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Home/Our Experts/Asia/Maria C. Spitman
Maria C Spitman
Asia
Indian Ocean

Maria C. Spitman

I picked up the taste for adventure at nine years old, visiting my relatives in Sicily for the first time. When I later qualified as a teacher, I knew I'd be living abroad. I spent years in South Korea and then England, immersed in both cultures and wandering across Asia and Europe at every opportunity. One brimming passport later, I retired my teacher's hat, entered the travel industry professionally, and have never looked back.

In Korea, you do everything with two hands to show respect. Handing a cashier your money? Topping up your friend's drink? Being handed a towel at the gym? Two hands! The "short form" is physically handing it over with one hand, having your other hand touch your forearm.

"Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul." - Jaime Lyn

On my first visit to Naples, we were heading from the museum to the castle, where I found myself chatting with our taxi driver while stuck in traffic, using the little Italian I knew. He found out that I am Sicilian just from my accent, and he offered to take us on his own tour of Naples, absolutely free. We thought it might be a scam, but what followed was the best four-hour tour of the area I could have asked for. Fontanelle Cemetery, the best cafe for espresso and sfogliatelle, and Castel Ovo, just to name a few. We wound up driving down the coast to Sorrento at sunset, where he invited us for dinner with his family. Regrettably, we had the evening train to Rome already booked, so we had to decline. Everything about that experience, including small gestures like his refusal of our offer of gas money at the end of the day, showed me just how much love locals have for their home and how warm they are in wanting to share its beauty with visitors. This memory stays with me to this day. has stayed with me years later.

Some of Maria's Favourite Places

01

Phuket

Aerial view of Big Buddha viewpoint at sunset on Phuket with a view of the water and coast below
02

Killarney

Scenic view of Gap of Dunloe
03

Rome

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican
04

Yorkshire Moors and Dales

North Yorkshire Moors
05

Seoul

Sunset view of Seoul City Skyline, South Korea
06

Bali

Famous temple with morning mists over the Danau Beratan lake
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Our experience was amazing! The booking process went great. We just had to pack our clothes and everything else was taken care of thanks to Goway Travel… Lori Mezzomo!!! Lori was fantastic. Everything from flights to transfers to excursions was perfect! Can’t wait to go back and i would definitely use Goway Travel again!!!Marie Idol
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Maria Spitman provided exemplary service to us! Her expertise, attention to detail, timely replies and kindness were unmatched. We will definitely recommend her to others who we know are considering travel to Asia. Alice Staniforth
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Michael Keon and his crew did a fine job coordinating our trip to Turkey. His contact in Turkey, Mr. Omer was in contact with us almost daily reminding us of our schedule and pick up info. He was terrific. Very informative and insightful guides. And large comfortable vehicles on every trip. Awesome trip. Tom and Sharon Tom and Sharon, Toronto, Canada
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We loved the trip itinerary and everything was organized so well! Lori was always very responsive and answered our questions promptly. Thank you for an amazing trip!Jelena Poprzen
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As a travel advisor, I recently booked a group of clients on a Goway tour in China following their paddleboat competition, and I couldn’t be happier with the experience. Christine and Tanya in the groups department were incredibly helpful and made the entire process seamless. Their support was greatly appreciated! The feedback from my clients was overwhelmingly positive, with particular praise for the local tour guides, who helped make the trip so memorable. Everyone had a wonderful time. Thank you, Christine, Tanya, and the Goway team, for taking such great care of my clients. I would happily recommend Goway and look forward to working with them again!customer
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I wanna start off by saying that Farnaz our agent was excellent!!! she planned the whole experience from start to finish. We did not have to worry about one thing the entire trip. All the hotels were great. Our transfers from hotels to fairies to airports were all available and always on time. The excursions she planned for us were all top-notch. I was a little skeptical, but just finding GOWAY online stumbling across it. But I’m so glad I made the choice to use them. I hope they definitely using the company again and especially our agent Farnaz!!! Thank you do mych for a wonderful experience! Catherine
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Our goal for this trip was a stress free honeymoon where we did not have to think about anything! Goway made that successful. Everything was planned and ready for us. We just had to show up. Brooke recommended fantastic accommodations that were in great locations, clean and comfortable. The tours were took with Thompson's Africa were incredible as well. Brooke was helpful throughout the entire booking process & we wouldn't have had such an incredible experience without her. We really loved our South African holiday and hope to travel there or other locations again with Goway.Taylor
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October 9, 2026, was our 50th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, I wanted to take my bride to Europe for 50 days. Also, other than the flight over, I wanted to make the trip by train. I contacted Farnaz at Goway. The trip we planned ultimately extended to 60 days. It was absolutely flawless. We had great hotels, great tours. Even though this trip was complex and had a lot of moving parts, there were no problems. Farnaz and the folks at Goway done a great job. I highly recommend them and will definitely use them on any future tripsDaniel Graff
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We had a fabulous Croatia vacation with a cruise from Dubrovnik to Split, followed by land tours on Split and Opatija. Lodging was always comfortable and conveniently located. Tours and activities were perfectly suited to our interests. We have used GoWay for 2 vacations and are currently working on another. Karen
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We would like to thank our travel specialist, Bijal for all the planning and coordinating that was done to make our Tanzania trip as spectacular as it was from start to finish! Everything went so smoothly from our transfers, to our accommodations, to all of our tours! The people we came into contact with were exemplary! There were so many highlights on our trip from the animal sightings, to the balloon flight and champagne breakfast, to all the incredible scenery. Our accommodations were stunning! The level of service was remarkable and the locations were beyond our expectations. To think we would be having dinner and seeing the zebras and the elephants in the distance was amazing! Our tour guide/driver was very knowledgeable, friendly, passionate and had a keen eye for spotting animals in the distance. He made sure that we saw all the animals that we had hoped to see. it was truly a pleasure to spend the week with him. Thank you again to Bijal for all the work in making this once in a lifetime trip so exceptional!! We look forward to having Bijal help us plan our future trips.The Chadwicks and Williams
Goway Staff

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