Once again, Jennifer and her team of WOW experts created an amazing adventure in the U.K. and Italy for me. Starting with a meet-and-greet at Heathrow, we bypassed the LONG passport-control lines, picked up bags and were off to Dorset. We explored and investigated the last home of T.E. Lawrence—and finally located the marker of his fatal crash site near Bovington—and paid our respects at memorials in Moreton and Waresham. Off to my old stomping grounds in Portsmouth for an amazing hands-on refresher on pre-WWII D-Day happenings and a stop to see the Mary Rose (after a 31-year restoration effort). Finally to London for the Ceremony of the Keys in the Tower at night—quite eerie if you think about what went on in the Tower—and an amazing cruise up and down the Thames (HIGHLY recommended for all). In Greenwich, we got to stand in two hemispheres at once and see the original clocks that helped ships at sea navigate.

Boarding the British Pullman, we could see how the “other half” lived in the early 20th century, the luxury (and great food!!) were still awe-inspiring. Then came another bucket-list highlight, an overnight on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Venice. A few martinis in the Bar Car and you could imagine sitting with Agatha Christie as she writes another “who-dunnit.” Again, the food, champagne and atmosphere were stunning and the craftmanship of these luxury hotels on wheels could never be matched by today’s trains. There is simply too much history embedded in the wood inlays and thick woolen carpets.

Arriving in Venice gave us time to wind down and relax—it’s another great walking city, one in which you should get lost and then discover a hidden gem. It was off to Milan for the last few days of this tour. Seeing daVinci’s “Last Supper” for the second time in 53 years took my breath away…the 20+ years of restoration have helped to improve the masterpiece (and ask about Leonardo’s secret trick for maintaining perfect perspective in the mural). Walking up to the roof of the Duomo was perfect to catch a glimpse of the fashion capital below you (as long as you are not afraid of heights). The culmination of this experience was Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor being sung in La Scala….we could have sat through the performance again, if possible.

The trip was fabulous, the attention to detail and support was flawless and the experiences eternal….I’m starting to plan my next excursion already!!

Jennifer (and her wonderful team) helped me plan our recent mother/daughter trip to London and Paris. I wanted to create an unforgettable experience for my daughter’s 16th birthday. Words cannot express how perfect this trip was… I could never have created this epic trip on my own (and don’t think I will ever try). I spoke with Jennifer before we even began the process, and she asked questions about my daughter to help tailor the trip around her preferences and interests. We traveled during spring break ahead of her June birthday, as per Jennifer’s recommendations to avoid the summer crowds. My daughter had some specific requests, which Jennifer did a fabulous job of delivering! She also suggested other activities, hotel options, made dinner reservations, arranged train transportation, private guides and drivers, and transfers. She even helped me with my request to have flowers delivered to each hotel room upon our arrival. I did not have to worry about anything but my airline reservations. She and her team allowed me the opportunity to simply enjoy 10 glorious days with my daughter…priceless.

We stayed at the Reubens on the Palace in London, which was a beautiful hotel and very well located for walking to shopping, theater, Buckingham Palace and the Underground. The hotel provided a lovely gift and note to my daughter upon our arrival for her birthday and left a variety of treats for turndown each night. The staff was friendly, and the doormen were very kind and helpful. We had a very busy itinerary which included horseback riding in Hyde Park, a private guide for a full day in London, Windsor Castle, East End, theater tickets, a visit to Harry Potter studios, and even a day train trip to Harry Styles’ hometown (specific request). I will not regret my decision to secure private guides and drivers. Russell was our guide for all of our tours in London. He was so knowledgeable, personable and did a wonderful job considering my daughter’s interests. We truly enjoyed our time together with him. I would highly recommend requesting him if you are considering a trip to London, as you will find yourself seeing, doing and learning things that you might miss if touring on your own. Having a private driver also allows you to sit back, relax, enjoy the scenery and once again experience more than you would if you are trying to navigate the Underground, maps or hailing taxis.

