How to help the inevitable eleventh-hour travelers

We all have stories of friends, family, clients – and even ourselves – who need last-minute trip arrangements or those of us who procrastinate filling in the needed forms or waiting too long to get the required vaccinations. It sometimes feels like this is exacerbated during the busiest times of year. Here are a few basic points to remember when facing tight deadlines:

Where? Destination matters
First, make sure that you can get to the place you long to be. Check the prices and, more importantly, the availability of seats on specific flights you will need. If the seats are limited, you may need to be prepared to buy now or risk staying home.

Expect a challenge or two
Depending on destination and time of year, you may need to be a more flexible than you might like when it comes to the logistics and your hotel choices. The best accommodations, whether that’s a five-star lodge or a spectacular camp site, are likely be booked early.  But with a little patience, you can often come up with surprisingly delightful alternatives that you might never have discovered otherwise.

Do your homework
Yes, even last-minute usually requires some research. For international travel, make sure you check all entry requirements, especially the potential need for visas and required inoculations prior to your travel.  Also, check that passport for the expatriation date and insure it has at least three blank visa pages.

Be open to new experiences, especially unplanned
Much of the fun in travel is encountering the unexpected, particularly if you are going off the well-worn path. These areas are usually less known and less crowded, and may have less developed infrastructure but are often unexpectedly attractive, offer unique experiences and are available!

Be patient
You need to give your travel professional time to work at finding and clearing the spaces. The holidays or any busy season requires a little extra patience and tolerance… And carry with you the most powerful tool you have, a welcome smile.

If you are looking for a few suggestions, we still have limited space in Nicaragua, Peru, Australia, Chile and Guatemala. Feel free to contact us about your favorite place. Safe travels.