If you’re looking to travel but aren’t sure where to start, you might want to check out Story Co. Tours. Established by Yitzy Spinner and Meir Kruter, the two friends, artists and business partners have set out to raise the bar in travel experiences for their Jewish clientele by creating first-class itineraries while catering to their religious observance.
“Some people want something a little bit more off the beaten path and are more adventurous,” Yitzy explained, and that’s where Story Co. Tours comes in. The ultimate guides for your ultimate travel plans, Yitzy and Meir are able to find top-notch creative solutions for kashrut and Shabbat observance through all their research and connections.
Meir, a professional portrait and event photographer and artist, and Yitzy, a professional singer and chazzan at the Great Neck Synagogue, began traveling together about four years ago. As they posted their adventures on social media, people from all over started reaching out asking to travel with them because they looked like they were having so much fun.
“We both love a challenge and showing people lots of cool and interesting things,” Yitzy said. He had been involved in educational tours for 15 years, including nine tours to Poland. Meir, also a seasoned travel professional and photojournalist, had spent years chronicling his numerous trips and adventures. “As soon as people expressed interest in traveling with us we decided to take them up on the opportunity,” Meir said.
“To us, traveling is all about telling a story. Each location has its own tale and we aim to share it with our guests. We tell the story, and we help our guests to create their own unique travel story in the process.”
In fact, even through COVID, these hard-core adventurers did a lot of traveling, exploring and research that have led to a packed touring schedule for months in advance that will see them and their clients heading off to some pretty exotic locations. Catering to a wide variety of clients, the two men have become tour producers, creating one-of-a-kind custom travel experiences for their guests.” We walk you through the entire process and we’re there on the ground with you, as your guides, as your facilitators and as your logistics experts.” Meir, also the official “Chief Chronicler” of Story Co., provides the added bonus of professionally photographing all of their tours.
Specializing in smaller-format tours, a typical Story Co. tour group can run between 15 and 30 travelers, allowing for a more personalized experience. While some of their tours are open to everyone, Meir and Yitzy also create experiences for specific groups including schools, synagogues and various other organizations. Itineraries always cater to the particular group that is traveling and you can be sure that no two groups are the same.
The hot ticket now is Morocco. “We absolutely love it. We fell in love with the country. We fell in love with the culture. And the people and the food. And the topography and the sights and everything there.” They love it so much, in fact, that they have been back there three times in the last two months. “We keep going back and we can’t wait every time we’re there. We just can’t wait to show it to more and more people. Which is really the goal of our travels…not just to take people somewhere but to take people somewhere that we love showing them,” Yitzy said. If you want to go with them to Morocco, they still have space for their November trips. But you’d better hurry, because spots on Story Co. tours fill up fast.
Besides Morocco, Story Co. also has exciting itineraries to Spain and Central Europe, including Vienna and Prague. Several clients have expressed a desire to go on safari and, naturally, Meir and Yitzy are working out the details for such an expedition. “We are attempting to go places that have a Jewish background and keep these trips rooted in our Jewish heritage so even a place like southern Africa, where we would go on safari, would have some sort of Jewish angle to it,” Meir added.
While expertly balancing the educational component along with the cultural aspects of a location, Story Co. is careful to craft schedules that capitalize on a destination’s adventurous side as well, allowing for a lot more fun. “Ultimately our goal is that people like us and they want to travel with us. And we deliver the full experience in the process.”
To contact Story Co. Tours visit them at www.storycotours.com. To see their adventures in action check out @storycotours on Instagram.
By Jewish Link Staff
