Making Travel Arrangements for a Destination Wedding

If you've picked that perfect destination wedding spot, you might be wondering how you and your guests are going to get there. Traveling with a wedding party can be difficult even if you're not going that far. Destination Wedding Gurus state that you should make all your travel arrangements nine months before the wedding, so you can be sure to get everyone there in one group. The best way to get travel arrangements for everyone, however, is to go through a Destination Wedding Travel Agent (AHEM! Crossways). We have years of experience with booking flights, rental cars, taxis, limos and other transportation that might be needed for you and your guests. Also, we can negotiate either wholesale or group rates, making the travel expenses a bit cheaper for everyone involved. As Travel agents we have access to rates that individuals can't obtain, so it's a good idea to at least consult us before booking your trip.

Ways to Save on Destination Wedding Flights and Accommodations

There are many ways that you and your wedding guests, can save on destination wedding accommodations. If you choose to have your wedding in the “off season” (a less popular time of year to travel to your destination), you can often save almost half of the cost of full rates. Booking large amounts of rooms at the same time can also save you money - We can negotiate a group rate for your accommodations, making the cost per room less for your guests. Another way to lower your accommodation costs is to have wedding guests stay at a cheaper (but still nice) hotel or resort that's nearby. If you want to stay at the four star resort you're holding your wedding at, you can choose to have your wedding guests stay at the two or three star hotel next door. It's also nice to give your guests a choice of rooms; that way, they can decide how much they want to pay for their accommodations. Remember, your destination wedding is a vacation for them as well!

For more information and travel inquiries please contact us:

Customized Tours/Packages/Destination Weddings/Honeymoons:
p. 1 800 588 1688 (Toll Free)
e. rashmi@crossways-travel.com

For Customer Testimonials and company updates please
Visit our page on  Facebook
And follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/crosswaystravel

Part Two: Booking Online vs. A Travel Agent

(Continuation from Part One)

When we first entered the travel industry, no one booked a vacation on their own. Why? Because all you had to do was call a Travel Agent who hooked you up with the best available deals and took care of all the arrangements. The world changed when Online Travel Sites started popping up creating a discount craze by allowing easy access to travel deals. This craze went on for a few years forcing many Travel Agencies to shut down. Fortunately for us, travelers have now started to realize that you get exactly what you pay for when purchasing Air, Hotel, Car Rentals and so forth, online. The Travel Industry has always been and will always be commission based. We may not be able to directly compete with some of the prices offered Online but we are confident that we deliver way more! 

What you don’t know will end up costing you more. Most often, price differences between Online sites and Travel Agents is the difference between the worst trip ever and one that is seamlessly perfect! 

Higher chances of being bumped when using online travel sites:

When you make a booking through a Travel Agent, your seat is immediately taken off of the flight availability list. But when you book with online travel sites (such as Orbitz, Expedia, iTravel2000, Booking.com, Priceline etc.) your seat is not immediately removed, resulting in an oversold flight. If your seats were the last tickets to be issued, you will be the first travelers bumped on an overbooked flight.

Not many are aware of this and those who are have experienced it firsthand. It’s not much of an issue when you’re traveling a short distance with no connecting flights in between. But it can be disastrous when you’re traveling long distances, with connecting flights and with more people. Missing your connection always results in an inconvenience: Baggage delays, Next flight is fully booked, Next flight is hours away, leaving you frustrated, stranded and can also result in Monetary Losses.

Prices are deceptive when you book online:

Online Travel Sites are centered on the idea of saving you money. They claim this possible by selling in large volumes (to gain discounts from the airline or hotel/resort) and by taking a smaller commission on sales (to help you save more). There is some truth to this, but what people don’t know is that they often make their money through cancellations. Additionally, the prices outlined online may not cover a number of other fees (i.e. daily resort fee, out of state car fee, additional taxes etc). Essentially, you don’t end up saving as much as you thought you would.

When you book with us, we’ll provide you with an invoice outlining ALL expenses upfront. Certain additional expenses (i.e. of a personal nature, personal long distance calls, gratuities, tips, etc) will be specified and made known to you. Also, if you have any questions regarding your invoice you can discuss this with us.

