Leia Morales

My expertise

Australia
Japan
Adventure Travel
Private Tours
Multi - Destination
Family Adventures
Families

I'm based in

Nottinghamshire

Available for new enquiries

Looking for help with your business travel? Find out how I can help here

It's Nice To Meet You

Hello, my name is Leia and I am excited to be your local Travel Counsellor based in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire.

After 10 years of working for a High Street Tour Operator specialising in Long Haul Travel, I took the plunge to become a Travel Counsellor in 2020 (no need to say anything more about that!) I love being able to offer a personal service to my customers which means they get looked after from initial enquiry right through to their return home.

I love everything about travel but my background is in long haul tailormade travel, so anything where you want to get off the beaten track, or visit a number of different places, is what I love helping you plan. I've 16 years experience in making your travel plans a reality. It all starts with a chat on the phone, in person or over video call. If you are local, feel free to stop by Ruddington Village Market on the 1st Saturday of the month to have a chat with me or visit my office on the High Street.

I've lived and worked in Japan, Australia and the USA. I've experienced budget travel post university, family travel and been treated to some luxury on many of my work trips. These trips are a great way for my to experience new destinations and visit a range of hotels to recommend to my clients.

The places on my bucket list to visit are Sri Lanka (I'm visiting this year!), Costa Rica, cruising fjords and South Korea.

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Explore my guides and blogs

What's popular at the moment?

What's popular at the moment?

I am often asked what is popular with my customers. Honestly it is difficult to say as each of my enquiries is very different. But here is an insight into my last few bookings. Caribbean I had a customer come home from St Lucia and wanting to book to go back to the Caribbean again next year. This happens a lot as customers like to have something to look forward to and know that the best flight

11 Dec 2024 5   min read

Record Breaking Year

Record Breaking Year

Wow what a 2024! Travel Counsellors have achieved over £1 billion in sales this year, our best ever year. Perfect icing on the cake for our 30th anniversary celebrations. I have had my best every year since become a self employed Travel Counsellor and that is all thanks to the amazing support of my amazing clients. January has always traditionally been the month to book holidays so I am busy get

11 Dec 2024 5   min read

Travelling after loss

Travelling after loss

In October 2015 my daughter was 9 months old and we were due to go on our first family holiday that we had booked several months prior. On the 13th of October my Grandma passed away unexpectedly, just a week before we were due to travel. It was a difficult decision to make as to whether we would still travel or stay home to attend her funeral. My Grandma loved her holidays and lived in Spain for 1

29 Nov 2022 5   min read

New to Cruise

New to Cruise

After 12 years in the travel industry selling cruise, I have finally been on my first and second cruises in the space of a month. It wasn’t something that was planned that way, but opportunities presented themselves and now I am a cruise convert. I always thought that if I was going to take a cruise it would be to a destination best served by cruise such as Alaska or the Panama Canal. Instead, I t

30 May 2022 5   min read

Australia is back in business!

Australia is back in business!

After almost 2 years Australia has reopened its borders to visitors and there is no better time to plan a trip down under. Australia is a bucket list destination for retirees and a backpacker haven for gap year students. Whilst budgets might be a little varied, Australia offers something for everyone. The first thing to say is that Australia cannot be done in a 2-week holiday, which is why to “d

02 Apr 2022 5   min read

Disney World in a Covid World

Disney World in a Covid World

Enough of the dreaming, this month we got to do our dream holiday to Disney World Florida. We booked last year on a hopeful whim. As October half term got closer, the FCDO advice for travel to the USA was updated and there was no longer anything in our way. My husband is a US citizen and so we were exempt from the restrictions in place stopping most Brits from travelling stateside until the 8th of

04 Nov 2021 5   min read

Sustainable Travel

Sustainable Travel

There are lots of ways that the last 16 months has changed the way that we travel. For a start, many of us simply haven’t travelled. In 2019 80.9 million passengers travelled through Heathrow airport. In 2020 this decreased by 72.9% to just 22.1 million passengers. This reduced CO2 emissions from aviation by 60% according to the Global Carbon Project. It is sometimes difficult to see the positives

