I called Patty when we had to travel to New Zealand to visit universities for my younger child. We had a fairly short window for travel and the thought of figuring out places to stay in different locations and transportation from one area to another was adding to the stress of getting ready for my kid to go to school so far away, and Patty took all of the travel worries off of my plate. She found us lovely places to stay, handled all of our flight plans and basic transport needs, and provided reassurance and her expertise to help ease my worries about traveling overseas for the first time in my life. Everything went so very smoothly and I'm so grateful for her expertise care! She is an absolute gem! read more

I cannot recommend Patty Crespo enough! She recently planned our honeymoon cruise to Southeast Asia, and it was hands-down the most seamless travel experience we've ever had. Planning a wedding is stressful enough, so having Patty take the stress of travel planning off us was a lifesaver. From the perfect hotel selection to the smooth transfers, everything was executed flawlessly. Because of her expertise, we didn't have to worry about a thing--we just focused on relaxing and enjoying our honeymoon. If you want an stress-free, expertly curated trip, look no further! Patty is also very well-versed in Ecuador tourism! She knows a ton! read more

Vacation By Design - The view of Singapore from onboard the Celebrity Solstice - Travel Services Near Me

Patty made our Mediterranean trip incredibly easy from start to finish. She planned a great itinerary through Spain, France, and Italy, wrapping it up with extra time in Rome and a couple of amazing days in Venice--complete with a gondola ride. Everything was smooth--tours, airport transfers, and hotels. We especially loved that all the hotels included complimentary breakfast. Patty was also super attentive, going over the itinerary with me as many times as needed and even confirming reservations with drivers and tour guides during the trip. She really cares about getting everything right. I'd definitely work with her again and highly recommend her for anyone planning a multi-stop international trip! read more

Patty was an extremely attentive and thorough travel advisor! Patty is prompt with her communications and kept me posted while she was researching recommendations for us. She made my trip back to Japan a memorable one! read more

My husband and I just plan a trip to San Francisco California and Patty Crespo who is a Senior travel consultant has organized an incredible schedule for two months. Patty crafted a perfect, customized itinerary to hit the iconic spots in San Francisco including hidden gems we never would have found on our own. We highly recommend " Vacation By Design" if you want an amazing unforgettable vacation anywhere. Contact Pattycrespo4@gmail.com Cell (415)297-6494 read more

Patty helped us celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary in San Diego. She held our hand to the whole process and made our vacation special. Everything was great. Jose and Yolanda read more

Thank you Tara for an amazing family vacation! It was so nice to have everything planned for us by a trusted advisor (I was really busy and literally did not plan anything.). Every guide and driver was excellent, super knowledgeable about the sights and history of Vietnam, and fun to hang out with during our time with them. Our days were packed, making the most of the time in each region. Thank you for taking the work and stress out of planning and traveling to Vietnam so that we could just enjoy ever minute. read more

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My wife and I recently went on an African safari in Tanzania. The entire trip was planned by Patty who did a fantastic job. We had a very experienced driver/ guide named Godwin, from the Mount Kilimanjaro Safari Club. He was great at locating the animals and was able to work well with other guides to find great photo opportunities. We stayed at several different hotels and tent camps. All the accommodations were excellent. We will definitely use Patty and Vacation by Design again for our future adventures. read more

When my family and I want to plan a vacation we always reach out to Patty first! Patty has managed multiple vacations for us both domestically and internationally. If things don't go as planned, which rarely happens; Patty has always been available to make things right or get us assistance. Most recently we just retuned from a week in Maui with a friend who was visiting from France. Patty put every effort to make her first experience in Hawaii a hit. I always recommend vacations by design and our agent Patty. read more

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Patty has booked several of my European trips: cruises, flights, trains, tours, shows, etc. hardly ever a glitch unless other party cancels but then Patty steps in to save the day or shall I say "the trip". I give Patty 10 ! read more

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Once again Patty did an awesome job in coordinating our large group for our cruise this past June. She was very helpful along the way even when there was a small glitch with the hotel reservation, she was on it and resolved quickly! Thank you Patty for helping make our experience as amazing as before! read more

