Benefits of Using a Travel Advisor
This summer my wife and I had the most magical vacation in Greece. We went to celebrate both my 50th birthday and our nuptials. We called it a celebration of love and life. Going to Greece had been a dream of mine for decades. Literally. I studied Latin and Greek mythology from junior high school through the 12th grade. I was part of a Latin Club and competed in Greek inspired intellectual competitions. I have been enamored with Greece ever since. When the time came to plan both my milestone birthday and a honeymoon, Greece was the only thought I had.
But this article isn’t about Greece. It’s about the amazing experience I had using a travel advisor. Don’t get me wrong, being in Greece was absolutely the most amazing experience I’ve ever had to date. But it felt that way thanks to the curated experience that our travel advisor created for us.
I had never used a travel advisor before. I grew up during the era of the travel agent. The person who sat in an office surrounded by posters of cruise ships and far off lands and booked your cruise or flight for you. That was the extent of what I saw in my little, small town travel agency back in the day. This experience was way more than that.
I was used to planning my own travel experiences and I enjoy doing so. I enjoy finding ways to bring my ideas and dreams to life. It’s fun! However, for our trip to Greece, my wife recommended we use her travel advisor, Lena. Lena is the owner of Sweet Beans Travel. My wife worked with her for her solo trip to Peru in 2022. My wife raved about that trip and to this day will pull up photos and reflect on how amazing it was. Now I get it.
A Personalized Experience
Since the trip to Greece was my dream and I had the vision, I took the lead on the planning. I scheduled a Zoom meeting with Lena and we spent about 45 minutes talking through the types of adventures I wanted to have on our 10-day vacation. Because of her years of experience and her local connections, she was able to hear my ideas and make specific suggestions based on what I was describing. We told Lena we wanted ample down time for rest. We didn’t want to return tired needing a vacation from the vacation. After our meeting, Lena then took a few days to put together a draft trip proposal. She sent us a variety of options for hotels and excursions and once my wife and I made our selections, she put together an extremely detailed itinerary for our approval. Just reading the itinerary got us super excited! It completely captured the ideas, vision and energy of what I described to her.
Brain Rest
Once we arrived in Greece, our driver met us at the airport and our adventures began. At the hotel, a concierge met with us to go over our itinerary once more. This surprised me! As someone who likes to plan and be prepared, I had already read through our itinerary and printed out multiple copies. The concierge took the time to go over our itinerary line by line making sure we knew our pickup times and understood what the excursion would entail. He also made sure we had the contact information for the local travel advisor that works with Lena. From this moment on, I really didn’t have to think much at all. All I needed to do was check the time and be ready to go. It was glorious.
When it was time for us to take the ferry from Athens to Mykonos and Santorini, something neither of us had ever done before, all we had to do was click a link to access our tickets and be ready for a driver to whisk us away. Lena had made all of the arrangements for us.
Not needing to think about transportation. Not needing to think about what we were doing each day allowed my brain to rest. As a business owner, I am thinking and strategizing about my business almost every day. As a therapist, of course I am thinking about my clients and interventions and holding emotional space for them. As a clinical supervisor, I am thinking about how to help my supervisee’s grow and learn. As a coach, I am thinking about the next best question. As a wife, I am thinking about our meals, our home and helping to ensure that we are taking care of ourselves. During this vacation, I felt tended to the whole time. I didn’t have to think much at all. So much so that unless I looked at the itinerary, I hardly knew what day it was.
All I knew was that every day the sun was shining, the Aegean Sea was a stunning blue and the food was fresh and amazing everywhere we went. Bags were carried. Doors were opened for us. Drinks, food and beach towels were brought to us. Umbrellas were opened for us. The service was so impeccable, by the end of the trip, I had forgotten how to use my hands.
Comfort + Convenience=Luxury
I wanted to highlight the benefits of using a travel advisor because it changed the way I view travel and solidified for me that luxury is a feeling not a price tag. We paid Lena a few hundred dollars to curate what was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had to date. It allowed my wife and I to truly unwind and relax. Lena scheduled our agenda in such a way that we hit the ground running then ramped down. Nothing felt rushed and we weren’t overbooked. Because everything was so well coordinated and orchestrated, I felt safe and comfortable the whole trip. The venues and companies she worked with matched our taste preferences which showed that she really listened to what I said and leaned into her understanding of who we are. There were little personal touches along the way that made us feel even more special; like a lovely fruit platter and bottle of wine waiting for us in Athens upon arrival or the phone call from her local contact to make sure everything was going smoothly for us.
For me, I now see using a travel advisor as part of my wellness practice. Lena took the stress out of travel in a way that I had not experienced before. Don’t get me wrong, I could have planned a great trip to Greece on my own. However, the benefits of using a travel advisor are that she has connections with local businesses that I don’t have which enabled her to create a more elevated experience for us in a way that I would not have been able to do. It also took the pressure off of me to make sure that everything aligned while there because that was someone else’s responsibility.
So, the next time you are planning a trip and truly want to relax, think less and just enjoy yourself, consider using a travel advisor like Lena with Sweet Bean Travel. You’ll be glad you did.
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