My name is Andrea, and I'm delighted that you are considering me to help with your travel plans.  The most memorable events in my life have included travel, and it's my goal to help you create vacations that are just as joyful.

I've had the travel bug for as long as I can remember.  My parents say that my first words were "I can't wait to leave New Jersey." I'm certain I wasn't able to string together a sentence when I first began to talk, but my parents could tell that I wasn't planning to sit still for long.

When I was in elementary school, I remember watching a Sunday night program that featured Disneyland. It was called "The Wonderful World of Disney." Each week I would be transported to the most magical places.  When I was old enough to travel by myself, Florida was my first stop, and Disney World did not disappointment.

After I graduated from college with a BA in communications, I did some interning in NYC and found that working in the broadcasting industry wasn't for me.  Then I landed a job in corporate travel.  I stayed there until I decided it was finally time to move out of New Jersey.

I moved to California, and now I live within an hour's drive of Disneyland. I couldn't tell you how many times I have been there with my family. We have been annual pass holders for several years, and the magic of Disney continues to enthrall me today.

We travel for pleasure, but it also fulfills our educational needs. We are a homeschooling family. We believe that travel is a way for us to understand history and culture, and to see how we are all not that different.  Therefore, when we book a vacation, we always research our destinations and tie aspects of them into our travels. For instance, when we are planning a trip, I research the area: what do people wear? What is the local cuisine like? How can I best fit in and be respectful to the people?  My son has been to a lot of places, but never without prior knowledge of where we are visiting, what we are planning to see, and the significance of events that took place there.

In 2011 we took our first Disney Cruise on the Wonder to the Mexican Riviera. We were hooked! The crew was amazing, the shows were incredible, and the food delicious. We knew we would take another cruise, and we did! The cruise was on the Disney Dream to Castaway Cay and the Bahamas, a much larger ship than the Wonder. We first visited Walt Disney World, then took our trip on the Dream from Port Canaveral, Florida. We had a fantastic time.

We discovered that we love to cruise, and last year sailed on Carnival. After spending a few days in the origin port of New Orleans (what a great city!) we cruised to Key West (another bucket list item checked), Nassau and Freeport, both in the Bahamas.  We had a relaxing and fun time.

This year found us back on the Disney Cruise Line, this time around the British Isles.  As usual, we started our trip with some time on land. London, to be precise!  We checked out both Highclere Castle--familiar to Downtown Abbey fans--and WB Studios tours (Harry Potter!). From there we went to castles, palaces, museums and theaters...London and the surrounding area has so much to offer.  After our trip to London, we went to Dover to embark on our cruise.  Scotland, Ireland and Wales stole my heart.  So much so that when I came home, I trained to become a CIE Tour specialist. I'm already booked to return to Ireland in 2020.

So, that's my very abbreviated story. I love travel, every bit of it, even the detours that throw plans off-course and take us places we didn't know existed! We were on a five week road trip some years ago. With agenda in hand off we went. One of the states on our schedule was Idaho. We had both been to Idaho before, but had never checked out Idaho Hot Springs. So, we decided this would be one of our stops. We parked our camper and walked across a bridge to the hot springs. As we passed the bridge we noticed below a river with people tubing down it. This was not on our agenda, nor did we know about it. We decided to stick with the hot springs since that was the reason we had come to begin with. The hot springs were just that, hot! So hot in fact, even the "coolest" one we couldn't handle. So, there went our plan. But, the river! We decided to go tubing and had the best time! We still laugh about how shallow it was and hitting our bottoms on rocks and crashing into bushes on the way down.  I would love to help you discover your perfect vacation again and again!

Britain-Ireland, Scotland, Wales & England Expert

Stonehenge

Are you thinking of going to Britain? Whether you are traveling with your family, a couple friends, a large group or going solo, I can help! As a CIE Tours Expert in all British Tours I would love to assist you on planning your vacation.

Recently we traveled to London and surrounding areas. We also were fortunate enough to cruise the British Isles and experience Wales, Ireland and Scotland.  Upon my return, I became a specialist with CIE Tours in Britain and I would be so happy to share with you the options you have when visiting this amazing destination.

Land tours, with a tour group or independent offer a variety of options.  If you want a taste of it all, and are on a time constraint, a cruise is certainly the way to go.  Contact me today.