Lots of people ask me what the difference is between a travel coach and a travel agent or travel advisor?

The easiest way to explain this is, as a travel coach I focus on guiding you through any emotional and mental barriers you may have and help you to reach your goals through travel and the experiences it offers. The focus is on growth and transformation, the why and how, there is a distinct before and after a trip and a transformation occurs.

A travel agent on the other hand takes care of all the logistics, researching the best prices and booking the components of the trip.  They are a point of contact if things go wrong or you need advice on things like travel insurance, vaccines and visas.  The focus is on the trip, where and when.  You then return to the status quo of life before the trip, the experience quickly becomes a distant memory!

The next question I get is what is the difference between a life coach and a travel coach?  The way I like to look at it is, I’m a coach who challenges, supports and empowers you through a period of sacred time of which travel is part of.  A sabbatical or career break is a unique opportunity to step away from your daily routine, explore new horizons, experience personal growth and transformation along the way.  A life coach on the contrary supports you through BAU (business as usual).

Travelling as part of a sabbatical or career break is an incredible opportunity but the decision to do so and the execution can be hard.  Not only financially and logistically but also emotionally.  Committing to such a break take courage and a no barriers mindset.

Who do I work with?

The majority of my clients are ‘A type’ personalities, high performers who crave something else and may even feel as though opportunities are passing them by.  Maybe they are at a career crossroads, have important personal and professional decisions to make, are totally burnt out, recently retired or between roles.

Their desire is to gain clarity, relax, feel at peace, all whilst experiencing different cultures and learning from unique travel encounters.  In order to make this a reality they need to take the plunge and commit to a career break or sabbatical.

Through my own experiences I can speak directly to my clientele’s struggles and work with them to create solutions and set goals.  Having emigrated twice, lived in three different countries and taken three career breaks I use my 20 years of career coaching, transformational and intentional travel experience to empower others to live their best life during and post a career break.

My coaching framework

I work with individuals on pre, during and post trip coaching.

Pre trip offering it’s all about inspiration and mindset.  Supporting individuals to gain confidence and stop procrastinating.  This is where we turn the dream into reality.  We set the container and intentions for your sacred time off.  Exploring why you want to travel, how you want to use your time off, who you want to surround yourself with, which locations will help you achieve your goals.

This is the dreaming part if you like. The big sky thinking where we overcome fears, work on mindset, start to plan and dig deep into the motivations for travel. This is where we work together to create the persona you wish to become on return from your trip.  The future YOU!

Support during the period of sacred time and travel I offer is more aligned with an accountability partner.  We’ll work together to ensure your time and trip is maximised in line with intentions set.

In the pre-trip offering we’ll investigate practices and activities that will help you achieve your goals and transformation you are seeking.  Some clients feel as though all they need is the pre-trip offering, the confidence and focus to curate and book the travel, set the intentions and goals. However, others know deep down that they need an accountability partner through their time away, a friend to ensure the intentions they set are carried through the trip.

Post trip coaching is where the magic happens.  How many colleagues or friends do you know who come back from a sabbatical wishing they’d maximised the time off a little more?  Many come home and after a couple of weeks the experience is a distant memory, and they fall back into bad habits almost immediately.

I believe travel is an incredible teacher and healer, it has the power to not only improve all aspects of an individual’s wellbeing but also break down limiting beliefs.  Through being intentional on the return from a trip and utilising integration practices I really believe that transformational travel can lead to your desired ‘future you’ and a different way of living to before the trip.

Travel is a great catalyst for transformation, but it’s only a vehicle and can’t be left at the airport if you truly want it to work its magic.