Here’s something I wish more people understood before they start planning a trip: booking a trip and planning a trip are not the same thing. You can book a trip in twenty minutes on your phone. Picking the right cruise line for your family, the right region for a first trip to Italy, the right pace for a multigenerational group with a toddler and two grandparents — that takes someone who knows the difference between an Instagrammable destination and one that actually fits you. That’s why I call myself a travel advisor, not a booking agent. Booking is the easy part. Advising is the job.
What “Advising” Actually Covers
When you work with me, you’re not handed a list of hotels and left to figure out the rest. Advising means helping you choose the right destination in the first place, the right mix of organized tours versus days on your own, the right balance of activities considering each of the members of your group. It means flagging the problems before you hit them: the shoulder-season closure you didn’t know about, the neighborhood that’s got late night noise, the itinerary that looks great on paper but has you changing hotels every night or two.
It also means the unglamorous stuff nobody thinks to ask about until they’re standing in an airport: what to pack, how to handle money and cards abroad, what the safety picture actually looks like, how you’ll stay in touch with people back home. All of that is part of the package, because all of it is part of preparing and enjoying your trip.
How We Work Together
It starts with a complimentary consultation call — about 30 to 45 minutes — where we talk through your travel history, what you’re hoping to get out of this particular trip, and anything that’s non-negotiable or off the table. Of everything I do, this is the part that matters most: I get to know clients as people, not as a set of dates and a budget – what you love, what stresses you out on the road, what “relaxing” means to you. I love hearing about my clients’ special interests and any unique needs – the 10 year old that’s super into Percy Jackson or the picky eater who won’t touch seafood. That’s what makes a proposal custom instead of copy-pasted, and it’s the piece a search engine or AI will never be able to do for you.
From there, I build a proposal: accommodations, transportation, a mix of organized tours and independent time, all shaped around what we just talked about. If a cruise is involved, we do this in two passes — first narrowing down the right ship and itinerary, then building out the full trip around it. I send the proposal over with a short video walkthrough so you can review it on your own time, and we adjust until it’s right, based on your feedback.
Once you’re happy with it, I handle the booking and turn everything into a detailed, day-by-day itinerary in an app, with all the logistics — confirmation numbers, meeting points, tips for each stop — in one place. As your trip gets closer, we do a pre-travel call to make sure you feel ready, not just booked. And while you’re traveling, I’m there for the on-the-spot questions.
It doesn’t end when you land back home. I follow up after every trip to hear how it went — what worked, what didn’t, and any special finds — because that feedback is constantly sharpening what I recommend to the next client.
On-the-Ground Experience Matters
I’ve been to most of the places I send people to. Not every hotel, not every excursion — but enough to know a place beyond what’s written about it. A lot of that experience comes as a mom: my son has traveled to nearly 40 countries with us at this point, so when a family tells me they’re worried about balancing a teenager’s interests or a toddler’s nap schedule, I’ve lived that particular puzzle myself, more than once.
Why There’s a Fee for This
Every trip I build is assembled by hand — I’m not running your dates through a template and swapping out the hotel names. That’s genuinely custom work, and it takes real time, which is why my planning services carry a fee rather than being “free” the way a big-box booking site’s service pretends to be. You’re not paying for a machine; you’re paying for someone who actually did the thinking.
When You Already Know What You Want
Not everyone needs the full advising process for every trip. If you’ve worked with me in the last year and you’ve already done the deciding — you know the exact hotel, cruise, or resort, and your dates are set — I’m happy to get you a complimentary quote and book it on your behalf for no fee. And there’s often benefits in booking through me: for many Hyatt properties and the four- and five-star hotels in my Signature network, I can access perks like breakfast, hotel credit, and room upgrades, and on cruises I sometimes have pricing better than what you’d find booking direct, generally with onboard credit included.
Ready to Start Planning?
If this sounds like the kind of trip planning you’ve been missing, I’d love to help you plan yours. Reach out to me at kristin@familytravelsandadventures.com or schedule a consult below, and let’s talk about where you’re headed!
Travels With Kristin 