HE Travel
Gay travel and tours on all seven continents!
Watching the Tokyo Olympics brings a range of emotions. First, there is the fascination of watching the world’s best athletes. (I especially enjoy gymnastics, diving, and cycling.)
The more complex emotion is who to cheer for. As an American, I identify with the success of my fellow Americans. But I have lived in and led many tours to Japan and China. Over 100 other countries have warmly welcomed me and our travelers, so I have so many athletes to cheer on!
After operating a handful of tours over the past 18 months, we’re excited to finally be sending our travelers out to see more of our amazing destinations around the world!
We recently completed successful tours to the Galapagos and Peru. With our amazing local partners, we adapted to the frequently changing requirements of travel, such as scheduling rapid-result tests as needed.
As with most new places I travel to, I aim to have a clear mind and zero expectations. That way I eliminate any chance of disappointment.
However, rest assured that Botswana will not disappoint. I was blown away as I developed our new Botswana Safari experience, which also includes Victoria Falls for 2022. I can honestly say that this adventure was over the top in every way possible.
In August, we launched our first tour since March 2020. Our clients traveling during the pandemic had a wonderful time away from the world down in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. After almost 5 months of all tours being rescheduling for 2021, it was a very bittersweet moment to be able to actually run a 2020 tour! I’ve missed our tours and I’ve missed seeing the amazing memories that our groups share. It was a joy that I was able to be present to make sure expectations of dealing with Covid-19 were met.
As we move into the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am cautiously optimistic about the resumption of travel. Our daily lives have changed, our expectations have changed, travel has changed. What has not changed is the human yearning for new experiences – and to return to familiar places where one feels welcome.
As I start my 21st year as the owner of HE Travel, I would like to pay homage to our heritage. A look back at the history of HE Travel must start with Hanns Ebensten, who founded Hanns Ebensten Travel and ran the first gay tour in 1973, down the Grand Canyon.
