Looking for recommendations for a travel consultant to assist a family of 4 organize a trip from Seattle, WA to Greece & Barcelona in May 2023? Rick Steves travel consultant service not available in 2023. Thank you!
Posted by
NorthCarolina
1060 posts
Are you a AAA member? They do a great job. We've been using our AAA TA in Charleston since the 1990s.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2660 posts
Rick Steves mentions this company:
https://elizabethholmes.com
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14723 posts
I think it may depend on your AAA office. I've not used my local office but when I've been in there shopping the advice I've overheard was pretty awful.
I'd just say caveat emptor....read guidebooks including Rick's so you can figure out if the advice you are being given is reliable.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17418 posts
Friends of ours have used Elizabeth Holmes, mentioned above, and were pleased.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
We consulted Elizabeth Holmes a number of years when planning our accommodations in Santorini & Naxos. Our agent was Yumiko Sato.
Posted by
Detroit, MI
1036 posts
Reading Rick Steves guidebooks is philosophically similar to him indirectly consulting you. I like the Rough guide series too. Would you say that you have trouble making up your mind what sites to see or that you can make up a supposed itinerary but you need somebody to give you permission to do your itinerary? Some of us might even give you a miniature free consultation right on this forum. It helps a lot if you post a supposed day-by-day itinerary listing which major sites you will see each day along with what transportation and what cities you will sleep in on which nights. What if your consultant asks for so much information about what you want to do that it turns out that you end up talking yourself into sort of making up your own travel plans, while imagining that the consultant was more helpful than they really were? Will the consultant write you an itinerary with information you couldn't get from guidebooks and websites? ... some people prefer to buy tickets from an agent, other people like me figured out how to buy tickets online without an agent... as an adult how did I take 5 solo trips to europe and to some other locations, without an agent or consultant?... is this post supposed to be improper or a violation? I can delete it if necessary. ... and worse I have an anxiety about travel which has nothing to do with actual travel but feeling like I am a bad kid committing a violation or doing something dangerous or wrong because my mom is mortified or horrified each time I tell her i am taking a trip even thought I was 32 when I took my first solo leisure trip...