Experience Culture Like Never Before — Tailor-Made Adventures for You
For the adventurous traveler seeking meaningful, culturally rich experiences around the world
What is culture? Perhaps it’s the merging of history and the present, the day-to-day world of a local resident, or simply a deep appreciation of place. Wherever your destination, Experience Culture Travel connects you to culture through custom itineraries.
The trips created are always tailored to match your desired level of immersion:
Want to dive deep? Learn through cooking classes, artisan workshops, or local homestays.
Prefer a taste? Explore culture on a smaller scale with carefully curated experiences.
Expand your worldview while supporting local communities. Immersive travel creates opportunities for:
Free enterprise and sustainable tourism in destination: I prioritize local guides and operators in each itinerary I craft.
Supporting a woman-owned small business (me!) while also enriching countless families at your destination.
Traveling this way isn’t just about you—it’s a meaningful exchange that transforms lives.
Meaningful travel that you remember forever
Travel is more than sightseeing. It’s about the journey and the experiences that make a trip unforgettable. Imagine your family cooking with locals, exploring history through a treasure hunt, or learning a traditional craft together. By incorporating immersive experiences, you can gain a better understanding of local culture and return with memories that far outweigh photos and souvenirs.
But planning this can be hard on your own—and very time-consuming. That’s where I come in!
Wherever you want to go—from the well-trodden path to the farthest corners of the globe—let’s create the trip you’ll never forget.
But first, let me introduce myself…
Hi! I’m Kara and I own a unique travel agency that specializes in adventure and culturally immersive trips and destinations. While I’m located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, I have helped clients all over the country make their dream vacations a reality. I’m an adventurer at heart, and I love striking up conversations with anyone I meet and especially those who also love to see new places and learn more about the culture. When my clients work with me, they know that I take the time to get to know their wants and desires for their trip, advise them throughout the planning process, and am there for them as they travel, should they need me. As one of my valued repeat clients has said in his 5-star Google review:
One of my latest trips - I’m loving life in the mountains of Morocco!
Kara takes the work and stress out of vacation planning, leaving you able to relax and truly enjoy your travel.
Ready to start planning a dream trip? It’s easy!
Consultation -> Custom Itinerary -> Stress-free Travel
When you’re ready to make your vacation a reality, schedule a complimentary travel consultation with me. We’ll talk about your trip goals, such as destinations, travel dates, and budget.
From there, you’ll receive an email with a link to my client intake form. This helps collect all the details I need to start crafting your trip. You’ll also see my terms and conditions and confirm the planning fee we discussed during the consultation.
Once the intake form is complete, your work is done! I’ll take it from there to craft a custom itinerary based on our conversation and send it to you for review. You’ll have full flexibility to make adjustments until it becomes your vacation of your dreams.
Don’t forget to check out my FAQ page if you have more questions, and read the Guide to Working with Experience Culture Travel too!
So, what are you waiting for?
Schedule your travel consultation using the button below!
Check out the places my past clients have experienced
These Past Trips provide a peek into some prior vacations I've booked for clients or myself, and some highlights of what we’ve experienced while there.
Upcoming Events:
March 9-18, 2025 - The Irish Adventure has SOLD OUT - stay tuned for future trips!
Why use a travel advisor?
Check out this blog post about why I think you should use a travel advisor as you consider if you should hire me to plan your next trip!
What my clients say:
“Kara was referred to us by another travel agent because we were told she was the expert when it comes to planning a European vacation, and they were right! Within a few days she had our entire itinerary ready for our review. She planned everything right down to our transportation from the airports. She was available for questions even when we were on our trip. The tours she planned were all amazing. We were able to experience Paris and Rome in a way we would never have been able to on our own. It was a trip of a lifetime thanks to Kara.”
“Working with Kara to plan our trips has been phenomenal! She is incredibly thorough and is always thinking ahead. For our Stockholm trip, Kara worked with us to understand what kind of experiences we were looking to have. She found us two great, locally run hotels in separate parts of the city to give us different cultural experiences. She scheduled amazing tours that fit our goals - food immersion, local history, and getting into nature. Our week in Stockholm was a once in a lifetime experience and we’re so glad we had Kara to not only plan but be our backup if anything were to go wrong (it did not). 100% recommend Kara at Experience Culture for any future travels. She will ensure you have the trip of your dreams. We will be going back to her for our next adventure!”
“My wife and I booked are honeymoon through Experience Culture Travel and it was amazing. Kara made everything so easy and went above and beyond. She even was there to help us with questions even during the middle of the night. I would highly recommend!”
“I have nothing but good things to say about Kara. I had an open plan which isn’t always easy, but she patiently guided me through the process and listened to me. Her vast experience with travel was much appreciated as I set off to easter Europe by myself.
