Travel Escapes

Karen at Travel Escapes is a dream come true!! Karen takes care of everything for you from beginning to end, makes your trip / vacation stress free!! I cannot say enough about Karen @ Travel Escapes

Karen was gracious enough to meet with us on the last snowy Saturday in January. She was professional, kind, very personable and gracious in helping us find what we needed for this summer's trip. She put together several packages for us and had asked from us to play with dates just to see if we could get it down to the original cost as quoted in her office - the general targe cost. Very professional. Very punctual and were were beyond thrilled with the process and partnering with Karen. Her communication is very detail oriented and as a visual person getting detailed emails was super helpful. We couldn't be any happier with Karen and Travel Escapes.

Perfect. All arrangements were done to our satisfaction. Nothing went wrong. Truly had a wonderful, well planned trip!

Amanda listened, took time to review options, made suggestions and promptly booked the trip. We had to cancel due to worsening knee problems. Amanda has done a lot of the leg work to help file the claim with our travel insurance that should cover the cancellation. We didn't comparison shop prices so can't comment on price, but we are very happy with Amanda and all her efforts

I could not have been happier with Karen and what I got from her. She talked to me about what I was trying to accomplish, made excellent recommendations, and helped me find a trip that we in my budget and met all of my goals. I will absolutely work with her again.

They never even bothered to return my phone call.

I provided the trip dates and other relevant details to the travel agent who agreed to call me back with a proposed itinerary (flights, hotel, etc.) by "early next week". I called and left a message asking for a response on Wednesday and it's now mid-day on Thursday and have received no response of any kind. I've wasted a week because I trusted that they would help me.

Great! We usually plan our own travel, and we would not have spent as much money on our own. But this was a difficult trip to pull together (Karen was very patient as we pondered various options), and we feel that we really got what we paid for! Everything and everybody was top-notch. All of our rides arrived right on time (so fun to see people with signs with our names on it!) and the tours Karen signed us up for in Patagonia were fabulous. We liked one guide so much that we hired him for a hike on a day that we had free. All of the accommodations Karen booked for us were lovely, and the food everyplace was also terrific. It was the trip of a lifetime for us! We would definitely use Karen and her company again.

I contacted them, and received a reply back from Melanie, my agent immediately. I had a lot of questions, everything from the best time of year to go to my selected destination to the price range. She took a lot of time, both via email and over the phone to break every last detail down for me. She organized a vacation that was perfect for us! She took care to listen to every detail, such as the age of our children and the characteristics we like in a hotel. I also liked the way Melanie checked in with me and provided updates on any flight changes, etc.... That was our first family vacation, and how comforting it was to have everything taken care of so all we had to do is show up and focus on having fun, which of course we did! I have already started talking to Melanie about our next vacation. Now that I found Travel Escapes, I will come back to them every year to have our vacation completely arranged for us! BTW, one thing I didn't know until Melanie explained it...... Their services do not cost the customer anything! Apparently the destination (Disney, etc...) pays their fee. That was an added bonus for us. BTW #2 - Our destination was Disney. When I first contacted Travel Escapes, they assigned Melanie to me because she was the company's Disney expert. I didn't know there was such a thing, but sure enough, she knew Disney very well and was able to provide us with lots of tips that really helped us on our vacation.

Amanda Smerdel at Travel Escapes helped us with every detail of a somewhat eccentric trip to Italy. We wanted to go to some remote areas in the South, and Amanda managed the arrangements for accommodations, transportation and tours. She also helped us plan the second half of our trip, to the north, with trains, hotels and day trips. Most significantly, Travel Escapes helped us rearrange many of these plans when our vacation was cut short by illness. Amanda rebooked airlines and hotels and managed the claims with the trip insurer she so wisely recommended. If you are thinking about a trip, discuss your ideas with Travel Escapes. They'll work with you to plan a perfect vacation and give you the help you need while you're on it.

Amanda Smerdel was our travel agent from Travel Escapes. Her services were extraordinary. Amanda's attention to detail, pleasant demeanor, and rapid response were much appreciated. She went beyond the call of duty in making our European vacation a wonderful experience.

