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No chatbot, no ticket number. Messages land with the person who'd end up writing your itinerary anyway.
Before you ask
The six we get every week.
If yours isn't here, send it over — the answer usually ends up on this list eventually.
Three to four months for December–March, which is peak season on the west and south coasts and when the good rooms go first. Six months if you want a specific tea bungalow or you're travelling over Christmas. Outside that window, six weeks is usually plenty — and we've put trips together in ten days when we had to.