It's official. We've virtually met.

My love of travel began when I visited Paris when I was 16. Since the , I've spent my life researching, learning, and going on every type of international travel you can imagine. I've visited 63 countries and counting, with a goal to someday get to them all!

In 2013 I received my master's degree in international social work and wanted to incorporate my passion for travel with wellness and helping others. Living in Utah, my husband Brian and I started Walker Wellness Retreats in 2016 by leading hiking and yoga retreats to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. We hosted our first international retreat in 2017 when we took a group to hike the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu in Peru. Since then we've grown little by little, and we now lead 12-14 domestic hiking and yoga retreats and 6-7 international retreats each year.

Throughout my travels, I've experienced all different types of trips based on group size and budget. While it's easy to find the large, 50-passenger tour groups constantly on the move, it's a much more meaningful experience to find a small, personalized travel company that treats you like family.

As a mental health therapist, I firmly believe that connecting with nature, enjoying the company of others, and challenging your body through fitness and yoga can be "just what the therapist ordered" to combat feelings of sluggishness, depression, and anxiety that we all experience from time to time. When creating Walker Wellness Retreats, I wanted to create a unique travel experience that would leave people feeling positive and happy without the stress and hassle of trip planning. Creating this unique experience meant taking care of all the details so our guests could show up and truly enjoy their vacation!

Once we started organizing trips, we developed a good feel for the most important aspects of traveling that we wanted to incorporate. As a result, all our trips now are small group luxury vacations and, most importantly, all-inclusive. Our guests pay once, then show up knowing every detail has already been planned for and taken care of. We cater to all ages and backgrounds but specifically target solo travelers looking to connect with other world travelers.

Walker Wellness Retreats focuses on all the best parts of travel: culture, food, and history. I've taken all of the things I've learned over the past 20+ years and made it my mission to show others all the positive benefits of traveling. 

Well, in 2020, there was this thing called "COVID-19"...

But, seriously, being a small business with limited cash reserves, giving back thousands of dollars in refunds, and watching our entire business grind to a halt was challenging. There was no pandemic guidebook, and we learned much throughout that time. We made mistakes and had our resolve tested, but we focused on controlling what we could control and keeping our spirits up. It could have been worse, and we were encouraged when our domestic hiking and yoga retreats to Zion picked up as soon as lockdowns lifted by the fall of the first pandemic year. Hopefully, that was the last pandemic and economic shutdown we'll have to endure!

We created Walker Wellness Retreats to share the positive impact travel can have with as many people as possible. Travel makes the world seem not so large. It opens your mind to new ways of thinking.

Amy has a master's degree in social work but believes with all her heart that she learned more as an international English teacher traveling the world than she ever did in a classroom. She has traveled to over sixty countries and has experienced every type of travel, from backpacking and staying in hostels to budget large-group travel to luxury five-star resorts. Brian has a degree and background in Product Marketing and loves hiking, snow-skiing, and the great outdoors.

Together we can use our diverse skills and experience of traveling the world to design and plan incredible adventures to bring like-minded travelers together to unique places around the globe! 

Growth doesn't happen inside your comfort zone!

We started small while Brian and I were still working full-time jobs. Then, in September of last year (2021), we took the most significant risks of our lives and left our comfortable, 9-5 corporate jobs to focus our time, energy, and love on Walker Wellness Retreats. We put our home up for rent and have been traveling around the globe ever since, leading and researching future retreat destinations.

This month (September 2022), we took another courageous step and hired our first full-time employee to help us scale.