Joanne Ioannou

My expertise

Australia
New Zealand
Africa
South Africa
Seychelles
Vietnam
Canada
Polar & Expedition

I'm based in

Southampton

Available for new enquiries

It's Nice To Meet You


I’ve loved travel for as long as I can remember, and I’ve spent over 30 years in the industry crafting unforgettable journeys for my clients. My own travels have taken me all over the world, giving me first-hand experience of destinations like St Lucia, Canada, Australia, Fiji, the Seychelles, the Azores and many more.

Since visiting Japan, it has become a real passion of mine. I love helping clients discover both the iconic highlights and the quieter, more authentic side of Japan, whether that is the buzz of Tokyo, the temples of Kyoto, Onsen retreats or lesser-known regions that are perfect for repeat visitors.

I also have specialist qualifications as a Canadian Specialist, South Africa Specialist and a CLIA Cruise Master, so I can offer in-depth guidance on these destinations and on cruising. My cruise expertise covers Expedition Cruises, River Cruises and Ocean Cruises, ideal for clients who want immersive, enriching experiences at sea.

I pride myself on creating completely tailor-made itineraries, carefully shaped around each client’s needs and wishes. Whether it is a city break, honeymoon, short escape, round-the-world journey or a luxurious cruise, I offer a personal, friendly service with genuine care at its core.

Thank you for visiting my page. When you are ready to start planning your next adventure, I would be delighted to help bring it to life.


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Explore my guides and blogs

A First -Time Journey Through Japan

Japan

A First -Time Journey Through Japan

A First-Time Journey Through Japan Starting in Tokyo: Two Nights in Asakusa My adventure began in Tokyo, staying in the charming district of Asakusa. It's a brilliant area for first-timers-traditional, walkable, and packed with great restaurants, bars, and shops. The highlight here is the iconic Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple, which buzzes with energy yet offers peaceful corners

28 Jul 2025 5   min read

Virgin Voyages - Is if for you?

Virgin Voyages - Is if for you?

Virgin Voyages, you may have heard many things about them and wondered if it is for you. I was lucky enough to be invited on a 4 night voyage on the 2nd August. Now being a little over their target age market I confess I was not sure it would be my cup of tea, well how wrong was I, I loved it! The ship is modern and funky, there is plenty of deck space to lounge on while enjoying a tipple and the

20 Sept 2021 5   min read

Family Cruising is Fun for Everyone!

Family Cruising is Fun for Everyone!

When planning your next family holiday has a cruise crossed your mind over maybe and all-inclusive resort and you have dismissed for the following reasons: Too many people in one place I will be bored Too many old people The ships are too big Think again. Compared to a land-based holiday, cruises are fantastic value for money. You can choose your actual room, you have top entertainment including

04 Jul 2019 5   min read

Expedition Cruising – What is an Expedition Cruise?

Expedition Cruising – What is an Expedition Cruise?

You may have heard this description quite a lot lately as this type of trip is becoming more and more popular, but what is it. This is a trip like no other, there is no dressing up, no west end style shows and generally Expedition Ships carry a small amount of people. What you will find are a full complement of lecturers and expedition leaders whose expertise will range from photography to marine

31 May 2019 5   min read

MSC Bellissima

MSC Bellissima

I was very lucky to be invited to the launch of this stunning ship. I arrived early and boarded straight away quickly and easily and made my way to my deluxe balcony cabin. This ship definitely has the wow factor starting with the Swarovski Crystal staircases which link decks 6 and 7. Each stair costs €3000! I then proceeded to the Market Place Buffet where you are spoilt for choice. This plac

22 Mar 2019 5   min read

Winter Sun in Lanzarote

Winter Sun in Lanzarote

I have just returned from a 4-night break in Lanzarote. We stayed at the Costa Calero 4* Hotel on their Prestige All Inclusive. I have to say the weather was wonderful, clear blue skies and a temperature of 22-23 degrees each day, although once the sun went down you needed a jacket, it was bliss! We flew Easyjet from Gatwick and we were in our hotel room within 30 mins of the flight landing, no

25 Feb 2019 5   min read

Disneyworld VIP Trip

Disneyworld VIP Trip

Well what a fantastic time we had! We checked in to Disney's Grand Floridian & Spa Resort which is wonderful. It connects to Magic Kingdom by monorail or boat, we tried both. The first day we spent at Epcot with our VIP park guides. These guys are a fountain of knowledge and tell you all sorts of history and anecdotes about the parks. You also have fast pass access to all the rides which saves

