Planning a Fulfilling Vacation – New Service Removes Time Crunch and Guesswork

April 19, 2009 As the economy continues to languish, any opportunity for a vacation feels like a blessing. Now more than ever it’s important to make the most of upcoming vacation plans – and come away from the trip feeling like you did exactly what you wanted to do.

Pandora Trips (www.pandoratrips.com) is a new travel venture that aims to answer the question: What will I do when I get there? The service creates customized itineraries for their customers’ vacations. A basic 3-5 item itinerary is $35 for a 4-day turnaround (the time between the request and receiving the itinerary). They also offer an expedited 24-hour turnaround for those of us who find that our vacation is coming up sooner than we had expected – or are simply too busy to plan in advance.

Each itinerary is unique, researched and created by a real person. The items on the itinerary, such as restaurants, festivals, shops, or museums, are based on the interests of the customer. On the Pandora Trips online order form, customers can choose the number of itinerary items they want, indicate their interests and vacation goals, and write a freeform request of anything else they’d like from their itinerary.

Of particular interest is the custom Google map created for each itinerary, which plots each itinerary item relative to the traveler’s hotel or lodging. The company also includes tips in its activity/venue suggestions. In recommending street vendors in Bellagio, Italy, for example, they suggest: “When bargaining or asking for a discount, ‘sconto’ (to give a discount) is the magic word.”

One point to note is that Pandora Trips provides venue information, descriptions and contact information, but does not make reservations. On the one hand, this leaves the customer to make the reservations on his or her own. On the other, it allows for flexibility in the itinerary, as travelers aren’t locked into their plans, such as eating at a restaurant only on a particular date.

Pandora Trips is interested in hearing from customers about what they want, changes to the service or general feedback. They also offer a full money-back option for customers who are dissatisfied with their itineraries.

Contact Information

Shannon Cassidy

Founder & CEO

Pandora Trips

Contact via E-mail