Our travel from London to Paris was very organized and uncomplicated. I purchased business-class tickets on the Eurostar, which allows you entrance to a wonderful waiting area that has a lovely display of food, drinks, and magazines.

Jennifer arranged a VIP Meet and Greet for us when we arrived in Paris, which was quite helpful to navigate our luggage through the train station and out to our transfer driver.

We stayed at Hotel Madame Reve in Paris, after exploring many options with Jennifer. We were very happy with our choice. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Our room had a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and a large outdoor terrace. There was a bottle of champagne and macarons waiting upon our arrival with a nice note for my daughter. They even made the king-size bed with 2 separate sets of sheets for us since they do not have twin rooms. We have visited Paris many times, so Jennifer provided excellent activities for us including a Perfume Workshop, Pastry Making Class, private Louvre tour, the Moulin Rouge and a day trip out to Chateau de Chantilly to ride horses and tour the chateau with a private guide/driver. Our guide, Tatiana, took us through the Louvre and did an exemplary job of showing us the highlights and also pointing out artistic styles, providing pertinent art history and keeping my daughter engaged. I felt as if we walked away from the Louvre with a much better experience and understanding of what we saw.

Our departure was a welcome surprise. The driver was timely, friendly, helpful and dropped us off at the airport to another VIP Meet and Greet. This gentleman took our luggage, walked us through the airport, helped complete tax refunds, took us to VIP check-in and escorted us to the boarding gate. If you have the opportunity to take advantage of this, I think you will find that you will never do without again! We loved it.

Throughout our stay, I was receiving texts with reminders and information on the following day. If we had any concerns or problems, (which we didn’t), I knew that I could reach out to someone for assistance at any time.

I would never have been able to provide such a memorable vacation without Jennifer’s help! I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Wynne Wages and family in front of Windsor Castle.

Our trip to London and Oxford planned by Jennifer Virgilio was absolutely amazing. She listened to our desires, planned a wonderful trip which checked all of the boxes for our various family members, and was incredibly patient and kind throughout the entire process. We felt very secure with Jennifer’s team and with the guides and drivers that they secured for us. This was our best family vacation by far and I would highly recommend Jennifer for anyone traveling to the U.K.

My “royalist” daughter was in literal tears when we walked up to Buckingham Palace…and her enthusiasm didn’t wane throughout the entire trip. Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London…so many places were thrilling for her (and for all of us!).

Our London guide, Mark, was fantastic. He truly let our desires lead the way. For instance, Tanner wanted to go by the Lindo Wing steps if we had time. Mark and our driver made the time…and made her day! He said that was a new request for him, but that he aimed to please. He was patient and knowledgeable and we loved our days in London with him. Trey was absolutely enthralled with the BTS tour of the Churchill War Rooms. We all were, actually.

Elizabeth in Oxford was a breath of fresh air. Such grace, knowledge and love for Oxford. She was wonderful as well. Not only do I want to be her best friend, but I want to be in her book club! If I could change anything about the trip, we would have spent an additional day in Oxford…we absolutely loved it.

David was so nice and had so much information to share. He was less flexible than the other two guides…keeping us on track!…but we had a lot of sites to see during his two days with us. Stonehenge was a true sight to behold…truly amazing. All of us were disappointed with Bath. It felt very commercialized and the Jane Austen Centre was fairly juvenile. I wish we had gone into Bath Abbey instead. My next trip will be the cathedrals, chapels and churches…we loved them all so much! Stratford-Upon-Avon was great; unfortunately Anne Hathaway’s cottage was closed so we missed going there. But we had added a stop to Holy Trinity Church and Shakespeare’s grave, so that eased the pain!

Both hotels were amazing, especially The Chesterfield Mayfair. The staff was extremely helpful, kind and gracious. The Old Bank was lovely, too. We just had less interaction with the staff. The locations of each were perfect and I’m so glad that we selected those two.

