Imagine waking up in your private cabin on a yacht anchored in a beautiful secluded bay in the remote Galapagos islands. Just like Charles Darwin. You look outside and immediately reach for your camera to catch an incredible close up shot of a blue-footed boobie perched on a rock. You can have this experience now, for less money than you might ever thought possible. Dramatic changes are taking place in the travel industry.

 

 

Tours and cruises used to be big groups travelling together. Today there's more choice. Small groups let you experience different places, do different things. (It is also highly competitive in certain destinations to have your own customised, private trip. See Hand Made tours below.)

 

In the Galapagos, for example, we have small ship cruises with 8 cabins, 16 passengers. The largest have only 25 cabins. Or you can stay on the islands with a land based program and your own guide. Or self guided.

But the Galapagos Islands are just one destination. There are hundreds more, just as awe inspiring. African safaris with 12 guests per group. European, Asian, Latin American cultural tours with 18 or less. Amazon river cruises and rainforest ecolodges. Birding and wildlife encounters in the Pantanal, Borneo, Australia, and polar trips. Small ship adventure cruises in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Adriatic with 25 cabins. River cruises and canal barge trips in France.

 

The list is long. How do you choose not only where, but with whom, will you travel?

 

 

Sometimes people have special interests or travel dates that that no pre-set group tour fits.

 

My special skill is in working with clients to provide more personalised experiences. While I sell packaged vacations like everyone else, I've arranged many independent self guided and privately guided tours and custom vacations (families, workshops, birding, photography, wildlife, music, educational, culture, history, food, agritours, active.)

 

 

You might be surprised to learn that these programs often cost less than set date group tours, depending on the trip and your interests. (Read full story here) 

 

 

I hear this a lot from people who are used to doing all their own travel. Before you discard the idea of a set group tour, read more here or watch the video below.

 

Things have changed a lot since days of packing 50 people around  20 countries in 10 days. I work with a small set of tour companies that break that mold completely with small groups of an average size of 12 passengers.

 

Or something more cushy? See this video from our handpicked luxury tour company.