About Us

Who we are

Travelling Divas is a specialist, online-travel boutique dedicated to providing creative, customised tours exclusively for women. We were established in 2009 and since then have taken many fabulous guests overseas on wonderful, authentic experiences.

We are a small team of people who come from different backgrounds: the travel industry, the wine industry, the executive level of business and small business entrepreneurs plus many other skillsets.

What we all share in common is a vision to provide you with the best travel experience available, to provide you the freedom to enjoy, express yourself and to come home feeling like you have experienced something wonderful that will leave you with the memories of a lifetime.

We want to show you the world from a different point-of-view. Every itinerary is different and custom made for us – one day we might do the tourist thing (because it is fun), then we will indulge in a little retail therapy with a stylist, perhaps followed by a private dining experience in a local resident’s home – making sure that each tour allows to experience the many worlds that make up each and every fabulous place we visit.

So read further about who each Diva is and we look forward to meeting with you soon.

Meet the Divas

We are a small team but all of us work hard to ensure that each and every tour we create provides the most amazing holiday experience for you! We are here to look after you from when you first book to when you return home.

Andrea Powis meeting a young girl in her travels

Andrea Powis

Founding Diva

A truly wonderful travel industry career that has spanned over a 40 years has led to a passionate love affair with exploring this incredible world.

Many happy years have been spent discovering the 4 corners of the earth and I still find there is not enough time to see it all!

My commitment is to provide high-quality and high-value tours and private journeys, offering women the opportunity to discover new places or maybe some old favourites; meet new friends and reconnect with old, and provide the space to indulge in some much needed ‘you’ time. Whether travelling with girlfriends, family or solo, Travelling Divas provides an environment that takes care of you and allows you to experience, rejuvenate and connect!

Oh and I also make sure there is plenty of time for a glass of bubbles and a cocktail or 3 throughout…

Feel free to contact me on 0408721569 or andrea@travellingdivas.com.au at anytime.

Donna Hipgrave

Donna Hipgrave

Incredible Tour Leader & Escape Artist...

Donna Hipgrave, or The Escape Artist, as one of her sons dubbed her, has an unending passion for travel and the ability to make the most of any opportunity that comes her way – particularly when it comes to travel .

Born into a family with a rich naval history meant her father travelled all over the world. On his return home he would share his stories, feeding a burning desire to discover the world which has led to a lifetime of travel and exploring!

Donna has passion for India and Sri Lanka that knows no bounds, and she has a keen interest in art and architecture. When travelling she is committed to finding and sharing authentic experiences in each place visited whether it is a delicious meal in a private home or a dinner on the rooftop of the Jodphur Fort.

She has explored Europe in detail, loving Italy (of course) and revels in her new passion for Portugal. She is equally at home in New York and much of the USA or Morocco and Peru…. a truly global traveller, the list is endless!

She is a volunteer guide at the Queensland Art Gallery and often the research into a new exhibition leads her down the path to a new tour – fabulous!

In addition to this Donna trained as a paediatric physiotherapist, and has also worked in Vietnam in a volunteer role with children and families. Her love of caring for others ensures she is a wonderful tour leader, making sure that everyone is cared for from start to finish.

Jane Thomson

Jane Thomson

Fabulous Lady & Fabulous Tour Leader

Jane Thomson is a fabulous woman who brings a wealth of experience in the women in wine space!

She is the founder and Managing Director of The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society, Australia’s first and largest wine community for women. In 2015 Jane also founded the Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) – the world’s only awards program for women in wine – of which she is Chair. The AWIWA are this year (2019) taking place in New York in partnership with Wine Australia. In both 2013 & 2016 Jane was named ‘Digital Wine Communicator of the Year’ by Wine Communicators of Australia, and is the only person to have been awarded this twice. She has also been the Drinks Editor for Taste.com.au Magazine since 2013.

She certainly knows what she is doing when it comes to wine, and in addition is a fabulous tour leader and if it fun and wine combined on a luxury getaway – then she is your woman…

Olivia Miller

Olivia Miller

Assistant Diva Extraordinaire

Olivia has a total passion for all things travel and making sure that everything happens as it should.

She is particularly fond of Disneyland (and has been known to run away to this very place without her husband and children – fabulous)!

More importantly she is a great help behind the scenes and keeps things running smoothly at all times, particularly when Andrea might meltdown.

