England Family Vacations

Zicasso's trip planner worked with my family for the better part of a year planning our big family trip. She provided exceptional service and planned every detail of our trip. We have a large family, with lots of moving parts. There were many changes in the itinerary along the way and she rolled with all the many changes. She was always polite, courteous, and graceful in her many interactions with our family.

She listened carefully during our initial conversations to help us plan the best trip possible. Being a large family, with multiple generations, she really created the best possible experience, taking in everyone's wishes. Working with her was very relieving, knowing she was taking care of all the details.

Our family's trip took us from the States to Ireland, Scotland, and England. We traveled on planes, trains, ferry, and drove a car. Our trip planner arranged every detail meticulously. We stayed in lovely, quaint, boutique hotels, ate the most wonderful foods, saw the amazing sights, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites across all three countries. From the Cliffs of Moher to the Culloden Moor Memorial to Stonehenge to castles grand and desolate; from beautiful cathedrals to old abbey ruins; from little country pubs to Michelin-starred restaurants; and even spending a couple days in an actual 17th-century castle, every minute was amazing! Truly amazing!

Zicasso's travel company helped create a wonderful UK trip for my family. Their fine attention to detail, along with a spectacularly planned itinerary, was greatly appreciated. From our drivers to amazing tour guides - the one in White Cliffs of Dover, the one in Ireland, and the one in Scotland - this trip was spot-on perfect! 

The travel company's app was extremely helpful and user-friendly, and the lodging facilities chosen were perfect. In particular, the hotels located in the heart of each city made walking tours and exploring ideal. In addition, pre-planned excursions and activities added to an overall positive experience.

We absolutely loved our England adventure and already wish we could go back. It was a perfect balance of English countryside, history, and culture.

All our hotels were wonderful. The lodge in Broadway was such an extraordinary place to stay—the property was so historic, but the rooms and amenities were modern. We loved the pool and gym, and delicious food/drink they offered. We also took advantage of the playground down the street every evening after dinner—it had a zipline and a beautiful vista. The lodge at Warwick was also amazing, such a fun place to stay for families with young kids. We also really enjoyed our hotel in London. The location was ideal as we could walk to restaurants and we had a tube station right there.

Our drivers were also very professional and friendly, and made the transfers between locations so simple and stress-free for us. Honestly we have nothing but good things to say about every moment of this vacation, from the afternoon tea to the "Harry Potter" studio tour.

After working with Zicasso-matched travel companies in the past, I expected a worry-free and bespoke experience with this tour operator. My requests were not out of the ordinary in any way. I had wanted to explore the Cotswolds, visit Stonehenge, and then spend a couple of days in London. I had expressed that in London I was interested in seeing Abbey Road, spending a day on Military History for my son, and then a day exploring London neighborhoods and neighborhood bakers for me.

The tour operator planned transportation for us to and from the Cotswolds, a bike tour in Oxford, and a punting trip, and then two guided days in London (including a tour of the Churchill War Rooms that I had requested). In the weeks leading up to the trip, I had received a more detailed itinerary, and it was clear that days in London were not planned to specifications and were very generic offerings. And there was no effort made to accommodate my request to see Abbey Road (basically, I would be left to squeeze it in on my own). I emailed my disappointment to the tour operator, and they assured me that they would make changes to allow for my desire to explore neighborhoods and bakeries. I also wanted to get to London earlier and remove a stop in Bath and was charged a change fee (to remove something, six weeks in advance?)

Upon our arrival at Heathrow, our transportation was not onsite, which is fine; however, there was no one tracking our flight and no proactive notification that our transportation would not be able to meet us. I had to contact the tour operator's emergency line (which was very helpful).

Our second morning (Saturday), while still jet-lagged, we were up and ready to meet our driver at 9:15 in front of our hotel to take us to the train station a few towns away. Our driver was 10 minutes late, with no proactive contact to let us know that he was on his way. Then, later that day, once we were in Oxford for our bike tour, the tour company was not expecting us and did not have bikes ready for us. (Another group was there and were the only ones expected.)

The next morning (Sunday), we were told to be ready and checked out of our hotel by 9:00 a.m. for a driver to take us to see Stonehenge. At ten after 9:00, I contacted the after-hours number to inquire as to why the driver was not there. At 9:30, the tour operator still could not get in contact with the driver and recommended that I try to find a taxi to take me 2 hours away to Stonehenge. Needless to say, it was impossible to find someone at the last minute on a Sunday morning during high season. (Sidenote: a number of guests were being met by their drivers, on time, at our hotel. So, not an impossible ask.) Finally, after waiting for 3 hours, we were met by another driver who drove us to London directly. We wasted our morning (and because we had checked out of our hotel, we basically sat with our bags in the lobby) and never saw Stonehenge.

When we were in London, while our guide was a lovely person, we were asked to figure out our own way to meet her (instead of being met) and she did not have any particular knowledge about Military History (when we were in the Guards Museum, another guide was there with his party and it was clear, again, that it was not an impossible ask to have a guide with such knowledge). Also, it was clear to me that our guide, who would be guiding us for the following day, was not briefed or prepared to give a tour of neighborhood bakeries. (She thought I wanted to see a blue door in Notting Hill that was highlighted in a movie.)

All in all, I feel like I paid a premium for a vacation that I could have planned myself and instead of a stress-free and customized experience, I had to keep on top of our transportation plans and was given something perfunctory.

The tour operator has refunded me for the drive to Stonehenge that did not happen and some change fees. This seems to be an obvious gesture and the least they should have done.

Zicasso's tour planner and her associates at the travel company did an excellent job of putting together a long-awaited trip to the UK to explore our father's roots.

Starting in Edinburgh, Scotland, and extending down into London and on to our father's birthplace in mid-Wales, she and the company found us great accommodations centrally located within our areas of interest. Our various walking tour guides were excellent and our agent's recommendations for places to see were wonderful and fit within the timeframe and parameters of our travels.

Our wonderful Welsh guide was able to locate our father's childhood farm and even discovered some previously unknown family members still in residence there. We had a truly memorable trip and highly recommend our agent and her travel company!

We had an absolutely amazing time in England, thanks to Zicasso's travel specialist. We had the opportunity to visit the countryside in Sussex, walk in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh, visit the coast, pass through Wimbledon, and finish off in London. The trip was perfectly planned and well-paced. They really listened to our intentions and made great recommendations with regard to lodging, tours, and food.