About

Growing up in Aotearoa, my parents were always telling stories about their far-away travels, and I am sure this is where I caught the bug.

Like my colleague William, I was a town planner. A transport planner to be precise. After working in humanitarian logistics around the world I moved to Europe and started the path to being a travel designer. I have worked on hundreds of trips each year since 2014, and gradually increased the number of countries and specialties. My motivation comes from being able to create a trip based on places I know and love and want to share. I have been proud to take inspiration from my summer vacation, a personal trip, or a family trip, and then create a custom trip for travellers a few months later. I'm motivated to bring on board great travellers and have them come back year after year.

Stephen's Travel Expertise

As I live in France, I of course specialize in France! I also know the United Kingdom really well and do lots of reconnaissance trips. I adore the Pembrokeshire Coast and Glencoe.

My strength is creating multi country trips, and being the interlocutor throughout. I am the cycle tourism and sustainable travel expert on the team (and I promote train travel as much as possible too). If a client asks for a hiking trip, I delegate some of the nitty-gritty walking notes to a colleague and I focus on the pre-hike, or post-hike, and that has become my niche.

Expert Destinations

Expert Activities

Stephen's best travel experience

I spent most of my twenties travelling or working in exotic places. One experience that is particularly unique for me was a going on a trip (we called it "the Last Hurrah") with my Dad and an old friend on two classic single cylinder motorcycles, a 1965 Panther 120 and a 1954 Norton 19S, from Beijing to Arnhem along the old Silk Road. Of course, we encountered all the mechanical mishaps, bureaucratic entanglements and ill health that one could ever hope to avoid in a normal lifetime!

Why is Stephen the right travel expert

I am very very eager to continue to permeate new transport modes into all my tailor-made trip plans. I love smart mobility and the electrification of transport, and I think you should pick me so I can show you why this way of travel is great and life-changing! I am a devout cyclist (all types) and always ready to slip a hotel-to-hotel zero-carbon cycling leg into a spring, summer, or fall journey.

I have also been lucky enough to work in luxury travel and have experience designing superb vacations for folks who want A–Z concierge-type service. That's always a pleasure too.

I begin by listening and learning about your interests, and travel style. Then I provide our expertise to make sure you're aware of hidden unique places and experiences you may not have considered. Next, If you requested this, I would design a completely customized trip just for you, taking feedback into account along the way. Throughout the process, phone calls at convenient times for you are to make it as enjoyable for you as possible. Additionally, one of our team is on 24/7 phone backup during your trip, so you can relax and enjoy.