William Seidenstein has travelled with Expat Explore twelve times and plans on increasing that number by much more! He shared his story with us (from his time serving in the navy, to becoming an avid traveler), and revealed why traveling solo is the way to go for him.

I am a born and bred New Yorker who has lived and worked in and around “The Big Apple” my whole life. I am a retired New York City Police (NYPD) Lieutenant, CDS (Commander Detective Squad). I also served as a Commander in the United States Navy and an Officer Agent with NCIS (The Naval Criminal Investigative Service). As a young sailor, I served on an old destroyer and later as the Agent afloat on the Battleship USS IOWA (BB-61).

My stints as a civil servant gave me the opportunity to travel around the world conducting exciting investigations and making life-long friendships.

I married a beautiful young girl from Long Island, New York where we raised three great children, two daughters and a son. We were a very close family and I had them join me on as many investigative and training assignments as possible. We also often traveled throughout the United States and overseas on our frequent vacations and holidays. Unfortunately, my wife passed away suddenly leaving me with three relatively young children to raise. My children were strong enough to enable me to continue with my NYPD and Navy careers and grow into successful young adults.

A good NYPD friend of mine, who was a divorcee and also a widower, convinced me to try solo travelling. He said, “Bill, I always travel alone, it’s great”! He was so right!

I had studied Criminal Justice one summer at the University of Warsaw, Poland as a young NYPD Sergeant. Some Polish friends of mine insisted, “You must visit Krakow!” That’s where Expat Explore comes into the picture. I went on the internet and discovered an Expat Explore tour that included Krakow as well as Germany, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. It sounded great! I booked the 11-day Eastern Europe tour immediately before losing the courage and possibly changing my mind! The trip began in Munich, Germany in June 2015. It was outstanding and I’m even thinking of booking it again with Dee, the tour leader of my last trip to Croatia and Eastern Delights! She does both trips and like all my Expat tour leaders, is great!

I have been on 12 Expat Explore trips so far and have two more coming up! In April, I’ll travel to the Balkans – and in July I’ll be in Ireland.

Expat is a great value for all they provide on their trips. The founders of Expat Explore, Carl and Jakes, often pop up on their trips and have developed an atmosphere of us all being one big, happy family. Some of the nicest people I know I’ve met on Expat tours. The tour leaders are friendly professionals who know their jobs inside and out and are great traveling companions as well. Expat does all the work, including great bus drivers, hotels, breakfasts, and many dinners, while customers like me just sit back and enjoy some of the best experiences of a lifetime!

Come join me on my next Expat Explore adventure! I’ll be the good-looking guy sitting in seat number five!

Are you looking for your next holiday? Whether you’re a solo traveller, group or family take a look at our tours and find the ideal one for you!