FAQs

The stuff people ask first

How far ahead should I reach out?

Sooner is better, but probably not as far ahead as you think — six to eight weeks before you travel is plenty for most trips.

The trips that need real lead time are the ones where the lodging books up: in-park lodges at Glacier and Yellowstone open roughly a year out, and parks like Rocky Mountain and Arches release timed-entry slots on a fixed schedule that's easy to miss. If that's your trip, reach out as early as you're able — even six months out I can tell you what to grab and when.

Trip is in three weeks and you're panicking? Ask anyway. I've turned plans around in under two weeks, and rush turnaround is sometimes possible.

Do you book anything for me?

Most people book it themselves, and I'd usually recommend that — in your own name, with your own points, your own card, and your own cancellation rights. Your plan tells you exactly what to book, the day the booking window opens, and where to click. If a hotel needs changing at 11pm the night before, you can just change it.

That said, if you'd rather hand it off, I do book: flights ($50), lodging ($75), or both ($100), added to any plan. Either way it's booked in your name, so the reservation is yours and it shows up in the airline or hotel's own app — you're never waiting on me to change your own trip.

What if I don't know where I want to go?

Great, that's half of what I do. Put "not sure yet" in the destination field and tell me what kind of trip you're after. I'll come back with two or three options and why each one fits.

What if I want changes after you send it?

Expected — the first draft is a starting point, not a final answer. Two rounds of revisions are included. Read it through, send me your notes in one batch, and I'll rework it; then do the same again once you've seen version two. Most people use the first round to swap a couple of restaurants and slow down day three, and the second to fine-tune once they've booked lodging and know where they're actually sleeping. Just send notes within 30 days so it's all still fresh. If the trip changes shape entirely — new dates, new destination, three more people — that's a new plan and I'll quote it.

What do I actually get at the end?

A link to your own itinerary page — organized day by day, with maps, timing, addresses, drive times, food picks, and backups for bad weather. It's built for your phone, so you're not pinching and zooming a PDF at a trailhead. It stays live at that link, so you can pull it up whenever you want and share it with everyone on the trip. Somewhere with no service? Screenshot the day's page before you head out, or print it — a lot of people bring one paper copy for the glovebox.

What makes this different from asking ChatGPT?

Fair question, and I'd rather answer it than pretend nobody's asking. AI is great at "what are the top ten things to do in Zion." What it's bad at is the stuff that actually wrecks trips: that the shuttle line at 9am is 90 minutes, that the drive it estimates at two hours is four with a construction closure, that the restaurant it recommends closed last spring, and that the itinerary it just gave you has you driving 260 miles on the day you also planned an eight-mile hike. I check the things that change. And I've been to a lot of these places with kids in the car, which is a different trip than the one the internet describes.

How much does it cost?

Plans start at $100 for a single day and $175 for a long weekend, with a full week at $250 and bigger trips quoted individually. Flat rates — you'll have an exact price before you owe anything. The pricing page has the full breakdown.

How long until I get my itinerary?

You'll hear back within 48 hours to have a conversation and I will create an an outline and a flat price. Once you're in: Day Plans in about three days, Long Weekends in about five, a Full Week in seven to ten. Bigger trips take longer and I'll tell you up front rather than leaving you guessing.

How does payment work, and what if I need to cancel?

The planning fee is due up front, through Wave, so nothing sensitive comes through a form or a text message. Cancel before I've started and you get a full refund, no questions — once I've started digging, it's non-refundable, because the work is already done by then. If your dates or destination shift before I deliver, that's not a cancellation; I'll just rework it.

Anything I book for you is paid directly to the airline, hotel or tour company, in your name — that money never passes through me. Their cancellation rules apply and they vary a lot: some bookings are fully refundable, some aren't refundable at all. I'll always tell you which before I book.

Do you plan for groups or multi-family trips?

Yes — that's what The Big One is built for. Groups are hard in a specific way: everyone wants a different pace. So I build days with a main plan plus an easy alternative, and the grandparents and the teenagers can split after lunch and meet up for dinner.

Do you do international trips and cruises?

Yes. I've planned and taken trips to Scotland and Costa Rica myself, and international is where good planning pays off most — the gap between a well-run week and a stressful one is much wider when you're jet-lagged, driving on the other side of the road, and can't just wing dinner.

Cruise port days too, which are their own puzzle — that's where most people either overpay for a ship excursion or waste the day in the shopping district by the pier.