Where travel is a celebration of life and love

You've worked hard to reward your family with a great vacation that gives you precious time together at a modest price. You don't want to waste money or miss opportunities to create family memories. Our Top 5 Vacation Planning Tactics ensure that your vacation lives up to your dreams and doesn’t become a sequel to National Lampoon’s Vacation.

1. Pick a destination that's appropriate for the whole family. Too many times I see families choose a destination based solely on price despite the fact that the location has nothing to offer everyone. What good is saving a few dollars if everyone's unhappy? Not only did you not save a few dollars, but more likely you wasted thousands. Too many people choose a destination based on what's cheapest, without regard for what's best for their personalities or vacation goals. While keeping this in my mind...
2. Make sure your budget is realistic for your destination location. We’ve had clients come to us demanding RT first class air for a family of 4 from the East Coast, luxury villa accommodations for two weeks in Hawaii, high end rental cars, excursions, taxes, and trip protection with a budget of $2,000. That’s just unrealistic. Your budget and your desires need to match—a good travel consultant can help you reconcile your expectations with your budget and modify/prioritize one or the other. And on that note of how you spend your money…
3. You want to be sure that the money you invest actually delivers your vacation as promised—so use a supplier you can trust. We hear too many painful stories about travelers who found an incredibly cheap vacation online, or through a friend, or on a message board—only to find that the only thing they bought was aggravation and a ticket to small claims’ court. Know who it is you are purchasing from. Have they been around a long time, or did they just pop up overnight? What’s their reputation in the travel industry? Have other people used them with success? In these challenging economical times, scammers and frauds are everywhere. If it sounds too good to be true and completely unbelievable, then it probably is. Yes, there are great promotions out there, but recognize the difference between a great value and an unbelievable one. When it comes to pricing…
4. You need to be on the lookout for two separate things: A) know what it is you are buying---get everything in writing and B) if you are comparing itinerary prices, compare identical elements.
• I cannot stress enough how critical it is to know what you’re buying. Get all promises, all elements of itinerary in writing. Don’t rely on oral promises; you may have been purposely misled or just plain misheard. This might seem really basic, but again, I’ve seen clients, family, and friends make this mistake. They’ve come to me saying, “Such and such company said I could go to Barbados for $200 a person for four days including airfare, accommodations, and an excursion.” As soon as I ask what airlines and what hotel, they start to stutter. “Gee, I don’t know. They didn’t tell me. Does it matter?” KNOW what you are getting yourself into—for all you know, you could be getting stuck in a two day timeshare presentation that’s right out of a cartoon. Beware of travel companies who require you to plunk down nonrefundable monies before giving you the itinerary in writing.
• And of course, when comparing itineraries’ pricing, be sure to compare item by item. Beware of ambiguous wording, like ‘RT air” or “rental car” or “5 days’ accommodations”. Five days’ accommodations in a deluxe oceanfront 5* hotel is not the same as 5 days’ accommodations in a motel room over a parking lot. There are hundreds of variables within those few words, and these are all things that will significantly influence the total price and ultimately, the value of what you’re buying. Again, this is all part of knowing what you are getting. Is all this beginning to sound like a lot of work to you? Ready to skip the vacation for a staycation? Instead, why not go to step five…
5. Use a travel consultant you trust. A good travel consultant will take into account all of the items we just listed. Yes, these steps might seem like a lot of work—that’s because they are. Hire a professional to do the work for you—they know what scams are out there, the pitfalls to be avoided, and how to pack the most bang for your buck based on a thoughtful analysis of your needs. We personally invest heavily into traveling to all the destinations we serve so that we’re true experts for our clients; we know what the destinations offer, what the hotels are like, and where service is great and where it’s mediocre. This allows you the time to ENJOY the vacation--not stress about it. We recognize our clients are busy people with jobs and families to take care of—let us do our job and take care of you. We look out for you, so you can take pleasure in the joy of travel.

We had an amazing time on our honeymoon!! We rode an ATV in the beautiful sand dunes and explored the island on various trails. We snorkled in Cabo San Lucas and saw magnificent sites. We treated ourselves to relaxing massages and spent the majority of our time lounging in the sun by the tranquil pools. It was everything we imagined and more!! The hotel far exceeded our expectations. The service was incredible and the food was delectable! We probably gained about 5 pounds each! Now its back to the gym and time for detox!! :) Enjoy the pics !!

Your travel services were absolutely amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our trip!!  Thanks, Gretchen!

Click here to see their fabulous pix.