Current Press Release

30 year journey for globetrotting woman!

Ever think about what it would be like to explore the ruins of a forgotten city, relax in the shade of a towering temple, wonder at the majesty of Kilimanjaro, or share that first glimpse of a place you have always wished to see? Paris, Cape Town, Rio or Shanghai, the women travelers of Going Places Together are about to depart on their next adventure and you are welcome to come along. Since 1979, Nancy Walsh has been designing and leading stunning tours to some of the world's most awe-inspiring destinations. It was soon after the birth of her youngest child that Walsh began to pursue this dream. Seeing how quickly the world was changing, and working to provide her children with all the opportunities a young mother could muster in a small Ontario town, Walsh approached the local Girl Guides association, where she was a volunteer, with a plan to take the 15 and 16-year-olds of the Clifford Pathfinders on an incredible adventure abroad. From London, to Paris, to Berlin, the young women in Walsh's charge found out for themselves what it was like to face the Mona Lisa, to hike in the Swiss Alps, and to meet other young people so far from home. Walsh also realized how much the experience of being a woman traveling with other women helped her understand her own place in the world. Since returning from that journey almost 30 years ago, women's travel has become the point on which much of Walsh's imagination turns. For the first 15 years, Walsh continued to work as an artist and administrator while spending every ounce of her free time helping diverse groups of women prepare for their travels. It was in 1994, when her children began to make plans of their own, that Walsh formalized her services into Going Places Together. Going Places Together is not a travel agency. There is no storefront display to catch your eye and no staff of travel associates waiting with headsets at the ready. Walsh works from a home office, occasionally from her garden, and often she can be found on the South African Transvaal or overlooking the cliffs of Portugal's Alvor coast. With all this globe trotting, Walsh is surprisingly easy to track down. "It's just so simple to keep in touch these days,” she says. “A client in Stratford can send a message to my inbox and I can answer within minutes from the other side of the world.” In 1994, when Walsh established Going Places Together, women's travel was an entirely new field in a very large industry, but over the past 15 years more travel companies are launching women-only tours. "We definitely expected the big boys to muscle their way into women's travel," Walsh explains, "and they have the resources to define the industry differently. That's why we have always worked to further specialize and personalize our tours." When you visit goingplacestogether.com you see the fruits of this labour. "Painting Portugal" is a  traveling watercolour workshop, led by Walsh, with professional instruction by Stratford artist Victoria Shannon. "Reading India" is a book club and tour designed in partnership with Toronto bookseller Nicholas Hoare. As well as limiting the number of travelers in each group, Walsh also limits the number of tours each season. "Many of our travelers work around limited budgets and very busy schedules. In 2009 we offer four excellent tours to reflect just what our travelers want." In addition to the tours mentioned above, Walsh has her travelers swimming off Australia's Great Barrier Reef and visiting Japan and South Korea, where they will sample sushi in Tokyo and gimbap in Seoul. Walsh feels strongly that "the women who travel with Going Places Together are independently minded, they know what's important, and  they love to share their adventures." So with an artist's imagination and 30 years in the field, Going Places Together and your travel plans could not be in better hands!

Current Press Release

30 year journey for globetrotting woman!

Ever think about what it would be like to explore the ruins of a forgotten city, relax in the shade of a towering temple, wonder at the majesty of Kilimanjaro, or share that first glimpse of a place you have always wished to see? Paris, Cape Town, Rio or Shanghai, the women travelers of Going Places Together are about to depart on their next adventure and you are welcome to come along. Since 1979, Nancy Walsh has been designing and leading stunning tours to some of the world's most awe-inspiring destinations. It was soon after the birth of her youngest child that Walsh began to pursue this dream. Seeing how quickly the world was changing, and working to provide her children with all the opportunities a young mother could muster in a small Ontario town, Walsh approached the local Girl Guides association, where she was a volunteer, with a plan to take the 15 and 16-year-olds of the Clifford Pathfinders on an incredible adventure abroad. From London, to Paris, to Berlin, the young women in Walsh's charge found out for themselves what it was like to face the Mona Lisa, to hike in the Swiss Alps, and to meet other young people so far from home. Walsh also realized how much the experience of being a woman traveling with other women helped her understand her own place in the world. Since returning from that journey almost 30 years ago, women's travel has become the point on which much of Walsh's imagination turns. For the first 15 years, Walsh continued to work as an artist and administrator while spending every ounce of her free time helping diverse groups of women prepare for their travels. It was in 1994, when her children began to make plans of their own, that Walsh formalized her services into Going Places Together. Going Places Together is not a travel agency. There is no storefront display to catch your eye and no staff of travel associates waiting with headsets at the ready. Walsh works from a home office, occasionally from her garden, and often she can be found on the South African Transvaal or overlooking the cliffs of Portugal's Alvor coast. With all this globe trotting, Walsh is surprisingly easy to track down. "It's just so simple to keep in touch these days,” she says. “A client in Stratford can send a message to my inbox and I can answer within minutes from the other side of the world.” In 1994, when Walsh established Going Places Together, women's travel was an entirely new field in a very large industry, but over the past 15 years more travel companies are launching women-only tours. "We definitely expected the big boys to muscle their way into women's travel," Walsh explains, "and they have the resources to define the industry differently. That's why we have always worked to further specialize and personalize our tours." When you visit goingplacestogether.com you see the fruits of this labour. "Painting Portugal" is a  traveling watercolour workshop, led by Walsh, with professional instruction by Stratford artist Victoria Shannon. "Reading India" is a book club and tour designed in partnership with Toronto bookseller Nicholas Hoare. As well as limiting the number of travelers in each group, Walsh also limits the number of tours each season. "Many of our travelers work around limited budgets and very busy schedules. In 2009 we offer four excellent tours to reflect just what our travelers want." In addition to the tours mentioned above, Walsh has her travelers swimming off Australia's Great Barrier Reef and visiting Japan and South Korea, where they will sample sushi in Tokyo and gimbap in Seoul. Walsh feels strongly that "the women who travel with Going Places Together are independently minded, they know what's important, and  they love to share their adventures." So with an artist's imagination and 30 years in the field, Going Places Together and your travel plans could not be in better hands!