More than You Really Wanted to Know
I'm Bryan Smith, founder and managing member of Hand Crafted Travel LLC.
I was born and raised in California, but for the last 27 years I’ve been living and traveling in Europe. Initially I was just like every other tourist: wide-eyed with wonder, confused by cultural differences, and trying to makes sense of all those zeros on the Italian money.
Over the years my role has changed, as I've gone from tourist to tour guide. Since 1992 I’ve been helping others understand the art and history of the places we’re visiting; enjoying the wonder of seeing sights again (and again and again), each time for the first time through my tour members eyes. Thankfully Italy has switched to the Euro, and I no longer have to deal with all those zeros (but I miss being a billionaire).
I now divide my time between two continents, half in Europe and half in California, and I am equally at home in both.
I speak fluent German, decent French and Italian, and enough Spanish to get into trouble. I can successfully order a beer and find the bathroom, usually in that order, in seven languages.
I also have a strong interest in the art and history of Europe. While I don’t have any formal training as an art historian, I have spent over a quarter of a century satisfying my own rampant curiosity, and I've learned a few things along the way.
In 1992 I chucked a sure but boring future in the corporate world for adventure and insecurity as an entrepreneur. Building on my love of travel and experiences living overseas I opened a small travel specialty store, called Bon Voyage! Travel Books & Maps.
Initially it was just a retail store, providing travel guidebooks, maps, luggage and other essentials to travelers. I quickly developed a local reputation as the European travel expert, someone who had actually been there, done that. Questions from customers about where to go, where to stay, and what to see soon grew into organized travel seminars, selling European railpasses and preparing independent trip plans for Europe-bound travelers. From there it was a short hop to actually organizing and leading my own tours.
By 1999 my travel services business had overtaken the retail store, and on January 1, 2000 I split that business off from the retail store as its own company, Hand Crafted Travel LLC. Late in 2003 I decided to close the retail store. The stress of running two businesses, including trying to stay on top of a retail business when I was out of the country for several months of the year, was just too much.
While I miss the daily contact with my retail customers, I now have more time to provide the best, most up-to-date travel information on Europe. I continue to guide tours in Europe about four months out of the year, I provide trip planning help for independent travelers, and I offer the best deal on European railpasses, rail tickets, and Eurostar reservations.
If you are planning a trip to Europe, either on your own or as part of a guided tour, I'd be happy to help you have the best experience possible.
Friends in Europe joke that Bryan Smith, owner of Hand Crafted Travel, knows their countries better than they do. Only it's no joke, he really does. After almost 30 years of living and traveling in Europe, there are few places Bryan hasn't been, from Portugal to Poland, from Germany to Italy and everywhere in between. In the last two years alone Bryan has visited Ireland, Great Britain, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
We travel the way you do, using trains and rental cars between cities, and public transportation within. No chain hotels. No special perks. No free lunches (or hotel rooms). Most of the hotels and restaurants we visit have no idea we're reviewing their service. All this experience, combined with our one-on-one trip planning, means that we can design a trip that fits your specific needs, budget and dreams.