FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This service is for those who want to still plan their own trip, but are overwhelmed by the amount of information and find it hard to distill it all into a workable and enjoyable vacation. You’ll be given expert advice on how to put together your itinerary, how to choose your accommodations and dining experiences, set up day trips, navigate Paris like a pro and more. This service does not include the black book experiences or bookings for accommodations, restaurants, activities, etc.

Over the years, I have developed a cadre of guides, artisans and craftspeople who provide my clients with experience far beyond guide book recommendations. This is what we mean when we can claim we offer Black Book Experiences. I have a circle of contacts that can for example provide after hour experiences at the Louvre, private shopping and antiquing experiences or how about breakfast on the Arc de Triomphe; Champagne country moments that might include a champagne tasting in a champagne bar tree house or an opportunity to blend your own champagne; or how about a closed to the public tour of Giverny and an opportunity to meet descendants of Monet? These are the kind of experiences that can be arranged. In addition to Black Book experiences, I will organize the must-see and must-do attractions of Paris in a way that you get so much more out of it than the typical tourist.

With the Black Book Experiences Service you will receive my signature White Glove Treatment. My focus is solely on your needs and interests to make your dream trip to Paris come true. I will be always prompt with your requests and we will work together to craft a until it perfectly meets your wishes. I am available pre, during and post trip for any assistance you might need.

There is so much information on some medical symptoms I may be having, but it doesn’t mean I should diagnose myself. All kidding aside, the internet is an endless mine, that will never be curated. It can be overwhelming, confusing and stressful to use for trip planning. The information can be outdated, biased and written by people who think they are expert when in truth, they have only visited Paris once or twice. You’ll never be able to sift through all the information, nor should you. The “noise” will only impede your ability to create the Paris trip of your dreams.

We love our friends don’t we? As well-meaning as your friends are, what they loved about their trip, you may not. Everyone has a different travel style and you’ll be seeing your trip through the narrow lens of their trip. In all likelihood, they won’t be able to attend to all your travel needs.

Unless you want to join a highly specialized group that concentrates on a particular subject (which are often very pricey), a general group tour to Paris and other parts of France is unnecessary. You will most likely see Paris from a bus, with 40 other people and the whole vacation will be regimented to fit in all the sites. You’ll need a vacation from your vacation as the schedule can be from sun up to sun down.

You’ll often be driving by sites rather than really exploring them. And truly, do you really want to follow the group leader who holds an umbrella to herd their group from site to site? This is not a pretty picture and definitely NOT the way to experience Paris! While the price of a packaged tour may be attractive, many group tour companies try to upsell you on optional tours which are often pricey and could be simply done on your own. The restaurants will be run-of-the-mill with limited choices thus eliminating one of the many reasons people come to Paris—to experience the incredible food in small bistros and cafes which you simply won’t be able to do on a group tour. Your tour guides will be hit or miss, some will have thick accents that may be hard to understand and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to linger at something you may be very interested in. Some guides have just a rudimentary knowledge of history and I’ve even seen them reading from a guide book!

Paris is not a difficult city to navigate on your own—with the right guidance. Yes, you need assistance to ensure the Paris trip of your dreams, but a group tour is not necessary.

While I highly respect those travel agents who truly provide amazing service, many travel agents are generalists selling a myriad of destinations. Paris Your Way solely focuses on Paris and other destinations in France. Travel agents are often wedded to particular suppliers that they receive a kickback from and try to heavily sell those suppliers to the customer. And to top this all off, many travel agents build in their own fees into the price of a complete trip, so you may not know what the agent’s actual fee is as well. You may not even know how much time they may put into your itinerary; many use a boilerplate for each customer with a little tweak here and there. You are also paying for a trip upfront- the hotels, attractions etc., to the travel agent. So, you don’t really know how much you are paying for each component of your trip. By working with Paris Your Way, you are paying a known fee for all the arrangements and then you will decide on all the other costs, leaving room for a very reasonable budget for your dream trip to Paris!

Take a look at Our Services page. Fill out the contact form for any of the three levels of service you desire. Then we chat! From there, we begin to build the Paris trip of your dreams. It couldn’t be simpler!

It’s best if you contact me at least 4-6 months prior to departure, but earlier is good too! Planning with less than 4-6 months prior to departure is certainly possible, but the sooner you know your plans, the better we can organize together.

Easy! We accept PayPal, Visa and Mastercard.

Yes! Under the Black Book Experiences Service, I am certainly available to plan your desires outside of Paris and within France. Let’s discuss your needs! An extra fee will be charged depending on how many days you wish planned.