Nation

4.30.08

Zicasso

When planning an overseas vacation, you can either get a translator to deal with the entrenched local specialist, or go to the down-the-street travel agent who's only crossed the Ohio border to get booze on Sundays. Or, get Zicasso to round up those in the local know for you.

Zicasso lets prospective globetrotters dictate their dream trip, then farms out the specs to regional specialists (over 100+, including Swaziland!), who in turn pitch back packages. To start, punch in your basics (destination, departure, duration), services you require (e.g., transportation, guided tours), star-level/type of hotel, general activities, and total budget per traveler, then write in anything you want to see/do ("enjoy the authentic local culture"), plus things "you do NOT want to do" ("enjoy the authentic local bathrooms"). In a couple days, you'll receive different bespoke trips from up to three companies, with all the details and pricing laid out; you can initiate a back-and-forth to iron out details, then pull the trigger on a package, but up to that point you're never locked in -- while there's no such thing as a free lunch, apparently there are people who'll plan expensive ones at no charge.

Going to cred, each of the partner travel companies gets an info page highlighting their specialties, and Zicasso also catalogs past users' ratings and reviews of planners -- so you know who's legit, and whose knowledge ends at where to get Everclear on the Lord's day.

Let people take care of planning your mega-trip for you, at Zicasso.com