BOOK WITH OUR TRAVEL AGENCY

Independent Travel

Book with a Travel Agent Don’t go out there alone.

Salvatore our apartment neighbor in Sicily

Travel Agents are passionate about independent travel! It is great that there is an abundance of information on the web but huge quantities of unfiltered info is also a problem when you have to sort all that info down to an actual travel itinerary. Very simply we craft great independent travel itineraries. Why are agents so good with independent travel? Because it is what we do for a living and we still produce independent travel itineraries worldwide on a weekly basis. Also we have done a lot of independent travel ourselves and learned along the way. At our travel agency, we have a custom system for producing independent travel itineraries. Your budgeted expenses and travel itinerary end up on one sheet of paper. We can take your idea, desired sights/destinations and basic plan to make it reality with planes, airport transfers, trains, ferries, riverboats, rental cars and even water taxis where required. A professional knows when you need a travel day and how to organize cities and flights for the most efficient movement. We handle a wide range of accommodations that are sold in US dollars by independent tour companies. These range from 1 star to 5 star + hotels and we also handle apartments, b and bs plus sightseeing tours. We charge a fee on airline tickets but we maintain a GDS or Airline General Distribution System. Airlines have wanted to get rid of these, for years, as they give you an unbiased display of all carriers and routes. We can usually duplicate anything you see online but we also see more efficient routings first as we understand international gateways and even “back doors” to expensive airfare destinations. We also handle the flight changes, strikes, cancellations and other nightmares that airlines frequently cause.

Actual Sample Itineraries

Q & A Is there a charge for independent travel planning? We don’t charge fees on most hotel and sightseeing bookings as our tour companies, hotels and resorts all pay agent commission. We do charge a $50 per hour fee to handle itinerary planning, concierge services or booking of local accommodations like apartments b and bs or internet hotels that we have to book by telephone and email. This fee covers international telephone or fax charges and our time. We charge $25 for tickets issued with a domestic or North American ticket. We charge $50 for all overseas tickets to other continents. What is the major advantage of booking with a travel agency? As we outlined earlier we do this for a job. Independent travel planning is one of the toughest types of travel if you are doing multiple cities and you have to coordinate various forms of transporation. We will take your idea and research and integrate that into an itinerary that will make sense with the alloted time and budget you have. How does the process work? An initial quick quote is always FREE. The process differs based on our clients as some are more involved with the planning process than others. Some people just give us the cities and we give them a plan. Others research the destination and make specific requests. Either way, we are flexible. Why is your independent travel planning process so good? First of all, even we can’t do it without the benefit of our planning grid. It is the first thing we do when we try to take your idea and put it on paper is make a custom grid for your trip. Second is we do it in the right order which is hard to explain but second nature to a travel agent. What I mean is we get a general plan, book air first, then fill in hotels and sightseeing with trains and other transport filled in last. We have an intuitive feel for travel times and itinerary planning so we know if you need an extra day here and can take one from here or cut this to balance the time. Third we are fluent in geography and Googlemapping, we know great neighborhoods and hotels in popular destinations and we are honest with clients about value for money. Lastly we have developed great vendors for most worldwide destinations and we are familiar with the websites of the world’s great attractions if we are booking tickets or guides directly. What is the major mistake that clients make when doing their own planning? Trying to do too much for the alloted time. Second biggest mistake is thinking they have to start and end in the same city for airfare or even booking cheap air before discussing the itinerary with a travel agent. Clients tend not to allow for travel days and you want to have time to stop running around and soak up the destination in a town square or wine bar. You can’t do that if you are “on the go” constantly. Sometimes you need a night for an airport hotel if your plane is leaving at 5A or if there is only one ferry from point A to point B that you can’t miss. An agent will know that but an inexperienced planner may miss that. Are there cancellation charges? Yes. Our itinerary planning time is nonrefundable. Many hotels issue cheaper rates that are fully nonrefundable so we will advise you the cost is this fully nonrefundable and this much if refundable. All airline tickets are fully nonrefundable with ticket change charges that can run as much as $300 plus any fare difference. Most train tickets and other transport components are also nonrefundable. Cancellation charge increase as you get closer to travel. Some of our vendors do not require immediate full payment or can be done with a deposit on the itinerary which means more flexibility than online booking sources. What is travel insurance? We strongly suggest travel insurance with independent travel. When we put together 25 or 50 individual components sometimes one thing causes a problem with another. In addition there are always unforseen circumstances including things like volcanic ash that close all the airports in Europe. Acts of God are not compensated by the vendors and they won’t refund a hotel if you miss your plane. Travel Insurance will make you whole and cover travel delay or trip interruption expense reimbursements when you get home. Travel insurance also supplements your medical insurance and pays to handle emergency evacuation for various reasons including medical. Do you book airfare too? YES, we have an airline GDS so we do handle airfare for clients who are working with us on hotel bookings. We also handle consolidator airfare and hold some private fares through our buying consortium. We only book airfare for local clients who are able to establish identity and location with our company. We do not accept 3rd party credit cards in any fashion. The name on the card must match passenger names on the record. What if I see a hotel online that I love? Call or email us. A good agent is not afraid of internet information as we can book most hotels on earth one way or another. We can even book internet only hotels as we have contracts with major online players like Expedia or Priceline infrequently if we have to match a rate. Our independent travel vendors do a really wide range of hotels and we have multiple vendors so many times whatever your looking at online in a foreign currency, we can book with prepaid vouchers in US dollars. What countries do you sell? Travel agents can handle independent travel planning to most countries on earth. We most frequently sell Western Europe, UK/Scotland and Ireland, Eastern Europe, South and Central America, USA, Canada and Australia/New Zealand. How flexible is the process? We use an entirely custom planning process. We talk with you by phone, in person or by email to figure out exactly what you want to see, what type of pace you require and how adventurous you are. Once we finalize hotels and closer in to departure it is harder to make changes because of cancellation penalties. How much does it cost to travel this way? Depends on your request for 3, 4 or 5 star hotels but you might be surprised that costs can be controlled with independent travel by a travel agent. We do have a saying from our Caribbean days… “The less you pay, the more of an adventure it is so don’t approch this solely from a cost basis unless you have to as we sell all classes of hotels.

