Who are we

Who we are

We offer highly personalised, adaptable services tailored to every moment, enhanced by a range of thoughtful touches designed to make your journey effortless. Our commitment is to constantly meet and exceed your expectations.

Our vision of travel

Our approach is founded on four essential principles. First, the experience of our travel specialists, who are either natives of or deeply passionate about the regions they specialise in. Nearly 250 women and men who, thanks to their cultural background and first-hand knowledge of the field, ensure a different approach, one that is firmly rooted in the reality of the chosen destination. The second pillar of our success is you! Always striving for greater personalisation, Voyageurs du Monde tailors each trip according to the profile and aspirations of our travellers. Our suggestions on the website and in our publications are fully adaptable to your wishes and can be changed at any time, even during your trip.

The third essential element of a great trip is the quality of service. We continually develop a range of tools designed to make your life easier. Among them, our Concierge service at your destination and our 24/7 assistance are invaluable assets, particularly when travelling with children or seniors. Responsiveness, coordination and follow-up are not marketing claims, but a reality proven every day on the ground. Finally, we seek to promote a more responsible way of travelling. Built around a more balanced pace, it encourages travellers to wander, to savour, and to truly immerse themselves in a place, rather than trying to see everything in too little time.

A little history

When Carrefour des Voyages, the forerunner of Voyageurs du Monde, introduced a new way of travelling in 1979 – offering tailor-made trips sold directly and designed by specialists for each destination – few believed in this bold move. Seventeen years later, Alain Capestan and Jean François Rial, who took over the company that became Voyageurs du Monde, are firmly convinced of this approach to travel – individual and tailored to each person. Soon joined by their friends Lionel Habasque, Frédéric Moulin and Loic Minvielle, they developed bespoke journeys rooted in encounter and shared experience, through a company whose purpose was not solely profit but also the promotion of strong, universal values. Today, at a time when the very notion of “tailor-made” has been overused to the point of dilution, Voyageurs du Monde more than ever embodies a different vision of travel.

Key dates

1979

Claude Saulière creates Carrefour des Voyages, which would later become Voyageurs du Monde.

1994

First agency, in Paris

2007

Acquisition and inauguration of the Steam Ship Sudan, a steamboat sailing on the Nile

2008

Opening in Brussels of the first European agency (Geneva would follow in 2011 and Lausanne in 2019). Internationally, 2016 marks the opening of the Montréal and Québec agencies.

2010

Inauguration in Johannesburg of the Satyagraha House, a guest house and museum dedicated to Gandhi.

2017

Acquisition of Original Travel, based in London

2018

Reforestation projects contribute to absorbing all the CO2 emissions related to clients’ travel

2022

Acquisition of Extraordinary Journeys,
in the United States

2023

Launch of the Voyageurs Magazine

Aware of the role and impact of tourism,
Voyageurs du Monde has been involved in environmental, humanitarian and social initiatives for many years. Our Philippe Romero Insolite Bâtisseur Foundation transforms travel into a tool for change.

Our
commitments

Voyageurs du Monde aims to design trips that respect people, cultures and their environments. Our environmental and humanitarian commitments rest on three fundamental principles.

Tourism as a force for peace
and development

Convinced that tourism is one of many tools capable of fostering peace worldwide, promoting respect for human rights and supporting the economic development of the most disadvantaged countries, Voyageurs du Monde is committed through the following initiatives:

• Journeys shaped around encounter, reflection and exchange, grounded in the promotion of strong universal values.

• Specific projects: The Satyagraha House in Johannesburg, South Africa, our guest house and museum dedicated to Gandhi, who lived there when he developed his now universal doctrine of peaceful resistance. Travel programmes in Israel and Palestine (an invitation to explore the two faces of this complex region).

• Support for a range of humanitarian aid and human rights organisations: Unitaid, Human Rights Watch and FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights).

• Social initiatives: Refettorio Paris, a restaurant located in the crypt of the Madeleine Church, welcomes people experiencing exclusion to a setting designed by artists.

A spirit
of fair enterprise

At Voyageurs du Monde, both in France and within our subsidiaries abroad – especially in our Voyageurs Houses – we are committed to applying responsible economic and social policies.
Our local teams benefit from fair working conditions governed by international standards. As a signatory of an ethical charter, Voyageurs is committed to promoting high-quality travel based on respect for the regions and communities visited, solidarity, and the fair distribution of economic benefits.

Reduced and
100% absorbed carbon

Travel undeniably impacts global warming. Air transport, which much of our travel relies on, accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), all human activities must halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 in order to keep global warming below 2°C.

Rather than waiting, we chose many years ago to act first by reducing our emissions, prioritising the least carbon-intensive modes of transport, travel pace and accommodation.
• The first involves limiting our emissions as much as possible by prioritizing the low-emission transport, pace, and accommodations.
• Only after cutting our emissions as much as possible do we consider contributing to the absorption of any remaining emissions that we have been unable to eliminate. As the aviation sector undergoes its technological transition, we support robust reforestation projects through our Philippe Romero Insolite Bâtisseur Foundation, which already contribute to absorbing all CO₂ emissions linked to the travel of our clients and employees.

Read more about these projects on LIVELIHOODS.

Supporting
migrants

Through its Philippe Romero Insolite Bâtisseur Foundation, Voyageurs du Monde now allocates nearly €2 million each year to humanitarian, environmental and social projects. These initiatives support countries in the Global South, provide aid to migrants and address climate change, in partnership with organisations such as SOS Méditerranée and Refettorio.

SOS Méditerranée is a European maritime rescue organisation founded in spring 2015.

More than 45,000 people fleeing war have already perished during perilous crossings in makeshift boats, attempting to reach Europe from the Libyan coast. European governments appear to have neglected this major humanitarian crisis, which the association addresses by upholding the legal obligation to assist any person in distress at sea. Aboard the Ocean Viking, a 70-metre vessel equipped to enhance search, rescue and medical care operations, a crew made up of rescuers, doctors and midwives works to save and support survivors along this deadly maritime route.

Refettorio Paris is a cultural and community project launched in March 2018 by Italian chef Massimo Bottura. Under the auspices of his organisation Food for Soul, the venue offers both physical and spiritual nourishment under one roof. Located in the crypt of the Madeleine Church in Paris, in a setting co-created by designer Ramy Fischler alongside artists JR and Prune Nourry, the restaurant serves meals created from surplus food by renowned guest chefs to refugees and people experiencing homelessness. A powerful way to combine art, the fight against food waste and gastronomy in support of those most in need.

The Voyageurs du Monde spirit

Travel with complete freedom, guided by your interests,
ideas and passions.

Wherever you want

250 travel specialists, organised by country and region. Driven by a passion for beauty and never short of ideas, they inspire you and design an ultra-personalised journey: itineraries, accommodation, workshops, encounters, and more.

Whenever you want

Always at your service: with a dedicated travel specialist, Concierge service and 24/7 assistance, our teams support you and adapt in real time, for a trip that is both flexible and expertly supported.

However you want

With family, as a couple, in a group of ten, on a road trip, by train, by boat, for a weekend or a round-the-world journey... Trips tailored to your preferences, enhanced by clever services, for ever smoother travel.