrated Perk” at each place.  In addition to the excitement of discovering a new destination, we have found that these special touches have done much to enhance our travel experience.  As to the planning process, Jonathan is very generous with his time, thorough and prompt.   We look forward to his assistance in planning a trip to England and Wales in the future.

Consultant was very timely in responding and put together a trip for us very quickly with our short time constraints. It was a good trip, with very good guides and accommodations. There was no contact with the consultant during our trip, and they suggested that we use our guide as a first resort if there was a problem. A good consultant, but not a “bespoke” consultant. Knowledgeable and professional, but not the hand holding type.

Nicole and Jonathan were great. The trip was well-designed and we got to do all the things we wanted to do. Everything was great.  The icing on the cake was our driver Martin. He could not have been better.

Having not travelled the area before Jonathan was not only a time saver, but did an excellent job of selecting properties and activities that would work for a very diverse group of people. It would have been impossible to replicate that without his on the ground knowledge of the market.

Jonathan and his colleague Nicolle really helped us the best of a 1-week trip in August 2016 to Sussex and London. Their advice about itinerary and hotels was excellent, and they arranged for extra services as needed. When my wife was hospitalized a month before the trip and it was not clear we would ultimately go, they got one of the hotels to push back their cancellation deadline. And when her slow recovery led us to contemplate several itinerary changes, Jonathan’s advice, reflecting his knowledge of the area, kept us from making changes that would have made the trip much less enjoyable.

We only had two and half days in Edinburgh but Jonathan and his team made sure they were amazing, from the hotel to the sightseeing. Their restaurant recommendations in particular were fantastic, and every night we had incredible dinners.

Celebrated Experiences put our trip together on very short notice. They picked wonderful hotels and guides and listened to our preferences and got all the choices just right. They introduced us to things we would not have done otherwise. They were conscious of our budget and made appropriate recommendations. Their response time in putting the trip together was excellent. It was a great trip.

We enjoyed the trip of a lifetime as we traveled from London, England to Gleneagles, Scotland. Jonathan and Nicole at Celebrated Experiences were amazing to work with. They thought of every detail, were incredibly professional, and helped us enjoy a fabulous worry-free vacation. I highly recommend them to anyone and would use them again for our future travel needs.

Jonathan and his associate, Nicole, planned a truly perfect trip for my husbands birthday trip. They listened intently to our likes and interests and everything they booked lined up perfectly. Every hotel was gorgeous and beyond expectation. The staff at all were wonderful and each place unique. They gave us excellent suggestions on things to see and where to eat. Every guide and driver they booked was warm, friendly and knowledgeable. I really don’t have one negative thing to say. It was a truly phenomenal experience and we owe it all to Jonathan and Nicole. I would recommend them in heartbeat.

I had hesitated to contact a Trusted Travel Expert for our trip to Scotland, because as an add-on to a business trip, most of our travel arrangements were already predetermined. And we were leaving in about 3 weeks!! But Jonathan Epstein of Celebrated Experiences was gracious with his time and expertise. He helped me fill in the gaps of our itinerary, and it made a huge difference in our enjoyment of Edinburgh. He secured a wonderful room at the George Hotel, with a marvelous view and a king bed, which was not available on their website. He was able to get great dinner reservations for us — with excellent tables, I might add. He helped arrange a birthday celebration at one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh, and it was a great finish to a wonderful time in Scotland. He and his staff were responsive, cheerful and extremely helpful. I would highly recommend his services — if he did a job this great with hardly any advance warning, I can only imagine what a fantastic trip he could plan with a decent amount of lead time.

Jonathan and Nicole at Celebrated helped me plan a great last minute vacation for my family across the Scottish lowlands and highlands. The arranged a great set of hotels, provided knowledgeable and entertaining guides and arranged just the right amount of activates to keep us busy without overwhelming the vacation. I highly recommend their services and will certainly use them again when my travels take me to the British Isles.

