Around the World in 90 Days!
Jules Verne epic adventure took place in 1872, but how did the Thomas’ do it in 2019? Writes Sarah Freeman
I was contacted by the Thomas’ after they’d seen an article about my personal travel consultancy business in this very magazine last year. They were interested in a going on a Round The World tour but weren’t sure where to start and given the scale of trip really wanted to work with a travel professional who would take care of their needs.
What ensued was a three-hour planning session at the Thomas’ home in Preston – imagine maps spread out, guidebooks opened and frequent google searches. I came away with a great understanding as to the places they wanted to visit and what style of holiday they were looking for.
My first step was getting the Thomas’s set up with myTC app, a nifty app that would allow them to receive their travel documents on their phone, make secure payments and receive flight alerts.
Next was streamlining the itinerary. The couple wanted to accomplish a lot, but I needed to be mindful of, not only budget, but also the cadence of the trip. It was critical to minimise travel time, include downtime to recover from jetlag and most importantly include time to actually experience each destination.
Given the complexity of the holiday, I set up a spreadsheet which allowed us day by day to see how the trip was evolving. This at a glance document listed all key details from countries and dates, flight times and time differences, to hotel accommodation and camper van hire, through to transfers, excursions and visa information.
On the couple’s bucket list was to attend an F1 race, so working the itinerary to fit about the Melbourne Grand Prix, I secured grandstand seats amongst other benefits. In addition, the Thomas’ run a boutique wine business and were keen to visit wineries, so I set up private wine tours for them to meet the actual producers.
Over the course of three months, they explored Dubai, Singapore, multiple locations in Australia and New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, San Francisco and finally Toronto.
Booking their holiday doesn’t just stop there. I personally delivered their travel documents and answered last minute queries. I checked them in and sent them their boarding passes. While away we stayed in contact, so if issues arose, I was able to help resolve them in real-time.
Mr and Mrs Thomas commented: “Sarah became personally involved with our trip of a lifetime and made sure it all went smoothly. It was fantastic to see her build our trip, book flights, hotels, transfers and additional activities. She worked with us throughout the planning and kept in contact with us throughout the trip. Sarah’s friendly and caring approach to ensuring the trip was built around us gave us that personal service.”
Sarah Freeman – Travel Counsellor
www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/sarah.freeman