Extraordinary service. We had the pleasure of working with Amanda Smerdel as our travel advisor. She made all our flights, private car pickups, and tour arrangements. Her suggestions for small tour groups were perfect. She kept me up to date and frequently gave me helpful suggestions. She was quick to return my calls and extremely efficient. Everything went as planned. We would never have had such a wonderful stress free trip without her excellent planning. She is a gem.

Very well. Clear communication, excellent follow through as the speaker needed to OK flights before booking so there was a delay over the weekend. Picked at random from list and would definitely use again and recommend.

Slow start, but awesome at the end. Worked with Karen, and she was great.

There are many ways to plan a trip but I was so happy that I reached out to Travel Escapes to help with my 30th Wedding Anniversary trip to Italy! The support I received proved invaluable! The fee was an agreed upon set amount and I consider it a small token for the fabulous service I got in return. I was assigned to Amanda -- she was professional and knowledgeable, always responsive and could be reached by email or phone, and was very interested in planning this trip WITH me. She took my ideas and then offered suggestions so that the end result was truly wonderful and exactly what we had wanted. She provided expert advice as well as a level of detail for each step along the way that made the trip smooth and stress free. She went above and beyond before, during, and after the trip to help ensure we were completely satisfied. Simply put, we could not have put this trip together, and enjoyed it so much, without her help. I WILL contact her again for any future vacation planning and I would HIGHLY recommend Travel Escapes / Amanda to you! Zero complaints and 100% satisfaction!!

The trip was wonderful. The hotels we stayed at were very good. The destinations were excellent. The guided tours were excellent. The food was wonderful, and everything was available at a very reasonable price compared with other vacation destinations we have taken. Northern Italy was beautiful. The people were friendly, and generally spoke English. Our favorite place was Cinque Terre, where we stayed for four days at the end of our trip. Monterosso, the largest town in Cinque Terre, was a beautiful destination with excellent restaurants, most notably Tortuga and Mikys

Amanda Smerdel, Travel Escapes' European specialist, was a delight to work with. If she didn't know the answer to a question, she did her best to find out. She was extremely patient with the numerous arrangements we needed to spend a month traveling in three different countries. Amanda was very open about what she could and couldn't do as a travel agent. She very graciously did research to assist us in making reservations, etc. on our own. She understood our particular needs and always tried to take them into consideration for our comfort and safety. We really appreciated her willingness to continue answering our questions and helping us with unexpected glitches even during our travels. Her own travel experiences greatly aided us in making certain important decisions. Amanda was always professional yet very friendly and approachable. We highly recommend her services.

Marcia Shaw was excellent to work with - she provided many options and assisted with the booking of resorts, flights, and excursions. She was very patient with us and all our questions - we had a trip of a lifetime to Moorea and Bora Bora. Would definitely recommend and thankful for all her help.

We actually booked this trip in November 2015 for our trip in Feb. 2016. Travel was between Columbus, OH and San Diego, CA. I prepared a timeline draft, including where we wanted to stay (name, address, phone #) and how many nights we would stay at each place. I always add a 'buffer day' at both ends of the trip. A 'buffer day' is a day of rest/relaxation after arrival, and also for the day before going home. This relieves much stress for both of us. Melanie took it from there and said that my prep. made her job easier. The trip went very smoothly and we finally met our 18 month old twin grandbabies, got to play a bit and enjoy the beauty of the area.

Several days later, I received an email with an attachment. The attachment contained an incomplete tour - stopped at the 5th day. I let her know and she sent me the entire tour which was "customized". It was not presented in a professional manner, nor was the price a total price as there were items (e.g., a hotel) for which she yet didn't have costs. During the time I was waiting for Marcia's proposed tour of Spain, I decided to look elsewhere for a backup. Well, the company I found had wonderful reviews, not just from its customers, but from companies such as National Geographic. I contacted them, outlined the same desires I had given to Travel Escapes. I quickly received a call from the person in the company highly familiar with Spain and, after several questions she had for me, she told me that I would be receiving a tour proposal within the next two days. The agent sent me a completely customized tour and told me to review and then she would make any changes I wanted. I only had one suggestion and after her explaining why another option might be better, I decided on hers rather than mine. Also importantly, the price was lower than the incomplete one quoted by Travel Escapes. I then contacted Marcia at Travel Escapes to tell her that I booked my Spain trip with the other company.

