Adventure Reviews

INNER CIRCLE & FOUNDERS ADVENTURES

AMAZON ZAFIRO RIVER VOYAGE

CUBA ADVENTURE WITH MARIEL HEMINGWAY

GLAMPING SAFARI AT COTTAR’S BUSH VILLA & CAMP

Outstanding with Huge Kudos!

The Safari was FABULOUS!  Liz, you and the Cottar’s Camp team did a great job!  You personally have put ThirdHome Travel on a great footing with these Adventures, and the successes are evident and the kudos will keep rolling in. Our safari experience was truly great! Never could we have planned an excursion and experience like this!   Loved the Villa and the glamping tents, and also enjoyed spending time with other club members. Food was outstanding and the Masa men and women were so friendly!  We loved everything about the trip- so much fun and full of adventure!

D. Kink

Outstanding with Huge Kudos!

We had such a fantastic time on the Cottar’s Safari.  From the game drives time and animal encounters, to the great people – all wonderful experiences.  It was a beautiful place and the staff at the camp was exceptional.  Thanks again for making this possible and arrange the special pricing.  We were pleased we were able to include this trip with our travels this year! 

J. Lelevier

WADE’S ULTIMATE WILDERNESS SAFARI

Magnificent Safari & Priceless Moments!

We had such a magnificent time on the Wilderness Safari at Leobo Private Reserve and beyond! From the extraordinary night sky with so many stars, to picnic lunches, wildlife encounters on our game drives, a great African barbecue experience and spectacular accommodations with panoramic views. Every segment of the safari was amazing – with precious penguins on the Cape coast, to giraffes, rhinos, zebras and cats on the savannahs. We enjoyed delightful wine tastings with a boutique luxury wine estate hotel stay; and then onward to Camdeboo Lodge. All the great company with other club members also made for some wonderful and priceless experiences. Each location was beautiful and the staff at all hotels and Thirdhome lodges was exceptional.  Thanks again for making this possible; we so thrilled to be able to include this trip in our travels this year! 

S. Challenger

A Standing Ovation Safari!

WOW WOW WOW!!! I can’t say enough about the fabulous trip you put together for us at Leobo Private Reserve. From the moment we landed in South Africa, we had a smile on our faces. Leobo was beyond impressive…the adventures were unique, the food was scrumptious, the accommodations and views were breathtaking and of course, the company was extraordinary! This was the most memorable trip Milt & I have ever been on. Liz, you deserve a standing ovation for this one! We want to THANK YOU for adding us to the guest list and we look forward to experiencing more THIRDHOME Adventures in the future with you at the helm.

D. Walker

A Safari beyond our Expectations!

I must say I really wasn’t sure exactly what to expect on our trip to South Africa but what I can say it was beyond our expectations! It was an unbelievable trip with several amazing experiences that makes it hard to pick just one. We have traveled with groups before where we didn’t know most of the other people, but this group was definitely hand-picked as everyone we met on this trip were all amazing and wonderful.  We would all love a reunion adventure somewhere with the same group – we all became great friends so quickly and enjoyed our time spent together very much. Our most favorite experiences were the helicopter ride at Leobo – absolutely beautiful and thrilling! Our Cape Town coast drive to the Cape of Good Hope with breathtaking views and a hike to the lighthouse was fantastic. We would rate this safari experience a 5-star, actually higher! This trip was so well organized with never a lack of something to do.  You did such a great job putting everything together.  If anyone asks what kind of trips Thirdhome organizes I would be very happy to say only the very best!

R. Vierling

2022 – 2023 CLUB ADVENTURES

MYSTICAL MOROCCO

Top Notch Adventure!

We had a wonderful time on our Moroccan Adventure and were pleased and impressed with our expert tour guide. The accommodations were lovely and we appreciated the help navigating a country just reopening from COVID. We would have liked more shopping time, but that was a minor concern considering many places were either closed or had limited hours of operation. Transportation throughout was comfortable and we felt safe on our journey with our driver and guide. The Sahara was the highlight…and overall it was top notch, well done!

