Last week, I’d shared some of the wonderful “feet on the ground” experts I have access to as a Virtuoso travel advisor. See https://lushlife.ca/im-a-virtuoso-let-me-vip-you/
This week, I thought I’d tell you a bit about the wonderful safari and expedition partners I work with.
As a Virtuoso travel advisor, I leverage my connections around the world to ensure you have the best possible experience. I invest in my education, build relationships with travel partners, and travel the world to ensure I understand the who/ what/ where/ how/ why that my clients are researching and wanting to travel; so I can leverage my relationships, skills, and knowledge to benefit you.
I have some terrific partners I work with for safari and expedition holidays – and because those are not the kind of holidays you book online, it’s important you know that you’re working with the best-of-the-best who are experienced at what they do, who have the ground relationships in country to not only help create the best type of holiday for you, and curate your travel experiences; but they also have the experiences to ensure things run smoothly, as well as the relationships to pull on if things do go awry so they can fix things quickly.
I do a lot of customized and bespoke trips for clients. For safaris – that involves working with folks like Big Five Tours, who have a focus on sustainable tourism and a Virtuoso winner for that work; African Travel, who do a lot of work with Me to We; Micato Safaris, who win Travel & Leisure awards; as well as Abercrombie & Kent; and others.
For expedition trips – that involves working with folks like Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic Expeditions, National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures, Quark Expeditions, Silversea Expeditions, and Natural Habitat.
I work with a client to find out what is best for them – and we do work upfront to figure out how you like to travel, what experiences have you had in the past, what memories are you looking to bring home for this trip, are you an active learner, do you have mobility issues, do you like a scientific focus, do you want pure pampering, do you want to maximize the animal count over the thread sheet count (or vice-versa); and then I work with you to ensure I’m building the right trip for you. All of my partners for safari and expedition have different skills and experiences – so I make sure your interests are always put first, and I make sure we’re building the trip that’s right for you.
For example, if you want to foster an orphan elephant, and then go visit the elephant orphanage, with an experience that’s built just for you; then I might work with Big Five Tours to ensure you are having the right experience built for you. If you want comfort and travel in a small group with a trip that was build by BBC Earth, then I might work with Tauck Tours to ensure you are on the right experience for you.
Another example, if you want to see the Galapagos with a company that’s been going for over 50 years, and you want to learn from certified National Geographic photographers; then I might work with Lindblad Expeditions to ensure you are on one of their ships to go to the Galapagos. If you want comfort, and want to see the Galapagos and try some expeditions in a zodiak, but you’re not sure you want to abandon your butler and creature comforts, then I might work with Silversea Expeditions to take you to the Galapagos.
It’s all about what you want. And it’s all about leveraging my relationships and experiences to make your travel around the world easier and better.
Let me know if you’d like to chat.
613-837-0699