Custom Travel Planning Services

I’ve spent ten years figuring out Europe: the trains, the neighborhoods worth staying in, the operators who are actually good, and the itineraries that don’t leave you exhausted by day three. If you’d rather not do that research yourself, I can do it for you.

Planning your dream trip with shouldn’t feel overwhelming — and that’s where I come in.

I’ve been navigating Europe by train, researching locally owned guesthouses, and figuring out what’s actually worth your time for ten years. If you’d rather not do that research yourself, I can do it for you.

I offer custom travel planning services through Fora, a travel advisor platform. When I book accommodation through Fora partners, I earn a commission—you pay the same rate you’d find direct, and sometimes less. I’ll always tell you how I’m being compensated, and I’ll never recommend something because it pays better. That’s not how I work.

My specialty is Europe, especially train-based itineraries, solo travel, and trips that are paced for actually enjoying a place rather than exhausting yourself trying to see all of it. I prioritize locally owned accommodation and operators wherever possible, and I’ll tell you why each recommendation makes sense rather than just handing you a list.

how it works

Three Steps to Custom Travel Planning

01

Tell Me About Your Trip

Fill out a quick intake form: where you want to go, how long you have, what matters to you, and what you want to avoid. The more specific, the better. I’m not looking for a vibe, I’m building a real plan.

02

Get Your Custom Travel Plan

I’ll put together a day-by-day itinerary with accommodation recommendations, transport logistics, and food and activity suggestions.

03

Travel Confidently

You’ll get a clean, easy-to-follow itinerary to bring with you. The structure is there when you need it; the flexibility is there when you don’t.

Travel Planning Services

Hotel Booking

FREE!

Not sure where to stay? Tell me your destination, budget, travel style, and what matters to you (walkability, quiet, proximity to public transit, locally owned), and I’ll send you three curated options with a clear explanation of why each one made the list.

Once you choose, I handle the booking. This is completely free for you: I earn a commission through Fora when you book, which is how this part of the service is sustainable. You pay the same rate as booking direct, and often the same as or less than what you’d find on booking platforms.

I prioritize independent and locally owned properties wherever possible. If a chain is genuinely the best option for your situation, I’ll tell you that too—and tell you why.

What You Get:

  • Personalized hotel recommendations based on your style and budget
  • Insider knowledge of location, safety, and vibe
  • Booking support with trusted partners
  • Free service — you pay the same or less than booking direct
Let Me Book Your Stay

Quick Itinerary Boost

$50

Good for weekend trips, short getaways, or 1-2 stop train journeys where you have some ideas but want help making them work. I’ll take what you’ve got, put it in a logical order, fill in the gaps, and give you a suggested itinerary for up to three days.

This isn’t a template. I’ll look at what you actually want from a trip (the pace, the priorities, the things you don’t want to miss) and build something around that. Restaurant and cafe suggestions are based on locally owned spots I’d actually go to, not whatever ranks highest on TripAdvisor.

What You Get:

  • Activity recommendations and a suggested itinerary for up to 3 days
  • Hotel recommendations and booking
  • Restaurant and cafe suggestions
  • One round of edits
  • PDF delivery so it’s easy to reference on the go
Get Your Itinerary Boost

Custom Itinerary

STARTING AT $15/DAY

For trips over four days that need real planning: multi-city Europe itineraries, longer solo adventures, first international trips, or anything where the logistics are complicated enough that you’d rather have someone who knows what they’re doing sort it out.

Pricing starts at $15 per day and scales with complexity. Most 7-10 day itineraries land between $100-250 depending on the number of destinations, transport logistics, and how much research the trip requires. I’ll give you a personalized quote once I know what you’re planning.

I’ll ask you what actually matters to you before I start. Not just where you want to go, but how you want to feel when you’re there, what you don’t want to do, and what your non-negotiables are. The itinerary is built around that, not around the most obvious tourist circuit.

Accommodation recommendations will prioritize locally owned guesthouses and independent hotels. I’ll include context for each destination (what to know about the place, not just what to see) and flag anything worth knowing about the political or economic situation on the ground if it’s relevant to your trip.

What You Get:

  • A fully customized day-by-day itinerary
  • Accommodation recommendations and booking assistance
  • Travel logistics between cities (like train or flight suggestions)
  • Activity and food recommendations
  • Final itinerary you can save to your phone or print out
Start Your Custom Trip Planning Experience

Solo Backpacking or Europe Rail Trip Planning

CUSTOM QUOTE

Train travel is the best way to see Europe. I will die on that hill, and I have the receipts: years of train journeys, Eurail passes, point-to-point tickets, overnight sleepers, and the specific knowledge of which routes are worth the splurge and which ones you can get cheap if you book at the right time.

This tier is for multi-city Europe trips built around rail travel, longer backpacking routes, or anything where the transport planning is half the work. I’ll help you figure out whether a Eurail pass makes sense for your route or whether individual tickets are smarter, map out a logical sequence through your destinations, and build accommodation recommendations that fit your budget—locally owned guesthouses, small hotels, and hostels that are actually good rather than just cheap.

