Suzanne Shore & Jamie Cuthbert and their two children, Toronto

Your itinerary was the centre point of our holiday- indispensable, fun, down to earth. Your carnet de voyage was a tremendous help for a rich three-week holiday of experiences for our family. The specially tailored points of interest you suggested, surfing in Biarritz, dinner at the imperial hotel, dinner at the seaside in a rustic beach house place etc… were extremely valuable. Biarritz and Saint Jean de Luz on the coast were superb. The Basque countryside was peaceful and relaxing. We loved the buzz of San Sebastian.

Elizabeth Rickerby and Jerry Alexander traveling with a couple of close friends, Toronto

Very, very scenic and diverse from the coast to the mountains. Lovely little towns, interesting food, people friendly and helpful. Lots to see and do if you like the outdoors and walking. Being so close to Spain is a real plus, and Basque culture is unique in France. Really enjoyed the pace of life. The fact that it is not well traveled or well known in North America is part of its charm. All of your first hand knowledge was invaluable and having some guidance about where to go and what to do made each day easier to plan. Loved the villa we stayed at and the chateau itself was amazing. For me the opportunity to meet some French people (Paul, Isabelle & Pierre) and spend some time with them was the highlight and made this trip most memorable. The carnet de voyage was a treasure of information and we would have liked to be able do everything ! We would absolutely recommend your services to our friends and network.

Don & Jane Fraser and their 14 year old child, Toronto

The best part of the service was finding and booking the perfect accommodations for our family. Our place in Biarritz was amazing.

Great location, very spacious and comfortable and our host, was very welcoming and showed us great hospitality.

We also valued the overall travel arrangements including a perfect hotel in Paris for our family.

Is it possible to get a bad meal in SW France? If so we sure could not find it. Of course our day in San Sebastien was an over the

top food experience with an amazing lunch at the Michelin starred restaurant and then tapas later in the evening. But there were many other food highlights such as the superb gateau basque after a hike in the mountains and going through the caves. I would recommend Expérience Authentique Services with absolute confidence.

Pam Isaak & Greg Kiessling and their two children, Toronto (Clients in 2004, 05, 06 & 07)

We loved the Southwest of France – it appears to be less “touristy” than other regions of France and is beautiful, historically fascinating, and the people were charming, helpful and generally friendly. We will definitely promote the region to our friends as an “untouched” area to visit with many beautiful and interesting sites as well as gorgeous beaches and a great climate.

Outstanding service overall – itinerary very accurately reflected our desires and introduced us to the beauty and charm of the region. The local knowledge was invaluable. Without your help and encouragement I don’t think we would have chosen the region to visit but we are so happy that we did. You suggested great options for us to explore and new things to try (e.g. surfing, horseback riding) and really listened to what we wanted (driving trip through the Pyrénées was fabulous).

We enjoyed our first trip so much that we really wanted to take our children to this very special part of France and rent a villa. The children had a great time and were encouraged by the opportunity to use their French as the people were very friendly and warm. You also made many wonderful suggestions for child-friendly activities. We are very happy to act as references and try to recommend your services far and wide!

Kim Olynyk & Shawn Murray and their two children, Barry - Canada (Clients in 2006 & 07)

We would definitely recommend Expérience Authentique's services to our friends and network. We especially valued the organization of accomodations and the certainty that they were appropriate. The carnet de voyage was very detailed and helpful . We very much enjoyed our surfing experience as a family.

Hannah & Brian Silverman and their 8yr old daughter,Toronto

Evelyne promised an authentic experience, and that's what we got, with no effort on our part. We've always planned our Paris trips on our own, but this time we were relieved for an insider to identify and steer us to the culinary specialties (ttoro seafood stew and melt-in-your-mouth macaron cookies, among others), the pelota/jai-alai rinks, the flamenco dancing, the street festivals, the scenic beaches and walks, the serene farming villages, and the other cultural attractions most worth doing.

Evelyne placed us at a perfect guest house with a perfect caretaker host, and then she gave us an itinerary of suggested things to do based on our interests (called a carnet de voyage). There was no schedule, just great ideas from which we could pick and choose. We concentrated on enjoying ourselves and didn't worry because all choices were going to be quality experiences. What a wonderful way to let a vacation unfold. The most fun thing? Watching surfers one morning on a secluded beach in Saint Jean de Luz near our guest house...watching locals dancing at a Basque street festival in Socoa... eating a delicious fish dinner while watching the sun disappear into the Atlantic...taking a bizarre funicular train ride up La Rhune Mountain into the clouds. We can't wait to go back and choose a whole different set of experiences.

Diane Copoloff and Lorne Orleans, Toronto

The French Southwest has very picturesque towns and countryside. We enjoyed consistently positive experience interacting with locals, and found lots of interesting culture and history. Your carnet de voyage gave us excellent and useful info. Having all the information about 'things to do' in a single document was very helpful. Both B&Bs stays were beautiful with a friendly host in Biarritz and inland an opportunity to have a Château to ourselves. The venta in the mountain was a great place to eat and the restaurant experience in Baigorry was perfect!

Alison Pentland and her 16yr old son & friend, Toronto

First Evelyne really listened to me and helped address my concerns of finding the hidden treasures of France that would satisfy myself as a 47-year old single mother and anthropologist and two 16 year old teenage boys. No small feat! It turned out beautifully!
Teenagers are so hard to please, so the best value I found was actually priceless. It was seeing the satisfied look on my 16 year old son's face every time we visited a place recommended or booked for us through Expérience Authentique. The guided evening trip to San Sebastian, Spain, was unique, the Villa, the restaurant referrals, and particularly, the surfing camp in Biarritz were amazing and took us off the tourist trek and deeper into the culture of South West France.

Edie and Doug McRoberts, Toronto

Your attention to our requests as we described them in our initial meeting and to the details of our trip are very much appreciated and were of great value to us and would be to those who may not be familiar with the area. Your choices of accommodations were spectacular, and from all indications you had been there and knew the locations.

The Basque area is particularly beautiful and has a peaceful feel about it and provides a wonderful contrast to the other areas we visited. We made all the stops you suggested and a few others and loved it. Paris was again a great experience for us. The hotel downtown you chose was perfect for our needs.

All in all, we had a wonderful time and that is a direct result of your hard work and your listening skills.

Nadine & Andy Altay, Toronto

Andy and I were both very impressed by the lovely variety of experiences you organized for us in Southwest France. It was particularly fun to meet local people such as the hotel owners and the Michelin chef, who added so much to the overall experience and provided great information to us.

We found all your recommendations of restaurants and local sights and events to be very reliable and much to our liking. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom and peace of mind to have everything so well planned for us! I know we would have missed a lot if we had done the planning on our own.

You also selected a lovely area of Paris for us, with a hotel we really enjoyed. The guided walking tour was another highlight.

All in all we were delighted with all the places we visited in Southwest France and we would recommend this trip to anyone!

Timmons Family Reunion, Dublin (Ireland)

Mountains, coast and village atmosphere in one region. Warm welcome from locals and beautiful food.Generous and practical accommodation for young and old.

MacNicol-Schaly's stay in Paris, Barrie (Canada)

Overall I would say 9 out of 10. We all had a terrific time and enjoyed Paris very much. Thank you again for all your assistance. You really added to the enjoyment of the trip.