Sent by Richard Exley
Bradford 03/11/2025
Straight forward transactions. Explained everything clearly & perfectly from the start. Updated me frequently also.
Based In Derbyshire
Craig Stephenson
Available for new enquiries
It's Nice To Meet You
Welcome to Travel Counsellors! It's a real pleasure to introduce myself and I'm really looking forward to hearing about your travel aspirations!
I had one dream as a young man: Travel the world to learn and experience as much about this beautiful planet as I possibly could. I began that quest by achieving a Diploma in Travel Studies and in the years that passed, the desire to fulfil my mission never diminished. I 'backpacked' whenever and wherever the mood took me and built my industry knowledge working extensively within the world of travel agencies, airlines and tour operations over many years. Experiencing life living in places such as Australia, Greece, Cyprus and 9 years in Spain only served to enhance this knowledge.
Fast forward to present day and, as an independent Travel Counsellor, I now have the opportunity to give something back to my customers. Relying on decades of experience to help them choose, plan and execute their travel dreams is the greatest of pleasures. I care about what and where they book with me and I just love listening to their stories when they return home. Your holiday is my holiday too.
My service is bespoke. It is tailored to those looking for a service that gives them an experience from the very first conversation and removes the 'transactional' nature of booking a trip. I have access to fares and pricing that are not always available to traditional agents and you're not restricted by 'pre-packaged' deals, which don't always fully cater for what you really want. Knowing that someone cares about your plans and is there for you throughout the whole process, brings you a service that is second to none.
Finally, a Travel Counsellor booking is 100% financially protected. No ifs, no buts! Just peace of mind from the very beginning.
Take a look at some of the great itineraries below for inspiration and/or send me a message about where your travel dreams are leading you next. I'd love the opportunity to talk with you about how I can help you turn them into a reality alongside industry leading service.
My customer stories
Sent by Steven Gray
Derby 03/10/2025
Craig has a wealth of experience and immediately you can tell he genuinely loves what he does. Most importantly he listened to what we wanted and has created what we believe is a once in a lifetime experience
Sent by Cheryl Barraclough
Sheffield 13/08/2025
We have never used travel counsellors before & we are so glad we found Craig, it’s like having our own personal travel agent/concierge. We will definitely be using him again. Craig listened to all of our requirements & we were very specific in what we wanted & then we left Craig to work his magic. Craig was very knowledgeable, professional & helpful & managed to sort us our holiday with great flight times & within our budget. The whole process of booking with Craig was so easy & it takes the hassle & stress out of trawling the internet for different alternatives. We can just sit back & excitedly wait for our holiday knowing that everything is taken care of. Thank you Craig & we look forward to booking with you again for our future holidays.
Sent by Sarah Naylor
Norfolk 23/07/2025
Craig has been brilliant! We couldn't have sourced or organised our trip of a lifetime to Mauritius to celebrate my 60th without his incredible help and support. Right from the off with my initial £1000 budget for a holiday in Ibiza Craig came up with a range of options for us to choose from. However they weren't firing us up with excitement - in fairness to Craig he had told me that it would be tight based on the finances! Craig then worked with us through a variety of other options and we eventually chose SALT of Palmar in Mauritius - it ticks ALL of our boxes. It looks beautiful and the Trip Advisor reviews are incredible. Yes, the budget increased several times along the way but I know it will be the most amazing holiday and opportunity to celebrate in a stunning location. Thank you Craig!!
Sent by Bradley Cannings
Oldham 08/07/2025
Can't recommend Craig enough. Had an initial chat to go through all the key details of our trip and what we wanted. Craig then went away and came back with multiple options for us to look through. Nothing was too much trouble, despite all the changes we wanted to make. The package we booked is exactly what we were after and I will be booking all my holidays with Craig.
Sent by Christine Pemberton
Shropshire 14/06/2025
Really helpful and very knowledgeable…thank you Craig
Sent by James Blakemore
Stansted 23/04/2025
First class service! We came to Craig initially with a number of Mediterranean destinations that we were interested in for our family villa holiday. He listened to our requirements in full and also made some additional suggestions based on his experience. By the end of that first consultation we were excited about the possibilities, and within a week we had booked an incredible villa in Paphos which we would never have found on our own. He even went out of his way to make the reservation for us at a time of day I would never have expected. We will be using Craig for all our travel plans going forwards.
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.
Free Airport Lounge Passes!
02 December 2025
Did I get your attention? Of course I did! Keep reading.
Quiet please?
27 October 2025
Let me be clear. I’m not a huge lover of crowds. I’ve been to some incredible concerts over the years, but you’d never see me packed in at the front. I like to have my space. Therefore, it always makes me chuckle when I think of visiting the Maldives. This is an island nation that is world renowned for being the ultimate ‘get away from it all’ destination. A place of calm, and yet an arrivals
Ahead of the crowd
03 October 2025
When one of my sons decided, a couple of years ago, that Christmas was taking too long to come around, he decided that his own playlist version of ‘That’s what I call Christmas’ was acceptable listening in the middle of July. No end of pleading or persuasion would shake him from his cause. He was fully ready and prepared for his favourite time of the year and he was, unfortunately for the rest of
‘Soul’ Breaks
13 August 2025
Remember when we were all forced to go away for 7 or 14 nights. Just 2 options…take it or leave it! Sure, those options are still widely available, but I suspect this has much to do with our own learned holiday habits which drives demand. What is the duration ’sweet spot’ though? 7 nights not enough? 14 nights just too long to be away from home? So, how about just 3 or 4 nights away? Err….what?
Click & Regret?
15 July 2025
Friday afternoon. Laptop firmly shut. A little something cold from the fridge? More ‘me time’ and less ‘deadline’ for a couple of days. Sound familiar? We all need a break from work, right? Well, that’s not my world. People love talking about holidays and travel so much, it’s even used as a conversation starter in some arenas (Hairdressers, anyone?). So, it’s common for me to ‘talk shop’ outs
Land of the rising tourism
20 June 2025
I’ve been talking about Japan an awful lot lately. It’s intriguing how one country can conjure up so many different emotions and perceptions for different generations. My grandparents would most likely have had nothing positive to say. ‘Boomers’ would most likely remember the rise of their car industry. For me, Japan was the home of video games, ‘Sony’ (a brand that I still admire to this day) and
Avoid getting the hump!
20 June 2025
Back in the 90's a traveller was left in a rather precarious position after taking a short cut with their travelling budget in India. He set out to find a way to experience the wonders of the Thar Desert, an area of over 200,000km2 that stretches far into neighbouring Pakistan. Experiencing remote desert villages and a dramatic view of the Milky Way, was only ever going to be achieved by a camel e
Island Shopping
20 June 2025
I love going on holiday. In fact, I've just come back from one. Its real medicine for the soul and I, like many, crave it. Towards the end of the last century, we turned an annual flight towards sunshine from a 'nice to have' to a 'must have' when we looked at our plans for the year ahead. Nothing would get in the way of our holiday...'the hamster will be fine with the next-door neighbour, I'm su
Contact Me
Whatever your holiday needs I'm here to help you, so simply give me a call or send me an email with your contact details on and I can get things started for you: