Whether you book your trip to Canada through a tour operator, travel advisor, or directly with the lodge depends on your personal preferences – and whether you’re planning a quick getaway or an epic odyssey:
- Tour operators are best suited to travellers seeking packaged holidays.
- Travel advisors are a good match for those who prefer tailored itineraries, local knowledge and a sense of place, and ongoing support.
- Booking directly with the lodge works for travellers taking a simple trip and happy to arrange all the elements themselves.
A seasoned travel advisor can elevate your trip from “that was incredible” to “I can’t believe this is my life!” But before we get into how, let’s look more closely at the differences between a tour operator, a travel advisor, and booking directly with the lodge.
Credit: Fogo Island Inn
What does a tour operator do?
A tour operator bundles elements of a trip into a streamlined package, including accommodation, transportation, guided experiences, and meals.
What does a travel advisor do?
A travel advisor can book and manage your entire trip, creating a tailored itinerary based on your interests, preferred travel dates, and budget. Depending on the advisor, they can also provide access to preferred partners and perks.
What does booking directly with the lodge include?
Booking directly with the lodge means reserving your stay with the property, generally through their website or over the phone. You’re responsible for coordinating any other parts of the trip, including flights, ground transportation, and experiences not offered by the property.
How do tour operators, travel advisors, and direct lodge bookings compare?
| Booking Method | Best Suited To | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|
| Tour Operator | Travellers who prefer a pre-arranged itinerary or bundled package | Lodging; transportation; guided activities; some meals |
| Travel Advisor | Travellers who want a fully tailored itinerary, expert destination knowledge, and ongoing support, especially for multi-destination or complex trips | Customized itinerary; booking management; destination expertise; ongoing support; potential preferred-partner benefits, such as room upgrades |
| Direct with Lodge | Travellers staying at one property or taking a simple trip | Direct communication with property; potential hotel loyalty benefits; traveller arranges other trip elements separately |
Credit: Alaska Railroad
What are the benefits of booking Canada with a travel advisor?
Booking with a travel advisor that specializes in Canada, such as Entrée Destinations, gives you insider access to experiences across the country – and beyond – without the tangled web of logistics. Travel advisors take care of your flights, ferries, and floatplane or helicopter transfers to remote wilderness lodges, and often meals and daily activities.
Think of a travel advisor as your personal consultant. As your relationship grows, they get to know your tastes and requirements (piping hot coffee delivered to the room each morning? Check). They can build a multi-destination itinerary focused entirely on your interests – whether historic railroads, floating saunas, or kayaking with sea lions – and manage all of your reservations.
Entrée Destinations also partners with leading travel networks around the world, including Virtuoso network, Internova/Global Travel Collection, and Signature Travel Network. These relationships are part of the service and can unlock no-cost benefits like preferred rates, complimentary amenities, and added recognition during your stay.
And once you’ve booked, you have access to Entrée’s around-the-clock support and contingency plans in case they are needed at any point during your travels.
What does a luxury trip to Canada with a travel advisor look like?
Imagine flying into St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Your driver takes you past jellybean-coloured houses, into small towns like Twillingate — a coastal community with front-row seats to 10,000-year-old icebergs drifting down the famed Iceberg Alley. Your journey continues on a small ferry to Fogo Island, which sits at the very edge of the North Atlantic. Here, you track caribou grazing the land and examine 400-million-year-old rocks with a local geologist, before retreating to the luxurious Fogo Island Inn to watch the ocean from a steaming hot tub.
These experiences flow as smoothly as a meandering river, and they are woven together by your travel advisor. And while you’re on the trip, your advisor is available day and night to provide support whenever you need it.
Do Canadian travel advisors arrange trips outside of Canada?
Yes. Some Canadian travel advisors offer itineraries outside of Canada, depending on their areas of expertise.
Entrée Destinations specializes in customized travel across Canada and Alaska, leading travellers into the beating heart of the north. Your Alaska itinerary might look like this: riding into the wilderness on the Alaska Railroad, past brown bears bathing under waterfalls; hiking on misty rainforest trails; and cruising into Glacier Bay National Park – part of a massive UNESCO World Heritage Site – with a park ranger who explains the changing ecosystem as glaciers calve into the water before you.
Why choose Entrée Destinations for a customized trip to Canada?
Travelling to Canada can be a life-changing experience – but coordinating complex logistics across several destinations, with multiple operators and accommodation providers, can be overwhelming, especially for first-time visitors.
With 32 years of experience, expert knowledge of local experiences, and longstanding relationships with lodges and resorts across Canada and Alaska, Entrée Destinations offers a level of service and attentiveness that travellers very rarely get to experience. If your goal is a seamless journey filled with highly-rated hotels, transformational adventures, and memorable moments with local hosts and storytellers, then booking with a travel advisor like Entrée might just be for you.
