Katie Hensel

(15 reviews)

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15 Reviews | 100% Recommended

Hello! I am in the process of moving to the UK from the US, and will not be accepting projects with new travelers until we are settled in our new home. I anticipate being ready to meet and help you in September 2023. Thank you for your patience.

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Agency

Protravel International Michigan

Destinations

Cape Town, Versailles, Paris, Lisbon, Sydney

SPECIALTIES

Multi-Generational Travel , Family Vacations, Eco-Tourism, Animals & Wildlife, Michelin Restaurants

Katie Hensel

Ada, Michigan Travel Agent

Family and Multi-Generation Travel Specialist

Sainte Chappelle with my family, Paris 2019

Ever since I studied abroad in Santiago, Chile in college, I have loved traveling. Exploring new places, meeting new people, trying new foods and learning about different cultures – travel has shaped who I am and greatly impacted the way I view the world. Since then, I’ve visited almost 30 countries on six continents (and the list continues to grow), learning two new languages along the way!

Now, my husband and I have made it a goal to share as much of the world and its people with our two children. Our hope is that it gives them an understanding that we are all more alike than we are different, and that there are so many ways that life can look.We’ve been able to travel to five continents with them so far, and have seen the amazing impact that travel has had on their lives already: they are open to new things, adapt to changing circumstances, and are optimistic and welcoming to other ideas and cultures. I truly believe that travel is key to creating a better world, and a brighter future.

I know traveling can be daunting, so no matter where you are in your travel journey, my goal is to help you and your loved ones explore this beautiful world in a way that works for you. If you’ve been dreaming of an international adventure, I want to help you make it come true.

I've traveled solo, with my husband, with my kids, and with my parents and siblings, so I'm no stranger to the complexities of traveling with lots of different goals and personalities. I believe that any trip to any destination ca be successful as long as goals and expectations are clearly communicated and established ahead of time, and everyone is willing to listen and be open to new experiences.

So, let's get create some memories that you'll remember for a lifetime!

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Reviews

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Amanda - Madison, WI | Traveled to Europe

Best trip, best travel planner!

Having Katie plan this trip was the best decision we made! She made traveling easy and I'm confident that we wouldn't have had such a great experience without her. She really listens to what you're looking to get from your trip and plans accordingly.

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much, Amanda and Tim! It was a joy to work with you, and I'm so happy you felt confident and heard as far as what you were hoping to get out this trip. I would love to help you with any adventure in the future as well.

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Sarah B - Verona, WI | Traveled to Norway ~ Europe

Father/Daughters Trip

This is the second trip Katie has planned for me, but my first with this group of people. She considered everyone's objectives, interests, and physical abilities and came up with an itinerary that exceeded all of our asks and gave us a trip to remember! Over and over my dad mentioned how happy he was we got to take this trip together and how seamless all of the travel (and we did a lot of it) was--this is thanks to Katie!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Hi Sarah - this makes me so happy to hear! I am so grateful to have helped make this trip a reality for you all, and would love to do so again. Thanks for making it such a wonderful experience to help you plan.

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Kristen - Madison, Wi | Traveled to Norway ~ Europe

Travel Made Easy!

Katie was quick to answer any questions I have before the trip, and the itinerary she provided was referenced everyday during the trip! I love organization and having all documents we needed in one place was super helpful. She also helped my husband plan a surprise for me, which was shocking and appreciated!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much for this great review, Kristen! I truly appreciated and loved working with you all and would be honored to work with you again in the future.

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0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Sconnies - Verona, WI | Traveled to Australia & New Zealand

Amazing Trip Down Under

Easy, great advice, great value, available for mid-trip question. Will definitely keep Katie in our trusted advisors pool!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

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0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By The Guenther Family - Mount Horeb, WI | Traveled to Europe

Amazing once in a lifetime trip!

We loved having Katie’s help! We had never traveled to Europe before. She was able to help us organize and identify some great locations and provide us with an itinerary that fit all of our interests. We appreciated that she took the time to know our personalities and interests and then used this to craft an itinerary specific for our family of five!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you, Kim and family, for trusting me with this big first trip! You were a great famly to work with and I would love to help you again any time in the future.

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0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Megan and Kevin - Madison, WI | Traveled to Italy ~ Europe

Family trip to Italy

Katie was a great resource for planning our two week trip to Italy! She had a wonderfully refreshing positive attitude towards planning the trip and really listened to what we wanted out of the trip when planning it.

Katie's personal travel experience was valuable in planning a trip to the Umbria region of Italy which our family greatly enjoyed. She paid attention to all the details like car rental returns, checking luggage at a hotel early and relaxing days at the beach or pool for us and our kids to recharge. I would highly recommend her travel services!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much Megan for that great feedback! I am so happy your family had a wonderful trip to Italy and that it was exactly what you were looking for. Happy to help you all any time in the future.

