PANDEMIC TRAVEL What a wonderful trip! We flew for the first time in almost 2 years and rented a beautiful home near San Jose del Cabo. The home was very private and we felt completely safe during our trip. Julie helped us all along the way, from deciding whether to rent a house or stay in a hotel, to helping with activities, to a COVID test prior to departure. Oh, and we also had our WOW Moment, which Julie planned. It was fantastic, more below.

Julie helped us decide to stay closer to San Jose Del Cabo than to the more touristy Cabo San Lucas, and that turned out to be a great decision. We were traveling with our small family of 3, including our young son, and so wanted to find a villa that was smaller, rather than a larger party-style house. Julie had great suggestions and detailed personal knowledge of the housing options. We ended up with a lovely home in La Quinceria, which was perfect for us, with a gorgeous outdoor living space and pool.

We also got super helpful advice on activities and logistics. We arranged for transportation from the airport, to have some basic groceries stocked in the house fridge, and for a rental car to be delivered to the house upon our arrival. We spent a lot of time enjoying the house but we also had a few fun activities. One highlight was Flora Farms, a beautiful organic farm and restaurant that is a must-do for foodies. Julie helped us set up a private tour, which was so fun and informative, as well as a great breakfast. Julie’s team also helped us set up a golf outing for my husband at Puerto los Cabos, which he really loved. And, we planned a driving trip to the lovely town of Todos Santos, through the desert.

We were also lucky enough to have a WOW Moment on this trip as we’ve taken several trips using great planners suggested by Wendy and team. We were picked up at our house by our guide, Oscar, who is a lovely man with a great knowledge of the local area, its geology, history, traditions, culture, and food. Oscar took us to the marina in Cabo San Lucas, where we took a private boat to a secluded cove for a private snorkel. We were so happy with the location, especially as we saw how crowded the other snorkel locations were. Oscar helped our 10-year old son learn how to snorkel and helped him spot puffer fish, angel fish, and other cool wildlife. And then Oscar made us the most amazing gourmet lunch on the boat! We had some delicious local fish, sashimi style, and a ridiculously amazing guacamole. He loves food almost as much as I do! :-). And to top it off, Oscar helped us find a local fishmonger on the way back. I bought marlin and bonito, both caught that day, and cleaned and cut to my specs, with a friendly pelican who enjoyed eating the fish scraps. We grilled the fish over the next 2 days and they were amazing! A total home run and we were so grateful for this outing from Julie and team Wendy. THANK YOU!

We had a 24/7 concierge named Hector the whole time we were there and he was amazing! Hector did a great job with questions about the house, activities, grocery stores (I recommend Selecto), restaurants (try Don Sanchez, Agave, and tacos at La Lupita Tacos and Mezcal), and the like. He was really spectacularly good and we appreciated this as a touch that a great travel planner can help provide. He even arranged for a local doctor to come to our house for a required COVID test to re-enter the US. Simply unparalleled service!

So, a fabulous trip from beginning to end. We felt so safe and were so grateful to be in a beautiful place with such lovely people. Julie, Wendy and team – sincere Thank You!! We can’t wait for our next adventure, wherever it might be.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL Julie and Amber planned a honeymoon for my daughter and her husband that was a perfect getaway after the busy wedding weekend. They arranged for all transfers and the process was seamless. The resort recognized their honeymoon with some special touches. About 1/2 during the trip, they invited my husband and I to join them! Amber was able to help us book at the same resort and also arranged for transfers. It was a wonderful chance for us to celebrate with them.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL The trip was wonderful. Our travel specialist helped alleviate all concerns regarding COVID precautions, and encouraged travel insurance, which I gladly purchased. The villa, and staff were superb, and made traveling during the pandemic seamless. We hope to go back soon, cannot say enough about Villa Penasco and Los Cabos.

Julie, Amber, and Tish were tremendously responsive and helpful from the moment we contacted them about this trip and throughout the trip itself, and we would call them again in a heartbeat.

Julie has a dizzying array of properties that she represents, making her website both amazing but a bit overwhelming. Julie listened to me about our hopes and preferences for this trip (mainly relaxation and being on the water) and guided us to a manageable and curated list of properties to consider for our week over Thanksgiving- ending with a perfect fit. That alone was worth working with her! Then there were the value added services available through her office such as having our rental car delivered to the villa instead of dealing with it upon arrival (which due to unseasonably bad weather the day of arrival would have been a frustrating experience), great advice about Thanksgiving dinner reservations – and securing them for us! We got recommendations for restaurants, groceries and activities, including surfing for my son, which were very appreciated.

