Hi, I'm Erica and I created Trip Scholars
for curious travelers, just like you!
Save time, learn more, and travel better!
Pompeii, Italy

Thanks for stopping by to learn more!
I know that the wonder of travel can begin the moment you start to plan it! I am an expert in travel education and love supporting other curious travelers with transformative trip research.
Trip Scholars is unique in that it is focused on your time before travel. I want to help you turn your one week vacation or your weekend getaway into many months of inspired discovery! We will help you find the best books, movies, activities, classes and more– all related to your trip. We also dig deep into why we travel and how it can be transformational.

I apply my wide range of teaching and coaching experiences with my love of travel to help you make the most of your time before departure.
I have had the privilege of teaching adults, teens, and kids of all ages. I have served as Director of Hawai’i Montessori Schools, and as a founder of The Family Learning Program, an alternative learning community.
I am a Certified Travel Education Coach, Certified Independent Travel Advisor, and have spent many years as a creative problem solving coach. I have also served as a volunteer naturalist, political activist, and on behalf of children and families.
This wide breadth of experience guides me in helping travelers discover what will inspire their own self directed learning before they even pack their bags!




I am also an avid traveler myself and love international excursions, local camping, and everything in between. I especially love visiting sites related to geology, archeology, and history with family and friends or solo.
I am a pretty nerdy traveler! I’ve kissed many rocks around the world and often cry in museums. I also love celebrating what is unique about a place by getting to know locals and savoring their food and drink specialties!
I serve as the Seattle, Washington Chapter Director for Wanderful. Wanderful is an organization that specializes in helping all women travel the world and reaches over 100 million women worldwide each year.
For the last 15 years, we have been homeschooling our kids, often through travel. I devoted many hours to trip research and travel education to find the best resources to help our family learn through travel.
As you already know, it can be a lot of work and very time consuming to sort through a lot of poor quality options to find the gems! I dreamt of a hub where curious travelers could go to quickly and easily find the best in trip research.
I built the Trip Scholars site to solve the problem and serve other curious travelers! Visit the Roadmaps Blog, where we dive in deep with articles on learning about specific destinations, travel skills, and unique approaches to travel.
If you want to go even further, please consider working with me directly as your Travel Education Coach!
Then explore our Travel Resource Library, our multimedia library of individual travel resources that will entertain you, educate you, and enhance your travel planning – all before you even step out the door!



The seeds of Trip Scholars were planted 30 years ago when I met my husband Brandon in college, where we were both majoring in philosophy. Back then, our trips were often taken with our last $20 and the goodwill and auto mechanic skills of the people we went to see.
We used to dream about being able to take road trips with a cassette narration about the history, cultures, and natural history of the places we drove through.
What a long strange trip it has been since then, both personally and for the world! Now through this site, I’ve gathered loads of exciting ways to discover more about the history, culture, and natural history of many destinations!

I am also a travel education writer and photographer published on over 55 travel sites. I have been a local NPR guest and seen in Travel Massive, Buzzfeed, and Authority Magazine.
I love to connect with my readers! Sign up for my newsletter so I can share the best travel education tips straight to your inbox. Find me on social media or send me a message at erica@tripscholars.com.
Happy travel planning,
Erica
Let's Connect
I’d like to send you a free gift!
The Curious Traveler’s 5 Step Guide to More Meaningful Trips