5 Ways to Improve your French Before Your Vacation

My husband and I have just returned from an amazing 16 day trip in France organized thoughtfully and beautifully by Emilie of France Just for You. As the other reviewers have stated, all interactions with Emilie have been prompt, professional and thorough. Although we have organized European travel on our own in the past, concerned that we might be limited by the language barrier (as we do not speak French), I stumbled across Emilie's website when planning for our France vacation. We couldn't have been more pleased with all aspects of her organization, planning, attention to our personal requests and responsiveness. She created an amazing trip for us. Our itinerary (the 400 page personalized book others have mentioned) was chock full of amazing suggestions for experiences tailored just for us. I especially appreciated that Emilie made many great suggestions organized for each day, but it wasn't too structured so we remained in charge of our own time. Emilie additionally organized several tours (in Normandy, Paris and a vineyard in the Loire Valley), as well as a cooking class and a day of biking. We stayed in a French chateau, a wonderful boutique hotel in Paris and the most amazing b and b's! All of the professionals with whom we interacted in France were welcoming, friendly and kind. Emilie's planning allowed us the opportunity to interact with people in a manner that I do not believe we would have experienced otherwise or if we had tried to plan this vacation on our own. The holiday was more special because of these interactions with b and b owners and the other professionals. In the end, we felt as if we left France enriched by the amazing experiences that were personalized and also having made new friends. This would not have been otherwise possible without Emilie's efforts. She takes great care and it's obvious she pays great detail to each trip. At the end of our vacation, I found myself searching to see the other locations where Emilie plans trips as we will surely use her services again and highly recommend for the most wonderful vacation.

We have recently returned from our second trip to France arranged by Emilie and Guillaume. The itinerary was created by Emilie to include our particular interests and everything ran smoothly from start to finish. We look forward to exploring another part of France in the future arranged by France Just For You.

A fantastic well-planned self-drive tour
We had the most amazing time on our 6 week self-drive tour designed by Laura, travelling through Brittany, Loire, Dordogne, Medoc, Basque France, Languedoc, Provence, the Alps, Alsace and Champagne. This was a big trip for us and it was everything I’d hoped and dreamed and even more besides. All our accommodation was delightful - all different and all with unique character and a personal touch. All our hosts and guides were fantastic and we so enjoyed our time with them. Everything was so meticulously planned, so well-organised, and presented clearly with a wealth of information and practical tips for suggested activities each day to make to most of our stay in each region. Restaurant recommendations were particularly helpful. The FJFY app is outstanding! We very much hope to travel with FJFY again. Thank you for all your hard work and attention to detail in making such a wonderful trip for us.

France Just For You planned the trip of a lifetime for my husband and me. We traveled to Normandy, St. Saint Michele, the Loire Valley and Provence. We are typically not road trip travelers, but this adventure brought us closer to the wonderful people of France than any group tour or "drop and plop" vacation could ever do. The bed and breakfasts were charming, and the time we spend talking with our interesting hosts lent so much warmth to the trip. The guides Emilie provided were knowledgeable and personable. One of the best experiences of our lives was hiking in St. Saint Michel Bay at night, in the water, with our guide Roman. Each day was outlined with many suggestions and background information to allow you to make choices based on our interests and energy level. She set up experiences, such a wine tastings or cooking classes based on our feedback to her questions before we went. The book Emilie provided and the maps couldn't have been more detailed or better organized for easy use. I will say that it's important to read EVERYTHING before you go, as there's so much great information that you need time to become familiar with the guide before you go. Also, take Emilie's advice about the gps. She suggested you download maps either on your own device or your phone before you go. We used an internet app on our phone, which worked great, until your internet service dropped. (not often) The gps in the rental car was not in English in one of the cars, but it was in the other. Also, she gives you great tips about how to use the toll road systems, and even how to learn where to stand to get the TGV spot to wait for your car. One more tip: "drop a pin" on the maps app on your phone whenever you leave your car. We "misplaced" our car twice...makes a great story but is not very fun in the moment! We had a simply wonderful trip. Even though we never met Emilie, we felt like she was a friend because of all of the quick and thorough communication. We definitely recommend France Just For You, and we hope to have the opportunity to return to see the rest of France very soon!

There are not enough superlatives, or kind words, to describe the level of service Emilie, with France Just for You, provided us from the moment we contacted her, throughout our trip, and even her thoughtful emails upon our return. We contacted Emilie with a list of all the places we wished to go, the things we hoped to do, and our budget. We exchanged several emails (Emilie’s response time was always immediate) and, within a couple of days, Emilie created an amazing itinerary for our 2 week stay in France that allowed us to do everything we hoped for and several things we would not have thought about on our own. Emilie is an incredible listener which was very evident when we received our itinerary. She had arranged for everything including a French Smartphone with Google Maps, a rental car, skip-the-line tickets, a stay in a castle, wine tastings, etc. All of our accommodations were superb with hosts that spoke fluent English, were very knowledgeable about their area, and had great suggestions from restaurants to local “must do’s” and everything in-between. When Emilie says she has visited all of the accommodations in person, she means it. Each host talked very highly of Emilie and reminisced about her visits. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Paris, we knew we were in for a great experience. Emilie’s detailed notes (all in a spiral bound, 400+ page book with our itinerary, addresses, suggestions,etc.) on where to pick up our French Smart Phone (an absolute must and one of our best friends during our visit - loaded with our tailored book and several other great programs) and then our rental car, made the start to our journey very easy - relatively important to us since neither one of us spoke more than 10 words of French. We had the privilege of meeting up with Emilie in her hometown and she was just as delightful in person as we experienced with our email exchanges over the last few months. While the trains were sporadically on strike, depending on the day, Emilie was there to follow the schedule and be ready to make an alternative plan for us if needed. When we hit a small snag turning in our rental car, Emilie was right there to figure things out and get us on our way. We’ve traveled quite a bit, yet we both thought this to be our Best Trip Ever. Thank you Emilie and France Just for You!

France Just for You has my highest recommendation. I will never forget our trip to France. Laura was amazing. Perfect itinerary. They did the little things right. Were available throughout the trip. We forgot my 4 year old's blanket at the first hotel. I contacted Laura and she had it waiting for us when we arrived at the hotel airport to leave. I could go on forever. Allow them to help you with your trip and you will not regret it.