Let’s get started with your vacation! 813-868-0007 or info@vacationtc.com

Alaska Railroad & Alaska Cruise Cape Cod & Newport Costa Rica European Cruise & Spain Germany Romantic Road Fly-Drive Hawaii Multi-Island Trip Hawaii Wedding Party Ireland Fly-Drive Ireland Fly-Drive 2 Ireland Fly-Drive 3 Italy by Train Italy Mediterranean Cruise & Escorted Tour London Paris & Rome New Zealand & Australia Northern Italy Fly-Drive Paris for a Week including Normandy Daytrip Peruvian Exotic Independent including Machu Picchu Portugal & Croatia Russia, Germany & Eastern Europe South America to Canada Northbound Spain, Italy and Mediterranean Cruise Switzerland, Rhine Cruise & Netherlands These are actual itineraries we have planned. These are actual itineraries that we have planned for clients in the last few years. Names and personal info have been removed. We have handled some very complicated and long itineraries including most continents and most forms of transport. These are all ideas that clients came to us with and we helped them form them into actual trips. Your idea can become an action plan too. Email or call with what places you want to see. We can help turn that into an actual itinerary for travel. Why be at the mercy of the internet when you can work with a professional travel agent? We have the experience to make sure that your action plan is trouble free and sensibly laid out for major sites plus free time to simply enjoy your destination. We support you when things go wrong on the road. Even the best made plans can have hitches with cancelled transportation, delays, strikes, natural disasters and other problems that force a change en-route. Your travel agent is your best friend when this happens. We know when it is the responsibility of the vendor and help to make them fix the problem When it is an act of God and your responsibility we have travel insurance that can help to make you whole financially. We are capable to look for alternative flights and help with rescheduling accommodations or sightseeing when possible. 813-868-0007 or info@vacationtc.com for a quote on your vacation.

Tampa Bay’s Cloud Based Travel Agency

813-868-0007 info@vacationtc.com

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BOOK INDEPENDENT TRAVEL WITH OUR TRAVEL AGENCY

Independent Travel

Book with a Travel Agent Don’t go out there alone.