Jonathan Epstein with Celebrated Experiences was recommended by Wendy Perrin for our family trip to Scotland. Usually I plan trips myself for two of us…but this was going to be six and I wanted a private guide, etc. We spent two wonderful weeks in June, 2016 covering a lot of Scotland. Jonathan was terrific and very responsive and thorough. Every place they booked us into was amazing. Plus our guide was so responsive and adaptable. I can’t recommend Jonathan and Celebrated Experiences enough. The only advice I have is to spend the time upfront with them on the phone as I did to be clear about your desires and budget.

My husband and I just returned from a truly once-in-a-lifetime, 8 day trip to Scotland planned by Jonathan Epstein and his fantastic team. Jonathan came highly recommended by my sister who had used Celebrated Experiences to plan her family’s vacation to England. Jonathan spent a considerable amount of time speaking with me about our interests, expectations, budget, etc. and within a couple of days provided a detailed proposed itinerary. Knowing that we were interested in golf, history, castles, unique food experiences, and whiskey tasting, Jonathan and his team provided detailed information about the best golf courses, must see historical and scenic sites, fabulous restaurants, and distilleries with the best tours/tastings. The hotels (St. Andrews Old Course Hotel, Culloden House, Inverlochy Castle and Gleneagles) were beyond amazing and we received upgrades and welcoming gifts at each hotel.

Jonathan strongly recommended hiring a driver for a good bit of our trip and we are so glad we did. Our driver, Davie, was simply amazing and his knowledge of all things Scotland was endless. If you want to see Scotland by car and are interested in its history, traditions, landscapes, wildlife and so on, I highly recommend following Jonathan’s advice about getting a driver. It was probably the best decision we made when planning our trip.

Jonathan and Nicole always responded quickly to our many questions. In addition to taking care of the hotel, airport transfer and driver arrangements, they booked my husband’s tee times, my spa treatment, a top notch distillery tour/tasting at Balvenie in the Speyside region, and made our dinner reservations. Nicole’s restaurant recommendations were spot on! If you make it to Scotland, do not miss dining at The Peat Inn and Forgan’s in St. Andrews, Culloden House in Inverness, Inverlochy Castle, and Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles.

In sum, our trip to Scotland was perfection. We even had gorgeous weather! I don’t know if Jonathan and his team can take credit for that but they certainly deserve credit for our 5 star, effortless, and truly memorable Scottish experience. We can’t wait to use Celebrated Experiences again!

A lot of thought was given because we were travelling with a 6 year old. We loved the hotels, and the guides and drivers were great. Jonathan’s recommendations were very helpful. The only hiccup was the issue of the Manor House Hotel not allowing my grandson to participate in the restaurant at dinner, which we learned about just before leaving on the trip. However, Jonathan and his team intervened and made it work. If not, they were willing to find another site.

Everything on our trip went very smoothly.

The hotels were all terrific. The staff were friendly and went out of their way to help us. Particular thanks to Gidleigh Park Hotel for cleaning our hiking boots so well that we got through customs with no trouble (we had hiked in a pasture with sheep so had they to be screened so to make sure we didn’t bring anything harmful back with us). I think our favorite was Dormy House—warm and quirky. Loved all the sitting rooms with fires—perfect for cream tea or after dinner drinks. Beautiful view of the water at Hotel Tresanton but St. Mawes is a little bit too small and too out of the way. It would have taken at least an hour each way to get to restaurants outside of St. Mawes due to the narrow roads and waterways. So we ended up restricting ourselves to dinner in St. Mawes which has relatively few restaurants. Also, we went hiking on the northern coast of Cornwall which had views of the rocky coastline I had always associated with Cornwall. Might have been easier/better to have stayed there both for hiking and eating.

