We are a tours and adventures company specializing in serving travelers of all abilities. visit us at http://www.tapooztravel.com
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Aïcha and Laurent are the founders of Tapooz Travel. Having lived and worked in Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East and the United States, Aïcha and Laurent came to San Francisco 20 years ago and fell in love with the City by the Bay. Over the years, their travels took them up and down the Coast and deep into the West. From Baja to Northern California, Oregon to British Columbia, the Mo
jave Desert to the Sierra Nevada, the Indian Country to urban Los Angeles. Along the way, they gained an intimate knowledge of the incredibly rich diversity of people, culture, nature and food of the region and, naturally, of their own backyard: the San Francisco Bay Area. Their desire to share this knowledge with everyone is at the core of Tapooz Travel. Both avid outdoors enthusiasts, they combine together ten years of working with people with disabilities to experience the excitement and the beauty of California, Aïcha as a ski guide in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Laurent as a sea-kayak guide and trip-leader in and around the Bay Area. While nothing makes them happier than leading expeditions and sharing the joy and the beauty of the region with people of all abilities, Tapooz would not exist without a wonderful team of expert tour guides with a love of culture and history, professional chefs eager to share their cooking techniques, certified massage therapists specializing in restorative bodywork, accessibility and mobility consultants, outdoors adventures guides, adaptive bicycling instructors, yoga teachers, naturalists, sailboat skippers, motorboat captains, and so many others.
Over the course of a (very) packed few days, we had the chance to explore the opportunities for accessible trips to this incredibly beautiful and diverse province. Go here to get a sense of possibilities: www.visitpiemonte.com/en
As the only accessible travel company from the US, I was interviewed at the end of a very productive day of meetings with our Italian colleagues, representing hotels, resorts, tour operators, city/regional tourism boards, etc.
See my remarks here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW42RxNRCb8
No doubt, more to come.
07/18/2024
We were recently featured in an article about accessible travel published by Matador Network, a leading publisher and content creator in the travel & adventure space, globally.
Read the article here:
Tapooz Travel is based in the Bay Area of California and creates need-specific itineraries accessible around the world.
01/16/2024
We rarely share publicly the comments from our guests on their experience traveling with us. But we are making an exception for this one :-) We think it captures the essence of what we've been doing for our guests for the past 12 years.
"Laurent and the Tapooz Travel Team designed and executed the trip of a lifetime for a diversely abled family of 8. To the challenge we brought together a family ages 47-84, with vision and mobility differences coming from California and Europe and in between. Laurent took our needs and desires together in designing a NYC visit of all the classics - history, architecture, art, shopping, music and the must-see sights and dinning - while balancing our daily needs, schedule and transportation desires. Everything was flawless - ease of communicating the planning with Laurent, ex*****on of the itinerary as we desired inclusive of his super well informed and sensitive guidance, logistics executed with military precision supported by 7-star transportation arrangements with a provider that treated us like total family. Thanks to Laurent’s supreme care, accessibility was a constant and never a worry. I would entrust my family to Laurent for any future gathering. Thank you, N."
10/31/2023
Almost forgot: We also won the award for the "Best Niche Tour Operator". Above and beyond the recognition of our work in the field of accessible travel, this award really signifies the deep interest and commitment of diverse French regions to embrace accessible tourism as an economic engine of growth.
10/31/2023
We were recently invited to attend a 3-day tourism convention in Los Angeles, organized by Atout France, the France Tourism Development Agency, responsible for promoting France on the US market & developing France’s tourism economy (http://us.france.fr). This was a fantastic event that enabled us to meet with representatives from numerous regions of France and to discuss how to develop accessible travel experiences for our American and Canadian clients. Stay tuned for a lot more of that as we are now designing accessible tours to multiple destinations in France with our new partners.
05/23/2023
Another sign that accessible travel is becoming part of the mainstream conversation: I was recently interviewed for the radio program "Round Trip with Colleen Kelly", aired in the Chicago area and podcasted nationally, on the topic "Accessible and Inclusive Travel". My thanks to Colleen and Megan for a lively discussion prompted by incisive questions and personal stories.
You can listen to the interview by going to the link below (start at the 7:35 mark to skip the intro) and stay after my segment to listen to Cassie Mordini of Travel Wisconsin for a description of all the great things they are doing to support accessible travel. https://lnkd.in/gXbUtHhM
05/21/2023
We were recently interviewed by Krista Simmons, the Travel Editor of Sunset Magazine, for an article about accessible travel for the June/July 2023 issue "Outdoors for Everyone". Look out for the issue at your favorite newstand or go online. Thank you to Christine Bobbish, Sunset Photo Editor, for selecting this great picture (out of dozens of images of accessible trips we organized in the past) to capture the sprit of accessible travel. Can you spot the condor?
01/27/2023
Again this year, we were recognized for our expertise in accessible travel. The truth is that we would not be where we are today without the incredible work of all the people involved in making our trips a reality: drivers, guides, hotel managers, boat skippers, restaurant managers, equipment suppliers, museum directors, personal care providers, hot air balloon operators, and more. But the true heroes here: our intrepid travelers who, since 2012, have entrusted us with their travel adventure plans. Thank you.
