What is the best time to visit the Loire Valley?

My wife and I recently engaged Emilie, of France Just For You, to plan a two week trip to Provence in the first two weeks of May. It was mid-March and we found Emilie during a web search of self-driving tours of France. What a find! Emilie responded within twenty-four hours with very specific questions, wanting to know more about us, our interests and preferences for things like accommodation, rental vehicle, activities, etc. and our budget. From there she took over, developed an outline of a suggested trip and after we agreed that we liked it, she developed it into a complete, and we mean complete, tour package. She booked Five Star B&B’s which lived up to their reputation; all hosts were fluent in English. She arranged an excellent rental car complete with an English GPS, first class tickets on the TGV from Avignon to Charles de Gaulle airport and overnight accommodation at CDG. Two weeks before our departure, Emilie couriered a package that included a 300 page book that contained a detailed daily itinerary of sight-seeing self-drive tours she recommended we do. This book included maps and GPS co-ordinates of every B&B, all points of interest, parking lot locations (most helpful!) and many recommended restaurants. It also contained a lot of very useful information for North Americans visiting France including material on food, wine, culture, driving and language.
Emilie knows France and will guide you to the places most tourists never get to see. Her thoroughness and attention to detail are impressive. She provided prompt responses to all our communication and was even available 24/7 while we were in France in case any problems arose. All our accommodations were top-notch. Emilie has extremely high standards and therefore, we have no hesitation recommending France Just For You.

"France Just For You" is the BEST way to visit France
If you want to go on a tailor made self drive holiday to France, there is no better way, but to ask Emilie and Laura from France Just For You, to arrange it for you.
We have traveled overseas a couple of times already, but then you have to do a lot of homework before hand, and you never know whether or not you are doing the right thing, because you have never been to the area which you want to visit.
After giving Laura an idea of what we wanted, she planned an itinerary to the finest detail, delivering over and above what we expected or could have imagined.
We realised this when we received our travel pack with a 450 page, personalized guide book, detailing each day what we should do. Prepaid access tickets and vouches, eliminating long waiting times in queues, and an App, which puts the guide book on your mobile phone, where you just click on the GPS link to where you need to drive to. Why could anyone not think of this before? You just click on the link and there you go. They even sent as an USB flash drive with French Music to listen to when we drive, to experience the French atmosphere.
Laura and Emilie's attention to detail made our holiday, stress- and hassle free, which made it possible for our family just to relax, and enjoy the ride.
Thank you for going the extra mile, you guys are the greatest. We will and have been recommending you to anyone who wants to visit France.
Like we say in South Africa "Viva, France Just For You, Viva!!!"

A perfect 2 weeks in Provence in the spring!
My husband and I were delighted with the itinerary ‘FJFY’ put together for our 2-week self-drive road trip in Provence.
During the planning stages Emilie and Laura asked insightful questions about our lifestyle and desires relating to travel. Communications were outstanding throughout the planning stage. As a result of their in-depth inquiries, they had a keen sense for the types of accommodations and daily activities we would enjoy.
In addition to booked activities, they provided several suggested options of activities each day. The same information is provided in the excellent FJFY app, which worked flawlessly the entire trip.
The resulting trip was exactly what we needed: a fun, relaxed and enriching experience of Provence.
Our accommodations and hosts were lovely the entire trip. I highly recommend this company for anyone looking for a personal approach to travel in France!

My boyfriend and I spent a week in Paris last month and we decided that we would do a couple of day-tours outside of the city during our trip. We really wanted to avoid the typical tour-bus day-tour and the crowds that come along with these kinds of tours – we wanted something more personalized that would allow us to go at our own pace. I found the France Just For You website and the ‘Bayeux and World War II Sites in a Day’ tour seemed to be exactly the type of thing we were looking for, as we’re both really interested in history. On a personal note, this tour appealed to me because my grandfather fought in Normandy in World War II. I filled up the contact form on the website and Emilie got back to me the same day. She organized every little detail to make it the perfect tour for us: she booked our return train tickets from Paris, organized for us to spend the morning on our own in the picturesque old town of Bayeux, where we enjoyed exploring the cathedral and saw the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Emilie sent over maps and directions and recommended a fantastic restaurant for lunch. After lunch, our private guide Christophe met us at the agreed meeting point in Bayeux and took us to the Normandy landing sites. I had explained to Emilie that I specifically wanted to visit this site as my grandpa had fought for one of the American infantry divisions that landed in Normandy in 1944. Christophe was extremely knowledgeable (and very patient with all of my questions!) and took us to the sites where my grandpa’s battalion would have fought. It was a very moving experience, especially when I thought back to the stories that my grandpa used to tell me about the war.
I really couldn’t have chosen a better tour option. It was perfectly customized to the preferences that I had given to Emilie, and she was very thorough and asked all of the right questions to help her plan the perfect day for us. We knew how to contact her in case there were any problems on the day (which there weren't), and the fact that everything was planned for us meant that we could just focus on enjoying the day. Thank you so much, I wouldn’t hesitate to book with you again!

I can't say enough about how much we loved working with Emily and Laura. I am a wine geek and they put together a full day private tour of Burgundy (with a fantastic guide) and a half day visit and basket lunch at a wonderful winery in Provence. In addition there was a private half day walking tour of Paris and a private tour of the Palais des Papes in Avignon. The personalized guide book that they put together for us was fantastic and if anything had too many suggestions of things to do. Every thing was taken care of; we never had to lift a finger. It was well worth what we paid and I would highly recommend them to anyone planning on visiting France.

Laura and Emilie started working with us to develop a trip in July of 2020, but the trip had to be postponed because of COVID. Nonetheless they kept everything in place and made some modifications so that the trip could take place this October and November.
They were always responsive and helpful with our questions and concerns. All of the arrangements they made worked out just as represented.
The rental car process was easy (we can't blame them for Paris traffic), and the places they arranged for us to stay as well as the activities arranged were outstanding.
We feel we really got a sense of the beauty of France and met some very nice people along the way. The tour book was terrific and very helpful. They made the trip almost effortless and truly enjoyable. Thank you Laura and Emile for making this a memorable vacation. We wish you did "Italy Just for You" too!