We are so appreciative of the help Jennifer provided us on our recent trip to London and Paris.

We had a fun week and were thrilled to be able to check Paris off our bucket list. Jennifer’s office provided exactly what we asked for – assistance with travel logistics between cities, interesting tours to fit in between business commitments, and a plan to see all the key sites of Paris in a short amount of time!

We both appreciated the daily texts very much. As well as the quick responsiveness when we did have questions. This was reassuring and helped to keep our logistics straight!

In hindsight, I would have done a few things differently, but overall we were really pleased.

~ London ~
We had business in London as well as free time, so I asked Jennifer to fill in some of our down time so we could see parts of London in a different way than we do when traveling for business.

Windsor Castle – I selected this because I thought it would be a good way to pass that first day after an overnight flight. Our guide, Russell was great (as was Wayne, our driver) but ultimately we didn’t see the value, as we were not at our best after the travel and we lost time due to a delay disembarking from the plane.

Next time, I will simply get the hotel for an additional night so it is ready for my arrival.

East End Tour — This was a nice way to see a different part of the city. Russell is an energetic and educated guide and we enjoyed his company.

Fashion Tour — I really enjoyed this and I am not really into fashion, but I wanted to try something different as I have been to London several times. First of all, my guide, Cindy, was wonderful. She is enthusiastic and clearly keen on the subject matter. She was really well prepared and had supporting materials to share along the way – pictures and historical information that she carries in her iPad. In addition to fashion, it was a great way to learn more about the culture, architecture, and history of England, but in a non-traditional way.

It was also really nice that this was a walking tour, as it helped me navigate the neighborhood afterwards when I was meandering on my own.

~ Paris ~
We only had two full days in Paris and I had asked Jennifer to plan a trip that packed in as many of the main sites as possible, which she did accomplish.
Jennifer had recommended a greeter and a car upon arrival in Paris, which we appreciated, as the train station is super busy and it was later at night so having the greeter there was nice.

Classic Car Tour – My husband enjoyed it. We covered a lot of ground and saw all of the well-known sights! I am mixed about this one as I prefer walking tours/slower paced.

Our guide, Renejean, was very nice and we enjoyed his commentary and his company. Renejean also made some good restaurant recommendations, showed us a great local cafe and treated us to a wonderful croissant.

Eiffel Tower – This was a nice way to see the tower. Our guide was good and I enjoyed being with a group here and meeting some other tourists. We also could have easily navigated this one on our own.

Louvre – Isabelle was great. It was very helpful to have a guide here as I can imagine that on our own we would have just meandered about and may not have seen all the top exhibits or even fully realized all that we were looking at. We both really enjoyed our time and Isabelle as our guide. She also made some good suggestions for our afternoon exploration and set us off on a good path.

Airport Greeter – Such a great service! Ending a vacation without the stress of navigating departure is wonderful!

In summary, it was a great trip. I realize now that Paris is perhaps a city best enjoyed in a more relaxed manner, walking and exploring. I wish we had had at least one more day to do more meandering about.

Jennifer’s office did a fantastic job, and the tours recommended met all our needs as we discussed originally. In the future, I may approach these trips with less of my own plan initially and see what the local guides suggest as a pace and schedule. I always learn from travel and this was no exception, any activities that I would have done differently are a part of that process.

Thank you for all of your help!

Our London trip over the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday was fantastic—fulfilling the wishes of a family of four including two teens. We are very glad we went for five nights, any longer would have been too much, any shorter wouldn’t have included such a variety of experiences. We all needed a seamless getaway from work and school with enough activity to engage without the worry of language translations. We had heard the Christmas lights could be grand (they were) and that the streets wouldn’t be crowded (not true). The trip was energetic and vibrant—a great refresh.

