A Well-Connected Friend
When you travel to a place for the first time, it can be difficult to know where to start. Whether you’re trying to figure out which hotels best fit your group size, which transportation provider gets you there fastest or which excursions are the most worthwhile, research can take up valuable vacation hours that you could be spending with your family. Local travel specialists take the guesswork out of trip planning, giving you peace of mind that your experience will be as perfect as possible.
The best way to get a sense for how an expert will work with you is to book a one-hour consultation call with a local guide. At the end of that hour, your local guide will share recommendations and advice that are perfectly tailored to your interests and travel style. They’ll also provide you with all the information you need to make bookings on your own Alberta Blue Sky Tours.
You’ll be paired with an expert in your chosen destination who is vetted to meet a strict set of criteria. These experts have a minimum of 10 years of professional travel experience and often decades more in their specialty areas. They’ve been carefully selected for their ability to create travel experiences that connect travelers with locals, and for their deep knowledge of their city, region or country.
From there, your local travel specialist will use their on-the-ground knowledge to find the right hotels for your budget and preferences, the transportation providers that will get you to the sites you want to see as quickly as possible and the guides who can offer a truly in-depth experience of a place. They’ll also make sure that all your arrangements are backed by a worldwide known travel brand for additional peace of mind.
Your guide’s in-depth knowledge of a destination will help you understand its history, art and architecture. They may also know the best places to eat in a city or town, and be able to arrange for special access to sights like the Musee d’Orsay without the long lines. If you’re traveling with a family, guides can be trained to engage children of different ages and interests.
Having a dedicated local travel specialist on your side can be especially helpful when visiting less-trodden destinations. For example, when a herd of sheep blocks your path to a remote village in Mongolia, your guide can call their cousins at the school and arrange an invitation for you to visit a classroom. They can also make other special arrangements, such as ensuring expedited entry at popular sights or arranging to have your passport stamped at the embassy so you can depart on schedule. The tips your guide receives from you will go back directly into the local economy. This makes a significant difference in places where tourism is still relatively new.