Vos Voyages by Culture Air Travel

Vos Voyages by Culture Air Travel is a travel agency in French-speaking Switzerland with offices in Geneva, Lausanne, Leysin and Yverdon-les-Bains, and an English version of its website. Its story, in its own words, "began in 1974 in Geneva, with the organization of trips to China"; today honeymoons are one of the experiences it plans, alongside cruises, safaris, luxury trains and custom-made travel, with a Virtuoso membership behind the luxury end.

The agency and its history

The homepage headline is "Creating experiences for over 50 years". In 1998, it says, the agency's history continued under Théo Grand, who developed the main agency into one organizing tourism, business and group trips to all destinations. The team page adds that he took over Culture Air Travel in 1998 and the Vos Voyages agencies in 2009.

The agency presents itself as working "on a human scale", with staff who all have many years' experience in travel, and it promises to "realize your most beautiful dreams of escape" with efficiency, flexibility and imagination, "with the utmost discretion". It calls itself "the trusted partner of travelers looking for quality assistance".

Honeymoons and the experiences menu

Honeymoon appears in the "Experiences" menu next to holiday clubs, cruises, thalasso and cures, culture and music, diving, trekking, safari, luxury trains, golf, language stays, private plane, villas and chalets, family travel and groups. Separate menu entries cover custom-made travel, business trips and events, the agency's group trips and departures, and a section called "Lists & good gifts". The agency is also listed as a PONANT Expert and a Club Med Expert.

The homepage carousel shows the kind of trips it sells: the Orient Express Corinthian, described as the world's largest luxury sailing yacht; Club Med's South Africa Beach & Safari; the islands of the Cyclades; and the Laba Migration Camp in Tanzania. Any of those could anchor a honeymoon, and the combination of a Club Med beach stay with a safari is one the page names outright.

Virtuoso and other memberships

The most distinctive point for a luxury honeymoon is the Virtuoso membership. The homepage says the agency offers "a wide range of experiences largely thanks to our partnership with Virtuoso, a network of the best travel agencies and the best luxury travel providers operating around the world", which gives its customers "an exclusive selection of services, upgrades, access to products and unique experiences". A separate page sets out the Virtuoso member benefits.

The same section says the agency is a member of the Swiss Travel Security travel guarantee fund and an "IATA-approved official partner of Clefs d'Or Suisse". The homepage does not explain what the guarantee fund covers; couples who want to know how their payment is protected should ask.

The people

The team page lists each consultant with their years in tourism and favorite destinations. In Geneva: Fabienne Gazan (33 years, Africa, the Middle East and South America); Sandrine Boussin (IATA graduate, 28 years, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Laos and India); Christian Wermeille (IATA graduate, 49 years, Scandinavia, Canada, the West Indies, Asia and Polynesia); Nadia Andrie (more than 15 years, cruises, including transatlantic crossings and the Mediterranean); Magali Maulet (around 30 years, a Club Med specialist); and business travel consultants.

In Lausanne, the manager Franca Braissant (IATA graduate, 30 years) specializes in the Middle East, Asia, diving, trekking and Ayurveda, with Myanmar, India and the Galapagos among her favorites, Patricia Gaillard (more than 30 years) favors Ireland, Great Britain, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean and the Arab world, and Jérôme Monn lists Namibia, Réunion and Mauritius. In Yverdon-les-Bains, the manager Bernard Terribilini has 45 years in tourism and has accompanied groups to Canada, the USA and Iceland. A groups department in Geneva is run by Frédéric Pascal, with Sophie Caruelle, a specialist in tailor-made group trips whose favorites are the United States and Polynesia. For a couple taking friends or family along after the wedding, that department is the one to ask.

For a couple, that makes it possible to ask for the consultant whose favorites match the honeymoon they have in mind: Sandrine Boussin for an East African safari, Christian Wermeille for Polynesia, Nadia Andrie for a cruise. One homepage review thanks "Sandrine for her professionalism".

Offices, hours and contact

The Geneva office is at Avenue de Champel 8C, 1206 Geneva, phone +41 22 839 81 81, geneve@vosvoyages.ch, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 18:00 without a break and on Saturday by appointment. The groups department is at Rue de l'Athénée 31 in Geneva, by appointment. Lausanne is at Avenue Villamont 19, 1005 Lausanne, phone +41 21 331 15 15, with the same hours as Geneva. Yverdon-les-Bains is in BlueLab, Rue du Collège 4 (2nd floor), open on Friday from 9:30 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 16:30 and by appointment the rest of the week. Leysin is at Chemin de la Source 3, phone +41 24 493 48 12.

One mobile number, +41 79 839 81 81, serves all offices for emergencies and WhatsApp, which is useful to have while on honeymoon.

Language

The site is published in French and English. It does not say which languages each consultant speaks. The homepage reviews are shown in English, one of them praising a North India group program for 25 people, another a third trip to Asia without problems. A couple can write in English to any office and ask for a consultant who works in it.

What the site leaves open

The English pages publish no honeymoon itineraries, no prices, no deposit or cancellation terms (general conditions of sale are linked) and no booking lead times. They do not describe what the Honeymoon page or the "Lists & good gifts" service contains, and whether a honeymoon gift list is possible is a question for the agency.

Who it suits

Vos Voyages suits couples in the Geneva and Vaud area who want to sit down with an experienced, named consultant, and couples planning a luxury honeymoon who want the Virtuoso extras. The depth of safari, Polynesia and cruise knowledge on the team is the practical draw. It suits couples less if they want to compare honeymoon prices online before any conversation.