Melanie Psaltakis
Melanie Psaltakis
Wellness and Adventure Travel Specialist
A little yoga on New Zealand's Routeburn Track
I have always been a traveler. From multi-gen cross-country camping trips as a kid, to being immersed in New Zealand culture for a year as an AFS student. From living and wandering around Europe, Micronesia, and the United States for numerous years as a military spouse, to encouraging my kids to seek their own adventures in Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America. I believe travel can change the way we view ourselves and the world.
I am also a wellness and adventure enthusiast. I run, cycle, lead a local hiking group and am an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher. I've completed 100-mile charity bike rides, several multi-day cycling trips and hiking excursions, and have created and led my own yoga retreats in Greece, Italy, and Sweden. In 2019, I was even the Wellness Host on a small-ship UnCruise Adventures Alaskan cruise!
My passion is to combine travel and wellness, specializing in and designing wellness vacations, small group adventure tours and tailor-made journeys. In 2020, I further committed to the promise of travel for renewal and regeneration by completing the world's first Transformation Travel Design Program, with the goal of expanding and deepening traveler connection, meaning, and purpose.
With wellness and small group adventures being the fastest growing trends in travel, I am perfectly poised to help you plan your unique experience. This includes self-guided itineraries, small groups, private groups, center-based and point-to-point hiking and cycling trips, wildlife walks, summits, and polar excursions. Here are a few examples:
- Nourish your body and spirit at a wellness resort and spa in Costa Rica that is committed to sustainability and social consciousness.
- Preserve the environment and benefit local communities on a walking and wine holiday in one of the world's best yet largely undiscovered wine regions in Italy while not missing out on delicious local cuisine.
- Explore New Zealand predominately on foot, taking in the main highlights and many off-the-beaten-track attractions such as Jurassic-like rainforests, glaciers, volcanic peaks, and golden beaches.
- Make a lower carbon choice by exploring the world on two wheels, from gentle cycling tours in the Loire region of France to a fully supported expedition in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains. Or maybe pedaling the length of Vietnam while exploring its unique culture and cuisine.
- Focus on protecting and nurturing wildlife and biodiversity aboard a small ship voyage, accompanied by National Geographic explorers, award-winning photographers, marine biologists, naturalists, archaeologists, and ornithologists in locations like Alaska, Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Northwest, Galapagos, Mexico's Sea of Cortez, Belize and Guatemala, Egypt, the Chilean Fjords, the Maldives, and Papua New Guinea.
- Travel responsibly and in comfort while witnessing Antarctic wildlife such as penguins, seals, and whales, or exploring the Arctic wilderness of Canada, Greenland, Iceland or even Russia!
For solo travelers, friends, families, groups, culture and wildlife enthusiasts, active and not-so-active travelers! What kind of traveler do you want to be? Where do you want to go? When will you make those discoveries you've been dreaming about? How do you want to travel in the world?
My Areas of Expertise
CERTIFICATES & AWARDS
Incredible experience!
That was a super fun trip - lots of laughs and amazing experiences! Thank you for the review!
Flexible and knowledgeable:)
Thank you so much for your kind words. It's been my pleasure to work with you on several itineraries and I look forward to being of service again soon!
Met Every Expectation!
Melanie is a world traveler, detail oriented and makes traveling stress free. My husband and I had just landed in Stockholm at the beginning of the pandemic. No sooner had we landed when we discovered that our return tickets were canceled. Of course there was initial panic but Melanie, using her extensive travel knowledge, guided us through the process of finding return tickets when many countries were shutting down incoming travel. We will be using Melanie for future travel in much less stressful times.
Thank you for the review! It was indeed a stressful time at the beginning of the pandemic and I am happy I was able to help reduce that foreboding and get you home safely - and that you got to see the Northern Lights too!
Namaste
Thank you for the review! Umbria is truly a special place in Italy. I look forward to helping you plan your next trip!
Perfectly planned and amazing trip
We never would have known of all of the details that Melanie planned and booked for us. These details enabled us to have a stress free and great trip.
You don’t know what you don’t know and luckily Melanie anticipated, planned, and booked us an amazing trip that we will never forget.
I'm so happy that you had such a wonderful experience in such a wonderful place. I love tailoring trips to hopefully exceed your expectations and am glad Wayfinders Travel did that for you. Thank you for taking the time to write this review!
The Long-Awaited Trip of a Timetime
I'm so happy you finally got to take this trip and that all went so smoothly during the entire trip. Thank you!
History and cooking classes in Rome and Sorrento
I enjoyed working with you for plan this trip for your family. I really wish I could've sampled some of that food you prepared in the Italian cooking classes! Thank you for the review!
