An advisor, not a booking engine.
Virtuoso member since long before it was fashionable. Nearly 300 combined years of planning, one advisor who knows your name.
A luxury travel advisor is the difference between a trip you booked and a trip that was built for you. Travel Wizards has been doing exactly that since 1981, from offices in Burlingame, California and Sarasota, Florida, for clients across the United States.
What working with our advisors includes
- A planning conversation first: pace, budget, interests, celebrations, non-negotiables.
- A curated itinerary, not a catalog dump. Two or three real options, with honest tradeoffs.
- Virtuoso and preferred-partner amenities: upgrades when available, breakfast, property credits, early check-in and late checkout.
- Air, transfers, private guiding, restaurant and experience reservations handled as one plan.
- Documents, timing, visa and entry guidance, and travel protection options explained in plain language.
- A human to call while you are traveling, not a queue.
Where our advisors specialize
Our team plans across every category we sell, and each advisor has territory they know personally. Explore how that expertise maps to your trip:
- Leisure and custom vacations, honeymoons, family travel, safari, and round-the-world journeys.
- Ocean and river cruises across 24+ partner lines, including Viking, Explora Journeys, Regent, Seabourn, and AmaWaterways.
- Expedition voyages to Antarctica and the Northwest Passage.
- Private jet journeys with Four Seasons Private Jet and TCS World Travel.
- Corporate and incentive travel for teams that cannot afford a missed connection.
Credentials that matter
Travel Wizards is a Virtuoso member and holds affiliations with the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), and IATA. We are registered as a California Seller of Travel, CST 1000624-50. Those relationships are the reason we can call a general manager directly rather than reach a call center.
How the process works
- Discovery call. Twenty minutes on dates, travelers, budget range, and what would make the trip a success.
- Proposal. A written itinerary with properties, routing, inclusions, and total investment.
- Refinement. We adjust until it reads like your trip.
- Booking and documents. Deposits, confirmations, seat assignments, and a final travel packet.
- On the road. Direct advisor contact for changes, delays, and last-minute additions.
Start with research, then talk to a person
Our library of 360+ destination and experience guides covers seasonality, logistics, and what is actually worth your days. The Journal tracks new ships, new lodges, and new routes. When you are ready to turn reading into a plan, contact an advisor or call 800.446.0046.
Prefer a fully bespoke build from a blank page? See custom travel planning.
Luxury travel advisor questions, answered
- What does a luxury travel advisor actually do?
- A luxury travel advisor designs the trip, books every component, and stands behind it. That means matching you to the right destination and property, securing Virtuoso and preferred-partner benefits, arranging private guides and transfers, handling air, and being reachable if a flight cancels or a plan changes mid-journey.
- How much does it cost to work with a travel advisor?
- Our advisors explain any planning fee before work begins. The fee depends on the itinerary's complexity, research, and custom ground arrangements.
- Do I pay more than booking online myself?
- We compare supplier rates and identify the option with the strongest overall value. Through Virtuoso we may also secure room upgrades when available, daily breakfast, resort or spa credits, early check-in, late checkout, and a dedicated on-site contact.
- What is Virtuoso and why does it matter?
- Virtuoso is an invitation-only network of luxury travel agencies and roughly 2,300 preferred hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and destination specialists. Travel Wizards is a member, so our clients receive Virtuoso amenities and our advisors have direct lines to the people who can solve problems on the ground.
- How far in advance should I start planning?
- For peak-season Europe, safari, Antarctica, and private jet expeditions, 9 to 18 months is realistic. Caribbean and domestic escapes can often come together in 4 to 8 weeks. If your dates are fixed, earlier is always better.
- Where are you located and can you work with clients anywhere?
- Our offices are in Burlingame, California and Sarasota, Florida, and we plan travel for clients across the United States by phone, email, and video. Call 800.446.0046 or send a note through the contact page to get started.
An advisor, not a booking engine
A booking engine sorts inventory by price. An advisor decides what belongs in your trip. That is the whole distinction, and it shows up in the parts of travel an engine cannot see: whether the connecting time is realistic at that airport, whether the room category with the view is worth the difference, whether the guide is good with teenagers, and whether the itinerary leaves anyone exhausted by day four.
An engine also cannot advocate for you. When a flight cancels, a search box does not call the airline. When a hotel oversells, a comparison site does not know the general manager. Our accreditation and our volume with preferred partners mean the phone gets answered, and the person answering has a reason to help.
Working with an advisor typically starts with a conversation about how you actually travel: pace, budget honesty, dining, how much guiding you want, and how much unstructured time you need. From there we propose a plan, refine it with you, and hold it together across every supplier involved.
You keep the Virtuoso and preferred-partner benefits either way, upgrades where available, breakfast, resort or shipboard credits, early check-in and late checkout when we can secure them. The difference is that someone is accountable for the trip as a whole.