Covid-19 had kept many of us with travel bugs in one place long enough. My partner and I promised that once the travel restriction was relaxed, we would take a separate vacation. He didn't think I was serious! As soon as Tara mentioned this customized small group tour to the rarely traveled destinations, I didn't hesitate and signed up: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. While the trip details were still being fine tuned, there were uncertainties that she had no control of: different vaccine requirements, possible flight cancellation, and the new variants of the virus were evolving and spreading, Tara updated us regularly and informed us our rights should cancellation happen. She also made sure I would get along with my traveling companions, their travel styles and dietary preferences. The visa was made smooth thanks to Tara for guiding me through the process. I was so fortunate to have her by my side during my travels to and from the destinations. After all, we were visiting so that people couldn't pinpoint their general locations on a map. All of us enjoyed our 3-week long trip in this part of the world: cultures, food, arts and crafts, history, landscapes. There were planned trips and visits, and there were surprises that Tara planned for us: - A trip to a local embroidery and pottery workshop allowed us to try our hands with embroidery technique new to us and we walked away with enough materials to make some souvenirs ourselves. (Uzbekistan) - A trip to the solar furnace - one of the two in the world! - A visit to the largest walnut forest in the world and taking home (Uzbekistan) - Local produced walnut oil using German technology (Kyrgyzstan) Tara made sure we enjoyed some local experiences, such as staying at guest houses, enjoying home-cooked food, watching artists performing with local musical instruments. Because these are less traveled destinations, Tara always was on the lookout to make sure we stayed warm in cold places, food was good with lots of varieties, and rooms were up to our expectations. Tara regularly solicited our feedback in case service needs were not met. She made sure our guides and drivers were taken care of so all the travelers would be taken care of. She brought treats from California and distributed them as we went, and the local kids loved her! And of course, you would have your personal shopping guide when traveling with Tara, and the visit in the Stans was no different. From food to souvenirs to purchases that were functional to presentable, Tara knew how to connect with the locals, laughed with them and gave locals plenty of business. If you want the standard run of the mill trip, you sign up for a trip online. If you want a customized experience to your budget, time and interest to places frequently traveled or less traveled, count on the expertise and the personal touch of Tara. She is knowledgeable, caring, communicative, detail oriented, funny, and has lots of experience to share. I highly recommend Tara's service for anyone new to travel or seasoned traveler but is tired of doing their own research. Give Tara a call to plan your next vacation! read more

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My family likes to travel a lot and generally we research and plan our own trip. When the idea of planning our first European trip to Italy came up, we asked Tarang to help us plan our trip. Tarang worked with us on multiple details on our preferences of what places we wanted to visit, type of tours, hotels, transportation etc., to fit it all within the budget we had. She and her team made all the reservations and provided us with a detailed itinerary. Everything was set by Aug-Sept of 2019 for travel to Italy in late March 2020. Then COVID hit the world and especially hit Italy hard during March-April. And during the times of uncertainty leading up to the decision to cancel our trip, Tarang provided constant guidance on when to pull the plug and cancel the trip. These were unprecedented times and even though we are moderately experienced travelers, dealing with this kind of chaos was outside our experience and expertise. Tarang and her team, worked closely and constantly with all the hotels, transportation companies and tour guides to recoup almost all of our payments for a future travel date. We did not have to make single phone call except the periodic updates from her on the progress. Fast forward to 2022, the world had begun to normalize, and travel restarted. Tarang contacted us for our new travel dates. And once confirmed, she went to work on rebooking and getting us set for our vacation. Having transportation from airport to the hotel on the first day of landing in a new country and on the last day from the hotel to the airport was a well thought out plan. The hotels were nice and had great central locations. Tour guides were knowledgeable and personable. The vacation turned out to be one of our best trips so far. We would recommend Vacation By Design to anyone looking for a great stress-free and well thought out vacation planning. read more

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Vacation by Design was very helpful with our cruise. Patty Crespo was our agent and her availability never failed for any questions we had, and resolved any issues that might have arisen. We had a wonderful time during our cruise and felt assured that everything would go well. I would recommend Vacation by Design (especially Patty Crespo as an agent) for your vacation needs! We had a great time !! Thank you Patty! Sincerely, The Molina Family read more

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Patty Crespo is AMAZING! She was persistent yet patient, and very responsive. She booked a cruise for myself and 7 of us and handled everything! Including handling the trip cancellation when my mother in law became ill. There was no stress involved because I knew Patty would help in any way. 3 weeks after we returned from our cruise, we were headed to Maui. Although we had not used Patty for these travel plans, I needed help with adding my wife's brother to our trip. I texted, yes TEXTED Patty 3 days before we were to leave and she handled everything. It was so comforting to know she was just a call/text away if I had questions, which I inevitably did. I will use her for all our travel needs in the future! read more

