Client
comments about our tours and cruises
and the local guides we work with"My
daughter and I had a trip that we will remember fondly for all our lives, and
each of you played a part in that. Should I have future plans to travel to unknown
areas, and Circa Tours has a business covering those areas, rest assured that
I will return." A.S., California "We
had the very best time! We enjoyed Paris tremendously and the hotel and tour were
great. Having us picked up at the airport was a joy since it was a long ride [into
town} and we were so tired. The cruise was terrific. The tours were excellent
and the tour guides made the experiences very fulfilling. We really appreciated
your arrangements with the train to Marseille for the trip home. Thank you so
much for your wonderful help!" R. B., Connecticut "We
are back from our trip to France and Barcelona and it was great! Transportation
throughout France and Spain was perfect, from the transfers to and from the hotels,
to the trains, to the car rental.[...] The tours were fantastic! The chateaus
were amazing to see and the wine tastings were so much fun. Overall, we had a
fabulous time! Thanks so much for helping us plan our first trip to France and
Spain." J.B., New Jersey "Pierre
was so patient with us. He listened very carefully and thoughtfully to what we
asked for. He made suggestions and respected our wishes. I would definitely recommend
Circa Tours to anyone interested in going to Spain, France or Portugal. They know
what they're talking about. This trip was incredible. The hotels were beautiful
and the tour guides were really exceptional!" J. L., New York "Very
well organized and thorough. Excellent customer service both here in the United
States during the planning and reservation phase, and on the ground in France.
The whole thing was outstanding. I think our guided tours of the Louvre
and the Musee d'Orsay were the best two tours." A.B., North Carolina "We
had a splendid visit to San Sebastian and a fabulous Train Cruise. The arrangements
made by you went flawlessly. The Train Cruise accommodation was first class, the
meals were fabulous and the visits were top class. The staff and the restaurants
were great with Barbara and the Bus Driver the stars. Thanks again for setting
everything up so well and communicating so thoroughly with us." J.L. Texas "We
had a great time in Spain and Portugal thanks to you and your excellent planning.
The best part were the wonderful guides: they were excellent, friendly,
knowledgeable and fun. Hotels were good, extremely well located, clean and friendly.
Drivers were so great especially Nuno our last day in Portugal. He went out of
his way to show us things. What a nice guy!" L.N., Indiana "Our
trip was one of the most memorable trips I've had. All of the tour guides were
absolutely brilliant. They were all very well informed and were able to answer
all the different types of questions we had. We've never used [private] tour guides
before so this was definitely something new for us. We learned so much more than
we would have if we just grabbed a pamphlet and walked around on our own."
A.B., New York
"We
enjoyed considerable back and forth in perfecting this itinerary [...] Circa Tours
in the persons of Pierre and Carolyn Mainguené epitomizes the expert but
non insistent, flexible and ever good natured, efficient and focused on delivering,
friendly and collegial [...] For example, instead of declining to recommend restaurants
or off-handedly dropping some names with all kinds of caveats, they gave us a
red Michelin guide of Spain! Never a hesitation about specific requests. Every
query answered fully and immediately. A pleasure! Merci mille fois, Circa Tours!"
J.O., Maine "We
are back in Sydney now, having had a marvelous time both on the barge cruises
and living in Paris. Our only criticism is that it was too good - the food was
delicious and we appreciated the trouble the staff took to explain all the wines,
cheeses and regional dishes. We put on kilos! It's back to the carbo free diet
for a few weeks now! Thanks and a bientot." C.G., Australia "The
trip was wonderful. Our tour guide was excellent and we had a great day
touring around Madrid. [...] The Transcantabrico tour was very nice. [...]. The
food was amazing, but TOO much!! The restaurants were top notch and the food delicious,
but I gained 5 pounds!! [...] Thank you and Carolyn so much for your help with
this trip. My family and I enjoyed it immensely and we will have many fond memories
for many years!" E.S., Florida “Our
trip was fantastic! We had such a wonderful time! All went well including getting
our train tickets to Seville changed the day of the strike. Our guides
were nothing less than phenomenal! We can't thank you and your staff enough for
putting together a trip that was worthy of our 30th anniversary celebration!”
M.B., Massachusetts
“Pierre.
