I have been leading trips as a freelance tour manager and guide for various tour operators and educational travel programs since training at the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI) in 2001. I have worked with groups from a variety of tour operators, museums, alumni travel programs, and other likeminded organizations in destinations throughout the world, including Cuba, Scandinavia, Egypt, Morocco, Mongolia, the Galápagos Islands, Patagonia, Easter Island, New Zealand, India, Japan, China, South Korea, Central Europe (Prague and the Danube River route through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary), Italy, Spain, France, England, Alaska, and Canada, as well as various locations across the continental United States.
Alongside my tour work I have extensive independent travel experience in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Raised bilingual (English and Swedish), I’m also fluent in Spanish, speak somewhat rusty but conversational French and German, and have some knowledge of Italian and Portuguese. I hold an M.A. in Latin American studies and a B.A. in environmental studies and have also studied in Ecuador (comparative ecology) and Sweden (international development studies). In addition, I have expertise in travel writing, photography, blogging, ecotourism and sustainable travel, conservation, and history (particularly British, medieval, and Scandinavian). I have served as a cultural specialist aboard expedition cruises, giving talks on Scandinavian history, culture, and society.
If you are interested in having me lead a trip for your travel company or organized group, please e-mail me at contact(at)annikahipple.com. I am available as a tour manager/expedition leader or trip expert/subject-matter specialist.
Upcoming Tours:
Stay tuned!
Tours I have led include:
- Smithsonian at Oxford (Smithsonian Journeys – multiple departures)
- Classic Mystery Lover’s England (Smithsonian Journeys – multiple departures)
- Scandinavia by Sea: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway aboard NG Orion (Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic) – Cultural Specialist
- Circumnavigating the Baltic Sea aboard NG Orion (Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic) – Cultural Specialist
- Morocco Photography Expedition (National Geographic Expeditions)
- Andalusia: Center of Christianity, Judaism and Islam ([New York] Times Journeys)
- Cuba (Center for International Policy, Environmental Defense Fund, Smithsonian Journeys, International Expeditions, National Geographic Expeditions – multiple departures with various itineraries)
- Moroccan Odyssey (National Geographic Expeditions)
- Sustainable Belize (Environmental Defense Fund)
- Rail Journey through India (National Geographic Expeditions)
- Human Origins: Southwestern France and Northern Spain (National Geographic Expeditions)
- England: In the Footsteps of Richard III with historical novelist Sharon Kay Penman (Academic Travel Abroad)
- Spain and Portugal: Shores of Iberia aboard Sea Cloud II (Harvard Alumni Association Travels, Yale Educational Travel, Stanford Travel/Study – joint program)
- Seattle: Art and Artists of the Pacific Northwest (Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum)
- Scandinavian Sojourn (Yale Educational Travel, Stanford Travel/Study, Harvard Alumni Association Travels – multiple departures)
- The Canadian Rockies: A Family Learning Adventure (Vanderbilt University Travel Program)
- New Zealand Adventure (National Geographic Expeditions – multiple departures)
- Mongolia: Land of the Nomad (National Geographic Expeditions – multiple departures)
- Egyptian Odyssey (Smithsonian Journeys, University of Virginia Cavalier Travels – multiple departures)
- Patagonia: Crown Jewel of South America with Iguazú Falls extension (California Academy of Sciences Travel Program)
- Italy: In the Shadow of Vesuvius (Smithsonian Journeys)
- World Leaders Symposium: East Asia aboard Silver Whisper (World Leaders Travel for numerous co-sponsoring organizations)
- The Galapagos Islands aboard Isabela II (American Museum of Natural History Expeditions)
- Patagonia Explorer: Argentina and Chile by Land and Sea with Easter Island extension (Smithsonian Journeys)
- Art Treasures of Italy: Venice, Florence, Rome (Smithsonian Journeys)
- Mississippi River from Minneapolis to St. Louis aboard Delta Queen (National Trust for Historic Preservation, Smithsonian Journeys, Stanford Travel/Study – joint program)
- Intriguing Japan aboard Spirit of Oceanus (Harvard Alumni Association Travels, Yale Educational Travel, American Museum of Natural History Expeditions – joint program)
- Central Europe: Prague to Budapest including Danube River cruise aboard River Cloud II (Stanford Travel/Study)
- Western U.S. National Parks (Go Ahead Tours)
- New Zealand by Land and Sea aboard Clipper Odyssey (Smithsonian Journeys, American Museum of Natural History Expeditions, National Trust for Historic Preservation – joint program)
- Alaska’s Inside Passage and Denali National Park (Go Ahead Tours)
- Alaska’s Inside Passage and Glacier Bay aboard Norwegian Star (Go Ahead Tours)
Other experience includes numerous fall foliage trips in the northeastern United States (New England, New York, Pennsylvania Amish Country, and Washington, DC) and eastern Canada (Quebec and Ontario) for Globus & Cosmos, Jetsave, and other tour operators; cruise-based programs in the western Mediterranean and the Baltic aboard Holland America for Vantage Deluxe World Travel; and student tours of the northeastern US (Boston, New York, and Washington, DC), California, the Pacific Northwest, and the U.S. Southwest for EF Explore America.