http://www.travelcounsellors.com/sally.murray

Sally Murray - Personal Travel Counsellor, Hermitage (2026)

11/09/2026

Having just come back from our family holiday at Victoria Beachcomber, it really made me think about the value you can get by looking a little further afield. Would you automatically assume taking your family to Mauritius would cost considerably more than a good all-inclusive in the Mediterranean? 🇲🇺

We had the beautiful beach and tropical setting you’d expect, but what really stood out to me was everything around it. There was plenty for us to do at the resort, snorkelling and watersports from the beach, lovely food and drinks and lots of space to simply relax together. Then, when we wanted to explore, we had Mauritius on our doorstep and filled our holiday with boat trips, quad biking, horse riding on the beach, shopping and plenty more.

I’m not suggesting Mauritius is always going to cost less than the Med because every holiday, date and family is different. But if you’re already looking at a certain standard of all-inclusive resort, particularly at popular times of year, I’d always encourage you to let me compare what else your budget could get you.

If spending a little more per person suddenly opened up Mauritius and everything that comes with it, would you be tempted to fly a little further? Having now experienced Victoria Beachcomber with my own family, I certainly know just how much we got from our time there.

09/09/2026

When you’re planning an incredible family holiday, you’re thinking about the places you’re going to see, the experiences you’ll have and all the memories you’re going to make. You’re probably not thinking about what happens if a flight delay suddenly throws those carefully made plans off course.

And why would you? Hopefully everything runs exactly as it should. But I wanted to share this lovely review because it’s such a good example of what having someone looking after your travel arrangements can mean when, unfortunately, things don’t quite go to plan.

This was a family of 11 heading on a safari followed by Mauritius. We’d spent lots of time beforehand getting to know what they wanted, working through the logistics of travelling as a larger family and making sure the itinerary worked for everyone. Then delays to their outbound flights meant we suddenly had a very different situation to deal with.

While the family were navigating the disruption, my team and I were already looking at what it meant for everything that followed. We worked incredibly hard to minimise the impact and managed to extend their time on safari so the children didn’t miss out on too much of that experience.

To then receive a review saying that we’d made what could have been a complicated booking feel effortless, that they felt supported every step of the way and that we’d helped turn a stressful situation into a positive outcome really meant a lot to me. (Thank you, L)

I love creating the holiday in the first place, but my job doesn’t end when everything is booked. Sometimes the real value of having someone looking after you becomes clearest at the exact moment you weren’t expecting to need them.

Hopefully you never do. But if it is your flight, your connection or your holiday that’s affected, I think there’s a huge amount of reassurance in knowing you’re not trying to work out what happens next on your own.

07/09/2026

My September pre-departure calls are underway and there are some brilliant adventures about to begin and some already happening! 🌍

I always enjoy these calls. After all the conversations, planning and little details that have gone into a trip, it’s lovely to have one final catch-up, answer any last-minute questions and wish my clients a wonderful time before they head off.

September is another great example of just how varied the holidays I plan can be. I have clients heading to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Berlin, New England, Italy, Mallorca and Corfu, alongside a Fjords cruise, safaris in both South Africa and Tanzania, Japan and a Canadian adventure with a polar bear extension. There’s even a trip combining Baku and Istanbul around the Azerbaijan Grand Prix! 🏎️

There are family adventures, a honeymoon, a girls’ weekend, city breaks, wildlife experiences and some much bigger journeys that we’ve spent a long time piecing together. Everyone has a completely different story behind it and that’s one of the things I love most about what I do.

Safe travels to everyone heading off this September. Thank you, as always, for trusting me with your plans and I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures afterwards!

03/09/2026

Most of you following me on here already know exactly what I do, but your friends and family might not! So I thought I’d share a little snapshot of me and my business that you can pass on next time travel comes up in conversation.

I’m Sally, a Personal Bespoke Travel Planner based in Berkshire and if there’s one thing my clients probably know about me, it’s that I love getting stuck into an adventure! Give me a map, a few ideas and a journey to piece together and I’m very happy.

Adventure travel and touring are a big part of what I do and I’m often planning travels through Canada, Japan and wider Asia, Australia and Sri Lanka, while Italy and Greece are always firm favourites too, but no two holidays on my desk ever really look the same. Sometimes there are lots of stops and experiences to bring together, other times the brief is simply somewhere lovely to spend time together and completely switch off.

I travel as much as I can myself too, from exploring Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and India to family time in Mauritius and work trips to the Maldives and Portugal. There’s always something I come home wanting to share with my clients!

For those of you who have been with me for a while, you’ll know it’s never just about one holiday. I get to know you and your families, and quite often the next adventure we plan looks completely different to the last.

So if someone comes to mind while you’re reading this, please feel free to share this post with them or tag them below. They don't need to know exactly where they want to go. Big idea, little escape or simply “we really need a holiday" tell them I'd love to chat. From first ideas to final touches, I’m with you every step of the way.

To all of you who already recommend me to friends, family and colleagues, thank you. It genuinely makes such a difference to my business.

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 01635 766008

02/09/2026

I think I need a holiday after writing down everything that happened in August although thankfully I did manage to squeeze one in! 😂

August started with my birthday followed by an amazing family holiday in Mauritius. There was snorkelling, horse riding on the beach, quad biking, boat trips, shopping, cocktails and plenty of family time. Then it was straight back into family life at home; Lucy moved back after graduating in July (with rather a lot of belongings!), we’ve been back to house viewings and my youngest had GCSE results followed by college enrolment. Quite a month for the Murray household!