15 Mar 2016 5   min read

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris

I have just returned from wonderful trip to Disneyland Paris. We stayed at the New York Hotel on a Half Board Plus Basis for 3 nights and travelled by Eurostar. The hotel is in an excellent position although I would say the décor could do with refreshing! However the staff were very friendly and helpful. I would highly recommend paying for the half board plus as this includes nearly all the re

30 Jul 2015 5   min read

What my customers say

Very friendly and helpful. So quick and efficient. She has made the whole experience so far easy and manageable. Really has taken the stress out of it for us

Victoria Davies

Southampton

Dealt with our feedback about the first quote really well and the second was perfect. Great communication when the quotes were delayed due to the Middle East crisis.

Claire Winter

Alton

Joanne, as always, was friendly and highly professional and really helped us and our friends negotiate a tricky and time critical booking brilliantly.

Tony Shepherd

Southampton

Excellent service and understood our requirements. Very impressed not having used a Travel Counsellor before, Jo was superb.

Stephanie Mcbride

SOUTHAMPTON

Always very helpful, prompt reply to any question asked. Would not use any other company or counsellor .

Paul Hayward

Southampton

Joanne is friendly and always provides an excellent service!

Beverley Rand

Southampton

The reasons we choose to book holidays with Joanne are simply that she is - friendly and easy to talk with understands us as people and what our interests are understands what we like and don't like in a holiday provides options and takes on board our observations about her suggestions amends and tweaks things without fuss Overall, we couldn't recommend her highly enough. It has been a pleasure to deal with her and the holidays she has booked for us have been excellent and exactly what we wanted - and in some cases provided extras that we didn't know we wanted but proved to be great value and enhanced our holiday experience. Overall 100% recommended

Langlands Tom

Scotland

The reasons we choose to book holidays with Joanne are simply that she is - friendly and easy to talk with understands us as people and what our interests are understands what we like and don't like in a holiday provides options and takes on board our observations about her suggestions amends and tweaks things without fuss Overall, we couldn't recommend her highly enough. It has been a pleasure to deal with her and the holidays she has booked for us have been excellent and exactly what we wanted - and in some cases provided extras that we didn't know we wanted but proved to be great value and enhanced our holiday experience. Overall 100% recommended

Tom Langlands

Scotland

The reasons we choose to book holidays with Joanne are simply that she is - friendly and easy to talk with understands us as people and what our interests are understands what we like and don't like in a holiday provides options and takes on board our observations about her suggestions amends and tweaks things without fuss Overall, we couldn't recommend her highly enough. It has been a pleasure to deal with her and the holidays she has booked for us have been excellent and exactly what we wanted - and in some cases provided extras that we didn't know we wanted but proved to be great value and enhanced our holiday experience. Overall 100% recommended

Langlands Tom

Scotland

Always so very helpful goes above and beyond to make the holiday perfect

Ann Brown

Southampton

Joanne is the ultimate professional and I have every confidence that when I have queries or questions she always gets me an answer. Our itinerary for Peru and Argentina is very exciting.

Lesley Strachan

Southampton

Excellent service over many years, a true professional with great knowledge!

L Robson

Southampton

Our trip to New Zealand in Feb ‘25, stopping off on the way down in Singapore, was probably my all time favourite holiday! It could not have gone any better. Joanne was absolutely fantastic on the route planning, selection of brilliant accommodation throughout the journey, choice of car and all of the memorable things to see and do. This trip was first planned pre-Covid and held over until now, we have had many changes and revisions to our itineraries until we were happy, Joanne was incredibly patient, professional, and knowledgeable with her input until we had exactly the itinerary we wanted. In summary we traveled many thousands of miles and across the whole 5 weeks the journey knitted together seamlessly. We cannot thank Joanne enough for the care, detail and planning that enabled us to have a truly memorable holiday! Can’t wait for the next trip with Joanne and Travel Councillors!

Ian Tyas

Southampton

Our trip to New Zealand in Feb ‘25, stopping off on the way down in Singapore, was probably my all time favourite holiday! It could not have gone any better. Joanne was absolutely fantastic on the route planning, selection of brilliant accommodation throughout the journey, choice of car and all of the memorable things to see and do. This trip was first planned pre-Covid and held over until now, we have had many changes and revisions to our itineraries until we were happy, Joanne was incredibly patient, professional, and knowledgeable with her input until we had exactly the itinerary we wanted. In summary we traveled many thousands of miles and across the whole 5 weeks the journey knitted together seamlessly. We cannot thank Joanne enough for the care, detail and planning that enabled us to have a truly memorable holiday! Can’t wait for the next trip with Joanne and Travel Councillors!

