Since 1978, Insight Vacations has offered up experiences in travel that go beyond your normal agency. Their philosophy relies on getting the traveler to the heart of a destination, a way to feel the cultural vibrations and taste the local flavor. This immersion is met with a higher quality of planning, and shows in the way that they organize journeys.
One of the ways Insight connects travelers with locals is authentic dining options. As many travel shows have reminded us, meals are the time for connecting to others around us – a time to simply enjoy the tastes. When these tastes are infused with the love of locals for their culture, a meal is a memory.
These opportunities for a great meal are combined with a few other options to complete the experience. For instance, their hand-picked hotels are in central or scenic locations that are perfect for wandering through the beauty that foreign places bring. The luxury motor-coaches, with business class legroom, will pick up travelers directly from their hotel. Insight Vacations small groups have a maximum of 40 travelers and an average of 32, making the sites and travel to them far more comfortable and intimate.
However, beyond those services, Insight Vacations has made the effort to form multiple initiatives which combat specific problems in modern travel:
- People-to-People initiative. This often includes meeting up locals and learning about their traditions and art. Centered around supporting local employment and the use of tourism for income, their programs promote the sharing of tradition to support local economies. Some examples of this are visiting a flamenco school in Spain, learning about traditional weaving in Italy, or working with handcrafted art in Jordan.
- Wildlife initiative. Insight supports a grant from TreadRight, given out to Wildlife SOS, which helps elephants living in urban environments that are wounded, malnourished or dehydrated, due to illegal or commercial use in poor conditions. With this, the recipient, Wildlife SOS, built a training facility to teach anti-poaching efforts, proper elephant management and more.
- Planet initiative. They are reducing the amount single-use plastic available on tours, as well as giving the option of e-documents instead of paper. Initiatives like this are a popular one among companies nowadays, for good reason. We all want the planet to remain its beautiful blue and green self that we know.
Along with those initiatives, Insight has donated sizable amounts to the NSW Rural Fire Service fighting the wildfires in Australia. These donations go toward vital logistics such as radios, floodlights, GPS for trucks, maintenance, fuel, food, and training.
Insight Vacations has more than 70 experiences, in many countries, to choose from. These lead the traveler to feel out the cultures in a true way, giving memories that will last for a lifetime. Their smaller than usual groups provide a chance for a more intimate journey, while their philosophy remains grounded in the same reason Insight Vacations began its journey almost 42 years ago – a joy and passion for connecting people to places in an authentic way.
