Melissa Kruse

Melissa has now booked two trips for me. One for my 40th birthday and one for this trip. I really like working with Melissa on trips that feel a bit out of my comfort zone or with destinations that don't have english as their first language. Melissa's communications are clear, consistent and she really listens to the type of trip you're looking for. She also does a GREAT job of making sure all of our accommodations and tours feel local and immersive. On this trip specifically she had us work with one local company, Guiding Galapagos and they were far from on 'island time.' They were prompt to everything we did, helped us navigate many transfers and check points and also provided us with quality equipment. Melissa was completely available the entire trip even though she was personally traveling and was able to help us in real time when our flights got cancelled and we needed to reschedule some of our activities. She remains excited for us throughout the entire planning process and will give advice when asked for it but it never feels like she's pushing us to do things on a trip just because its something you should do (ex. on this trip, there was a 9 mile volcano hike that I'm sure was beautiful but when we said no, she didn't push for us to keep it). I will absolutely be using her services in the future.

Melissa was great to work with and made my trip to Japan seamless from start to finish. She helped plan my itinerary across Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka, and every detail was thoughtfully considered. Including her suggestion to do Hakone between Tokyo and Kyoto which was the more relaxed part of the trip I needed as a break between big cities.

What really stood out was how she went beyond just listing destinations. She mapped out beyond just the highlights, handled all the logistics, and shared suggestions /recs I never would have thought of on my own. Navigating Japan can feel overwhelming, but Melissa’s knowledge of things like the train systems and each city made everything feel easy and completely stress free.

I especially loved the hotels she recommended. The Kyoto hotel was perfectly located and added so much to the overall experience. Her bar and restaurant suggestions were also great and ended up being some of my favorite moments of the trip.

If you’re planning a trip to Japan (or anywhere!), I can’t recommend Melissa enough. She truly elevates the experience and ensures you can just relax and enjoy every moment.

Melissa, our Fora travel agent, was amazing from start to finish. She handled everything seamlessly, from booking the hotel to making great dinner recommendations, and even helping us navigate the airport and transportation to and from the resort. Having her support made the entire trip feel easy and stress-free. She was responsive, thoughtful, and clearly cared about making sure everything went smoothly. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

This was our first time working with a travel agent, and our experience with Melissa far exceeded our expectations. Now I don't know if we can ever go back!

We have a LOT of things that we like to do when we travel, and no matter how much we threw at Melissa she was able to organize the chaos of information and provide us with several manageable options for each thing. Once we nailed down our dates, Melissa was able to help us find the perfect places to stay - which was especially impressive considering this was a last minute trip with less than a month to finalize details for a two week European vacation. She listened to our needs and was able to provide us with three or more suitable options in each city that we stayed in. We were so charmed by each place! We might never have found them if it hadn't been for her.

Melissa also helped us both with booking excursions and with planning timelines for them. For example, I had ambitions of visiting two national parks in one day. Melissa politely explained how difficult it would be based on her personal knowledge from visits and suggested her recommendation, which turned out to be ideal. We were able to see all the things we were hoping for in one park, and it provided us with more time to explore other things, such as dining in the area. We did a lot of driving, and she would also make suggestions of stops at places we would like based on our discussions (and they were all a hit!).

When it came to the actual excursions, in a manner similar to choosing a place to stay, Melissa was able to offer us several options for each activity. She was also able to get some of them for us at a discounted rate, and booked them for us. There was even one or two excursions that we decided on last minute while on vacation, and despite the time change she got it done for us so that we were able to go on trips the very next day.

Melissa went above and beyond for us during our planning and travel. She is a good listener and responded well to our needs as travelers. She is also quick to respond with her email communications, which was very much appreciated. We always felt like she had our back and we were getting the best option when she was helping us! Thank you so much for all that you did for us, Melissa! We look forward to working with you again on another trip in the near future.

We cannot recommend Melissa enough. Your trip won't be the same out without her!

It was incredibly easy booking through Melissa, she was able to secure my booking swiftly and handled all of my logistics. Will definitely be using her for all my trips going forward!