04
On your clock while you plan
Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm MST. While you're planning from home, we're in the same time zone, so you're not racing to reach an East Coast office before it closes for the day.
03
Arizona doesn't change its clocks
Europe does, twice a year, so the time difference shifts by an hour while ours stays put. It's a small thing until a pre-departure call with your guide lands an hour off.
02
Arrival day is planned, not lost
Eight or nine hours of time difference and an overnight flight make your first day real but fragile. I design it that way: something worth doing, nothing that requires you to be sharp.
Nonstops from PHX to Europe →
An advisor on the East Coast is designing around a seven-hour nonstop and a six-hour time difference. I'm designing around a connection in Dallas and a body clock eight or nine hours off. That difference has to be planned for, not absorbed.
01
The routing decision comes first
Sky Harbor flies nonstop to just two European cities. Whether you take one of those flights or connect through Dallas or Charlotte decides how much of day one you get, so it shapes the itinerary from the start instead of getting bolted on at the end.
isn't Europe from New York
Europe from Phoenix
01 — why local matters
You searched for
a travel agent.
A travel agent takes your dates and finds availability. That's a real service, and sometimes it's exactly what you need.
What I do starts a step earlier: working out what the journey should be before anything gets booked.
02 — the distinction
Hands you a digital itinerary with context for every day, and my phone number
Tells you which morning to go and what to look for
Recommends one property per stop, and tells you why it fits
Works out what the journey should be, then builds it
Hands you a confirmation email
Books the landmark
Sends five hotels for you to compare
Finds availability for dates you've picked
kickstart details →
cruise design →
See how it works →
from $450
Quoted after consultation
From $1,200
River, ocean, and expedition. The line, the itinerary, the cabin, and the port days, matched to how you like to travel rather than to whichever line is promoting hardest.
02
Cruise Design
Custom Travel Design
A focused session for travelers who want to book it themselves but need the shape of the trip settled first — where to go, how long, in what order, and what to skip.
Kickstart Advisory
03
A full itinerary built around how you travel: routing, properties, guides, reservations, and the pacing that ties them together. For journeys where the details matter and you'd rather not be the one chasing them.
01
Every design fee is confirmed in writing before any work begins. Nothing is a surprise.
03 — how we can work together
Three steps from first call to departure. Nothing gets booked until you've seen the plan.
05 — the process
About thirty minutes, complimentary. We talk about how you like to travel, who's coming, and what you want the journey to feel like. Afterward, you'll receive a written proposal with the scope of your journey and your design fee. Nothing begins until you approve it.
01
Consultation
01
We Talk
I handle the research, the routing, the properties, the guides, and the reservations that take more than a website. You see the full plan before anything is confirmed, and we adjust it together until it's right.
02
Design
Your digital itinerary, with context on what you're seeing and why it matters, including what's worth skipping. It's on your phone for the whole journey, along with my number if anything shifts.
03
Departure
Virtuoso travel advisor · View my Virtuoso profile →
network
Seller of Travel CST# 2118416-40 · FLST# ST39093
Licensing
hello@uptowntraveldesign.com
+1 (480) 868-6152
Planning happens by phone or video. If you're in the Valley and would rather sit down over coffee, that works too. Once you're traveling on a journey I've designed, you have my number.
Phone, video, or in person in the Valley
Monday–Friday, 10am–4pm MST
phone
Meetings
hours
based in
Phoenix, Arizona, working with clients anywhere
in your timezone.
Working with someone
06 — practical details
07 — Questions
questions
Common
Custom travel design starts at $1,200 for a single-country journey of up to seven nights, for one to four travelers. Longer and multi-country journeys are priced by length, number of destinations, and number of travelers. If you'd rather book everything yourself, Kickstart starts at $450. I confirm your fee in writing after our complimentary call, before any work begins.
No. Most planning happens by phone, video, or email, so the process is the same wherever you live. I'm based in Phoenix, and many of my clients are here in the Valley. If you're local and would rather meet in person, that's easy to arrange.
Yes, if you're in the Phoenix area. If not, phone or video works just as well. Once you're traveling on a journey I've designed, you'll have my number for anything that comes up.
Yes, if you're in the Phoenix area. If not, phone or video works just as well. Once you're traveling on a journey I've designed, you'll have my number for anything that comes up.
Yes, in the sense that I book everything a travel agent books: properties, flights, rail, guides, and experiences. The difference is where I start. Before anything gets booked, I work out with you what the journey should be. The research, the reservations, and the details that make it work follow from that.
No, but Europe is my focus. It's where I know a place well enough to look past the obvious, with Italy at the center. I also design river and expedition cruises, and journeys beyond Europe. If you're asking about a destination I don't know well enough, I'll say so and connect you with a specialist I trust. I won't take the project and learn on your journey.
Six to twelve months ahead is comfortable for most journeys. Plan further out for cruises, especially small ships, and reach out before June 1 for travel over the December holidays. If your dates are sooner, ask anyway. Shorter timelines can work, and requests within 60 days of departure include a last-minute planning fee.
About Rachel
Italy from Phoenix
Travel Design
+1 (480) 868-6152
hello@uptowntraveldesign.com
Monday–Friday, 10am–4pm MST
Phoenix, Arizona - working with clients anywhere.
You don't need the journey figured out before we talk. "Somewhere in Italy, maybe next spring" is a good place to start. The first conversation is complimentary, and nothing gets booked on it.
one call away.
A Phoenix travel designer,
Takes about three minutes. No obligation.
Full custom itineraries, and how the process works. →
where to go next