The Home Team

President

Areas of expertise: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Morocco, Ireland, Peru, New Zealand, Spain, England, and the Alps to the Adriatic

Best travel experience: I had the opportunity to spend over six months exploring every corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Part of my heart will always be in the majestic landscapes of Aoteroa.

Latest Journey: I recently had the opportunity to explore Morocco on our Tangier to Marrakech trip – if you haven’t yet discovered this amazing country, I highly recommend it!

Favorite places: I’m fascinated by so many of the world’s wonderful places. But I’d have to say that favorite region to explore is the mountains of Southeast Asia, The region is full of wonder, with vibrant cultures, dramatic scenery and some of the kindest people you could hope to meet. I’ll admit that I’m a little biased since I lived in northern Thailand for over 15 years, speak the language, and own a home there… but I welcome anyone to discover the region with Boundless Journeys, you will be welcomed like friends and return home with memories for a lifetime.

Favorite travel quote: “We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again – to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” – Pico Iyer

Where next: Boundless Journeys is pondering a return to India for 2027, so that may be at the top of the list this year!

“Deborah Tobey was wonderful. Her enthusiasm, attentiveness and advice all made the planning process the smoothest ever. Her enthusiasm for Iceland was contagious and I appreciated very much her call the week of our departure to see if I had any last minute questions. Even before the trip began, I felt very well taken care of!”
Margaret M., New York, NY

Areas of expertise: Europe (Iceland, Croatia, Finland, Portugal, Italy, Norway) and Costa Rica.

Latest journey: I was recently in Norway and can honestly say, it was some of the most gorgeous and dramatic scenery I’ve ever seen in my life.

Favorite places: Rome, Italy—a museum with no walls or ceiling…and that gelato!

Favorite travel quote: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” – John Muir

Best travel experience: Sicily! Perhaps because it is an island, or perhaps because Sicilians consider themselves impregnable to outsiders, Sicily is an experience unlike any other I have had in Italy. From flamboyant cathedrals, to immense Greek temples, to ancient lava flows, and sweet pastries, the past is present in the smallest details.

As J.W. Goethe wrote in Journey to Italy, “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to have not seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.”

Where next: Looking forward to developing a new trip for Boundless Journeys! Greece is at the top of my list, but let me know if you have suggestions.

Areas of expertise: The Alps, The Dolomites, Scotland, Slovenia, Argentina

Latest journey: I was thrilled to hike in the Dolomites to scout our new trip. That region has been on my list for many years. The amazing scenery, incredible food, warm hospitality of the Tyrolean people, and hiking opportunities definitely exceeded my expectations.

Favorite places: I’m a bit biased as a Francophile and mountain lover, so the French Alps—anywhere amidst them. More specifically? Standing atop the Domes de Miages with Mont Blanc seemingly a stone’s throw away, surrounded by 360 degrees of incredible mountain beauty—glaciers below, blue sky above, granite peaks, snow underfoot, silence and stillness, save a slight whisk of wind.

The café in Contamines Montjoie (where we enjoyed pizza oozing with Roblechon cheese and potatoes with a glass of French wine afterwards) was quite a nice place, too!

Favorite travel quote: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

Best travel experience: My visit with a very inspiring woman in Brittany, France years ago. Her 85-year-old friend taught me how to make galettes of buckwheat flour and water (not be confused with crepes made with milk and white flour!). She gracefully demonstrated the use of the ladle, rake, and long skinny spatula and made a perfect product each time. Mine? They looked more like a Rorschach test—or maybe that was due to her homemade cider she kept serving me.

We then proceeded to a traditional Fez Noz dance, which started at about 10:00 p.m. With what seemed to be with everyone’s kids, parents, and grandparents from town, we danced in circles linked by pinkies around two musicians sitting in back-to-back chairs, playing what resembled oboes as loud as bagpipes. We left at 1:00 a.m., long before the dance was over!

Where next: I’m off to hike in the Mont Blanc region this summer with my family. It’ll be my daughter’s first international trip, and we are both super excited!

Areas of expertise: The World

Latest journey: I traveled with my daughter Hannah to Puglia, Italy this past June. It was her first time to Europe and my first time to the heal of Italy. It was a fun holiday, maybe one of the most fun trips I’ve taken. I experienced another culture, language, landscapes and food with Hannah, and we luxuriated in the aquatic blue waters of three different Seas, all under the yummy hot Italian sun. Add to that our daily gelato, and we were truly in heaven.

Favorite places: Vermont! For such a tiny state there are so many different places to hike and explore. I have lived in VT my whole life and I am still blown away by the beauty of the mountains, lakes, woods, farms and pastures, rivers and swimming holes, people, and intensely different seasons.

Favorite travel quote: Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustav Flaubert

Best travel experience: No one travel experience is the best, as they are all special in different ways. When I was in the Galapagos, I went snorkeling for the first time in my life. Being under water which was so eerily quiet, and with the colors, sizes and movements of fish, I thought “oh, wow, this is what it feels like to be in a wildly different, hidden, wondrous world.”

Where next: Exploring the woods of VT on my skis this winter. Everything looks different and magical and peaceful when surrounded by snow and trees and not much else.