We believe travel is about turning possibilities into realities. The great attractions of earth are what draw you. But a whole lot more goes on besides the main attraction. It is in the side street, the unexpected in the ordinary, experiences that are between the lines of a written itinerary.

The Story of Tourworld Travel Company

Tourworld Travel Company is a specialty travel agency offering enlightening, engaging travel programs to people of wide ranging interests.

I love to travel and it’s why I’ve made my career in the travel industry. I started Tourworld in 1998. In 2017 I joined forces with the Flight Centre Travel Group to adapt to the changing world of travel business. In 2024, Flight Centre’s independent agencies were rebranded to Envoyage to better reflect our roles as personal envoys for every journey.

More Back Story
My name is George Duffy and I live in the rambling hill country of South Eastern Alberta in Canada. Not an ordinary place. It’s a small part of Canada that goes unnoticed. And that’s kind of a shame, but I also kind of like it that way. I get to see wildlife every day and I cherish the clear skies, regular day time sunshine, the odd cracker of a lightning storm and the starry, starry nights.


I’ve travelled to a lot of beaches, paddled by kayak to tropical Caribbean islands, flown by helicopter to Machu Picchu, gone truffle hunting in Istria, and watched the sun rise from Temple 4 in Tikal. I also love talking about food, meeting the makers and growers and hearing their passionate stories of producing love on a plate. What I’ve learned is that the secret to having a more meaningful trip is to take a break, get out of the driver’s seat and let a local help show you what’s really special. It makes all the difference. It is the difference. That, and just slow down.

Ready to Journey?

We don’t just ask you where you want to go. Let’s talk about what you want to do. What you’ve maybe dreamed of doing your whole life, but held yourself back for one reason or another.

Everything you need to know about us is on this page, so take a minute to have a look. If you like what see, give us a call or email and we can start a conversation.

What Types of Travel Do You Enjoy?

We specialise in helping solo travellers, couples, mature travellers, travelling friends, special interest travellers, and independent travellers. There’s options.

With a group, on your own, or a little of both?

Some people come alive in a group, others not so much. But everyone invariably enjoys making contact with other people at one level or another. The trick is to find the balance that works for you. So depending on your own interests and how much you energize in a group or need alone time to recharge, there’s options. This video tells a story of why travel with a group is a satisfying experience for one woman.

Solo Travellers

Photo of solo female traveller with a camera taking a picture from a pop-top safari truck in Africa. Courtesy of Intrepid Premium Adventures.
Premium Style Adventures For Experienced Travellers

You love to travel, you want to travel. But your partner doesn’t or your friends can’t find the money or time. Or you’re at a stage when you can realize your travel yearnings and you are happy being in your own space.

Over the years, we’ve found strategies to make solo travel really enjoyable and secure while being able to offer choices that can be competitively priced. Continue reading or reach out and send a quick email or request a call back.

Age and Ability

Sacred Valley of the Incas- Intrepid Premium

It’s obvious that not all types of travel will be appealing or available to each and every person. That said, there’s probably more available than you might have thought.

Couples and Friends

Coastal and Island Cruising

There’s a whole world of things for travelling couples and friends. Have a look at what we have available with an open mind and let your imagination run through the possibilities from sailing to cycling, cooking to cruising and so much more.

Travel with Kids

Taking a vacation with kids to a resort or theme park is one thing. But that’s not the only option. There are specialty group tours, ecolodges, outdoor recreational and active programs made for families that are really great types of trips for kids and parents and they are also well suited for single parent families.

Or, let’s talk about tacos.

Travelling with a group is a lot of fun. And you can take all kinds of group tours from long fully immersed tours to shorter trips, even day trips, that we can weave into your longer travel experience.

about Tourworld taco tour in Mexico City
Watch Let’s Talk About Tacos The Famous Taco Tour in Mexico City

Most organized group tours today are a mix of people who like the same types of experiences. And with few exceptions, age is not a factor on tours. It’s activity, interest and style that are the difference.

There’s wide ranges of travel types that you can see on this website. I’ve pulled them from some of the best global companies to show, but there are literally hundreds more for special interests.

Introducing Tiny Exclusive Tours

Tiny Exclusive Tours are typically 1 to 12 days for tiny sized groups from 2 to 12 people. Why Tiny? They’re the right type of travel experience for many of today’s travellers: friends, families, clubs, alumni, associations. They are customised and private. The big difference is they are proportionately priced according the number of people who travel together.

Standard published tours are fixed prices. Tiny tours are variably priced based on 2 people minimum and then discounted according to how many people go up to a maximum of 12 people. (Ask for a sample here.) This a perfect idea for families, friends, association or club mates to get a private travel experience at a prices that works to their advantage. Another example is the Cuba farm and food tour here.

