Welcome to Travel Enthusiasts
At Travel Enthusiasts, we specialize in creating unforgettable travel experiences. Based in Chicago, Illinois, our goal is to offer you the most enjoyable group travel options, ensuring every journey is memorable and stress-free.
Upcoming Destinations
2026 and 2027
SUMMER 2026
DAY TRIPS & WEEKEND GET A WAYS
FRANKENMUTH MICHIGAN
Let's spend a long weekend [three (3) nights] in Frankenmuth, Michigan!! Known as "Little Bavaria", Frankenmuth is a German-inspired tourist destination less than an hour from Saginaw Bay.
We will depart from the Crestwood area at 10am (carpooling is definitely an option), or just plan to meet us there. Destination is approximately 4.5 hours but we will stop after about 2-2.5 hours for a bite to eat. [We "lose" an hour going to Michigan but "gain" it back on Sunday.]
Everyone is responsible for making his/her own hotel arrangements wherever you like; HOWEVER, we will be staying at:
Drury Inn & Suites Frankenmuth
(approx. $999/2Q, 2 people [$1107/2Q beds, 4 people] - for 3 nights)
260 South Main Street
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
(989) 652-2800
We have chosen the Drury Inn & Suites Frankenmuth because:
- Located in the center of the celebration on Main Street [no parking worries or costs],
- Surrounded by Franconian style shops and restaurants,
- Indoor pool and whirlpool, AND
- FREE hot breakfast AND evening 5:30 Kickback® - free hot food and cold (including alcoholic) beverages - are INCLUDED with your stay!
I have stayed at a Drury Hotel and both the breakfast and the Kickback are hearty offerings! NO NEED TO GRAB FOOD ELSEWHERE - SAVES MONEY, FOR SURE!!
When we arrive in Frankenmuth, we will check in at our hotel. For those who will be staying at the Drury, we will partake of the Kickback for dinner. For those who choose a different hotel, there are numerous area dinner options.
For Friday/Saturday dinners, though, we may choose to go to "Flavor Caribbean Cuisine" or "Slo' Bones BBQ Smokehouse" - for example.
The agenda is to have fun, fun, fun!! The itinerary will consist of as many of the following as we can do (weather permitting):
Frankenmuth Visitor & Welcome Center (to pick up a "bargains" coupon book)
Shuttle (Hop-on, Hop-off) - FREE
Frankenmuth River Place Shops
Golden Ticket Trolley - $20
Bronner's Christmas Wonderland
Bavarian Belle Riverboat (one-hour narrated tour) - $18
St. Julian Winery
Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride
SO MUCH MORE - Too much, in fact, to list here!!!
***THIS IS A CO-ED TRIP!!***
Call or text Jean at 708-518-2201
DAVID DAVIS MANSION
Tour & Lunch
Bloomington, Illinois
Saturday, Aug 15 · 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM CDT
TOUR
Davis went from a circuit-riding lawyer to a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, and maintained a long-time friendship with Abraham Lincoln.
From his earliest days riding the circuit with Lincoln to the years when he served as Lincoln's appointee to the highest court in the land, Judge Davis played out his life at the very center of American politics and society.
The tour begins with a 20-minute introductory video in our visitor center, followed by a docent-led tour inside the David Davis Mansion, which lasts approximately 45 minutes. At the end of the tour, you are given some time to shop in the Clover Lawn Gift Shop and view our temporary exhibit, if you wish. You are then invited to explore the barn and stable, as well as Sarah’s Garden.
There is a suggested donation of $10 per adult and $5 per child. This donation helps to preserve the David Davis Mansion for future generations.
The David Davis Mansion itself is not accessible. In order to enter visitors must be able to climb the large stairway to the front door. We do not have an operational wheelchair lift.
David Davis Mansion: 1000 Monroe Dr · Bloomington, IL
Carpool (and sharing of gas cost) available from Palos Heights, IL. You MUST notify me that you want to ride with someone OR that you will meet me and follow in your own vehicle. We will meet at 7:15am in the parking lot (near Pop's) of Jewel, 12803 South Harlem Avenue, Palos Heights. If I do not hear from you, we will leave at exactly 7:30am.
