Family Twist

A private family-travel designer for Europe

Family Twist designs private activities and holidays for families in Europe. Its About page calls it "your one-stop shop for private luxury family vacations and activities in Europe" and says it can "organize every step of your family holiday, including accommodation, private chauffeurs and activities", or supply "one or more activities out of our catalog of over 100 à la carte family-bonding experiences." It works with its own selected guides rather than reselling other companies' tours: "we select the guides we work with, and train them to become the best family-friendly guides."

The homepage lists 7 countries: Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK. The activities and itineraries it shows cover Paris, Versailles, the Loire Valley, Provence and the French Riviera, Rome, Venice, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Lisbon, London and Edinburgh. The story page traces the idea to Shanghai, where a friend planning a few days in Paris could not find cultural activities for her children online and asked Magali Déchelette, born and raised in France, to organize the trip. The founder "decided to set up Family Twist in 2012", starting in Paris and then adding London, the Loire Valley and Rome before more destinations followed. The team page adds that she graduated from HEC in 2006 and worked for Cartier, in luxury travel in Shanghai and at Oliver Wyman before founding the company.

Cooking classes and other activities

Food is a strong thread. The site's activities include A Pastry Baking Class in Paris, Baking French Bread & Croissants, making French macarons, The Delicious Chocolate Workshop in London, a make-your-own pizza class in Rome and a paella class in Madrid. The team page gives a sense of why: the head of destination Italy names the pizza or pasta class as her favorite, saying "everyone can participate in these classes, even a person who doesn't know how to cook", and another team member picks the Boqueria and Borough Market food tours.

Beyond the kitchen, the catalog mixes museum games, sightseeing and workshops: Treasure Hunt At The Louvre, Cracking the Da Vinci Code, Escape From Castel Sant'Angelo, Exploring The Colosseum and Ancient Rome, The Sagrada Familia And Park Güell, The Treasures Of St. Mark's Square, Exploring the Palace of Versailles, Sailing Down the Loire River, In the Footsteps of the Impressionists (with a pastel workshop), Become a Parfumeur, Amsterdam Painting Like Van Gogh, Rome Become A Gladiator and Cycling Through Barcelona. A filter on the homepage sorts them by theme, including Best for Teens, Suitable for Toddlers, Memorable with Grandparents, Food & Cuisine, Hands on Workshop and Celebration Season.

Ready-made itineraries run 3 to 4 days: 3 Days in Provence with a chauffeur/guide, 3 Days in Lisbon, 3 Days in the Loire Valley with a private cooking class and a sailboat on the Loire, 3 Days in Venice with a gondola ride and a carnival mask-making workshop, 4 Days in Edinburgh and the Highlands, and 4 Days in Naples and the Amalfi Coast with Pompeii and a pizza class. The descriptions are specific: the Provence trip takes in the Palace of the Popes, Arles and Les Baux de Provence and follows Van Gogh's footsteps, while the Edinburgh trip covers Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Britannia and the secrets of the highland games, and the Naples trip adds Positano and Ravello.

How the activities work

Everything is private and can be adjusted: "All our itineraries can be tailored for you alone in accordance with your family's specific needs and interests." The About page describes several touches:

• Activities are "designed for families, tested by families and approved" before they enter the catalog.
• The company designs its own game booklets for cultural tours. For younger children, "our fully-certified guides will give them clues", and there are special tours with harder booklets for teenagers.
• It provides skip-the-line tickets for cultural highlights "whenever possible."
• Children get a small gift related to the activity at the end, chosen to be "light and non-bulky" for the flight home.

For full holidays, Family Twist says it has selected family-friendly 4 star, 5 star and Grand Luxury hotels in each destination, with extras such as kids' clubs and in-room amenities, and provides transport in "fully-equipped luxurious Mercedes V-Class minivans or equivalent". It also offers family-friendly restaurant recommendations and English-speaking babysitters, and mentions boats, horse carriages and classic cars as other ways to get around. A travel tips section from its concierge covers subjects such as the Christmas season in Paris, London or Rome with kids, kid-friendly swimming pools in Paris and New Year's Eve in London with children.

Booking

The site has no instant online checkout; families contact the company, which then builds the activity or trip around them. The team page introduces the people who do that planning, including a head of travel design, heads of design for France, Italy and the UK, and a senior sales manager, along with the languages each speaks, from French and English to Italian, Spanish, Polish, Russian and Croatian. The head of travel design, Constance Tertrais, says she has worked for Family Twist since 2015, and the head of France travel design, Karolina Kozlowski, ran her own guiding business in Paris before joining. The founder's own advice to parents is to "make time for shared experiences." Testimonials on the homepage, chosen by the company, praise the guides and the organization "from the first exchange of mails to the last organised visit." The press page quotes coverage such as "Real guides for families in Paris."

What the site leaves open

The site does not publish prices for any activity or itinerary, so every quote comes on request. It also leaves out durations and meeting points for individual activities, cancellation and payment terms, and any policy on allergies or dietary needs in the cooking classes.

Who it suits

Family Twist suits families, including those traveling with grandparents or toddlers, who want a private cooking class or museum game designed around their children, or a whole European holiday with hotels, chauffeurs and activities handled by one planner. The game booklets, gifts and teen-specific tours are all built, the site says, to keep children engaged.

It suits less well budget travelers or families who want to see a price and book instantly online.