Jennifer and her righthand planner, Zara, were pleasant to deal with, efficient, and thorough. In five short weeks, they planned a packed itinerary meeting all our specs. They suggested 3 hotels and we selected the one (The Ampersand) with a charming private nook for the four of us, which had the added benefit of being near the Tube. The staff was very attentive and the food delicious. After a day, the breakfast staff knew us and had our food ready every morning when we arrived! Dinner was good too. Given we were hesitant about dining out coming off Covid, meeting our personal needs was important and appreciated.

The trip planners added value in many ways: organizing a one-direction route for our activities taking into consideration the timing of all activities and our walking stamina. There was no backtracking and all new material to see. They also provided guides that had extraordinarily deep knowledge of the subjects we wanted to tackle each day, from London history, architecture, Savile Row and Tower of London to the new demands on the city from an environmental perspective. We are foodies and our food tour was over the top, even the vegan cheese! The planners also suggested our getting our own theatre tickets ahead of time online to save an agent fee, which we appreciated. While we were very fortunate with all our guides, one convinced a maître d’ (twice) into taking us for an early meal without a reservation, including a Friday night at a great Indian restaurant (Masala Zone).

In the end, the teens loved the London Eye (priority tickets cut so much time), Cabaret, Winter Wonderland, Tower of London, and the RIB ride. The historians in the family enjoyed St. Paul’s, changing of the guard, financial district, judicial buildings, and the many detailed stories from the guides. My husband enjoyed Savile Row, the changing architecture seen from rooftops, and the night lights. Me, I loved the personal photography shoot at night. We all loved the food tour. Other travelers can’t go wrong with any of these.

If you are booking with Jennifer, specify your interests in detail, where you want to spend your money (hotel, shows), and all the things you want to see. She listens, follows direction and has great suggestions. Make sure you bring a hard copy with you of the names and addresses of each destination in case you cannot access your phone itinerary. The RIB ride entrance was not obvious, so we floundered and barely made it.

Jennifer Virgilio was our trip planner for traveling to London and Paris with our two young children. This was the first time traveling internationally with our children because of previous COVID restrictions, and the first time using a travel planner.

Jennifer had many suggestions for family-friendly activities in both cities, as well as dining options. We used the local guides in Paris (as we were more comfortable navigating activities in London on our own), and they were all knowledgeable and wonderful. The duty managers in both cities were in touch via text (and phone, if needed) throughout the trip. Both hotels were lovely, with gracious service, and in very nice locations.

We did book greeters and car transport at the airports and train stations and they were extremely helpful, particularly with children in tow. We would highly recommend this service.

Jennifer is extremely patient, kind and knowledgeable. We’d highly recommend using Jennifer’s services and will do so in the future if we are to return to her geographic areas of speciality. It was a huge relief to not have to sort out logistics on our own.

We are just back from a 2-week stay in London over the most magical time of year! Zara helped my family of four (2 adult children) plan an amazingly festive and fun time in London! She assisted with everything from show tickets, tea and dinner reservations. Her team was always prompt in responding to any inquiry I had and was very professional from start to finish. Our “wow moment” was a dinner river cruise on the Thames to ring in the New Year with Big Ben and the London Eye as the backdrop for the most spectacular fireworks display! This is my second time using someone from Wendy’s WOW List and I can’t wait to plan another trip with her recommendations!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL We had some complicated logistics where we had to be in Rome in mid-July and in London a week later. We could do anything with the days in between so we contacted Jennifer, who has offices in both locations. Jennifer suggested we spend the week in northern Italy, 3 days in Florence and 3 in Venice, followed by 3 days in Bath once in the UK.

I would categorize our experience with Jennifer as mixed, due to a mismatch in our styles more than anything else. While I like Jennifer and we truly had a wonderful trip, I am not sure we are her ideal client. My sense is that person would be someone that prefers to be catered to and escorted every step of the way, while we thought it was overkill to have someone meet us at our train in Venice, simply to walk 100ft to a water taxi. That’s something we could have managed on our own. We like good, attentive service but that level is overkill for us.

