“I don’t do groups!”

Sept 13, 2019  |  Ellen Gruetzmacher

Back before fire, I traveled around Europe armed with only my Eurail Pass, backpack, passport, and a wad of travelers checks (yeah, I told you it was a LONG time ago!). I fashioned myself a free spirit, destined to travel solo and live the life of a backpacker. I stayed in hostels, be-friended other solo travelers, and visited 11 countries over the span of three and a half months. I never once made plans and did everything on a whim – sometimes making for some interesting sleeping arrangements! I vowed I would ALWAYS travel solo (or with a partner) and ALWAYS as a traveler, never a tourist.

Fast forward 35 years to a whole, new way of being – and traveling. In my mature years, I’ve come to realize a few things: while it’d be great to travel for 3 1/2 months, it’s just not realistic; It’s much more fun to share the experience with others, rather than travel solo; and it’s soooo much easier and stress-free to have someone else – an expert – handle all the details!

For most of us, it takes A LOT of planning to be able to get away on a vacation – working overtime to get those tasks handled in advance of our absence and arranging house sitters, kennels, and mail holds. Heck, just getting packed and to the airport on time is stressful enough! Then to endure a lengthy flight in cramped seats is absolutely exhausting. So, to get off the plane, make it through customs and baggage claim and be greeted by a driver holding a sign with your name on it is absolute magic!

In the travel industry we are fortunate enough to visit destinations to scout them out as potential places to bring groups. These “fam trips” (as we say in the biz) provide us an opportunity to, from start to finish, experience the destination as a potential client of ours would. We travel as a group – generally about 10-14 of us. We are picked up at the airport, ushered from attraction to attraction, wined and dined, and stay at lovely hotels. We are shown the best that the destination has to offer. It often serves as a template from which to plan our own travel journeys.

WOW! Travel Club adventures are like fam trips – on steroids! Hang in there with me as I sing the praises of, yep, you guessed it – organized, group travel! As much as my 21 year old self would be rolling her eyes and shaking her head, my older self is saying, SIGN ME UP!

Eliminate the stress!
All you need to do is choose the destination, pick out some fun clothes to pack, and leave the rest to us. Howard and Gabriel will help you choose the best flight options, while Marilyn and the WOW! Travel team have all the other details covered! It really is that easy. Your flights will be monitored, you’ll be picked up at the airport upon your arrival and every detail of your trip – from start to finish – will be executed with the goal of providing you with life-changing, memorable experiences.

You’re in good hands.
Collectively, the WOW! Travel team has almost 100 years of travel industry experience – jeez we sound old! But along with all those years of experience comes fabulous supplier connections, intimate expertise with each destination, and tons of creative ideas we’ve either done, seen, or dreamt-up over the years. We truly are experts in our industry – and you’ll realize it the moment you book a trip with us.

You’ll travel with friends.
Nothing warms our hearts more than seeing friendships form over the course of a journey. Our travelers start as newcomers, but quickly become fast friends. And because we curate such amazing experiences, we get a pretty good chunk of repeats (we lovingly call them “Wowee’s”!). It’s not uncommon for our travelers to sign-up for trips with other Wowee’s, knowing they’ll have a fabulous time.

No grumps or prima donnas.
We ask that all of our travelers read and agree to the WOW! Vows to ensure that everyone who travels with us KNOWS the importance of attitude and what’s expected on our journeys. We know you don’t want to travel with unhappy people and neither do we! The WOW! Travel Club truly seems to attract the best – culturally curious, respectful, responsible, welcoming, and fun-loving travelers.

It’s personal.
Every journey is loosely scripted. We’re not a big travel conglomerate with a catalog of back-to-back-to-back trips. We offer about a half-dozen carefully-chosen journeys every year. You’re a name – never a reservation code. And WOW! journeys are always escorted by one of the WOW! team. You’re never handed off to an independent contractor.

We are responsible global citizens.
We try our hardest to make a positive impact on this world. We travel responsibly and sustainably, leaving a place better than we found it. Whenever possible, we add a philanthropic component to our itineraries – educating our travelers and connecting with local nonprofits along the way.

We are group travel for people who don’t like group travel.
“I don’t do groups,” may have been your mantra, but I guarantee that one trip with WOW! Travel and you will never utter those words again! Most people hate traveling in a pack – they like to feel that they are not locked into a rigid program and can enjoy the sights as a traveler, not a tourist… and we agree! Thats why we keep the WOW! groups small – averaging around 16 people. We give you plenty of free time to explore independently. And, we ALWAYS try and experience a destination as a traveler, not a tourist. We avoid the typical tourist traps and do it a bit different. We go beneath the surface to uncover a destination’s true treasures.

All the bells and whistles.
Because we have so many inside connections and because we’ve done and seen it done differently, we offer an experience like no other. We offer behind-the-scenes visits, after-hours tours, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And because of our connections and years in the biz, we have a little pull.

Like recently when our very own Gabriel Haigazian celebrated his 50th birthday with a Croatian cruise for family and friends. At an unscheduled swim stop – yes, we can do that when we’re chartering the yacht – the staff brought out Rose’ and served it to the guests in the water! I mean, really? Who gets a glass of wine served while floating in a giant pink flamingo? We do!