The list of things to see was very helpful and we visited many of the places that were suggested. Many of the sites were part of the National Trust. The first was Hidcote Gardens which remains the most spectacular garden we saw the whole trip. The woman there convinced us to become members of the National Trust because you get free entry into their sites. For us, it was definitely worth the 105 pounds. We went to Hidcote, Chedworth Roman villa, Stonehenge, Trelissick Gardens and several car parks near hiking areas that were National Trust sites that charged for parking. I’m probably forgetting some others. But we calculated that we probably came out 25-50 pounds ahead. So it is something worth suggesting to others who might take a similar kind of trip.

The car drop-off and train to London went fine and the transfer to Heathrow was very smooth. Overall an excellent experience.

May 21 – June 5, 2016. We just returned from a 2 week, outstanding first trip to Ireland, traveling from Dublin to Belfast and all along the Wild Atlantic Way, and Jonathan totally delivered on all counts. His extremely personalized touring strategies and accommodation recommendations were spot on. From complimentary room upgrades and special culinary and experiential perks, to the genuinely warm and solicitous welcome and treatment we received, we truly felt like VIPs!

Jonathan is actually the 8th Wendy Perrin Trusted Travel Expert we have used, and while they have all been very good, he has been unmatched in delivering tangible benefits while on the trip AND – along with his top-notch assistant Nicole – in his speedy promptness in replying to all of our comments and questions, before, during and after the trip.

One of Jonathan’s recommendations, based on our specific issues and goals, was to hire a driver/guide. We were rather hesitant to do so but decided to take a leap of faith. Our expert driver/guide enhanced our trip exponentially. In addition to eliminating the stress and fatigue of driving, and being able to focus on the magnificent scenery and photo ops instead of the road, he was our personal and direct link into the heart and soul of the Irish people and culture. After 12 greatly productive and fun days together, we felt we were saying goodbye to a friend. (Tip: if you are susceptible to motion sickness while being a passenger in a vehicle, try using snugly and properly placed “Sea Bands” on your wrists. They worked to perfection!)  We are now looking forward with great confidence and anticipation to a trip with Jonathan to Scotland in September, and we hope to have Jonathan design a trip to England for us in the near future. The bar has been set high by this first rate agency!

My wife,son and I just got back from our best vacation ever. We spent 12 days in Scotland and Ireland in a trip completely arranged by Jonathan Epstein. Everything was perfect!!! We talked with him briefly in February as to cities we wanted to visit and he came back two days later with a complete suggested itinerary including hotels,where to visit in each city,tee times for three days of golf in St Andrews, suggested restaurants,and suggested tours ie guided walking tour in Edinburgh. We said go and everything was booked. All arrangements he and his team made were executed flawlessly ie if car service was due to pick us up at 9AM ,they were there at 8;45 AM. The four hotels he recommended were all fantastic. We would recommend him highly and if we ever decide to return,we will use him again. On a scale of 1-10(10 being the best),I would rate them an 11. Thanks Jonathan for making our trip so special;something the three of us will never forget.

We had a wonderful trip to Ireland. We were all extremely grateful for the expertise that made the trip for the 5 of us (that included ages 26 to 62), so enjoyable and successful. We would without hesitation recommend Jonathan Epstein and his team. Thank you for making this all possible for us.

We loved Scotland and  Jonathan Epstein was very responsive to us and our style of travel. He was eager to visit after the trip to find out about any problems. He did a great job!

We recently returned from a 12 day trip including London, parts of Wales, the Cotswolds and Bath. We appreciated Jonathon Epstein’s attention to our interests in planning our itinerary. Both he and Nicole were attentive to our needs and questions and well organized about our reservations. Our accommodations were first-rate and the logistics were seamless. Everything ran well – theater tickets delivered as promised and drivers and guides were on time, informative and interesting people. We enjoyed touring Oxford and Wales with our guide, Michael, but it got even better when we visited his cherished Cotswolds. In London, we did a literary tour of the Bloomsbury area – something we never would have found on our own. Jonathon’s recommended hotel, The Milestone, in London has the most wonderful staff; so friendly and helpful. Loved our suite upgrade at Llangoed Hall – an incredible view. We took advantage of our Celebrated Perk for a wine tasting with the sommelier at Lower Slaughter, which was much more than we expected, and a wonderful experience. We’re so glad we followed Jonathon’s recommendation to visit Bath – we had an enjoyable and interesting day there. We’ll definitely use Jonathan and his team at Celebrated Experiences again,

