Anybody who can afford it can travel to Italy. But stopping in a Tuscan abbey just as the monks are chanting, or meeting a farm family and tasting their honey and olive oil requires a trip off the beaten paths – and a travel company that understands the value of such experiences.
The Wayfarers, a British company with offices in Newport, specializes in unique walking trips in 14 countries. In fact, it is one of the best hiking and walking travel companies in the world, according to National Geographic.
The company was listed in the magazine’s November “Adventure Travel” issue. The Top 10 designation followed a screening of 100 companies in the category and interviews with customers who have walked on one to several trips with The Wayfarers, said Judy Allpress, the company’s sales representative in Newport.
“It’s just nice to have recognition finally,” said Allpress, who established the office in Newport in 1986 at the request her long-time friend, Michael West, who co-founded The Wayfarers 25 years ago.
The Wayfarers has 12 full-time employees; four in Newport. The company has more than 40 part-time guides and managers. It offers 39 full-service, walking-tour adventures in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United States and Wales.
The new 12-day South Africa tour, which is already booked for March and again in October 2008, won accolades from National Geographic as one of the ‘top 25’ new trips for the year.
What makes The Wayfarers different from other hiking and walking travel companies is that it’s a “family business,” Allpress said, meaning it’s not owned by a major corporation or conglomerate of travel companies that subcontract services once the traveler reaches their destination.
What happens on a typical Wayfarers trip is the traveler can either book her airline and rail tickets or have Allpress’ office book the tickets and hotel rooms. Food, wine, snacks, guide and entrance fees to attractions, along with a van to cart luggage, are provided in packages that range from $1,950 to $7,895 per person.
A maximum of 15 people are allowed on each walking adventure.
“We meet you at the closest rail station to where you are to begin walking,” Allpress said recently, adding people usually stay an extra day in the starting or destination cities.
For the Tuscany and Umbria tour in Italy, for example, people might stay an extra day in Florence, which is near Siena, where the tour starts, and then again in Rome, which is near Spoleto, where the tour ends.
On the Italian trip, travelers walk 8 to 10 miles per day from village to village, stopping in taverns or small restaurants for lunch.
“It sounds like a lot but it’s actually a very relaxing pace because you come across things when you’re walking that you normally wouldn’t see by road,” Allpress said. “You’re taking pathways, which are [ancient] foot paths … which are the way [people] used to get around before they had the roads.”
A memorable highlight is planned each day, such as stopping in the Tuscan abbey at just the right time to hear the monks, she said.
“It’s kind of like a movable party,” Allpress said.
About 35 percent of The Wayfarers business comes from repeat customers. Forty-two travelers are in the “founders circle,” which means they’ve been on six trips with Wayfarers. Fifty travelers have won a free trip by taking 12 walks with Wayfarers.
Most of the company’s U.S. customers are from California, Allpress said. But in the past 10 years, she’s seen a surge of business from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
To achieve its National Geographic adventure-travel rating, the company had to win high scores on five criteria: education, sustainability, quality of service, customer feedback and spirit of adventure.
The company ranked highest in customer feedback, beating some larger companies, Allpress said. It ranked lower for spirit of adventure because The Wayfarers is too small to offer walking tours in more countries.
“We could offer the world, but that would mean we would go to a subcontractor for services,” Allpress said. “We only go places where we have a connection.” •