Salvatore our apartment neighbor in Sicily

Travel Agents are passionate about independent travel! It is great that there is an abundance of information on the web but huge quantities of unfiltered info is also a problem when you have to sort all that info down to an actual travel itinerary. Very simply we craft great independent travel itineraries. Why are agents so good with independent travel? Because it is what we do for a living and we still produce independent travel itineraries worldwide on a weekly basis. Also we have done a lot of independent travel ourselves and learned along the way. At our travel agency, we have a custom system for producing independent travel itineraries. Your budgeted expenses and travel itinerary end up on one sheet of paper. We can take your idea, desired sights/destinations and basic plan to make it reality with planes, airport transfers, trains, ferries, riverboats, rental cars and even water taxis where required. A professional knows when you need a travel day and how to organize cities and flights for the most efficient movement. We handle a wide range of accommodations that are sold in US dollars by independent tour companies. These range from 1 star to 5 star + hotels and we also handle apartments, b and bs plus sightseeing tours. We charge a fee on airline tickets but we maintain a GDS or Airline General Distribution System. Airlines have wanted to get rid of these, for years, as they give you an unbiased display of all carriers and routes. We can usually duplicate anything you see online but we also see more efficient routings first as we understand international gateways and even “back doors” to expensive airfare destinations. We also handle the flight changes, strikes, cancellations and other nightmares that airlines frequently cause.

Actual Sample Itineraries

Clockwise from the top… The little girls of the SOS Orphange. Your travel agents in true italian beach style dressed in “lost luggage” clothing. Gina flying through the redwoods in the open car on the Skunk Train in California. Sister Patsie and Donald (our driver for the day in Jamaica) where apparently a big bunch of fresh plaintains is a much appreciated tip for the guy who brought your friends up the hill. John actually joining the folks at the Annie Moore monument in Cobh, Ireland.

Q & A Is there a charge for independent travel planning? We don’t charge fees on most hotel and sightseeing bookings as our tour companies, hotels and resorts all pay agent commission. We do charge a $50 per hour fee to handle itinerary planning, concierge services or booking of local accommodations like apartments b and bs or internet hotels that we have to book by telephone and email. This fee covers international telephone or fax charges and our time. We charge $25 for tickets issued with a domestic or North American ticket. We charge $50 for all overseas tickets to other continents. What is the major advantage of booking with a travel agency? As we outlined earlier we do this for a job. Independent travel planning is one of the toughest types of travel if you are doing multiple cities and you have to coordinate various forms of transporation. We will take your idea and research and integrate that into an itinerary that will make sense with the alloted time and budget you have. How does the process work? An initial quick quote is always FREE. The process differs based on our clients as some are more involved with the planning process than others. Some people just give us the cities and we give them a plan. Others research the destination and make specific requests. Either way, we are flexible. Why is your independent travel planning process so good? First of all, even we can’t do it without the benefit of our planning grid. It is the first thing we do when we try to take your idea and put it on paper is make a custom grid for your trip. Second is we do it in the right order which is hard to explain but second nature to a travel agent. What I mean is we get a general plan, book air first, then fill in hotels and sightseeing with trains and other transport filled in last. We have an intuitive feel for travel times and itinerary planning so we know if you need an extra day here and can take one from here or cut this to balance the time. Third we are fluent in geography and Googlemapping, we know great neighborhoods and hotels in popular destinations and we are honest with clients about value for money. Lastly we have developed great vendors for most worldwide destinations and we are familiar with the websites of the world’s great attractions if we are booking tickets or guides directly. What is the major mistake that clients make when doing their own planning? Trying to do too much for the alloted time. Second biggest mistake is thinking they have to start and end in the same city for airfare or even booking cheap air before discussing the itinerary with a travel agent. Clients tend not to allow for travel days and you want to have time to stop running around and soak up the destination in a town square or wine bar. You can’t do that if you are “on the go” constantly. Sometimes you need a night for an airport hotel if your plane is leaving at 5A or if there is only one ferry from point A to point B that you can’t miss. An agent will know that but an inexperienced planner may miss that.