Ian Tyas

Southampton

Our holiday to New Zealand was everything we hoped for and more. Thank you for the many brilliant suggestions of accommodation and excursions and for managing the many details so efficiently.

Louise and Hugh Evans

Southampton

Our holiday to New Zealand was everything we hoped for and more. Thank you for the many brilliant suggestions of accommodation and excursions and for managing the many details so efficiently.

Louise and Hugh Evans

Southampton

Really friendly and helpful and always responds quickly. Very knowledgeable

Lesley Foulkes

Southampton

Joanne has put together a complex holiday taking into consideration my and my sisters age related limitations. She is very thoughtful and has planned ahead to make sure we are looked after. Great work Joanne!

Ann Cottle

Southampton

Always very friendly, helpful . Any questions are answered properly and promptly. Email good from office.

Paul Hayward

Southampton

Joanne is always very helpful she always manages to sort everything out and I always recommend her to all my friends

Terrence Moody

SOUTHAMPTON

Joanne is just terrific and very experienced and gives great advice. We use her for all of our major holidays!

Keith Henesey

Alcester

Joanne is so friendly and knowledgeable and always there if we need any help . Came back from cruise to find a welcome home postcard from Joanne. She did our honeymoon in 2017 and we haven't look back

Julie Carter

Southampton

Fantastic, worked with the budget we had and got the holiday we wanted!

Toni-Jayne Littlewood

Sittingbourne

Joanne is always enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She always has great ideas and suggestions which make the planning, booking and travel a whole lot better. Many thanks!

Ian Tyas

Southampton

Great experience so far. I’ve only ever previously booked holidays on my own, but the advice and attention Joanne has given me, and at the same price that I would have paid anyway, has been fantastic! Thanks so much Jo!

Sean Sarma

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

Joanne did everything for me. I could not have asked for more. Thanks Joanne.

Jean Grace

SOUTHAMPTON

Friendly . Knowledgeable. Really got to know about what we wanted from the holiday.

Julie Spensley-Corfield

Havant

“ We and our two dogs have been using Jo to organise our ‘race across the world’ trips around Europe for some years now. She is excellent at organising pet friendly ferry journeys, dog friendly hotel rooms, boarding passes and co-ordinating our journeys. If there is a problem whilst we are away Jo is always at the end of the phone to sort things out or offer advice. Jo even delivers or meets up to hand over tickets and hotel booking details. Definitely a 10 out of 10 from all 4 of us!

Julian & Carolyn

Hampshire

Joanne is so helpful and knowledgeable that I would have no hesitation in recommending her. In fact I have just recommended her to one of my fellow Bridge players who is interested in a cruise.

Keith Henesey

Warwickshire

Joanne Ioannou has helped us faultlessly with all our travel arrangements over the past 7 years. We have recommended Joanne to numerous friends and will continue to do so without hesitation.

Kinga Hollidge

London

We were recommended Joanne from friends and are extremely pleased with her individual , personal and very efficient treatment . Everything was explained and setting up our trip made so much easier . Thank you

Geoffrey Bassett

Southampton

I was recommended to Joanne by a work colleague and she hasn't disappointed. She's booked everything we need for my nieces wedding in Portugal. I'd definitely recommend Jo to family and friends.

Jeanette Miller

Southampton

Joanne did a great job finding a suitable hotel and flight for my children and me. She did her very best to match my budget. We cannot wait to go to NY!

Irene Sechet

Southampton

Joanne has been so supportive and clearly very knowlagable. I know that our plans have been personally tailored and confident that Joanne and her team will take great care of us.

Richard Chester

St Albans

Joanne has been extremely helpful with advice and for putting together the perfect cruise for us. She was extremely efficient and responded quickly with all correspondence. We will be highly recommending her and will definitely use this service again.

Nicola Price

Southampton

Great to deal with, delivers exactly as requested and terrific attention to detail

John Handley

Kidderminster

Brilliant service thank you

kevan thomas

Southampton

Joanne is super helpful and efficient. She always goes the extra mile to help and advise and does everything in her power to make travel arrangements stress free!

Susan Hutchinson

SOUTHAMPTON

Joanne is lovely so friendly very knowledgeable and always happy to help or answer any questions no matter how trivial. Have been with Joanne since she organized our honeymoon in 2017 and have no hesitation in referring her to others she goes above and beyond to make our holiday so memorable.