Thank you for your services. I really enjoyed dealing with you. You are so knowledgeable,
pleasant and professional. I certainly will recommend you to friends.” J.L.,
Colorado "It
was not a good trip - it was a GREAT trip! Truly everything was fabulous, ran
smoothly, and worked well. The guides were excellent, the itinerary perfect.
We enjoyed Spain very much and will ask you for assistance on our next journey
to southern Europe!" J.K., California “Circa
Tours did a good job. They worked very closely with us in putting the program
together. We were very
pleased with how efficient everything ran. The information
we received from Circa Tours was done up very well, which allowed us to just pull
the appropriate paperwork and be on our way. The tours were very well done. The
guides we had with the local travel providers did a very good job of explaining
the areas we toured. Pierre at Circa Tours made sure we saw a bit of everything.”
D.T., Florida
We
are all home, safe and sound - very tired, but in a hazy daze of love for France.
Thank you and Carolyn SO much for arranging such an amazing trip for all of us.
Throughout the trip, my sisters, mom and myself could be heard saying such things
as, “THANK YOU, PIERRE”…or, “thank goodness for Pierre!!!”
Martine was an excellent guide, by the way…very good, nice, thorough
and professional. We wouldn’t have been able to do HALF of what we did (and
certainly not with nearly as much carefree enjoyment) with out her. Thank you
and Carolyn for all of you expertise and care in helping us and doing all of the
hard work for us! Thank you! Thank you!!!” K.B., Iowa "Just
a quick note to let you know how much we appreciate your assistance and good advice.
Of course, the barge trip was a highlight and gave us a good start on our tour
of southern France. The staff was friendly and fun, the food was excellent, and
the tours were interesting. We especially enjoyed our fellow passengers who were
knowledgeable travelers and interesting, fun companions." M.W., Oregon "We
just wanted to let you know what a marvelous time we had on our cruise last month.
What a very well run operation it was -- from our welcome aboard to our final
farewell. We found the barge to be very nicely appointed. [...] The crew were
very accommodating throughout, and the food & drink were most impressive and
nicely presented. [...] Thank you again for making it all possible. The memories
will remain with us, and we will be passing along the word to friends." R.H.,
New Jersey "We
had a terrific time on the [Aquitaine-Armagnac cruise]. It is an impeccable boat,
immaculately maintained. The service was very good with the staff anticipating
our needs but staying professional and in the background. The food was exceptional
as well as the wines. Beds were very comfortable. It was quite luxurious and exceeded
our expections. We would definitely recommend the trip and would consider going
again in the future." J.M., Arizona "[The
tour operator] did a great job during my tour of Spain. E. R. was a great tour
guide. My reason for going was to mainly see the ancestral land of my parents'
ancestors... It was a trip of my lifetime." H.J., Texas "I
wanted to give you some feedback on our wonderful cruise last week. We all had
a great time and found the accommodations, food, crew, etc, to be fantastic! In
addition, the countryside and scenery was spectacular. Thanks again for your help
in arranging the voyage for us!" C.D., Virginia "Thanks
for all your help in planning our trip to France. We had a great time... The barge
tour was simply amazing. The food and wine served aboard was extraordinary and
the crew looked after us like mother hens. The weather cooperated for the most
part. Every day in the South of France was sunny - cool in morning and evenings
with a few warm afternoons. The only drawback was the amount of food and wine
consumed. It is definitely not a tour for people on a diet. Fortunately, I wasn't
on a diet, but I think I need one now. I would be happy to recommend the barge
tour to any of your clients." I.W., New York "Don
and I had a marvelous time on the Douro cruise we took 3 weeks ago. Thanks for
your help in getting us on this... The staff were wonderful to us and the food
was excellent." T.M., Oregon "The
trip was wonderful and I totally fell in love with Paris. Hopefully some day soon
I will move back but till then the memories will do. Thank you for all your help
and take care." K.P., Oregon "I
want to say thank you so much for all you did for us in planning and arranging
our trip. We are home safe and sound and we had an AWESOME time in Madrid!! ...We
were so blessed in our travels and the fun times we had I will never forget."
H.W., California "Nice
turned out to be a great experience. I appreciate all your help in the past few
months, and I would not hesitate to recommend this tour to someone else."
S.S., California "Bonjour
de Biarritz! Our trip has been fantastic and the group and I have been very happy
with the program here! We'll plan to do it again next year! Merci pour tout!"
C.L., Washington [top] | 