You've got more booking tools than ever — so why would you hire a travel advisor? In this episode, Afar editorial director Billie Cohen sits down with travel journalist and matchmaker Wendy Perrin, founder of wendyperrin.com, to answer the questions travelers actually have: What can an advisor do that you can't do yourself? When does it make sense — and when doesn't it? How do you find a good one, interview them, and understand what you're paying for?

From crowd-skipping at Venice to landing the perfect Egyptologist, Wendy makes the case for what truly expert trip planning looks like.

In this episode

Why connections (not booking tools or AI) are the real currency of great travel
The difference between advisors who specialize in you vs. those who specialize in a place
How to interview a travel advisor (and what their answers reveal)
What travel actually costs — and why it often isn't itemized
Why multi-gen trips and post-pandemic travel are driving a new wave of advisor use

Chapters

00:00:00 Why Travel Advisors Still Matter 00:03:00 Advisors vs. Agents vs. Tour Operators 00:06:00 What a Great Advisor Can Do 00:13:00 Choosing and Interviewing an Advisor 00:24:00 Fees, Costs, and Transparency 00:28:00 Cruise Specialists and Misconceptions 00:33:00 Who's Using Advisors Now

Links & resources

Wendyperrin.com and Wendy's Wow List of top trip designers
Listen to our Unpacked episode about cruise travel advisors
Explore the Afar Travel Advisory Council
Follow Afar at @afarmedia on Instagram and TikTok
More travel planning resources at afar.com

Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel.

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In the Age of AI, This Is What Only a Travel Advisor Can Do