One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.

-Henry Miller

Traverse Journeys is a female-founded company offering mindfully crafted, bespoke itineraries centered around human connection, the beauty of diversity and the transformative power of travel. Our travelers are curious, adventurous and lifelong learners. Our partners on the ground are storytellers, change-makers and all-around dynamic humans. When combined, both traveler and community are transformed.

We offer self-guided, small-group trips and transformative retreats in 25+ destinations with activity levels ranging from “active light” in our Explore category to multi-day hikes & outdoor excursions in our Adventure category. Our Retreats range from low-key yoga retreats in gorgeous natural settings to ambitious adventure style routes for those looking for a challenge.

Keep reading to learn more about all the specific aspects of what goes into a Traverse Journey!

Accommodations

Our trips typically feature 3 or 4 star accommodations, with an emphasis small to mid-size, locally-run businesses as much as possible. We love places with a personality, whether a boutique hotel, cozy B&B, rural guesthouse or unique eco-lodge. In a few cases, you might find yourself in a more basic accommodation (e.g., camping in Chile while trekking) or with a little extra luxury (e.g., a 5-star eco resort in Nepal after your trek). With our sustainable travel goals in mind, we also look for places that demonstrate eco-friendly practices, such as water saving techniques, solar power or renewable building materials. We know that where you stay becomes a large part of any travel experience and we work hard to deliver options that exceed your expectations. Some of our accommodation hosts and the unique spaces they provide become a favorite and integral part of the experience!

Routes

While our trips offer different styles of travel — from city stays to back-country hiking — our goal is to create unique routes. What that means is that even when traveling through popular countries like Italy or New Zealand we’ll take you to unique and off-the-beaten-path locales as well as the truly unmissable sites. We are also mindful of the time spent getting from place to place and create itineraries that cover manageable distances in any given day so you don’t lose precious time just getting from A to B. We love slow travel, and we strive to strike the perfect balance between seeing lots of places and time to soak in the experience without feeling rushed.

Local Guides

Our guests constantly rave about our local guides that they get to know and love throughout the trip. Knowing how crucial their role is in your overall experience, we are extremely careful in selecting truly outstanding humans who are passionate about the country they call home and eager to share its unique and incredible attributes with you. Your guides will bring your trip to the next level with their cultural insights, language skills (some speak 4 or more!), connections to the community and insider knowledge that comes from years of exploring the places you visit. Seeing a country through the eyes of a local is truly an incredible way to immerse yourself and gain in-depth understanding!

Activities & adventure

All of our trips have a baseline level of activity, whether city strolls to see the sites by foot or light hikes in nature. Our Adventure trips cater most to the truly adventurous and active crowd with multi-day hiking or cycling routes. Our Explore trips are more on the cultural and activity light side with experiences like historic walking tours, cooking classes, wildlife viewing, boat trips, artisan crafts, light hikes and many optional options like canyoning, zip-lining, or e-bikes. We constantly weave in cultural experiences that are fun and engaging in an active but relaxed way. With each activity we are careful to ensure the experience follows our guiding values of responsible travel.

Food & meals

Food is half the reason we travel sometimes, right?! Not only is it delicious, but sampling traditional food helps us explore a new country. Local cuisine is inextricably tied to a place’s history and customs, providing fascinating cultural insights. We find the best restaurants and culinary experiences that can show off regional specialties while also prioritizing sustainable and organic meals. We know that dining preferences vary so we balance our included meals - typically breakfast every morning, a Welcome & Farewell dinner, and a few more meals sprinkled in - while giving you free time to choose some meals on your own. We happily cater to dietary restrictions such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, etc.

Nature Driven

We pick some of the most beautiful places on earth for you to explore. While some itineraries are fully immersed in nature, every itinerary offer moments in stunning natural scenery. We want to allow you to unwind and reset and there’s no better way to feel calm than by surrounding yourself with expansive landscapes, mountains, coasts or forests. Even our more city-focused trips sprinkle in time to recoup in nature. Of course as we explore Mother Nature’s beauty, our "do no harm" mindset ensures we give nature the respect she deserves. We prioritize partners that support conservation, sustainable agriculture, and other environmental initiatives.

People-to-people experiences

In addition to your local guides you’ll meet many individuals like indigenous leaders, gifted chefs, sustainable farm owners, and community experts who will make each day of your journey special. Our goal is to give travelers like you opportunities to engage in meaningful and transformative cultural exchange. We also seek destinations where tourism income opportunities are needed and desired, and where we can find fun, impactful ways to engage with and learn about local life. Understanding community values and customs as well as gaining insight into social issues and challenges faced across the globe are all a part of the immersive cultural experience on our trips.

Community partners

On each trip we carefully select a local non-profit or NGO to partner with. These global partners are dedicated to improving their communities and the environment around them. A donation of 1% of that trip’s sales is pledged to the Community Partner that we engage with during a visit or activity which provides insight into their work. We’re dedicated to supporting these organizations that are working hard to enhance conservation, support community healthcare, mitigate homelessness, provide education, create job opportunities and engage in myriad other social and environmental causes.

Safety

The trust that you put in us to provide safe travel experiences across the globe is something that we take very seriously. Before you depart we’ll provide safety and cultural tips that will help you navigate new destinations with empowering knowledge. Your trip hosts, guides, drivers and activity leaders will help ensure that each excursion and adventure is undertaken with careful precautions. We are motivated to provide you with incredible journeys around the world that let you relax and enjoy your time fully without impeding concerns or questions regarding the safety you require and deserve.