Planning a complicated trip can take a considerable amount of time, especially when you’re coordinating destinations, transportation, accommodations, activities, and schedules. Professional trip planning services can help organize those pieces and create an itinerary around the way you want to travel.
Compare Custom Trip Planning Services
Travel planning services vary widely. Some connect travelers with local experts, some specialize in tailor-made luxury trips, and others provide ongoing help from professional travel advisors. Understanding how each service works—and how the planner is compensated—is important before deciding whether professional planning is worth it for your trip.
Services in this comparison
- Kimkim — Connects travelers with destination specialists who create customized itineraries and help arrange trips.
- Zicasso — Matches travelers with travel specialists who design customized, typically higher-end itineraries.
- Fora Travel — A travel advisor network whose advisors can help travelers plan and book personalized trips.
- Audley Travel — Specializes in tailor-made trips designed with destination specialists.
- Black Tomato — Creates highly customized luxury trips and distinctive travel experiences.
These companies all provide personalized travel-planning help, but they serve somewhat different travelers. The biggest differences include the level of customization, budget expectations, how closely you work with a planner, and whether the service primarily advises, creates an itinerary, or also handles trip bookings.
| Service | Planning Model | Trip Style | Level of Help | Good to Know |
| Kimkim | Destination specialist network | Customized trips | Planning & booking | Connects travelers with specialists familiar with the destination |
| Zicasso | Travel specialist matching | Customized & luxury trips | Planning & booking | Matches travelers with specialists based on the trip request |
| Fora Travel | Travel advisor network | Broad range of trips | Advisor planning & booking | Travelers work with an individual travel advisor |
| Audley Travel | Tailor-made tour operator | Customized trips | Full trip planning | Destination specialists design detailed personalized itineraries |
| Black Tomato | Luxury travel company | Bespoke luxury trips | Full trip planning | Focuses on highly customized and distinctive travel experiences |
Provider links: The services below are linked for your convenience. Smoother Travel does not currently receive compensation from these companies.
Kimkim
Kimkim connects travelers with destination specialists who help design customized trips. Rather than choosing a prepackaged itinerary, travelers describe what they want from the trip and work with a specialist to develop an itinerary and arrange travel services.
Pros
- Customized itineraries based on the traveler’s interests
- Access to specialists with destination knowledge
- Planning and booking can be handled within the same process
- Useful for complicated or multi-stop trips
Cons
- The experience can depend heavily on the individual specialist
- Customized trips may cost more than arranging everything independently
- Available expertise and options vary by destination
- Travelers who enjoy doing their own research may not need this level of help
What to consider
Look at the specialist assigned to your trip as carefully as the company itself. Ask how the itinerary is developed, what’s included in the quoted price, how changes are handled, and what assistance is available during the trip.
Zicasso
Zicasso matches travelers with travel specialists who create customized itineraries based on the trip request. The service is particularly associated with tailor-made and higher-end travel rather than standardized vacation packages.
Pros
- Customized itineraries rather than fixed packages
- Travelers can be matched with specialists suited to the destination
- Useful for complex and multi-destination trips
- Planning and booking assistance are available
Cons
- Generally better suited to travelers with substantial trip budgets
- The experience depends on the travel specialist ultimately selected
- Customized planning may be unnecessary for straightforward trips
- Travelers need to understand exactly what’s included in a proposal
What to consider
Be clear about your budget and priorities from the beginning. When reviewing a proposal, look at accommodations, transportation, activities, guide arrangements, flexibility, and what’s excluded—not simply the total price.
Fora Travel
Fora is a network of travel advisors who help clients plan and book trips. Rather than purchasing a standardized planning package, travelers work with an individual advisor who can assist with accommodations, itineraries, and other parts of the trip.
Pros
- Personal relationship with an individual travel advisor
- Can assist with both planning and reservations
- Suitable for a broad range of trip styles
- Advisor relationship can potentially continue across future trips
Cons
- The experience can vary depending on the individual advisor
- The amount and type of planning assistance may differ by advisor
- Not every traveler needs advisor-level assistance
- Travelers should understand any planning fees or other charges before proceeding
What to consider
Ask what the advisor will actually handle, whether planning fees apply, how the advisor is compensated, and what support is available if plans change. Finding an advisor whose travel style and expertise fit your trip can matter as much as choosing the advisor network.
Audley Travel
Audley Travel creates tailor-made trips with the help of destination specialists. Travelers work with a specialist to develop an itinerary that can combine accommodations, transportation, guides, activities, and other arrangements.
