Our philosophy
Connection
At tova travel, we build bridges and seek cultural understanding, and connect through that. We are not visitors in a country; we engage with locals and we learn from and with them, but also always respect their culture and their boundaries.
And we keep our group sizes small, which will make it easier for you to connect with your fellow travellers as well, and share memories, as we discover a new destination. On our trips, everyone is welcome, and we share meals together. So, you might arrive as a stranger, but you will leave as a friend.
Experiences
We believe that travelling should not only be about understanding, but also about experiences. Therefore, we have curated activities that will give you a unique insight.
We are curious and we question, we learn, and plunge head first into new experiences. We observe, taste and smell, and create sensations. At the end of your trip, you will return home with a suitcase full of experiences that will turn into long-lasting memories. We embrace life and know that the best experiences in life come with an open mind, curiosity, and an appetite for adventure that you would not want to end.
Local Insight
On our tours, you will get a genuine and unique insight into the local culture by locals themselves. We have teamed up with local hosts and guides who are not only experts on their culture, but who also passionately convey it to you. They know where to get the best homemade meal, where to take you to show you how the tiles are being made, where to go to get the best vista, they know the tips and tricks, and show you their personal places. Our tours are personal and genuine.
Balance
It is all about balance, right? We like to lay our heads in boutique hotels, and whisk around in Tuk-Tuks. One night, we dine in one of the finest restaurants, and sample street food the next. We know that busses might not be on time, we are open to cultural differences when travelling to other places. And we also might dance on rooftops, but also don’t mind waking up early to see the sun rise, or stay up late to see the stars in a foreign land.
Our story
It was one balmy afternoon on the back of a Tuk-Tuk in rural Cambodia in late 2016, when a very vague idea of curating tours for curious and adventurous travellers started blossoming.
With these first thoughts, tova travel began to form shape, and much later it grew into the idea of hosting small group tours to alluring destinations, whilst giving a genuine local insight.
tova travel was created in February 2024 with the aim of curating tours that is accessible to curious solo travellers who would not want to miss out on experiencing far-flung places, or who prefer the companionship of other travellers.
We dedicated our very first country itinerary to Cambodia — and we are very certain that you will be enamoured just as much as we are.
The name tova travel tours is dedicated to Tova, the first ever person our founder voiced the idea to— an idea that later would become tova travel. Tack så mycket and see you hopefully soon again.
“Who wouldn’t travel, if they could? It’s unthinkable to me. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy different, new sensations, especially when the world is filled with so much great stuff? I like new things. I like to feel good. I like learning about stuff. It makes me happy. I like being wrong about stuff.”
— ANTHONY BOURDAIN
Our values
Personal & welcoming
We want you to feel comfortable when you get off the plane, and feel welcomed from the very first moment. Before we board for our trip, we will invite you for a first optional get together via zoom, where you will meet your fellow travellers and your host.
Whenever you need us, we are here for you. During your entire trip, your host will accompany you. On some tours your host will also be the photographer for those special moments you would rather want to enjoy fully.
Connect with & learn from and with locals
Our understanding of travelling is that it should be about curiosity, creating bridges, seeking understanding and also about respecting the local culture.
On our tours, you will not be a visitor, you will be meeting locals and learn from them, immerse yourself into the culture, and experience how locals understand and perceive their countries or their cities. You will have a unique and personal window into the respective culture—an experience that we hope will turn into lovely and lasting memories for you, too.
Small & exclusive tours
Our small sized groups of maximum 7 travellers each trip mean that you feel fully part of it and it allows us to be fully present for you. It is a deliberate choice to keep the groups as small as possible, it feels nice and private, it is also more accessible for locals.
We may not be able to reinventing the wheel completely but we want to re-imagine group tours in a new and modern way. With us, think travelling with a small group of cool people who may become friends at the end of the trip.
Sustainability & conscious tourism
One of the founding ideas of tova travel tours was to ensure conscious and sustainable tourism. We are aware that we have a certain level of responsibility — and we take this seriously. We want to create opportunities for locals, and especially women.
At every destination, we work with locals, embrace and support local artists and the local gastronomy scene. We leave our money where it is needed, whenever we can.
For each tour and at each destination, we choose accommodations for their high quality standard, but also for their unique local flair. Preferably, we support accommodations and hotels which have subscribed to a sustainable and ecological standard.
Meet the Team
Hello, we are tova travel tours. It’s lovely meeting you here.
We have just launched are cannot wait to travel with you!
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Hi, I’m Katharina Müller and I’m the founder of tova travel tours. It’s lovely meeting you! Thank you for being here.
To me, travelling was always rather a means of understanding, connecting the dots, learning and unlearning. Travelling opens our senses and broadens our horizons. And with tova travels, my mission and vision is to create tours, that will have you feel the same.
Besides creating tova travel tours and curating tours, I’m also a journalist, writer and publisher based in Germany.
Join the team
We are currently looking to expand our team in various countries. Would you like to be part of our tova travel team as a host of our tours? Join the team - we are looking forward to hearing from you! Learn more here and send us an email, we’d love to hear from you.