LUNCH:
Barrel House
9 Brickyard Drive
Bloomington, IL
menu: https://www.barrelhousepub.com/view-menu
We will return home right after lunch. YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER IS REQUIRED WEN SIGNING UP FOR THIS EVENT. *THIS IS A CO-ED EVENT.*
Call or Text Jean at 708-518-3301 to register
Information
HAVENCREST CASTLE
OCTOBER 3
SAVANAH, ILLINOIS
TOUR
"SEMPER NOS"
From the early days of their marriage, this Latin phrase was Mr. & Mrs. Alan St. George's
personal motto. You will find it in paintings,
sculptures, emblazoned across the ballroom
Musician's Balcony, on a custom-made china
service, and even memorialized in stained glass.
Semper Nos, or "Always Us*"* was their expression for "Love and marriage going on beyond life."
Havencrest Castle is the creative outpouring of Mr. & Mrs. Alan St. George, who together designed every major and minor detail over their 31 years together without the aid of an architect or designer. Their devotion to one another manifested itself in the brick and stone structure, with elaborate, themed rooms that transport the visitor to distant lands and long-forgotten eras. Alan St. George's sculptures, paintings, and murals fill the castle, inspired by the love of his late wife, Adrianne Blue Wakefield-St. George. This was their private sanctuary of Love & Art, a world of romantic dreams where reality & illusion merged and fairy-tale wishes came true.
She passed away on June 1, 2006. Alan used to say, "When Adrianne entered a room, the lights and music went on, and when she left, the lights and music went out." After a five year period of mourning and healing, Alan's creative inspiration returned. He completed the last of the 25 life-sized figures for the ballroom, and then made a 180˚ turn to contemporary art, producing 21 tabletop bronze and aluminum sculptures.
Love and beauty fill every corner of this one-of-a-kind castle. Visitors are left with an unforgettable experience of beauty, elegance, and fantasy embraced by a never-ending love story.
ADMISSION: $25/person
The castle is NOT handicap-accessible nor for persons with limited mobility. Stairs and inclines are involved. NO elevators.
Carpool (and sharing of gas cost) available AND SUGGESTED from Palos Heights, IL. Castle parking is tighttttt. You MUST notify me that you want to ride with someone OR that you will meet me and follow in your own vehicle. We will meet at 7:15am in the parking lot (near Pop's) of Jewel, 12803 South Harlem Avenue, Palos Heights. If I do not hear from you, we will leave at exactly 7:30am.
Havencrest Castle: 140 N. 5th St., · Savanna, IL
LUNCH/EARLY DINNER (If weather is nice, outside seating along the Mississippi River may be available):
Sippi-Side Pub & Grill
701 W Main Street
Savanna, IL
menu: https://www.sippisidepub.com/menu-1
We will return home right after eating. YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER IS REQUIRED WHEN SIGNING UP FOR THIS EVENT. *THIS IS A CO-ED EVENT.*
Call or Text Jean at 708-518-3301 to register
INTERNATIONAL TRIPS
Travel Planning and Support
LONDON, PARIS & AMSTERDAM & BERLIN Extension
Sep 3 – Sep 13, 2026
Find out what lies behind Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and those charming windmills.
Tour Package Includes...
9 nights in handpicked hotels
9 breakfasts
3 dinners with beer or wine
3 sightseeing tours
Expert Tour Director & local guides
Private deluxe motor coach & highspeed train
2 train rides
& Highlights Such As...
Trafalgar Square
Buckingham Palace
Big Ben
Eurostar train ride
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower photo stop
Amsterdam canal cruise
Van Gogh Museum
Berlin extension
Inviting markets, cobb
Berlin extension
Inviting markets, cobbled streets, trendy
restaurants—find all this and more in the German
capital. Fly to this reinvigorated cultural center,
which buzzes with life, and you’ll spot all the
city’s highlights during a guided sightseeing tour.
Berlin → 3 nights
Day 11: Flight to Berlin
Included meals: breakfast
Fly to Berlin and enjoy a free evening in
Germany’s capital city.
Day 12: Sightseeing tour of Berlin
Included meals: breakfast
Enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of Berlin,
reunited Germany’s political and cultural capital
city.
• Discover the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol
of a reunited Berlin.
• See the Holocaust Memorial and the Berlin
Wall's East Side Gallery.
• Journey down Unter den Linden, the city’s
most elegant boulevard, passing the
Reichstag and Museum Island.
Enjoy a free afternoon in Berlin or add an
excursion.
+ World War II Walking Tour
Day 13: Free day in Berlin
Included meals: breakfast
Enjoy a free day in Berlin or add an excursion.
This evening, enjoy a farewell drink as you
celebrate your trip with your fellow group
members.