Thank you for the spectacular service
Thank you for the spectacular review! I'm thrilled that even with the few bumps along the way (hotel availability, cancelled tour, and plane delay) that you were able to relax knowing that Wayfinders Travel truly had your back. Thank you!
Spain and Portugal 2023 - Muy Bueno!
Trip of a Lifetime was planned very well.
Thank you for taking time to write a review of my services for your trip to Tuscany. I love co-creating perfectly paced trips that take into account special interests while also making sure all the logistics flow smoothly. I'm glad you called me when the driver didn't show up in Milan so a solution could be found to get you on your way. I look forward to working with you again when you are ready to travel again!
Great last minute vacation find!
Melanie was a pleasure to work with in finding the location, providing options and working out the details of the trip. She was very responsive to any questions we had.
I would definitely use Melanie again for finding another vacation in the future!!!
Thank you for the kind words. It was a pleasure working with you to find the perfect place for your family's holiday vacation!
Knowledgable, Professional, Responsive & Relia
Thank you for treating yourself to the services of a professional travel agent, and especially for choosing me to help plan your trip to Hawaii. I loved seeing the photos of you having so much fun while there! I look forward to working with you again on your future travels!
European Getaway
Thank you for the review! I was so happy to hear when the luggage caught up with you and was grateful you had the security of trip insurance to cover associated out-of-pocket expenses. I truly appreciate the referrals and also look forward to working with you again in the future. All the best!
"Trip of a Lifetime"
Thank you so much for the kind review. I believe in being prepared and providing top level service to make each trip a trip of a lifetime. So much of that revolves around developing a relationship with clients to understand their wants and needs. I'm happy to hear that I met these expectations. It was a pleasure working with you. Thank you!
Five Melanie trips in 5 years
Thank you so much Susan! I loved helping you create your memorable family trips and had so much fun traveling with you on the yoga retreats in Greece and Italy. And now we're working on trip #5 for you and some of your friends - thank you!
spring break to barcelona and florence
Thank you for taking the time to write a review of my travel services. I'm glad that my professional advice contributed to the overall positive experience of your trip to Barcelona and Florence, and that your new return flights got you home in a timely manner! Travel Well!
Awesome times down under
Wonderful Trip
Her job is not easy by any means. Dealing with five peoples desires on such a big trip was no easy task. Being able to develop and keep straight our differing itineraries takes great skill and organization. Three of the five of us had not previously used Melanie to help with our travel. We all said we will use Melanie for all future travel needs. Thanks Melanie for a fantastic trip and experience!
Amazing!
The Perfect Package for Us!
Trip of a life time
It was a joy working with you to plan this Trip of a Lifetime and I can't wait to learn where you want to go next! Thank you!
Melanie crafted two wonderful trips!
Thank you so much for taking time to write this review about the two trips I planned for you. I can't wait to hear about where you want to travel next!
The best travel agent we've ever worked with!
Thank you so much for the kind words. It really means a lot to me to know I could provide a service that created a memorable vacation for you. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you and look forward to providing an exceptional travel experience for you again soon. Thank you!
Fantastic Recommendations!
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the recommendations and that the trip was truly a celebration!
Amazing trip
Thank you for the wonderful review! It is my goal to provide a seamless and stress-free travel experience for my clients, and I'm so happy to know it was such a fun trip for you!
A wonderful cultural experience! Top 3!
Thank you so much for this review! I enjoyed working with you on this special trip and look forward to planning the next one!
Best way to see The Prosecco Region of Italy!
Thank you for the review! It was my pleasure working with you, and then getting to see all of your wonderful photos and videos from the trip. Thank you!
Family Trip to Remember - The BEST!
I am so happy that you were able to experience this special time together as a family and to know that the trip exceeded your expectations. It was a pleasure to help you plan this vacation and I look forward to hearing where you want to go next! Thank you!
Yoga and Italian food -- what could be better?!
Thank you so much for this wonderful review! I hope to have the pleasure of planning another trip for you soon!
Amazing trips with attention to every detail
I am so happy to know that the Yoga Retreats were amazing experiences for you. Thank you!
Unbelievable Service!
Alaska on UnCruise Adventures was amazing! Getting to share that experience with you two made the trip extraordinary! Can't wait to plan some more trips for you! Thank you!
Trip of a lifetime
I'm happy to hear that you appreciated and valued the service I offer to my clients. Thank you for the review!
Hard to chose but anywhere where there's water.
Thank you for letting me know I'm TKO! I'm looking forward to helping you plan your next trip near the water!
Trip Was Amazing
The trip was amazing and Melanie was just the best to work with! When we had a flight cancellation on the way to Germany, Melanie helped get us re-booked and even helped to cancel the tours that were impacted. If you're thinking about using a travel agent for upcoming trips, definitely check with Melanie!