SAMANTHA MCCLURE
OWNER
Sam has consistently been named a Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist and to Travel + Leisure’s A-List for Family Travel since 2013 and was Awarded the Virtuoso honor of Most Innovative Travel Advisor.
My first passport picture was taken when I was one month old. I had the great fortune to grow up as an “oil brat” – living and traveling around the world.
When I settled in Austin with my husband to raise our family, it was on the condition that I could travel often and share the world with our children.
While they didn’t get their first passports quite as early as I did, Madison and Ian journeyed to all seven continents by the age of 12. They have been to their father’s ancestral homeland of Ireland, to my ancestral homeland of Italy and seen some of the places where Mommy grew up including Brussels and London... sprinkled with trips to the beach in Belize, Nicaragua, Mexico, Hawaii, Bora Bora, Fiji and The Caribbean where they have discovered my passion for snorkeling.
I have experienced many new places with them – the uninhabited Galapagos Islands, the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, safaris in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Namibia, the rain forests of Costa Rica, the raw beauty of New Zealand, the mysteries of China, the ancient wonders of Egypt and Jordan, Gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda, the magnificent falls at Iguazu, the stunning Dalmation Coast of Croatia, the exotic landscapes of Turkey and looking for lemurs in Madagascar. We've gone bi-polar together from the mystical Antarctic continent to the ice capped Arctic Circle!
I have also revisited familiar countries in a new way – we have biked together through the Loire Valley, Holland, from Prague to Vienna and the Canadian Rockies. We've gone on safari in Australia, and explored Greek mythology on the Peloponnese and cruised the Aegean by sailboat. I took them to one of my favorite countries - Kenya, where we embarked on a camel trekking safari with Masai warriors. Recently I took them back to one of the most beautiful countries on earth – Iceland. Even as young adults, we still share a passion for exploration as a family and continue to dream about our next adventures.
I believe that the greatest gift you can give your children is to share the world with them. That is why I started Small World Travel in 1999 to help other families enjoy discovering the world together.
madison ros
Travel Advisor
Madison was recently named to Travel Agent Central’s “30 Under 30” for 2020.
One of my earliest memories was my parents’ promise to take me and my brother to all seven continents by the time we were 12 years old. My mother (Sam McClure) took this promise one step further and started Small World Travel when I was five years old, and I have been her “guinea pig” ever since.
I got my first passport at age 4 to travel to Ireland, London and Italy. We learned to snorkel in the Galapagos Islands and how to hike (on our parents’ backs) up to Machu Picchu before heading on a research safari in South Africa by the time I was 7 years old. We spent summers biking through France, Belgium, Croatia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the Canadian Rockies, and I managed to survive on mifan in China at nine years old. I turned 10 while learning to drive a zodiac in Antarctica and 12 in Australia, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge. And just like that, my parents kept their promise, and I was officially hooked on exploring the world.
My love for new adventures pushed me to leave home in Austin, Texas at 14 to attend the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut and Colgate University in upstate New York. I spent my first summer in College studying International Relations at the London School of Economics and my first semester sophomore year at University College London. While abroad, I put my travel-planning skills to test, traveling almost every weekend throughout Europe and Morocco. When given the opportunity to choose destinations for my high school and college graduation presents, I selected several new and different destinations – Turkey, Cambodia, Vietnam and Madagascar.
After graduating from Colgate University cum laude with a double major in Economics and English, I embarked on another new adventure and entered the world of finance in New York City. Over the past two years, I have spent the holidays with my family in Brazil, Iceland and Bora Bora and managed to squeeze in a few beach vacations to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with friends.
Those who know me well know that there is no match for the excitement I experience when I am traveling. I have been very lucky to have traveled so extensively , and by joining Small World Travel, I hope to spread my passion for adventure travel with as many people as possible.
Alexandra Gagarin
Travel Advisor
My parents viewed education not just as textbooks and classrooms but also experiences. Growing up we took family trips to see Mayan ruins, wildebeest migrating across the Serengeti, and giant green sea turtles in the Galapagos.
We interacted with Masai tribes, caught fresh halibut off the coast of Alaska, and walked the streets of Paris sampling strawberry tarts and crepes au chocolat. The cultures, foods, cities, and landscapes of the world were my classroom.
I am a native Austinite and I attended the University of Texas where I played soccer for four years while earning a dual degree in Plan II and History. The summer after my senior year I spent six weeks with a backpack and a Eurail pass traveling through Europe. I shared rooms and beers with travelers from all over the world and soon had a lengthy wish list of destinations. After graduation I joined Teach For America and moved to New York City and after four years in the northeast I moved back to Austin where I was introduced to the travel industry. I am excited to share with you my love for the cultures and foods of the world.