D. Meyer

A NATGEO Spectacular Destination Experience!

Morocco was spectacular, and our expert guide/tour leader was the best. Of course the tour group was small so we got to know each other pretty well, maybe too well. The tour covered a lot of territory – yesterday I compared it to a NatGeo tour and ours was considerably more extensive. The Sahara was magnificent despite that I personally would have loved to go deeper and spend more time there searching for meteorites and fossils. Ricks Cafe wasn’t on our itinerary but due to a strange set of circumstances the universe aligned the stars and we found ourselves eating dinner there on our last night. How many people can even say they tried to play the piano in Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca, especially while on a Thirdhome Adventure? Thanks to you I can put that experience right up there with discussing The Old Man and the Sea with Mariel in Papa Hemingway’s bar while we were on your Cuba adventure. I guess I should thank the Director of Adventures – immense thanks Liz for making this possible during an awkward time in the world!

C. Saunders

Camel Rides, Culture & so much more!

My Morocco adventure started over 2 years ago when my “travel muse” and Third Home Director of Adventures, Liz Bates, called me and said “Larry, you don’t want to miss out on our “Colors of Morocco” small-group tour.  I’ve been there and the country is spectacular.”  I had to confess that I knew little about Morocco beyond the fact that Casablanca to this day remains one of my favorite classic movies. I also knew a that an endorsement from Liz had proven to be the closest thing to a guaranteed great travel experience.  She got me to the Peruvian Amazon and to the Galapagos so why not Morocco?  Thus, with the words from “Marrakech Express” (Crosby, Stills and Nash) and “Midnight at the Oasis” (Maria Muldaur) dancing in my head, my daughter Morgan and I proceeded to meet 10 fellow Thirdhome travelers in Rabat, Morocco to begin our journey. I’ve learned that a successful tour is dependent on a charismatic leader and we were lucky enough to have an authentic resident Moroccan Berber villager guide who professionally escorted us on our 14-day adventure.  Abdou was knowledgeable about all things Morocco (culture, food, history, religion and art) and he patiently answered every question we threw at him, often with a wry sense of humor. Get to Morocco on any opportunity you get – it should be a must-do destination on everyone’s bucket list. To read more about the top Moroccan experiences on our Adventure – view Larry’s blog post!

L. Grossman

OLD WORLD WONDERS OF SICILY & MALTA

Special Friendships Forged!

Our adventure to Sicily and Malta was a special trip with a group of members we didn’t know the majority of, however we ended up all becoming very special friends. We all enjoyed local wines, laughed alot and had a great time together as a group. Both island countries were very interesting with spectacular ancient and old-world sites; the food was amazing and so was our tour manager/guide!

S. Challenger

Cherished Moments & Delicious Dining!

Our most cherished moments from our trip to Sicily/Malta were the wonderful meals together with our group. We all seemed to mesh from the very beginning. We enjoyed delicious Sicilian food, wine and laughter! One of our first evenings together we ventured out together and found a spectacular restaurant on trip advisor, followed our GPS through a sketchy area only to find a beautiful outdoor setting to enjoy a fabulous traditional Sicilian meal and wine to begin our immersion in their culture. We very much enjoyed Erice with its medieval castle and spectacular views, the countess and her palace and the amazing sunsets over the windmills and the lovely Mediterranean sea. Villa Romana del Casale with its endless mosaic tiles buried for centuries was a top highlight. The views of the active volcano Mt. Etna spewing steam as we stood in the Teatro Antico in Taormina were breathtaking. Taormina itself was our favorite city, and the cliff views were amazing.  Overall, it was a great memorable trip!

D. Chambers

Fun in the Sun with New Friendships!

