Our 25th anniversary trip was spectacular. Airline tickets were perfect, both on United and Air France. Karen's work with the Balmoral in Edinburgh, both in securing our suite and in helping find our best man from our Edinburgh wedding 25 years ago, was spectacular a delight in every way. We found out that Karen and Siobhan, the marketing director at the Mt. Juliet resort in County Kilkenny, were old buddies: the result was our suite in the 1752 manor house. Jim says his first house was smaller and didn't have the view! The wine and champagne and strawberries awaiting us at both the Balmoral and Mt. Juliet were lovely. The only hitches in our trip were from planning Jim did himself, and Karen even helped us there. Marvelous work.

Karen made my reservations for me almost a year in advance. Everything was exactly as I expected. She encouraged me to go in a day early so I could start my first day at the spa as early as I wanted. Turns out there is only one non stop flight to Tucson. That would lave left me with less than a half day on arrival and way less than a half day on leaving. she was so right about going in early and staying near the airport. Miraval picked me up at the motel the very next morning and so I got a full day out of it. A friend referred me to Karen and I have now referred two other people. Can't wait to make a reservation with Karen for next year's trip.

I wanted to plan a two week trip to Italy as my daughter was studying abroad in Florence, but had no idea where to start. I met with Karen who I had worked with before on trips to Mexico and the Caribbean with the family. She suggested a 3 day stay in Rome since that's where the flight from Chicago landed, then take the train to Florence. I stayed 5 1/2 days in Florence, then when my daughter was finished with her finals, we went to Venice for 3 days, then flew to Paris for the remaining 3 days. Karen was wonderful to work with in planning the trip, arranging the flights and train rides, and putting me in amazing hotels where the service was top notch. She did all the work including arranging tours of these great cities, museum visits with tour guides, and a huge variety of other activities. She was very knowledgeable about all these cities and had useful advice for us as this was my first trip to Europe. I highly recommend Karen and will use her to help plan all my future trips.

Karen was terrific to work with. She went out of her way to arrange flights that met our needs. She also was always available to answer questions and make suggestions when we needed her advice. Her experience of having been to French Polynesia was very helpful in evaluating and planning many of the details of the trip.

Karen Howland is the most professional and personable Travel Agent I have ever dealt with. Her knowledge of The Cruise Industry is Second to none. Her arrangements for our Alaskan trip and Cruise were spot on. We have already booked out Spring 2019 Cruise on The Seabourn Odyssey. My wife and I are also already talking about The Fall of 2019 and Spring of 2020. When someone asks me which Travel Agent I use I always recommend Karen.

My wife and I used first enjoyed Karen's travel expertise in 2010 when we vacationed in Hawaii. We hadn't used a travel advisor since our honeymoon in 1977, so we were not sure what we were getting into. Our Hawaii planning experience with Karen was wonderful. She made all the arrangements, answered every question, resolved any concerns and we felt fortunate to be able to work with an experienced pro. So when we thought about taking our first cruise, we were thrilled that Karen was still available to help plan our trip. Karen is a great communicator. She listened to our "wish list" and gave us a number of options, carefully explaining the pluses and minuses of different cruise lines, ground tours, hotels, etc. Karen always kept an eye out for extra incentives and new options offered by the cruise line and got the information to us right away. There hasn't been one negative thing in our dealings with Karen. She's a pro, and our travel advisory hero. Two thumbs up!

Nobody, but nobody, plans and executes travel plans better than Karen. I've used her services for years for everything from planning a honeymoon trip on the Orient Express (flawless) to a simple Amtrak train trip (yes, I'm one of those who likes trains). Her attention to every detail is nonpareil, and I'm a very picky traveler! Once, many years ago, I was in Germany with a flight home on Sabena. Sabena closed up while we were there, but when we got to the gate for our flight, we were simply directed to Lufthansa and that was that. Karen understands how I like to travel and she always gives good advice on how it can be achieved. Repeating myself, nobody but nobody does it better.

Karen planned an enlightening trip for our family of four to Japan. With the assistance of private tour guides for the first part of the trip, we began to understand the transportation, language and customs. Karen planned visits for us in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Nikko. The hotels were first rate, and Karen added extras we never would have thought about--like the Japanese Cooking School one night, and stay in a delightful Ryokan another. Very glad we connected Lake Shore Travel.