My name is Kate and I’m your local Travel Counsellor based here in Forest Hill, South East London. I have lived here for the past 16 years with my husband and two daughters.
Travel is my passion and I have been lucky enough to have travelled the world visiting many different countries and gaining many valuable first-hand experiences. I lived and worked in Australia and have travelled all over South East Asia as well visiting India, Sri Lanka, UAE, USA plus many European countries. I worked for a large tour operator in the West End creating tailor-made bespoke packages all over the world for my clients then continued to smaller independent Croatian specialist where I was head of sales. This was a fantastic opportunity which enabled me to travel regularly to Croatia.
Sustainable Travel Responsible travel is an area I feel passionate about and having travelled all over the world and experienced beautiful landscapes, cultures and communities. I have come to realise how precious the world really is and want to do what I can to help protect it for my children and future generations so they are able to experience and explore it the way that I have. I have recently completed our "Sustainable Travel Training" which is in partnership with The Travel Foundation! So, I'm extremely pleased to be working alongside the international charity "The Travel Foundation" to ensure tourism brings greater benefits for local people and the environment in destinations. I am passionate that as a business our only impact is a positive one.
What I love about working for Travel Counsellors is that I can offer you a personal concierge experience that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. As a tailor-made specialist I will design for you a unique and bespoke package suited to your individual needs be it for personal or corporate travel and/or event and as I am not tied to office hours, I am happy to discuss your travel plans at a time that suits you. I pride myself on my customer care and will provide you the highest level of customer service at all times. My motto - treat others how you’d like to be treated yourself!
I would love to share with you my favourite holiday destinations from my travels however there are so many to choose from. I love Thailand for its amazing beaches and laid-back approach to life. I love Croatia for the stunning Adriatic coastline and turquoise waters as well as the mixture of architectural styles. I love the Greek Islands for exploring its many hidden beaches and clear blue waters. Oh, and I mustn’t forget Lapland with the dancing Northern Lights, husky rides, snowmobile safaris and of course Santa. What a Christmas!
So whatever type of holiday you are after; adventure, beach, city break, cruise, safari, lapland, skiing or if you are thinking of getting married abroad and wanting your perfect honeymoon , please get in touch. I will source the best value for money to suit your budget. You can be assured that you are in safe hands when booking with me and being part of Travel Counsellors gives you the added reassurance of being financially protected whilst away.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you soon. x
My customer stories
Sent by Caroline Medhurst
Kent 02/05/2025
We had an absolutely brilliant holiday
We had an absolutely brilliant holiday. Kate organised everything and the many flights and new venues arrived at were seamlessly managed, being met at the right place at the right time, every time!
Kate provided a prompt and professional service, ensuring all our wishes were incorporated in to our trip, as well as checking in with us during the trip to make sure everything was going to plan. We felt completely secure in her uber-competent hands and cannot thank her enough. I would, without hesitation, recommend Kate to any travellers because the peace of mind she affords just means you can literally sit back and enjoy your holiday. Thank you
Sent by Caroline Medhurst
Kent 02/05/2025
We had an absolutely brilliant holiday
We had an absolutely brilliant holiday. Kate organised everything and the many flights and new venues arrived at were seamlessly managed, being met at the right place at the right time, every time!
Kate provided a prompt and professional service, ensuring all our wishes were incorporated in to our trip, as well as checking in with us during the trip to make sure everything was going to plan. We felt completely secure in her uber-competent hands and cannot thank her enough. I would, without hesitation, recommend Kate to any travellers because the peace of mind she affords just means you can literally sit back and enjoy your holiday. Thank you
Sent by Caroline Medhurst
Kent 25/04/2025
We had an absolutely brilliant holiday
We had an absolutely brilliant holiday. Kate organised everything and the many flights and new venues arrived at were seamlessly managed, being met at the right place at the right time, every time!
Kate provided a prompt and professional service, ensuring all our wishes were incorporated in to our trip, as well as checking in with us during the trip to make sure everything was going to plan. We felt completely secure in her uber-competent hands and cannot thank her enough. I would, without hesitation, recommend Kate to any travellers because the peace of mind she affords just means you can literally sit back and enjoy your holiday. Thank you!
Sent by Arunma Oteh
Oxfordshire 12/06/2024
She is one of the best travel agent that has helped me in my over 32 years of travel. She goes beyond the call of duty to help ensure that I am able to meet my travel objectives. She is prompt and extremely knowledgeable.
Sent by Claire Chapman
London 11/05/2024
Kate is not only super speedy at coming back with multiple options when you ask her to help you organise a trip, she's also incredibly tolerant if you constantly change your mind/are shockingly slow at getting back to her. I couldn't recommend her more highly
Sent by Anne Bennett
Bexleyheath 02/05/2024
It is often said someone goes above and beyond but with Kate nothing was too much. She encouraged us to ask questions with choices tailored to what we had said. Amazing support
Sent by Sara Osmond
Bristol 11/04/2024
We always use Kate to book our holidays - she has such great knowledge and ideas. Kate provides an excellent service each and every time; she provides such a personal service and I always feel so supported by her.
