I Spent My Whole Life Saying I Didn’t Like Escargot (And Why That Has Everything to Do With How You Feel About Travel Planning)

For most of my life, I was convinced I didn’t like escargot.

Not because I had tried it and hated it. Not because I had a bad experience.

I just… decided.

Snails felt like one of those things that belonged to other people. People who were more adventurous, who ordered confidently without asking 1 million questions, you know... people who knew what they were doing.

So I skipped over it. Every time. Without even really thinking about it.

Until our most recent trip to Mexico.

The evening came and so did our dinner reservation to the French restaurant on property. The menu was placed in my hands, my drink order taken, and there it was again... staring me down, daring me to notice: escargot.

But this time, instead of brushing past it like I always had, I paused.

I read about how it would be served. (Full disclosure- I googled how to even get them out of their shells.) I trusted the setting, the chef, and the experience.

I tried it.

And here’s the part that surprised me:

I loved it.

Like, actually loved it.

Not because I suddenly became a different person, not because I’d forced myself to like something just to say I did. But because I realized something important in that moment:

I didn’t dislike escargot. I just had never experienced it in the right context.

And once that clicked, I couldn’t unsee the parallel.

I see this happen all the time with travel. People will tell me they’re “not really planners.” Or that using a travel advisor “probably isn’t for them.” Or that they’ll just figure it out on their own like they always do. And usually, it’s not because they’ve had a bad experience.

It’s because they’ve never had a supported one.

They’ve only known travel as something rushed and overwhelming.

Too many choices. Too many opinions. Too much pressure to get it right.

So they assume that’s just how it always is.

But what they’re really reacting to isn’t travel planning. It’s the lack of guidance.

Here’s what I know to be true after doing this for a few years now:

Most people don’t hate the thing they think they hate. They hate doing it alone. They hate guessing. They hate feeling like one wrong decision will ruin the whole experience.

When you have someone in your corner: someone who knows the landscape, asks the right questions, and helps you slow down and make meaningful decisions... everything changes.

Suddenly the experience feels intentional, grounded and enjoyable.

Kind of like trying escargot in the right restaurant, on the right night, with the right expectations.

I don’t work with clients to push them toward a specific destination or resort.

I work with them to create the conditions for a good experience.

To narrow the noise and point to what actually matters. To take the mental load off their plate so they can show up without anxiety.

And more often than not, what they discover isn’t a new place — it’s a new way of experiencing travel altogether.

Sometimes the thing standing between you and a really beautiful experience isn’t taste or preference.

It’s context.

It’s timing. It’s trust. And having someone beside you saying, “I got you girl. Let’s do this the right way!”

I spent years skipping over escargot because I thought I knew how I felt about it.

Turns out, I just hadn’t given it a fair shot.

And I see the same thing happen with travel every single day.

xo,

Morgan

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