It was a great fun trip! Sicily and Malta were beautiful, with amazing food and wines, culture and history. Rarely have I encountered a group experience in which everyone became great friends…in fact this group got along so well, we’re already talking about scheduling a reunion trip all together again. This is such a great perk for club members to journey and make new friendships!

G. Mehula

CULTURAL CROSSROADS OF EGYPT, JORDAN & ISRAEL

Memories that will last a Lifetime!

Traveling with Thirdhome is amazing – and this was the BEST Adventure over 23-days through Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Luxor. Everything Liz arranged was great, and Leslie and I thank you and everyone locally for the wonderful memories that will last a lifetime! Sign us up for more future Adventures with Thirdhome!

J. Chenault

On a scale from 1-10…this was an Eleven!

Edith and I have enjoyed the trip immensely, and we thank you for organizing every little detail of this group adventure for us. Also the guides were great, and the hotels were comfortable with the beds and showers more than acceptable for what we hoped the Middle East would be like. On a scale of one to ten, Edith and my overall experience were an Eleven! Also, the best part of the trip was the local people we met and the new club friends we have gained; they were all great. We are looking forward to our next trip and more future adventures!

D. Daniel

A Trip of a Lifetime Experience!

Paul and I feel so lucky to have been able to visit so many amazing places with Thirdhome and privately, but this journey was a trip of a lifetime for us! Thank you for all your hard work and assistance to make it possible. It was a wonderful insightful experience!

R. Williams

Unforgettable Adventure!

I had to wait a long time to visit Egypt myself and the iconic pyramids of Giza. So I departed with Steve Martin’s 1978 funky tune “King Tut” dancing in my head, and met up with our tour guide who expertly led me, my daughter and 23 fellow club adventurers toward the Giza Pyramids to begin our 14-day adventure.  We visited the Egyptian pyramids, Jordan’s Petra and the Dead Sea, among many other ancient places in between, and ended in Israel. They say pictures don’t lie and accordingly my hundreds of unforgettable images from the trip reinforce my belief that this adventure stood above all prior visits to any other historic, religious and cultural sites I have ever visited. Read more about this Adventure – on Larry’s blog post!

L. Grossman

ROMANCING THE AMALFI COAST & PUGLIA

Wonderful Tour with new friends!

This trip was so much fun! We had such a blast with our new Thirdhome club member friends, and the local food and wines were wonderful. We enjoyed lots of fun excursions and Ostuni town was huge highlight. Overall it was a wonderful tour and we had a great time!

D. Dillard

A Lovely Adventure!

It was a wonderful trip, with a lovely group of people. We loved our day in Pompeii and the visit to the winery afterwards was top notch.  We were served a beautiful lunch and were able to taste 5 different wines (all generous pours), this may have been one of my favorite days of the adventure, probably tied with the visit to Ravello. The Lemon Trail hike from Minori to Maori and the visit to the Lemon farm were absolutely breathtaking, and Ravello was like a little slice of perfection!  Matera and Alberobello were so unique and very interesting.  Fascinating places that I likely would not have visited on my own. It really was a lovely adventure and I met a few Thirdhome club members that I hope to stay in touch with.  I look forward to the opportunity to “Adventure” with Third Home again!

L. Nawn

This met all our Expectations!

We had such a wonderful group and fun time in the beautiful Amalfi Coast! This trip met all our expectations and much more. We enjoyed meeting other club members too. I would again love to travel with my family on another Thirdhome Adventure with your expertise and thoughtful trip planning you have always provided us with.

J. Chavez

CRADLE OF HUMANITY SAFARI

Very Enlightening Adventure!