Julie Carter

Southampton

We have now booked 2 holidays with Joanne as her service and advice has been terrific . We have no hesitation in recommending her to friends and family. Thanks

Keith Henesey

ALCESTER

Joanne has been endlessly helpful as we worked out how to organise a five-week touring holiday in New Zealand. She turned our general ideas about what to do into a workable plan, using her knowledge and experience as well as local contacts. She responded quickly to all our enquiries and was able to make prompt changes as we thought of things. It was clear that she was doing a lot of work in between our conversations. We feel sure she will be available for more advice as we plan the details of our trip.

Sheila Taylor

Milton Keynes

Joanne was very helpful, efficient and professional in arranging our holiday to the USA and Caribbean in five weeks time. The arrangements for flight times, hire car, hotels, resorts etc were just what we were looking for and her advice on all aspects of the holiday were excellent. I would not hesitate to contact her again to arrange any holidays in the future

Robert Christie

Southampton

Very, Very helpful and always listens to what you want, and comes back with an answer as soon as soon as possible

John Hayward

Southampton

Jo is always so friendly and goes above and beyond expectations. 5* service.

Michelle Smith

Southampton

I can thoroughly recommend Joanne. She has organized several cruises for us. Being novice cruisers she helped us through the often confusing process of selecting an appropriate cruises for us.

Peter Cummins

SOUTHAMPTON

Joanne is both incredibly professional, patient and informative. I would highly recommend her to both family and friends alike. I personally would not spend time looking for a holiday in the future as Joanne is much more knowledgeable than I and I have complete faith in her.

Yvette Gillespie

SOUTHAMPTON

My husband and I have just returned from a week in the Algarve arranged by Jo. From the start we knew we would be in a good hotel and have an excellent airport transfer. The timings were perfect and we were glad to have the personal touch throughout. It was my 60th birthday while there and Jo organised a delicious chocolate birthday cake! I was totally relaxed knowing that our money was always safe throughout our booking. Thank you Jo for making sure everything went smoothly- it was a perfect holiday. I have no hesitation in recommending her for your trips!

Sarah Worley

Southampton

My wife and I were referred to Jo through a colleague I worked with who used Jo to plan her honeymoon. We did a 3 week trip to multiple cities in America and then Jamaica. We couldn't of planned the trip by ourselves, let alone have it go as smoothly and be as excellent value as what it was through Jo. Jo not only spent time with us to plan the trip, she booked all the flights, hotels, activities, and car hire. Jo was also on hand post payment for any questions we had, irrelevant of what they were, her service didn't stop after the money was paid. Jo's knowledge and passion for travelling is very obvious from the moment you speak with her, if you want to go anywhere in the world for any type of trip I can't recommend Jo enough! I have introduce Jo to my parents who are travelling Australia for xmas 2019 and South Africa in 2020. I will be using Jo in the future for certain for future trips, excellent service!!

Mark Gaskell

Southampton

I thought I would find this task easy to do, but after returning from Canada, I was blown away with the whole experience. Joanne from start to finish was able to achieve all my dreams to come true under one umbrella of travel. Her dedication and caring personality took on board all the requirements and much more to make this trip a memory that had to be fulfilled this year. For personal reasons to myself she was able to be with me as my backbone as I had no stress to deal with and I for one so much wanted this occasion to happen. The personal touches, the surprises, even down to having travel time, beach time and chill down time was all organised by Joanne (I would not have done this myself). We covered 5 different venues and drove 880 miles, enjoying the scenery off the beaten track. I did not have to organise anything. Every aspect - where to eat, what to visit, booklets, maps. The anniversary day was so special visit to two vineyards with tasting of local wines with a lunch thrown in and a tour guide, any snags I might have had, Joanne was there and social media came in so handy. I felt as if I had packed her in my luggage! I have returned home feeling I can now feel proud that after 25 years of waiting this last issue on my list has been undertaken and I can now move on with my life and this is all down to Joanne who made it happen for me. I would again use her service, how she manages to personalise the holiday to the clients request is outstanding and more and I wish I could put into words how emotional this has been, Joanne thank you so much, without you I probably would have delayed the holiday as in my eyes I didn't know where to start.

