Sent by Geoffrey Leafe
York 16/08/2021
We would not think of asking anyone else about holidays, we trust Alison 100%.
Based In York
Alison Marden
Available for new enquiries
It's Nice To Meet You
Hi, my name is Alison and I live in of York with my husband Russell.
I am passionate about travel and thrilled to be working as a Travel Counsellor. With 25 years of experience in the industry, I still get excited about all my customers’ travel plans, whether it be a family holiday, UK or short break, ski holiday, cruise, luxury/bespoke tailor-made or long haul holidays including weddings/honeymoons and Small Group Adventure Holidays. I just love making dreams come true.
I eat, drink and sleep travel and have been lucky enough to see and experience different countries throughout Europe as well as Florida, New York, Jamaica, Mexico and the Indian Ocean including Mauritius and the Maldives. My passion is Italy, especially Tuscany, I have visited it many times.
As a Travel Counsellor I understand that it's not always convenient for everyone to discuss their travel requirements during the normal working week. Using state of the art technology I am able to work flexible hours from my home office, which means I can be contacted at a time which suits you, including evenings and weekends.
Whatever your holiday needs, I can arrange everything for you down to the smallest details. Leave all the research to me and I will find the best deal for that perfect holiday, saving you time, energy and money. My time is dedicated to you through every single process of your holiday.
Your holiday is as important to me as it is to you. Along with Travel Counsellors financial protection, I promise you will receive 100% honest and impartial advice. I will listen to your needs and use this information to create your perfect holiday.
Thank you for taking the time to read my details and I look forward to hearing from you. Whatever your enquiry, great or small, I am happy to help.
No need to wait, turn your dreams into reality!
My customer stories
Sent by Andrea Chambers
York 05/12/2019
Could not have been more responsive, we had the value of getting local guidance from the in country contact whilst knowing our own input and requirements were respected. Thank you!
Sent by S Ruddick
Lincoln 04/09/2019
I would always recommend Alison to my friends as she really listens and responds to what you ask for. Booking with Alison is the easiest most relaxing way to plan a holiday.
Sent by R Marden
York 17/06/2019
I wouldn't go anywhere else. Alison takes all the does a fantastic job. Highly recommend her and Travel Counsellors.
Sent by P Smith
West Yorkshire 17/06/2019
Relaxed way to book a holiday and get great advice and planning.
Sent by KATHLEEN BONNEY
YORK 11/06/2019
First rate service from Alison, person to person is definately the best
Sent by JAN BATH
WORCESTER 09/06/2019
Very efficient service as usual and cheaper on one holiday than Sovereign !!!
Sent by R Hussein
Leeds 28/04/2019
I can’t rate Alison enough always on hand, always knowledgeable, always there when I need her, even when it’s the night before she goes on leave!
Sent by Julia Horsman
Easingwold 07/03/2019
I wouldn't go with anyone else but Travel Counsellor's and specifically Alison. Alison is friendly and efficient, with extensive knowledge of destinations and airlines, her advise is invaluable. I recommend Alison to everyone I meet.
Sent by M Horner
York 07/03/2019
I can’t praise Alison enough. I receive prompt, often immediate, responses to my queries. I find her knowledgeable and eminently competent. Huge source of reassurance for me re support.
Sent by A Twemlow
Halifax 07/03/2019
Alison deals with all your queries and is happy to do as many combinations as you need to ensure you're happy. Love using Alison for my long haul adventures.
Sent by Charlotte Brett
York 02/05/2018
Alison is fast, efficient, knowledgeable and gave great service.
Sent by L Knight
West Yorkshire 02/05/2018
Alison is so efficient! In no time at all our holiday was booked, and I have no worries knowing that she’s thought of everything. I just wish she offered a suitcase packing service too!
Sent by Maureen Horner
York 24/04/2018
Have found Alison to be great! Sometimes mailing her outside of nine to five but always have a response from her. Great!
Sent by Nichola Nelson
York 24/04/2018
As always Alison listens to our requirements and delivers the goods with a fantastic personal service
Sent by L Knight
West Yorkshire 23/11/2017
I love the personal service! I’ve used Alison a few times now, she knows exactly what I like in a holiday and she never disappoints!
Sent by Paul Smith
West Yorkshire 19/10/2017
Just brilliant, why use anyone else !!
Sent by Geoffrey Leafe
York 10/08/2017
Alison always goes the extra mile when she is booking our holidays eg writing our luggage labels and sending a card when we get back from holiday hoping we've had a good holiday.She is always very willing to keep finding hotels for us till we get the right one.A lovely and friendly person.