17 Jul 2021 5   min read

Where to go Autumn/Winter

Where to go Autumn/Winter

Autumn/Winter Picking up from my previous blog post, this time we look at Autumn and Winter months to get some adventure and sun. September Keeping with wildlife, head over to Borneo in September to see orangutans and other primates in their natural habitat. Finish with some down time at one of the luxury hotels over by Kota Kinabalu. October New England in the fall, the changing of the leaves

08 Apr 2021 5   min read

Where to go Spring/Summer

Where to go Spring/Summer

Spring/Summer Most countries have their ideal travel season, based mainly on the weather, which can vary within a country as well. Whilst weather can always be unpredictable, there are certain weather patterns that it is always worth being aware of when you are planning to visit a country. You won’t be thinking something was a “good deal” if it is monsoon season. This two part “where to travel whe

08 Apr 2021 5   min read

Travel 2021

Travel 2021

Foreign holidays seem a distant memory for most, unless you were one of the few to make use of the travel corridors last summer. With the recent introduction of mandatory testing to enter the UK and additional tests two and eight days after returning home, the additional cost for a family can be difficult to justify on a 7-day holiday. There is good new though; despite some reports, it is not il

08 Apr 2021 5   min read

What my friends think I do. What society thinks I do. What I actually do.

What my friends think I do. What society thinks I do. What I actually do.

I’ve been a travel consultant for 10 years, my friends and family think they know what I do but like the meme’s that go around there are different images of what a travel consultant does: What my friends think I do. What society thinks I do. What I actually do. Putting aside that I am running my own business and the day to day work that comes with promoting myself, let me run through the experie

10 Jul 2020 5   min read

Travel a little closer to home

Travel a little closer to home

With it looking unlikely that many will be taking holidays abroad this summer, we will have to look closer to home for travel inspiration. With Travel Counsellors up and down the country, some of us have teamed up to make suggestions for what there is to see and do a little closer to home. This is my travel blog all about the beautiful South Nottinghamshire village of Ruddington, that I call home.

11 May 2020 5   min read

Gap Years for all ages

Gap Years for all ages

At age 16, while studying for my GCSE’s, the opportunity presented itself to travel to Ecuador with my school. We fundraised and I worked part-time in a fish and chip shop to fund the month-long trip, which saw us trekking in the Andes, exploring the Amazon and volunteering to build an orphanage. It was a life changing experience for me that sparked a desire to explore the world and lead to me tak

05 May 2020 5   min read

Travel with kids

Travel with kids

Back in 2007 I did a skydive over Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, but if you asked me if I would do it again, I would say a firm no. When I had my daughter in 2015 my life changed. I am now responsible for another life, and I look at risk factors in a different light. But having kids doesn’t mean that you can’t have adventures and experiences when you travel, there is just different factors to cons

15 Apr 2020 5   min read

Getting married in 2021?

Getting married in 2021?

Right now, you are sat at home with your fiancée, spending more time together then you had planned, gazing lovingly across at each other as you work from home. Opportunities to plan your wedding and honeymoon are usually limited to evenings and weekends, but COVID-19 has given you this extra time together. Unfortunately, high street travel agents are closed, and you might be reluctant to trust you

07 Apr 2020 5   min read

My travel biography

My travel biography

So who are you booking with when you book your holiday with me? Well, as you are on my blog you should already know that my name is Leia Morales. I am married to, Lou, a Chilean who grow up in Miami. We have a 5 year old daughter and we live in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, with our dog. So that is where I am now, but where have I been? Growing up with a dad in the RAF, I spent 4 years living in

26 Mar 2020 5   min read

What my customers say

We had a fantastic experience booking a big dream trip with Leia and couldn't recommend her more! Leia helped us to plan a 3-week road trip around the US across 5 different states and 6 different national parks at several different hotels. We contacted Leia with simply the dates and places we wanted to visit with a few criteria for hotels and activities, and she did everything else on our behalf. The booking process was really easy, and Leia enabled us to review each part of the itinerary and was more than happy to make any requested changes before we committed to a final booking. Leia was extremely helpful and informative throughout the booking and printed all our vouches and information we needed for the trip which she hand delivered to us before we flew. All of our hotels were in fantastic locations and the car hires and activities Leia booked were all easy and fantastic and just ready for us to turn up to and enjoy. We had two very minor mishaps while we were away and Leia responded to our e-mails almost immediately to reassure us what was being done and resolved both issues very quickly, so we felt we were in good and safe hands. She really made booking a very big holiday so easy and took the stress out of the planning so we could just enjoy the trip. We will definitely be using her again - Thank you Leia!