Yes, this video is me. (My hair isn’t really that grey, is it? ) I was visiting and they made this informational video. This little place is a great example of escaping ordinary. Not too hard to get to with a little help, but about a million miles away from the hustle of the Mayan Riviera and Cancun. Besides being a very interesting village where they make and sell hammocks, they also have access to one of the best preserved Mayan archeological sites you can see anywhere. Seriously under rated.

exquisitely preserved Mayan carvings on a little visited location you can visit with Tourworld
An incredible find. The detail of workmanship and the near perfect preservation of these Mayan ruins make this small site extremely rare.

There are literally thousands of Tiny Tour possibilities. Scotland, Ireland, England, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Jordan, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru are some really good ideas but there’s many more including the United States and Canada.

Tour with locals, dine with locals.

Around the world people are experiencing destinations and cultures with local guides and then dining with local hosts in private homes. How cool is that?

Tourworld uses local based guides that welcome you.
Meet Gloria in Lisbon for a Locally Hosted Tour
Home based chef at a brick barbecue.
Dine with locals in their homes.

If you want to really experience places and people, you need to actually meet locals and spend a little time with them, talk with them and share the experience. I have personally travelled using local guides for good portions of my trips and I can honestly say each experience is richer because of them.

Longer and Larger Exclusive Tours

Longer and larger private guided trips can certainly be arranged. There are many great options for this: block space on a set departure trip, set up your own private trip, create a wholly customized trip. The options depend on many factors and I am pleased to give you some help in making the choice and arranging the whole program.

Let’s talk about slow travel.

Less road trip, more side trip.

Slow travel experiences are a way of travelling and visiting. The emphasis is on more interaction with both the people and the places, rather than just skimming by. Slow travel is not a brand or a product. Slow travel is as much your state mind as it is the actual trip.

There are great slow choices out there: food trips, culture, sightseeing, active outdoors, train excursions, self guided, retreats, villas, birdwatching, ecolodges, language schools, cooking lessons.

Guided and Self Guided Active Tours, Outdoor Adventures, and Expeditions

Mont Blanc, The Inca Trail, Everest Base Camp, The Annapurna Circuit, The Camino de Santiago, The Amalfi Coast, The Loire Valley, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Cotopaxi. All iconic treks and trips can be guided and some offer self guided options. Go higher, deeper: Choquequirao, Salkantay, Ausangate and Rainbow Mountain, Torres del Paine,

Self guided trips are really great for walkers and cyclists. Your trip is pre-designed, everything is reserved, you get detailed trip information, local support and your luggage is moved for you.

Unique Accommodation of Exploration: Ecolodges, Paradores, and Agriturismos

There is a great pleasure staying at community ecolodges like my video from Mexico or experiencing the rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon. Other places are more remote like safari camps, heading out on explorations and ending the day sitting around the dinner table talking with the people in your group. It might be at a nice local eatery – it might be sundowners on a patio overlooking the vast African veldt. In Italy we have agriturismos, in Slovenia we have guest homes and farm stays. In Spain, Paradores. These are all excellent slow travel experiences.

Dining at a private home with local chef in Mexico City.

Vacation Houses, Villas – Great For Your Own Group, Friends and Families

There are also villas and other unique vacation rentals that make for more enclosed stays and are especially good for families, couples, friends or small groups.

villa for families and friends with Tourworld

Special Interest Travel – From Iconic to Esoteric

Deeper travels with learning and discovery with tourworld.
Learning about the adoption of AgroEcology on a private tour of sustainable farms in Cuba.

Special interest travel is for people wanting to explore deeper, engage their minds, nourish their souls, hone their artistic and crafting abilities.

There are in-depth tours in the public domain and we can help you find any that are out there. If not, we have a wide circle of professional contacts that can help arrange local experiences. Check our artisan travel page.

Assurance and Insurance

Tourworld Travel Company is privately owned, registered in Alberta, Canada and is partnered with Envoyage, a brand of the Flight Centre Travel Goup. This helps us deliver not only great tours, but offer great pricing advantages, choice, better customer service and financial security. We are fully licensed with Envoyage to sell travel within all Canadian provinces and territories.

Tourworld Travel Company is also partnered with Allianz Travel Insurance. Travel Insurance is a now requirement to enter many countries and to take part in many tours. We work with you to make sure that you have an appropriate risk management solution should the unexpected happen to change your plans. I am a licensed agent for British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Get a quote.

The Major Brands, The Best Independents

We have carefully chosen a selection of the really great travel and tour partners. Some you’ve heard of while others are smaller, more specialized and mostly located right in the destination. We work exclusively with companies that have made environmental sustainability and social responsibility part of their actions.

Booking with Tourworld directly provides you with greater flexibility to choose what you want. We cover off all the details you need to choose your trips and to be aware of before you travel and also help you out during the trip if something occurs.

You can also trust that your plans are in good hands as we are members of Envoyage.

Want to learn more, get some price comparisons, talk about travel?

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