I’m Going to London — and You’re Invited!
Join me on a trip with Atlas Adventures. 🇬🇧
Big news, friends: I am headed to London this fall — and you’re invited! 🇬🇧
Atlas Adventures, which hosts group trips all around the world, reached out about working together on a very special London excursion. I am so excited about what we have planned, including a vintage bus tour, high tea, our own private shopping experience, tickets to SIX!, a day trip to Hampton Court and lots more.
Several travel groups have approached me over the years to do something like this. One big reason why I chose to work with Atlas Adventures is the spirit of their work. Founder Whitney Haldeman and her team are committed to putting together a group of enthusiastic travelers who are keen to connect with others.
Scroll down for more on Atlas and their approach. For a full run-down of our London plans, click here. But first, an overview of the trip — and how to join:
Atlas Adventures x So Many Thoughts London Trip
Who: A group of 20 individuals from the SMT community (You are welcome to sign up with someone but please know the purpose of this trip is to bring together people looking to make new friends, too!)
Dates: Sunday, September 29 to Friday, October 4, 2024
Cost: $5,250
What the trip includes: Five nights in a five-star hotel, breakfast daily, high tea, private shopping excursion, tickets to SIX!, day trip to Hampton Court Palace, and more fun surprises (plus: a lot of time with yours truly).
When and how to join: Registration requests will open on Tuesday, June 25 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. Paid subscribers of this newsletter will receive the link first! Space is limited to 20 people — please plan to sign up promptly. (If you want to travel with someone, you must both request to register individually.)
One more important note: The registration form will include two questions to help the Atlas team get to know you. Each will have space for a few sentences. In the interest of time, you may want to prepare your answers in advance!
Why do you want to come on this trip?
If you follow the royals, what made you interested in them?
Atlas Adventures will review registration requests on a first-come basis. However, they do carefully consider the responses to the questions above in order to put together a great group.
Questions about the trip? Click here for more on what is included (and what is not). You can also reach out to Atlas Adventures directly at info@blondeatlas.com.
Atlas Adventures is covering the cost of my trip as well as my time. I am excited to be working with them!
ICYMI: Click below for the SMT Father’s Day Gift Guide.
All About Atlas Adventures
Whitney, please introduce yourself and tell us how you got into the world of travel?
Whitney Haldeman: Hi! I’m Whitney, a Nashville native now living in London. I’ve had a curiosity for experiencing the world and new cultures for as long as I can remember. After university, I worked in advertising with multiple tourism accounts as clients, which laid a foundation for working in the travel industry. When my agency went through lay-offs, I found myself unemployed. Looking for what’s next — and looking to be inspired — I took my severance money and started traveling.
What was meant to be a few weeks turned into months of living out of a suitcase, dabbling in free-lance and scraping pennies together so I could continue learning about the world. Fast forward four years later, and I’d built a boutique travel business: Planning trips for individual clients, as well as group tours for women called Atlas Adventures.
We’ve now been in business for over six years and planned hundreds of trips for people around the world. The mission of Atlas is to inspire better travel and more meaningful connections that transcend borders and promote a deeper appreciation for our planet. I feel incredibly fortunate to live out my greatest passions: learning about the world, connecting with the people in it and creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for others.
For more, check us out on Instagram. You can find me at @blonde_atlas and our group trips at @atlasadventurestrips.
What is Atlas Adventures and who are your trips for?
We host bespoke, luxury group tours around the world for women that facilitate meaningful connection and authentic cultural experiences with other like-minded travelers. We provide community for women who prioritize travel, regardless of your season of life.
Our trips are for all types of people, single or partnered, who are craving a girls’ trip. Perhaps none of your friends will travel without their significant other or the other moms you know don’t want to leave their family behind. Maybe you are part of a crew who wants to travel but no one will actually commit to the trip!
Our aim is to create travel experiences that connect you with other wonderful women who want to take the trip and will actually make it happen.
Tell us more about the Atlas team and what adventures you have facilitated.
Our all-woman team is comprised of seasoned travel professionals. We collectively bring together a wide-range of experiences, with members having lived in the US, UK, Italy, Dubai, Germany, Australia, Egypt, Greece and beyond. We have fluent speakers of Italian, French, Greek and German as well as three certified sommeliers and two certified Baptiste yoga instructors. It’s a team of genuinely wonderful humans — I feel so lucky to have them all as part of Atlas! They are people who truly care and want to help — and see travelers as people, not just customers.
We’ve hosted over 25 group trips for women all around the world, connecting over 400 travelers (we are so proud of the Atlas community!). We’ve also donated over $15,000 to charitable partners in the destinations we’ve visited, including our key partner World Land Trust. We believe travel is so much more than consuming — learning from the destinations we visit and aiming to be a better person having had these experiences is what makes travel so special.