Megan CC

Nottingam

Thank you Leia for all your help in arranging the perfect holiday. The US road trip went to plan, all locations and hotels were perfect. I will definitely us your services again and would recommend to anyone who is planning a trip.

Jacqueline Allen

Northampton

Leia Morales has helped hs with two summer holidays now and both have been a roaring success. Last year we had a complicated European travel route which went very smoothly thanks to Leia’s planning. This year we have been in Lanzarote and as a last minute was again great. We would highly recommend Leia!

Nicola Whiteman

Stirling

We had a fantastic holiday to Florida that was expertly tailored to our requirements. Everything went very smoothly and we had an excellent experience booking with Leia. Thank you!

Julia Roberts

Nottingham

I would recommend Leia unreservedly. She changed my travel plans from thoughts to exactly what I wanted. Watching bears in Finland and a short stay in Helsinki. From my thoughts to carefully planned and detailed holiday. Do contact her for superb help.

Tim Carney

Nottingham

I was always nervous about using a travel Counsellor as I like to be in control of all the planning but Leia has made it so easy for me to let go of this. I get so much more enjoyment out of holidays now without spending hours doing research, I will never plan a holiday myself again!

Kirsty Bemrose

Ruddington

Leia, thank you for organising us such an amazing family holiday. Leia found us 6 different holidays because we couldn’t make our mind up with what we wanted, she was very patient and found holidays that met our requirements. We had a budget, wanted to fly from a local airport and wanted a holiday for a toddler and baby. We’d never been abroad before and Leia made it so easy, booking everything, checking in, printing documents, communicating with the hotel and booking private transfers. She was always available if I had any questions and was understanding and really friendly. We will always go through Leia when booking holidays now. Thank you.

Claire Fletcher-Warne

Nottingham

Fabulous service from Leia arranging our honeymoon. Can highly recommend. Attentive, helpful and efficient with help arranging all the extras which made our trip so special. Thanks Leia!!

Samantha Parker

Gloucester

Leia provided us with exceptional service when arranging a special birthday holiday for our family. She was professional throughout and totally exceeded our expectations. She will be our first port of call for any future travel arrangements.

Angela Dunk

Stroud

Leia catered our honeymoon requests, and found options that offered what we said we wanted to do. We went to Costa Rica in December and she chose incredible places for us to stay, places we wouldn’t have chosen for ourselves. She was really helpful with booking activities for our trip and was really quick to respond to any queries. Would highly recommend Leia and we hope to book future holidays with her.

Katriona Garnett

Nottingham

Leia stepped in when our original travel operator went bust. She took our original itinerary and tweaked it to make it better allowing us more time to spend on our holiday. She was constantly in touch making sure everything went smoothly at all stages, not made easy by the previous operator going bust and not able to cancel the original flights. Leia put a plan in place so our new seats on the original flight didn't get cancelled by mistake. Even while we were in Canada Leia was on the case leaving welcome notes at each destination which was a nice touch. At one point actually phoning us to make sure we knew about road closures on the way to the Vancouver Island ferry which we knew nothing about at the time. All in all we had a great time and really appreciated the efforts Leia put into making our holiday run as smoothly as possible. We would have no problem at all in recommending Travel Counselors especially Leia Morales to anybody trying to plan a holiday. Thanks Leia

Mal Hudson

Sheffield

Leia looked after us from start to finish. My husband is disabled and was very nervous about travelling abroad. Leia arranged extra help for us from arriving at the airport to getting home. We were so grateful. Our trip was a pleasure from beginning to end. We will be asking Leia to help us again in the spring.

