I recently had the magical opportunity to take a trip with Passportrequired.com on the springtime trip 3 Countries and a Train. The trip and the other travelers were amazing. Imagine spending your day exploring Prague, climbing the 287 steps of the Prague Castle- the reward a sweeping 360 view of Prague and trying pig knuckle..delicious by the way. How about accidentally stumbling upon a Robot Bar. Budapest offered more exploration and new experiences. Days spent finding our way around on trams and on foot. Wandering through a vast market with everything from kitsch souvenirs, horse meat, Hungarian paprika, and cavier. Vendors were friendly and helpful without being pushy. Nights offer beautifully lit buildings and bridges. Another first was the opportunity to zoom through the city on a scooter, laughing as mistakes are made and nearly missed accidents. A warm mineral bath to soothe the soul and bones. Train rides, with the fact that we are traveling on the same path many took to their deaths lingering in my subconscious. Reminders dot the landscape. In Vienna, somberly standing in front of the grave of Mozart, Beethoven's home, and other historical monuments. Watching the families gather on Sunday afternoon in parks and public spaces. Standing in a long line for decadent frozen treats. Walking through beautifully ornate cathedrals. The frescoes covering towering ceilings. I can almost hear the massive pipe organs. The travel companions a mix of naivety and wisdom, all with an exuberant curiosity. Thank you Darnell Lamont Walker for yet another experience for the books!! I would recommend these trip to kust about everyone!! Literally filling journals! Chaos Summer trip booked!

Passport Required: My Magical Brigadoon I almost talked myself out of this one. Three countries. A train. Daily sightseeing through Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. When I saw what this trip, I genuinely wondered if I was doomed — a 70-year-old burden slowing everyone down, that person the group politely waits for while secretly wishing they'd stayed home. I almost let that fear win. I am so glad I didn't. Because what Passport Required delivered wasn't the burden I dreaded. It was Brigadoon — that magical place that appears out of nowhere and makes you never want to leave. Averaging nearly eight miles a day site-seeing. Eight miles a day on these septuagenarian legs, and I didn't regret a single step. Here's why. The scenery demands your feet keep moving. Prague, Vienna, Budapest — each city layers its own personality, its own architecture, its own rhythm on top of the last. But it's the travel mates who truly make it impossible to stop. The people Passport Required attracts are the kind who make every corner worth turning, every street worth wandering, every unplanned moment worth chasing. You stop watching the clock entirely. That wandering is exactly how we found Karlovy Lazne in Prague — a bar where actual robots mix your cocktail. My vodka and juice, served with mechanical precision by machines. My first robotics drink. As a certified mechanical engineering nerd, I filed that moment directly under spiritual experience. We never would have found it on a rigid itinerary. We found it because Passport Required travels the way travel should work — following the participants, bending toward curiosity, letting desire set the pace. That same spirit is how I ended up at the base of St. Vitus Cathedral climbing 121 steps just to get inside, then 287 more up the tower. Nobody flinched. Nobody suggested I sit this one out. They just moved with me. Every one of those 408 steps was mine. Earned. And the view from the top over Prague was worth every single one. Between the cities, the train rides offered their own quiet magic. European countryside rolling past the windows — green farmlands, tree-covered hills, small towns and clustered communities and long houses appearing out of nowhere. It kept whispering the rural South to me. The same quiet green. The same scattered communities holding their ground between nowhere and somewhere. A reminder that people everywhere are simply living, building lives far from the tourist photographs. That's what Passport Required gives you — not just the landmarks. The in-between. I booked this trip telling myself I might be a burden. I finished it having walked 8 miles a day through three countries, climbed 408 steps, found a robot bartender down an unplanned street, and made travel mates with every mile. This septuagenarian found his Brigadoon. And its name is Passport Required.

This was my 1st trip and it was amazing. Experiencing a deeper part of Mexico immersed with the culture plus eating great food was just what I needed. I got to connect with some amazing people in the group and would definitely do this again!

What an amazing experience! Traveling like this opens your eyes, heart, and mind. The other travelers were diverse and fun. The people of Mexico were wonderful. The actual ceremony was authentic and care was taken to welcome the Americans in this sacred journey. Darnell was kind and helpful.

We had great time, amazing people and overall wonderful experience. Definitely will go on another trip.