Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary
Bring History to Life When You Travel
The author and her Italian host leaf through a family scrapbook. Photo: Florie Korani I’ve never been a fan of textbook-style history, full of names and dates. That’s why, when I travel, I love to meet people who make that dry version of history come to life—like the vivacious Alice, whom I recently met in Italy. She welcomed me into the home on Lake Como that has been in her family for 200 years.
I had come to Alice’s patio to taste the aromatic olive oil that she produces from trees that her ancestors planted generations ago. But afterward Alice showed me around her house and even pulled out an album of postcards that her great-grandfather mailed to his fiancée every day of their long-distance engagement. As we chatted, Alice revealed that I was standing in the same place where Mussolini spent his last night alive: After being captured while attempting to flee Italy, she explained, he was brought to this very home, spent a restless night within its walls, and was executed the following day.
Alice leads an olive-oil tasting on the patio of her family’s home, overlooking Lake Como. Photo: Florie Korani
Alice recounted her family’s brush with history quietly and respectfully, almost as an aside; it’s not mentioned on the website where she takes reservations for her olive oil workshops or immersive dining experiences. She didn’t seek notoriety but simply wished to convey the history of her 17th-century home.
So often, our travelers tell us how sensitively their private hosts and local guides share difficult episodes of their country’s history; the reviews below illustrate exactly that. Like so many of you, I travel so that I can learn from that history—but also to appreciate the cultures and traditions that have flourished despite such challenging circumstances. It’s the living connections to history that make both possible.
ENGLAND: “A brilliant guide used Jane Austen’s novels to explain how Bath led England in relaxing what was traditionally a rigid class system…”
The streets of London were enlivened by a guide’s literary knowledge and cultural insights. Photo: Ian Macpherson / Alamy
“We started our trip in Bath, where Karen arranged a walking tour with a charming and brilliant guide who used Jane Austen’s novels to explain how Bath led England in relaxing what was traditionally a rigid class system. We explored Georgian architecture (Bath is an architectural gem) and enjoyed afternoon tea.
In London, Karen arranged for a walking tour with A.J. West, a London author and historian who guided us via the Underground to the Bank Station and its section of London. There we admired the Bank of England, another architectural wonder, strolled through a Wren-designed church, through the ruins of a Roman amphitheater, through back alleys to the windows of Charles Dickens’ office where he wrote many of his novels, and to the bakery location and origin of the Great Fire that destroyed most of London in the late 17th century—all the while imagining and discussing what life was like in this bustling, smelly, dangerous, seedy and opulent center of life over the millennium.
Our final evening found us at the Charles Dickens Museum, which is the house he lived in while he wrote Oliver Twist. Here our guide used sex, gin and opium as metaphors to explain Victorian expectations, customs, mores and the social backdrop for Dickens’ novels. We were spellbound, so much so that we ordered many of Dickens’ novels from the taxi as we departed, and reread them with a much richer perspective of Victorian London.” —Jerry Smyth
This trip was arranged by a WOW List candidate. Here’s what that means.
VIETNAM: “These are the memories that stay with you for a lifetime…”
Traveler Milinda Martin rides with a farmer in Siem Reap, where water buffalo are used as draft animals.
“My uncle served and died in Vietnam in 1968 and I wanted to really understand the war with far greater context. Tu, my guide in Central Vietnam, introduced me to many locals who remembered the Tet Offensive, whose relatives served on both sides of the civil war, and who spoke of the good things that came out of that terrible time.
Ethan and Corban really delivered in providing outstanding guides who are now new friends. I went into their homes, met their families, and saw parts of their hometowns that are far off the tourist track. I loved Hanoi as seen through the eyes of my guide Long, and enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City with my new friend Thuy, including riding around on the back of her motorbike.
Si Len in Cambodia was charming and took me to many local villages to meet people and learn about their lives. We wove baskets and met textile weavers and visited farms. In Laos, Paan took me to her home to meet all of her relatives and prepare dinner plus meals for the monks at the local temple.
My favorite part of travel, aside from learning the history, is connecting with locals, and that really is the difference that Ethan’s company and Wendy Perrin provide. Whether it’s an outstanding guide who shares their life with you, or walks you through a village so you can meet a local farmer and spend time plowing their field with them, these are the memories that stay with you for a lifetime.” —Milinda Martin
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NORMANDY, FRANCE: “His knowledge of French history and WWII brought it to life for us…”
Arromanches Beach was a D-Day landing site in Normandy. Photo: Shutterstock
“Thank you for guiding us to Jay for our trip to Normandy. From the minute we arrived in France, everything worked seamlessly. Our guides in Normandy were superb! We’re giving a shout-out to Matthew, who gave us the history and took us to the American Cemetery. His knowledge of French history and WWII brought it to life for us. In addition, he is part of the group that is trying to identify Jewish soldiers who were long ago buried in mass graves, or, because they were told to remove dog tags or any other items that would mark them as Jewish, in graves that have crosses. The bodies can now be returned to their families or buried with a Magen David. Remarkable!
