Here at Original Travel, we pride ourselves on having some of the most experienced and knowledgeable travel experts in the industry. They have hands-on experience travelling in their destinations and know them inside out, so are ready with insider tips, tricks and insights to help you plan the most epic tailor-made trip possible. With this in mind, we are excited (and not at all surprised) to announce that our very own Amelia Stewart and Louisa Fisher have been included in Travel + Leisure's 'A List' of travel advisors, with Amelia listed as a top Caucasus specialist and Louisa as a top diving specialist. This is a huge accolade and one which we are extremely proud of. Read below to find out more about our amazing A-Listers...
Amelia
With 20 years of experience under her belt, Amelia is truly an expert when it comes to crafting personalized, off-the-beaten-track itineraries. As well as her vast experience of the Middle East and North Africa, Amelia has been on a number of recent trips around the Caucasus region - particularly Georgia. If you're a history and architecture buff, she can recreate the legendary journey along the Silk Road for you, or guide you through Iran - taking you through the fascinating cities of Esfahan and Shiraz. If trekking through dramatic landscapes is more your thing, she can lead you through Georgia's most remote and eye-wateringly beautiful mountain regions, particularly those of Kazbegi and Svaneti. In addition to all of this, Amelia keeps her knowledge up to date with regular trips every year to Uzbekistan, Albania and Ethiopia.
If you have a special interest, Amelia is your woman. She curates approximately 60 trips to Georgia alone each year and personally leads several of the tours herself, one of which includes a visit to the famous wine region of Kakheti, as well as a hike through the rugged forests and meadows of the Becho valley.
Louisa Fisher
The general trend seems to be that if you want to be really good at something, you have to start practising it when you're young. Louisa - our diving expert - is proof of this. Not only did she learn to dive at the tender age of 11 (after spending much of her childhood poking around rock pools) but she then went on to do a degree in marine biology. This led to her spending many more years exploring the underwater world - from diving between tectonic plates off of Iceland, to feeding manta rays in the tropical waters of the Maldives. Arranging over 60 tailor-made scuba diving trips a year, Louisa plans each one sustainably, working with properties and companies who contribute to marine conservation.
When she's not sending her clients to the most pristine corners of the world, Louisa improves on her (already vast) first-hand knowledge by going on regular dives and staking out the best places for each client to visit depending on their ability and interests. Recently, she has dived Gozo, Oman, Mexico, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Egypt, Indonesia, and the Seychelles (to name a few).