Forty-Seven Years of Getting People There

Alfred Volden bought the agency in 1991 and grew it into a Virtuoso member firm, but the idea behind it has never changed: the person who plans your trip is the person who picks up when you call. We've stayed independent on purpose, and we've stayed in Albuquerque on purpose. We are not a call center, and we are not an algorithm. We are twenty-three people who love this work — who have been there, hosted that, and who know the guide by name.

We believe travel is a gift — one you only get so many of in a lifetime, so they had better be special. That belief shapes how we work. We start with a conversation, not a search bar, because the best journeys begin with being understood. Then we put our connections to work: the room upgrade, the resort credit, the sold-out suite, the private guide who meets you at the gate. As a Virtuoso member agency since 2000, we hold privileged access to nearly 2,000 of the world's finest hotels, cruise lines, and tour operators — perks and amenities you simply cannot get on your own.

Our team brings more than just years. Paula Kay Eastham, the only Premier Aussie Specialist, Tahiti Tiare, and Fiji Matai in the state, carries 199 verified guest reviews and a 99% recommendation rate. Deborah Terracino, a Sabre Air Specialist, has been to South Africa seven times and can route you through Dubai, the Maldives, or Tahiti. Tina Aikman is a Certified Specialist of Wine who leads culinary groups to cooking schools in Italy and vineyards across France. Kathleen Ortiz, forty years in the industry and thirty-three countries visited, speaks French and Spanish and specializes in the river journeys through Europe's heartland. Cheryl Strotz was born in Panama City and raised on Aruba, and brings island life to every trip she touches. Maria De La Torre has traveled to over a hundred countries and is fluent in Spanish and French. And Alfred, a Certified Travel Industry Executive and an Accredited Space Agent for Virgin Galactic, has spent a career building the team that builds your trips.

What our clients say, in their own words, is that we think of details they "would not begin to know how to explore," that "no detail is too small," and that working with us "removes any anxiety about traveling abroad so we can enjoy the full experience." When a Delta computer meltdown stranded travelers for three days, Alfred worked through the weekend — trains, planes, and automobiles — to get them to their charter an hour before departure. When a supplier made a mistake, Paula Kay "handled it flawlessly, with grace and finesse." That is the standard we hold ourselves to: before, during, and after every trip. You will only take so many trips in your life. We are here to make sure they are special.