Sandra Simmonds

Portsmouth

We contacted Joanna after a friend recommended her. We wanted to do a special 25th anniversary trip to either Australia or Canada and couldn't decide which. Joanna arrived at our house with ideas but didn't overwhelm us. She helped us decide through her good knowledge of both places and from chatting with us generally. We told her our budget and she then left us to decide in more detail over the next week or so. She then returned to sort the holiday out in more detail. We were also sent an email attachment with links to lots of places to visit and potentially book. A couple of weeks prior to the holiday she came back to our house with the prepared itinerary in a special booklet which had all tickets and paperwork in chronological order. We just had to read it all and make sure we were happy. This was a total of 7 hotels, a train schedule, car hire and 3 flights. It was so nice not to have to worry about all the fiddly paperwork, multiple bookings and phone calls - it was all sorted by Joanne and the price was set and didn't change. She also arranged - for an extra fee - extra leg room on the two long haul flights which were worth every penny. At no point did we have any problems with any of the bookings. We arrived at our first hotel with a note from Joanne welcoming us to Canada. She also organised a surprise bottle of anniversary wine in one of our hotels and wrote a lovely card to welcome us home on our return. We asked a couple of questions via email whilst we were away and they were answered very promptly. Whilst she was away we were sent an email to explain that another counsellor would be covering all her clients. She phoned us to have a general chat about how the holiday had gone on the day she returned from her own holiday. Joanne comes across as a cheerful, down to earth person who managed our whole holiday excellently. We would highly recommend her and would certainly use her again to organise a holiday.

Jane and Chris Matcham

Winchester

I recently used Joanne to book a family holiday to Eurodisney. The service I received from Joanne was exceptional. Joanne was there every step of the way and couldn't do enough to ensure my family and I had the best holiday, stress free. I would have no hesitation in using her again and would thoroughly recommend her to all my friends! Thank you Joanne.

Julie Oliver

Hythe

Thank you so much Joanne for booking our brilliant family holiday to Greece for us. Everything ran so smoothly and was set out and planned so well it took all the worry off us. All the little extra touches, even down to a postcard on our return from you, really made a difference. Thank you again - I will definitely be recommending you! x

Nicky Gander

Liss Forest, near Petersfield

Each holiday, or indeed flights only, we have arranged via Joanne has been handled brilliantly. She reflects the very epitome of Customer Care and nothing is too much trouble for this extremely amiable and professional lady. From start to finish our arrangements are handled seamlessly, she keeps in regular contact, together with producing all the relevant documentation on schedule. I don't look anywhere else for my holiday arrangements as Joanne deals with absolutely everything, and finds extremely competitive deals.

Cameron Cashmore

Southampton

Discover the world with me

SkySafari Kenya

SkySafari Kenya

Kenya is more than a destination – it’s a sensation. It’s the snap-crack of big game tramping through the bush, There’s nowhere like it on earth.

06 Dec 2021

World of Good

World of Good

Travel is not allowed at the moment but when it does we can do you the world of good just take a look!

20 Jan 2021

Ausora Expedtion Cruises

Ausora Expedtion Cruises

Take a peak at Expedition Cruising. Antarctica and the Arctic are two of the major areas featured. Enjoy.

20 Jan 2021

5 Reasons

5 Reasons

5 Excellent Reasons to book with me your trusted travel advisor for your next trip

23 Dec 2020

Twenty -on for 21

Twenty -on for 21

Some great places to visit in 2021!

25 Nov 2020

Floating Houses

Floating Houses

Experience a stay these unique floating houses in Cambodia. Do you fancy staying in one?

25 Nov 2020

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Tailor-made for you

Your holiday isn’t just a trip away. It’s a longed-for escape, time to reconnect with loved ones, or a dream adventure you never thought possible. That’s why I take the time to truly get to know you and understand your hopes and expectations, then use my experience, connections and passion for the destination to create a trip that makes those dreams a reality.

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Personalised service. Always

When you plan a holiday with me, you’ll be given my personal mobile number from the very first call. I’ll listen to your thoughts and ideas like I would a friend and arrange accommodation, activities, and flights that are all personalised to you. And I’ll share my personal tips and recommendations, so you can experience the true beauty of each destination.

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Stress-free travel, and more time
for what matters most

I believe your time away should be stress-free, easy, and seamless from start to finish. So, I take care of all the details for you - from ATOL protection, insurance, and flexible payments to access to the myTC app, which keeps everything in one place.

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Support when it matters most

If the unexpected happens, you can rest easy, knowing that I’ll handle any last-minute changes, flight cancellations, or disruptions before you even pick up the phone. So you always feel happy, carefree, and ready to make the most of every moment.

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Finding your match...

Every unforgettable journey starts with the right person by your side.