Pamela Appleby

Anyone can book a flight and a hotel; what I do is handle everything from soup to nuts and make myself available 24/7 to ensure that everything goes to plan. My clients appreciate my expertise and they know that I always have their best interests at heart. When I plan your trip, you won’t have to wonder if a hotel will have noisy renovations during your visit, how you will get from point A to point B., or how to get the most out of each place your visit. 

Travel has always been an important part of my life. I traveled with my parents as a child and worked in a travel agency throughout high school. When I graduated from college, working at a travel agency seemed like a natural choice.  

By the late ‘80s and ‘90s, I was running my own travel agency. However, as the industry consolidated, it became important to align with a large agency, so I found my home at Protravel, one of the country’s largest and most prestigious. Many of my clients have been with me from the start, and now I am arranging trips for their children and the next generation of travelers.  

I love my work. It is fun to see people get excited about all the wonderful things they can do and then see them return so happy with everything they did. I especially love when people come to me with unusual requests.  

For example, two families decided to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversaries together. They asked me to arrange for them to renew their vows in an authentic wedding ceremony as part of a safari in Kenya with their teenage kids. They took over a small luxury lodge, where local tribesmen performed a traditional Maasai wedding ceremony for them with a lot of dancing and drumming, and a traditional sacrifice of a goat. Everyone loved it. 

I often suggest for two or three couples or a family to charter a crewed boat with chef for a week in the Mediterranean. The food is always great, and the captain will stop wherever you want. I also arrange Jewish immersion and other special interest tours in almost any city and can plan off-the-beaten-track getaways around the world, from amazing private island resorts in Fiji and the Maldives to hideaway lodges like the five-star Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley in Australia’s Blue Mountains. 

Iceland offers some unique experiences and I love planning trips at the level of adventure they are comfortable with. The Blue Lagoon now has an amazing luxury hotel that even my pickiest clients are raving about. The adventurous can explore on ATVs, trek into a glacier and go ice-climbing. And the best-kept secret is that you can go in winter when the Northern Lights are usually at their most spectacular.  

When I arrange your travels, everything is customized. I take the time to know your preferences and what you hope to get out of each trip so I can customize your itinerary with experiences that will turn an interesting vacation into an extraordinary experience.