Patty is excellent in getting the job done! She's kind, efficient and knowledgeable. She is very easy to work with and responds quickly to questions. read more

We've used Tara Gupta at Vacation by Design for spectacular family vacations over the last eight years. She's helped my husband, my son, and I have many once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Italy, France, Croatia, and more through custom travel packages that have involved everything from land tours, to large- and small-ship cruises, to private helicopter tours, to cooking lessons with local chefs, to hot air balloon rides! Tara really took the time to get to know us, our interests, and our travel style when we first started working with her, over many calls and many hours, and this has made travel planning with her such a tailored and rewarding experience over the years. When my son was younger, in his tweens and early teens, she'd specifically find us younger guides who understood my son's short attention span and knew how to keep him engaged. She also found some great, age-appropriate activities for him, too, like going to "gladiator school" when he was 11 or 12 and we were in Rome. Most recently, she helped us plan 9 months of travel over a gap year my son took between high school and college. We worked on the planning of this trip for almost a year, and Tara was instrumental in helping us whittle our travel wish list down to a manageable set of trip clusters that made sense geographically and financially for us, and then calendaring them all. I think we went through almost 10 versions of our master plan! Our latest gap-year adventure started with a six-week mother-son trip to Greece and Egypt last summer, with a stop in Paris on our way to Greece, and a stop in Rome on our way home from Egypt. Our Egypt tour included a stay at the famous Mena House in Giza, in the shadow of the pyramids; riding camels in the Sahara Desert, which was magical; and a week-long cruise on the Nile River that took us to many famous temples and was incredible. In Greece, we spent time in Athens, and at Tara's strong recommendation, made an overnight trip to Meteora to see the monasteries there that are built on the top of huge stone pillars -- and this ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. We also visited several of the Greek Islands -- Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, and Naxos -- where we saw spectacular sunsets, enjoyed great food, and had lots of fun in the clear calm sea. On all our trips with Vacation by Design, the guides, the accommodations, the tours, and the experiences were all wonderful! Tara works with top local talent, who are always knowledgable and engaging. And her attention to detail makes sure that everything goes smoothly while we're traveling. Once we're on a trip, she's still always available to us to address any questions or resolve any glitches. From my experience, she really cares about her clients and making sure they're happy. We always bring home wonderful memories from our travel adventures, thanks to Tara! I highly recommend her and her team! read more

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Tara is amazing to work with, and I recommend her, without hesitation, for any and all travel needs! She helped my family and me plan two wonderful trips in the past few years, one to Scotland/Ireland, and then a second Ireland trip in August of this year. She is extremely knowledgeable, pays great attention to detail, and is incredibly invested in ensuring you have the best experience possible. Tara is extremely responsive, and when something is time-sensitive, she makes sure you are aware so you can prioritize replying. Tara is a very experienced traveler herself, so when she makes a recommendation, take her up on it, you won't be disappointed! Do yourself a favor, alleviate the stress of planning your next trip, and book it through Tara and Vacation by Design! read more

This was my first time to Europe with my family and our10-year-old daughter. I was somewhat apprehensive and nervous going to different country and not sure what to expect. I got introduced to Tara through my friend and decided to use her travel agency for our travel. I was very impressed and extremely satisfied from day 1 with all the accommodations, travel arrangements, and tours set up by Tara. I would highly recommend for anyone who wants to travel through Europe, or any other country to use her services. I am looking forward for our next trip and will definitely consult with Tara and use her services. Many thanks to Tara for our wonderful vacation! RZ read more

Patty hit it out of the park when helping us plan our Italy honeymoon. Italy has so much to offer and we wanted to pack our trip with as much as possible and Patty made it a breeze to connect all the dots. From hotel, to transportation, and entertainment - she helped us go through it all. And because it was our honeymoon, something we wanted to feel extra special about, Patty really went the extra mile to find us the pieces of the puzzle we could upgrade on to make it the trip of a lifetime. We are so grateful Patty was able to help us with such an important! Thanks Patty! read more

