Travel Research Virtual Assistant

Do you want to travel but simply don't have the time or desire to do the tedious research of narrowing down a destination to meet your needs, choosing the best hotels for you and your family (fur-kids included), or curating the best coffee shops along your road trip route? Perhaps you get overwhelmed trying to make a choice from every available option. You don't necessarily want someone to plan your entire trip for you, you just want someone to do that labor-intensive initial research to provide you with more focused information and recommendations to work with.

If this sounds like you, then my travel research service may be what you need.

I've traveled extensively across the US and have curated my own collection of favorites along with my tried and true processes and resources for gathering the best travel and destination information. I do research and make spreadsheets for fun, so let me take care of the ground level research so that you can spend your time making final decisions and getting to the fun part of organizing your itinerary. No more decision overwhelm or analysis paralysis!

“Having Sarah do the research for my girls' trip to the Finger Lakes made planning the weekend so much more pleasant. She sent recommendations for lodging, wine tours, and restaurants - all I had to do was make the reservation. Not only was the convenience factor exactly what I wanted, but the recommendations themselves turned out to be fantastic! The airbnb fully met our needs, our dinner out was delicious with a gorgeous view, and the wine tour was so fun that we ended up extending it. I highly recommend hiring Sarah to do your travel research. Her help lets you jump straight to the fun part.”

— Stephanie B.

Examples of research requests…

  • Destinations

    “I need to figure out the best warm weather destination for a girls' trip in January where no one has to fly more than 5 hours from their home airport and flight costs are under $500 round trip.” (~3 hours of research time)

  • Hotels

    “I'm going on a 6-day road trip from Dallas to Salt Lake City and want to stay in unique, dog-friendly hotels and motels under $150/night along the way without driving more than 4 hours per day. Please determine the best places to stop each day and provide a recommended hotel for each stop.” (~8 hours of research time)

  • Activities

    “I'd like a list of five wineries on Seneca Lake with lake views for a winery day for 4 people. I need a list of what I need to know including operating hours, if I need reservations, cost, and food options. Please organize the wineries in a list of the recommended order of visiting.” (~4 hours of research time)

  • Food and Beverage Options

    “Please provide a list of top 5 vegetarian-friendly restaurants within .5 mile walk of our hotel” (~2 hours of research time)

  • Pets

    “I need a list of the best pet-friendly options in Tucson for the following categories: hikes under 5 miles, restaurants with patios, breweries, wineries, hotels, and emergency vet.” (~8 hours of research time)

  • Get Creative

    The sky is the limit. If you have something that you want researched for an upcoming trip, there’s a good chance I can figure it out - even if that something is a little (or a lot) outside of the box. I’m quite skilled at finding things on the internet! Email me with your request and I’ll let you know what I can do for you.

Travel Research FAQs

What are your rates?

$25/hour with a two-hour minimum.


I don’t know how many hours my project will take. Can you help me?

Sure! Email me your research request and I’ll give you an estimate of how long I think the project will take.

You can also give me a range of hours you're willing to pay for. For example, my minimum is two hours, but you're willing to pay for up to 5 hours. If I'm approaching the 5 hour mark and haven't completed the task, I'll follow up with you for approval to either add more hours or wrap things up and pass along what I gathered. Alternatively, if your max is five hours but I can complete the task in four, then you'll only be charged for four hours. If you are paying by range, then you will pay half of your max up front and the balance at time of delivery. Full payment must be received before the research results are delivered to your email.

Can you make reservations for me?

No. I can provide you with links for reservations (and coupon codes if I have them), but you are responsible for any bookings or reservations.


Can we go over the information on a phone call?

No. I do not do real-time voice, video, or text conversations. All communication is done via email only. On the very rare occasion when I feel that something needs a bit more explanation, I may send you a recorded voice note.


What is the process from start to finish?

  1. You email me with your research request and number of hours for your project. I will respond to confirm availability, that I can complete the request within your desired number of hours, and let you know when you can expect the research results. This due date is based on my current client load and how long it will take me to complete your task. Current turnaround time is 7 calendar days.

  2. If we agree to work together, I will send you a payment link and contract. You will complete payment and the fun begins!

  3. Once you have submitted payment, I'll send a survey for you to complete. Return the survey within 72 hours. For every 24 hour window past the 72 hour mark that I'm waiting for your survey to be completed, your research return date will be pushed back an equivalent 24 hours.

  4. I'll send you the requested information via email and, if needed, a voice note with any clarification.

  5. You can email me with any questions or clarification, but any deeper research requires additional booking.

What do I get from you?

This is dependent on the complexity of your request. If it is something with a simple answer, such as a recommendation for a destination, I'll give you the information in the body of an email. If it is something more complex or with greater amounts of information, I may put it in a spreadsheet or other database. For this, I will share your information either via Google Sheets or as a Notion page (your choice). If there is something that I feel needs a bit of explanation, I may also provide a voice note. All links or files will be accessible through your email.

After receiving your research information, you are welcome to email me with questions or clarification. I will be happy to answer within reason, but if the request is complex or requires additional research, you will be required to book additional research time.

“I was feeling overwhelmed with all that had to be done for a trip to Switzerland with my husband and Sarah came highly recommended, so I hired her to help find some hidden gems for our trip. The information she provided was clear and easy to utilize when creating our itinerary for a romantic weekend in Interlaken. My husband loved the spreadsheet and I really appreciated that prices and brief descriptions were included. Harder Kulm was our favorite recommendation for sure! She is a great hire and I plan on using her services again in the future.”

— Leandra F.

Ready to let me do the tedious research?

Great! Let’s get started.

Inquire here.

Please send me a message with your research request and the number of hours you want me to spend on the task. I’ll be in touch soon and we’ll go from there!