Welcome to The Awe
You're probably wondering why I'm in your inbox. I'm Tara, founder of Aweventurer, a transformative travel company. You've previously subscribed to our mailing list, which has now moved to Substack.
Why the move? We have been obsessed with Substack for awhile now. We work with writers and creatives who are pioneers on this platform, and it was about time for us to join in.
As we’re new here, it’s time for a re-introduction. Aweventurer is the go-to travel company for one-off, bespoke trips where you travel with the world’s most inspiring people. As the founder, I’ve been behind the scenes, but we want to change that. I was a travel writer for many years and want to tell the stories behind our trips, our extraordinary hosts and the destinations we adore.
Last year, my 16 months of non-stop travel came to a conclusion. I travelled to Brazil, Trinidad, Tobago, Mexico, Peru, USA, Canada, Greece, Italy, UK, Spain, Ireland, Bali, India, Nepal all in service of creating and researching the most life-altering trips and experiences for our travellers.
It turns out I was just as susceptible to the transformative power of travel. That voyage made a powerful imprint on me, and I longed to become a mum. Somewhere on the road between Bali and France we conceived our daughter, who makes me see the world with wonder all over again.
I am more passionate about the power of travel to transform on a physical, spiritual and emotional level than ever. One of the highlights of last year’s travel, that fit the Aweventurer brief, was Happy House in Nepal, a private enclave of spirituality. Days are spent hiking to monasteries, practicing yoga and sound healing, while the evenings are spent with a daily included massage, wine and books by the fireplace in the library. You can read all about it here.
“Flying to Phaplu, you almost think your eyes are playing tricks on you, but the snow capped peaks of Everest and the Himalayas rise higher than the clouds. It’s a once in a lifetime sight.”
While travel is a little less adventurous with a toddler, I get to live vicariously through the scores of retreats and expeditions with hosts from across the world and travellers who are as inspiring as the hosts we work with. I attended our Greece retreat with Tammy Hembrow a few months ago, and it was electric to connect with our travellers and hear their stories of transformation. Everyone was in happy tears at the end of the retreat, which is our sign of success!
In 2025, we have trips with writer Emma Gannon, creative Leanne Ansar, activist and actress Nathalie Kelley and many more. Check out our full portfolio here. As for destinations, we have incredible trips to the Maldives, Egypt, Italy, Sri Lanka and more.
It will be a lot more personal going forward, dispatches straight from me. We promise to only email when we have something to say: updates on our trips, inspiration from our hosts, guides to up and coming destinations and the odd story from our travels.
Here are some things that have inspired us this month:
This T Magazine piece on the island that evokes 1970’s Bali - it’s inspired us to launch a trip there.
Entrepreneur Jeanne De Kroon who inspires us with her passion to support local female communities and craftsmanship around the world.
Daisy Buchanan’s new book Read Yourself Happy, which is a guide to how we can use books to ease our anxiety and is out in February 2025.
What’s inspiring you? Please know that you can reply directly to me via this email and tell me what you're craving travel-wise, and what you want to see from us. We live for your feedback.
Until next time, safe travels,
Tara x