Thanks for recommending Jonathan Epstein . Although my husband and I have traveled for years and love to discover places for ourselves, it was a total pleasure to have Jonathan wisely advise us as to our itinerary in Ireland, making it so easy to find the most comfortable and central home bases from which to make our daily explorations around Killarney, Cork and Dublin. Nicole on Jonathan’s team rearranged hotel reservations when we asked, just days before we left, with good cheer and total efficiency and gave us a list of interesting sites, restaurants and shops. We were well taken care of.

Jonathan Epstein along with Nicole and his team at Celebrated Experiences were able to negotiate mid-trip with our Lake District hotel to reduce our stay to one night so we could go back to a rescheduled Manchester United game (initial game cancelled from a bomb scare – good grief!). Quite a feat, since the hotel is a 2-night minimum accommodation!

We very much enjoyed the places we stayed – and they were right, 3 nights in each place would have been way better. Always listen to Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts! :)

We had a last-minute opportunity to go to Scotland in late May/early June. Normally, Scotland is one of those places you have to book far in advance due to the scarcity of hotel rooms, especially in the high season, and particularly when you have mobility issues as I have (no stairs!). We contacted Jonathan Epstein, who pulled together a gorgeous itinerary with several days in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. We rented a car and had the ultimate road trip, with golf games on the Old Course at St. Andrews, another at the Queen’s course at Gleneagles. We also drove through the Highlands to the West Coast, saw Loch Lomond, and stayed in the most stunning hotels throughout. We even ate at Andrew Fairlie’s restaurant where it’s impossible to get a reservation, due to a a last-minute cancellation. We loved it all, and would do again in a heartbeat. Jonathan and his team were constantly in touch, even during the trip, and I feel guilty for not posting this review earlier. We love them! Thanks, Jonathan

Great trip with a lot of great help and ideas from Jonathan. His restaurant suggestions were top notch; the hotels greeted us and treated us like royalty. He was very, very helpful.

The recommendations Jonathan and his staff provided for our trip to England and Wales was right on, and we had a fabulous time (https://storify.com/aniltj/summer-in-the-uk)

I’ve often found that the true measure of a service provider is when something goes awry. We had such a thing happen for us during the trip and Jonathan and his staff were very much front and center in helping us resolve it.

Highly recommended and would absolutely utilize the service in the future.

Great enthusiasm and easy team to work with. Picked out some great hotels and places to see. Top-notch experience.

Our family had a great time on our recent trip to London with the help of Jonathan Epstein. He picked the perfect hotel and had great suggestions about activities and dining. We would definitely work with him again.

If you are looking for help in planning your trip to England, Scotland and Ireland, stop what you are doing and contact Jonathan Epstein immediately! Jonathan and his entire team at Celebrated Experiences are THE experts. My husband and I just returned from a glorious 10 day trip to the English countryside – Wales, The Cotswolds, and The Lake District. Our hotels were out of this world — literally — we felt like we were on an episode of Downton Abbey. The planning, start to finish, was so easy and so fun. Jonathan is lovely — so knowledgeable and actually LISTENS to what you are saying — amazing! He even went out of his way to make sure that each hotel knew about my dietary restrictions as well as my husband’s birthday. We have already started planning our next trip and wouldn’t consider asking anyone else to help us other than Jonathan and his team at Celebrated. Best trip planners we have EVER used. Also? We got to stay at Cliveden. Google it. And then ask Jonathan to help you plan your stay there. :-)

I reached out to Jonathan and he planned a fantastic trip for us to Scotland, London and Wimbledon. From the outset, Jonathan assured me that all of our needs would be met. He was attentive to our needs, and was extremely communicative throughout the planning process. We just returned, and every single thing that he promised came through without any glitches or complications. Every guide he arranged for us was outstanding! Every day my wife and I would say that the next guide could not top the previous one and it seems like it got better every day. Every single prearranged private ride was on time. My tickets to Wimbledon were waiting for us without incident and we ended up having some of the best seats on Centre Court. The hotels were first-class and he arranged for us to have special amenities at every stop.

