Claire Howes
Europe specialist
Claire's career in travel started straight from college where she studied travel and tourism before starting work at a high street travel agent as part of an apprenticeship. After gaining valuable experience and working her way up to customer service manager, she left for a role in tour operations elsewhere. Fast forward twenty years and Claire is sill in the industry and now finds her passion in helping create lasting memories for her clients, using her years of first-hand travel experience.
Having extensively travelled around the world, Claire specialises in Europe and North Africa having visited countless Mediterranean hotspots from Spain and Portugal to Greece and Croatia. But, for someone so well travelled, one country still stands head and shoulders above the rest in Claire's eyes, drawing her back again and again – Portugal. Having visited a staggering 18 times, she cites the warm hospitality, miles upon miles of pristine sandy beaches and picturesque driving routes as her favourite aspects, not to mention her visit to a local quinta during the grape harvest where she participated in grape treading while the locals supplied wine, local meats and cheeses, habing her dance and sing along with traditional folk songs while she worked away.
Portugal
Visit the Douro Valley during harvest season for a chance to try grape treading
Hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia followed by a stay in one of the cave dwellings