David Lauwers

To travel is to live!

Travel is in my genes: my parents took me on my first flight from our home in the United Kingdom to Spain before I could walk! When I was a toddler, we traveled mainly to the Mediterranean. I have expanded my horizons a bit since…

After leaving England, I worked in the hospitality and airline industry in Australia and the Middle East. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates was my home for five years.

Although I am now settled in Chicago, my role in the travel business takes me around the world several times a year. I visit the UK at least once a month.  That allows me to keep up to date with the latest and greatest in London and other exciting places around the globe. En route, I enjoy personally inspecting a Virtuoso Preferred Hotel or checking out a historical site or cultural attraction. And my clients? They benefit too, as my first-hand experience allows me to better prepare my clients for their vacations.

My passions in travel?

• African Safaris: I’ll never forget watching elephants at a watering hole just a few feet away from me at a Lodge in Zambia, whilst having my morning coffee. Or the Garden of Eden-like surroundings of the Belmond Khwai River Lodge in Botswana, with elephants, crocodiles, giraffes and a variety of birds enjoying the refreshing waters of the river.
• Ocean Cruises – although my schedule hasn’t quite allowed a world cruise yet, I’ve visited many of the ports and countries on my over 100 cruises so far.
• River Cruises – I love waking up in a new destination every day.  I also love visiting the excellent restaurants you might find on the way, such as Tian, an all-vegetarian Michelin-star restaurant in Vienna.
• Top hotels – a great hotel is so much more than just a place to sleep! My goal is to personally stay at as many Virtuoso “Best of the Best” hotels as I can!
• Australia and New Zealand – having lived “down-under” ignited my passion for this beautiful part of the world!
• Great Britain and Western Europe – as a Brit, I know my way around the United Kingdom, but also the south of France, Spain, Greece and the other delightful destinations of the Mediterranean.
• Culinary Travel: I am a member of the Travel Advisory Board of Saveur, a gourmet, food, wine and travel magazine.

Whether you are looking to take a river or ocean cruise, go on safari or have afternoon tea with a British aristocrat… I can make it work.

My Most Recent Travels

• A bucket list trip: Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda
• By private jet to a luxury residence at Anantara Phuket; and taking my first luxury train journey onboard the Belmond Eastern & Oriental Express train from Bangkok to Singapore.  Next stop on my list?  The famous Venice Simplon Orient Express!
• A self-drive vacation around a number of spectacular Relais & Chateaux properties in the Provence, Cannes and Antibes in the South of France. (And I probably should mention the wonderful Michelin-star meals we enjoyed there too!)
• Sampling a number of the Luxury Lodges of Australia, including Lizard Island, a nature reserve in the Great Barrier Reef; Southern Ocean Lodge, on Kangaroo Island (“Australia’s Galapagos”); Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley, an Aussie luxury “safari” in a hidden valley near the Blue Mountains and Sydney; and The Louise, and its famous Appellation restaurant  in the Barossa Wine Region.
• A small-ship cruise around Japan on one of Windstar Cruises’ motor yachts.
• A luxury Caribbean cruise on ultra-luxury Seabourn (ask me about “Caviar in the Surf”)
• Cruising the Rhine and the charming Moselle river in Germany Uniworld
• Enjoying Cunard Queen Victoria on a cruise along the Atlantic coast of Spain and France
• Attending the Virtuoso Symposium onboard a Tauck river cruise ship
• The culinary highlights of Bordeaux on a Uniworld Boutique River Cruise.
• River cruises on the Eastern Danube, visiting off-the-beaten path places in Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary.
• A cruise in South East Asia to Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, with stays at the oh-so-central Fullerton Hotel Singapore and the excellent St. Regis Singapore
• Safari in Botswana, exploring the magnificent wildlife of Africa, from the comfort of three beautiful Belmond lodges.
• A quick getaway on the then-largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean‘s Harmony of the Seas to try out the new Royal Suite Class. (Perfect for family vacations!)
• A Mediterranean cruise with my family on Celebrity Cruises
• City breaks in Cairo, Boston and New York City
• Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, with a stay at the Bellagio Las Vegas
• A stay at a British country house, Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa, one of our Virtuoso preferred hotels, near Bath, England
• The Keukenhof flower expo in Holland, combined with visits to the Dutch countryside
• Stays at luxury hotels One&Only Cape Town and the boutique Twelve Apostles Hotel in the Camps Bay area of Cape Town for Virtuoso Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa, preceded by stays at Zulu Camp at Shambala Private Game Reserve (about two hours from Johannesburg, South Africa) and peaceful Bushmans Kloof (about three hours from Cape Town).

David’s Qualifications

• Saveur Travel Advisory Board
• Certified Australia “Aussie Specialist”
• 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist – Gold
• Switzerland Travel Expert
• Flanders Specialist
• Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) certified Master Cruise Counselor
• Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
• Crystal Cruises Specialist
• Certified Scenic Specialist
• Silversea Cruises Specialist
• AmaWaterways Specialist
• Cunard Commodore
• Ponant Academy Specialist
• Princess Cruises Commodore
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises Luxury Cruise Expert
• Royal Caribbean International Autism Friendly Certification
• Windstar Cruises Star Specialist
• Avalon Waterways Specialist
• Hurtigruten Amundsen Explorer Club

Contact David Lauwers via e-mail or by phone 312-266-7447.