Five Reasons to Hire a Travel Consultant
Over the past ten years, my husband Kevin and I have traveled to countless destinations around the globe, and during that time we have come to two realizations:
We love a slower pace to travel.
We will always choose the hidden gem over the well-traveled city.
Hanoi, Vietnam
I go into more detail about our travel philosophy here. But based on this mindset, we have focused most of our travel on finding smaller villages or towns where we could fully immerse ourselves in a particular culture while meeting locals and discovering what makes the area unique. Since we tended to focus much of our travel on Italy (we’re obsessed with the country) and Ireland (we also love Ireland and Kevin has family there), it was only a matter of time before we were asked for travel recommendations. On top of that, I have been asked frequently by friends and relatives if I could plan their entire trips for them. When discussing the reasons why they would want to hire me as a travel consultant, they all mentioned the same things - they hated tours they had previously went on, feeling there was little privacy and downtime. They wanted to travel but didn’t really want to do any of the work of planning the trip, and would rather have someone with personal experience traveling the locations to do it for them. They wanted to see one or two historic sites in a day, not five. They didn’t know where to eat and were too overwhelmed to seek out the best restaurants, settling for mediocre food or tourist traps.
Hence, the idea for Buona Sara Travels was born. By using our knowledge as well as researching skills, we could provide the wary traveler with a custom curated vacation that meets their personal needs and wants. If you are curious about some other reasons to hire me as a travel consultant, please keep reading.
Fountain in Salzburg, Austria
1. We’re Not Travel Agents
It’s 2024 - are people still using travel agents? Weirdly, despite, you know, the internet existing, it seems that many people we know are still using travel agents. Having never used one personally, I can’t judge their merits. However, to me, it seems that the entire idea of using a travel agent seems pretty antiquated. From what I know of travel agents, they usually have an expertise - for instance, those all-inclusive resorts in locations like Cancun, and will make their money off the commissions that the resort gives them for booking you there. I don’t believe they have any secret “in” when it comes to flight or hotel bookings, and a simple Google Flights search (my favorite travel tool!) or Booking.com query will provide you with the same results. It is true that travel agents can probably get you a good deal on a cruise or a group tour of Europe, and if that is how you like to travel, more power to you - any form of travel is great! That being said, as I go into more detail here, that is not how we prefer to travel.
2. Trips Curated to You Specifically
Every traveler is different. Some prefer to spend all of their time seeing historical sites, while others just like to eat their way through cities. Some like walking tours, while others like exploring places on their own. Would you like to go to cities in Italy that aren’t Florence, Rome and Venice? We can help get you there! We’d love to chat with you and after an initial consultation, we can help curate a vacation that is perfect for you and your travel partners. As much as we love to travel ourselves, we also love helping people make memories of their own and find hidden gems.
3. Expertise in Specific Destinations
According to a 2023 U.S. News study, the Amalfi Coast was #3 on the list of best places to visit in Italy. Kevin and I not only honeymooned there, but have been back several times since. We have extensive lists on where to eat, where to stay and what to do. While we do consider ourselves experts on Italy and Ireland, we can also assist with locations we’ve been to all over the globe, from California to South Korea to Greece.
4. We Will Actively Try to Save You Money
My mother has taken several trips to Europe with her church. For her, this seems like the easiest and safest way to travel. The group includes her priest, whom she understandably trusts, and the group uses a travel agent to book. The trips usually last about 10 days and average around $5,000-$6,000 per person per trip. This is the sticker price, and does not include the amount she spends on the meals that aren’t included and any other expenses. When I saw the price tag, I was baffled! And my mom refused to believe me that, on average, we could take the same trip to Europe for half that amount of money. From all I have heard of travel agents, it seems like saving you money is not their top priority. Not the case with us - we know you don’t need to spend an outrageous amount of money to travel and we have the years of travel budgets to prove it. We’re also not trying to charge you an arm and a leg for our services - we just want you to have the best experience while not breaking the bank.
5. Helping with the Mundane Travel Tasks
You’ve booked your 3 day stay in Rome. Now what? We would be more than happy to book you on a tour of the Colosseum and Palatine Hill or send you to our favorite restaurant that only accepts reservations by phone (did I mention that I speak a little Italian?). Give me the tasks you don’t want to handle - tour bookings, airport transfers, visa applications, restaurant reservations. That’s what I’m here for :)
Sunset in Volterra, Italy
To speak more about your upcoming dream trip, please contact me here.