Sent by Pam Pollington
Surrey 06/07/2023
Thanks you so much for your wonderful organisation of our holiday. Everything went like clockwork, no stress, perfect.
We had a lovely time in Ischia. A bit toasty but a very relaxing week.
Once again, huge thanks.
Sent by Amelia snare
London 29/03/2023
Kate was as helpful, responsive and flexible as usual! Will use again and continue to recommend.
Sent by Vikki Vellacott
Tonbridge 29/03/2023
Always so accommodating and patient with me as I change the boundaries. Thank you x
Sent by Edward Sharrod
London 29/03/2023
We would thoroughly recommend Kare Mathews to deal with any travel requirements.In a nut shell ,she could not have been more helpful.
Sent by Stuart Woolven
Kent 29/03/2023
Kate provided a great service, looking forward to my 2 week holiday in Ibiza now.
Sent by Patricia Matthews
Kent 29/03/2023
She listened to me and then gave me options with full details will definitely use her again
Sent by Maria Steures
Surrey 29/03/2023
I have already recommended Kate Matthews to others . She is friendly fast and helpful. Brilliant . We will always use her. .
Sent by Thierry Lawson
London 29/03/2023
Great to have a personalised service of very good quality, friendly and professional.
Sent by Pamela Pollington
Surrey 29/03/2023
Kate was a life saver. Navigated the whole process from start to finish. Couldn’t have done it without her.
Sent by Sarah Squires
Kent 29/03/2023
Kate always answers my emails quick and gives great service x
Sent by Anne-Rose Obidi
Cambridge 29/03/2023
Kate was professional, knowledgeable, and responsive from the initial consultation to the booking. She took the time to understand our preferences, managed our expectations, and was always available to answer my questions. The result has been a fantastic holiday package beyond what we imagined, and August could not come quickly enough for us to enjoy it.
Sent by Elaine Middleton
Southend 29/03/2023
Kate is always available to answer any queries or questions and if she hasn't an immediate answer responds promptly within a couple of days
Sent by Caroline Codrington
London 29/03/2023
Kate is amazing, very efficient and helpful. Highly recommend her.
Sent by Sara Kelly
Bristol 30/10/2022
We have had another wonderful holiday thanks to kate!! Kate never fails to make the process from beginning to end absolutely brilliant and so easy. We have never been disappointed and won't book with anyone else now. If you are looking for some holiday support please do contact Kate
Sent by Elkie Brooks
Kent 23/09/2022
Kate listened carefully to our brief, for a party of x8 to Majorca, and she came back to us with x3 great proposals. When we amended said brief, she was helpful and patient. Kate went out of her way to get all travel aspects organised for us, right down to printing and delivery of documents. I would not hesitate to recommend her.
Sent by Rob Harris
London 20/09/2022
I just wanted to thank you ever so much for all your hard work in arranging our holiday. It was completely amazing. Possibly the last time the three of us go away together so i wanted something really special.... and it really was . It will be 2 weeks that we remember forever. Thank you
Sent by Naomi Milton
London 04/11/2021
You absolutely nailed the brief and it was an excellent holiday. The journeys there and back were seamless and arriving at the hotel felt like arriving in paradise.
A few days before we got there Helena had put her head in the water for the first time at her swimming lesson and she was keen to try this out again. She then spent the next 4 days swimming under the water like a little fish!
Thank you so much for all your hard work with this.
Sent by Zoe Cullum
London 10/09/2021
Kate has assisted me many times with my travel and I thoroughly recommend her - she's friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and arranges everything so efficiently!
Sent by Emma Howell
Northampton 15/06/2021
Kate has been brilliant, we have x2 holidays booked with Kate so far and more planned, she has really gone the extra mile in helping us plan some amazing holidays, will definitely be recommending her to friends and family, thank you Kate looking forward to our planned holidays and future holidays.
Sent by Naomi Milton
London 19/09/2019
We have just returned from the holiday of a lifetime to Thailand organised by Kate. From the first contact with Kate she was efficient and laid back and took all the stress out of the booking process and she even hand delivered all our booking documents and confirmations.
Kate chose a hotel in Bangkok for us to recover after our flight which was perfect and in a great central location. The next stop was Peace Resort on Koh Samui which was like arriving in Paradise.
We are so grateful to Kate for helping us have a dream holiday and we can’t wait to book the next trip”.
