A few weeks ago I was eating breakfast with my friend Sandy. When talk turned to travel, I quickly realized how skilled she was at sleuthing out great travel deals. “You should be a travel agent,” I told her. 

As it turns out, I’m not the first friend to have told her this. So, when Sandy admitted that she secretly harbored a desire to become an agent but had no idea how to get started, I offered to introduce her to respected Virtuoso travel advisor, Susan Kelly, owner/agent at Luxury Adventure Trips and my personal go-to gal for trip planning for the past fifteen years. 

Have you ever wondered what it would take to get started in a career as a travel agent? I asked Susan if she’d be willing to share with Sandy her thoughts on how, if she were starting today, she would go about it. In typically generous Susan style, she not only encouraged Sandy to go for it, but also allowed me to publish her insider tips and recommendations.

Luxury adventure travel advisor, Susan Kelly, on safari at Okonjima/Africat, Namibia.Editor’s note: What follows is an e-mailed reply by travel advisor, Susan Kelly, to a reader’s question about how to become a travel agent.