During their Christmas / New Year hiatus, our Tour Leaders had some downtime to consider a series of prying questions about their personal proclivities. In this issue, we feature five of our leaders, simply the best in the business!

Jonathan Hodgson

1. What can't you travel without? camera, lenses & a good sense of humour

2. Favourite beach? anything quiet and isolated and preferably at night (my skin burns in 30 seconds)

3. Favourite secret getaway? that would be giving away the secret!

4. Favourite food item or cuisine? sashimi

5. When on the road, what home comfort do you miss the most? family and Ben & Jerry's ice cream

6. Which country makes the best coffee or tea? an Ethiopian coffee ceremony is my favourite experience

7. Best sunset? Santorini, Greece

8. Favourite city or town? hmmmmm. tough call. how about a top 50?

9. Where do you want to get next? Antarctica

10. What's the worst piece of travel advice you've received? "go on. the deep-fried tarantula is very tasty! try it!"

11. What's the longest you've been away from home? 2 years

12. Fan or air conditioning? fan

13. Window or aisle seat? aisle

14. Swimming with dolphins or shark diving? um, dolphins, thanks

15. Last tour led?

Australia & New Zealand
AU1 | 17 Days | Details
AU2 | 31 Days | Details
NZ1 | 15 Days | Details

16. Next destination?

Colombia!
CM1 | 11 Days | Details
CM5 | 20 Days | Details

Chris Tripodi

1. What can't you travel without? Passport, or coffee

2. Favourite beach? Maldives

3. Favourite secret getaway? Canada

4. Favourite food item or cuisine? Dinner. Sorry, I cannot be more specific

5. When on the road, what home comfort do you miss the most? I haven't had a home in almost a decade

6. Which country makes the best coffee or tea? Ethiopia for coffee. India for tea. Both more for the experience than necessarily the taste. That being said, both are delicious.

7. Best sunset? Earth

8. Favourite city or town? Poughkeepsie. But only because I like saying Poughkeepsie

9. Where do you want to get next? Iran

10. What's the worst piece of travel advice you've received? "Never talk to strangers"

11. What's the longest you've been away from home? 2 years less a day

12. Fan or air conditioning? Either is fine

13. Window or aisle seat? Either is fine

14. Swimming with dolphins or shark diving? Either is fine

15. Last tour led? South Africa SA2 | 18 Days |  Details

16. Next destination?

Colombia!
CM1 | 11 Days | Details
CM5 | 20 Days | Details

Sama Mounib

1. What can't you travel without? passport, everything else is replaceable

2. Favourite beach? Amorgos, Greece

3. Favourite secret getaway? to remain a secret it seems, even to me (yet to be discovered)

4. Favourite food item or cuisine? all foods, with the occasional burger or Italian dish

5. When on the road, what home comfort do you miss the most? Mom’s cooking

6. Which country makes the best coffee or tea? UK, best tea

7. Best sunset? Santa Fe, New Mexico

8. Favourite city or town? Reykjavik

9. Where do you want to get next? Iceland & Greenland

10. What's the worst piece of travel advice you've received? don’t travel alone!

11. What’s the longest you’ve been away from home? 2 months

12. Fan or air conditioning? fan

13. Window or aisle seat? window for short flights, aisle for long

14. Swimming with dolphins or shark diving? Why not both?!

15. Last tour led?

Malta
ML1 | 6 Days | Details
ML2 | 19 Days | Details

16. Next destination? unknown

Rachel Kristensen

1. What can't you travel without? My camera! All four of them...

2. favourite beach? when the tide is low in Ha Long Bay , each of those little islands create the perfect private beach to cast-a-way

3. Favourite secret getaway? Any mountain peak I climb to, best sunset views and no crowds

4. Favourite food item or cuisine? Mystery meat in China - with that special sauce. Doesn't matter if I have no clue what is in it.

5. When on the road, what home comfort do you miss the most? Not having my home in my luggage.

6. Which country makes the best coffee or tea? England, only if served with a scone and Devonshire cream. Or a cheap chai served in a plastic cup while a train in India.

7. Best sunset? Anywhere I'm warm enough to watch the sun set and the moon rise.

8. Favourite city or town? So many great cities in the world, but I do love my home of Vancouver most.

9. Where do you want to get next? Maybe a quick vacay to South East Asia or Iceland in Spring - cycling Vancouver to Alaska and back this summer.

10. What's the worst piece of travel advice you've received? "Don't go there, it's dangerous, people are mean, there is nothing to see" - from the person who has only watched the news.

11. What's the longest you've been away from home? 15 months

12. Fan or air conditioning? fan

13. Window or aisle seat? window = sleepy time

14. Swimming with dolphins or shark diving? sharks please. but not in a cage. and not with teeth

15. Last tour led?

Brazil, Argentina and Chile (aaaammaaazing tour)
BR3 | 19 Days | Details
BR4 | 27 Days | Details

16. Next destination? Back to Brazil, Argentina and Chile (yippppeee)

Ondra Strejcek

1. What can't you travel without? smart phone - Internet access, all my music, maps, dictionaries, books and info needed for the tour

2. Favourite beach?Palolem - Goa, India

3. Favourite secret getaway? music, mainly classical. listening with guilt that I should be studying

4. Favourite food item or cuisine? cuisine of Italy and Hungary - so much flavour, so multifarious, so GOOD!

5. When on the road, what home comfort do you miss the most? yeah I know, I should say my family but it is good long night sleep in my own bed

6. Which country makes the best coffee or tea? Italian coffee

7. Best sunset? Udaipur, India

8. Favourite city or town? Roma - so vivid, so much stuff to see, so much history

9. Where do you want to get next? wherever, I do not mind at all. Each tour is different, always provides something new, unexpected

10. What's the worst piece of travel advice you've received? Itinerary – “no need to worry about it, all is set, there will be no problems at all, sit down and relax”

11. What's the longest you've been away from home? 7 months - studying abroad, 6 weeks - leading an East European tour (42 days, 52 cities and towns visited, 22 hotel rooms, 2 overnight trains... )

12. Fan or air conditioning? both are a blessing

13. Window or aisle seat? always aisle

14. Swimming with dolphins or shark diving? the nearest ocean is 2800 km away from my home and it is cold, very cold

15. Last tour led? Italy off-season - a great tour to lead IT20 | 12 Days | Details

16. Next destination? US high school group - Austria and Germany - I hope to get a chance to ski while in Innsbruck :)