Q. How much do you charge?

A. Please see our terms of service for a detailed explanation of our fees.

Q. When do I pay the fee?

A. We will estimate the fee for you during our initial consultation. In order to start the planning process, we require a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the fee. Once the planning is completed, and the trip is ready to book, we will request the remaining 50%.

Q. Why should I pay a fee for something I can do myself?

A. If you have the time, resources, and interest in planning the trip yourself, Custom Adventures may not be for you. We specialize in helping those who aren't quite sure of what they want to do, or perhaps know what they want to do but don't know the best way to go about it. On the other hand, even if you have the time for the research and enjoy the planning, Custom Adventures can make the process easier on you and help you by providing more options than you may have thought of. We can also alleviate the tediousness of making bookings and working with the tour companies directly. If at the end of the process you don't feel the fee was worth it, you are entitled to a full refund.

Q. Why don't I just use my local travel agency, or an adventure company I find on the Internet?

A. For certain purposes, doing this is just fine. But to getting a truly customized trip is very difficult to do with a travel agency or another adventure company. Travel Agencies often don't spend enough time with you to really understand what you are looking for, and will simply provide you with 5 brochures from which you can pick a trip, which they will then book for you and get the commission. Other tour companies may spend the time with you, and know their trips and areas intimately, but will not provide options that are outside their company. So, if they don't service a particular area or activity, you will have to look elsewhere. There are usually a wide range of options available for any type of trip, and neither a travel agency nor Adventure outfitter will explore these to the extent necessary. Custom Adventures works with you very personally to give you the widest range of options. We evaluate many trips by many outfitters to find the best fit for you. We can also create detailed itineraries for you to travel independently.

Q. Which tour companies do you use to create my trip?

A. We evaluate a full range of travel companies and outfitters that offer trips in your area or activity of interest. The ones we choose will be based on which fit your needs and budget the best. We do, however, have a set of companies that we have had positive experiences with and would highly recommend. But we have no obligations to any outfitter, and therefore have no financial motivation to recommend one over the other. Any recommendation we make to you will be based on what we feel is best for your trip.

Q. Do you do the hotel and airlines reservations?

A. We can do both of the above if you desire. Some prefer to make their own hotel and air arrangements, especially air. We can either simply advise you of your options, or with a valid credit card number, make the bookings for you.

Q. Can you get the best airline prices?

A. We are not a ticketing consolidator. This is an area where it is best to use the Internet or Travel Agencies/Brokers if you are interested in definitely getting the best possible fare. We can advise you of flight options, and do work with a couple Travel Brokers for airfare. We can help with you with your airlines reservations, and have insight on how to get good fares, but we do not guarantee that we can necessarily find the best fares available. In order to make airline reservations, we require a valid credit card number.