The insiders’ guide to a trip of a lifetime
HAS booking a holiday online reached the limits of its usefulness? Are there times when we would be better off shutting down our laptops and speaking to a high street travel agent instead?
Of course, that’s what we used to do before so many agencies went to the wall.
But there are some notable survivors that have resisted the urge to cut staffing costs and have grown and prospered instead, winning a host of industry awards.
The market leader is Trailfinders, originally beloved of backpackers but now seeing its biggest growth area in luxury stays and first- and business-class travel, while its thriving specialism in great-value, bespoke long-haul itineraries goes from strength to strength.
Started by Mike Gooley when he left the SAS in 1970, Trailfinders remains a family-owned business and to date has operated amazing tailor-made holidays for more than 15 million clients.
Mike is still closely involved and believes that Trailfinders’ clients get a better holiday faster and more easily by talking directly to an experienced adviser, who may also have useful suggestions about the best flight routes, airlines, hotels and those unmissable experiences.
In fact, these days you can arrange any holiday or flight you care to imagine with Trailfinders – both in Europe and worldwide – just by ringing up or going into one of its 32 travel centres and speaking to an adviser.
This traditional approach works so well because Trailfinders staff really know their stuff.
Before they can work advising customers, they must have travelled recently and extensively on at least two continents outside of Europe.
This puts a chasm between them and many other travel agents, who tend to be young with limited experience.
Between them, Trailfinders’ consultants have travelled to 96 per cent of countries, so they can offer on-the-ground expertise to ensure you make the most of your precious time away.
Not only that, but they receive ongoing staff training and are sent on educational visits to enhance their knowledge further.
They are in a great position to give expert advice and insider tips on the very best fly-drives, tours and unique travel experiences worldwide.
And that’s important. While most of us might be able to book a short hop within Europe online without much problem, planning a trip further afield or with more than a couple of elements can certainly be more complicated.
As well as advising on the itinerary within your chosen destinations, a Trailfinders adviser will know the best fares on offer – and ways of achieving savings by combining flights and hotels into a package. This kind of expert, flexible service is virtually impossible to replicate on a website.
What’s more, arranging a package in this way gives you significant protection under the European Package Travel Regulation, compared with booking flights and hotels separately, which will leave you on your own without any back-up if issues arise abroad.
And there are other factors they will consider, such as ensuring your hotel is close to a city’s historic attractions, for example, rather than stuck out in the suburbs.
Trailfinders has thrived in today’s competitive travel market because of excellent customer satisfaction.
As the UK’s most trusted travel brand it boasts numerous best tour operator awards from the public, as well as thousands of five-star reviews on Trustpilot.
And the range of holidays on offer is truly comprehensive, spanning 17 holiday styles, from family beach breaks, to cruises, to escorted touring and tailor-made itineraries in destinations across the world.
So whether you are looking to combine a Canadian Rockies fly-drive with an iconic Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure and an Alaska cruise, planning an island-hopping journey in Asia, or fancy a relaxing beach break in the Maldives, let the friendly, knowledgeable experts at Trailfinders take you there.
To discuss your holiday plans and get a free quote from Trailfinders, call 020 7368 1200. Its highly trained travel experts are on hand seven days a week to offer ideas and inspiration.