Based in Bredwardine

Jane Plaisted

Available for new enquiries

It's Nice To Meet You

Welcome!

I am your Personal Travel Counsellor based in Herefordshire close to the Welsh borders. I have been with Travel Counsellors for 16 years, and in the industry for over 30 years.

I provide a unique travel service, using award-winning technology to tailor-make travel arrangements, with the support of a world-leading independent travel company: Travel Counsellors.

I am able to tailor-make travel arrangements to suit each customer offering a personal service from start to finish. All travel arrangements I book are also 100% financially protected through Travel Counsellors.

Working from home means I can speak or meet clients at a time to suit them, even out of normal office hours.

Previously, I worked as a manager in a couple of independent high street offices and also in business travel. I have over 30 years’ experience in the industry both here and working in Australia.

I have travelled extensively over the years with longer spells in Australia (lived here for 7 years), New Zealand, Asia, west coast of Canada and Alaska. I enjoy skiing and have experienced many resorts in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, not forgetting visiting Father Christmas in Lapland! With the nature of my husband’s job, I have visited many cities in the UK and Europe. Whilst in Australia I travelled around the country whilst there and frequently travel back to catch up with friends and family and update the various products available.

Travel Counsellors now has a 24-hour duty office keeping us up to date with any situations around the world and gives are clients piece of mind that someone is available whilst they are overseas.

I would be delighted to discuss your travel arrangements with you, whether it's a trip in the UK, Europe or beyond, a business trip or to help turn your dream holiday into a reality.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and taking the stress of booking your travel arrangements especially in these changing times .

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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:

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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.

Australia in 2 weeks

04 May 2020

Two weeks in Australia. It is often thought that longer than 2 weeks is required to visit Australia. You are able to have a 2 week holiday still see some of the major sights and sample the Aussie way of life. Sydney, Rock and Reef 5 nights Sydney – a great city to recover from your jet lag with plenty to do and at your own pace. You have the Sydney Tower with amazing views over the city, a good time is at dusk seeing the city in both lights. Walking the Sydney Harbour Bridge – needs to be pre-booked prior to your arrival). A walk along the coast from Bondi Beach to Bronte and Coogee. Day tours out to the Hunter Valley and/or the Blue Mountains. Walking around city harbour, The Rocks area have great weekend markets. Take a ferry over to Manly or to Taronga Zoo or round to Darling Harbour. Fly to Alice Springs 1 night in Alice Springs, visit the Royal Flying Doctors and explore the town. Take a tour or drive from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock (about 6 hours and stop en route). 2 nights Ayers Rock, visit Uluru and the Olgas taking in the Aboriginal Culture. Dinner in the outback. Fly onto Cairns 4 nights – Cairns Area. You can stay in Cairns, Cairns Beaches or Port Douglas. Have time on the beaches (beware you are unable to swim from the beaches during the summer months due to the blue bottles – jellyfish). Take a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef – snorkel, dive or take a glass bottom boat. A trip out to Karuda and take the train one way.

Cornwall

27 November 2018

This summer we visited the North Coast of Cornwall near Redruth for our week summer family holiday. The north coast is great for body boarding which is what the kids enjoy and also the mum's! Dad's watch. There is a wide variety of accommodation from camping, various Haven sites and numerous cottages, as well as a choice of hotels and B&B's. We stayed in a cottage, giving us more flexibility as travelling with another family we choose a small complex with some things for the kids to do. Luckily this year the weather was slightly better than usual. We mainly spent the time at the beach, such a great choice of unspoilt beaches to choose from - Portreath, Godrevy, Gwithian. We did a couple of excursions - to Land's End, arriving late afternoon (to miss the crowds) and had time to see the various attractions on offer and then stayed for the firework display which they have a couple of nights a week. Another must visit is St Michael's Mount, if you time it right you can walk across the causeway both ways, be prepared to queue to get into the Mount when you have walked all the way to the top. Don't forget to have a Cornish Cream Tea while in Cornwall. Other excursions close by are Truro for shopping, St Ives, take the train in (park and ride) as extremely busy during peak season. The gardens at Helston are lovely.

