Announcing “Salon Forum Travel”
Mission: Salon Forum Travel will provide unique travel experiences for small groups of women, designed for those who are well traveled or not, but women who seek the company of other interesting women to travel with. Each trip will provide a culturally-enriching experience in an easy-going, friendly atmosphere.
Each trip will involve the in-depth personal planning and participation of tour organizers, Barbara Goldberg and Helen Hasenfeld, both experienced world travelers. All trips will be run in conjunction with a reliable tour operator to provide needed infrastructure.
Since we are all local and connected via Salon Forum, we will have the opportunity to meet before traveling for orientation and socialization as well as after to re-connect, share photos and experiences. We believe that connecting ahead of time will contribute to making our trips more intimate and enjoyable.
Our choices of destinations will likely be Third World countries, including places we have traveled to and want to share with you. Our first trip was to Kyoto, Japan for fall foliage with ten women. Our second, a 19-day trip for the Fall of 2009 is to the state of Rajasthan, India. (See "Rajasthan 2009 page for a detailed description.)
Vision:
Our goal is to develop a small following of women who want to travel with us, who enjoy the camaraderie of other women, so the experience is relaxed and more comfortable than traveling with total strangers. Of course, all trips would be open to women who haven’t traveled with Salon Forum Travel in the past.
We are also considering trips that have a “giving back” component, perhaps working to assist women in other parts of the world on short-term projects. There are lots of opportunities for us to both tour and contribute in our travels and we will strive to find and make them available to you.
Salon Forum Travel trips are designed for women of all ages who:
• Are in reasonably good health, are comfortable walking
to tour sites, no strenuous climbing or hiking
• Enjoy the company of other women
• See themselves as relatively easy-going and flexible
• Want to travel comfortably, but not luxuriously
• Appreciate good price/value but not looking for “the cheapest way” to travel
• Are very or somewhat adventuresome in spirit
• Value distinctive travel, not the usual “packaged” tours
• Typically travel independently or with small group tours
to tour sites, no strenuous climbing or hiking
• Enjoy the company of other women
• See themselves as relatively easy-going and flexible
• Want to travel comfortably, but not luxuriously
• Appreciate good price/value but not looking for “the cheapest way” to travel
• Are very or somewhat adventuresome in spirit
• Value distinctive travel, not the usual “packaged” tours
• Typically travel independently or with small group tours
Tour Organizers:
Barbara Goldberg, founder of Salon Forum, and Helen Hasenfeld, a close friend, have traveled independently, each to over 50 countries, planning and organizing their own trips as well as traveling with small tour operators. Helen is a very talented international photographer, exhibiting and selling her artwork.