How it works
Custom trip planning is usually a black box: vague promises, hidden fees, "trust us." We'd rather show you the whole machine — the steps, the timelines, and what it costs — before you tell us anything.
Fill out the form below or just call. We'll talk about the trip you're imagining and — more importantly — your experience: certification level and logged dives, hours in the saddle per week, the longest trek you've carried a pack on. We ask because the trip gets built around the honest answer, and because a trip one level too hard is miserable while a trip one level too easy is forgettable.
You hear back within one business day. Always.
You get two or three route options at different intensities, each with a real, line-item price — the boat, the guide, the lodge, the internal flight, no markup from us. Named operators, named seasons, honest effort ratings. If the month you picked is the wrong month for the place, we'll say so and show you the right one.
We tune the route, swap operators, stretch or compress days, and run the fitness-and-risk check: prerequisites, insurance requirements, buffer days where weather can rewrite the plan. Nothing is booked until you've seen every term in writing.
Every supplier, deposit, permit, and transfer. Deposits typically run 25% at booking with the balance due 60–90 days before departure — it varies by operator, and you'll have the exact schedule in writing before you pay anything. Then your pre-departure pack arrives: gear list, training notes, evacuation plan, guide profiles, and who to call at 2 AM.
While you're out there, your advisor — the same one from the first call — is reachable by phone and WhatsApp. Grounded floatplane, blown-out swell, missed connection in Jakarta: our phone rings, we re-route, you keep going.
The money, plainly
There is no planning fee. The discovery call, the concept itineraries, the research, the booking work, the on-call support while you travel — none of it costs you anything. We earn commission from the operators, boats, and lodges we book, at no markup to you: you pay the same rate as booking direct, and with Virtuoso suppliers often less once the perks are counted.
One revenue stream, fully on the table. The honest question to ask a commission-paid advisor is whether we steer you toward whoever pays us most. Our answer: commission rates are broadly similar across the operators we vet, and when the right operator for you pays us less — or nothing — we'll tell you about them anyway and say so out loud. A referral after a great trip is worth more to us than any single booking.
Classic trips work the same way. A cruise, a resort week, a honeymoon — the supplier commission covers us, and our Virtuoso affiliation gets you the upgrades, credits, and early check-ins you can't get booking direct.
Cancellation terms in plain English. Every quote states the operator's cancellation and refund schedule in specific language — "full refund if you cancel 60+ days before departure," not "flexible cancellation." We'll also tell you which trips genuinely need cancel-for-any-reason insurance, and which don't.
Why not just book direct? You can — and for a weekend at a bike park, you should. You hire us when the trip has four-plus moving suppliers, a no-fly window after your last dive, a floatplane that weather can ground, or a berth that sells out 14 months ahead. One plan, one accountable human, one phone number when day six goes sideways — and since the operators pay us, it costs you nothing extra.
Start planning
The more you tell us about your experience, the better the first concept will be. Rough answers are fine — "somewhere with sharks, next winter, we're AOW divers" is a great brief.
Rather just talk?
(360) 504-8397
sales@cannonexpeditions.com
Mon–Fri, 9 AM–6 PM PT. Replies within one business day.