Meet Dewi Aldrich | Tour Operator & Tour Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dewi Aldrich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dewi, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve worked in tourism as a tour manager for various tour companies since 2012. It has given me the opportunity to travel the world, work with numerous vendors, and lead guests from all walks of life on organized trips. Having been in the field for so long allowed me to understand how tours operate and what makes travelers happy. However, after several years of receiving itineraries that may look good on paper but don’t exactly execute well in reality, and hearing guests complain of uncomfortably long bus rides, too short of time at different excursions, poor hotel location(s), and mediocre group-included meals, I knew I wanted to be in more control of how a tour is put together from start to finish. I’ve also had many travelers ask me how they could travel with me again, and ultimately encouraged me to start running my own trips, so that I could call the shots. These were the two main factors that motivated me to start my own travel company.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m an Asian, female-owned, small business that runs small group tours throughout the United States and now Canada and Mexico. I’ve been running my travel company since the beginning of 2018. What sets my business apart from other travel companies is that my tours are all small groups, meaning no more than 20 guests on any given tour. This allows for a more personalized, more intimate group touring experience. Nobody is crammed into a 56-passenger tour bus where all seats are occupied. People underestimate the time it takes to get so many people on and off the bus at every scheduled, and even unforeseen tour stop. I like to keep my group sizes small, so that my travelers can become better acquainted with one another and feel like they’re heard and seen by the tour director, which is also me. What else is unique is that I take my groups to many ‘hidden gems,’ or lesser-known destinations that deserve to be discovered and visited. The beauty of my tour company is not only do I get to plan the trips from scratch, but I also get to personally lead the tours themselves and meet every individual traveler. The guests’ comfort, safety, joy and satisfaction from each of the trips I organize, are extremely important to me. I want the travelers to see and learn as much as possible, and be so happy, that they return again and again on other tours.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a week-long tour and for how large and spread-out LA is, I’d have to create an itinerary where each day, we’d visit a different area or neighborhood of the city. The itinerary would look as follows:

Day 1: Let’s start in DTLA, grab a cup of joe at Chimney Coffee in Chinatown, then head to Olvera St, known as the “birthplace of Los Angeles” for a quick walk-through the oldest building in LA: Avila Adobe. Then off to have the city’s best beef taquitos smothered in pureed avocado sauce from Cielito Lindo. If my friend is feeling up for something sweet, we’d make a quick stop at Mr. Churro for the tastiest churros. The original is great, but I prefer the cheesecake-filled churro. Then we’d walk off all these carbs with a free self-guided audio tour of the gorgeous Walt Disney Concert Hall. We’d then take a peek at Lilian Disney’s mosaic-tiled rose sculpture at the back terrace garden of the Concert Hall. Then we’d check out some contemporary art at the Broad. Maybe then make a pit stop for a 1/2 dozen oysters + scallop ceviche & a glass of wine from The Oyster Gourmet at Grand Central Market. Take in the scene at the Market, then pop in The Last Bookstore just ‘cuz it’s fun, whimsical, and different. Come dinner time, we’d go to Everson Royce Bar in the Arts District. Their happy hour burger doesn’t look like much, but are oh, so juicy and delicious! The potato taquitos and honey glazed biscuits are also glorious!

Day 2: Let’s go for a morning jog around Echo Park Lake, 3 rounds = 3 miles. Then walk the 10 minutes to Stereoscope Coffee for the BEST Spanish latte in town. For brunch, we’d enjoy some delicious nopal & huitlacoche (cactus & corn fungus) quesadillas from Alejandra’s Quesadilla Cart de Oaxaca — best Oaxacan street food outside of Oaxaca City, Mexico + I love to support small. Then we’d head north to Griffith Observatory for a little bit of astronomy & city views — I find that it’s less crowded during the day on a weekday than any other time. Then we’d travel to Spain without leaving the country by indulging in sangria, tapas, and seafood paella at a beautiful Spanish restaurant called Otono in Highland Park.

Day 3: We’ll change it up today and head to South Bay. We’ll hit up Nook Coffee Bar in Torrance. The bright, airy coffee shop with a wonderful outdoor communal area just brings a smile to your face. The Spanish latte and Coastline Cold Brew are my favs here. After a game of ping pong, we’d head to Coco Ichibanya for Japanese curry. The chicken katsu curry is simply the best, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the curries here. We’d then enjoy a relaxing stroll at Vista Point in Palos Verdes, followed by an historical visit to Point Vicente Lighthouse, and then take in the architectural details of Wayfarer’s Chapel. For dinner, we’d head back north to Marina del Rey’s Uovo for the best handmade pasta, shipped in straight from Bologna, Italy. Oh, so good!

Day 4: We’ll start the day with Document Coffee in K-town — their “Document Flat White” with housemade maple syrup gives you that zing you need in the morning. They also have a variety of pour overs to choose from, which is always a great choice. Then we’re off to KazuNori for the best handrolls in LA! We’ll then venture to LACMA to see what’s currently on exhibit. For dinner, we’ll head to Rosaline, a beautiful and delicious Peruvian restaurant in West Hollywood. The beef heart skewers known as anticucho as well as the branzino are to die for!

Day 5: We’ll begin the day with breakfast and coffee at Ten by Bar Nine in Marina del Rey. The interior is chic and relaxing. We’ll then go to The Getty, not so much for the art, but for taking in the grounds — the 1.2 million square feet of travertine stone it’s made of — and bask in the sun on the grassy areas. The views of LA from here are also pretty amazing. Then we’ll do lunch at Mogu Mogu, a Japanese ramen shop that specializes in mazemen, which is ramen sans broth. The noods are thick and chewy, and come with a variety of toppings. Yum! We’ll then walk off lunch by strolling the Venice Canals, then pop up to Caravan Swim Club in Westchester for the BEST carajillos in town. They also have other cocktails and a mean mezcal menu, meant to be sipped neat. I say dinner at Firefly in Studio City for the most delicious filet mignon I have ever had. The interior of this fancy restaurant feels like a speakeasy, while the outdoor patio feels like I’m somewhere in the Mediterranean. You can’t go wrong wherever you end up sitting here. And if we’re feeling like we need a nightcap, I highly recommend Death & Co. in the Arts District — best speakeasy around with an eclectic menu of innovative cocktails.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents are my biggest fans. Both my parents have always been supportive of whatever I wanted to do with my life, and they thoroughly enjoyed traveling with me on both my tours and scouting trips. My dad sadly passed away in June of 2022, but he was the one who believed in me most when I first told him I wanted to start running my own tours. He was unofficially my business partner, the one person who had a calculator for a brain and would compute numbers like no one else I knew. He was the one I sought advice from when I faced dilemma. He also enjoyed all my travel stories, and was the one person I always shared group menus with. As a tour operator, I’d be responsible for customizing a group lunch or dinner menu at various venues. Dad was always the person I shared these menus with, and he’d help me finalize my group’s entree selections. He never once not chose filet mignon as one of the main dishes. He sure loved his steaks. I miss him dearly and always want to make both him and mom proud.

Website: https://www.thedaywetravel.com/

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