About us

Tom started up On Your Travels in 2002 with a small shop in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, focusing on long haul holidays, road trips and more complex itineraries.

Most other travel agencies sold mainly short haul breaks, so there was a need for somewhere to go when you want to book a bigger trip, perhaps a safari or a multi centre holiday.

Since then there has been a huge increase in cruising holidays, and now touring and adventure style breaks are becoming increasingly popular.

Tom has travelled to over 75 countries around the world, and is one of the UK's most travelled travel agents, with great experience in putting together clever and interesting itineraries. But as well as doing those far flung trips, there are some wonderful places closer to home in places like Greece or Italy, simple holidays where you just need a week or two of relaxation.

The internet

At the beginning, the internet was still almost a novelty - in fact we were one of the first to have internet access, but the real problem was the excruciatingly slow dial-up speed. At times it was more embarrassing than clever. The big change was when broadband became widely available, and in fact it was at that point we set up the website, and have been adding to it ever since.

Covid

When covid hit in 2020, the lease on the shop ran out and there was no point at the time in renewing. So we switched to emails and phone calls, and for most customers that works fine. However if you're reasonably local, then we can arrange a face to face visit - something particularly useful if you're planning a big trip with lots of questions.

How to make your holiday better!

We especially like planning out an exciting itinerary, sometimes twin or multi centres, and the result is usually much more interesting that you'd find in a brochure. When it comes to beach holidays, we like hotels and resorts that have a bit of character to them, and even better if there is a choice of good restaurants.

We like to suggest room upgrades where they would make a big difference to your stay without breaking the bank! It might turn an ordinary standard room into a room with a great view, and your memories may be of sitting on your balcony watching the sunset.

One big grip is the airport experience, especially on departure from the UK when it can be quite stressful until you're actually on the plane. But you can certainly make things easier - if you're travelling a distance from home, then going the night before and staying in an airport hotel takes the worries about the car breaking down away. Depending on the airport, some car parks are within walking distance of the terminal, saving time and hassle. And in the airport, Fast Track Security (if available) is cheap and saves time.

Pricing

We've always been keen on securing a good price for every holiday we sell, but only so long as you don't cut too many corners to get it! And that's how we still work - we offer highly competitive prices, but without compromising on quality.

When something goes wrong, you want to be able to call and get through to an emergency number, and for your issue to be dealt with swiftly.

Over time we've actually stopped working with some suppliers who could maybe give us slightly cheaper prices, but will let the you down when it really matters! As a result, we have a fantastic record on customer feedback, and hardly any complaints about our service or how the holiday arrangements went.

Financial Protection

In some ways, the financial protection system is a bit of a mess, but rest assured that every holiday that includes a flight comes with full ATOL protection to ensure that you are fully covered.