Gill Parker

West Bridgford

I'm so glad we booked with Leia. She made the whole process really stress-free so we could relax and just enjoy our holiday. She suggested ideas to suit us that we wouldn't have thought of and we had a fantastic time. She was really helpful throughout the booking process and in the run up to our holiday so we felt confident that everything would go smoothly. We really enjoyed our time away and will definitely be booking with her again.

Camilla Gilmore

West Bridgford

We booked a week in Rome with Leia Morales - she advised us on every aspect of our trip and booked us an amazing hotel , sightseeing tours and flights / transfers. She was really knowledgeable and organised. Highly recommend!

Suzanne Astill

West Bridgford

Cannot recommend Leia Morales highly enough - Leia took all the stress out of booking our holiday to Dubrovnik, it was such a breeze, and Leia took care of every detail, from superb recommendations, COVID advice, transfers, even a little nice surprise when we got to our hotel room. Leia also booked a wonderful excursion for us, which was perfect, and responded to our WhatsApps when we were there to check us in to the return flight. Forget the high street travel agents, Travel Counsellors are so much better.

Mark Pinks

Ruddington

We had the most wonderful holiday, arranged by Leia. Everything was organised, down to the last detail. My husband has said that he will not consider any other way of choosing a holiday after this fantastic experience.

Gill Parker

Nottingham

Excellent service provided. After sending through our requirements to Leia she very swiftly sent through her recommendations to us which we were very happy with, securing our holiday straight away with a deposit. Leia followed our remit, worked with our budget and found us just what we were looking for. Thanks Leia!

Lindsey Taylor

Ruddington

It's my 70th birthday this year, and I wanted a special holiday with family to celebrate it. So Leia has found us the perfect place in Menorca and we'll be there in late September, enjoying the sea and sun - setting us up for the winter days in UK to come! With her experience of travelling with a small child, she was able to offer us excellent advice about what we needed to take for my young grandchild. She was able to cope with our varying needs - whether for sightseeing, or for poolside relaxation - altogether a stress-free way for us to find our perfect holiday this year! Thank you Leia!

Margaret Bonney

Leicester

Leia is knowledgeable about her industry, very well organised and a pleasure to deal with. All our travel details were tailored to our requirements which made our holiday experience run very smoothly and stress-free. Leia's costs are very reasonable too. We will not hesitate to use Leia again in the future.

Harrison Palmer

Nottingham

Leia has been very helpful and is always available Came highly recommended

Mal Hudson

Sheffield

Leia has been a hugely supportive wing-woman throughout the challenging travel situation of 2021 as my husband and I figured out a problematic visa situation. She was always on hand throughout our trip to offer advice and a multitude of different travel options to support us, and was there for us even when last minute changes were needed. Leia's unwavering support in handling the logistics of this trip reduced our stress levels significantly; at a time where rules and restrictions are constantly changing it would have been a nightmare trying to figure everything out on our own.

Melanie Hughes

Leicestershire

Fantastic service and knowledgeable would recommend to everyone x

Alex Lee

Ruddington

Leia has been nothing but helpful, accommodating and excellent in working around both our requirements, and those of the ongoing pandemic. Nothing but good things to say about our experience with her!

Alex Dron

Nottingham

Leia offered a personalised service both in email and on zoom offering various honey options for us to view in our own time. Understanding both our needs and wants.

Jayne Sanderson

Nottingham

Leia has given us another amazing holiday - our fourth booked with her (including our honeymoon)! Much closer to home this time though, with a staycation in the New Forest. Still had a fantastic time, and best of all, we paid the same price as we would have done if we had booked directly, without the hassle of booking whilst also giving us extra Covid-19 travel assurances! If anyone is looking for a break, near or far, now or in future, big or small, please consider using Leia - she can perform travel magic!