Kara was always available and responded much faster than I would have expected. I felt personally cared for. The trip was so successful that I only reached out to her during the trip to let her know how fantastic the trip was going.
Highly recommend working with Kara and Experience Culture Travel.”
“Australia was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we had a long list of places to see. There is no way we could have planned it all ourselves. Kara exceeded every expectation. We had multiple transfers across planes, trains, busses and ferries and it was so seamless. It took all the stress off the logistics, allowing us to just soak in the experience.
We will use Kara again and can’t recommend her highly enough.”
A bit more about me
World Traveler, mom, type 7 enneagram, cat lover
My last trip to Europe — just me and my ten month old. This is all we had for 2 weeks—I am definitely a light packer. :)
I’m eager to expand my travels with both kids internationally - they both have traveled outside the country three times so far in their lifetimes.
I started this agency in 2016 with the intent to use it to share my love of learning about other cultures to my clients, as well as to my own family. I have two kids and it is one of my goals as a mom to provide opportunities for them to see more than their slice of the world and to encourage an attitude of curiosity and learning from other people and cultures outside of their own. Growing up, my own mother planted this desire in my life by bringing me to England a couple times in my childhood and enrolling me in a local day camp during one of those visits. I enthusiastically met new friends and learned about their typical activities that were a bit different than my own. Later in high school, I had opportunity to travel to St. Vincent and assist as a camp counselor for a day camp. This trip introduced me to the idea that it is more than just checking off must-see items on a bucket list, but that travel could open a window revealing what daily life looks like in a destination.
If you’re a fan of the Enneagram method of categorizing personality types, it may be pretty obvious to you that I fall firmly into the type 7 category. My husband likes to tease me because I really enjoy taking these types of quizzes (I can tell you I’m a ESTJ in the Myers Briggs categorization, an I in the DISC method, and so on…). But I’ve found value in identifying both my strengths and areas of improvement using these so, jokes on him. Rounding out my family is my cat, Archimedes, who is my OG “kid” and I don’t care what my husband says about that either. Obviously my family enjoys teasing one another, it’s one of our love languages (and oh, I can tell you I fall under the Quality Time love language categorization too).
Why Work with Me?
Authentic Cultural Experiences
Imagine sharing stories over a home-cooked meal with locals, learning centuries-old traditions, or wandering off the beaten path to discover hidden gems. These are the moments I weave into every itinerary—moments you’ll treasure long after the trip ends.
Adventures Designed for You
No cookie-cutter trips here. I start with a complimentary travel consultation to understand your travel style, budget, and dreams. From there, I craft a bespoke adventure that reflects what’s most important to you—whether it’s hiking through rugged landscapes, exploring artisan markets, or relaxing in boutique accommodations.
Exceptional Adventures, No Matter Your Budget
A custom trip doesn’t have to break the bank. I specialize in curating experiences that deliver luxury without excess, using unique stays in the 3-4 star range that immerse you in the local culture. For those looking for higher-end travel, I also design exclusive journeys with distinctive accommodations and handpicked activities.
More testimonials:
“Kara planned our honeymoon from start to finish and it was an AMAZING ADVENTURE! We traveled in Belize seamlessly from place to place. All we had to do was show up ready for our next experience! We can’t wait to have Kara set up our next adventure!”
“Kara does up a great vacation with little worries! We had a fantastic time. It was nice to know she was only a text away if we ran into trouble - which, by the way, we didn’t!! Italy did not disappoint and neither did Kara Brown!”
“I have used Experience Culture Travel twice in the last six months—once for a personal international trip, and one for a church youth group trip for 31 people! Kara was amazing to work with, whether it was my honeymoon in Italy or my professional trip to NYC. She is knowledgeable, always quick to respond, accessible, and even though she does all the planning, she makes you feel very empowered to embark on the trip alone! There’s nothing negative to say.”
“Kara was a great help in planning my trip to Iceland and France! She spent a lot of time sorting through different options to find the exact flights, hotels and attractions that I wanted.She even found a unique opportunity in Paris - private cooking lessons in an amazing 19th century apartment - that I would never in a million years have found for myself. Using Experience Culture Travel was a great decision!”
“Our family of 5 traveled to London and Paris over spring break. I was very overwhelmed with the idea of planning all the details of our trip, so when a friend recommended Kara at Experience Culture Travel, we scheduled a meeting. We decided to move forward, and it was the absolute best decision! Kara planned an amazing trip for us. She really took the time to get to know us, our travel style, and our interests. Kara’s communication and attention to detail was stellar. We loved all of our accommodations and tours and transfers! Kara took the stress out planning this trip, so we could just enjoy our family time in Europe. ”
