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November 13, 2024
5 minute read
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Travel is a deeply personal and transformative experience, but there's something particularly magical about sharing that journey with family.
Elizabeth Simmons knows this well. As a retired VP of Global Sales with Collette, her passion for travel has continued with her travel club — Let's Go Go World Travel. There, she curates immersive trips for her friends, family, and fellow travellers.
One of the most memorable trips? A recent multigenerational African safari adventure to Kenya and Tanzania, with three generations of her family.
Elizabeth highlighted both her history with Collette and individual travel expertise, noting that she has been travelling with Collette for 30 years. Over the years, her journeys have taken her across the world, but this recent family safari truly stands out for her.
With her travel club, she has taken friends, loved ones, and acquaintances on tour. And after several visits to Africa and safari trips on her own, she was ready to extend her experience on the continent with family at her side.
“I've done all the South Africa tours and I've done The Plains of Africa,” she says. “So, I'd been to Kenya, but this is my first time going to Tanzania."
With her existing safari experience and extensive travel knowledge, she opted to visit this new destination with her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and a few friends.
Elizabeth travelled with a mix of family and friends, creating a vibrant group with diverse ages and interests. Elizabeth explains that her son and daughter-in-law’s closest friends joined the group, along with their children. Elizabeth’s best friend came along, too, along with her grandson. Two of Elizabeth’s other friends joined without their children.
“We had a combination of three generations all travelling together,” she says. The group’s ages ranged from children around 13 years old to 66-year-olds.
Elizabeth chose a safari because of its appeal to children and adults alike.
"I figured at this age, maybe, the animals would keep them more intrigued than the history of a cathedral," she says.
And she was right. The tented camp accommodation especially offered a closeness to nature that left an impression on the entire group, Elizabeth says.
“When we were in the Serengeti for three nights, we were staying in tents,” she explains. “They did have bathrooms, and they were very clean and nice, but there was nothing fancy about them. But you were waking up to a lion roaring. You could hear every animal imaginable."
The genuine and immersive experiences were what made this trip special.
"You really feel the heart of it," Elizabeth says.
One of the highlights for Elizabeth was witnessing how the tour impacted her grandchildren, from safari experiences to connecting with local people.
"For my grandkids to get to see something in the world besides what they're used to, that was priceless to me,” she says.
Elizabeth explained that the trip provided her grandchildren with a global perspective that textbooks or classroom lessons couldn’t provide. She also said that the mutual excitement across generations enriched the experience for everyone involved.
"I think the people in my generation acted as much like a kid as the grandkids did,” Elizabeth says. “We were all so excited every time we'd see another lion, or every time we'd see a new animal."
The trip wasn't just about the wildlife; this group also delved into the local culture, visiting villages and interacting with local tribes.
"These weren't tourist places...we were actually visiting three or four local tribes to hear about how they live," Elizabeth says. Some memorable experiences included joining a hunter-gatherer tribe on a hunt, and visiting a tribe known for blacksmithing.
"They melt down metal and made beautiful jewellery and weapons,” she says. “The kids loved watching and helping them."
These hands-on experiences provided Elizabeth's family and their friends with invaluable lessons about different ways of life.
Organizing such an adventurous trip might seem daunting, but Elizabeth emphasizes the importance of guided tours.
“Collette tells me everything I need before I go, and there's zero stress with that," she says.
She also emphasized the support of her group’s Tour Manager Alfred in making sure the journey was smooth and enjoyable.
“When we all said goodbye to him, there was not a dry eye,” she says. “The kids cried. They just fell in love with him."
The safari has sparked a newfound passion for travel within Elizabeth's family.
"I'm taking them to do the Peaks of Europe tour next summer, covering five countries,” she says. “They're excited about that." She believes that travel is a strong way to stay connected with her loved ones.
But the adventures don’t stop there; Elizabeth’s travel group has many adventures on the books. Her upcoming travel calendar is packed, with trips to Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Thailand, Sicily, and Malta already planned.
There are countless benefits to multigenerational family travel. Experiencing new things together. Taking time to enjoy each other’s company without life’s typical distractions. Connecting with loved ones who don’t live near us.
No matter why you decide to travel together, or where you choose to go, spending quality time with family will be a highlight of the trip.
That’s why families book Collette tours – to let experts take care of all the details.
When you’re ready to book your tour, call us or see your travel professional and ask for Collette.