Pricing starts around $150 and goes up based on duration, complexity, and how much ongoing support you want. I’ll send a custom quote once I know what you’re working with.

What You Get:

  • A custom route through Europe (3+ cities)
  • Hostel, boutique hotel, or guesthouse recommendations and booking
  • Transportation guidance (Eurail pass vs. individual tickets)
  • Budget-conscious food and activity suggestions
  • A realistic itinerary that doesn’t try to do too much
Plan Your Backpacking Adventure

Why Work With Me?

I’m not a neutral travel advisor. I have a clear point of view about travel: where money should go, what makes a recommendation trustworthy, what “doing a place justice” actually means—and that point of view is built into everything I plan.

Practically: I prioritize locally owned accommodation and operators. I’ll tell you what each recommendation costs and why it’s worth it. I’ll be honest when something is overhyped and when something nobody’s talking about is worth your time. I won’t recommend a hotel because it has a better commission rate.

I’ve been doing this for ten years. Living abroad in Scotland, traveling solo across Europe, Asia, Central America, navigating train systems and border crossings and budget constraints and the specific challenge of being a woman moving through the world alone. I know what it’s like to plan a trip when you’re not sure if you’re doing it right. I also know what it’s like to show up somewhere and realize the itinerary was built for a different kind of traveler than you are.

When you work with me, I’ll ask you what kind of traveler you actually are before I start. The plan is built around that—not around what most people do, and not around what’s easiest for me to recommend.

Woman exploring Rothenburg ob der Tauber in winter, smiling in the snow-covered medieval town
ellow Dutch NS train waiting at Amsterdam Centraal station platform under a glass-roofed terminal, with travelers boarding for a Europe by train itinerary.
A woman wearing glasses and a cozy sweater gazes out the window of a scenic train ride, with sunlit trees and countryside visible outside.

Is Custom Travel Planning Right for You?

Custom travel planning makes the most sense if:
  • You’re planning your first big solo trip and want someone to sanity-check the logistics
  • You’re navigating Europe by train for the first time and don’t know where to start with passes, routes, or booking windows
  • You have limited time and don’t want to spend it researching; you’d rather pay someone who already knows
  • You care about where your money goes and want accommodation recommendations that reflect that
  • You have a rough idea of what you want but need help turning it into something that actually works
  • You’ve traveled before, but this trip is more complex than what you’ve planned yourself

It’s probably not the right fit if you love the research process and just want inspiration—the blog is better for that. But if you want the plan built for you, that’s what I do.

Let me plan your dream trip!

FAQs

You fill out an intake form with your destination, dates, priorities, and any constraints (budget, mobility, travel style, where you want your money to go). I build a day-by-day itinerary around that, with accommodation recommendations, transport logistics, and food and activity suggestions. You get a clear explanation of every choice, not just a list.

Honestly? Research takes time, and the internet is full of recommendations that exist because they pay well, not because they’re good. I’ve been doing this for ten years. I know which operators are locally owned, which neighborhoods are worth staying in, and what the forums won’t tell you. You get that knowledge without spending forty hours acquiring it.

That’s the whole point. Every itinerary is built from scratch around what you actually want (pace, accommodation style, food priorities, how much structure you need). I’ll ask the right questions upfront so I’m not guessing.

You get recommendations with a clear rationale behind them, not a ranked list from a platform with financial incentives. You get locally owned accommodation prioritized where possible. You get someone who will tell you when something isn’t worth it. And you get your time back.

I use a combination of firsthand knowledge, research, and tools like Google Maps and the Fora itinerary builder for the final deliverable. If you’re DIY-ing it yourself, Wanderlog is a solid free option—but if you’d rather hand it off, that’s what I’m here for.

Yes! I can build around whatever you’ve already confirmed. Flights, specific dates, a hotel you’ve already paid for. Tell me what’s fixed, and I’ll work from there.

Everything is built from scratch. I don’t have packages because packages are built for a generic traveler, not you.

Europe is my wheelhouse—especially train-based itineraries, solo travel, and first international trips. I prioritize locally owned accommodation and operators, and I’m honest about places where the tourism economy is worth thinking twice about. I also plan US road trips and domestic travel.

Yes. A custom itinerary makes a good gift for someone who has a trip in mind but doesn’t want to plan it (birthdays, graduations, honeymoons). Get in touch and I’ll sort out the logistics.

Usually 7-10 business days after I receive your completed intake form, depending on the length of your trip and how much back-and-forth we have. If you’re working with a tighter timeline, let me know upfront and I’ll tell you whether I can accommodate it.

Fill out the intake form with your destination, dates, and as much detail as you have. I’ll review it, send you a quote, and we’ll go from there.

Ready to start planning?

Fill out the intake form and I’ll take it from there—routes, accommodation, logistics, and a clear explanation of every choice. No overwhelm, no second-guessing, no recommendations that exist because they pay well.

Fill out this form to get stared!

Not sure yet? Browse the destination guides to get a sense of how I write about places—that’s the same approach I bring to planning them.