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0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Heidi - Verona, WI | Traveled to Netherlands ~ Europe

Fantastic European Recommendations

Katie was so helpful planning our trip to The Netherlands and Denmark. She really understood what was important to us and made sure to incorporate those items into each piece of the trip. In particular, she had some great kid-friendly recommendations and made sure to work around our normal wake-up/sleep schedule. Not only did she book some great excursions for us, but she had some nice recommendations of things to do in between those excursions. I would say more often than not we went with her recommendations and had a great time! It was a wonderful trip!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you for this great feedback, Heidi! I am so glad that your trip went well and that your daughter had a great time, too! I would be honored to help you any time in the future.

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0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Damon - Madison, WI | Traveled to Portugal ~ Europe

Portugese Wine Adventure

Katie's great! We changed destinations halfway through and she just rolled with it. Her recommendations were amazing and things we'd never have found on our own. We've already referred friends to her!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you, Damon and Lorie! It was a pleasure to help you both on this adventure - I'm so glad you had a great time, and I would be honored to help you on any trips in the future.

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0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Rene Huston - Middleton, WI | Traveled to Paris ~ France ~ Europe

Most memorable trip ever!

Katie helped us create one of the best family vacations ever. Her extensive knowledge of France was so helpful in deciding what things we wanted to experience. She prepared us with a really organized agenda so we never felt uncertain or confused.

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much for this wonderful review, Rene! I am so glad that your family had an amazing time and enjoyed your experiences in France. I would love to work with you again any time.

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By CLF - Madison, WI | Traveled to Europe

Epic 10th and 50th Birthday Celebration

Katie was prompt in her responses, and followed through on everything seamlessly. Very thoughtful of our needs and wants for our trip. Her suggestions for itinerary and everything in between made it a trip of a lifetime!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much, Chris! This means a lot to me, and it was a joy to work with you on this trip.

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2 of 4 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Inna - Madison, WI | Traveled to Mexico

First International Family Trip

This was our first international trip with children. We were looking for something simple and stress-free. Katie was able to work her magic and present us with a few options. Moreover, she very thoughtfully explained the pros and cons of each and was extremely helpful in guiding me to book the fun spring break for my family. Lots of great memories made!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much, Inna! I am so happy that you and your family had a great experience on your first trip outside the US. Help people make memories as a family is my favorite part of this job, and I would love to help you again in the future.

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Jackie - Sun Prairie, WI | Traveled to Ilheus ~ Brazil ~ South America

Relaxing international trip with 2 kids

Katie took care of our flights, car rental, and resort options - all the not fun stuff. Then she provided us with a great list of fun things we could do, which allowed me to get excited about the trip instead of worrying about the travel part on either end. As a traveling mom herself, she had great advice on how to get through the flights with minimal stress. We had a wonderful time on our trip - the hardest part has been explaining to our kids why we can't immediately repeat it!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much for this great review, Jackie! It was an honor and privilege to work with your family for such a special occasion, and I'm so glad your first big international trip with kids was a success! I would love to help you guys again any time.

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By MG - New Glarus, Wi | Traveled to Orlando ~ Florida ~ USA

Disney

Katie took all the guesswork out of planning our Disney trip. She had great suggestions and gave us the best tips on how to get the most out of Disney.

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much for the review, Martha! It warms my heart to know that this helped you on your trip. I hope you had a great time and made tons of memories as a family! So happy to help.

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1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Mary - Madison, WI | Traveled to Sydney ~ Australia ~ Australia & New Zealand

Stress-free travel planning for an amazing trip!

I'd never worked with a travel agent before and was nervous about the process and the "hidden" costs I thought there would be. Katie was wonderful to work with, extremely clear and upfront about her rate. She was always patient and responsive when I had questions. She heard the goals of my family trip (location, activity level, budget, etc) and gave perfect choices for us to do - and booked them when we were ready! I would highly recommend Katie for any travel plans you have -I will definitely use her services again for my next travel experience!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Katie Hensel responded:Thank you so much, Mary! I am SO very glad that your trip was just what you were hoping for. I would absolutely love to work with you again, and thank you for your wonderful feedback.

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1 of 3 people found this review helpful

Reviewed By Jim and Linda - Greendale, WI | Traveled to Europe

Europe Trip 2023

Katie helped us with our European vacation from the beginning planning thru the trip itself and it was a First Class experience! Highlights:
+ She planned our accommodations which were very nice and fairly priced.
+ She organized our airfare on a great airline with times that worked great and a fair price. On the return trip the airline switched planes. Katie helped us thru that and we were even upgraded to business class-no charge, awesome.
+ Katie organized our itinerary with an awesome spreadsheet and helped us to not overbook ourselves which we found out during our trip was very sage advice.
+ She was on top of everything for us and reachable at all times. We would most certainly recommend Katie as a travel advisor to anyone! She will definitely be helping us again!

I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

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