Tour operators in France 2026: a ranking built on verified facts
A ranking of French tour operators (voyagistes) that sell package holidays, built only on verifiable facts: the registration number in the Atout France register of travel and holiday operators (IM…), the financial guarantee and the guarantor named by the operator (APST, Groupama Assurance-Crédit & Caution or another bank or insurer), membership of SETO, the French tour operators' trade body, the year the company started, whether the website names the company with its RCS number, an address and the terms of sale, and whether a trip can be booked and paid for online. Every fact links to its source with the date we checked it. This is not advice to choose a particular operator. Places are not for sale.
| # | Company | Who it serves | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nomade Aventure | 98 | Yes | Yes | 1975 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking Online payment |
| 2 | Club Med | 96 | Yes | Yes | 1950 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking Online payment |
| 3 | Salaün Holidays | 94 | Yes | Yes | 1932 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking Online payment |
| 4 | FRAM | 88 | Yes | Yes | 1949 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking Online payment |
| 5 | Terres d'Aventure | 88 | Yes | Yes | 1976 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking Online payment |
| 6 | Marco Vasco | 80 | Yes | Yes | 2008 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking |
| 7 | Voyageurs du Monde | 78 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking Online payment |
| 8 | Allibert Trekking | 78 | Yes | Yes | 1975 | Yes | Register Protection Member of the national association Online booking |
| 9 | Asia | 70 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Register Protection Member of the national association Online payment |
| 10 | Top of Travel | 63 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Register Protection Member of the national association |
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 1975
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 100% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 1950
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 100% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 1932
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 94% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 1949
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 90% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 1976
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 90% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 2008
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 84% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- Not verified
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 81% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- 1975
- Online booking
- Yes
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Holidays can be booked online
- Names its legal entity and registration number
Details Visit site ↗ 84% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- Not verified
- Online booking
- Not verified
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Names its legal entity and registration number
- Booking terms can be read before you pay
Details Visit site ↗ 72% backed by facts
-
- In the official register
- Yes
- Insolvency protection
- Yes
- In business since
- Not verified
- Online booking
- Not verified
Pros
- Listed in the official register
- Customers' money is protected if the operator goes bust
- Names its legal entity and registration number
- Booking terms can be read before you pay
Details Visit site ↗ 66% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Héliades (56% backed by facts)
- TUI France (site closed to automated checks, )
Sites marked as closed refuse automated reading (403 error, captcha or a robots.txt ban). We don't bypass such protection, so we can't verify their facts and they are not ranked. This says nothing about their quality. A company can send links to its official pages to [email protected].
How we calculate the Score
40%
Reliability
Listing in the national register of tour operators (or, in Germany, which has no licence, the commercial register), protection of customers' money if the operator becomes insolvent, the year the company started and membership of the national tour operators' association or fund.
25%
Transparency
Whether the website names the legal entity with its registration number, publishes the booking terms or contract before you pay, and gives an office address.
25%
Booking
Whether a holiday can be booked online on the operator's own website and paid for online, and the App Store rating of its own app where there is one.
10%
Destinations
How many countries or destinations the operator says it sells, counted only where the operator states the number itself.
How to choose a tour operator
Find the operator in the register
Your contract names the tour operator, even if you buy from an agent. Look that company up in the official register of your country and make sure the entry is current.
Check how your money is protected
If the operator goes bust, the guarantee or insolvency scheme pays for the return trip and refunds. Find out which scheme protects your booking and whether you receive a certificate or document confirming it.
Read the contract and booking terms
Before paying, read the cancellation charges, what happens if prices change, what is included (flights, transfers, meals, insurance) and the deadline for paying the balance.
Compare the same trip
Compare identical packages: the same hotel, room, meal plan, dates and flight times. A cheaper offer often has a worse flight, no transfer or a different room type.
Pay the operator or its official agent
Pay on the operator's own website or to an agent named in the contract, and keep the contract, receipts and vouchers. Check the web address before entering card details.
Know where to complain
First send a written claim to the operator. Then you can turn to the consumer protection authority, the association's dispute scheme or the guarantee scheme, and finally to court.
Frequently asked questions
Must a French tour operator be registered?
Yes. To sell trips and holidays, travel and holiday operators must register with Atout France; registration is a mandatory declaration. To be registered, the operator must prove it has a financial guarantee and professional liability insurance (article L. 211-18 of the Tourism Code). Atout France makes the register of registered operators available to consumers.
What is the financial guarantee for?
The financial guarantee is a condition of registration. If the operator is found to have failed, it allows customers' advance payments to be refunded and customers to be brought home in an emergency. Atout France also publishes notices when an operator's financial guarantee ends.
Who can provide the guarantee?
Under article R. 211-26 of the Tourism Code, the guarantee is a written surety commitment given in particular by a credit institution, a financing company or an insurance company authorised to give financial guarantees. Atout France has warned against fake guarantee certificates, so it is worth checking that the guarantor named in your contract actually exists.
What happens if a French operator goes bust?
The EU Package Travel Directive, in force since 1 July 2018, protects travellers who bought a package. When Thomas Cook France went bust in 2019, the APST (Association professionnelle de solidarité du tourisme), the guarantor of many French operators, gave its customers full cover: refunds of the sums paid and repatriation of customers already away.
What is SETO?
SETO (Syndicat des Entreprises du Tour Operating) is the trade association of French tour operators. Full members must be tour operators registered with Atout France, with at least three years' experience and a minimum turnover of 4 million euros. Membership does not replace the register check or the financial guarantee.