What is a Private/Tailor Made trip and what are the benefits?

Tailor made, bespoke, customized or custom crafted…these terms essentially have the same meaning when it comes to Private/Tailor Made travel experiences!

To make it clear, see the definitions below:

• Bespoke: “custom-made; made for a particular customer or user”
• Tailor made: “made or fitted especially to a particular use or purpose”
• Customized: “to build, fit, or alter according individual specifications”

Every traveller has different tastes or interests when it comes to how they travel – some want a fully structured guided tour, some prefer a leisurely paced river cruise experience where they have the comfort of unpacking only once, and there are those that want an adventure trip going off the grid into uncharted territory. But then there is private/tailor made… Surprisingly enough, not many people understand what exactly this is or realize that it exists. This style of travel is becoming more and more attractive to travellers who want convenience, peace of mind, cultural immersion, and an exclusive experience to take in the local cultures and history of a destination. The great part about a private/tailor made trip is that while travelling everything is taken care of to the level you want it to be taken care of, from start to finish.

The key benefits of a Private/Tailor Made trip:

• This travel experience can be organized for 1 person, 2 people or more (generally for couples, families, and a small cohort of friends) – it is your own private, exclusive trip
• You determine when you want to travel – to the exact dates
• You can choose/hand pick which hotels (4-5 star accommodations), excursions/tours, meals to be included or not included, throughout
• Private transfers/transportation
• Private English-speaking guide(s) who are the destination specialists
• Feel safe and secure with the local experts
• Convenience
• Flexibility
• Authentic experiences and cultural immersion at its finest
• Great pricing and overall value
• In most circumstances, you even have the choice of adding in gratuities into your package, if you wish!

Who is a Private/Tailor Made trip for?

As alluded to previously, some travelers don’t always want structure, and some travelers are interested in complete freedom when traveling, but there are many travellers that want to have a combination of something pre-set or planned in advance, but also have the luxury of leisure time to explore on their own. That’s the beautiful thing about a private/tailor made trip – hence the name, you can customize what you desire, have professional services, along with learning more about the destination you’re in and have access to great contracted rates. You can even combine trip experiences, by setting up a private/tailor made trip before and/or after, a pre-set river cruise or rail journey departure. Here is a list of who would be an ideal traveller for a private/tailor made trip:

• Independent travellers
  • Anyone wanting some independence, but also seeing and learning more along the way while diving into the unique cultural/authentic experiences through a local expert
• Luxury travellers looking for a personalized/concierge-like experience
• Families/Multi-generational travel
• A solo traveller, a couple or group of friends
• Adventurous/explorer types
• Honeymooners
• Destinations that are unfamiliar to travellers and are not comfortable travelling on their own to exotic, rural or off the beaten track destinations

I’ve personally experienced several private/tailor made travel experiences during my travel career, such as in destinations like Morocco, Egypt, Colombia, South Africa, India and Vietnam. It is like a guided group tour; however, it is private to you or perhaps your family/friends and you can build in your independent time depending on the pre-planned itinerary you have created. You have lots of flexibility if you wish to not do something or want to add something in, within the constraints of time. Having your own private transportation makes the experience seamless! Travelling with a local destination expert in parts that are unfamiliar to you provides a sense of safety and security. In a way, you feel like a local.

One of our travellers did a private/tailor made trip and here is their testimonial after a trip in Egypt!

• “My husband and I planned, with much guidance from Trip Merchant, a back to back trip of a lifetime….EYGPT then a cruise from Venice down the Adriatic Sea. Truth be told I was somewhat hesitant to go to EYGPT as it was a destination I thought was a little beyond my comfort zone. Boy was I wrong….it turned out to be a trip of a lifetime complete with bragging rights. We travelled first to EYGPT with exceptional tour guides, all Egyptologists with degrees, that led us to unbelievable sights, camel ride included. It was incredible how old the temples, mummies, artifacts, plus the so many monuments, were. Pictures we often saw in books and on TV were now right in front of us. The enthusiasm of the guides gave us a much richer understanding of the history of these areas and how they were discovered over time. We landed in Cairo, visited museums, then Giza for the Sphinx and Pyramids, and on to Luxor where we departed on a luxury cruise down the Nile to Aswan which had its own cultural diversity. A truly marvellous experience from start to finish, never to be forgotten. I would highly recommend this private, customized experience. It has been several months, but we still talk about it. The memories are what we paid for and we got full value. We are glad we had guidance from Trip Merchant to guide us to our trip of a lifetime. Many thanks to Trip Merchant for their exceptional customer care!”

What does Trip Merchant Journeys provide?

If you are interested in learning more about possible future Private/Tailor Made travel experiences under Trip Merchant’s, Trip Merchant Journeys’ private/tailor made division, get in touch with one of our destination experts. Through our guidance you can be sure you have all the appropriate information to help you make the best decisions when it comes to your travel plans.

Here are some of the key destinations Trip Merchant Journeys focuses on: Colombia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Egypt, India, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Jordan, Portugal, Ecuador, Peru and more!

Start the conversation with us today! Email us at info@tripmerchant.com or call at 1-800-481-9739.

Trip Merchant

By Ryan Mikucki (Co-Founder)

Revised: October 2022