The good stuff:
-The itinerary was great. We specifically asked for activities that were not too heavy on history and museums (to keep the teenager happy) and that is exactly what we got. We would have loved an extra day in both Florence and Venice but were limited by time.

-I liked that there was someone in communication with us daily. We would receive a daily text with the next day’s agenda. This also allowed us to easily contact Jennifer’s team when we wanted to add something in at the last minute–which they were able to do!

* The guides were fabulous! Highly recommend Veronika in Florence and Alvise in Venice:
* In Florence, Veronika took us on a city tour focusing on artisans doing their craft as they’ve been done for hundreds of years. We could never have found these shops on our own, and even if we could, we would not have known what we were looking at. Such a treat! Veronika also took us on a food tour–delicious!
* Alvise took us on a city tour of Venice as well as Murano and Burano. His love for his hometown is contagious and made the tours so much fun.

Overall, we had a positive experience using Jennifer and her staff, but I do think a different type of traveler would be better served by their services.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL I took a two week trip with my 13-year old son to the United Kingdom to visit my two college-aged girls who were living there for the summer. Jennifer planned my trip (and this is the second time I have used her). As expected, she delivered a first class, organized, spot on trip. Ekaterina, who works with Jennifer, assisted in a lot of the coordination of the trip and she was amazing, kind, organized and responsive. My trip was not an easy one to plan because it was constantly evolving (even during the trip itself), because I was trying to coordinate my trip with the schedules of my daughters, one of whom was in Scotland and the other in London. I sent so many emails changing things almost daily for a few weeks, and Ekaterina was able to quickly respond and pivot. Jennifer’s group also checked in with me daily to confirm the plan for the next day. Our trip was terrific. It was a perfect mix of history and some laid back adventures that my kids enjoyed. Two highlights were when we went behind the scenes for a private tour at the Winston Churchill War Rooms and had a private tour at the Tower of London at night and watched the centuries old changing of the keys ceremony there. The hotels were first class and our private tour guides were absolutely top-notch and incredibly knowledgeable. I will use Jennifer again on another adventure and highly recommend her!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL Thank you Jennifer Virgilio for planning an amazing trip to London. Our original trip was scheduled for April of 2020 and the pandemic delayed that trip until March of 2022. Jennifer was a pleasure to work with the entire two years it took to finally get us to London. We had a fantastic guide, Alex, who was so incredibly knowledgeable, full of energy and so much fun to be with the entire 4 days. I would highly recommend Jennifer and her team to anyone traveling to the UK or anywhere else she specializes. The trip was perfect!

PANDEMIC TRAVEL A poet once said “…through the trials and tribulations…” My travels were certainly an unforgettable experience that encompassed nearly 2 years of planning and replanning, the tireless efforts of Jennifer and her team must receive the highest commendations.

I rechecked my notes and saw that my first deposit for airfare was paid in November of 2019…but then, the “fun” started. Four reschedules later….and a tremendous effort by Jennifer, finalized my dream trip for Oct 2021. And it was everything that I had hoped for…with a little hiccup on the side.

London was amazing as ever. Jennifer was spot-on in recommending the Kensington. It had the best martinis of the entire trip (and I tasted many all over town) and was a quick walk to the Underground for exploring the city. Although I have visited several times in the past (I lived in Portsmouth on-and-off for three years), my travel expert—Hugh—turned out to be a bigger history buff than I. Special access to the Churchill War rooms, a visit to the crypts of (an almost deserted) St. Paul’s and amazing walks through Blenheim and Chartwell. Hugh knew more than just what was in history and guide books….it was an amazing educational and entertaining experience. Stephen and Antonio kept me apprised of my schedule daily and made sure every detail was confirmed. I am already planning a return to follow in the footsteps of T.E. Lawrence…Hugh, you better start reading up!!!

