11/26/2024
( From Michael ) - And so... One of those "Michael" updates on what has been going on! Well, in the off season, we all do a lot more "office" work. Some of that is as boring as can be, but some of it is when we shape up the things to come. So, here is the report of what * I * have been up to. But before I get into what's up...
We Must Be Doing Something Right...
After some pretty significant research, we recently came to realize something pretty amazing.
CDV is the largest small group experiential tour company in the world.
Yeah, pretty cool, huh? I'm not gonna lie... It sounds nice, but being the biggest is not what makes me emotional. It is that almost 20 years ago, we started this company with a dream to do things very differently, and it worked. More than that, as we grew, I swore that we would do everything in our power to stay true to our roots, no matter how much we may grow. It ALWAYS had to be people first. It ALWAYS had to have real heart. It could NEVER become about the numbers.
We could grow, but would always have to have the mom and pop feel. Not just for our guests, but internally. I refused to ever let this become a job and a balance sheet to look at. It always had to be about the people, their families, their friends. And we've done just that!
I don't know how we got this lucky. I mean, I could have that dream, but for it to actually happen meant that we needed a LOT of people that shared the same dream, right? So over the years we have brought in business partners that share it. A team that shares it, "suppliers' that share it... and above all, GUESTS that share it. As I look at it, it is nothing short of a miracle, and I cannot begin to tell you how honored I am.
Yea, we are bigger... but really just a bigger family.
So what is going on with this bigger family?
Croatia:
Everything came together so fast that were not able to get it on our main website before we launched. Now we are getting that online, as well as Spain and the Yacht. But for those of you that have done Croatia with us, we made some changes to the trip! Essentially, there are some things that we did on the fly this year that we decided to put in there. Mostly, we are making this a more "active" trip for those that want it. More beach time, more swimming, plus paragliding, kayaking and more. Naturally for those not wishing to do those things, they are always things we do with other stuff going on. For example, if shopping is your thing, while some are kayaking, others can be shopping in a beautiful Croatian village. Not into Paragliding? We will also be at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world where guests can swim, or enjoy a cocktail at a seaside cafe. We also added in a "Mixology Class" that we will be doing at the Cold War Submarine bunker. Yeah, we'll be making those Croatian cocktails, and some interesting twists on classics like a "Balkan Mule". And when we have those beach days, we are bringing along the Prosek for a little adult beverage on the beach.
Spain & The Yacht:
The next thing on the list is Spain. So for those of you that are interested, expect that to go live next week. Yep! Based in Madrid and its surroundings, we are all SUPER excited about this one !!! As soon as that is done, we will get the May 31st Croatia Yacht trip on the main website as well.
2026 Calendar:
Since we are still waiting on some confirmations for Sicily in 2026, we have not released the calendar yet. But expect it before Christmas for sure! But here is what I can tell you in advance: We currently have 65 weeks on the 2026 calendar waiting to be published for Soriano, Chianti, Amalfi, Bologna, Sicily, Barolo, Portugal and Croatia. In addition, we have some we plan on adding in coming months for Madrid, Argentina & Uruguay, The Croatia Yacht, and some of our new "Bellissima" trips.
What are these "Bellissima" trips?
CDV has always been for the most part "Hub and Spoke" trips. That is, with the exception of the Sicily trip, all of our trips are designed so that we never change where we stay. But guests have been asking us for ages to put together some trips that move from point to point (with our flare).
Now, we have resisted because we don't want the feel of a classic tour... at all! But over the years we have done a ton like this for private groups. In a nutshell, we take our existing locations where we have deep relationships and combine them into one trip for people that want to explore different areas on the same trip. So, we may combine 4 days of our Soriano trip with 4 days of our Amalfi week into one trip.
We've actually been doing this pretty regularly for 11 years, often with guests that have also done our hub and spoke trips. The feedback has consistently been amazing. Never like the classic ones that change hotels every night, and always with our feel for family and our combination of immersion and experiences.
So a few years ago we started what we called our "Bellissima" project. The idea was to create a series of itineraries that combine our unique connections and friends with some places where we don't already have deep connections to make truly unique trips. It is actually nothing new for us, except that we have only done this for private groups. So you will start seeing some itineraries that combine what our guests have come to know and love about us with some bucket list experiences we don't normally do. For example, time in Rome with exclusive experiences, but also Soriano, Umbria, our friends in Tuscany, and Florence. Or Northern Italy trips that connect what we already do in Venice and Bologna with Lake Como & Cinque Terre. Or connecting a Portugal trip that expands to Lisbon & Spain. The list goes on.
Other Projects:
I've written about Iceland, Egypt (Nile River CDV Style) Douro River and Spain, and Greece. All of those are at different stages of development (It really takes us forever to develop these relationships). But there is another new project that is a little outside our normal lane. We are in the VERY early stages of planning some special weeks that will be centered around Formula 1 races, but OUR style. We are also starting to work on a "special events" calendar, that will include some of the most epic events and festivals mixed into our trips.
Pilgrimages:
Huh? CDV doing Pilgrimages? Actually it is nothing new for us. We do a lot of private stuff we never talk about. Over the years we have had groups ask us for this, and we have been happy to accommodate. But as always, if we were going to do it, we were going to do so in CDV style. This became a series of trips that combined pilgrimages with what we already do. In Italy that has meant the Vatican, Assisi, Amalfi, and much more. Even Matera and San Giovanni Rotondo. But to be us, it could not just be the checkbox pilgrimages, right? So we mixed in some amazing events at monasteries, interacting with the monks, going to lesser known pilgrimage sites, and mixing in our "CDV" stuff.
This is now expanding to a trip in 2025 to Meฤugorje, Bosnia in absolute CDV style, and we are taking this to Portugal, Spain, and surely also France. These are obviously Catholic in nature, but we are also doing Jewish heritage trips in these countries, and yes... as soon as the dust settles in Israel, that is still 100% on our radar.
Why pilgrimages? Well, it turns out that every type of pilgrimage "tour" is pretty much the same. They are bucket list trips in which people see the religious sites, but never actually immerse into what makes these places so important. In the private trips we have done, we have been able to do what nobody else does, and help people experience those trips with significantly deep personal connections, and THAT is worth doing.
So all of that is where my head is at the moment. Everyone else in the CDV world are busy as can be! Daniele, Nikola, and Chiara are about to defend on Portugal for intense planning with Marta and the Portugal crew, and I can pretty much guarantee that a TON will come out of all of that!
Whew! There is so much more to say, but my fingers are hurting. So until next time...
Onward & Upward!
