Darley Newman in Southern California.
There’s a good chance that you’ve seen Darley Newman on PBS as she rides horses in Iceland, free dives in South Korea, explores the backroads of Wales, and takes a road trip through the southern states of the US. A popular TV host and producer of two Emmy Award-winning PBS series, Travels with Darley and Equitrekking, the public television figure is now using her expert knowledge of destinations and travel to launch Darley Vacations in partnership with a leading Virtuoso Travel Agency.
The new Darley Vacations offers intimate travel itineraries across the USA and around the world, featuring authentic food, culture, and adventure experiences with locals as the guides, a hallmark of Newman’s storytelling. She has partnered with longtime travel advisor Cathy Moha of Gourmet Voyages to develop each itinerary, which includes trips with a focus on nature and wellness experiences. There are also private tours that are customizable for each location and traveler preference.
Darley Newman in Hanok Village, Seoul, Korea
Newman’s trips are fully guided vacations that encompass national park and forest adventures in New Mexico, New York, and California; a family-friendly road trip along California's Central Coast; and ski lessons with an Olympian in New York's Adirondacks. International trips will include a Creole cooking classes in Martinique; a Rhine River cruise in Europe with several insider experiences during pre and post-cruise days; and an Iceland adventure package with horseback riding. Newman will also be sailing with guests in 2022 for a special Mediterranean Cruise with Regent Seven Seas Cruises. I caught up with her recently to learn more about Darley Vacations.
Everett Potter: Darley, how did you go about creating these trips?
Darley Newman: Each itinerary is based on experiences I was able to have in each location and I worked with Cathy, who is a longtime travel agent and agency owner, to develop each vacation further with all of the day-to-day logistics and intricacies. We also laid out each itinerary so they make more sense for regular travelers. As often when I'm filming, it's a more hectic experience than you'd want to have on your actual vacation.
We are working with small tour guides, tour operators, and hotels in each location and sending people to the restaurants, museums, and shops that have been stand-outs. Everything that I've done in the series are things that viewers can recreate, so this makes it easy for them to do, as we've pieced it together for them, including travel perks that only travel agents — and seasoned travel TV hosts and travelers — can garner.
Darley Newman at Chateau Bienassis with owner Pierre Yves Hugeut.
EP: So what makes them stand out from other similar trips?
DN: These trips stand out for the authenticity of the adventures and the unique offerings. We're also offering locations that are not normally booked by US tour operators or agencies. For instance, not a lot of people are offering these customized Martinique trips or sending US travelers to Jeju Island in South Korea to go diving with the Haenyeo, a community of women on UNESCO's World Heritage List. These are really only experiences that can be found when you get out there and travel, hitting the pavement and the road to uncover them. Because I've personally tried each adventure, we can tell you if this experience may or may not be the right fit for you and customize as needed. I'm also excited to be including many of the culinary experiences that really stand out, like a traditional Native American meal at a Pueblo outside of Santa Fe, the cool food tour I did of Old Dubai and many of the Michelin-star, but also small mom and pop owned restaurants I've discovered. We've also included adventure activities for those who truly want to earn bragging rights. For instance, you can opt to follow in my footsteps and swim with sharks in the Dubai Mall or meet the third generation of at a family owned winery, something special we arrange for travelers on our Finger Lakes vacations. For my Equitrekking fans, we've also include horse lover’s excursions, like riding in Iceland and Santa Fe, or visiting Meydan Stables in Dubai.
EP: Will you accompany any of these trips when travel resumes?
So that's funny, as originally when we were going to launch this in May of 2020, I was going to do one of the first trips and offer a group booking in Santa Fe, which is one of my favorite places. Right now, we have the business structured so that you go with your own group, family, couple, etc. for COVID reasons, but also because it's more intimate. I do plan to go on special tours though once COVID has hopefully resolved. I am scheduled on a 2022 luxury cruise on the Mediterranean that travelers can book. The first trip I ever did to Europe was a Mediterranean cruise with my friend's family and that's when I truly caught the travel bug. It changed the course of my career and life. I'll be joining travelers on this cruise for wine tasting, cooking classes, a lecture, and more and reliving my high school days hopefully with a Bellini in hand in Venice.
Darley Newman at Los Padres National Forest, part of her Central Coast of California trip.
EP: How active will you be with potential travelers to help with their planning?
Since Cathy is the expert travel agent, she'll be speaking with potential travelers on a day-to-day basis, which is great for travelers, as they can easily speak with a live person to get trip advice and customize even our set itineraries to fit their needs and goals. I'll be educating travelers and speaking with them directly, too, through a series of upcoming LIVES on Facebook and of course through my website, social media and newsletter.
Wednesday, Feb 17th at Noon ET, Cathy and I are going LIVE on Facebook @TravelswithDarley to talk about Darley Vacations, answer questions and talk travel in general. Those who join the live will get a booking code for special trip perks or discounts.
Wednesday, Feb 24th at Noon ET, I'll be LIVE in honor of Black History Month on France's Facebook page @France.fr, showing my Martinique episode and taking questions about Martinique culture and travels. Travelers who attend this live and book a Martinique trip will be given code for a $500 gift card to use on their travels. And I'm planning more LIVES for March and April and those will have booking incentives for those who attend, too. In addition, I'll be continuing to create content- videos and blog posts- to share insights and adventures on my various platforms.
EP: Any other perks or benefits to booking with you?
DN: Travelers will definitely benefit from our firsthand knowledge of each location and the experiences themselves. Because I've actually traveled with many of the people travelers will meet – and you may have even seen them on my series — travelers will get more personalized attention and VIP access at certain locations and experiences. With Cathy's Virtuoso status, travelers may also take advantage of various perks and incentives, like food and beverage credit, complimentary spa experiences, exclusive private tours, and more. I think the biggest perk is the personalized nature of all that we're doing. With Cathy, you can clearly understand some of the modern complexities of travel like cancellation policies, pre and post-trip options, additional amenities and truly feel good about making that booking. Good advice is especially important now, surrounding the uncertainties of the pandemic! Travelers can also be in touch with Cathy and her colleagues during their trip through a free app in case anything arises.
Go to Darley Vacations.