At the back end of the trip, Venice was starting to come alive. I, too have visited Venice before, but the city seemed to be emerging out of its pandemic isolation and tourists were coming back. So was the water!! It wouldn’t be Venice if San Marco were not flooded at least once during the week…it did not disappoint. The Baglioni Hotel Luna was perfectly situated at the corner of the Piazza San Marco, right off the Grand Canal and around the corner from Harry’s Bar (still have great Bellini’s). Alvise, my artisan tour guide, knew the ins-and-outs of the cathedral, the amazing talents on Murano and introduced me to Maestro Pastor and his wood-carving talents. But Jennifer left me just the right amount of time to wander (and get lost in) Venice on my own—it’s the best way to experience the city.

Unfortunately, the middle of vacation was filled with major upheavals—none of which was due to the actions of Jennifer and her team, but by Belmond. A day before I was to embark on the Orient Express, the entire journey was cancelled. A major disappointment. However, Jennifer, Antonio and Mattia quickly sprang into action and coordinated/expedited/confirmed transport for me from London to Bologna to Venice. It was a major logistics coup and something I could not have done without their help—it turned a nightmare scenario into a (minor) annoyance. But what would life be without such a glitch?? This only means that I will have to come back next year for the train experience—and Jennifer is already working on that. I’ll let you all know how that works out this time next year!!

My thanks to Jennifer, Antonio and Mattia for making these weeks a memorable occasion. See you all next year!!

We are truly grateful for Jennifer’s help with our recent trip to Europe with our 3 children. She provided us numerous options as far as activities, repeatedly offered to help with restaurant reservations and her team texted us each evening to remind us about the following day’s activities and schedules. We cannot say enough good about our London tour guide Augusta Harris who made our day together an absolute joy for our entire family. Her warmth, humor, knowledge and people skills make her a dream guide to spend the day with!

We just took a 9 day trip to London with our 3 children, aged 11, 10 and 7. Jennifer helped us to plan a few activities for while we were there, and they turned out great. The kids’ favorite was a bike tour through the Royal Parks of London. We saw all the great sites, had lunch at a beautiful spot and even braved the crazy English weather! Jennifer and her assistant, Paola, could not have been more helpful. We received itineraries before we arrived, and while we were there. We were in contact through text and email and they were even able to offer to help set up more activities while we were there! I would 100% recommend Jennifer to anyone looking for a full service trip specialist!

I am thrilled with the attention to detail and immediate response I got from Jennifer and her fantastic team. They completely understood the challenges of a multi generational trip to London. Our drivers, tour guide and itinerary were perfect. It really took all of the stress off of me so that I could fully enjoy our trip.

I highly recommend using them for your next trip to London.

Jennifer Virgilio and her team have arranged our trips to Rome and Paris last summer and London this summer. All three trips were meticulously planned and closely tailored to the varied interests of our traveling group where ages ranged from toddler to adult. Each day had something for each person in our group. Jennifer’s team was very responsive and accommodating and their local contacts were connected, knowledgeable and service-oriented. We stayed in new or renovated hotels in historic centers, we ate at world class restaurants and our local guides were engaging, knowledgeable and patient. We were able to visit areas generally not open to public, such as inside the Notre Dame tower, and visit popular places before they opened, such as Vatican properties. Our itinerary was packed with great experiences and everything happened as it was supposed to. We were so pleased with Jennifer that we are now considering traveling to the remaining countries that she covers because we think traveling with her is better that traveling to maybe more popular destinations but with less outstanding travel agencies.

Jennifer Virgilio made the logistical arrangements for much of our March 2017 trip to London, Bruges, Normandy and Paris. She went above and beyond just making reservations for us. She had our Eurostar tickets delivered to our hotel in London and our train tickets from Caen to Paris to our hotel in Bayeux. She made all our dinner reservations in Paris at Michelin star restaurants. She was an absolute delight to deal with, “got” us immediately and her advice was not merely useful but spot on. She knows London as well as Paris and guided us to a wonderful meal at a top Indian restaurant in London. I would use her again for any trip to Paris and highly recommend her to anyone thinking of going there. She’s terrific.