I've actually been to the places I send you to.
— and these are my photos, not a picture library.
Nineteen years in travel, one person to speak to, and a camera roll full of the trips I now help other people plan. Florida with the family, our honeymoon across New York and Las Vegas, Cuba, a first cruise, and a week in Lapland I still talk about.
Tell me about your trip See where I've been
- 19 years in travel
- Diamond Partner 2025/26
- ABTA & ATOL protected bookings
- Same-day replies
Hi, I'm Sam.
I started in travel nineteen years ago and joined Designer Travel as a Professional Travel Expert in October 2024. In March 2026 I was given Designer Travel's Diamond Partner award for 2025/26, which I'm quietly very pleased about.
I work from Broad Lane in Rochdale, and I plan holidays for people all over the UK. Families, couples, honeymooners, first-time cruisers, and a lot of people who've simply run out of patience with comparison sites at eleven o'clock at night.
What you get is one person. I answer my own phone, I remember your kids' ages and that you hate an early flight, and I'm the same person you speak to if something needs sorting while you're away.
Nineteen years of research, mostly conducted in a swimsuit.
Every photo on this website is one of mine. When I recommend a resort, a cabin, a cruise line or a route, it's usually because I've been there myself — and when I haven't, I'll say so.
Three steps, and only one of them is yours.
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You tell me the rough shape
Roughly when, roughly who, roughly what you'd like to spend, and one line on what would make it feel right. Five minutes on your phone is plenty.
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I go and do the digging
I come back with a short list — usually two or three real options with real prices, and an honest note on the trade-offs of each. Not forty tabs.
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We book it, and I stay on it
I handle the booking, the payments, the seat requests and the awkward questions. Then I'm still here: before you go, while you're away, and when you get back.
The trips I know best.
Family holidays
I travel with my own family, so I plan around flight times, room layouts and the pace children can actually handle.
More on family trips →
Lapland & the Arctic
Snowmobiles, husky sleds and proper cold. I've done it, so I know what to book and what to skip.
More on Lapland →
Multi-centre trips
New York and Las Vegas was our honeymoon. Combining cities and beaches is my favourite kind of puzzle.
More on multi-centre →I'm ten minutes down the road.
I'm on Broad Lane in Rochdale. If you'd rather sit down with a brew and a notepad than fill in a form, that's completely fine by me — a lot of my best bookings have started exactly that way.
- Rochdale
- Littleborough
- Milnrow
- Heywood
- Middleton
- Norden
- Bamford
- Shaw
- Whitworth
- Todmorden
- Oldham
- Bury
- Saddleworth
Send me the details.
It's one form and I do ask for every box — dates, numbers, budget. Approximate answers are completely fine. It just means my first reply can be real options rather than a list of questions back at you.
- One named person, not a queue
- No obligation and no pressure to book
- Reply the same working day
- Phone, email or WhatsApp — whatever suits you
Things people ask me
Why use a travel agent when I could just book it myself?
Because you get a named person who is accountable for the trip. I filter a very big market down to a handful of options that actually suit you, I hold the detail in one place, and if something goes wrong at 6am on a Sunday you have my number rather than a contact form. If you already know exactly what you want and you enjoy the research, booking it yourself is completely reasonable — I'd rather say that than pretend otherwise.
Does it cost more to book through you?
For most package holidays, no. I book through Designer Travel, which has access to the same operators and often the same or better pricing than you'll find yourself. Where a trip is complex enough to need a lot of build work, I'll tell you before we start if any fee applies. No surprises at the end.
Is my money protected?
Eligible bookings are covered by the protection that applies to that particular travel service. Designer Travel sells travel services on behalf of Hays Travel Limited and benefits from Hays Travel's ABTA membership (L318X). Applicable flight-inclusive packages may be ATOL protected under ATOL 5534. I confirm exactly which protection applies to your booking before you pay anything.
Do you only work with people in Rochdale?
No. I'm based on Broad Lane in Rochdale and I like meeting people locally, but most of my planning happens over the phone, on WhatsApp and by email. Where you live makes no difference to the service.
How quickly will I hear back?
Same day if you catch me during working hours, next working day otherwise. If I'm going to need longer than that to put options together, I'll message you to say so rather than leave you wondering.
What do you need from me to get started?
Roughly when, roughly who's going, roughly what you want to spend, and one sentence on what would make the holiday feel right. That's genuinely enough to start. We can firm the rest up as we go.
Shall we get started?
Send me the rough shape of it and I'll come back with a few options worth reading. No obligation, no hard sell, no call centre.
Send me a brief Call 07702 213762
Or find me on Instagram, where most of these photos came from.