Italy, I'm lost!!!

That was the title of a post on the Europe forum of fodors.com — click the link to see the post. Fodors is an excellent resource by which experienced travelers provide valuable information to travelers planning their own travels, but the Fodors community has a definite bias against using travel consultants.

Don't get me wrong… many travelers can and do successfully plan their own trips. In fact, most professional travel advisors began by doing just this, eventually deciding to combine their passion for travel with a great career. But this traveler on Fodors conveyed such an air of desperation that he seems like the perfect candidate for using a travel consultant.

He is planning a five week trip to Europe with his wife and two teenage sons. He is "trying to cram as much of Europe into [a] bucket list trip as we can." Here are some assorted thoughts he posted: Fly to London. Train to Paris. Train to Marseille. Car rental to the French Riviera. Drive into Italy or fly to Rome. Likes trains but not the feeling of dealing with luggage. Asking about stays in motor homes interspersed with stays in hotels and villas. Wants to "sneak" into Munich and maybe Switzerland. You get the idea.

Google is not a travel consultant, and the first step to planning a life-changing trip doesn't have to start in a google search box. Your best first step may be to find a travel consultant who is thoroughly knowledgeable about your destination, who has planned dozens or even hundreds of trips to that very place. She or he can help you avoid bad ideas that will waste time and money. You'll still be in charge — an active participant in dreaming and planning your trip — but you'll have an experienced partner to sweat the small stuff … allowing you sit back and enjoy!

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.