Travel Plans?

This week I'm taking a break because I've been visiting my sister, whom I haven't seen in two years, so I wanted to take this opportunity to do a quick survey instead of writing a newsletter.

An amazing group of folks have been following my Lukas Guides newsletters over the past three years, and I've long wanted to offer some type of in-person events. To this end, I recently chatted with a friend who is a travel agent about group tours, and our conversation got me really excited. It has me wondering if folks might be interested in joining me on some nature tours?!

As some of you know, for many years I used to organize and lead a wide variety of nature tours, ranging from 3-5 excursions around the Pacific Northwest to three-week tours of Central America. I gradually shifted into writing and leading weekend workshops closer to home, but I've always missed traveling and learning about new places with other nature lovers. Some of you also know that I wrote a Lonely Planet guidebook to the world's top 200 wildlife spectacles, and I continue to research incredible wildlife destinations all over the world. These are the types of places and adventures I'd be excited to share with you.

I'm in the early stages of thinking about these options, and I'd love your feedback, but when I think about organizing nature tours, two primary options come to mind. One option is to have our own small, private group within a larger tour. As just one of many examples, Lindblad/National Geographic Expeditions runs a fleet of small cruise ships to places like Alaska and Antarctica. It's possible to book a block of berths for a private group that could have their own space to meet and talk but is also free to join all of the ship's organized outings and lectures. Another option is an entirely private tour, either on our own or using the services of local operators, that allows for a wide range of more specialized, custom outings.

A Chance to See Snow Leopards

I've been chatting with Wendy and Karma Lama of Karma Quest about a unique opportunity to join their snow leopard expedition in Ladakh on February 13 -28, 2027. They've been running snow leopard trips in cooperation with the Snow Leopard Conservancy since 2005 and have a 100% success rate in finding these very rare cats. Their February outing has a few open spaces if two or more people would like to join me on this incredible trip. Drop me a note if you'd like to learn more.

Please let me know if you'd have any interest in future offerings by filling out the short survey below. (Click " View in browser" at the top of the newsletter to fill out the survey on my website.)