Sent by Antonia Bello
London 13/08/2019
Kate was truly amazing. Very thorough and considerate. I would totally trust her to organise more packages for me and wouldnt hesitate recommending her to friends and family
Sent by Krista Rest
London 11/08/2019
Omg!!!! The best holiday ever!!!! Thank you Kate! We just had the most amazing week of our lives. We did not leave the villa. It was paradise. Nothing was wrong and we are very picky! Thank you for your diligence and staying with us to get the perfect villa. You are our go to and will recommend to everyone! Kxxx
Sent by Elizabeth Ballantyne
London 23/07/2019
Super fast service, information and booking - with all details explained. Saved me hours of trawling through websites myself and great to hear personal recommendation review of the package we booked.
Sent by Oluchi Obieze
London 20/07/2019
Kate is absolutely amazing organising my holiday from start to finish....and she put up with my 3 million questions with no complaints! would recommend her all day long!
Sent by Zoe Nield
Essex 20/07/2019
I thoroughly recommend Kate - it’s the first time I have handed over the baton of organising a holiday and I won’t be organising other! Kate is knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and oh so patient (we had a whole list of wishes for a 7 person trip) and everything has been organised to the finest detail - literally from when we leave to when we arrive. We will definitely be using Kate’s services again. Thanks so much Kate! X
Sent by Michele Pritchard
Kent 14/07/2019
We had such a lovely time thank you. The boys loved Atlantis. Everything you organised went smoothly and we had a lovely room
Sent by Charlotte Rampling
Bromley, Kent 28/03/2019
This is definitely the way forward when planning a holiday. Kate made the whole process so easy and helped us to navigate our way through the options, at a competative rate, without having to be bombarded with so many options when searching online!
Sent by Michelle Chambers
London 04/03/2019
Thank you so much for all your help! We are all very excited for our trip to the Maldives. You’ve taken away hours of searching that I usually undertake when researching our family holidays!
Sent by Helen Harper
London 17/09/2018
Hello Kate
I hope you are well. I have been meaning to email you for a while as I wanted to say thank you so much for arranging our family holiday in Skiathos earlier this year.
I know we had quite a few different requirements but you found us the most perfect place. The villa was lovely, the location was great and the guy who ran the villas could not have been more helpful.
We all had a really brilliant holiday and I am so grateful to you for putting it all together for us - thank you so much!
Sent by Anna Harper
Kent 08/08/2018
The holiday was just perfect thanks to Kate.
We love Skiathos.
The Villa was wonderful there is not one thing that we would change about it.
The location was perfect for us and the general up keep of the Villa was to a high standard.
Our dealings were with the owners son, Evan, who was very personable and capable. He took very good care of us and definitely contributed towards making it such a great holiday for us.
Thank you so much for finding this great villa and for organising this trip for us, you’ve been amazing.
Sent by Sue Sinton
Kent 08/07/2018
I've just booked a holiday to Seville with Kate and can't recommend her highly enough! She responded extremely quickly to my request and my holiday was booked without any stress or headache on my part. I look forward to dealing with you again in the future Kate - thank you very much.
Sent by Caroline Malbon
London 15/06/2018
Kate was extremely helpful and understanding from the very first phone call. Kate made a bewildering set of guidelines into a comprehensive holiday plan. I’m looking very much towards an incredible Christmas holiday. Thank you
Sent by Sara Osmond
Bristol 02/06/2018
We have just come back from a week at the Elba in Lanzarote- it was just so lovely. The hotel, the staff, the facilities, the food the proximity to the beach/shops, all of it. Kate ensured that all elements were covered and it went so smoothly. I won’t go to any other agent. Kate makes sure your holiday goes as well as she would want her own to go. I’m hugely grateful for all your help and your patience.
Sent by Angie Brown
London 23/05/2018
I love Kate, she’s the best. A perfectionist to the T, I always travel with her! She looks after you, even if you’re far away she’ll sort things out for you, she’s a diamond.
Sent by Vikki Vellacott
Tunbridge Wells 23/05/2018
Another superb trip away - thanks so much Kate! Your fantastic organising went expertly to plan and we had a ball. I’m busy thinking about our next escape and will be in touch when we decide a location.
Sent by Cristina Scheeffer
SE London 17/10/2017
Kate was amazing, she helped me to find a bespoke holiday for us, that matches our budget and wishes. Also was very caring and towards us and small details that made this holiday even more special. I can only be thankful and recommend her service
Sent by Phillipa Oxspring
Lee 26/09/2017
I just wanted to recommend Kate Matthews - at Travel Counsellors who I discovered through my local FB group MGF. She's organised lots of trips and flights for me at great prices and goes over and above when needed, which is helpful when you're trying to find child-friendly travel options.