She is also an entrepreneurial business woman in her own right and produces divine, ethically sourced and produced silk clothing – watch out for Rigby and Frederick coming to you via our very own boutique very soon. We cannot wait…

Carol Sicbaldi

Collaborator & Tour Leader

As a “maestra” of authentic tours featuring Italy’s time-honoured traditions, the discerning experiences that Carol Sicbaldi shares as a Tour Leader for Travelling Divas will push you to explore a life of simple pleasure, uncomplicated flavours, bucolic landscapes and architecture from a time when things were built to last.

Take your pick from cultural and producer visits, authentic home cooked meals, pop-up picnics and wine tastings. Carol’s mission is to source artisans whose life’s work is dedicated to keeping their chosen crafts alive, from cheese makers to bakers, honey producers and herbalists. Her lifes work of more than 25 years is to celebrate a simplicity long lost in most corners of the world. Slow down, walk, appreciate the rhythm and flavours!

Jemma Wilson

Jemma Wilson

Collaborator & Tour Leader

Jemma was always been drawn to travel and was always going to work in the Industry, some-how, some-way.

She has been travelling ever since she was a child; caravanning Australia with her family; re-tracing those steps in her early 20’s; heading to New York on a oneway ticket in the days that was allowed! From across the States she wandered through to Mexico, Central America, Cuba & South America.

She then became a Tour Guide in Latin America covering just about every country you could travel in at the time. Then a full time move to move to England where Jemma worked for two specialist tour operators over many years in an Operations capacity.

Whilst living in London, whenever a spare moment presented itself, she packed her bags and explored a new corner of the world: Southern, Eastern and Northern Africa, East & Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Different cultures, histories & languages, different foods, landscapes, arts and architecture – it all rocks my proverbial boat…

She is an advocate of not just being a ‘Tourist’. Not just ‘ticking off’ sites. Not just wanting ‘the stamp’ in the passport.

Travel has changed her, educated her. It has humbled her. And she hopes it always will…

Tory Lane

Collaborator & Tour Leader plus lover of all things Italian

Tory is the Founder and, as one group put it, fearless leader of Lane Change Escapes, which was born from her love of Italy – a country she likes to call her happiness drug.

Her motto is ‘Mind Less – Enjoy More’.

Tory’s Mind Less Experiences’ offer a fun, active and relaxing week of Italian indulgence. As part of this experience, she encourages you to ‘Mind Less’ about everything and bathe more in ‘La Dolce Vita’.

A professional yoga teacher with over 15 years’ experience and over 20 years’ experience in the corporate, event & hospitality worlds, she will have you in a deep relaxation one minute and full of energy and enthusiasm the next.

With a cheeky sense of humour bubbling beneath the surface, she provides an environment where you will explore, unwind, spoil yourself and laugh out loud, forgetting about your daily routines and schedules. Her joy comes from seeing smiles, hearing laughter and watching as stress fades and relaxation seeps in. Being a part of the beautiful memories created and friendships developed on her Escapes is something she treasures.

Sarah Hoyland

Sarah Hoyland

Collaborator & Tour Leader

A lifetime ago Sarah graduated from college with a degree in Hospitality Management and Tourism and set off to explore the world. Africa’s exotic wildlife and vibrant tribal communities initially stole her heart before she fell in love with the ancient beauty and Arabic cultures of North Africa and the colour, chaos and cuisine of India. When money eventually ran out she returned to Australia to join The Classic Safari Company team, providing the perfect opportunity for her to share her passion for wild and wonderful destinations with other curious travellers.

Sarah is passionate about women and travel and collaborates with Travelling Divas, offering both her own tours and those that are created together.

I loved that everything was so well organised, I felt safe that everything was taken care of. I really felt like I was on a holiday and could relax and enjoy my surroundings. I also loved that it was all women and we were there for a common purpose. I enjoyed having the local guide, Gisella, who was so informative and I learnt so much from her which was an important aspect for me. I loved the diversity of activities like the cooking class, that was amazing and so much fun. Transfers were great, I never felt on my own. The people like Bruno were very friendly. I got a real sense throughout the trip that Andrea had a great relationship with the tour group and they were there to make our time as pleasant and informative as possible. I felt Andrea could cope with anything so I felt safe and confident at all times.

Michele
October 2015