Hassle-Free Vacation Planning

Think about this before planning your next trip... Travel agent and PR consultant Liz Dahl started a travel resource website, boomertravel.com, because she didn’t think the industry was fulfilling the needs of Baby Boomers. “The ads don’t fit our demographic; they are pigeonholing us to bus trips and cruises,” says Liz. “They weren’t getting the variety of things we want to do.

“If you are coming to a travel site, it means you have done a lot of traveling. You are looking for something new,” says Liz, whose website has experts — all Baby Boomers — or ‘patrols,’ who specialize in such areas as flying, arts and culture, islands, etc. The site has a destination guide with a map of the world where you can click on any continent or country and get information, including videos, about any place in the world, she says.

“People don’t know where they want to go. That’s why we have to have a destination page. There’s nothing else out there that takes you to the whole world."

“The older we are, the less we like to be overwhelmed. That’s where a travel agent comes in. Hand-holding is what people like to have. We’ve either been there or know someone who’s been there. The advantage of going through a travel agent is, if something goes wrong, there is someone you can call. Part of the fun of traveling for me is the anticipation and the planning. The other half is making sure things go right. Things can always go wrong."

Here’s a quiz to help you narrow down a destination:

• Are you a cold or warm weather person?
• Are you interested in relaxing or sightseeing and visiting attractions and historic sites? Or a combination?
• Are you a city or a country person?
• Do you want a guided tour or an independent one?
• Do you want to go on a walking, biking, or canoeing tour?
• Do you want to travel by cruise ship, riverboat, canal houseboat, train?
• How long are you comfortable with being away from home?
• Is your schedule flexible so you can travel on non-peak days?
• What’s your budget?

After you’ve done your homework and narrowed down places that interest you, a travel agent can help select a final destination and take the guesswork out of booking tours, flights, hotels, excursions and other preparations for your trip. “It’s almost like being a therapist,” Liz says.

Contact Liz Dahl at All About Travel, (502) 584-2550.

-Marie Bradby