With sincere appreciation I would like to thank Tara Gupta for arranging such an amazing tour for our group of 8 family members. Our 10-day journey through Vietnam and Cambodia brought us many wonderful memories and stories to tell! Each location, tour guide and hotel offered a different perspective of the countries we visited. All of our tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable, and we quickly embraced them as a part of our family. The transportation to and from the airport and during tours was roomy and comfortable. We also were very happy with the hotels as each offered a different vibe and local flavor. Our trip aboard the Violet Cruise in Ha Long Bay was a highlight and the staff were exceptional. Some of our favorite things were the ricksha ride in Hanoi, the fishing village tour in Ha Long Bay, the lanterns of Hoi An, the day in the Mekong Delta on a tricked-out barge and of course Angkor Wat. Tara listened to our wants and needs and gave us the tour of our dreams! read more

Short Version: Tara is an incredible travel consultant that created an unforgettable and incredibly fun 3-week Thailand itinerary for me and a very good friend. Longer Version: We were mightily struggling with planning our trip abroad before we met Tara. After our first conversation and initial consultation with her, we were completely sold because she clearly knew what she was doing and genuinely listened to our preferences and needs. She's amazing at what she does! She asked us a lot of questions to get a gist of what kind of travelers we are and what kinds of things we want to see/do. In turn, she created an incredible and well-rounded itinerary. We stayed in great, affordable hotels in different cities with enough time in each one. It felt like we got the most out of each city while seeing & doing as much as we could! The tours and activities that she picked for us were all so fun and interesting. She is also a travel expert! She answered all of our questions on travel logistics, like getting a SIM card, how much money to have on hand, tips to protect your valuables, how much to tip, etc (very practical tips that we didn't know as travel newbies.) She took care of everything, from booking the flights, hotels, and tours to arranging how we're getting from city-to-city. This is what our trip looked like: Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Khao Yai, Sukhothai, N Chiang Mai, Old Town Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phi Phi Islands, Phuket. We got a good amount of city, history, island, and coast all in one trip. Overall, we were extremely happy with how well our trip was planned, and look forward to working with Tara in the future. read more

Patty was a pleasure to book with! She provided an array of places to stay and visit in Maui and ensured a stress free vacation planning process. Patty was quick to accommodate to last minute travel arrangements. My family was delighted to be greeted with a lei upon landing in Hawaii. I can't recommend Patty enough. This vacation was just what my family needed read more

My mom and I took a trip to Italy in June of 2019 - we worked with Tarang (Tara) Gupta to plan our itinerary and she was amazing! I highly recommend Tara and would definitely work with her again. We spent time in Rome and Sorrento, taking day trips out of Sorrento to Capri and the Amalfi Coast. My mom and I had an idea of where we wanted to go in Italy, but we needed help figuring out transportation and activities. Initially Tara asked us questions about what we typically enjoy doing on vacation and what landmarks/areas were "must visit". Then, she came back to us with options and descriptions of each, which was incredibly helpful! There is so much to do in Rome and the Sorrento area, and tons of different tour companies. So, Tara taking the lead on researching reputable companies and what to do to optimize our time was invaluable. After we narrowed down our desired itinerary, Tara and her team arranged all our bookings down "to a T". She sent us a final package document that included company names, contacts, timing, back-up plans and descriptions. Going above and beyond, Tara also sent tips for packing, navigating around Italy (norms, tipping, etc.), and even basic Italian words. Our trip went smoothly because of all the pre-planning work Tara put in. My mom and I were able to spend time together and bond in a way we hadn't since I was in a teenager. Tara helped us mix it up by having some days planned and other days free to roam/wander on our own. Our hotels included breakfast, and they were clean and in great locations. My favorite activities were the Colosseum tour in Rome and the Capri boat tour from Sorrento, which I would highly recommend! You'll be in great hands with Tara and her team! read more

I cannot speak highly enough of Tara Gupta as a travel planner; she is absolutely wonderful. I have been lucky enough to have Tara plan out travel itineraries for me to South America, and really look forward to having her design new travel itineraries for me in the years ahead. I gave Tara tentative ideas about South American countries and cities I would like to see, and Tara did a wonderful job of assembling an itinerary that incorporated not only those destinations that I had in mind, but also side trips to wonderful nearby places I would otherwise not have thought to visit: a side trip to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile before visiting Santiago, Chile, is an example. In addition to further enhancing one's travel ideas in this manner, Tara creates travel vouchers for you for airport-hotel transportation, accommodations, guided tours, and meals, to make those logistical aspects of your trip "pre-wired", so to speak, to enhance the safety and smoothness of such travel aspects. Tara is a treasure as a travel planner, and I have been so lucky to have had her design travel itineraries for me in years past. I look forward to planning new travel itineraries with Tara throughout the years ahead, and would love to explore India and Bhutan with Tara on one of her future group expeditions that she guides. Thank you so much Tara, for your expertise and all that you do; you are terrific! read more

We worked with Tara for a trip to Thailand. Her attention to detail, flexibility in hearing all our requirements (special meals, kids needs and interests), and suggestions were amazing. What was the best was from when we landed to when we took off - each and every guide and restaurant we were taken to had detailed understanding of our likes and restrictions. It felt like we were VIPs. I would heartily recommend Tara for any family trips. read more

Patty Crespo is AMAZING! She was persistent yet patient, and very responsive. She booked a cruise for myself and 7 of us and handled everything! Including handling the trip cancellation when my mother in law became ill. There was no stress involved because I knew Patty would help in any way. 3 weeks after we returned from our cruise, we were headed to Maui. Although we had not used Patty for these travel plans, I needed help with adding my wife's brother to our trip. I texted, yes TEXTED Patty 3 days before we were to leave and she handled everything. It was so comforting to know she was just a call/text away if I had questions, which I inevitably did. I will use her for all our travel needs in the future. read more

One of the Best international vacations I ever had was arranged by Tarang (Tara) Gupta of Vacations by Design, and I definitely plan to do more traveling abroad with her help. In early 2019 we decided to take a trip to Italy. We had never been there before and our vacation period was limited to specific dates due to my daughter's work considerations. We knew we would be on our own and needing plenty of help to make our travel arrangements. We had a general idea of what we wanted to see in certain areas but needed a "starting from scratch" vacation plan - sights, tours, hotels, transportation from one area to another. Despite being actively engaged in leading another international tour at the time of our need, Tara reached out and called us several times. Tara spent quite a bit of time working with us and helping us prioritize what we wanted to do and information she gave us about Rome and the Amalfi Coast areas. After noting what our desires were, she discussed options for sights to see, specific hotels she had been to, and traveling from one city to another, and was able to explain from her personal experiences what was doable and what was not and why. She basically gave us more ideas and organized what we had to decide in order to make this trip enjoyable, and when we needed to make decisions. Tara never rushed us and gave us time to ask questions and talk to her about what we were interested in. She has been in the business for a long time and traveled everywhere so she has many insights to offer. The detail she provided in our plans was amazing - where and how to catch the train in Italy, she got our train tickets ahead of time, telling us exactly what to look for and ask about, where and when to meet our guides every day, and what to do confirm our plans as we traveled. We were a little hesitant at first in a foreign country on our own (I.e. not on a formal tour). But with Tara's help, everything was so easy and enjoyable! We can't wait to start traveling again and we know we will travel with Tara's great assistance, or on one of her tours. We highly recommend her travel planning services for your next vacation(s)! Thank you Tara! read more

Patty absolutely took care of everything for us! We booked a 11 day vacation in Italy and had a phenomenal time. Most defiantly will be having her book our future trips and highly recommend her for anyone looking for an amazing travel agent. Thank you Patty !!!! read more

I've consulted with Patty on a couple trips now. I recently utilized her experience on a vacation to Hawaii for myself and my elderly mother. Every question I had, every concern I could think of - Patty was able to find the answers and set my mind at ease. We had a wonderful vacation and everything was taken care of and I knew I was in capable, experienced hands in planning the air travel, lodging, as well as giving me very important information re: special COVID travel requirements to Hawaii, making early reservations for dinner, lounges etc. So glad she gave me a heads up on these things, as we would have otherwise been out of luck upon arrival. Patty is so knowledgeable, friendly and so easy to work with. She's a really wonderful resource! read more