11/18/2022
It's official! After a Covid-imposed hiatus, we are again taking groups on exciting adventures around the world. This summer, we are taking a group of members of the The Swiss Paraplegic Association (https://www.spv.ch/) on an exciting tour in the beautiful province of Quebec in Canada. History, cultural encounters with First Nation people, whales and marine wildlife, outdoors excursions, organic farms visits ... wow! Two weeks of adventure-packed exploration. Visit the Association website for more details and description in French, Italian and German (the 3 official languages of Switzerland)
11/18/2022
Our enormous gratitude to our friend and colleague Pankaj Jain in India for his incredible work in accessible travel. Pankaj helped us to organize a once-in-a-lifetime adventure in India (mostly Rajasthan) for our adventure traveler from the UK, the indomitable Philip Pike 🙂
Philip was gracious enough to share some of his pictures with us, and now with you.
07/23/2022
07/23/2022
A little bit of self-promotion: Tapooz Travel was awarded "Most Accessible Global Travel and Adventure Company 2022" by the EU Business News.
We are honored and humbled. Thank you to all our past and current travelers for trusting us to make your trips safe, enjoyable and memorable.
07/23/2022
Just in case you wondered why we have not posted in a while, rest assured that it is not because we have no news. Actually, just the opposite is true! Since the vaccines became widely available last summer and travel restrictions started to be lifted, proverbial floodgates have opened. It would be an understatement to say we have been busier than ever. A small sample of trips we organized in the past few months: a group from Scandinavia to Canada, half-dozen trips to San Francisco and the wine country for groups of friends and colleagues, a family road trip along the California Coast, a couple of families to Italy, a couple to Portugal, a family from France to California, a small group from the East Coast to France, family trips to Los Angeles, Chicago and New York … and we are only in July. The rest of the year and well into next is already pretty packed with trips across the country, Europe, Morocco and Costa Rica. A sign that the “pent-up demand” is real: we are taking a large group from Switzerland to a 2-week trip to the Quebec Province of Canada next summer.
So … the message to you all: travel!
Even if you are afraid of birds :-)
The Tapooz Travel Team will be there to cheer our favorite athletes. Let us know if you are going. Let's meet !!
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Our friend and colleague Natalia Vindas is leading the Adaptive Surfing national team of Costa Rica to the international surfing event in Pismo Beach California in early December. This is an AMAZING group of young people. An inspiration to all of us that are involved in making the world accessible to all.
Support Natalia and her team!!
08/12/2021
… and we are back!
After over a year of travel bans and assorted restrictions, our guests are traveling again. A 10-day road trip to the Southwest for a family coming from Los Angeles and the East Coast, a 2-week vacation in Northern California for a family from France and a 2-week road trip adventure along the California Coast for a father and son (and a friend) from South Carolina - all that in just the past few weeks. We are now busy with organizing trips to Chicago, France and Switzerland, and (again) the Southwest. Coming up in a few weeks and just in time for the Harvest Season: a group trip to the California Wine country. Looks like this is going to be a very productive end of year 2021 and well into 2022. Stay tuned for more about our newest destinations.
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Videos
ADA@30
Global Voices in discussion with Marie-Odile Vincent in Paris.
Global Voices of Accessible Travel: Portugal Edition
Global Voices of Accessible Travel: Scandinavia Edition
Global Voices interview with Julie Jones in Australia
Global Voices of Accessible Travel
The Future of Accessible Travel
Destination Accessible Portugal
In New York City August 2016 with our adventurous travelers
Tapooz Travel was founded with a simple, core mission: To share the infinitely rich diversity of people, culture, nature and food of the world with everyone.
Having lived and worked in Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East and the United States, Tapooz's founders Aïcha and Laurent came to San Francisco over 20 years ago and fell in love with the City by the Bay. From their home-base, their travels took them up and down the West Coast and deep into the Southwest of the US. Soon, they developed travel adventures from Baja to Northern California, Oregon to British Columbia, the Mojave Desert to the Sierra Nevada, the Indian Country to urban Los Angeles.
Responding to the demands of American and European travelers for accessible adventures, trip to Canada, New York City, the Eastern seaboard and Florida soon followed. Portugal, France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and India are now regular offerings, with new destinations added every year.
Both avid outdoors enthusiasts, Aïcha and Laurent have combined their years of experience working with people with disabilities into creating adventures for travelers of all abilities. Nothing makes the founders happier than leading inclusive expeditions and sharing the joy and the beauty of the world with everyone.
We have a wonderful team of trip leaders and expert tour guides who share the love of culture and history and are dedicated to ensuring a safe, fun and full experience. Tapooz extended team includes accessibility and mobility experts; outdoor adventure guides; attentive expert drivers, restorative health professionals, naturalists, sailboat skippers, park rangers, professional chefs, and so many others.
We welcome travelers of all abilities in our scheduled group travels or will work with you to design a customized trip for you, your family and friends.