Santa's Lapland

15 November 2015

We went in search of Father Christmas. We flew with Jet 2 from Manchester, as this was a chartered plan the seats were allocated for us and are required to check in at the airport. As the plane is mainly all families with younger children many of us were seated separately, many of the families were divided up being seats apart. On arrival in Ivaho we were met by the Elves who provided the entertainment, which passed the time while we waited for our bags. The transfer to Saariselka is about 25 minutes. Saariselka is a small village, a few souvenir shops, supermarket, ATM machine and a few restaurants. One main high street so can’t really get lost. Some other operators have a longer transfer and this is get further into the National Parks, Saariselka is further north, a small town and closer to a National Park. There is a choice of accommodation – Holiday Club which has a pool and an ‘Angry Bird’ activity centre. The Tunturi – rooms are based in separate buildings and walk to the main reception area for the bar and restaurant. The Gielas is opposite the Tnturi hotel and the Riekonlinna Hotel is opposite the Gielas in the central square area. The cabins – are dotted around the resort, they are divided into 2 sections and sold as 2 twins with a bathroom, our cabin had 2 rooms upstairs and there were 2 rooms downstairs and the shower was downstairs for all of us. All meals were taken in the Cabin, similar to chalet catering, excellent food with a Christmas dinner the last night. The cabins offer a great relaxed family atmosphere. The search for Santa day, you have plenty of activities available to avoid the queues there are Kota’s (large tipee’s) with hot berry juice and free pancakes throughout the day to warm up and lunch is available between 11-3. We saw Father Christmas early and had no queue, also no queue for any of the activities, never really felt that there were many people around. There are 3 main activities, the Husky rides you are given an allocated time and get to change drivers half way. The Reindeer sleigh ride is fairly short and leads you to an igloo with an ice bar, selling hot chocolate and drinks. You have a magical sleigh ride to visit Father Christmas. You have time for a Northern Lights trip, which can be very cold and the morning before you leave can visit a Husky farm and have another Husky ride. We ended up staying an extra night and were put up in the Tunturi Hotel as the weather was much warmer than usual it snowed the day we left and the planes were unable to land so sat for awhile in the airport but well looked after well. Was an amazing magical trip and would recommend to any family.

Short Break to Holland

05 October 2015

This was a short break to catch up with an Australian friend who had been playing hockey in Holland. I flew from Birmingham, flight very easy and used the mobile boarding pass for the first time, as just myself travelling and what an easy experience. When I arrived in Amsterdam, I caught the train from the airport out to The Hague. Very easy everything all in English and the station is just underneath the airport. Tickets and their ou carte (travel cards) can be purchased from the ticket machines. I was off the train and in a coffee shop with friends in The Hague within an hour of landing. The Hague is a large town with old parts with narrow streets. we stayed in a hotel close to the Royal Palace gardens. The Hague has a tram system which is very easy to use with their travel cards or pay the driver at the front. All stops announced. Also good city for shopping. The next day we took the train to Leiden @15 minutes on the train. Leiden is one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands and the 2nd biggest canal system, only by accident as they started to infill some but ran out of money to do any more. Leiden has the oldest university in Holland and near this is the Botanical Gardens with the Observatory next door. The Botanical Gardens is where the tulip was first cultivated, it had been given to a scientist from Turkey. Close by is also the birth place of Rembrandt’s and can also see a replica windmill of the one his parents used to live in as millers. We went round the De Valk Windmill EUR4.00, one of a couple left in Leiden, was used for milling flour and very interesting with the different levels going through the ages as you go up to the top. We took a trip on one of the cruise boats around the canals, EUR9.00, saw the various decorated houseboats and also the contrast with the old and new parts of Leiden. The various bridges and lampposts were colourfully decorated with floral displays.

