Plan Your Escape with the Travel Counsellors
In September 2024 we enlisted the help of a Travel Counsellor to plan a fifteen-day trip across Europe. We had set a budget and needed someone to help us plan the route. As we were new to travelling to many of the destination countries, and had no idea where to start when it came to planning, in July 2024 we contacted our local travel counsellors to help us with our choices, including the destinations and finding good places to stay.
Our travel counsellor, Garry Dicks, met us for a coffee in a local cafe and he got to know us, discovering what we preferred and what route we might like to take. The plan included flight options, available dates, and hotels. 
Instead of flying all the way we opted to fly to the first country and spend the rest of the time travelling by train, until the final stop before we flew home. Travelling by train meant we could see more of the landscape and scenery while catching up with some downtime between walking around different towns. Using a travel counsellor gave us the knowledge of experienced travellers, who could rely on their colleagues for ideas and advice. It also meant the holidays and flights were ATOL-protected, and we had 24/7 help available if we needed extra assistance. This came in handy, as we decided to travel when Poland and parts of Europe were experiencing heavy floods and adverse weather conditions. Luckily, we don't mind it cold and wet because that is exactly what we got halfway through our travels. The heavens opened and Bratislava was a washout, but it worked in our favour. As the rain limited outside activities we discovered a fabulous restaurant and now have a new reason to return to finish our tour of the area, plus revisit for a meal.
Having saved on flight costs by taking a small cabin bag each, and relying on local launderettes to refresh our clothes, we also had less time at the airport, with fewer bulky bags to carry between destinations. Setting off from London Gatwick with Easyjet just after 7.30am on September 7th meant we had a longer first day to get into a holiday flow. Our full itinerary took us from London to Zurich - Innsbruck - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest - Poprad - Krakow and back to London Gatwick fifteen days later.
Arrival at each destination was planned to give us a good afternoon or early evening to adjust and check into our hotel, before having a full second day to explore. Our departures on the third day, to each new city, were planned to allow a relaxed breakfast before travelling to meet our next train. Every hotel was a short walk or tram ride from the train station, and Garry had pre-booked our seats and tickets.
We left London with a full set of travel plans, boarding passes, accommodation vouchers, train and plane tickets and taxis booked for the airport transfers, plus we had the number to reach Garry should there be any issues. As a bonus, we had an extra day in Poland to unwind and prepare to come home. Garry worked with us, supplying and changing hotels in the plan to suit what we liked, and made suggestions of tours and day trips we could go on. We could have pre-booked excursions in advance but left the daily sightseeing itinerary open to decide along the way.
If you are a first-time traveller, want to explore new places, are stuck for ideas or just want someone else to do all the research and paperwork, it is worth having an informal chat with your local Travel Counsellor to see what they can offer. For more information visit the Travel Counsellors.