what does the custom itinerary service include?

bespoke atlas handles all the research and planning for your trip, and provides you – and those you’re traveling with – with a detailed itinerary that is tailor-made to suit your interests. This custom itinerary is designed to help you make the most of your travel experience and your time, without you having to spend more hours planning your trip than actually enjoying it. In addition to daily itineraries, we also include additional experience ideas, transit and accommodation suggestions as well as other relevant travel tips to provide you with flexibility while on the go.

what does your research and planning process entail?

We pride ourselves on being able to craft a tailor-made travel itinerary for you. We have been fortunate to travel to many incredible places around the globe, which helps to inform itinerary ideas. We also spend countless hours maintaining relationships with partners in various countries to stay up to date with the latest experiences, and we are constantly devouring travel content in all forms – broadcast, digital, print and more. Once we understand your travel style and preferences, we apply all of these levers to our research and planning to inform your custom itinerary.

how does the custom itinerary service work?

Your tailor-made itinerary is only a few steps away! We can craft itineraries for individual or group travel, it all depends on the vision you have for your trip.

• Schedule your conversation and complete our online form to help us understand some initial details and information about your trip.

• During our follow-up chat (phone or video – whichever you prefer), we ensure we have a clear understanding of your travel needs and interests, and talk through potential destination(s) and your itinerary preferences.

• Following that conversation, and confirmation of your destination(s), bespoke atlas begins the research and planning efforts for your trip and crafts a tailor-made itinerary just for you.

• Once we’ve completed crafting your custom itinerary, we review it together and make any final tweaks. Then, once finalised, bespoke atlas provides you with a printed version and a digital copy.

• You take it from there to get booked and make your trip happen!

When scheduling your initial consultation, you will notice there is a non-refundable $50 deposit required. This $50 will be applied as a credit towards the cost of your custom itinerary fee should you go ahead with the service. When you choose to move forward with the service, we issue a 50% invoice to be paid before planning work commences. The remaining balance is due once your itinerary is ready for review. Schedule a consultation to start the process.

how long does the bespoke itinerary process take?

Following the consultation and decision on destination(s), it takes approximately 10-12 business days for an itinerary to be completed. The turnaround time is fluid based on the duration of your trip, as well as your availability to review the draft itinerary and provide any specific feedback.

If you need an itinerary crafted on a more urgent basis, we will do our best to deliver the high level of service and quality detail that meet your needs and timeline. Please be aware that urgent itinerary requests may incur a rush fee (if so, we will let you know up front so there are no surprises).

what if i only want bespoke atlas to help plan part of my trip, not the entire thing?

That’s totally okay! During the initial consultation, just let us know how many days you are looking for us to help design. We are happy to craft itineraries for every day of your travels or just a select few where you need a little help on ideas and options.

If you are in the early stages of your travel planning, or are looking for inspiration, we also offer a single-service consultation that is designed to help get you started with ideas and recommendations for you to develop your own itinerary.

what if i don’t need the full itinerary service, but just need help to get my own planning started?

If you are in the early stages of your travel planning, or are looking for inspiration, we also offer a single-service consultation that is designed to help get you started with ideas and recommendations for you to develop your own itinerary.

This is a great option for those that benefit from talking through ideas in order to help make decisions, need a little extra support to navigate an overwhelming process, or for groups that might need help in reaching consensus on where to go.

how do the employee wellness sessions work?

We partner with businesses to make our consultation sessions available to their employees as part of their benefits. Utilising vacation days has become increasingly important for employee wellness and reinvigoration, but many find it difficult to determine how to best maximise the time they have, or are overwhelmed at the idea of planning and deciding how to use their hard-earned time off. We are here to support employees with inspirational ideas based on their travel style and preferences, and in navigating travel-related decisions. This is a meaningful benefit that companies can provide to their employees and a tangible demonstration of a culture that embraces time-off for employee wellness and productivity.

how is your service different to a travel agent?

