It Adds Up: Why Using Family Travel Advisor Makes Perfect Sense

Math wasn’t my strong suit in school. I’ll admit, I still have to count on my fingers sometimes. But English was different story—and to this day, I’ll always choose words over numbers. But being a travel writer requires proficiency in both. I need to find hotel rooms that fit within my budget and research airfare in a world where rates fluctuate daily.

When I go on vacation with my family, the stakes are even higher. Family travel requires more details and organization, not to mention more money. After years of going about it solo (and making plenty of accounting errors), I started using a travel advisor. It was a life-changing decision—at least from a family travel perspective.

When it comes to traveling as a family, finding the right travel advisor is crucial. They must not only be well-versed in the intricacies of current travel requirements but also understand the chaos and complexities of traveling with kids. A good travel advisor will take the time to understand your family’s dynamics, your preferred travel style, and, most importantly, your budget. Once you find the right match, a relationship with your travel advisor will prove to be invaluable.

How do you find a travel advisor that’s a good fit for your family? Read on to discover the benefits of using travel advisors and a curated list to help you begin your search.

Is a Travel Advisor the Same Thing as a Travel Agent?

Travel advisors and travel agents essentially do the same thing—they help clients plan travel. Forget what you remember about old-school, mall-based travel agents. Travel advisors do far more than book flights and hotel rooms. Modern-day travel advisors are problem solvers. They work directly with a hotel or resort’s executive team (with whom they often have a personal relationship) to customize your trip.

Furthermore, travel advisors receive valuable perks that they pass down to their clients. This could be a complimentary spa treatment, a room upgrade, or breakfast included in the room rate. Their accumulated knowledge from sending hundreds of guests to hundreds of destinations makes them the ideal choice to plan family-centric itineraries. They can help coordinate guides, transportation, private boat charters, art classes, and nature hikes. A good travel advisor is a one-stop shop—and over time, your advisor will learn to anticipate your needs before you do.

The A, B, C’s of Using Travel Advisors

Having a trusted travel advisor in your back pocket takes the stress out of family travel planning. With their large database and vast resources, they can often find better airfares and more convenient routes. I can think of other ways to spend my valuable time than on United or Delta’s websites.

It’s a common myth that travel advisors make trips more expensive. Most advisors have a reasonable fee structure determined by the complexity of the trip. Like any resource, they do hours of legwork for their clients. Typically, the resort or hotel pays a referral fee to the advisor, which doesn’t impact the client’s costs. In fact, most advisors can find clients better offers and prices than they would find themselves.

Travel Advisors for Family Travel

Ready to find a travel advisor who will help plan your next family adventure? A shortlist of family-friendly travel advisors follows. Scroll a few websites, make a few phone calls, and have a candid conversation about your family’s travel needs. Go with your gut. This relationship will grow over time; you’ll know when it feels right.

Little Voyageurs was started by Sophie Pirlot, mother of four, as a blog and series of city guides to inspire travel with kids. In 2022, the blog became a platform for custom trip planning and workshops. Her beautifully designed and content-rich website showcases family travel itineraries in farflung destinations ideas like Malaysia, Cambodia, and France.

Potential clients can choose from a variety of options to begin planning with Little Voyageurs. ‘Pick my brain’ is a one-hour session for people not quite ready to plan a vacation but need advice. ‘I need a break’ discusses trips up to 7 days, and ‘Oh, the places you’ll go’ is a consultation for three-week long trips. With alluring photography and packing tips, tricks, and guides, Little Voyageurs is chock full of inspiration and information.

Ciao Bambino! Started by Annie O’Shaughnessy in 2003, Ciao Bambino! ‘works with families who could plan their vacation by themselves but would rather not.’ You’re speaking my language, Ciao Bambino! The website is easy to navigate and has useful menu links like; ‘Family Hotel Reviews’ and ‘Family Travel Destinations.’ Targeted filters allow users to choose hotels that are ‘baby-ready’ or ‘toddler fun’ as examples. Then you can further narrow your focus by location type, like by the sea, mountains, or city.

Contact Ciao Bambino! via a simple online form. This will set the wheels in motion for an introductory call with a travel advisor who is ready to help curate and book your next family holiday.

The Little Voyager’s founder, Ilonka Schafer, believes kids should find inspiration and entertainment in natural environments. This Barcelona native carefully chooses destinations close to nature so that families can get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Ms. Schafer makes sure the places she recommends have character and style but are equipped for young families.

The Little Voyager website skews heavily towards European locations, with many options in Spain, Germany, and Italy. They recommend properties that have been vetted in advance for family travel, with high chairs, cots, stair gates, and child-proofing, when needed. The website also has fun ideas for ‘Momcations’ like the Ibizan Country Escape or the Austrian Nature Escape. Because, as we all know, a well-rested mom is a happy mom. Reach out to Little Voyagers via email on their website.

Elevate Destinations (hyperlink) are award-winning travel designers with an altruistic mindset. They create custom adventures for families as well as organizations. Their private travel division connects families to community and conservation projects worldwide, thus curating luxurious family vacations that have an educational component. Elevate Destinations strives to implement sustainable travel programs while catering to the specific needs of families.

A complimentary phone call between you and your travel advisor gets the process started. Their team of professionals will take great care in achieving your family’s travel goals. Whether that be sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica or cruising the Nile in Egypt, Elevate Destinations’ unique itineraries will impress even the most seasoned little travelers.

Travel Advisor ‘Lite’

Maybe you aren’t ready to jump into a travel advisor relationship yet. Perhaps planning is your thing, and you have the time to do it. If so, consider Kid & Coe or Petit Passeport. Both websites have visually captivating photography and travel inspiration to help you create ideal itineraries.

Kid & Coe Founder Zoie Kingsbery Coe has struck gold in family travel planning by combining hand-picked accommodations with insight from local families. This local knowledge has helped her create a database of over 1000 family-friendly properties in 50 locations around the world.

The website has unique categories like ‘Affordable Getaways,’ ‘Where to Book Now,’ and ‘Walk to Town.’ Some properties come stocked with books and toys. Others come with bikes and surfboards. Clients can choose from rentals, home exchanges, and hotels that have been pre-approved by Kid & Coe’s team.

Petit Passeport is a family-run online travel community and publication. The website highlights some of the world’s most intriguing places for family travel adventures. Petit Passeport’s mission is ‘to encourage more families to explore the world together and collect more “wow” memories along the way.” Wow memories are the best memories, aren’t they?

Beyond beautiful accommodations, Petit Passeport’s highly-curated content also includes airport tips for traveling with kids, luxury travel hacks, and luggage recs for families. Learn which hotels and resorts make their list for the ‘World’s Finest for Families’ and discover lesser known hidden gems that will have your kiddos begging to go back to.

Family Travel is as Easy as 1-2-3

I may not have conquered algebra back in high school, but I did learn when to ask for help. A travel advisor can help as much or as little as you’d like throughout the planning process. One of the best perks of using a travel advisor is their 24/7 emergency phone numbers. If anything goes wrong on your trip, night or day, they are always standing by.

Peace of mind when traveling with your kids is essential to having a joyful, restful and relaxing trip. Trips with wet, soggy, sand-filled bathing suits on the beach. Trips where a love of llamas, or sea cucumbers, or pretty rocks, is discovered. Trips where your child first tastes oysters, or empanadas, or soba.

Parents who prioritize traveling with kids will create trips filled with everlasting memories. Who will you trust to help plan it?