This was a fun safari tour overall – our tour leader Felix made the trip a special event each day! Felix was a wonderful person who had many attributes including intelligence, sense of humor, articulate, hard-working and very well informed on the eco-system, the animals and his country.  Every day was well planned and he was unfailingly energetic and excited about all the adventures.  All the hard work and planning he did was always behind the scenes and never shown to the guests.  His knowledge of the animals, the eco-systems and the countries was extensive and he shared it in an entertaining way.   He was always upbeat and positive, a joy to have as our leader for the 2 weeks. As we told him several times, he was an awesome ambassador to represent his country. For the most part, our group’s individuals on the trip were all very interesting, engaging and fun to be with. We enjoyed the cultural side trips and Land Rover journeys despite the challenging roads, such as getting to the Masai village and visiting with the Hzabe tribesmen. Those trips were very enlightening and made our adventure more than just a safari, which we appreciated very much!

M. Marcus

Impactful Vacation of a Lifetime!

Our entire family had an amazing time, truly a vacation of a lifetime. The variety of animals that we saw, the beautiful landscapes, and especially the interaction with the various tribes made it extra special. Seeing how both our kids were so impacted by these experiences made it all that more memorable. Our guide Felix couldn’t have been more professional and friendly. His wide ranging knowledge and ability to handle issues and group individual needs throughout our travels made him an excellent representative-guide for this adventure. Thank you so much for all your help in making this dream vacation a reality!

F. Guisasola & Family

An Extraordinary Experience!

We had a fabulous trip to West Africa. It was an extraordinary experience! I can not say enough about Felix he is a walking encyclopedia and is truly devoted to his job as a professional safari tour guide. The trip was truly an adventure…Keith and I loved the whole experience!  Looking so forward to another Thirdhome Adventure in the future!

C. Good

Another Dream Destination Conquered!

Twelve Third Home members and I were traveling by Toyota Land Cruiser across the Serengeti National Park participating in the Third Home “Cradle of Civilization” adventure and by day 3 it was mind-blowing.  Over the course of 2 weeks, we observed up close lions, hippos, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, cape buffalos, cheetahs and dozens of insanely colorful birds. As any Dad and Grandpa knows after watching the Lion King movie for the 80^th time with their children or grandchildren, there is a true circle of life in the Serengeti.  From antelopes to leopards and lion cubs and giraffes roaming freely, life is so vivid here. We even saw massive numbers of wildebeests accompanied by zebras and impalas migrating at great speed across the Serengeti plains.  We learned that this annual age-old journey was about 2 things: access to water and greener grass.  Witnessing the power of these animals in their home was breathtaking and a far cry from observing them while standing behind a fence at the local zoo. But this adventure in Kenya and Tanzania was also much about the people as it was about the wildlife.  Over 100 distinct tribes exist in East Africa and each tribe has their own language, dialect and culture.  Our visits to local villages were eye opening and humbling. In addition, one of my most favorite things about a Thirdhome Adventure is meeting new fellow club travelers who share my desire to see the world in an active manner while we still can.  Each Thirdhome trip I’ve taken results in ongoing connections, and in many cases, new travel buddies. Thank you Liz for making yet another dream come true in my National Geographic Book of Dream Destinations to conquer!

L. Grossman

RWANDA SILVERBACK GORILLA TREKKING

Totally worth the wait!

We had an incredible time in Rwanda on the Silverback Gorilla private family trek.   Totally worth the wait after the pandemic years shutdowns, for us to finally get there. The entire journey went off without a hitch and Craig Sholley was a rockstar!

A. Roth & Family

Our entire Trip was Awesome!

Our entire trip was awesome! We had a blast seeing the Silverback Gorillas and we loved Craig! Everyone got along so well on our small group trek safari experience. Thank you Liz for making this trek adventure finally possible for all of us who waited so long to get here!

S. Bruck

Fabulous Safari Experience!

My family and I had a fabulous time experiencing the Silverback Gorillas on this amazing Thirdhome Adventure with Craig Sholley! We waited a long time and couldn’t wait to get there. This was a remarkable family safari destination and we loved Craig as our host!

W. Lawler

ANCIENT TREASURES OF THE INCAS & MACHU PICCHU

An Over and Beyond Experience!

