First, thank you for letting Lifestyles TravelPlus help you plan and arrange your trip to Italy. I have no doubt that you'll find it one of your most enjoyable and memorable visits to any part of the world. Our job is to help you let that happen.

Let me take a little time to explain the process we use to ensure you have the trip you want and expect…after all it's your trip, not ours!

It's your trip and the decisions about the trip are yours. We help you make these decisions by gathering information, offering advice and then making the arrangements you decide you want.

To enjoy Italy and its "dolce vita" a little preparation goes a long way. It's not our goal to lock you in on anything, but rather make sure that when you've returned home, you did everything you wished to do. We do this by following a format that involves you and allows for changes and adjustments as your plans develop.

The first thing we do is meet with you to discuss what you want to do and to gain an understanding of how you like to travel. It's no good for me to suggest backpacker solutions to first class travelers or vice versa. During this time you and I develop a draft timetable and a list of the arrangements that will be needed to make your trip a success.

Next, I bring to bear my own Italian experiences and travel planning skills and training. I also conduct research to find the trip components that best meet your needs. And, as necessary talk with you in more detail about what you want. I use this to prepare a "Trip Plan and Proposal" document containing suggestions and options for each element of the trip. Each of these proposed options is checked for availability and price.

Once this is done we meet again to discuss and amend the plan as you see fit. Your involvement here is critical. Once you agree we book and if necessary arrange payment for the trip components.

When the bookings are complete we prepare a "Trip Document Package" that includes an itinerary, all travel confirmations and tickets, a financial summary, pre-trip preparation tips and other information. We use this package to conduct a "Pre-Departure Briefing" to review arrangements in detail and answer any questions you may have.

But, it doesn't stop there. Where and when needed we can provide enroute assistance. Finally, we want to talk to you on your return so that we know how things went and what we can learn from your experiences to help the next traveler.

I really look forward to working with you to make your Italian trip a success.

Yours truly,

John Picken
Managing Director
Lifestyles TravelPlus