Moving to Cornwall: A TravelSupport Highlight

Meet our customer Michael, a scientist who has recently taken up the opportunity for an extended academic stay in the United Kingdom. He reached out to us when he was planning his journey, and our TravelSupport team rose to the occasion. What was Michal’s experience like, and would he recommend the service other travelers?

 

I’m going to work in Great Britain, in a small town in Cornwall. I need to arrange tickets, accommodations, buy a new computer and sort out many other things in the next 14 days. I know I might have taken care of it earlier, but I was so busy before Christmas that I suddenly realized there wasn’t that much time left.

I mention to my friend that I’m supposed to travel to the westernmost tip of England, and it won’t be easy. Now I’m no rookie, I have already made a few trips within Europe, but I don’t cherish the idea of spending extra time on this when there’s so much going on right now.

Well, she mentions TravelSupport and I have to admit that I like the risk-free premise: I’m not on the hook for anything until I specifically approve the offer. If I like what I’m offered, I’ll be paying the best fare they find, and a little extra to get everything arranged for me in one place. So I’m in and we’ll see.

Getting Started

I find the travelsupport.eu website, fill in the departure and destination, and I mention my total cost expectation in a comment, just to be on the safe side. Within a few dozen minutes, the answer from Aleš is waiting for me. It gives me all the information about departures to London, from both Prague and Brno, and then ground transportation from London airports to the city and onwards to the destination of my trip: the town of Penryn.

Since there are several comparable options available, I get an overview of possible routing variants and their pricing. Aleš has been to London several times and, based on personal experience, he recommends the train for a journey from the airport. Similarly, for the next leg from London, the train would be the faster and more convenient option, though also noticeably costlier. In the end, I am more inclined to the low-cost variant: I fly Ryanair to London, then settle on the buses for trips within the UK. I tap the big green button to accept and off we go.

Ironing Out the Details

I communicate with Aleš as he asks for some additional information to arrange my bookings. He also takes care of higher baggage allowance, for which I opted based on his suggestion. I have a couple of questions about bus connections again, and Aleš is patient with me. Within a few hours, I have all the necessary travel documents in my email, along with recommendations on what to prepare, what to print, when to be at the airport, etc. An invoice is attached, which I then pay.

A few days pass and Aleš contacts me with a reminder: on-line check-in has opened on the airline’s website. Aleš offers to do this for me, as additional services are included for the duration of my trip. I decline, however – I’m confident can handle it, not least because I have already received all the instructions by email.

All this extra care for €10? I get my personal travel agent who searched and arranged my trip, and answered all the questions. In particular, I was pleasantly surprised by the speed of replies and Aleš’s way of communication. I appreciate I could enjoy my journey in peace and quiet.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to be able to rely on yourself, travel notwithstanding. But why not use the services of someone who knows exactly what to do? Now I’m on my internship, but I’m sure I will use TravelSupport again on my way back.