Now in our 52nd year, HE Travel designs and operates amazing, unique small-group travel experiences throughout the world. Our tours range from our original Grand Canyon rafting trip to a week on a 1917 paddlewheel steamer on the Nile, the former royal yacht.
But did you know that we are also a full-service gay travel agency? We are one of the few companies that are a hybrid – both a tour operator and travel agency. This gives us the experience and worldwide network to create amazing, customized travel itineraries as well.
Leading Gay Travel Agency
With over 60 years of experience, our travel advisors are happy to help you book personal flights, cars, and hotels, whether across the country or around the world. We can help you select just the right cruise or tour with another company as well.
A majority of our travelers are gay men, but we are proud to create unique travel experiences for all adults – and their families and friends!
Uniglobe Travel Center & Virtuoso
When I purchased Hanns Ebensten Travel in 2001 and Alyson Adventures in 2002, we joined the Uniglobe Travel Center (UTC) for airline ticketing, cruise booking, etc. The buying power of a 700-agent network gives us access to special pricing and amenities for premium airline tickets and cruises.
In January 2021, through our affiliation with UTC, we became travel advisors in the Virtuoso network for luxury and experiential travel. Through Virtuoso, we can offer amenities such as room upgrades, breakfast, and free Wi-Fi at some of the world’s finest hotels, as well as on both ocean and river cruises.
Customized Tours
With our worldwide network and access to flights, hotels, and cruises, our experienced gay travel agency team can craft customized tours for you, your chosen family, and your friends to all seven continents! Let us know if you want to explore a destination where we don’t have a tour during your travel dates. We will be delighted to design a private itinerary so you can see what’s most important to you.
Among recent customized tours is a two-week Italian adventure in Venice, Tuscany, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast. We also helped a client make a nostalgic return to the street in Naples where he lived as a Naval officer in the 1970s.
We were also the architect for a month in Africa for a group of women from the Florida Keys. They visited Madagascar, then rode the luxurious 16-day Rovos Rail train journey from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to Cape Town. The final grace note on their adventure was a week at small exclusive lodges in Namibia!
Private Affinity Groups
Another of our specialties is a collaboration with groups of people with shared interests. For example, we handle the travel logistics whenever the Harvard Glee Club goes on tour. Recent concert tours have included Europe, Florida, Asia, and the Dominican Republic.
A personal favorite is our Japan Ningyo Tour, which usually attracts about 18 women (and a couple of men) who collect Japanese dolls (ningyo). My friend, Ningyo expert Alan Pate, plans our visits to museum doll displays, Japanese dollmakers, and sellers of antique Japanese dolls. I build on my long experience with Japan to plan the travel logistics.
Let us know your travel dreams, and we will help make them come true!