Pros
- Highly customized itinerary planning
- Destination specialists provide detailed trip knowledge
- Multiple parts of a complicated itinerary can be coordinated
- Particularly useful for substantial international trips
Cons
- Tailor-made service generally comes at a higher cost than independent planning
- May be more service than necessary for a simple trip
- Available trip styles and arrangements vary by destination
- Travelers give up some of the direct control that comes with booking every component themselves
What to consider
Consider whether the complexity of your trip justifies full-service planning. Ask what’s included, how much flexibility you’ll have during the trip, how itinerary changes are handled, and what assistance is available while you’re traveling.
Black Tomato
Black Tomato specializes in bespoke luxury travel and highly customized experiences. Its trips are designed around individual preferences rather than conventional packaged itineraries, with an emphasis on distinctive accommodations and experiences.
Pros
- Highly personalized trip design
- Strong focus on unusual and distinctive experiences
- Detailed planning can reduce the work involved in organizing complex trips
- Appropriate for travelers specifically seeking high-end customized travel
Cons
- Luxury positioning means it won’t fit many travel budgets
- The level of planning may be unnecessary for simpler trips
- Bespoke experiences can make direct price comparisons difficult
- Travelers should establish budget expectations early in the planning process
What to consider
Black Tomato makes the most sense to evaluate when customization and distinctive experiences matter more than minimizing trip cost. Be specific about your budget, priorities, preferred pace, accommodations, and the experiences you actually value before the itinerary is developed.
How to Choose a Travel Planning Service
Decide how much help you actually want
Professional travel planning can range from getting advice on hotels and activities to having nearly the entire itinerary designed and booked for you. Decide whether you want occasional guidance, help with reservations, or someone to coordinate most of the trip.
Consider how complicated the trip is
A straightforward trip to one destination may be easy to arrange independently. Professional planning becomes more useful when a trip involves multiple destinations, complicated transportation, specialized activities, private guides, or arrangements that are difficult to coordinate on your own.
Establish your budget early
Custom planning can cover a wide range of budgets, while some services concentrate primarily on luxury travel. Sharing a realistic budget early helps a planner determine what’s possible and prevents time being spent developing an itinerary that doesn’t fit what you want to spend.
Understand how the planner is paid
Ask whether there is a planning fee, whether the company or advisor earns commissions from travel suppliers, or whether compensation comes from a combination of the two. Also find out which fees are refundable and when they become due.
Find the right expertise
Destination knowledge can matter considerably for a customized trip. Look for a planner or specialist with experience in the places you’re visiting and, when relevant, the type of trip you’re taking.
Ask what happens after you book
Planning doesn’t necessarily end when the itinerary is finalized. Find out who handles changes, cancellations, missed connections, or other problems and whether assistance is available while you’re traveling.
Compare the itinerary, not just the price
Two proposals with similar prices can provide very different trips. Compare accommodations, transportation, guides, activities, included meals, flexibility, support, and anything you’ll need to pay for separately.
A travel planning service is most valuable when the time, expertise, coordination, or support it provides is worth more to you than arranging the trip entirely on your own. The right level of help depends on the complexity of the trip and how involved you want to be in planning it.
Before You Hire a Travel Planner
Know what you want from the trip
You don’t need to have the itinerary figured out—that’s part of the reason for hiring a planner—but it helps to know your priorities. Think about destinations, approximate dates, travel pace, interests, accommodation preferences, and anything you definitely want to include or avoid.
Be clear about your budget
Give the planner a realistic overall budget and ask what it needs to cover. Clarify whether airfare, accommodations, transportation, tours, planning fees, and other expenses are included when discussing the expected trip cost.
Ask about fees before planning begins
Find out whether there is an initial consultation fee, itinerary or planning fee, booking fee, or other charge. Also ask whether any fees are credited toward the trip and what happens if you decide not to book the proposed itinerary.
Understand who will make the bookings
Some planners arrange most of the trip for you, while others provide recommendations or an itinerary and leave certain reservations to the traveler. Know which responsibilities belong to the planner and which remain yours.
Review cancellation and change terms
Understand the cancellation policies for both the planning service and the individual travel arrangements. Customized trips can involve several suppliers, each with its own rules for changes, refunds, and cancellations.
Get the important details in writing
Before committing to an expensive trip, make sure you understand what’s included, what’s excluded, payment schedules, cancellation terms, and what support you’ll receive before and during travel.
A good planning relationship starts with clear expectations. The more accurately you communicate your priorities, budget, and preferred travel style, the better a planner can determine whether they’re the right fit for your trip.