After a very rocky travel start and missing the first day of our adventure due to airline delays, our awesome trip was becoming a dream come true! The accommodations were fantastic and our room was upgraded in the first hotel and we received a very nice bottle of Champagne.  The local hosting family tour company went “over and above” each day to help us feel safe and welcomed.  We really appreciated that. The guides were all great, especially Odon who spent the most time with our group.  We highly recommend this adventure, and thank you for arranging this wonderful trip experience for us as Third Home members! We look forward to seeing other exciting adventure trips as they might come through your pipeline.  We are loyal fans of Thirdhome and you too Liz! 

R. Dunn

Breathtaking Destination!

We had such a marvelous time on this Adventure and enjoyed meeting other club members! The guides were wonderful, the food was a bounty each day and the destination was breathtaking.

C. Green

Wonderful Trip!

We loved this trip and had a great time with everyone in the group and our local guides! We hated to leave Peru. Wonderful experience!

J. Murphy

PERSONALIZED CURATED JOURNEYS

This was a fabulous trip to Australia – it was so worth the wait to get here finally due to all the pandemic delays! The customized experience and all the private tours were perfect and our tour guides were awesome! We have loved everything – all the places we stayed, and the B&B owned estate that is run by a sheep farmer family in Kangaroo Island was amazing. The Barossa wine tour was great plus we enjoyed wine parings with dinner each night while at your highly recommended Silky Oaks Lodge. I think our highlight of the trip was snorkeling The Great Barrier Reef…it was so much more amazing than we thought was. But we can’t leave out Uluru RockEverything has been seamless and we have become aware of how much less stress the travel is when having you plan every little detail. We appreciate your listening to the types of travel we like to do and sharing that with others as needed. We feel like we will leave Australia having a great sense of what the country is all about – thanks to you and your amazing attention to detail.

C. Bedford Foyt

Our entire trip to New Zealand was fabulous, and Donkey Bay villa was the cat’s meow! You helped make this trip a reality and the best day fly-fishing ever had. Thank you for all you hard work making our trip so wonderful…we thoroughly enjoyed your personal choices of lodges and homes, helping us blend using our keys and customizing the trip around what we couldn’t use keys for. Our last two nights in Wanaca were so over the top including being able to have dinner with our gracious hosts. I believe we established a friendship with them that will endure. We are so grateful always for your help in guiding our way on all our various trips, and your presence in our life is deeply cherished.

R. Kantor

Thank you for planning such a very special trip for me and Sarah to Paris! Every moment was wonderful and romantic. We loved the hotel you personally chose for us, and all the great places to dine and sip cocktails. You are always so good to us, and we appreciate you helping us plan such a great experience…we really enjoyed everything about the trip!

C. Signor

We had a fabulous time on our multi-country, multi-city family vacation!  It couldn’t have been more perfect.  The routing you planned for us worked out very well.  We had just enough time in each location to hit all the highlights, have a little downtime, and not be too overwhelmed with constant moves.   The hotels were also great choices for our group, very comfortable and great locations.  We especially loved our stay Sorrento! Transfers and train journeys were all seamless, and all the excursions you planned were amazing. We tallied up 4 countries, 14 cities, 15 excursions and approximately 10-miles walked per day. Honestly, for a trip this long, and none of us being really seasoned international travelers, I would have expected a few disruptions, but there weren’t really any to speak of and we owe all that magic to you! Needless to say, we returned home exhausted, but with priceless memories! 

T. Beach

Our South Africa custom safari has gone beyond our expectations and Carol thinks she has died and gone to heaven with all the delicious dining at every meal and the extraordinary wildlife – including these adorable little lion cubs we got to capture today. It’s been an awesome trip and we can’t thank you enough for all your expert travel planning you have done for us on this trip and past trips too! We still talk about our amazing trip to Portugal that you planned – View the blog post

F. Novak