Falco Falco .TRAVEL
The Fitz Roy range above the road into El Chaltén, Argentina

Some people do crosswords. I plan trips.

Kevin Rugg

Hi, I'm Kevin, a travel advisor in the San Francisco Bay Area. I spent 35 years building software, the last 15 at Google, and traveled to more than 40 countries along the way. For me the planning was always half the fun: the research, the logistics, getting the details right so the trip itself goes smoothly. Retiring gave me time for more of my own trips, and room to plan trips for other people too.

The trips I like best are the complicated ones. Multi-city, multi-country, or the one you've been talking about for years.

Highlighted trips

A small group of hikers on the blue ice of the Perito Moreno glacier

Patagonia

February 2026 · A trip I took

Two weeks from Buenos Aires to Valparaíso, with hiking in El Chaltén and Torres del Paine and a day on the Perito Moreno glacier. I booked it through another agency, and what I missed is why I work the way I do now.

Read about the trip

Trips I'm planning now

Shown with the travelers' permission. Photos are stock until the trip happens.

  • Green and violet northern lights over a snowy hillside

    Northern Lights cruise

    March 2027 · A client's trip: three travelers, two cabins, 14 nights from Southampton up to Tromsø and Alta.

    Cruise booked, excursions next

    Read the research
  • A road winding up through alpine meadows toward Cottonwood Pass, Colorado

    Colorado

    Summer 2027 · Four nights around Salida with a drive up to a 12,000-foot pass, then two in Boulder. A soft test of the altitude before Atacama.

    Itinerary drafted, nothing booked

  • Sand dunes and eroded red rock in the Valle de la Luna, Atacama Desert

    Atacama Desert

    April 2028 · A group of four: two nights in San Pedro de Atacama, four at Explora, then one of us crosses to the Salar de Uyuni.

    Early research, nothing booked

    Read the research

Stock photos: Lightscape, Bret Lowrey, Bailey Hall / Unsplash

Where I've been

Here's a rough picture of where I've traveled. A shaded country doesn't mean I know every corner of it, but it does help give context and direction to the deep research I do when planning trips.

Kevin in a knit cap and sunglasses in front of the Perito Moreno glacier
At the Perito Moreno glacier, February 2026
FijiTanzaniaCanadaUnited StatesArgentinaChileMexicoCosta RicaBelizeFranceCambodiaVietnamSouth KoreaSwedenAustriaHungaryEstoniaGermanyGreeceTurkeyCroatiaSwitzerlandNetherlandsPortugalSpainIrelandNew ZealandAustraliaChinaItalyDenmarkUnited KingdomIcelandPhilippinesSloveniaFinlandCzech RepublicJapanBosnia and Herzegovina

45 countries · 24 US states

How I work

Most travel services give you two options. Book everything yourself and hope you don't miss something, or hand the whole trip to an advisor and lose sight of what's happening. I think most people want something in between.

You decide how much you want to do. Research destinations yourself, or ask me to. Compare hotels on your own, or get a shortlist from me. The handoff point is wherever you want it, and it can change booking by booking. The goal is that you keep the parts of trip planning you enjoy and hand me the parts you don't. Whatever you hand off, you still see every option and path I'm researching, and what each part of the trip costs.

  • A few trips at a time, so nothing gets rushed. If I'm full, I'll tell you.
  • If you can do better booking somewhere else, I'll say so. Rental cars are the usual example: Costco Travel or Expedia is often cheaper.
  • No minimums, and no pressure to book anything through me.
1

Research

We start with research: the route, where to stay, how to get between places. You get it back as a Google Doc. You can stop there and book everything yourself.

Research is the core of what I do. It's a flat fee per trip, quoted before we start, and it covers a set number of hours.

Simple trip A weekend in Bermuda, or a road trip with a few hotels
$150 up to 3 hours
Bigger trip A week in Portugal, three stops and a rental car
$300 up to 6 hours
Anything bigger Many stops and border crossings, or a destination that's still undecided
Quoted 6+ hours

If your trip needs more time than the quote covers, I'll tell you before going past it. Extra hours are $50 each.

If you book enough of the trip through me, the bookings cover my time and I waive the fee. That's about $1,500 in bookings for a simple trip, $3,000 for a bigger one. I'll tell you the exact line when I quote it.

For trips quoted before December 31, 2026, the fee is waived for everyone. I'll still quote it so you know what the research is worth. Hours beyond the quote are still billed.

2

Booking

Once we know the shape of the trip, we pick how to book each piece. Sometimes that's through me: I'm an independent advisor with Fora Travel, which gets my clients preferred-partner perks through programs like Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred and Rosewood Elite. That usually means breakfast, a resort credit, late checkout, and an upgrade when one is available, often at the same rate as booking direct.

Same hotel, better stay.

In a lot of destinations the best local operators (private guides, drivers, on-the-ground help) only take bookings through advisors. The industry calls them destination management companies, and on a complicated trip they're often what keeps everything running smoothly.

Sometimes the research turns up a cheaper path, like booking direct, a rental apartment or a rail pass. Those pay me little or nothing, and a lot of my clients have picked them.

When you do book through me, the hotel or provider pays me a commission.

3

While you travel

Your itinerary and travel documents go on a private trip page. Open it on the web, or add it to your phone's home screen. Travel companions can follow along with a shared link, no account needed.

I keep adding to it: flight status, weather, time-zone differences, and anything else I can think of that makes traveling easier. Building it scratches my software development itch.

The Cuernos del Paine above Lago Pehoé, Torres del Paine, Chile

Get in touch

Tell me what you're thinking about, even if it's just "we want to go somewhere warm in February." You don't need dates or a destination yet. I'll get back to you within a day.