We go to a lot of unusual places. It amazes me that she’s able to find such exotic places to go, in only a five-day trip. They’re Sandi’s pet [projects]; she makes the trips educational as well as fun, never repeats a Mystery Trip destination, and never books a Mystery Trip for a destination already in Fancy-Free Holidays’ catalog. Sandi takes care of everything. She’s no-nonsense – and a great troubleshooter, if there are ever any difficulties. Satisfaction guaranteed.

-- Carolyn Nakamura

Sandi has really, really good tour guides, and she really takes care of her clients. I cannot say enough about her expertise in the travel business.

-- Jeanette Reinhardt

Fancy-Free Holidays could take me anywhere. They have great tours; I haven’t been on a bad one yet. Accommodations and food are fantastic, and it’s wonderful that they pick you up and drop you off. If they started charging extra for that, I’d never cry!

But it’s their tour guides that really sell it for me – and I’ve had a lot of tour guides! Sandi herself is one of the best tour guides you can find. All of Fancy-Free’s tour guides are knowledgeable, with a great sense of humor, and they treat us [seniors] like adults.

-- Roy Foreman

Fancy-Free Holidays is really well organized and on time. I’m handicapped and need wheelchair accommodations, and all those issues were handled beautifully.

Reservations and accommodations were wonderful, the places we went were great, the meals were good. In short, everything was perfect. I was really pleased, and so was my traveling companion – we’d most definitely do it again.

-- Joseph Houska

Fancy-Free Holidays does all these little extras – cocktail parties on the bus, etc. I’ve never experienced that kind of thing on other trips. And on my last tour with Fancy-Free, I reconnected with an old friend I hadn’t talked to in 30 years! If there’s a choice between tour companies, I’ll always choose Fancy-Free, hands-down.

-- Jean Kosinski


From Our Group Leaders:

Toni Koury-Daneman, First National Bank, Rochelle, IL:

“I first worked with Fancy-Free Holidays 18 years ago, when Sandi Pufahl stepped in and saved a New York trip I was putting together for the bank’s VIA [Very Important Adults] Club, of which I’m the administrator. I had been working with another tour company, when it was suddenly the victim of a hostile takeover. I asked Sandi, ‘Can you help us?’ She quickly got us three buses, tour directors, an itinerary – the whole thing – for 100 people. That’s a lot of people to take through New York, but what I love about Sandi is that she pays great attention to detail – and the trip was great.

“Since then I’ve done three to five tours a year with Fancy-Free Holidays, and they’ve all been wonderful. When we go to Europe, I love how the big cities are on the itinerary, but so are the smaller villages – because the Fancy-Free staff has been to them, and know these places intimately.

“I used to work with other tour companies, but now I’m very loyal: I only work with Fancy-Free Holidays.”

Cheryl Krupa, Covenant Village of Northbrook, Northbrook, IL:

“I’ve been the Activity Director at our campus for 15 years, and I do one or two trips a year for our residents. Over those years, once or twice I’ve used other tour companies. But the majority of the time, when I want to plan something I’ll just go straight to Fancy-Free Holidays’ catalog – because I know they’re going to take care of us. Their customer service is superb; they appreciate seniors and know what they require in travel situations. One very important element is pace: Sandi and her staff know how much to schedule on a single day. Another is their pickup policy, which extends not only to the residents but their relatives as well.

“I love the details: when they print trip flyers, they put Covenant Village’s logo on it. And they really stand by their word: a trip will take place regardless of the number of people who’ve signed up.

“One reason travel is so good for seniors is that it gives them something to look forward to, and then good memories to reflect on afterward. With Fancy-Free Holidays, I know that they care for our residents as much as I do. On a Fancy-Free tour, I know that not only are they going to be OK, but that Fancy-Free is going to make the trip a great experience for them.”

Greg Gowdy, Educators Credit Union:

“I’m the Senior VP of Educators Credit Union, and our Gold Club – made up of our members who are 55 and up – is about to take its first trip with Fancy-Free Holidays, to Ireland. And I’m already impressed.

“On our previous international tours, with other companies, we always picked up a step-on guide in our country of arrival – a guide who was also the driver, which is a situation I’ve never cared for. But our Ireland guide will be Fancy-Free President Sandi Pufahl, who actually keeps a residence over there, so she’s very knowledgeable about the country.

“With Fancy-Free Holidays, answers to our questions have been there every step of the way, from making reservations to all the way through. There are 40 in our group, and Fancy-Free has made it easy for me to keep tabs on every detail. The whole staff goes out of its way to take care of your -- I’ve found that to be very unusual in a tour operator.

“In short, they’ve already made my job easier – and we haven’t even left yet!”