Sent by Michelle Ibbetson
Derbyshire 10/08/2017
Had an amazing time in Rome, well organised by Alison. Favourite places Harry Bar and Le Terrezza as recommended by Alison to celebrate a special occasion. Dublin here we come August Bank Holiday, again organised by Alison. All details organised and issued, we just had to turn up!
This looks to be a long relationship, would highly recommend. Michelle
Sent by Christine Titterall
Hertfordshire 28/02/2017
My experiences with Travel Counsellors has always been good. My Counsellor Alison Marden is very helpful, friendly and quick in finding my holiday of choice. I have been using these services for over 15 years and never had any problems
Sent by P Bradley
York 23/02/2017
This is the third time we have used Travel Counsellors and have never been disappointed. Alison has been excellent and nothing is a problem to sort out.
Sent by K Jackson
Collingham 23/02/2017
Alison has booked several holidays for me including our honeymoon 2 years ago. We had the holiday of a lifetime; all stress free. We missed a connecting flight due to weather and Ali had us on the soonest flight out. I would highly recommend booking a holiday through her to anyone I know and I have passed her details on to a few friends and family. It's so much easier than been sat in a travel agents. I will continue to use and support Ali for as long as I'm booking holidays - she's fantastic.
Sent by G Patel
Leeds 23/02/2017
Ali always responds to our requests very quickly. She is very friendly and helpful and also very patient. It feels as though we are receiving a very personal service and know that she will sort any problems both before we go away and while we are away.
Sent by Julie Horsman
York 06/02/2017
Alison.marden@travelcounsellers.com is always the first person I call on when I'm thinking of booking a holiday. 1st class service every time. Nothing is too much trouble. Lovely lady. Xx
Sent by Rachel Hemlin
York 22/09/2016
Alison is a friendly and very knowledgeable Travel Counsellor - she is readily available at all hours to answer all our travel Q'S. She makes a great effort to turn around our travel requests very quicly and always adds a personal touch to our holiday experience.
Sent by Ann Burton
Yorkshire 03/06/2016
Alison was excellent. She worked hard to find us the perfect holiday and she was very patient and extremely helpful. Her communication was invaluable in keeping me informed of each step of the process and she certainly took the hassle out of organising my holiday which was just what I needed. I would not hesitate in using Alison again and indeed I and eight of my friends are planning a trip later this year and in 2017 both of which I will be asking Alison to source some options and complete the booking. She is a credit to Travel Counsellors and warm, friendly and professional approach to providing excellent customer service is a welcome and refreshing change and certainly head and shoulders above that provided by the main tour operators.
Sent by Mari Hamilton
West Yorkshire 03/05/2016
Alison has been absolutely fantastic, she has kept up constantly updated and worked really hard to chase the hotel for our wedding. We really really appreciate all she has done for us and will definitely recommend her!
Sent by Lori Knight
Wakefield 08/04/2016
It was so easy! I gave Alison our requirements and she came back with suitable options. Amazing, will definitely use again!
Sent by Gillian Patel
Leeds 05/01/2016
I cannot recommend Alison and Travel Counsellors highly enough. She organised our recent trip to New Zealand which was awesome. We had a couple of problems while we were there but they were dealt with quickly and efficiently by Alison and her New Zealand contact. Alison has organised a number of other holidays for us and they've all been great. And we know that we have security and back up if anything goes wrong. Something that you don't get when booking on the Internet. Finally it's a personal service. We will never book a holiday any other way whether it's a major holiday or a weekend break in the UK.
Sent by James Bailey-Hague
Leeds 18/12/2015
We booked through Alison for a wedding in Zante. Fantastic service, even helping me work out distances from the hotel to the wedding venue. Really efficient, once we had decided we wanted to book everything was done in minutes! A lovely touch was the card sent thanking us. Can't wait to book our next holiday with Alison.
Sent by Robina Hussein
Leeds 27/10/2015
Outstanding personal service every time without fail. Truly exceptional in every single way.
Sent by Keely Woods
Wetherby 12/05/2015
Would highly recommend Alison to all my friends, family & clients she has recently put together our honeymoon tailored to exactly what & how we wanted nothing we have asked has been too much & ali has got back to us with quotes & answers to all we want within the day. Everything has been done professionally & in a fabulous manor. I will never set foot in a travel agents again.
Alison will have us back year after year it's been a perfect experience.
Sent by Susan Twemlow
Halifax 20/04/2015
No pressure sales, friendly efficient service, excellent knowledge of subject matter. Prompt replies to any queries. It would be a pleasure to recommend Alison to family and friends
Sent by Andrea Cussans
York 09/04/2015
Fantastic service from a lovely lady. Nothing was too much trouble for Alison and she never made me feel as though my low budget was unimportant. Wholeheartedly recommend Travel Counsellors, especially Alison.
