ExperiencePlus! Blog


Travel Planning Pains and Remedies

Travel Planning

A few remedies for your travel planning pains

Each time I plan a personal trip I ask myself, “Why, oh why, do I have to spend so much time on all the nitty gritty details?”  I am certainly guilty of procrastinating the unloved task for as long as possible, which is funny because this reaction is a stark paradox to my day-to-day work, which I absolutely LOVE. While working on my own trips falls to the bottom of my to-do list, I love helping ExperiencePlus! cyclists with their travel planning! Go figure.

It’s possible I find such joy in helping our travelers because I know first-hand just how difficult and time-consuming it can be to find time in our busy lives to research, compare time-lines between modes of transportation, juggle date discrepancies involved in international travel, figure out train schedules and destinations, and so on.

We are here to help!

It’s a win-win relationship: Our travelers can kick back and relax as I pull the details together, share tips and help out with questions. Here’s a quick summary of what you can expect in terms of travel planning services when you book an ExperiencePlus! trip so not only your cycling trip will be memorable but also your arrival and departure plans will be a breeze. Also, it will make you and me happy!

While we are not a travel agency and can only make your travel and hotel bookings that connect directly to our tours, there’s still quite a bit we can do to ease our travelers’ planning pains – see a list below:

[vc_tta_accordion][vc_tta_section title=”Arriving To or Departing From Your Tour” tab_id=”1499368318531-09264268-fafc”]Refer to the tour packet/itinerary of your booked trip or look at the Travel Information tab on the web itinerary. You will find detailed step-by-step arrival and departure information specific to your tour.[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Online Travel Planning Page” tab_id=”1499368318573-f5c41a8c-3aa6″]Check out our Travel Planning Pages! You will find country-specific tips on how to get around a country, the low-down about typical food, the language, our beloved movie and reading lists, and much more! Take a little tour around the countries we visit on our tours before you travel for real.[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Flight Assistance” tab_id=”1499368429310-a03c14f9-5dd3″]Overwhelmed by complex flight schedules and just not finding the right itinerary? Do not fear! We work with a flight consolidator based in Colorado whose knowledgeable global staff are experts in air travel and will help you quickly, professionally and in a personal and friendly fashion.  Exito’s flight specialists are always happy to provide you with a detailed quote for your desired flight itinerary and will also be there in case you end up having to make changes to your itinerary.  I love working with Exito and it’s always worth checking in with them about a flight itinerary – even if you end up finding something better somewhere else.  Just give us a call or shoot me an email and I’ll send them a request. The best thing is that I will craft your request adapted to your tour or your personal plans around it, and I will have your flight information right at my fingertips once you’ve booked your flights, so I will have it all on file. If you want to contact them directly, you can of course do so by emailing experienceplus@exitotravel.com.[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Trains and Local Transfers” tab_id=”1499368453214-26bb31f9-1885″]Now that you’ve arrived in the country of your next bike adventure, you need to get from the airport to wherever you want to start your trip. Train schedules can be confusing, so can buses and other transfer options. Ask me, I’ll be happy to help and get you “on the right track”! Don’t miss our train FAQ with lots of great information.[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Extra Hotel Nights – Before Or After Your Tour” tab_id=”1499368478529-8decef8c-be94″]Want to arrive early at our starting hotel to get over the jet lag or prefer to linger around a bit longer at the tour end? I’ll make your extra night reservations at our tour starting and ending (or meeting and drop-off) hotels! Give me a call or shoot me an email and I’ll get the process started.[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Hotel Recommendations – Beyond Your Tour” tab_id=”1499368523290-ba88f4e3-0716″]We have a number of lovely hotel recommendations that we have enjoyed or that our travelers loved and told us about. We have now also added a map so you can get a bird’s eye view of our hotel recommendations throughout the world. Before you head to your trusty search engine, you might want to give our list a glimpse and see if our recommendations strike your fancy. If they don’t, you might want to try Secretplaces.com or good old booking.com. But of course, the options are endless, these two resources are just my favorites. Find the hotel recommendations under each country at our Travel Planning Pages.[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Travel Tips And Stories For Regions We Love” tab_id=”1499368558516-2485af12-b3c1″]Our staff and Tour Leaders have secret and not so secret tips and lists of things to do for many regions, cities and towns. Don’t hesitate to ask us if you’re wondering how to pass the time in Barcelona or where to eat in Dubrovnik. We are passionate about traveling and exploring and it’s our greatest honor if you ask us for advice. Also, you might like our Blog with lots of travel tips to get inspired or find answers you might be pondering on. Tips on how to spend some great time in Munich? You are welcome![/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion]Read more on our Traveler Services.