It was a very enjoyable experience. Nineteen days is a bit long. Next time I would limit it to two weeks. The provider is very knowledgeable and I enjoy traveling with her. This is my second trip with her.

We had no major problems. We learned that the Hotel Baranof in Juneau did not furnish transportation from the Juneau airport to the hotel, of which Carol was not aware. We had to call a cab. This was a minor problem. We were pleased with the quality of the cruise ship company, the hotels we stayed at, the train trip to Denali, and the tour there. We had no major delays. We especially enjoyed the limo service the travel agency provided to and from the airport in Columbus.

Everything went perfect. I was very pleased with Amanda Smerdel's efforts to manage the vacation for us. She made the various flight arrangements, which were very complex. She arranged for the unaccompanied minor service so we could send our 13 year old son ahead for 2 weeks alone, where he stayed with family in Denmark. Then, she arranged the train service from Chester to London, and a perfect hotel in London, which had 4 bedrooms for only $300 a night, perfect for a big family, in London, where prices are usually SO high. The sightseeing plans were excellent and we were able to see most of the main tourist spots in London in 3 days with no difficulty at all. And, finally, arranged pre-paid taxis to and from airport, so we did not bother with payment, etc. Most of our travel, sightseeing and taxis were all prepaid, which is a great service.

Our trip to Amsterdam and to the Orkney Islands in northern Scotland was tremendous fun and a great learning experience, but not without some adventure. We lost a wallet on the second day in Amsterdam and the travel insurer, our financial institutions and the hotel helped to manage credit card security and replacement and cash management, working with folks across US and European time zones. We dropped another wallet in the security line on the last day in Scotland but that was easily fixed by the friendly folks at Kirkwall Airport Management and Security and the Royal Mail. Everything else went very right, as planned by Marcia Shaw at Travel Escapes! Marcia got us excellent savings on Business Class on Delta/KLM flights and on our accommodations [The NH Amsterdam City Centre, The Orkney Hotel, the Ferry Inn and the Hilton Schiphol Hotel]. Transferring among hotels was virtually seamless. Our flights to, from and within Scotland on Flybe Airline, were timed to avoid rushing and panic, Our hotels were excellent, and ready for us, The rooms were comfortable and the staff and management very helpful. Marcia got us advanced tickets to the Van Gogh Museum and canal tours.In Amsterdam to avoid long lines. She provided us with advanced tickets to many important local sights and tours throughout that beautiful and diverse city. We had good to great weather for our week in Amsterdam and enjoyed the busy summer days, and cool summer nights, along with the daily ballet-like movement of traffic and canal boats through the city. Our flights to and from Kirkwall, were by small comfortable turbojets. I must say candidly that I've never heard anyone say they wenr to the Orkney Islands for the weather, but the tours team that Marcia set up for our 2 weeks on the islands:Lorna Brown,of See Orkney, Kinlay Francis of Orkney Uncovered and Frank Gaertner ( and family) of OdIn Tours, more than made up for any cloudy skies or mists, with their knowledge and hospitality. We enjoyed fully supported tours of the virtually all the great tombs,ceremonial sites, monuments and ancient communities the Orkneys have to offer, even some that are still active "dig" sites. As we has requested, we also saw plenty of wildlife [puffins, multiple kinds of seals, hares, and many varieties of birds.etc,]. On a daily basis, we indulged shamelessly in the many varieties of delicious Orkadian foods and drinks. The islands are justly famous for their fresh seafood dishes, as well as wonderful local beef, lamb, and cheeses and several long established craft ales. In the "off" days that Marcia planned for us, we wandered the two "larger" cites [Kirkwall and Stromness[ on our own and enjoyed their museums, shops and restaurants and historical sites. We are grateful to Marcia Shaw and Travel Escapes for a truly memorable travel experience. . .

When your working with travel agencies, stick with one person doing the calling it gets too complicated when several people in the group are calling all different agencies and hard to compare apples to apples. Great Experience with this company, expecially helpful was Marcia.