We had a horrible experience last weekend where we had paid for 3 seats for a 3 hour 40 minute journey for my husband, toddler and I as we are both extremely tall and I'm 7 months pregnant. We were given 2 seats 12 rows apart and my toddler won't sit with my husband and then eventually just one seat for 3.5 of us! It was stressful to say the least! Kate sorted it all out and made sure our return journey was uneventful and pleasant and was at the other end of the phone no matter day or time. I've also just found a lovely bunch of flowers tucked behind the gas meter to apologise even though none of it was Kate's fault. I've given up booking flights online myself as it so much easier having someone else do the legwork and manage to find cheaper flights at that! I recommend Kate thoroughly
Sent by kirsten brooks
london 11/08/2017
Kate really went the extra mile to make sure we had the best deal for our next holidays. Very efficient indeed! Highly recommend her!
Sent by Angie Brown
London 04/05/2017
I love the personal attention I received from Kate Matthews. She really put my mind at ease and took the stress out of booking our holiday. It was great doing business with her!!!
Sent by Jack Smith
West Sussex 18/04/2017
Second time we have booked with Kate. Both times last minute, hard to source exact requirements. Each time we received rapid service with exactly what was required. Also appears to be cheaper than booking ourselves online. Always friendly. No task, however small, a chore. Excellent service all round.
Sent by Brian Mendes
London 10/03/2017
Kate went out of way to assist us in our holiday. She worked tirelessly to answer our questions, and was prompt in rearranging the tour with our alternative choices. The service was exceptional and I cannot praise Kate highly enough. It has been a revelation.
Sent by Carole Osmond
Kent 15/02/2017
Thank you Kate for helping to make Disney special for Kathryn and the family.... thank you for the note in my room too.
It's all the little things that add up to put smiles on faces...
You do a brilliant job ... well done that girl
Xxx
Sent by Sarah & Nick Gregory
Forest Hill, London 22/01/2017
Thanks for booking our wonderful holiday. We can't believe how effortless you made the whole experience and are truly grateful for the enormously personal care and advice you have given us.
I would recommend your services to anyone.
Thanks again.
Sent by Gill Wade
Sevenoaks, Kent 06/01/2017
You have certainly found us a gem of a hotel....it is totally brilliant....we love it and are having a great time. We even wonder why we have hired a car to leave it!! To top it all, when we arrived back from dinner last night there was a lovely bottle of bubbly awaiting us....with a note from you! What a lovely thought........much appreciated. You have booked a real winner here!! THANKS from us both!!
Sent by Vikki Vellacott
Tonbridge, Kent 14/12/2016
Honestly, thanks so much for all you did, we had the most amazing time. Kate Matthews is now on speed dial on my phone and I would not think twice to recommend her to others!
She recently organised a once in a lifetime, magical trip to Lapland for our family. Kate was so knowledgeable throughout, speedy and patient at replying to my ongoing questions, and made our trip so special including all our demands! No request was too big, and I am super grateful to her in making this trip so magical for us, we will not forget the experience in a hurry.
Sent by Jacqueline Bendall
West Sussex 04/11/2016
Amazing job! Not only did you make my late impossible booking possible for my daughter and boyfriend, you went out of your way to check them in online before I even thought about it! Credit to you and of course your company.
Oh, and you were cheaper than BA direct!
Booking again soon. Thank you so much.
Based in
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My Videos
Kalamar Beach Club
02/08/2023
Spent a wonderful few days at this beach club. Free pedalo at your disposal and water trampoline. Situated in the Kalamar region of Kalkan
Zest Beach Club Kalkan/Turkey
31/07/2023
One of the many wonderful beach clubs Kalkan has to offer
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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I was very fortunate enough recently to win a weekend mini cruise onboard Columbus with Cruise & Maritime Voyages. I was very excited as this was to be my first cruising experience! We set sail from the London cruise terminal in Essex, so ideal if you are a Londoner like me, a nice stress free 35-minute drive from SE London and there I was at Tilbury Docks. On arrival I pulled up alongside the shi
This was my first visit to the Caribbean and our first hot Christmas with the family. My in-laws go every January for two months and now I understand why! We fell in love with it instantly. It’s the perfect time to go away and swap the cold and gloomy British winter months for some hot Caribbean weather.
On arrival I had organised for a private minibus to transfer us to our villa which was to b
I've just returned from a fun packed 7 days in Gran Canaria with the family. It's been a while since I was last there, 5 years to be precise, but nothing much has changed except for a couple of new hotels have popped up. The weather was hot and sunny all week long, food was delicious, sea was inviting & refreshing, everything was as I had left it, it was good to be back!
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What an amazing experience and one we will never forget! It was a long time coming, our trip to Lapland. I started planning a year in advance as I know how popular these holidays are on the run up to Christmas. Our girls were eight and five at the time so what better age for them to go in search of Santa and experience all the magic Lapland has to offer.
We decided on a one week holiday over
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