I'd like to comment on my experiences with Mundi Travel, and Tara Gupta, who has been my personal travel consultant for over 5 years now. After proposing to my fiance I decided to take a Asia trip and the first person I thought of to plan this excursion was Tara. She took care of all my flights, hotels, tours, and transfers as usual and it was one of the best trips I've ever taken in my life. Tara knows what I like so I don't need to give her much feedback as I trust her taste as well. My first stop was Phuket, and our hotel was fantastic. It was two blocks from Patong beach and one block from downtown. My fiance and I rented a scooter and took it everywhere along the coastline and spent an amazing four days there. Next stop was Chiang Mai. Tara booked a hotel in down town Chiang Mai where all of the restaurants and shopping is. Like i mentioned, she knows what I like. Unfortunately I ate a bad salad and drank beer over local ice and got food poisoning. DON'T EAT THE SALAD, lol. Anyways I gutted it out and made it to both tours Tara planned for us. The first tour was the city and temple tour, we had a awesome tour guide who made it that much more entertaining. He showed us all the old temples and city monuments within our area. We would have seen more but I had to cut it short due to me being a weak sauce. The animal kingdom tour was the best one. We got to see the tigers, ride the elephant safari, the long neck tribe, and finally the river raft tour. Also, the shopping in Chiang Mai is ridiculous, you can buy everything and anything at their night market. Final leg of the trip was Hong Kong and Macau. Tara booked us a hotel in Kowloon that was accessible off the Tsim Sha Tsui stop off the MTR. It was a good location since it's close to Central if you want to go to Lan Kwai Fong to party, or if you want really good HK food and local boutique shopping. We didn't plan any tours here since there is so much to do in HK you can just walk and explore. From HK we took a hovercraft to Macau and Tara booked us the Wynn, which was my choice and only preference of the trip. It was fun, gambled and lost of course, but the food was awesome! Michelin star restaurants everywhere. I don't know when my next trip is but I'm definitely calling Tara when I'm ready. read more

Tara has been our travel agent for a number of years now, and have put together a handful of trips for us now. We continue to source her consultation services because she is not only an honest businesswoman, but the level of care she puts into each one of our travel itineraries is outstanding! Our most recent trip was a 4 week trip to Europe. The trip went extremely well, and everything went very smoothly. The 1 hiccup we ran into involved the airline not displaying our flight tickets correctly, causing a lot of confusion even when we called their support number. Since they were not much help, we were able to reach Tara while we were still traveling in Germany. When Tara picked up the phone, she was not only excited to hear from us, but to see how the trip was going. When we presented our situation to her, she not only jumped on a call with the airline right away, but saw the whole thing through for us just to ensure we don't miss a flight due to the airline's mistake. We look forward to continue using Tara's consultation services in the future. Thank you Tara! read more

I recently used Vacation by Design for a cruise vacation to Mexico. The travel agent, Tara, delivered exceptional service. I've used Tara's service on several occasions in the past few years and her expertise and professionalism is unmatched. If you looking for a travel agent, I would highly recommend her for future travels. read more

Friends invited us to their daughter's wedding in India and they pointed us to Tara as an expert on that part of the world.    We've always made our own travel arrangements, so using the services of a travel agent was intimidating and we had no idea what to expect.   It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime and we're happy to share Tara with anyone considering a journey to the far east (or anywhere else for that matter). Tara's planning started with several phone calls, many emails and a personal meeting.    She got to know us, listened carefully to our hopes and anxieties, and learned how to interact with us.  We came to understand her personality and became comfortable with expressing ourselves and trusting her to make some decisions for us.   This empathetic and considerate personal help was very important to us and we were impressed that she thought to approach travel with this level of insight and effort.     After the preliminaries, she helped us sketch out the month-long trip based on what she had learned about us.   She arranged meetings with some of her other clients where we were able to hear about their experiences and opinions. This helped set up our expectations and answer the dozens of little questions that tend to build up before a trip like this. Gradually we absorbed Tara's passion for India and we developed a great idea of what to expect. There were more emails and a few more phone calls before we settled on a comfortable final draft.     The results were amazing.   The trip was tailored perfectly to our personalities. She found guides with expertise to match our interests. She went to great lengths to inform our hotels about our food restrictions. She also built in some decision points so we could adjust parts of the trip as we went along. She anticipated some of our concerns and loaded us up with insider tips that we couldn't possibly have gotten from books. We met guides and merchants with whom she had long-standing relationships so we felt confident and safe about them. I should mention that Tara sponsors tours and arranges travel over many countries, not just India. We used her services for a subsequent trip to Thailand and because of her meticulous planning and perfect paperwork, we had a wonderful trouble-free vacation. I realize this is a lengthy review, but month-long vacations are big investments and planning for them is stressful. Getting it right is essential. For us these trips to the far east would have been impossible without a world-class travel agent who is open, personal, and full of joy. And we hope you enjoy India half as much as we did. Happy travels! read more