In 1989 five childhood friends, then living in Michigan, Ohio and Washington, D.C., discussed their regret at how it had been several years since they were all together. Later that year in early September, those same 5 guys, Craig, Darryl, Harlan, Mike & Roger, got together for the first time in more than 5 years. The overdue gathering also included other invited friends for a long summer weekend in D.C., with a side trip to Virginia Beach.

Fact, fiction and folklore continue about the moments and memories of that weekend. This passage will not require you to endure those details but, suffice it to say that, the bonding of old friends and new was so intoxicatingly enjoyable, (no pun included) that a total of 5 annual trips to Virginia Beach ensued as a result of that beautiful weekend.

The beach going, crab fishing, Bar-B-Qing, night clubbing and pool parties of the Virginia Beach Crew, later known as the Real People Social Club, certainly showed us the beauty of well planned group travels enhanced by regular doses of spontaneity. At the same time, those excursions led us to set our sights on new destinations, ultimately taking us beyond the borders of the U.S.

After travels to Toronto, Barbados, Dominican Republic, San Francisco, Martha’s Vineyard, The British Virgin Islands, Montreal, San Juan, Antigua, St. Maarten and other locations, that thirst continues. We now know that, the good Lord willing, that thirst will soon take us to Europe, Asia and other destinations where new friends are almost sure to be made.

Yet, it was on an evening in early November 2000, at an outdoor nightclub on a Barbados beach, that the seed was planted for the idea that is now Passport Village. On that evening, it was by chance meeting that approximately 15 members of our group enjoyed cocktails, conversation and island music with a group of 5 or 6 genuine guys on holiday from the U.K. After a while of shared smiles and storytelling, the down to earth Brits initiated the thought of mutual group travels between our group and their network of friends.

Unfortunately, the mutual group travels discussed on that November evening did not materialize, mostly due to trans-Atlantic communication obstacles since addressed by the prevalence of email and websites. However, borne of the seeds planted through that beachfront dialogue, was the concept of an international and multicultural network for regular correspondence and enjoyable group travel

Over the years our network of travelers has grown to include travelers from Canada to Miami and from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. Also, our network of friends in correspondence now includes residents of several continents around the world. Yet, despite this growth, we shall never forget the “British guys” and their forward thinking gesture of international camaraderie. We believe that now, more than ever, that gesture embodies an idea whose time has come.

It is with this history that we say, Welcome to the Village.