Need a tweak? Or a whole new design?

Maybe none of my self-guided trips are quite what you are looking for. Whether you're researching family history, have a special interest you want to indulge (food, wine, motorsports, military history, etc.), or are just interested in visiting places a little out of the ordinary, Hand Crafted Travel can help you navigate through the maze, and design a trip that fits your dreams. I can either modify one of my regular self-guided trips, or build you a whole new one from the ground up.

With more than 35 years of experience living and traveling in Europe, I know every nook and cranny. I keep up-to-date on thousands of sights, hotels, and restaurants, which I visit on an annual basis. And I offer honest opinions on which are best for your specific needs, budget, and dreams.

Sit back and relax while I take care of all of the details: booking hotels, reserving transportation, issuing skip-the-line tickets for museums (where possible), and arranging for local guides (if desired). You’ll get all the details of your trip in a personalized guidebook, written just for you.

Custom Trip Planning is $75 per hour (minimum of 4 hours). Most two-week trips take anywhere from 4 to 10 hours to prepare.

Customized trip planning includes everything our normal, self-guided trips do:

  • reservations at charming, small hotels (in your choice of price range)
  • a rental car and/or rail transportation
  • skip-the-line tickets to major museums (wherever possible)
  • fun, informative self-guided tours of the major sights
  • recommendations for restaurants that offer ambiance, great food, and the best value
  • the assistance of local guides, where desired
  • expert advice and answers to specific questions about planning and preparing for your trip
  • a guidebook designed just for your trip
Find out more

How Our Custom Trip Planning Works

Step 1: Fill out the Trip Planning Questionnaire

To help me in planning your custom Self-Guided Trip please set aside thirty minutes or so for this questionnaire. Investing a few minutes now will ensure that all the time and money you’re spending on your trip are well spent. And please be completely honest in your answers. It may sound very sophisticated to say that art and history are the main reasons for the trip, but then I'm going to send you off on a half-day tour of the Louvre when you’d really rather be browsing the shops at Le Bon Marché.

Step 2: Approve the Rough Itinerary Outline

After reviewing the answers on your Trip Planning Questionnaire I will prepare a Rough Itinerary Outline, to make sure we're in agreement about the pace and flow of your trip. This will include the number of days to spend in each place, an overview of the major sights and activities I'll include, and information about how you'll be getting from place to place.

The Rough Itinerary Outline will also include an estimate for the number of hours I will spend working on your trip, as well as other prepaid costs.

Once you approve the Rough Itinerary Outline, we'll move on to Step Three.

Step 3: Make a deposit

Before I begin work on your final Hand Crafted Trip Plan, I require a Good Faith Deposit. The amount of the deposit will vary, depending on the number of hours I expect to spend working on your trip plan, plus any costs that we expect to pay in advance on your behalf. An invoice for the Good Faith Deposit will be sent with the Rough Itinerary Outline.

Step 4: Download and submit forms

In order to reserve various elements of your trip I will need to gather some essential information about each of the travelers, including birth dates, passport details, and any physical limitations. I will also need credit card information for at least one of the group members. Once the Rough Itinerary Outline is approved, I'll send you a link to download and submit these forms.

Step 5: Book your flights

If you haven't already picked dates, now is the time. You will need to book your own air travel to and from Europe, as well as any air travel necessary within Europe. I don’t handle air at all.

As soon as you have your flights booked, please email me the details (dates, airlines, and flight numbers). Work on the final itinerary can start before your air travel arrangements are made, as long as there is no change in dates, but please send me the air information as soon as you have it booked. The final itinerary can’t be completed until I have this information.

Step 6: Receive your final Trip Plan

Once I have all of the information from you about flights, passport numbers, etc. I will build a detailed, day-by-day itinerary, including booking hotels, reserving transportation, issuing skip-the-line tickets for museums (where possible), and arranging for local guides (if desired).

Your final Hand Crafted Trip Plan will be a personalized guidebook, written just for you. You'll receive a pdf version (perfect for viewing on a computer, tablet, or phone), and a printed copy to carry along on your trip.

Many museum and train reservations can't be confirmed more than 60 days in advance, so you should expect to receive your final Trip Plan, including all confirmations and vouchers, about 30 to 45 days before your trip departure date.

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