While our custom itinerary service includes recommendations for transit, routing, dining and experiences, we do not make any bookings on your behalf. We provide the recommendation and links where relevant, and you make it happen!

Since bespoke atlas is not influenced by earning commissions, we are committed to providing recommendations that best match your interests beyond the generic ‘must do’ touristy lists. We are able to focus on recommending places and experiences that we believe meet your brief, we sincerely love (we try to include places we’ve been before so we can vouch for them first-hand) or come highly recommended from local contacts.

If you are looking for assistance in making bookings, we can recommend local travel agents to assist with that aspect.

We also strongly recommend having travel insurance organised prior to starting your trip, as well as reviewing current government health and safety guidelines of your home country and those you are visiting.

why is the custom itinerary pricing structure set by number of travel days?

We believe this is the most flexible and fair pricing structure for this bespoke service. Our day rates are transparent and as part of the consultation process, you can let us know how many days of your trip you’re looking to have itineraries designed for.

what happens if i change my mind about the destination?

We understand that sometimes you might need to alter plans or simply change your mind. This is no problem throughout the consultation process, and we are happy to work with you to help determine the destination(s) that makes the most sense for you. However, once we have started building the itinerary, if you change your mind, there would be costs incurred as we would essentially be starting over. We are always transparent with our pricing and fees and will be sure to let you know if there will be additional costs to start an itinerary for a new or additional location.

where can i see a sample itinerary so i know what to expect?

You can find a sample itinerary on our website. Please keep in mind that each itinerary we craft is tailored to your travel style and preferences.

We also encourage you to follow us on instagram, for some destination and experience inspiration.

are the custom itinerary and consultation services available to anyone around the globe?

Yes, we welcome travellers from all corners of the globe! Please note our prices listed are in $USD.

are there countries or regions that you specialise in?

The best travel is fuelled by experience and bespoke atlas is ready to craft tailor-made itineraries for trips across the globe. However, our first-hand knowledge of various countries and communities helps us craft even more personalised plans.

Australia, America, Greece, Iceland and Slovenia are some of our specialties, but we're ready and equipped to make your next best trip happen no matter the location!

what about covid-19 and travel?

We take health and safety concerns very seriously. We can work with you to ensure we are designing a trip that fits within your comfort level as it relates to the pandemic and COVID-19, and considers any guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing.

We are hyperaware about not encouraging far-from-home travel during the pandemic. We give great consideration to destination(s), communities, transportation, experiences and timing of your travel as a means to minimise any spread of COVID-19.

We also strongly recommend having travel insurance organised prior to starting your trip, as well as reviewing current government health and safety guidelines and border restrictions of your home country and those you are visiting.

By travelling at this time you recognise that COVID-19 poses significant risks which cannot be alleviated by bespoke atlas, as such you agree to the COVID-19 waiver found in our Terms and Conditions.

what about the impact of travel on the climate and communities?

We are supporters of ‘slow travel’ whenever possible to help minimise the footprint of travel for both the environment and also communities that may be negatively impacted by over-tourism. As part of our custom itinerary service and consultations, we include recommendations to help make your travel more environmentally-considerate, such as direct flights for less carbon emissions than those with layovers, rail transit over flying when possible, and tips to minimise single-use plastics.

We value the positives of travel – it affords us the ability to appreciate the wonders of the world, including sometimes fragile ecosystems, and gain understanding and respect for communities different to our own. It can also be a crucial economic and educational tool for some communities. bespoke atlas has committed to contribute a portion of profits to two organisations that we think do incredible work, you can learn more about them here:

ONE PERCENT and SEALEGACY.

do you have gift certificates available?

Yes, you can purchase our bespoke atlas custom itinerary service or a single-session consultation as a gift. We’d be honoured to help make a magical trip a reality for someone special in your life!

We can provide a digital or printed certificate, or both. Printed certificates generally ship within 5 business days of your order. You can find the link to our gift certificates here.