The only weak link was the on-the-ground concierge service. Our concierge met us at the villa upon arrival and told us to “text or call anytime for anything, 24/7”. Very early on we realized that wasn’t really an option in that we did not have timely responses -sometimes 8+ hours to a text. Granted, these were not travel emergencies, but were questions to him for which the answer would determine other plans and we were left re-texting him and in one case, emailing Julie’s office. As a result we did not use him for anything beyond reporting an internet outage and trying to modify an excursion, which seems in contrast to the experience of others.

We would definitely use Julie Byrd again if we travelled to Cabo.

Response from Wendy:
I brought the concierge issues to Julie Byrd’s attention, of course. Julie assures me that that concierge will never be assigned again to any Wendy Perrin reader. in fact, from now on, all travelers sent by me will get taken care of by Julie’s head concierge only. As always, to be marked as a VIP traveler sent by Wendy, contact Julie via the black rectangular button above (the button that says CONTACT JULIE).

Casa Bellamar is a fabulous house on the Sea of Cortez near San Jose Del Cabo. It is ideal for a small groups. We were a three-generation family of 12 (ages 2-67) and had a very memorable visit. The ad is accurate – the Villa has abundant bedrooms with spectacular views, many bathrooms, a very nice pool with a swim up bar and a pool house, a jacuzzi, a tennis couurt and a good small gym. The staff was terrific — the chefs, butlers and maids all were first rate. Even the gardner was very helpful. The master bedroom suite is astounding — including a large walk-in closet, two full baths, a huge master bedroom and a five-seat hair and make-up salon. The electronics in the house are first class: good wifi, sonos throuought the house, and TVs everywhere (US Dish TV, with local Cincinatti stations), Be sure to check out what is already stocked in the house before ordering additional food and drink. We enjoyed a well-stocked bar and kitchen. Also consider renting a 4-wheel drive vehicle if you want to visit the spectacular reef at Cabo Pulmo. Golf at nearby Puerto Los Cabos was excellent — a nice, well-maintained layout, and a fairly difficult course. Other activities (at Cabo San Lucas) that family members enjoyed were para-sailing, swimming with dolphins, diving, whale watching (including seeing a whale jump entirely out of the ocean) and snorkiling. We hated to leave.

Readily available and rapidly responsive to questions and a few problems we had ( none related to their work). Took initiative to immediately resolve problems with reservation and car delivery. Great to work with in the planning stages with superb knowledge of area and excellent restaurant advice. The activities they arranged were top notch! I’ve never experienced the level of service at the resorts recommended and everywhere we went people were aware of our 40th anniversary and took pains to make it special for us.

In planning my 50th birthday celebration, I contacted Julie Byrd on your recommendation to help locate the perfect house in Cabo to rent for 11 ladies. Julie responded immediately after my first email with her. She listened to my criteria and sent me a list of 5 homes to look at. I instantly choose on her recommendation – Villa Tranquilidad.

After booking this Villa, I began working with Kimberly Zamora from Julie’s team. She was helpful, read each and every email I sent with questions, booked dinner reservations and when the time finally arrived for our trip .. eight of us were stuck in Nashville trying to get to Cabo. I immediately reached out to her as 2 members of the trip would be arriving right on time. She arranged separate transportation for them at the last minute and had our large bus waiting for us when we finally arrived at midnight. Kimberly even helped my group of friends plan a special catered dinner to surprise me for my birthday.

From Julie to Kimberly to our local concierge, everyone was a joy to work with and went above and beyond to make sure it all went seamlessly. I would love to work with Julie and her group again.

And now for the Villa she recommended – Villa Tranquilidad was the most outstanding house I have ever rented. There was plenty of space for everyone. The staff at the Villa run by Rosenburg and his wife were a pleasure to see each and every day. They made sure anything we needed was taken care of. They prepared delicious food and the best fresh margaritas!! If any problem arose Rosenburg immediately handled it quickly and efficiently.

My sister loved the house so much she plans to go back and stay there again. I have recommended that she get in touch with Wendy so she (who is a world traveler as well) can become part of Wendy’s clients and eventually get a Wow moment herself.

The only thing I wish that Julie’s group could do would be to give a better idea on tipping the entire villa Staff. They advised on tipping for room cleaning but for the rest of the staff they just recommended that I give what I thought was fair. I had just been to Jamaica in January and at that villa there was an exact breakdown of how to pay each of the staff members. This would be very helpful I think for future renters.

Thank you for getting my connected with Julie Byrd and her amazing team!!