IAN MCCLURE
Travel Advisor
Ian was recently named to Travel Agent Central’s “30 Under 30” for 2023.
When my parents were deciding which elementary school to send me and my sister to in Austin, Texas, one of the most important criterions was that we would be able to take time off to travel the world. My family has always seen travel as an integral part of our education, not just a way to spend holidays and breaks in between classes. As much as I value all of the time I spent learning and studying in school, some of the most important and impactful life lessons have come from our global family adventures.
My parents promised me and my sister at a very young age that by the time we both turned 12, we would have been to every continent in the world. Apparently, they were not satisfied with that goal, as I made it not only to all seven continents but also both poles before my twelfth birthday! To say that my experience with travel has been privileged would be a massive understatement.
After spending my childhood traveling with my family, I gained the confidence to explore more of the world on my own. My sister and I started traveling without our parents as soon as we turned 6 years old, and every year we would fly across the country alone to visit our grandparents. By 14, I was ready to leave home to attend The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. At 18, I set off for the opposite coast to attend Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where I spent the next decade before returning to Austin and joining the Small World Team.
Growing up, I never intended to end up in the ‘family business.’ The 26 years leading up to this career involved forays into acting, directing, writing, and producing. Throughout it all, the one constant was travel. Every few months I found myself in a new exotic, exciting, and eye-opening part of the world. I was taken by the beauty of the Galapagos Islands, the timeless classics of European tours, the culture shock of China as a pre-teen, and the absolute awe and wonder of an African safari. Each destination brought us close to nature, people, and ways of life that were new and thrilling. After working for nearly five years in a part time hosting job on the other side of the travel business, I realized I had a knack for enhancing and curating a memorable experience for travelers. I couldn’t think of a better place to continue that mission than with the business that my mother started, which I watched grow step by step through my own eyes as we traveled the world as a family.
Emily kelly
Travel Advisor
Growing up in the UK, I was fortunate enough to have continental Europe on my doorstep. I spent my summers exploring the continent on family vacations, and after I finished school I decided to spend three months backpacking through the many countries it has to offer. Greece stole my heart during the trip, and the following summer I moved to Crete to live and work for 6 months.
By my early 20’s the travel bug had really taken over. After University I moved to Dubai and secured a job as an International Flight Attendant. The job allowed me to explore parts of the world I could only dream of going to before. It expanded my passion and love for different countries, cultures, and culinary delights.
For the following seven years I lived my life out of a suitcase, creating memories that will last a lifetime. From absorbing a countries beauty from above by hang-gliding over Rio, and sky diving in New Zealand to kayaking through the caves of the beautiful Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, and camping out under the stars in the Julian Alps.
Now my feet are firmly on the ground in Austin, and I am delighted to have joined the Small World Travel team! I am excited to share my passion for exploring the World to help make travel dreams come true!
Stefani hite
education director
I have always loved to travel and believe it is the best educational experience possible – for young and old.
My passion has certainly rubbed off on my husband Gary and daughter Cory. Together we have voyaged to five continents to bike Kitty Hawk, ride camels in Cairo, climb the great wall of China, snorkel the Galapagos, whale watch in San Francisco ... but wherever we go – near or far – we approach each location as a learning opportunity.
In 1994, I left a decade-long career in marketing to become a teacher. Over the years, I earned a Master’s in Education and a Doctorate in Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum. In 2003, I devised a way to combine my passion for travel with my love for educating students. My husband Gary and I took our daughter (then 7 years old) and 25 middle school kids on an exchange trip to southern England. It was, truly, the best educational experience I have ever been a part of. Many years, several countries, and hundreds of students later, we are still going strong. Not only do we lead the trips ourselves, we design and coordinate trips for other educators that wish to participate in such a valuable learning activity. Some of our “alumni” students are now in college and have told us that their trip abroad was truly life changing.
I am thrilled to offer both my love for travel and my background in developing curriculum to Small World Travel and their clients. All journeys lead to a deeper understanding of our fascinating world – but well-prepared activities and thoroughly developed itineraries maximize travel experiences to provide families with life changing learning opportunities.
Angela Lamoreaux
Air Specialist
Angela began working with SWT in 2017, and finally joined the team as a permanent member in 2023! She began her travel career in the mid 90’s working primarily as a corporate travel agent helping companies manage their travel programs. Angela specializes in all things air – piecing together the perfect flights to tie the whole trip together. Her first ‘big’ trip was a cruise to Alaska – and she’s been hooked on cruising ever since.