With a Travel Agent you receive better customer service:

You found an amazing deal on an Ocean View Hotel Room online and purchased it right away. Let's say when you get to the hotel you discover your room isn’t exactly how it was described. The first thing that comes to mind, is speaking directly with the Hotel Front Desk. Usually the Hotel won’t do anything for you because according to them, you ‘willingly’ purchased a discounted room (you get what you paid for). They will probably offer you a better room but at an additional cost. Next, you’ll try calling the online travel site you purchased the room from. Only to realize, the help desk is not quite as “helpful” and you’re truly stuck with what you paid for.  

When you book with us, you know our name, location, what we look like and where you can find us. Moreover, you will get exactly what you paid for. In the event you’re unhappy about something (i.e. stranded, missed your flight, or don’t really like your accommodations) you can rely on your Travel Agent to fix it. The most important thing is that you can get a hold of us without having to wait in queue to speak to someone at a help desk.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. If the price seems too good to be true, you're probably right.

Testimonial from Chanda M.

Client Chanda M. (email received on November 29th 2011)

 Hi Rashmi,

Things could not have gone better with my trip to Cochin and back to Mumbai.
On my transit in Kerala we were put in a great hotels, had good food and company.
And I especially like the quick way in which Crossways Travel responded to my emails while I was on my holiday.

Our driver Ratheesh was cool calm and very helpful and I would recommend him to use his service. Also tour guide name Sai Ramesh from Kanayakumari to Trivenandam was knowledgeable and very friendly.

It was a very smooth journey and we did not have any problems along the way.

Thanks to you for giving us good holiday package to remember.

Thanks,

Chanda

Testimonial from Marney C.

10 Great Reasons For Why You Should Book Your Next Trip To India With Crossways!

Namaste

1. We’ve been in business for over 30 years specializing in leisure and business travel to all over India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and various other destinations.
2. We have long existing relationships with nationwide contacts that allow us to offer competitive pricing essentially delivering more action for your buck.
3. We can customize your trip anyway you like it and offer several price ranges (student budgets, family trips to royal and luxurious getaways)
4. Our itineraries are personalized to your interests and travel needs. If you are passionate about history or spirituality we’ll present you with options and create a historical or spiritual themed itinerary.
5. Our itineraries are flexible, we provide a good balance between free personal time and guided tours.
6. Our guides are carefully selected based on their areas of expertise; they are well educated, well mannered, extremely informative and easy to get along with.
7. Our drivers are safe, reliable, knowledgeable, and great to get along with. They even go out of their way to tell you which areas are safe and schedule rest stops in areas with better washroom facilities and hygienic restaurants.
8. Our hotel choices are carefully selected based on your travel needs, reviewed in terms of services/amenities, and most have been personally inspected by our staff.
9. Our services also include a detailed itinerary, equipped with everything you need to know in terms of traveling to your destination(s). For example, where to exchange your money, how much to tip, expected weather, what you should pack, etc.
10. In case of an emergency or you need to get a hold of us, we have local contacts on location that can assist on all matters. As well, you can contact our main office in Brampton.

We are committed, accountable and reliable. We’ve given you 10 great reasons to book your trip to India with Crossways! Now we want to ask you, how soon can we start planning ? 

A little information about us...

Crossways Travel & Tours Inc & Tropex Vacations is a niche Travel Company that specializes in customized itineraries for individuals and small to large groups. We have been in business for over 30 years and are IATA certified. We also cater to walk in clients and Business/Corporate accounts. We have two convenient locations in Toronto and Brampton (Ontario, Canada). However, our clients are from all over North America!

A great deal of our success is due to our loyal and satisfied customers. We are extremely thankful to our  clients, corporate partners and Airline partners!

Our expertise is travel within India. We offer extremely competitive rates and a one of a kind experience. Our agents in India are dedicated, committed, reliable and extremely knowledgeable. We are with you each step of the way as you get see India and experience it from within.

