Tailor-Made Travel at Traveloso
Every journey should be extraordinary and every life well-travelled, effuses Helen Flanagan.
Creating a seamless blend of thoughtful planning, highly personalised and inspiring travel experiences around the globe, is undoubtedly in the DNA of the luxury travel design team at Traveloso. Whether uncovering lesser-known destinations or reimagining iconic landmarks with fresh perspectives, the team is well versed in the fine art of taking aspirations, noting specific needs, designing something very special, delivering an experience that’s entirely tailor made, and always truly memorable. Australian-born Traveloso owner Anthony Lee spent eight years living in England, Netherlands and Germany, before the former investment analyst made a 180-degree about-turn.
“I talked mainly about travel rather than investment to clients, so it was clearly time to move on,” he said.
“I love to help transform clients’ lives through travel.
“It is exciting; thrills all the senses; changes the way we think about the world, about ourselves; and of course, there is the all-important lifetime memories that are made.”
When asked about his favourite destinations, he nominates Patagonia in Argentina and Chile.
“It’s a phenomenal place with vast windswept plains rising up to jagged peaks,” he said. It’s nature’s raw untamed beauty that Anthony finds captivating, reminiscent of the magic he experienced on a Silversea cruise watching Montgomery Reef emerge from high tide revealing cascading waterfalls.”
Travel Designer Jess Munday was born and raised in Hawaii, attended university in Los Angeles, studied TV production, and travelled the world working on 25 seasons of US reality show Survivor. Jess attributes the magnetism of the travel industry to her late grandmother.
“In the Sixties my grandmother answered phone calls at her local travel agency helping people plan their trips to far-off places,” Jess recalls. “Eventually she became restless, so decided to become a tour guide to experience the world for herself. One of her favourite tours was Tikal in Guatemala, also walking amongst the Terra Cotta warriors in China before they were off-limits to the general public.”
Jess followed in the footsteps of her grandmother to visit Tikal as well as the colourful village of Antiqua in Guatemala, one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial cities in Central America. Among other highlights from her days filming Survivor, Jess recalls working with animal handlers to rehome an anaconda while on location in Tocantins, Brazil but the ultimate experience came during a reward segment of the show when filming in China.
“I joined three contestants who had won a trip on a Learjet to experience a local feast plus an overnight stay under the stars on a secluded part of the Great Wall of China,” she said. “Seeing the fog roll along the wall at night was absolutely unforgettable.”
Equally amazing was ‘meeting’ gorillas at the Loango Safari in Gabon, visiting Jellyfish Lake in Palau, and volcano sandboarding at Cerro Negro in Nicaragua where she had to dress in a bright orange hazmat-type suit to keep the black volcanic rocks from ripping the skin off her legs. I guess amazing experiences aren’t always glamorous!
Travel Designer Tess Foxwood, originally from Arnhem in the Netherlands, lived in Africa’s Sudan as a child, the UK in her 20s, and has called Australia home since 2007.
“What’s not to love about working in travel where designing itineraries for clients takes you on a ‘virtual holiday’ every day?” says Tess who has been in the industry for 12 years, has a serious passion for travel and exploring new destinations; and has visited 64 countries.
“My favourite destination is Japan, where I have visited now three times and plan to see more of in the coming years,” she said. “The food is delicious and indulgent; the people are incredibly friendly and helpful; the snow is like nowhere else I’ve been to; and Tokyo is fascinating and easy to navigate.
“As an avid researcher, I’m always on the hunt for hidden gems and checking out the latest travel trends to assist and connect clients with their perfect – albeit unique – travel experience.
“I am highly organised and efficient, ensuring seamless planning and execution every step of the journey.
“My favourite holiday is a wildlife safari. I’ve explored Tanzania’s game reserves in depth, gone gorilla trekking in Uganda, lemur spotting in Madagascar, and discovered amazing fauna in Costa Rica, Borneo and Sri Lanka.
Each destination offers a variety of wildlife encounters mixed with local culture and food. You can combine that with relaxation at some of the world’s most idyllic beaches and resorts.”
Traveloso delivers luxury, tailored personalised experiences domestically and around the globe with the client’s experiences always top-of-mind.
“Our focus is on small ship cruises such as expeditions ships, exclusive small group tours, indulgent self-drive tours, and generally no cruises we offer will have more than 500 passengers,” he says. “Currently we’re loving the Arctic, Greenland and Antarctic, also Europe however it’s more about delivering on experiences we know intimately, and special destinations not generally visited.
“We offer different locations to our clients, find out places they’ve been and liked, but up the tempo. For example, Tuscany is often a favourite but how about a food and wine discovery in the hilly Langhe region of Piedmont?
“If someone has a penchant for the Swiss lakes around Lucerne, why not consider a self-drive itinerary in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, staying in a castle, dining at Michelin-star restaurants and maybe taking a guided hike up the mountains.”
Trusted partnerships are the secret ingredient to Traveloso’s seamless, top-tier travel planning. That’s why Anthony recently travelled to Paris, where he sat down with numerous luxury hotels, including the Ritz Paris team, to chat about exclusive perks for Traveloso clients. The Lighthouse in Traveloso’s logo is symbolic of the ethos of the business and for Anthony, it means everything.
“A lighthouse shines a light on the path ahead; it offers safety as well as a path previously unseen,” he says.
“This is why we are so effective in business by guiding clients to great places, perhaps never considered previously. With friendly and super knowledgeable interpersonal communication, the frustrations and foibles of people attempting their own itineraries, with disappointing and often costly results, are avoided.
“Every journey should be extraordinary and truly memorable.”