Julie and her team put together a great trip in a very short period of time. The villa in San Jose was the perfect property and the penthouse in Cabo San Lucas was great for New Year’s. In addition, her suggestions on scuba and whale shark swimming were excellent and made for a memorable trip. Having a concierge in Los Cabos to call for logistics was very convenient. We added a lot of excursions on top of finding accommodations for us all done in early December. I give Julie high marks for putting this all together without any problems.

My husband and I had a wonderful time in Cabo. Our trip was carefully organized by Julie and her team. Julie listened to our needs and recommended the resorts and activities that suited our needs. The resort that we stayed at is amazing, both the view, the room, and especially the staff! Julie also recommended the best personal trainer for us during our stay, so both my husband and I had great workout sessions in the mornings! We loved the daily activities that Julie booked for us. Julie recommended and made restaurant reservations for us. We had a fabulous time in Cabo! There was never a dull moment!

Julie and her team did an excellent job of booking and managing our trip to Cabo. It was all flawless.

Julie Byrd and her team set up a lovely trip to the Los Cabos area for our extended family. Because of the age range involved – five adults and two children, 8 to 70 – it was not necessarily a given that everyone was going to be happy. But the final verdict: everyone was delighted!

Julie asked all the right questions, then listened carefully to what I told her were our wants and needs. She then steered me to the perfect villa. It was a huge hit! Additionally, she gave her suggestions for the best restaurants for our whole gang, and we were all blissfully happy. I kind of hate to admit it, but a couple of times we went off on our own and made random restaurant choices from one of the “review sites” was when we got in trouble and were less than pleased. Our mantra became: we should have listened to Julie!

Julie and her team also guided us to choose the best companies for our expeditions, and everyone agreed that the treks were extraordinary. We wanted memorable adventures, and that is exactly what we got!

A couple of times I had questions about the trip along the way, and she and her team could not have been more responsive. The same can be said for her local contacts: they responded promptly to questions and seemed to truly care that we were happy with everything.

I have set up many trips on my own, and it’s easy to do if you’re simply booking a nice hotel and relying on the concierge to steer you to great restaurants, etc. But for a trip like this, an experienced planner with insider knowledge of the area is the only way to go. I would use Julie again, in a heartbeat!

When we arrived in Cabo to check into our resort, the front desk informed us that there were no rooms available. I called Julie immediately on December 27th. She responded immediately and spoke to property management. We did not get the room that we had fully paid for in advance but Julie did negotiate a one night refund for us and organized dinner for us the first night on the property. Julie was helpful and consistently followed up afterward to make sure everything was ok. After the disastrous beginning, we had a great time. The scuba diving excursion she planned for us was excellent too.

You know that expression “the second time’s the charm?” Well, that is certainly true when booking with Julie! My son loved his Cabo trip last year that Julie arranged so much, he wanted to go back again. This second vacation was the Spring Break trip of a lifetime for my son and his friends. At Julie’s suggestion, she put them right in the middle of all the action – they stayed at a beautiful, all-inclusive resort that was safe and fun. Julie booked airport transportation, knew where to put the kids so they’d be in the “best” area, told them about the “new” hot spots, gave them a list of great restaurants and clubs, and everything else they needed to ensure a wonderful trip. Thanks, Julie, you did it again!

If you are going to Cabo, you need Julie!  I cannot say enough great things about Julie and her staff, and the quality of the business she runs.  They are responsive, intuitive, understanding and great at what they do.  They put together an amazing Senior Trip for my son and his friends. As parents, we were very concerned about our children’s transportation to and from the airport, as well as from the hotel to the clubs downtown. Julie secured transportation for the whole trip with the same driver, Cesar, for all 6 days, and the kids loved him! He not only drove them, but kept an eye on them when they were out at night and made sure everyone got home safely. Cesar was accommodating, informative, and supportive. Julie ensured our peace of mind and made the trip a great experience for the kids and the parents.

Julie Byrd helped us plan the most memorable trip for my 40th birthday in Cabo. 11 couples were treated to a vacation none of us will forget. Villa Turquesa was more beautiful and comfortable than we could have imagined. Chef Lorenzo and his son Rafael made the trip perfection. Every detail was perfect. Our transportation was always on time, our day activities were just as described and very fun. It sounds like I’m overdoing it, but I’m not. It was wonderful. I’m so grateful to Julie and her staff!

People on staff were easily accessible via email and phone. House caretaker was amazing. Transportation was also excellent. Always on time and great service. Restaurants recommended were excellent as were activities. The only thing I would have changed is a nicer boat for our boat tour but I know our first choice was already booked. Julie and her staff were as good as advertised.