How I Became a
Travel Tour Leader
By Evi Goossens — travel storyteller & creative freelancer
Reading time: 1/2 minutes
As a lost backpacker and freshly graduated psychologist, I was sitting on a bus cutting through the Vietnamese countryside. Staring out the window, watching the sun glitter across the rice fields, I felt euphoric. Like I could take on the whole world. My mind drifted back to something someone in my hostel had told me the night before: tour leading. I gave the idea more thought and started looking it up online. Something in me knew instantly that this could be the perfect fit.
Not even two years later, I had applied to a Belgian–Dutch travel organization, passed their selection process, completed the training, and guided my very first group trip. It’s surreal to realize that when you visualize something deeply—and dream boldly—it sometimes comes true in ways even better than you imagined.
As I said, I ended up joining a Belgian–Dutch travel company called Mundero, which organizes amazing group trips for young adults. With an age range of 20 to 39, you travel the world with a group of around 13 people, backpacking from one adventure to the next.
After the training, the organization already felt like a close-knit community, but after completing my first trip, it felt like part of my identity. Mundero handles most of the logistics, works behind the scenes, and makes sure everything is prepared down to the smallest detail—so I, as the tour leader, can take over the next phase.
Once I sign up for a trip and get selected, I’m allowed to guide it. My role begins with researching the destination, connecting with my group, and making sure everything on my end is ready to go.
In August 2025, the moment finally arrived: my first trip to the beautiful Sri Lanka. With a group of thirteen women, I boarded a plane bound for Colombo. The journey took us from misty mountains to lush tea fields and tropical beaches. My favorite part of being a tour leader? The connections—between people, with accommodations, with drivers and guides, and within the group itself. Making sure everyone feels okay and everything runs smoothly.
Planning behind the scenes while standing in the middle of a completely different country—somehow, this role fits me perfectly. And when I think back to that bus ride in Vietnam, I feel proud that I get to do this. I think of that first journey and how much I’ve grown since then.