The WWII jeep trip with Amandine and Philip was extraordinary. Perhaps the most meaningful excursion we had with them was when we visited the British Cemetery. Surprising to us, German soldiers are also buried there. The British Cemetery is much smaller and less grand than the American Cemetery, but every bit as moving.
Thank you to the Wendy Perrin group for steering us to Jay and his team. We have now had more than a decade of wonderful travel due, in no small part, to you!” —Judy Wimpfheimer
To get your own WOW trip, start with our trip questionnaire, reached via the black button below.
THE BALKANS: “I did a deep dive into the history of Yugoslavia…”
Mostar Bridge, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was first constructed in the 16th century. Photo: Shutterstock
“It is really difficult to condense a 28-day, five-country trip into a review that does justice to the incredibly detailed work that went into my recent solo trip to the Balkans. Ala and Arina listened attentively, offered a lot of variety to choose from, provided counsel when necessary, and followed through on every single detail.
The trip included five of the six Balkan countries formerly known as Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. While a complicated and extensive political and religious history connects these countries, each has its own fascinating identity, culture and people. My local guides were phenomenal, most having been born and raised in each city/town that I toured, which made their storytelling all the more rich with unique detail. Milan, my guide in Belgrade, was also a professor of art history at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as an opera singer and actor. He had just published a book, which he graciously signed and gifted to me.
Old Town Ljubljana was a delightful mix of history, art, architecture, nightlife and shopping. I could plan a trip there this fall and do ALL of my Christmas shopping.… A day trip to picturesque and historic Lake Bled provided a great contrast.
Croatia was a fascinating combination of food and cultures (depending upon which border we were close to): truffle hunting with a cute young brother and sister in Prodani, casual strolls through picturesque historic walled towns in the mountains of Istria, fresh oysters and mussels prepared by a local farmer in Ston, a stunning flight along the Adriatic coastline from Istria to Dalmatia, waterfront dining in harbors tucked away among the Pakleni Islands, a private cooking class in Split, and a sunset boat ride accompanied by dolphins off the coast of Rovinj.
Traveler Jeannie Mullen and a private chef on their way from the market to a cooking class in Split, Croatia.
In Belgrade I did a deep dive into the history of Yugoslavia and Tito’s regime from a scholar’s perspective, had personal time with a master violin maker and local ‘naive’ artists in Kovačica, and shopped at a local grocery store for the foods Serbs like to eat.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was my biggest and most pleasant surprise of the trip. Sarajevo was a fascinating city with something to see and learn about around every corner. My local guide, Muhammad, was instrumental in describing a very complicated history, but also showing me the vibrant multicultural atmosphere that is now his adopted city.
Montenegro…a coastline and atmosphere that consistently make you think you are on a movie set. I took a boat tour of the hidden submarine tunnels from WWI, and a day trip up the historic Serpentine Road (22 switchbacks that follow the caravan route that Roman traders used) to the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje.
A few weeks before my departure, I developed some concerns about political unrest in Bosnia and Serbia. Arina, who lives in Belgrade, was able to assure me that everything remained very peaceful. I’m really pleased that I followed her advice because I didn’t find anything remotely similar ‘on the ground’ to what I was reading in the international press.” —Jeannie Mullen
To get your own WOW trip, start with our trip questionnaire, reached via the black button below.
EASTERN EUROPE: “I hope this trip punctuated the importance of learning from experts about past events instead of watching a YouTube video for our teenagers…”
The Nury family learn how to make pierogi. Photo: Traveler Doug Nury
“The current state of our world is disheartening. Our March 2023 travels (arranged by a Wendy Perrin WOW List agent) took us to Israel as tourists, never imagining that seven months later, Israel would be at war with Gaza. Since October 7, our family regularly discusses the conversations we had with our two tour guides, Daphne (Israel) and Isla (West Bank) about the conflict and how both of them want a peaceful, but fair solution. Through our vast international travel experiences, our family has learned to seek as many perspectives as possible, particularly from non-U.S. citizens on domestic and international issues. As a result, we jumped at the opportunity for Gwen to plan an Eastern European trip over Christmas not only to enjoy the Christmas traditions and markets, but also to hear the views of Europeans very close to the Ukrainian/Russian conflict. Our trip included four nights in Budapest, Prague and Krakow.