Our core values are as follows:
Create fun experiences. Our carefully curated itineraries offer authentic experiences for the cultural curious. We minimize the stress of planning so you can fully immerse yourself in fun the moment you arrive!
Foster meaningful connections. We value inclusivity and create spaces for individuals of different backgrounds to listen and learn from one another in order to build long-lasting relationships through shared love of travel.
We empower better travelers. We encourage travelers to step outside their comfort zone and explore destinations from a different perspective. Our mission is to collectively be more intentional and mindful travelers who respect the communities we are visiting, as well as the greater planet.
Give us a taste for the unique aspects of Atlas trips — what are some of your favorite experiences?
Creating special, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you’ll always remember is something we try to do on every Atlas trip. Because we know how much it means to people! A few of my favorite examples include:
We had an elaborate breakfast spread set up in the middle of the bush on our South Africa trip. The girls thought we were going back to the lodge after our morning game drive, but instead, we pulled up to a gorgeous buffet out in the wild…complete with mimosas!
On our Puglia trip, we had our farewell aperitivo during sunset, and we set up our tables between the vines at a local winery. It was so much more immersive and memorable than sitting at a regular table… I’ll never forget it!
In Paris, we organized a private boat tour of the Seine at golden hour You can certainly take a boat tour on your own, but there’s something special about an experience that is privatized specifically for you. Our ground partners go above and beyond to make our travelers feel special and it’s touching to see.
We’ve often organized movie nights on various trips with relevant locations (“The Lion King” in South Africa, “The Holiday” while in The Cotswolds, “Mary Queen of Scots” while in Scotland, etc.) It’s so fun to create an elaborate, luxe-sleepover environment for grown-ups with a giant projector, comfy chairs, wine and popcorn, etc.
We are headed to London, which is where you live! When and why did you move there?
My favorite city in the world! There is truly no city that’s more culturally diverse — it’s so beautiful to witness! There’s a reason Samuel Johnson said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford.”
Whenever someone tells me they didn’t like London, I tell them they didn’t go to the right part for them…because there truly is something for everyone in this beautiful city. I love sharing it with others and pointing them to the places they’ll love based on their unique preferences.
I write a lot about the royals — how do you feel about the Windsors?
It’s no secret the royal family comes with a very complicated history. Even still, it has been really incredible to witness their role to the public while living here. I’ve had the privilege of being a UK resident during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, her funeral, King Charles’s coronation and other significant moments in history. I even met William and Kate at a public walk about, which was such an honor!
Growing up in the US, the concept of a monarchy was so foreign to me. But there is so much discussion to be had and so much we can learn from it all. Regardless of who you are or what your opinions may be of the Windsors, they are living history, and it’s clear they mean so much to so many people in the UK — beyond tourism alone.
Beyond the specifics of the trip, tell us about what you hope people will take away from it?
So many things! Of course, we want people to have fun — we all deserve more of that in life. Additionally, community is a huge part of why we do what we do. We love seeing people form long-lasting relationships through their shared love of travel, taking reunion trips together or signing up for more Atlas trips. It’s touching to see how many amazing, inclusive, kind-hearted women there are in the world and what happens when they come together!
Finally, I’d say I hope people leave feeling inspired. I think travel is such a meaningful tool for change: Learning from a new environment, observing a different culture and way of life… or simply noticing things about yourself when you’re removed from your daily routine. When we’re conscious of these experiences, they have the ability to make us better people when we return home. I know I’ve witnessed that many times in my own life. My hope is that we all be more open-minded, compassionate and introspective from the trips we take.
London may not be hugely contrasting to your life back home as other destinations, but there is still so much to take away from this incredible city. We hope you’ll come see for yourself by joining us this fall!
(Photos courtesy of Atlas Adventures)
How exciting is this? Details on our London trip can be found here. Email any questions you have to Whitney and her team directly at info@blondeatlas.com.
And mark your calendars! The registration request link will go live at 10am PT / 1pm ET on Tuesday, June 25. I will email it first to paid subscribers. Remember to prep your answers to the two questions, too! (Qs: Why do you want to come on this trip? If you follow the royals, what made you interested in them?) The Atlas team will carefully consider the responses in order to put together a great group.
Can’t wait to see you in September…!
A collab I didn’t know we needed. 🥰🥰🥰 This will be so much fun!
I’d love to come to London. It and NYC are my favorite cities; however, I start my retirement next year, and like many, I have failed to save enough money for a comfortable and free retirement period, so traveling to London, even for such an excellent price, unfortunately is now out of my price range. I’ll be thinking of your group as you wander through the lovely city, although I won’t envy you the plane trip there. I hope no Karens or other weird vacationers travel with you. SAFE AND ENJOYABLE TRAVELS TO ALL! 🇬🇧👑🌂💷