2025 January newsletter
Happy New Year! 2024 was a busy and exciting year here at Exploring Europe. I spent 189 days in Europe, leading tours and exploring new destinations. My team of tour guides spent an additional 220 days helping our groups and leading tours. Throughout 2024, we hosted several hundred travelers on 31 tour routes, touching almost every corner of Europe. It was a busy year with lots of planning, office hours, making new friends, reuniting with others, and making a lifetime of wonderful memories along the way.
As usual, the next three months are filled with tour planning, writing, and selling our Exploring Europe tours at travel events throughout the United States. You’ll find us in Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., standing at our booth, sharing our travels and love of Europe with thousands of people.
This year is looking good for us, too. We’ve planned 27 unique tour routes throughout Europe. And, for the first time ever, we are venturing beyond Europe. Charlotte often jokes that I’ll be leading tours when I’m 90 years old, encouraging my group to “move along; it’s just another 10-minute walk.” But as I grow older, I realize we all are given a finite number of days here on this Earth, so we’d better experience all we can while we can.
Exploring Beyond Europe is kicking off this year in Tanzania with a Serengeti Safari tour in August. This tour is sold out for 2025, but a few seats are available for August 2026. Check out the link below. I hope you’ll consider joining us “beyond” Europe!
Additionally, I am excited to share my new destinations in Europe. The Balkan Peninsula stretches south along the Adriatic Sea from Austria to Greece. Its people, places, and culture have shifted over the centuries, but its beauty and charm remain unchanged. Many have heard of the clear cruise waters of the Adriatic coast, but there is a lot more than beautiful waters and islands. Charlotte and I have invested a lot of time scouting and exploring destinations in the Balkans, and now we are prepared to expand our tour routes to this region of Europe. My Best of the Balkans and Authentic Balkans tours are going live in the next few weeks.
This month’s tour highlight:
Greece & London/Paris tours
Best of Greece & Santorini in 12 days
My Best of Greece & Santorini tour visits my favorite Greek mainland and island destinations. We begin in the countryside at Delphi, home of the ancient Oracle and her temples. After crossing the Bay of Corinth, we’ll spend several days on the Pelopenes Peninsula, visiting ancient temples, worship sites, historic cities, and theatres. Hopping on a ferry, enjoy a short ride to traffic-free Hydra Island for two days of relaxation. Then it is off to Athens, where we’ll dedicate the better part of two days to exploring this capital city. Finally, we will hop on a short flight to Santorini, home of white-washed villages on an ancient volcano caldera. My Best of Greece & Santorini tour provides the perfect mix of sightseeing, education, and relaxation.
Best of Greece in 9 days
My Best of Greece tour weaves my favorite Greek destinations into this itinerary. We begin in the countryside at Delphi, home of the ancient Oracle and her temples. After crossing the Bay of Corinth, we’ll spend several days on the Pelopenes Peninsula, visiting ancient temples, worship sites, historic cities, and theatres. Hopping on a ferry, enjoy a short ride to traffic-free Hydra Island for two days of relaxation. Then it is off to Athens, where we’ll dedicate the better part of two days to exploring this capital city. My Best of Greece tour provides the perfect mix of sightseeing, education, and relaxation.
Best of London & Paris in 9 days
The Best of London and Paris tour provides an opportunity to settle in and experience two of Europe’s major capital cities. London presents a relatively stress-free introduction with non-stop flights from North America, almost no language barrier, and easy transportation. All this, coupled with our comprehensive itinerary and an opportunity to experience some of the best theatre in the world, makes London a perfect beginning to this tour. The EuroStar high-speed train will zip you from London to Paris in less than three hours. In Paris, we’ve included all the major tourist sights and must-see attractions, but there is also plenty of time to slow down and enjoy the City of Light!
Christmas Markets in Europe
Christmas Markets in Europe abound during the last six weeks of the year. These outdoor markets feature unique decorations, beautifully handcrafted arts, endless opportunities to sample great food, and countless varieties of glüwein, punch, and spiced drinks, served piping hot in souvenir mugs.
But there is more to these tours than snow-sprinkled markets! You’ll enjoy visiting many destinations that, in the busy tourist season, are packed shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty tourists. Traveling “off-season” means easier access to castles and sights, attractions, and festive markets. The weather, although chilly, contributes to the festive atmosphere. If you are looking for laid-back travel and off-the-beaten-path destinations, this is the best time to visit Europe’s winter wonderland destinations.
THREE CONTRASTING CHRISTMAS MARKETS TOURS
I developed my first Christmas Market tour years ago for my teacher friends. We were ready for the winter school holidays, and a festive trip to snowy Germany and Austria seemed to be a perfect escape from muggy Florida. Our tours in December became very popular, so much so that our alumni asked me to find other “Christmas” destinations.
During the pandemic, Charlotte and I found ourselves with flights booked to Germany but no tour passengers because we had to cancel our tours because most of Europe was shut down because of a resurgence of Covid-19. We flew to Munich anyway, rented a car, and began “Chasing Christmas.” Each morning, I’d research what countries, regions, and towns had Christmas festivities or, in some cases, were even letting tourists cross their borders. Then, we’d hop in the car and drive, sometimes for hours, in search of glüwein and holiday cheer. During those few weeks in 2021, I developed two more festive Christmas Market routes that we’ve continued to this day!
Coming online january 27th
Balkan tours and 2026 tour dates
David’s Latest Blog Post
ETA and ETIAS, Europe’s New Visa-Waiver Programs
There is a lot of talk and concern about new European and United Kingdom entry requirements for travelers. However, there is no need to worry and stress. The online application only takes a…
Travel Adventure Show Line-Up
If you plan on being in the Chicago area
February 1st and 2nd, drop by
booth 1727 at the Chicago Travel
and Adventure Show!
Dates and times:
Saturday, February 1: 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday, February 2: 11 am – 4 pm
Location:
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
(Hall F)
5555 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
Enjoy free entry as our VIP Guest!