Sent by Joanne Whitten
Bedfordshire 02/02/2015
I recently booked a holiday of a lifetime to Australia through Alison Marden in York. I gave her a rough outline of my holiday, including some trips that I wanted to do. Not only did she look into flights, trips and hotels for me, but recommended additional places to visit, including Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, which I'm delighted with as I thought it would be out of my price range. Each time I look at the places I'll be visiting, I'm blown away by how amazing the country is and what fantastic memories I'll have for the rest of my life. I know it wasn't the easiest trip for her to plan due to some of my requests, but nothing was too much trouble for her and she's still helping to finalise some elements of the trip. I can't thank her enough for persevering with what I expect to be the best holiday I've ever had. I would certainly book with Alison again and will definitely recommend her to friends and family. Thank you. Jo Whitten
Sent by Carol Watson-Dragatis
Rhodes, Greece 30/01/2015
Oh my goodness where can I begin? I spoke to Alison regarding our trip to Australia, told her roughly what we wanted, and then, as soon as the flights were out, she was on the case for us and got us such a great deal. The hotels in Singapore she recommended were, what can I say, just brilliant. Also the hotels she recommended in Sydney, also were outstanding. All done, flights booked, hotels booked, transfers booked, so quickly and efficiently. She was so easy to talk to and she knows what she is talking about, great knowledge. I would certainly recommend her to all my friends and family, without a doubt. I think that if it was left to us to book, I do believe we would still be here dithering. Alison took all the stress away from us. JUST BRILLIANT.
Sent by James Myers
York 24/11/2014
She has booked our dream holiday within our budget and has organised extras such a helicopter transfers and hotel and parking at Gatwick. Nothing is too much trouble for her. I would highly recommend her services.
Sent by Keely Woods
Wetherby 01/11/2014
Alison has recently put together our honeymoon which is obviously as big an occasion as the big day itself. She has been fantastic - beyond words. Any information we have needed small or big she has got back to us straight away with the best information she can give I would recommend Alison to all my friends clients family anyone who would listen she has been brilliant & we will be definitely using her for any breaks long or short we decide to take in the future.
Sent by Jacquey Parker
Stratford-Upon-Avon 27/10/2014
After spending many a fruitless hour trawling the internet for a girls R&R break, Alison came to our rescue. All we had to do was give Alison dates and approximate budget and a few box-tickers and off she went and worked her magic. She came back with a number of suitable options, which took all the hard work and stress often accompanied with booking a holiday. We felt that Alison really listened to our requirements as one particular holiday shone out at us. On the lead up to the trip Alison ensured that we prepared and took care of all the finer details, including helping with visas, online checking and even personally delivering the boarding passes. Even when things didn’t go according to plan with our outbound journey – Alison ensured that everything still went smoothly and it was very reassuring at what could have been a stressful time. The holiday really did tick all the boxes – hotel, location, food, climate, service – Alison would be our first port of call when booking our next holiday.
Sent by Marie Dodsworth
York 03/10/2014
Alison has been fantastic in organising our trip to New York. She is going herself in a few week’s time and on her return will give me ideas and tips of what to do when we get there to make our trip better and more organised. This is more than we ever expected a Travel agent to do for us. We are even asking Alison to look into summer holiday for us. Thank you Alison!!!!
Sent by Nichola Nelson
York 22/09/2014
Alison was fantastic especially considering she had slightly less than a week to find us something! She even worked on the weekend to make sure we would get away. As it was our silver wedding Alison also arranged a little something with the hotel for on our arrival, she also took care of the airport parking for us. I will definitely be using Alison again next year when we go away as it's such a personal professional service we received and means right from the beginning we know everything will be taken care of. Thanks Alison.
Sent by Ian Smith
Cambridge 26/08/2014
Alison was always helpful through our ever changing criteria for a holiday!! Working with us she found the best holiday that fell in to our budget. Most importantly Alison went the extra mile to make us feel special and indeed her only customer! We will contact her again when we are ready to book the next vacation.
Sent by G Butcher
Yorkshire 24/08/2014
Alison works tirelessly so you don't have to. Well done Ali.
Sent by Deryn Gott
York 25/07/2014
Alison is very friendly and helpful. We have not travelled abroad for 10 years, and she gave us some great advice. Can't wait to go on our trip.
