Formidable France Guides
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| Patrick Vidal toasts his tour members, and they toast him right back! |
Real Experiences From Our Tour Members
Our goal as tour organizers: to pack your trip with the best tour guides possible. Here are just a few of the many tour guide magic moments our gangs experienced on our France tours recently. For the inside scoop on all of our tours, check out our uncensored tour member feedback page.
Patrick Vidal was truly remarkable for his combination of entertaining humor and serious historical and cultural knowledge. He was charming, bright, and organized. He was better than I had expected for the tour. Patrick was outstanding in his help and organization when he experienced a medical situation and went to a hospital.
Provence & the Riviera, Sep 30, 2003
Our guide was exemplary. She was always prepared and attentive, but never overdone. She was at ease with the spectrum of personalities on the tour, and had a genuine enthusiasm for the region. She had a depth of knowledge, but had the confidence to say so when she didn't know something, and to be open to input from members of the group. The local guides were also of high quality — intelligent, personable, and relaxed.
Provence & the Riviera, Sep 2, 2003
Toni matched all the best of my previous ETBD tours. She had calm leadership like Roy in England, thorough knowledge like Brad in Rome, food skills and sensitivity like William in Paris, and special resolve to put the tour first after discovery of problems back at her home. She was the best.
— Larry in Springfield, OR
Provence & the Riviera, May 13, 2003
Our guide had Integrity. She was gifted at bringing us together as a group, fostering an atmosphere of camaraderie; unflappable. She was patient and encouraging of our efforts at speaking/understanding French language. Based on my observation of our arrivals and departures, she obviously has developed strong relationships with the hotel and restaurant people, and it paid off in the way we were treated.
Paris & the Heart of France, Sep 4, 2003
William was an excellent guide, and I really appreciated his amazing depth and breadth of knowledge about simply everything. In addition, he was always very thoughtful, mellow, and had a great sense of humor.
— Charlene in Kahului, HI
Paris & the Heart of France, Jul 17, 2003
I appreciated the knowledge Colin shared with us at each new location. Colin was wonderful with all our "personalities." He was always flexible, even knowing from the outset that Paris would probably go on strike while we were there. He was a great teacher, gave us titles/authors worth reading to expand our understanding of the history and different points of view. He was a true diplomat, with a good sense of humor! Thanks, Colin!
— Cathy in New Westminster, BC
Paris & the Heart of France, May 1, 2003
This is the first time I've rated a tour guide as outstanding in all categories, and Chris truly deserves the rating. She was extremely knowledgeable of French history and customs, she held language lessons, and was always available. She was fun but firm when necessary, caring and thoughtful. I've never had a better guide. The guide, assistant guide, and driver worked together as a very effective team.
— Barney in Portland, OR
Village France, Sep 8, 2003
ETBD spoiled us quite a lot
when for our tour guide — Serge — we got!
We found no fault with his history facts,
and his stringing and singing are class acts.
He set the standard for bouleing and biking,
and we followed him canoeing and hiking.
He taught us French; he chose fine wine,
he led us down the Vezere, better than the Rhine!
Oh, we finally met our Renaissance man,
and I'm sure we experienced every part of his plan,
For he left us no time for the tiniest nap
as he led us through France in his baseball cap.
Village France, Jun 24, 2002
For all the information on our Best of France, Provence and the Riviera, Best of Paris and the Heart of France, and Best of Village France tours, check out our tour page.