Let’s get started with your vacation! 813-868-0007 or info@vacationtc.com

Alaska Railroad & Alaska Cruise Cape Cod & Newport Costa Rica European Cruise & Spain Germany Romantic Road Fly-Drive Hawaii Multi-Island Trip Hawaii Wedding Party Ireland Fly-Drive Ireland Fly-Drive 2 Ireland Fly-Drive 3 Italy by Train Italy Mediterranean Cruise & Escorted Tour London Paris & Rome New Zealand & Australia Northern Italy Fly-Drive Paris for a Week including Normandy Daytrip Peruvian Exotic Independent including Machu Picchu Portugal & Croatia Russia, Germany & Eastern Europe South America to Canada Northbound Spain, Italy and Mediterranean Cruise Switzerland, Rhine Cruise & Netherlands These are actual itineraries we have planned. These are actual itineraries that we have planned for clients in the last few years. Names and personal info have been removed. We have handled some very complicated and long itineraries including most continents and most forms of transport. These are all ideas that clients came to us with and we helped them form them into actual trips. Your idea can become an action plan too. Email or call with what places you want to see. We can help turn that into an actual itinerary for travel. Why be at the mercy of the internet when you can work with a professional travel agent? We have the experience to make sure that your action plan is trouble free and sensibly laid out for major sites plus free time to simply enjoy your destination. We support you when things go wrong on the road. Even the best made plans can have hitches with cancelled transportation, delays, strikes, natural disasters and other problems that force a change en-route. Your travel agent is your best friend when this happens. We know when it is the responsibility of the vendor and help to make them fix the problem When it is an act of God and your responsibility we have travel insurance that can help to make you whole financially. We are capable to look for alternative flights and help with rescheduling accommodations or sightseeing when possible. 813-868-0007 or info@vacationtc.com for a quote on your vacation.

Are there cancellation charges? Yes. Our itinerary planning time is nonrefundable. Many hotels issue cheaper rates that are fully nonrefundable so we will advise you the cost is this fully nonrefundable and this much if refundable. All airline tickets are fully nonrefundable with ticket change charges that can run as much as $300 plus any fare difference. Most train tickets and other transport components are also nonrefundable. Cancellation charge increase as you get closer to travel. Some of our vendors do not require immediate full payment or can be done with a deposit on the itinerary which means more flexibility than online booking sources. What is travel insurance? We strongly suggest travel insurance with independent travel. When we put together 25 or 50 individual components sometimes one thing causes a problem with another. In addition there are always unforseen circumstances including things like volcanic ash that close all the airports in Europe. Acts of God are not compensated by the vendors and they won’t refund a hotel if you miss your plane. Travel Insurance will make you whole and cover travel delay or trip interruption expense reimbursements when you get home. Travel insurance also supplements your medical insurance and pays to handle emergency evacuation for various reasons including medical. Do you book airfare too? YES, we have an airline GDS so we do handle airfare for clients who are working with us on hotel bookings. We also handle consolidator airfare and hold some private fares through our buying consortium. We only book airfare for local clients who are able to establish identity and location with our company. We do not accept 3rd party credit cards in any fashion. The name on the card must match passenger names on the record. What if I see a hotel online that I love? Call or email us. A good agent is not afraid of internet information as we can book most hotels on earth one way or another. We can even book internet only hotels as we have contracts with major online players like Expedia or Priceline infrequently if we have to match a rate. Our independent travel vendors do a really wide range of hotels and we have multiple vendors so many times whatever your looking at online in a foreign currency, we can book with prepaid vouchers in US dollars. What countries do you sell? Travel agents can handle independent travel planning to most countries on earth. We most frequently sell Western Europe, UK/Scotland and Ireland, Eastern Europe, South and Central America, USA, Canada and Australia/New Zealand. How flexible is the process? We use an entirely custom planning process. We talk with you by phone, in person or by email to figure out exactly what you want to see, what type of pace you require and how adventurous you are. Once we finalize hotels and closer in to departure it is harder to make changes because of cancellation penalties. How much does it cost to travel this way? Depends on your request for 3, 4 or 5 star hotels but you might be surprised that costs can be controlled with independent travel by a travel agent. We do have a saying from our Caribbean days… “The less you pay, the more of an adventure it is so don’t approch this solely from a cost basis unless you have to as we sell all classes of hotels.

Florida Seller of Travel. Reg. #10098

© 2006 to 2021 Market Access Promotions, Inc.

BOOK WITH OUR TRAVEL AGENCY

Passport Information Visa Information Honeymoon & Wedding Info Travel Lay-Away Plans

Price Match Policy Travel Insurance Corporate Incentive Travel Groups & Family Reunions

Caribbean Tour & Cruise Notary Public Site Map

813-868-0007

Tampa Bay’s Cloud Based Travel Agency

813-868-0007 800-955-5594 info@vacationtc.com