Sent by Helen Appleby
York 17/07/2014
Hey Ali…I would just like to say a huge THANK YOU xx. Our first holiday abroad for 9 years was well worth waiting for. You did an amazing job helping us to find it, the patience you had was beyond that of many others. I knew that I had total confidence in all you did and that there was nothing forgotten. I cannot compliment you enough and shall recommend you to all I know. Knowing that you were at the end of the phone whilst away was great (but knowing too we would not need you) I shall never book again on line why would I need to?? When your service is A+++++. Shall be in touch very soon x
Sent by Julie Bradley
York 15/04/2014
Very pro-active. My colleagues are already asking for her contact details. We will definitely use her again.
Sent by Christine Titterall
Hertfordshire 17/03/2014
A most helpful young lady with a wealth of knowledge regarding booking our holiday. Pleasant and efficient, we would recommend her any day.
Sent by Julia Horsman
York 10/03/2014
I would absolutely recommend Alison to everyone. First class customer service all the way. Nothing is too much trouble.
Sent by Sally Gordon
Lincoln 10/03/2014
Alison was really wonderful with us and very patient with our difficulties in picking somewhere to go on our honeymoon. She gave us lots of tips and really made us feel special. Sher is constantly there for her customers, even after you have booked. We will use Alison again and have already told lots of our friends about her.
Sent by Graham Butcher
York 10/03/2014
Would always ring Alison when looking for holidays, very helpful!
Sent by Helen Appleby
York 03/03/2014
What can I say.....BRILLIANT! Having not travelled abroad for nine years I was very unsure and out of touch with everything. But there was no need to worry about that. Alison was there. When five of you travel we had many different ideas of what we needed in a holiday, passing these on to Alison took all stress off myself. She came up with many holidays for us (we didn't make it easy for her as unsure where to go) but nothing was too much trouble. Always at the end of the phone we got there and everyone was happy :) All I can say is a huge thanks for all the work she put in and we will for sure be recommending you to others.
Sent by Rebecca Cussans
York 27/10/2013
Alison has just helped us book the holiday of our lifetime... Our honeymoon! She helped no end and made us feel very valued. She sorted every detail for us so we haven't had to worry about a thing. She was in constant contact as well which helped us to sit back and relax. She is a very lovely, friendly face and we wouldn't consider booking a holiday with anyone else. Thank you Alison for all your much appreciated help!
Based in
My Blog
I absolutely live and breathe travel and I love to write about my experiences! Please take a look through my posts - you might find your own holiday inspiration.
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28 October 2021
I have just returned from a fabulous week sailing on the river in the Douro Valley with Uniworld Boutique River Cruises with my husband Russell It was a 2 hour flight from Stansted direct into Porto Airport with Ryanair, other Regional airports are available and although we live in the North of England the flight timings worked better for us. Getting through passport control and collecting luggage
Amazing Trip to Mauritius
22 September 2017
Travel is in my blood and I am so passionate about it, so I consider myself so luck that I do a job that I love. Much to my joy, I was rewarded with a place on an educational trip to the stunning island of Mauritius with 8 other colleagues! We flew from Heathrow with Air Mauritius who looked after us really well with an upgrade to business class and we arrived to the most wonderful welcome, the
Tuscany
08 August 2016
Tuscany is amazing and one of my favourite places. We stay in a friend’s cottage (Ca'de Boni) which is a home from home and yet has access to the lively village community of Pergo with bars and restaurants and is close to the historic town of Cortona. The area is really well connected with good roads and trains and within an hour you have access to the very best of Tuscany sightseeing: Cortona,
Sunny Sorrento
03 June 2015
I just love Italy and one day would love to have a holiday home there. I've mostly travelled around Tuscany, but for a change we went to Sorrento for 2 weeks, to see the places we've always wanted to see like Pompeii, Capri, Ravello, Positano, Amalfi and Herculaneum. We stayed at a fabulous boutique hotel the Mar Alimuri in Meta just 6km from the centre of Sorrento, which wasn't a problem getting
Fabulous New York
02 June 2015
I've just returned from a fabulous 4 nights in New York. This was my second visit the first being 10 years ago and it was as I remembered it. I stayed at the Warwick Hotel on 65 West 54th Street a good central location, the rooms are a very generous size. The best way to explore and enjoy is either by foot (a good comfortable pair of shoes is needed) or by the Hop on, Hop Off buses that can be
Dubai & UAE with MSC Cruises
21 February 2015
Being chosen for an educational is an honour and I was really excited to be going to Dubai with MSC Cruises as this would be my first time in the UAE. We arrived very early morning into Dubai and were transferred to the Moevenpick Bur Dubai Hotel for a rest before inspecting the hotel later on that day, followed by a gorgeous lunch. This is a great hotel and would be ideal for a pre or post stay i
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