Friday Apr 6 2007
I read about Untours from a post on Bikeforums.net Hal Taussig founded this company devoted to helping travelers experience new cultures and foreign countries deeper than the average tourists.
Many travelers reel at the thought of dealing with a tour company, rightfully thinking they’ll be shuttled from one location to another on a big bus with hordes of others, never getting a chance to connect or with a new place and spend some quality time there. Reading through some of the “Untourist’s” trip reports you can see the connection and satisfaction that his clients have gained.
The profits from Untours go back into his community providing low-interest loans to help the needy with social programs, jobs, medical expenses, and other daily life logistics. (Untours Foundation).
Hal eschews the trappings of consumer excess and materialism. He commutes and does his daily errands by bike, and lives a modest yet happy life tending to his business, family, and community. His method and philosophy of operating his life and company has earned him “Most Generous Business of the Year” in 1999 by George Magazine and the Paul Newman Foundation.
Given the fortune that Taussig has made through Untours, his unique travel business, and has given away through the Untours Foundation, you could call him the Un-millionaire. If he so chose, he could be living in a Main Line mansion and driving a Mercedes. But he considers money and what he calls “stuff,” beyond what he needs to survive, a burden, an embarrassment.
Back home, Taussig wrote a book about his adventure, Shoestring Sabbatical. It inspired an idea: a travel agency that would enable tourists to get to know a place intimately by staying at least two weeks in a rented cottage, apartment or farmhouse. With a $5,000 loan from a friend, Taussig launched Untours in 1975.
“Europe is so enriching and rewarding, I decided to help others have a similar experience,” he says. His ulterior motive: forging connections and understanding between people and cultures.
Untours primarily focuses on Europe. If you’re looking for a tour company that will give you a rich and rewarding travel experience, AND use your money for something good in your own home, then I highly recommend checking out Untour’s packages. Or at least give Hal Taussig’s site a read for a wonderful example of a kind and caring person.
Photos from Untours.com