+ Potsdam
Day 14: Departure
Included meals: breakfast (excluding early
morning departures)
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Learn more: https://groups.goaheadtours.com/jean-and-shelly
BUDAPEST, VIENNA & PRAGUE
September 10-20, 2027
The Pearl of the Danube. The City of Music. The
City of a Hundred Spires. This tour will whisk
you from hilltop castles to royal palaces,
shining a light on the legacy of past dynasties,
from the Habsburgs to the Holy Roman Empire.
Tour Package Includes...
9 nights in handpicked hotels
9 breakfasts
3 dinners with beer or wine
3 sightseeing tours
Expert Tour Director & local guides
Private deluxe motor coach
& Highlights Such As...
Hungarian State Opera House
Danube River
Castle Hill
Bratislava
Belvedere Palace
Ringstrasse
Prague Castle
St. Vitus Cathedral
The Pearl of the Danube. The City of Music. The
City of a Hundred Spires. This tour will whisk
you from hilltop castles to royal palaces,
shining a light on the legacy of past dynasties,
from the Habsburgs to the Holy Roman Empire.
Salzburg Extension:
Mozart. The Sound of Music. The light-blue waters of the Salzach River and the ice-white peaks of the Alps. Everything about Salzburg makes it sing—and with your Tour Director in the lead, you’ll know where to turn your ear. Devour its sweetest sights, from its medieval Old Town to its Renaissance plazas, and embrace the feeling they inspire.
SALZBURG (3 NIGHTS)
Day 11: Salzburg via Cesky Krumlov
Included meal: Breakfast
On the way to Salzburg, make a quick detour to Cesky Krumlov—a UNESCO-protected village, bisected by the Vltava River and dominated by one of the largest castle complexes in central Europe. Leave your bus for a brief walking tour of its Old Town and take in its mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. Then, hit the road again. Soon, you’ll be resting in Salzburg, preparing to take to the “Stage of the World."
Day 12: Sightseeing tour of Salzburg
Included meal: Breakfast
Famed for its ecclesiastical buildings, musical history, and Hollywood bona fides, riverside Salzburg stands at the very foot of the Alps. Its Old Town, known locally as the Altstadt, has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996—and today, a local guide will lead you on a walking tour of its historic core.
- Pass by the University of Salzburg—an institution of higher learning first established in 1622—and St. Peter’s Abbey. Operating in some form or another since 696, it’s the oldest continually operating monastery in German-speaking Europe.
- See a trio of famous squares: the Kapitelplatz, former site of the Cathedral Abbey; Residenzplatz, once home of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg; and Alter Markt, where the city’s weekly market used to set up shop.
- Walk by the dashing yellow facade of the Mozarts Geburtshaus, the birthplace and childhood home of the virtuosic composer himself.
- Enter the richly ornamented Salzburg Cathedral. Although the current Baroque structure was built in the 17th century, the building’s roots go all the way back to 774, when St. Rupert founded the church atop the remains of an old Roman town.
Want to make plans for the evening? Serenade your senses by opting for tonight’s dinner, served in one of Europe’s oldest restaurants and accompanied by live performances of Mozart’s music. Alternatively, relax in your hotel room and enjoy the sounds of the city.
Day 13: Free day in Salzburg
Included meal: Breakfast
For a helping of World War II history, set against the backdrop of a quaint mountain village, set out for the German border on our optional excursion to Berchtesgaden. If you’d rather spend your last full day on tour exploring personal interests—maybe climbing to the twin icons of Nonnberg Abbey and Hohensalzburg Fortress—hang back in Salzburg.
Either way, you’ll reconvene with your group one last time for a farewell evening drink and raise a toast to a successful trip.
FLIGHT HOME
Day 14: Departure
Included meal: Breakfast (excluding early morning departures)
Transfer to the airport in Munich, Germany, for your flight home.
Learn more: https://groups.goaheadtours.com/jean-and-shelly
Frequently Asked Questions
“Travel Enthusiasts made our group trip an absolutely incredible experience. The attention to detail and personalized service were unmatched.”
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Contact us
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Location
Travel Enthusiasts
Chicago, Illinois, United States
About us
Travel Enthusiasts is a Chicago-based travel club dedicated to creating amazing travel experiences. We believe in the joy of exploring new places and meeting new people, and we work hard to make sure that every trip we plan is a success. We work with a reputable team of licensed travel experts who are passionate about helping you discover the world and making travel as easy and enjoyable as possible. We offer a range of services, including group tours, and full travel planning and support, ensuring that every aspect of your journey is taken care of. Whether you're looking to join a group of like-minded travelers or plan a unique trip just for you, Travel Enthusiasts is here to help.