Tenby & Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park

25 May 2011

Tenby is one of 14 conservations areas in the Pembrokeshire National Park, an area with some amazing scenery and stunning beaches. Pembrokeshire Coast in West Wales has something for all age groups. A destination for short breaks or a longer holiday. With a great variety of accommodation to suit all budgets, from camping, caravanning, mobile home, cottages and hotels. The area is well known for the Coastal Walk, that can taken in sections taking a few hours with a pub at the end. During peak season there is a Pembrokeshire Coastal Bus Service. The area has plenty of attractions, which will appeal to all, here are some examples. Folly Farm, all weather farming fun with plenty to offer and more for the younger kids Heatherton, offers a whole world of activities. Oakwood, a thrilling day out for all the family, There are many castles from Manorbier, Pembroke and Carew. Beaches, plenty to choose from with some long sandy beaches and little coves. Some great ones are Tenby’s south beach and Broad Haven. The beaches are not commercial some have a local shop nearby for the ice creams. Narberth, a small town with some great small shops and an amazing antique shop covering many rooms. Tenby and the Pembrokeshire Coast is a destination easily accessible along the M4 and A40.

My customer stories

Sent by Rachel Murphy

I can not recommend Jane enough, we recently booked our honeymoon and it was the most stressfree and helpful service I have received booking a holiday. No questions were left unanswered and more importantly she had no limited of time to spend on helping us achieve the perfect honeymoon. We both can not wait to go in July, thank you again.

Sent by Sarah Griffiths

Prompt, friendly and professional service which was tailored to our requirements

Sent by Brenda Channon

I have always found Jane extremely helpful and professional. Nothing is too much trouble and she is usually always available, if not than she makes sure you have someone else to contact making you feel confident with your booking.

Sent by Annie Jenkins

Jane was wonderful. Her support throughout the planning and booking process was brilliant! The attention to detail and little touches that made us feel so special were amazing. Wonderful trip and wonderful recommendations. I would 100% recommend!

Sent by Michael Berridge

We are very grateful to you for arranging everything so well. We have certainly never had a holiday booked for us with such ease and pleasure and we really cannot praise you too highly.

Sent by Raymond Woodhams

This year we have made trips to Nairobi, Bologna, and Frankfrurt and all travel arrangements have been made through Jane. Year in year out she takes care of everything for us with great personal skill and professionalism. We can't praise her highly enough since we can rest assured that there is nothing to worry about! Once again congratulations and thanks.

Sent by Chris Phillips

Having recently returned from a holiday in New England we felt it appropriate to compliment Jane of Travel Councellors on the impecable planning on our behalf. Our requirements weren't straight forward but everything went absolutely to plan - first class.

Sent by William Westacott

I cannot praise Jane enough for the help I received. She was excellent, very knowledgeable, easily contactable and very reliable, which all help to ensure we had a wonderful holiday. A real pleasure to work with, I would without question, use Jane again when I look to book my next holiday.

Sent by Robin Popham

Nothing was ever too much trouble with Jane, despite us chopping and changing around a lot. Her knowledge was great and she really listened to what we wanted, finding some great holidays for us to choose from. She was always there to answer any questions and organise any add ons. Why would you ever want to trawl through the internet for months trying to save a couple of pounds with an option like Travel Counsellors

Sent by Felicity Youard

Thank you very much indeed for helping me to make sure an easy, efficient and comfortable trip to America. I have not had to organise a journey like that before and would have found it very nerve-wrecking without your expertise about current regulations and general knowhow.

Sent by John and Alison Posgate

Jane has been helping us since 2006 and the reason we continue is because she has assessed our character and advised us accordingly. We have only been delighted in all places we have been to selected by Jane plus we have taken her advise on when to go it alone but when to use tour guides. particularly in Australia and New Zealand she has been great.

Sent by Anne Grant

Thank you for a wonderful holiday. It was terrific! The accommodation, scenery, activities, food, reps were all fabulous and there were loads of sailing dinghies, windsurfers, kayaks, bicycles.... to keep us all busy. We sailed, windsurfed, water skied, dived, cycled, swam... and we have all come home looking so fit and well. We realised how fortunate we had been after a few phone calls from friends who also went on sailing holidays and found that the boats, windsurfers etc had to be paid for each time they were used and also found that there were never enough boats for everyone. We were so fortunate that you had found us such a great holiday - thank you for everything you did to make it such a success

Sent by Stephen Grist

I approached Jane asking if she could help set up an Autumn tour of New England around a family wedding in Portland. Jane took all the stress and hassle out of what was a complex exercise and dealt with us in a relaxed but highly professional manner. Jane also reminded us of issues that had completely escaped our notice. We now have what we hope will be a lovely, and memorable holiday.