I have used over a dozen of Wendy’s special travel advisors, and I can honestly say that Jonathan is one of the most thorough travel experts that I have ever dealt with. I would use him again without hesitation and I would recommend him to any traveler who wants first-class, high-end service. He has a great team that supports his office and travelers’ needs as well. This is a first-rate company and Jonathan clearly sets the tone. I have been to Africa, the Middle East, Europe and all over the world, and I cannot remember a time when I have taken a vacation where every single detail was exactly as expected, and in most instances exceeded expectations.

I will forever be appreciative to Jonathan and Celebrated Experiences for making the memories of this trip ones we will cherish forever.

We have recently returned from a last-minute trip to Scotland. Realizing that bookings are tight at this time of year, we decided to contact Jonathan Epstein. Although he warned us that it might be difficult to arrange, he rejigged our planned itinerary in order to fit the available hotels (I needed accessibility) in June with 10 days’ notice. He was also able to book a round of golf at Gleneagles’ Queen’s course for my husband, and also told us how to go about getting a last-minute round in at St. Andrew’s, which actually worked!

My husband was thrilled. We had a great ten days on the road, bookended by a couple of days in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. We were so well taken care of by Jonathan and his team-couldn’t have done it without him.

When planning our recent trip to Ireland for my family of six, I wanted to make sure that every minute and every dollar were well-spent. The hotels and itinerary had to meet a variety of expectations and preferences, from relaxing in a pub to exploring ancient ruins. I would not have been able to create such a wonderful experience without the expertise of Jonathan Epstein at Celebrated Experiences.

We had an exceptional seven-night trip in June 2015 to some to the best locations in Ireland, including Galway, Killarney, and Dublin. Jonathan helped me plan a reasonable driving itinerary, with specific must-see stops along the way. We ended each night in a great hotel and used Jonathan’s advice to plan for the following day. Planning this trip with a travel expert reassured me that I was making the best choices for my family and ensured that we all had a memorable trip.

We were both fortunate enough to have ten days in England on our way home from India and to have found Jonathan Epstein through this site. During our first conversation, Jonathan asked a lot of questions about our travel goals and experiences. He came back with thoughtful suggestions (from dinner at Great Fosters between flights from Chicago to Delhi) to manor house hotels in Devon and the Cotswalds that were very special and perfect for what we were looking for on our reentry to the West. The materials provided by Celebrated Experiences were great in helping us prioritize sites and day trips. The rooms, service and overall interaction with hotel staffs were special. We were celebrating our anniversary and people could not have been nicer.
Johnathan and his team provided a true value added experience and we would strongly and most highly recommend them.

I travelled with my 19-year-old son and we had a wonderful time. The hotels were excellent, and the driver/guide was wonderful. I would use Jonathan again.

My husband and I spent the first week of September 2014 in Scotland—a first for us. Thanks to Celebrated Experiences, we had a fantastic time! Jonathan spoke with my husband and me several times to get a feel for what we might like to do prior to planning our itinerary. He and Patricia patiently answered dozens of questions for me prior to the trip. We spent time in Loch Lomond (Cameron House), Inverness (Culloden House), and Edinburgh (G&V). The hotels were beyond my expectations—I was sad to leave each one! Through Celebrated, we had a fabulous guide (John McElwee). He had great suggestions about what to see and where to eat, and he was genuinely fun to be around. We will definitely use the same guide—and Celebrated Experiences—for our next trip to Scotland.