Meet Joanna

As a solo traveler, for both business and leisure, I have learned to create ‘home’ from myself no matter where I visit or whether I’m there one day, one month or longer. I enjoy learning the customs of the culture or locale I’m visiting and always strive to be a ‘local’ wherever I am in the world for however long I’m there. I live to travel and love sharing my experiences – my bags are always packed!

I think what I bring to Freedom Tours that makes me a better specialist is my curiosity and thirst for knowledge and information. I am a meticulous researcher/planner, and historian by education, and look for ‘the little things’ that will help make a client’s trip very special. I’m always looking for the ‘off the beaten path’ sights and activities, a new way to view a popular destination or something that will give a client a different perspective than they might get from a typical tour.

My big passion is ‘big cities’ and finding ways to explore them that most typical tours never do. My favorites are London and Paris because they have so many obvious sites that it’s easy to miss the real beauty and energy of these cities that lies beyond the obvious. It’s always a challenge to blend the typical visitor attractions with the ‘off the beaten path’ activities and create something really special for clients that meets or exceeds their expectations.

I also have a passion for creating tours that enable clients to get familiar with a particular city so that they feel at home very quickly. I love walking and using public transportation (tube, metro, etc.) and often challenge myself not to take cabs unless there’s no other way to get somewhere. In this way, I really get to know a city and feel right at home quickly. As a solo traveler, I’ve had to do this so often for myself that I can now do it anywhere in the world for anyone.

Finally, I am a nut for tennis, yoga, horseback riding and cooking, and will often incorporate some aspect of these into my travel.

Email Joanna at joanna@freedomtoursllc.com or call 877-384-4372.

I’m a born researcher and I will use all kinds of information sources to discover something new and different. While I use the Internet (websites, blogs, etc.) a great deal for research, I’m an avid reader of all kinds of books and magazines and will use many different reading materials to find interesting information on destinations. I’m also a big movie buff and if I see some place in a movie that’s interesting, I’ll do the research to find that little known locale used as a backdrop and incorporate it into my planning. I also watch travel and historical programs on TV and will note locales and interesting attractions/activities from these.

WOW – this is so hard for me because I have so many favorites. In London – don’t miss an evening concert at St. Martin in the Fields Church. In Paris – don’t miss an early, before 8 am, stroll along the banks of the Seine ending under the Eiffel Tower before it opens. In Sydney – don’t miss the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple at Wollongong. In Melbourne – be sure to follow the Golden Mile Heritage Trail for spectacular architecture. I could go on and on about things not to miss in all these places and more but I promised to keep this short! Besides, travel is about finding your own ‘not-to-miss’ thing to do!

I’ve been an ardent traveler since my first trip to Chicago at age 8. I’ve visited almost all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, various locales in Europe and Australia and am meticulous in my own planning, while working hard to keep my travel spontaneous. I did much of my early travel by train and so when possible I like to include some train travel in my client planning or tours -- there’s nothing like the train for really getting to know a country or locale.