In the summer of '25 Jill Bowen assisted us with the booking of a newly month long stay in Africa (safaris) as well as our flights to and from. She was amazing. Very patient and helpful. She personally secured our multiple visas when we ran into glitches securing them on our own. read more

Had a 12 thousand dollar trip to Hawaii scheduled and paid for. The travel documents came back with my name misspelled. When I told the agent about it, she said that the airline and TSA would take it anyway. i didn't believe her and when I ask for it to be corrected she wouldn't do it. I told her that if I wasn't allowed to get on the plane, that there would be hell to pay. She got all pissy and said she called her lawyer and that she wouldn't help me anymore. So cancelled the trip. Not even a second thought. She lost a twelve thousand dollar sale because she wouldn't ask the tour company to correct my name and then called her lawyer to try to scare me to trying to do the trip with misspelled documents. What would happen if I was in Hawaii, and they didn't take my documents, and I was stuck in Hawaii. Her name is Jill Bowen and I wouldn't deal with her... read more

My wife and I are frequent travelers, and when we discovered The Springfield Travel Shoppe, we knew that we had found a true partner in planning our travel experiences. The staff is open to doing research to making a trip unique, and designed around our interests, needs, and time frame. We have had them help us with trips from 2 to 25 people. I will tell you that planning a one of a kind trip for a group, is a challenge. However, The Travel Shoppe staff always come through. They have provided us with memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. It is also nice to know that you have a travel agent that really cares about how everything is going on your trip. They monitor your connections and arrangements. They have even rescheduled a flight for us, when it was apparent that we would miss the connection. The special service they provide, makes the Travel Shoppe exceptional. We can't wait feel our next trip. Richard and Phyllis Cheaney Springfield, IL read more

I want to share about the outstanding service I received recently at the Travel Shoppe in Springfield, IL. I walked into the Travel Shoppe without an appointment. Jill Bowen listened as I told of my frustrating, failed attempts to book tickets online. The travelers include me, my sick friend and her elderly father and our needs exceeded the limits of DIY travel sites. Jill went to work and resolved everything by the end of ninety minutes. Yes--ninety! It wasn't me; the situation really was complex! (I felt much less stupid when I left.) Because of Jill, my longtime GF who's now battling cancer will see her wish come true. During the 3 1/2 months my friend was hospitalized--from February until June--what kept her fighting to survive was fantasizing about a trip to Destin in October. She dreamed of renting a beach house for the family and friends who've been taking care of her. Many times it appeared she would not live to make this trip. I should add that she is only 54. It is now eight months after diagnosis. My friend has achieved remission but remains terribly weak as well as walker/wheelchair dependent. The aftermath of chemo and radiation have been so much worse than we imagined. It takes many months to recover--even to resume eating. Yet, she's hellbent on following through on her October dream. Jill Bowen worked out bringing the dream to fruition from finding flights out of our city's small airport, to arranging for wheelchair assistance at all the airports and obtaining travel insurance that covers pre-existing conditions. I had no clue the policy I might have bought online would almost certainly refuse to cover us all under the circumstances. Twenty years since I last used a travel agent, I was shocked to find they still don't charge clients. Nonetheless Ms. Bowen treated me as if I was paying her a thousand bucks an hour although I was actually sucking up a ton of her time over low-yield airline tickets. (I'm pretty sure American Airlines won't reward her with a hefty bonus for booking three passengers, two of which have inconvenient special needs!) I signed up on Yelp just to post this review. Kind people deserve recognition. Jill Bowen is a gem and The Travel Shoppe is awesome! read more

Booked a trip to Hawaii to meet our Son who is in the Military. This was the worst experience with this travel agency. We booked a Oceanview with separate rooms and king size beds, breakfast, transportation and luau. First we get there a day before our son would arrive. It was not Oceanview.We looked out our window and all we could see was guys picking up garbage. We called our consultant and she said since we got there late our room was taken. NOT TRUE. We asked the manager and he said this is what was booked. Also they were not separate rooms and then there was two double beds. Again not what we paid for. We called and emailed back to the agency. The next day our Son arrived and guess what, not transportation from the airport to the Hotel. We called again and our travel agent got upset and said we don't need to keep calling. WOW. The next experience, we went to the luau. They didn't book our Son. When we got home went meet with Jill Bowen. She said she would investigate and offered a refund of 500.00 for the transportation and the breakfast we were suppose to get along with the luau. We declined the offer because she was telling us Funjet messed up. So we filed a complaint with Funjet. They were not willing to help. So we tried with our credit card company and that was declined. I then emailed Jill back to accept the 500.00 offer and she won't even respond. Nothing but lies at this travel agency. I have prior emails from Jill stating while we were in Hawaii stating that she was sorry and she is going to retrain her people. Don't go through this agency. read more

We booked a trip to Hawaii and had a great experience! I love the hands on care that this agency takes with its clients! Despite a bad review previously we have nothing but great things to say about Springfield Travel Shoppe! This was my second trip with them the first one being to Florida! Heather Kalb is amazing and will take care of you 100%! I definitely recommend this agency!!! read more