Chloe Fisher

WELWYN GARDEN CITY

At quite short notice Leia researched and found us a fabulous place to stay in Weymouth (having given us a couple of options that were both matching our requirements). Throughout the process she provided us great information, service and went the extra mile with a lovely delivery of some delicious picnic items one morning. Thoroughly recommend her and will be using her next time too! Thanks Leia, you made our last minute UK holiday feel very special :)

Sue Matthews

Nottingham

We have used Leia as our Travel Consultant for a number of years and are looking forward to continuing to do so now she has her own business. Whether a Caribbean all-inclusive sun break, a Fly Drive Road Trip, or a Coach/Rail/Cruise adventure, Leia has always taken our basic outline and put together a bespoke package to suit or needs. We had an excellent trip to Canada & Alaska in 2019 and the professional way Leia coordinated the excursions was really highlighted in conversations with other guests in hotels en-route. Our stops and excursions were all carefully selected by Leia to compliment each other and build a memorable holiday experience; we encountered some other families with examples of 'overlap' in their activities where their travel agent presumably hadn't checked what the individual excursions involved. We were so glad that Leia had thought of everything. We can't wait to book our next holiday with her.

Bernard Carey

Nottinghamshire

Leia, May I thank you for organising such a long and complex holiday. It went without a hitch until the dreaded Corvid came along. You can be assured of all my future travel arrangements, and I will recommend you to all my friends.

John Hannay

Nottingham

Leia has been making my travel arrangements for several years now and I wouldn’t trust anyone else. She always understands our requirements and makes suitable recommendations. She is knowledgeable, friendly and very easy to communicate with. Each and every holiday arranged through her has been a memorable one. She is a pleasure to deal with and certainly makes planning our trips enjoyable and stress free! Thanks so much for your support (and the support of the extended family!)

Sonal Shah

London

Discover the world with me

Alternatives to flying

Alternatives to flying

I spoke to BBC Radio Nottingham last year about alternatives to flying, lots of ideas here if you are considering

11 Dec 2024

Summer 2022 Travel

Summer 2022 Travel

I as invited onto the BBC Radio Nottingham Breakfast show to talk about all things travel

25 Jul 2022

BBC Radio Nottingham 8/7/21

BBC Radio Nottingham 8/7/21

Ahead of the announcement that full vaccinated travelers returning to the UK wouldn't need to self isolate, I appeared on BBC Radio Nottingham Breakfast SHow

08 Jul 2021

Top Tips for Planning a Honeymoon

Top Tips for Planning a Honeymoon

As an alternative to reading my blog, have a watch of my top tips

06 Apr 2021

Ruddington Village Market Instagram Live

Ruddington Village Market Instagram Live

A fab chat with Mark from Ruddington Village Market about my business, my travel experiences and why I love Ruddington!

18 Feb 2021

BBC Radio Nottingham 28/01/21

BBC Radio Nottingham 28/01/21

I was invited along to talk about staycations this year

28 Jan 2021

BBC Radio Nottingham Interview

BBC Radio Nottingham Interview

Following the government announcement about "test and release" I was invited back on to the breakfast show to discuss.

24 Nov 2020

Additional offers

More destinations to enjoy

Let's plan your dream trip together

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Tailor-made for you

Your holiday isn’t just a trip away. It’s a longed-for escape, time to reconnect with loved ones, or a dream adventure you never thought possible. That’s why I take the time to truly get to know you and understand your hopes and expectations, then use my experience, connections and passion for the destination to create a trip that makes those dreams a reality.

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Personalised service. Always

When you plan a holiday with me, you’ll be given my personal mobile number from the very first call. I’ll listen to your thoughts and ideas like I would a friend and arrange accommodation, activities, and flights that are all personalised to you. And I’ll share my personal tips and recommendations, so you can experience the true beauty of each destination.

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Stress-free travel, and more time
for what matters most

I believe your time away should be stress-free, easy, and seamless from start to finish. So, I take care of all the details for you - from ATOL protection, insurance, and flexible payments to access to the myTC app, which keeps everything in one place.

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Support when it matters most

If the unexpected happens, you can rest easy, knowing that I’ll handle any last-minute changes, flight cancellations, or disruptions before you even pick up the phone. So you always feel happy, carefree, and ready to make the most of every moment.

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0115 832 0119

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Finding your match...

Every unforgettable journey starts with the right person by your side.