Gwen’s tour guides were the best part of our trip. During our first four days in Budapest, Julia explained to us the devastating history of the Jewish population and how close to 500,000 citizens were murdered during WWII. She also arranged an enjoyable boat tour (the boat had heat!) on the chilly Danube, pointing out architectural landmarks on the Buda and Pest side, while cruising on the river. In Prague, our guide Christina spent the rainy morning with us inside the Strahov Monastery, an active monastery that houses the largest collection of Bibles in the world, and gave us a VIP tour of its two main halls, the Philosophical and Theological halls. In Poland, we toured Auschwitz privately with Wojtek Smolen, a tour guide with over 30 years of experience who had two family members imprisoned at the concentration camp. His narration and walking tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau was fact-based, with no political slant. The things I saw that day—the massive size and scope of the concentration camp, the vast piles of victims’ strands of hair, abandoned shoes and suitcases on display—will forever be tattooed on my brain.
Following Auschwitz, we drove back to Krakow and met Julie at the Krakow History Museum, which is located at Oscar Schindler’s factory, for a tour of Krakow before, during and after the Nazi occupation. The museum is well done and definitely worth visiting. Our final day in Krakow was spent making pierogi with Marta in her home. While rolling out dough, adding the fillings and pinching the pierogi before dropping it into the boiling water, she told us how she housed eight Ukrainians for two months at the onset of the war and is concerned about the conflict due to the proximity of Poland to Ukraine.
My husband and I hope that this trip punctuated the importance of visiting historical relics and learning from experts at the site about past events instead of watching a YouTube video for our teenagers (ages 19 and 16). It’s also essential to engage with people worldwide to gain insight on their perspective of U.S. leadership and diplomacy.” —Beth Nury
To get your own WOW trip, start with our trip questionnaire, reached via the black button below.
JAPAN: “We journeyed back in time while touring sites like Matsumoto Castle and the Imperial Palace…”
Matsumoto Castle’s rich history stretches back to the 16th century. Photo: Shutterstock
“Andrea’s carefully crafted itinerary led us on a two-week adventure featuring experiences in Tokyo, Kiso Valley, Narai, Kanazawa, Matsumoto, and Kyoto. Visiting numerous locales meant we could appreciate the contrast between urban and rural: After the vibrant hustle and bustle of Tokyo, we traveled by bullet train to the tranquil towns of Nagiso and Narai. And even though we couldn’t speak Japanese, the experience was seamless.
Andrea’s attentiveness really shone through his selection of tour guides. We are a family of history buffs, and they were well-versed on the Edo Period, able to answer our curiosities about the history of samurais, daimyos, and shoguns; we journeyed back in time while touring sites like Matsumoto Castle and the Imperial Palace. The Geisha house tour and traditional tea ceremony in Kanazawa offered a closer glimpse of lesser-known areas of Japanese history and culture. It was in Kanazawa that we had a private session with a samurai descendant, who displayed the craftsmanship of the samurai swords and offered us the unique opportunity to view and hold his family’s relics.
In all, Andrea planned a surreal trip that we will look back on fondly for years to come. I highly recommend him for his expertise in making your experience just as tremendous as ours!” —Tamarra Matthews Johnson
To get your own WOW trip, start with our trip questionnaire, reached via the black button below.
CUBA: “The fortitude of the Cuban people is inspiring, and so is the country’s rich cultural and social history…”
WOW List experts took this journalist off the beaten path, to Santiago de Cuba. Photo: Shutterstock
“I am researching a book that involves Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s second-largest city, and a less-visited destination than Havana. Rob and Ana understood instinctively what I needed, first steering me to an on-the-ground researcher, Alicia Howland, who did much advance work that narrowed my itinerary, and then putting me in the kind and extremely capable hands of Tania Vivar, a peerless guide during my four-day stay. I could not have asked for a better experience, from the first pickup at the Santiago airport to my last poignant goodbye.
Rob and Ana’s team booked me into a lovely private casa in a leafy suburban neighborhood, near the sites I most wanted to see, where the on-site garden provided daily fresh produce in a place where basic foodstuffs are in short supply. My spacious, air-conditioned room with ensuite bath was the perfect refuge at day’s end. Alicia and Tania’s knowledge of the city, and of Cuban history, made my stay so much richer, and Tania’s perfect English made communication a breeze.
Economic conditions in Cuba are grim indeed—especially in the eastern part of the island—but the resilience and fortitude of the Cuban people is inspiring, and so is the country’s rich cultural and social history. I simply could not have asked for more caring or capable shepherds to a destination that can be challenging, especially for a non-Spanish-speaking American.” —Todd Purdum
To get your own WOW trip, start with our trip questionnaire, reached via the black button below.
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