Our Story - Wandering The World

OUR STORY

More walking, less working

This is the mantra coined by Wandering the World’s founder, Glenyce Johnson, while walking the Camino de Santiago in 2013. After completing her 800-kilometre journey to Santiago de Compostela, Glenyce realised that the simplicity of walking and meeting people from all walks of life – pardon the pun – is addictive, rewarding and, for many people, life-changing. True to her word, Glenyce has added over 35,000 ‘Camino kilometres’ and more than 42 Caminos to her walking resumé since 2013, exploring paths through Spain, Portugal, France along with many other walks in Italy, the United Kingdom, Nepal and Japan.

The first steps

It began as a way to give something back to Spain. The country had, after all, proven itself so special and Glenyce wondered how she could persuade people to go and experience the Spanish food, wine and unparalleled hospitality for themselves. The Camino de Santiago, she realised, was the perfect combination of these things: an opportunity for travellers to witness the landscapes, explore the villages and meet the people that make up the real Spain, all while benefitting from exercising and spending time outdoors, in nature.

Having worked as the managing director of Peregrine Adventures, for which she was awarded Telstra Businesswoman of the Year in 2006, Glenyce was already an established figure in the travel industry by the time Wandering the World took shape. Her idea was simple: create an Australian owned and operated company to share her life passions – walking and travelling.

Why Wander With Us

We are the experts in our field

Since our first tentative steps along the French Way of the Camino de Santiago, Wandering the World has grown into a global walking holiday specialist. From our very first Camino in Spain, we’ve expanded our knowledge and expertise to offer itineraries for all the Camino de Santiago routes in Spain, France and Portugal, Caminos across Japan and Italy and long-distance trails in the UK, Europe and Asia. The quality of our itineraries has seen us recognised as a finalist at both the 2018 and 2019 National Travel Industry Awards.

We enjoy this recognition as much as the next company, but we still believe that there’s no substitute for experience. This means that we not only talk the talk, we also – quite literally – walk the walk. In fact, it’s possible that we have walked more Camino kilometres than any of our competitors, and it’s this extensive on-the-ground knowledge and unparalleled access that allows us to tailor an experience to each individual, whether you’re tackling a walk self -guided, on a Camino through Spain with our founder, Glenyce, or the Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan with a local leader.

We do the hard work so you can do the leg work

We’ve made walking our work, so we can take the work out of walking for you. This is travel in its oldest form, but with all the modern conveniences. There’s no need to carry bags; each day your luggage is transferred to your next hotel. There’s no need to worry where you’ll be sleeping; we’ve hand-selected the accommodation ourselves. We’re specialists in this field, so let’s just say we know how to make things special.

We care about our customers

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from our walking experiences, it’s that you have to look out for one another. That’s why we offer an extremely personalised service to put together an itinerary that works for you. Are you travelling in a group or independently? Are you a foodie? A history buff? Celebrating a milestone? Would you rather a guided or self-guided experience?

Whatever your interests or walking abilities – from first-time walkers to hiking veterans – we’ll plan an ideal itinerary using our local connections and long-term personal relationships with key partners, not to mention our very own expertise and firsthand knowledge.

It’s these kinds of personal touches that take a trip from being memorable to being simply unforgettable. We’re an Australian-owned company that’s small enough to care about our customers so it doesn’t matter who you are; if you’re Wandering the World, we’re right there with you.