What Is It & Who Is It For?
Explorer Dames is a travel service for women who want to travel, but might need a wing-woman/co-pilot to lean on to make it happen.
Maybe, you are single and find the idea of solo travel intimidating, or your partner simply is not able, willing, or interested in traveling the way that you are. Maybe, you’ve done the traditional pre-packaged “tours”, or traveled within large groups and found that it doesn’t quite fit with how you would prefer to travel. Perhaps, it’s that you feel intimidated, inexperienced, or even overwhelmed by the notion of traveling solo. Or, you might be completely comfortable with traveling to “easy” destinations, but are ready to try somewhere a little more exotic, or “off-the-beaten-path”, and just want some help.
How Does It Work?
I would be your travel coordinator, your photographer, your planner and fixer, your audience and your facilitator, but most crucially I will be your steadfast travel buddy! To be clear, I will be your travel buddy, NOT your tour guide. If you’d like local guides, we’ll hire them. Traveling with me means no forced itineraries, no pre-packaged travel, no set menus, and no rushing through something if you aren’t ready to move on. Instead, I will rely on our one-to-one collaboration and your input to put together the personalized trip that matches your interests. I want to help you travel the way you want to travel and experience places in the world as you would like to experience them. With your feedback, I then do all the cumbersome hard work that is involved with the logistics and planning of our trip.
It will be my mission to work out any location specific travel and COVID requirements, accommodations, safety concerns, packing recommendations, sightseeing options, scheduling of local guides, sorting out transportation and food options. You set the pace and the goals. We could go-go-go as much as you’d like, or simply take it slow and easy with days built in for rest and recuperation. Anything you might interested in doing (cooking classes, wine tours, hiking, attending sporting or cultural events, food tours, spas, noteworthy museums or historical sights, or even an off-the-wall experience like learning to drive a tuk-tuk in Sri Lanka) can be a possibility. In short, you need only sit back and enjoy the ride!
Where Would We Go?
Well, the short answer is wherever you want to go, within reason; and taking safety, feasibility and COVID restrictions into account.
Following an initial consultation and questionnaire, our trip would be 100% customizable and personalized to meet the level of comfort, budget, and activities you choose in a destination that makes sense for all of these things.
Of course, I’d be all to happy to take you to a place you otherwise might not have considered like…
… Hiking through some of the most hypnotizing and wildest mountain scenery in the world or have you fantasized about seeing a live tango show? Argentina it is! Sri Lanka to see blue whales in their natural habitat. Armenia, to get in touch with early Christianity! Georgia, to experience some of the best food you’ve never tasted in a land that also gave birth to wine! Turkey, where an epic ancient trek awaits and you stay in small villages along the Mediterranean coastline. Do you want to bask in hot springs? Hungary or….Mexico! Or float in a mud volcano and stroll through colorful off-the-beaten-path colonial towns? I’ll meet you in Colombia! Tanzania, to see zebras and giraffes gliding through an African savanna on safari. How about walking in the footsteps of Indiana Jones… Let’s go to Jordan…or Cambodia…or Peru! Or, if you just want to sit at an al fresco cafe with a glass of wine and take in the culture a charming street scene. Well, have you ever considered Moravia in Czechia? Or the tiny medieval town of Sighisoara, Romania?
Clearly the possibilities are endless… and I’m just getting warmed up with suggestions! With my knowledge and travel experience, I can help get you to a special destination that excites and thrills you, fits your budget, and lets you simply love travel. All, of the destinations I’ve just listed I’ve done… and more. Please browse through the Explorer Genes blog webpages to see more destinations I’ve visited.
When Would We Go?
The world is now opening up, which means I’m starting the process of booking trips for winter 2022 and 2023. In order to keep costs substantially lower and make the trip logistics easier, it would be best to book your destination in line with areas/regions I’m already considering venturing to. Please note, any upcoming trips with me need to be scheduled at least six months in advance of your expected departure date.
October 2022 — Spring 2023: Europe/Middle East/North Africa
Summer — Winter 2023: Central/South America/North America
2024: Asia/Australia/New Zealand
Domestic travels within the USA are also available as I will be visiting the States intermittently.
Could I Bring A Friend?
Of course! It’s your trip! However, at this time, as I’m just getting started, I will only take a maximum of three total ladies (plus me!)
Obviously, an advantage to bringing a friend is it cuts your costs if you share a room. Or, if you prefer your own space, that is fine too.
How Much Would It Cost?
Trips will start at $75-$100/day. That said, cost is very difficult to generalize since it will depend on many factors and it can also vary by personal preferences.
Some of variables can include: the destination, airfare, duration of trip, visa costs, your budgetary needs/constraints, accommodation preferences, if you want to bring a friend(s), if you want to share accommodation with me, or have your own space, and of course, your overall comfort level while traveling, and whether or not you are interested in luxury or might be willing to “rough it” to visit a more off-the-beaten-path destination. Please contact me for further information on cost estimates.
What Is The Process?
1. First step, express your interest to me by clicking the “contact me” button below and send me a message. I’ll then set up a virtual consultation with you. In this consultation, we will get to know one another more, and talk about your travel style, interests, preferences, and desires.
2. Then, following the consultation I will send you a series of questionnaires, which will further help me develop your ideal and customized travel itinerary. This will give you an opportunity to share things like energy level, thresholds for walking and using transportation options, medical needs, food/alcohol preferences, privacy needs, personality traits, accommodation preferences, budget preferences or goals, and will also help us narrow down the list of destination ideas, if you would like assistance in this area.
3. Next, I will develop and present you with 2-3 basic itineraries to consider. You will choose one that excites you the most. We will also discuss any feedback on the elements of the itinerary which you like and perhaps those you don’t like.
4. At this point, I will have all the info I need to create a detailed itinerary of your chosen destination. Once I have put it together we will then talk over any other changes you might like.
5. Lastly, officially planning your trip. I will need to charge you a deposit to cover the cost of any booking and reservation guarantee charges once we get to the final stage. Trip payment and any remittances associated to the trip will be due when the trip happens.
About Mandy
Oh by the way, you probably want to know who your travel buddy is. I’m Mandy Chase. And, for starters, cheers…because here I am in Eger, Hungary having the most delicious glass of wine of my life. Not even kidding. It cost $.56.
Wine aside, I’m 42-years-old and last lived in Portland, Oregon, USA, but have been nomadic with my husband Greg since July 2018. Professionally, I have 12 years experience in events and logistics. That said, I’m a planning nerd through and through.
I have also managed to travel to 59 countries and 5 continents. This includes solo travel, as well as a 16-month round-the-world journey on $50 a day for two people. I’ve been running a popular social media travel page with 4.7K followers and blog for seven years. I am also a certified yoga teacher, which I would be happy to incorporate into the trip if that interests you! Words to describe me are detailed-oriented, worldly, curious, independent, forward-thinking, safe, adaptable and of course fun-loving!
So, if you’re even a little bit intrigued, let’s chat! 🙂