Customized Trip Planner

What Is a Customized Trip Plan? You’ve chosen a vacation destination. You’re keen on some attractions and activities. But you’re unsure how to cover them all cost-effectively in your time. What is an efficient way to plan your dream trip with reliable information? Use a customized trip planner! It helps you design a trip individualized to your needs so that you can explore your destination on your own terms. It comes in templates, software, and sheets of information that help you plan and stay coordinated on your trip.

Here, we’ll dive into all the logistics you need to know to create custom trip plans or to utilize existing trip planning services to help create them for you.

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What are the benefits of a custom trip plan?

• You can visit the places, do the activities, and create your desired experiences.
• You can create your trip itinerary and pre-book your cruises, city tours, or travel packages.
• You can maximize deals and discounts before embarking on your trip. If they aren’t available, your trip plan will still help ensure you don’t exceed budget. 

How to get a custom trip plan?

There are three ways to get a customized trip plan: travel agents, online travel agencies (OTAs), and customized trip planner software. 

Travel agents

The market for travel agents is going strong. Your old travel agent can easily arrange a custom trip, saving you time and money. But is it the ideal option? Decide for yourself.

Pros of using a travel agent

• Leave trip planning to them – Booking flights, accommodation, activities, and getting around, a travel agent does the heavy lifting for you. They’re always around in case you run into a spot of trouble. 
• Specialized services – Whether you’re looking for a luxury, budget, honeymoon, or unique needs trip, a travel agent offering a specialized service or a bouquet of services can arrange everything for you.
• Cost savings – Travel agencies negotiate rates with hotels and tour providers, with some even getting deals on flights. They may offer discounted rates on booking a certain number of people on a tour or cruise. 

Cons of using a travel agent

• They don’t get your personal preferences – Travel agents have pre-made itineraries, even for custom trips, so you miss out on an experience tailored to your needs. Sure, they will suggest activities and restaurants, but they may not exactly be what you had in mind. 

Tip: Do your research first and list activities you want to do. Share it with your travel agent to see if they can create any deals. 

• They make money on commissions – Travel agents charge a service fee to all clients, but the lion’s share of their income comes from commissions that their resort, hotel, and tour service provider partners offer them. As they are financially motivated to offer some options over others, you might be missing out on better experiences or deals. 
• They may charge a hidden fee – Travel agencies charge an upfront fee, but the company you choose may keep some fees hidden until later. Being asked to pay for a service you thought was free is a mood spoiler on your trip, and you might have no choice but to pay up. 

Costs of using a travel agent

The average cost for organizing a personalized vacation is $160-$170. Additional fees will apply if you want to add or modify the itinerary.

Table of costs

When is using a travel agent ideal?

A travel agent is great when traveling to a foreign destination for the first time or a part of the world you’ve never been to. They will take care of every little detail for you and assist you if you misplace your belongings, get lost, or have a mishap. A travel agency is an excellent place to start if you need more travel experience before becoming an independent globetrotter. 

Online travel agencies 

An OTA is a search engine for trip planning. It lists hotels, rentals, and tour packages on its website. An OTA may collect payment from you when booking on their site and pay the hotel or let you book via their site with the understanding that you will pay the hotel directly at the time of checkout. 

Pros of using an OTA

• Compare prices – You can quickly and easily compare the prices of flights, accommodations, and other trip-related elements. Most OTAs have search filters and comparison tools to help you find exactly what you want. 
• One account for all your travels – You only need to use the account you created while signing up for the site for all your trips. While most OTAs allow you to book through their site, some may send you to third-party websites. 
• Cost savings – OTAs offer lower rates than travel agencies as they don’t have the exact overhead costs. They don’t need to maintain a physical office with staff and equipment.
• Custom travel planning – Custom trip OTAs help you curate trips, including honeymoons, babymoons, bachelor/bachelorette trips, family vacations, adventure tours, and more. Travel planning covers flight reservations, car rentals, route planning, hotel and villa rentals, dining reservations, tours, and boat charters. 

Cons of using an OTA

• Changing a booking can be challenging – If you need to change your flight or hotel booking, the airline or hotel will ask you to do it through your OTA. It would have been a lot easier to make changes with the airline or hotel, which is more flexible about refunds and modifications. An OTA may charge additional fees, which can wipe out any savings you bagged. 

Customized trip planner software

When personalizing your trip, trip planner software offers unparalleled flexibility. You can create your next trip plan in minutes with travel information and itinerary templates. 

Pros of using personalized trip planner software

• You have complete control – You can design the dream trip you want with minimal effort
• It’s a lot cheaper – A travel planning app makes money through in-app advertising – any service listed on it, affiliate links, or membership plans. If it offers a membership program, there’s likely to be a freemium plan that offers access to some of the app’s features at no cost to you. 

Cons of using custom trip plan software

• You’ll need to invest time in trip planning – You’ll get the tools and information to stitch your trip together. You’ll have to take care of bookings on your own. 

Example of a custom trip planner software: Travel-Wise

Travel-Wise (desktop website and mobile app) combines the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and the contributions of seasoned travelers worldwide to help you plan a customized trip. It makes trip planning more manageable and better by:

• Providing a search engine to see existing trip plans recommended by an intelligent AI recommendation engine and traveler contributors. You can use a trip template and edit as needed. Add family and friends to the app and collaborate on the plan. 
• Providing AI-generated templated itineraries covering a region’s locations, experiences, and events. You can use suggested templates and those you find through your searches on the site/app to create a customized travel itinerary with maps and routes.
• Letting you save your trip memories by adding your personal stories, notes, pictures, and experiences to Travel-Wise’s journal. You can record your trip online and offline and share updates with friends and family, who can view them in near real-time. Making your daily travelogue just got a lot easier!

Choose Wisely

Travel agents, OTAs, and software-based customized trip planners have advantages and drawbacks. Identify your trip priorities to decide the best option. If you want to save money and design a trip that caters to your unique travel style, you’re better off with customized travel planner software. A travel agent is your best bet for complete assistance in planning and during the trip. For custom travel packages and the convenience of online booking, choose OTAs. 

Life is meant for grand adventures. Have a terrific trip!