Meet a Tour Director
Joey Maclean
Hello, my name is Joey Maclean. I escort Insight Vacations tours to Western & Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia.
This is my 10th year as a Tour Director. My love of travelling is what inspired me to become a Tour Director. I wanted to pass this onto others and help them to have the most memorable experiences possible.
The most rewarding part of my job is to see some of our guests who have dreamed of travelling in Europe for their entire life. With my help they can enjoy the experience without having any of the organisational worries that can frustrate many travellers. Knowing that I assist in someone having a vacation of a lifetime is very fulfilling.
On tour I find it’s important to talk about as many subjects as are relevant to cover the many interests of my guests on board. However I especially like to relate past history with the current modern culture of the people as I believe that it helps to get an understanding of why people and places are the way they are and it also helps visitors appreciate the differences between each other.
I think what most surprises guests when visiting my region is how completely different a place or culture can be within such a short distance to travel. There are so many opportunities to try local delicacies: fondue & chocolate in Switzerland; tapas in Spain; crepes banana/Nutella in France; seafood & local game in Scandinavia, pork knuckles & beer in Munich; homemade gelati in Italy – the list is endless!
My top tips for guests travelling would be; don’t come home with regrets. Make the most of your time on tour as everything you experience will live on in the memories forever. Write a journal in short form and then expand on it at a later time as you relive it all. Relax, have a great time with your new friends on tour & let me do the work – you’re on vacation!
If you are looking for inspiration before you travel to the region try the movies Roman Holiday – Rome; Sound of Music – Austria; Amelie – Paris; The Third Man – Vienna. For reading material on your flight try Agony & the Ectasy by Irving Stone– Story of Michelangelo-Italy; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo –Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson - Sweden
When I travel I generally try to go to a different place every time – try to immerse myself in the local culture, history, nature & sports. If I were to take my next vacation with Insight I would go on the new Indian tours since I work in Europe & have travelled extensively throughout the US. I have also been lucky enough to have visited past guests in their home cities when I vacation myself. I have even had Christmas with a guest family a few years ago in Alberta, Canada!
For me the best kept secret in Europe is visiting a local Swiss family farm in the Swiss countryside. Another hidden gem is White Nights (Nuit Blanche) in Paris. This is an evening usually in August where they open all the museums overnight and have many artistic displays around many of the buildings and parks.
Every tour holds different memories. But for me some of the most memorable include fireworks & champagne in St Marks Square, Venice on New Year’s Eve while it was snowing which was quite magical. Trying to get reindeer out of the way so the coach can continue on to the North Cape in Norway is quite fun!
Join me on tour and I will share many of them with you!
Discover more of Europe on the following tours: European Breakaway, Winter Wonderland, Spectacular Scandinavia & its Fjords and many more!