Here a guest reviews her experience planning a once in a lifetime trip with Andrea for Conde Nast Traveler …
I wanted to share the following feedback regarding Andrea Ross. She is an amazing agent, who deserves to be on your list, which is how I found her. THANK YOU!
Our family consists of mom, dad, and four boys ages 14, 11, 8 and 8. My husband and I have traveled the world with our kids. We have been to six continents and our kids have been to five. We used Andrea Ross in June 2012 for our family trip to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Our trip was almost three weeks long. Andrea was meticulous in her planning. She worked with me from the beginning to plan a trip that would be fun and educational for our active family.
She included meals with local families. My children were able to sit on the floor in homes and enjoy a meal with these families. We visited villages, swam in Hal Long Bay, learned about land mines, Pol Pot, gave alms to monks at 4:30 am, visited a food market (bugs, blood blocks, or worms anyone?), relaxed by the beach and learned so much more than you can teach in a classroom.
I really enjoyed visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels. We were able to meet with a man, Mr. Nam, who fought against the Americans in the war. He was missing an eye and arm due to battle. We had total access to the area and were able to ask Mr. Nam ANYTHING regarding the war and history… and he answered (This experience was similar to visiting a Nazi concentration camp…you are glad you went for the education, but you never want to go back.) Afterwards, we followed him to his house and sat with his family and had dinner and tea. When we said goodbye to Mr. Nam and he gave my 8 year old twins a big hug. We also enjoyed meeting the family of “The Girl In The Picture”- Kim Phuc.
In Laos, Andrea arranged for us to ride elephants, and not in a pasture. We crossed a river, went through the mountains and jungle, something my children will never forget. We also had what I consider a most perfect day…Andrea set up a wonderful chicken curry lunch beside the Kuang Si Waterfall in Laos — Disney could not have designed a more beautiful and peaceful place!
We were the only family there and were able to enjoy it’s beauty. Afterwards, my family enjoyed climbing a tree and swinging from a rope into the water all afternoon. We had had something else planned, but our guide knew it was an amazing day and let us stay as long as we wanted to. You can see from my son, Cooper’s face how much fun that day was. Andrea had planned “the perfect day” for our family — we will remember that day forever.
3. Andrea will fix a mistake if needed. I understand that travel brings challenges, especially when you are planning a multi-country three week trip for 6 people, four of whom are children. When we ran into a snag at the airport, what could have been a huge issue turned into no issue at all because Andrea and her team can make things happen.
4. Andrea hires great people who know what they are doing. Every single time we landed at an airport, someone was waiting with a smile. They were there to make sure we had a great time. If my kids were just too tired from a long flight, they switched the schedule around to accommodate us — these are little things that can make a good vacation GREAT.
5. Andrea is very open to feedback, both good and constructive.
6. Andrea communicates.
7. Andrea plans the most AMAZING adventures! Our family came home feeling like we had really learned about the cultures of the countries we visited.
I cannot recommend Andrea Ross highly enough. Other agents should strive to reach her level of service. I have already recommended her to friends, who visited Myanmar over the holidays. Bottom line — the picture of my son (above) sums up what my family thinks of Andrea Ross.
— Molly, traveled in 2013
