Review: Luxury Family Trip to Germany & Switzerland, Munich, Dachau, Heidelberg, Michelin Star Restaurants, Wine Tasting

My family has been fortunate to take several wonderful trips over the past few years using local travel agencies, each of whom has done a great job for us. I never wrote a review because, frankly, we expected the expert personal service we received. But our travel company's superlative service puts it into an entirely different class.

Our specialist spent countless hours and dozens of emails putting together a dream trip which included a stay in a castle, two and three Michelin Star restaurants, some lesser known small restaurants that were equally spectacular, personalized wine tastings, private castle tours, and a sensitive and personable guide who took us first through Dachau and then Munich. This was an eleven day trip without a single disappointment.

We expected this first class planning and execution, but what followed was far beyond anything we had ever experienced. When we arrived in Frankfurt exhausted from our overnight flight, we were met at the airport by the OWNER of the travel company, who took our luggage to the Mercedes SUV he had already secured for us. While I slept in the rear seat, the owner drove us on a long drive to our first wine tasting. We were given a large and heavy book detailing all of the hotels, castles, wineries, mountains, restaurants, etc. that we would be visiting, along with a cellphone with a GPS preloaded with our destinations. After the winery visit, he drove us to the castle where we would be living for the next two days, leaving us with the admonition to contact him if we needed anything and then walking a couple of miles into town to catch his train.

As experienced travelers, we knew we would have no need to contact him, but he checked in with us each day at the castle to make sure we were enjoying our trip. Driving to Heidelburg, our next destination, was easy and fun, thanks to the preloaded GPS and the detailed description of all the sites we could see on this rather lengthy drive. Only on arrival at our Heidelburg hotel did we realize that we had left our passports and a large sum of money in the room safe! A call to the owner resulted in him sending someone (perhaps himself, I'm not sure) back to the first hotel-castle to retrieve the items and then having his housekeeper deliver them to us the next day. Just incredible. It may be hard to believe, but my wife left her leather coat at our next destination. Once again, he arranged to have the coat picked up and delivered to our next destination.

The owner saving our bacon twice was the least important part of our interaction with him. We spoke with him every day, as he was genuinely interested and concerned that we enjoy every aspect of our trip. Although we never saw him again in person, he actually became our friend and I fully expect that we will meet him again, either here in the US or in Germany.

I'm sure there are many small travel companies that can do a credible job of planning and organizing your vacation in Germany and Switzerland. I'm equally sure that none of them will come close to providing the personal experience that this specialist and his crew offer. Say Hi from us when you call.