Meet Mary Anne, your expert in Madeira!

Consultations cost $125 USD.

Consultations are held over Google Meet. Once you’ve scheduled your call, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing the link for your video call. On the scheduled day and time, just click that link to join.

Each consultation is different, but here are some common things that our experts typically help with:

• Itinerary planning

• Transportation, driving routes, and tips for how to get around

• Practical travel information; culture, safety, weather, language, money/tipping, etc.

• Suggested hotels/accommodations and advice on where to base yourself

• Local recommendations for restaurants, activities, and unique experiences

• Advice on reputable tour guides, tour operators, and excursions

• Pro tips on how to best visit popular sights and attractions

• Ways to avoid overcrowded destinations and tourist traps

• Insider ideas on off the beaten path places, authentic experiences, and ways to connect with locals

What you can get done in an hour depends on your goals for the consultation and how organized you are coming into it.

In most cases, an hour is ample time to create a solid itinerary, answer your major travel questions, get practical advice on how to travel in your destination, and discuss lots of great local tips and recommendations.

To ensure that the hour is used efficiently, when you schedule your call, our pre-consultation questionnaire will ask you what your primary goals for the consultation are. Prior to the call, your Local Expert will review your questionnaire and prepare detailed information addressing those goals.

They’ll come into the call ready to share specific advice, recommendations, itinerary ideas/revisions, and useful links and resources for you to review together.

Yes! Each consultation is guided by a comprehensive pre-consultation questionnaire that you fill out immediately upon booking.

We’ll ask you a series of 30+ detailed questions that really dig into you, your trip, your interests and travel style, and what you want to discuss with your Local Expert.

The questionnaire will cover things like: the dynamics of your group, the things you enjoy while traveling, your budget, how early you want to start your day and how late you want to end it, whether you want to hit the highlights or roam the back streets, and even what types of restaurants you want to eat at.

Your Local Expert will focus only on your interests and travel style.

Our Local Experts are seasoned travel professionals who have spent decades working in their countries/regions. While their personal interests may be different from yours, they’ve worked with thousands of travelers and have recommendations and advice for every type of individual.

They know their destinations in-depth and can help plan a trip for every traveler and taste.

No. Our service is geared toward independent, do-it-yourself travelers who intend to make bookings on their own.

Our goal is not to plan your trip for you, but rather to help you plan a better trip independently. To that end, our Local Experts will give you all of the information that you need to confidently put your trip together yourself.

When Local Experts recommend things like restaurants, hotels, excursions/activities, tours, drivers, etc., they’ll provide you with contact details and links so that you can make the final arrangements on your own.

Almost every Go Ask A Local expert has at least 10 years of professional travel experience as a guide or trip planner in their country/region.

We work with a vetted team of seasoned professionals who know their destinations inside and out.

Unlike other companies, when you book a call, you’ll always be connected directly with your chosen Local Expert. We never pass anyone on to a junior sales associate or some anonymous back office team. With us, what you see is what you get.