My clients have had quite an exciting August too. I’ve had photos arriving from the Amazon, Galápagos, Machu Picchu, Japan, Lake Como, Puglia and Croatia, while last year’s referral competition winners enjoyed their prize too. Not every journey has gone completely to plan, we’ve dealt with delayed and cancelled flights and a few car hire issues this summer, but those are often the moments when the support behind your holiday matters most. One big family whose safari and Mauritius journey was affected by flight disruption kindly told me afterwards that the team and I had “gone above and beyond to minimise the impact on our holiday.” I’ll share more of their lovely words soon, but knowing we helped protect such an important family adventure means a lot.

Somewhere amongst all of that, I've also been planning what's next! There’s a return trip to Australia finishing in Bali, a fabulous Northern Lights adventure in Norway, several city breaks and an Antarctica cruise that we're still busy turning into an even bigger South American adventure. So while lots of memories have been made this August, plenty more are currently being created on my desk too.

A very busy month, but a lovely one. And as always, a huge thank you to my brilliant team for the admin, support and round-the-clock help that keeps everything moving, particularly during peak summer. Now, let's see what September brings!

27/08/2026

I always love it when clients come to me with lots of ideas already because then we get to sit down and work out how we can turn them into a trip that’s completely their own. 🇯🇵

These clients had done plenty of research for their first trip to Japan and knew lots of the places and experiences they wanted to include. We talked through everything together; how many days they wanted in each place, the type of flights, their budget, the experiences that mattered to them and where we could leave some free time to simply explore. From there, we tweaked and changed things until we had an itinerary that felt just right.

Their review afterwards was so lovely to read, especially hearing that everything worked perfectly and they still had the freedom to add their own experiences along the way. I also loved hearing that the A5 itinerary booklet I prepared stayed in their bag throughout the whole trip and they simply followed it as they travelled! That’s exactly what I want a tailor-made itinerary to do, take care of the planning while still making the adventure feel completely yours.

Thank you for such lovely words and for trusting me with your first Japan adventure. It was a really lovely one to put together! 🇯🇵

24/08/2026

Every now and then I look at my to-do list and think, ‘I’m not sure people realise I can help with all of this!’, so now is my time to share just a little bit of that with you.

There’s often a lot that happens between “your holiday is booked!” and actually getting to your destination and I genuinely love sorting all those little extras along the way. I’ve shared some real examples of things I’ve been arranging recently and I’m sure a few of my existing clients will recognise their own requests in there.

For me, it’s such a lovely part of the job. I want my clients to know that if something comes up, they can just send me a message and ask. No working out who to contact or spending hours trying to sort it yourself, send it my way and I’ll see what I can do. To those of you who might recognise something I’ve been sorting for you recently, I hope you know I really do love being part of it all!

23/08/2026

One of the things I really value about being part of the network is that although I run my own business, I’m never really working alone.

Throughout the year, I cover for fellow Travel Counsellors while they take some well-deserved time away with their families. It’s always lovely being able to do that for a colleague, looking after their clients, helping with anything that crops up and knowing they can properly enjoy their own time away without constantly having to check back in.

And what’s really lovely is that it works both ways. You may have noticed that when it’s my turn to put my out of office on, I have a brilliant network of colleagues around me who can look after my clients too. So although I might be away, you’re never left without someone there to help. We share knowledge, help each other with destinations and experiences we know particularly well, and quite often somebody has exactly that little bit of first-hand advice another of us needs.

I love being your Personal Bespoke Travel Planner and giving you that one-to-one service, but having this wider team around me is such an important part of that too. I’ve shared a few photos with some of the lovely colleagues I’ve spent time with on trips and at events over the years because it really is such a lovely community to be part of. We can enjoy time together, learn from each other and, most importantly, be there for one another when we need it.

It means we can all take some proper time away with our own families, knowing our clients are still being looked after with the same care and personal service.

19/08/2026

I seem to have spent quite a lot of time in Italy recently…well, on paper at least! 🇮🇹

Italy is somewhere I’m often booking and putting itineraries together for, but August seems to be particularly popular. I’ve got lots of clients spending part of their summer there, and I love seeing just how different their holidays are. Some are heading to Puglia, others are combining Venice with Lake Garda, while another trip takes in Lake Como, Sorrento and Cinque Terre.

Some of my clients will be waking up beside the lakes, others exploring Italian cities or spending time on the coast, while some will be moving around and experiencing several places in one trip. Over the years I’ve planned everything from road trips and rail journeys to city breaks and twin-centres and I think that variety is one of the reasons I enjoy planning Italy so much.

So, to all of my clients spending part of their summer in Italy this August, have the most wonderful time! 🇮🇹 I’m looking forward to hearing all about it when you’re home.

19/08/2026

I’M BACK! 🌴✈️

What a fabulous time I’ve had in Mauritius - some precious time with family, plenty of downtime, and of course a little exploring along the way!

My amazing team have been supporting things whilst I’ve been away, and I’m now back at my desk catching up as quickly as I can.

If you’ve messaged me, or I’ve promised to work on something or get back to you — I absolutely will! I’m working through everything in priority order, as we still have lots of clients travelling or about to travel during this busy summer period who need our help and support.
And to all those parents like myself with GCSE results day looming this week, good luck 😉

So, if you’re waiting for me, please bear with me just a little longer. 🙏

You’re important to me, and I genuinely appreciate your patience, understanding and continued support. ❤️

Right… dog walked, morning cuppa done ( and maybe a few more required) , inbox open, let’s go! ☕️😂

Sally Murray - Personal Travel Counsellor

11/09/2026

09/09/2026

07/09/2026

03/09/2026

02/09/2026

27/08/2026

24/08/2026

23/08/2026

19/08/2026

19/08/2026

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