Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist Award
For the second year in a row Bertie and Victoria Dyer of India Beat are proud to have won the Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist Award. This is an exerpt from the August issue of Condé Nast Traveler which will tell you about the awards:
For the tenth year Wendy Perrin picks the travel specialists who offer the best blend of expertise, access, and good value. These select travel consultants are the pros to turn to for your next big trip
Twenty years of interviewing travel agents and tour operators for “The Perrin Report” and other Condé Nast Traveler articles has given me a well-thumbed directory of the most trusted insiders—people who offer the best combination of specialized knowledge (based on firsthand travel experience), local connections, user-friendliness, and value for your dollar.
Each year, my team and I evaluate hundreds of new applicants to this list, and only a small number make the cut. Our recommended specialists have undergone a rigorous screening process that begins with a 47-question application with sample itineraries and client references, then continues with phone interviews and, in most cases, road-testing by Condé Nast Traveler staff. Those who unnecessarily book trips through pricey middlemen (as opposed to directly with local hotels and suppliers) or use on-site contacts that charge exorbitant rates are disqualified. Even so, the travel specialists who make the grade can be expensive. The price quoted within each listing represents the minimum cost per day for two people for the trips that he or she typically books.
I receive hundreds of letters annually from readers reporting back on their trips that were arranged by these travel planners. Any specialist who is the object of valid complaints is removed from the list. To read these user reviews or post one yourself go to my blog, the Perrin Post.
Bertie and Victoria Dyer, India Beat, Jaipur, India
Flexible, energetic, and dead honest, the Dyers are Brits who are enjoying a long love affair with India and who have a particular knowledge of Rajasthan, the temple- and art-rich region in the country’s north. They rarely outsource any of the trip-planning process to local agencies, allowing them to pass the savings along to their clients. The duo will appeal most to those who want to get outside the luxury hotel bubble and experience more of the real India. In Jaipur, Victoria leads clients on a shopaholic’s dream tour, into the local gem markets and through the city’s best jewelry and silk boutiques (91-141-651-9797; bertie@indiabeat.co.uk; indiabeat.co.uk; $350*).
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