Rick Steves' travel consultant services

We used it in person but we are only a couple of hours away and it was a good excuse to drive to Seattle and Edmonds. For me it just confirmed what I was already planning with a couple of minor changes. For my wife it really got her more excited because she had not been taking part in the planning. I think it would be very helpful if you are confused about your itinerary and how many days to spend in any one location. But if you are pretty much dialed in then you might think twice. You still have to find and make reservations for hotels on your own. Good luck with your planning.

Jim

I used it twice by phone. My needs were somewhat esoteric – if it had been routine planning I could've done it myself. The results were mixed. The first person was amazing, well prepared, and really helpful. When I used it a couple of years later, the person had not really prepared and didn't really provide any information that I didn't already have. However with complicated planning, I would use it again, and I want to reemphasize that my questions were not routine.

Hello nurseanne1,
We used the travel planning service by phone a couple years ago, & the person who helped us was spot on with their advice! We were wanting to spend about 10 days in Switzerland (Alps) & Austria post a Mediterranean cruise that ended in Venice. We did research on our own (even posted some questions on this forum), & listed specific things/places we thought we'd enjoy along with scenery, scenic trains, charming, quaint villages, ability to hike, etc.). We didn't have a clue how to get from Venice to any of the places we listed, or what was even feasible. Actually, we didn't have a clue about any of it!!! Before our scheduled phone consultation, we sent an email with all our questions & what we thought we wanted to see, etc., & the travel consultant worked from that to help us plan our trip. Our guy let us know we were trying to do too much, & told us what he'd eliminate, (not as spectacular scenery, time consuming, difficult to arrange travel to, etc.), & gave us a plan. We found all our own hotels, but I think he even gave us some suggestions with that. For us, it was perfect, & I would definitely use this service again!

That scenario sounds exactly like what is answered here on this website every single day of the week. Of course, if you're just wanting somebody to plan your trip for you then I would probably choose RS travel agents over most other fly-by-night TAs.

"We did research on our own (even posted some questions on this forum), & listed specific things/places we thought we'd enjoy along with scenery, scenic trains, charming, quaint villages, ability to hike, etc.). We didn't have a clue how to get from Venice to any of the places we listed, or what was even feasible. Actually, we didn't have a clue about any of it!!! Before our scheduled phone consultation, we sent an email with all our questions & what we thought we wanted to see, etc., & the travel consultant worked from that to help us plan our trip. Our guy let us know we were trying to do too much, & told us what he'd eliminate, (not as spectacular scenery, time consuming, difficult to arrange travel to, etc.), & gave us a plan. We found all our own hotels, but I think he even gave us some suggestions with that. For us, it was perfect, & I would definitely use this service again! "