We are also qualified and experienced in travel to North, Central & South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Over the past 30 years we have customized, coordinated, executed, and delivered the following:

~ Destination Weddings
~ Conferences (Doctors, Radiologists, etc.)
~ Spiritual Retreats (including pilgrimages)
~ Youth Tours
~ Luxury Retreats (customized to various budgets)
~ Yoga Retreats (Ashrams, temples etc)
~ Spa Retreats (some of the World's best destination spas)
~ Safari Excursion
~ Honeymoon packages (customized)
~ Adventure tours (hiking, trekking, water rafting, backpacking, camping etc.)
~ Bachelor/Bachelorette Destination Parties (includes travel, accommodation and transportation only)
~ School Trips
~ Architecture themed retreat
~ Kama Sutra themed retreats
... and much more!

For more information and travel inquiries please feel free to contact us directly.

General Travel Inquiries:
p. 905 452 0010
e. info@crossways-travel.com

Customized Tours and Packages:
p. 1 800 588 1688 (Toll Free)
e. rashmi@crossways-travel.com

For Customer Testimonials and company updates please
follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/crosswaystravel
join our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crossways-Travel-Tours-Inc/149659565095605
And subscribe to our official Blog site: http://crosswaystravel.blogspot.com/

We look forward to serving you.

Sarika & Mital's 14 Day India Adventure

14 Day Customized Youth Tour Haridwar/Rishikesh/Mussoorie/Delhi/Agra/Jaipur/Aurangabad/Mumbai 

Dear Rashmi,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you so very much for organizing my trip to Northern India. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime and all the kudos go to you and your team.

I'm amazed by your ability to take our unique circumstances, our crazy ideas and your expert knowledge to put together an itinerary that was truly customized to us. You gave us exactly what we asked for - history, religion, culture, adventure sports, spirituality, natural and man made wonders and a whole lot of shopping.

I'm normally the person that plans our travels with my nose in all the travel books and hundreds of printouts detailing our itinerary. I've now realized that I have wasted hours worrying and missing out on experiences when I should have just left everything in your capable hands.

Our previous itineraries were so structured that being even an hour late would cause chaos in re-planning and would inevitably mean stress. But with your company the adjustments would be completed seamlessly behind the scenes by your very professional onsite staff without compromising the sights.

I had no need for the heavy cumbersome travel books on this trip. The tour guides were well educated and their knowledge ten times exceeded anything I could read about in the books.

Thank you for the personal service and personal touch you added to our trip. I'm in love with India and am looking forward to planning a return to see Southern India with your company.

With many thanks,

Mital Patel

Dear Rashmi,

I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to you and your staff for organizing our recent trip. India has left us speechless, so I am not even sure where to begin but I will try my best!

When we first approached you, we had a million and one places we wanted to visit within India but with limited time and a budget. We felt that you were the perfect fit for us because of your experience in the travel industry and specialization in tourism to India. You were kind, patient and understanding. You listened to all of our ideas and made some very great suggestions. We loved that you were able to customize our trip while taking into consideration our budget and time. I don’t know how you did it, but you did it so  perfectly given the tight timeline. You came up with exactly what we wanted – a little bit of Eat, Pray, Love, a dash of adventure, a splash of royalty, a pinch of history and monuments, topped off with some great shopping and the hustle & bustle of Mumbai and Dehli!

We loved that you sat down with us to walk through our itinerary, addressed our questions and concerns as well shared your experiences and provided a whole bunch of traveling tips to India. Our travel arrangements, ground transportation, accommodations, tour guides, private drivers and the works were all arranged and seamlessly carried out with little or no problems! Our tour guides were all very helpful, extremely knowledgeable, accommodating and great company. I highly recommend the tour guides in Delhi and Aurangabad! They were outstanding and went out of their way to shine. The drivers you selected for us were safe, knowledgeable, and also great company. They knew where to stop for clean washrooms and would advise us of our surroundings... which made us feel safe. The hotels you recommended were also amazing! Even though we were on a budget you went beyond our expectations and found us places that were conveniently located, within our budget, clean and comfortable. Your attention to details, creativity and coordination are impeccable.

Overall, the many people we met through your company made us feel safe and welcomed. The hotel staff, drivers, tour guides and your agent in India were all very friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable. I’ve been to India many times and I’ve never quite had an experience like this one. You went beyond our expectations and delivered a trip of a lifetime!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart and look forward to traveling with you again!

Sarika

Spiritual Tour (Gallery)-India