Custom Travel Planning Services For Your Dream Vacation

We have over a decade of experience as a bespoke travel planning company. We have worked with hundreds of clients, providing premium travel experiences and personalized travel itineraries to the world’s most delicious destinations.

We primarily work in eight destinations — California, France, Hawaii, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

Our team members have extensive experience in custom travel planning and specialize in the destinations where we work. That means you can access our years of experience and insider knowledge, and that we’ve vetted our partners so you can enjoy your trip!

While many travel advisors will send you on a cookie-cutter trip, we provide personalized travel itineraries. When you sign up for our Full-Service travel planning, you have a dedicated travel advisor who curates every detail of your trip for you.

Many of our clients have a mix of interests, such as being active, learning local history, hands-on food experiences, and unique tours, which we book through our network of top-notch tour guides and partners.

We have spent years doing on-the-ground research and fostering connections with local experts and quality tour operators. We know many interesting people and want to introduce you to them to make your trip the best.

For example, we can connect you to a wine expert and exporter in Piemonte who can take you to the most exclusive wine houses, a food writer in Mexico City who will show you the latest haunts, a sommelier in Champagne, a buyer in Paris who can lead you on a shopping excursion, a food writer in Milan who can show you local food, and a vintage car collector in Rome who will show you his hometown as you ride in one of his vintage FIATs.

Not only do we first focus on traveling around local food and wine, but we also advocate slow travel and sustainable travel.

As a boutique travel agency, we always aim to support other local small businesses as much as possible.

Through our custom travel planning services we help travel lovers explore the places we know best: California, Hawai’i, Mexico, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

We commonly help plan anniversaries, destination weddings, honeymoons, family trips, bachelorette parties, and friends' trip planning.

Since everything is custom, we will help you plan your trip as much or as little as you need. We've got you if you've booked your flights and lodging but need help with activities and restaurants.

Or, if you need help with every detail — from deciding which island to visit in Hawaii or where to stay on the Amalfi Coast to where to head on a California road trip to the state's national parks — we can handle it all.

Well, you already know we have over a decade of experience and have helped hundreds of clients. Here’s what sets our bespoke travel planning approach apart from other travel agencies:

Deep Destination Knowledge and Local Expertise

• We have firsthand experience and know regional nuances (e.g., Piedmont vs. Puglia, Loire vs. the Rhone)

• We know the best times to go, how to get around, and how to avoid tourist traps

• We can explain food and wine culture, local etiquette, and must-try experiences with authority

Unique Experiences and Authentic Connection

• Unique, fully personalized itineraries with off-the-beaten-path recommendations

• Food and wine experiences like truffle hunting, private vineyard tastings, or cooking with an expert

• Access to artisans, local guides, and small producers you wouldn’t find on your own

Luxury and Comfort with a Local Feel

• We’ll find you boutique hotels, agriturismi, luxury hotels, or villas with local charm and authenticity

• We can arrange seamless logistics (train connections, transfers, etc.) without the “tour group” vibe

• We know how to balance indulgent and authentic — Michelin-star meals and rustic cafes or trattorias.

Customization and Personalization

• We craft custom itineraries that reflect the interests and dynamics of your travel party

• Flexibility to combine cities and countryside, iconic sites and slow travel

• Responsiveness to allergies, dietary needs, mobility, and family travel dynamics

Many traditional travel agencies will provide an all-inclusive trip quote that includes every detail of your trip and their company fee.

This can be deceiving because you may think you are not paying a planning fee when, in reality, it is just incorporated into the quote.

While this allows traditional travel agencies to plan many trips in a short amount of time, it often lacks personalization. These generic itineraries are packed with lodging and activity options that are driven by travel agent commissions and not necessarily in the best interests of you and your travel party.

Instead, we charge a travel planning service fee, leaving the trip details up to you. This provides more control over your budget and your itinerary. Our clients love it because we can advise you where to save and where to splurge, so you can use your travel budget most effectively.

This also means we can plan private or small group experiences, depending on whether you want something fully customized or want to hang out with other travelers.

Each of our travel service options begin with a 30-minute Discovery Call. The purpose of this call is to understand your travel planning needs and how we can best assist you.

Based on our conversation, our team will identify which service(s) are the best fit, and provide a proposal outlining the scope of services and associated cost.

Payment details are included in the provided proposal, and payment is due upon acceptance of the proposal.

Those words are all simply synonyms! Often, a traditional travel agent will only book hotels, while travel planners or advisors will provide full-service itinerary planning (like we do!).

We like to think of ourselves as travel concierges, because of our commitment to five-star service and personalized hospitality.

If you’re wondering, “Is it worth getting a vacation planner?” The answer is yes!

Expert vacation planners and travel advisors have the knowledge and connections to know which hotels, resorts, and tour guides would work best for you and to enhance your trip with one-of-a-kind experiences tailored to your interests that you'd never find on your own.

They'll also be there to smooth out problems that might occur along the way.

Our “Booking Assistance” service provides help with your hotel bookings. Tap our travel advisors for their expertise, experience, and efficiency to get perks at hotels you wouldn't otherwise access!

We can provide basic bookings (e.g., hotel and transportation) anywhere worldwide!

However, we shine by providing bespoke travel planning via our full-service personalized travel itinerary services in the places where we specialize: California, Hawaii, Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Clients have used our “Booking Assistance” service for places we have travel experience (but aren’t full destination experts), including Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Costa Rica, South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, and Jordan.

Do you know where you want to go, but don't know how to plan it all? Our Hourly Consultation service is for you.

We’ll provide expert travel advice by the hour, including assistance structuring your trip itinerary and suggestions for lodging and activities.

This service is best for clients who are looking to vet their existing travel plans or require assistance putting the finishing touches on a trip.

The majority of our custom travel planning clients opt for Full-Service travel planning. It's the easiest way to stress less and have your dream trip!

You'll receive a dedicated trip planner, multiple one-on-one planning calls, a fully custom mobile app, a detailed hourly itinerary, advice, a travel glossary, curated choices, and help booking activities, lodging, and restaurants.

For the best custom travel planning experience we prefer to begin planning at least 90 days prior to your departure date.

We can do it in less time for a rush fee, but note that availability of accommodations, transportation, and activities may be limited.

It’s best to contact us immediately with your travel details if you’re departing soon.

Being kind, present, and prepared goes a long way! We will do most of the heavy lifting, but if you can respond promptly, it will help us.

Some well-known luxury travel agencies offer premium travel concierge services, including curated itineraries, high-end accommodations, and insider access.

However, these services sometimes lean more toward luxury templates than custom-tailored trips.

At Salt & Wind Travel, we believe premium travel concierge services should be deeply personal. That’s why we take the time to understand your travel style, culinary preferences, and bucket-list goals before crafting a completely customized itinerary.

Whether you're planning a food-focused journey through Italy, a wine country escape in California, or a multi-stop European adventure through Italy, France, and Switzerland, our boutique approach ensures your trip reflects your unique interests, not a one-size-fits-all package.

Unlike large luxury agencies that may rely on volume and pre-set experiences, we limit the number of clients we take on to deliver high-touch, concierge-level support from planning through post-travel.

The result? A trip that’s not only seamless and stylish but also authentic, immersive, and uniquely yours