When pals George Butterfield and Sidney Robinson launched into a summer time research overseas journey to Europe in 1957, they may not have anticipated the journey that awaited them. Touring by ship with a bunch from Montreal to London, they meandered via Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Robinson’s sister, Martha, quickly joined the adventures, marrying Butterfield in 1964. After finishing their grasp’s and regulation levels, the trio yearned to see extra of the world. “Fairly merely, we needed to get again to Europe,” Martha Butterfield instructed Journey + Leisure. In 1966, pushed by their ardour for journey and journey, they based luxurious energetic journey clothing store Butterfield & Robinson (B&R).
By way of B&R, the three remodeled their youthful wanderlust right into a legacy of extraordinary journeys that proceed to encourage vacationers. They led their first European journey in 1966 with 44 college students, a 10-day cruise from New York to Naples on the Leonardo da Vinci ocean liner, with stops in Madeira, Gibraltar, Majorca, and Sicily. Nevertheless, it was throughout their first all-biking journey — a panoramic 45-day journey from Vienna to Paris — that Martha Butterfield says they “discovered their stride.” The biking tour not solely cemented the inspiration of their enterprise but additionally embodied their imaginative and prescient to supply deeply immersive journey experiences.
In September, B&R launched 4 new women-only itineraries in response to the rising demand for journey experiences tailor-made particularly to girls. Kristi Elborne, director of gross sales and journey design, shared that B&R’s girls’s-only assortment was impressed by co-founder Martha Butterfield, who helped pioneer energetic luxurious journey worldwide. Elborne mentioned, “This assortment celebrates adventurous girls who additionally benefit from the most interesting in high-end accommodations, beautiful delicacies, and immersive cultural experiences.”
Designed fully by girls, these journeys present a devoted house the place like-minded girls can discover new locations collectively via a female-first lens. Elborne added that the journeys additionally “concentrate on empowering tales and unique occasions with girls who’re shaping their communities.”
Of the 4 choices, B&R’s Camino de Santiago Strolling itinerary delivers an exciting journey for historical past seekers. It retraces an in depth community of historic pilgrim routes stretching throughout Europe, ending on the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
One other thrilling itinerary, the Vancouver to Tofino Ladies’s Multi-Lively, explores Vancouver’s bustling Granville Market. Members then journey to Tofino, a shocking city on Canada’s western coast, to partake in female-led surf lessons, kayak via the serene waters of Pacific Rim Nationwide Park, embark on an exhilarating e-bike experience to Ucluelet, and interact in a bead-making workshop with First Nations elders.
Then there’s the Cambodia & Vietnam Ladies’s Biking itinerary, which traverses the Hai Van Cross, among the many world’s most scenic coastal roads. And in the course of the Tuscany & Umbria Ladies’s Multi-Lively expertise, vacationers navigate the Tuscan countryside and interact in pleasant wine tastings, crostata cooking lessons, and intimate citadel dinners.
These itineraries, which vary from 4 to seven nights, cater to various exercise ranges starting from two to 3, with three being essentially the most energetic.
Whereas every itinerary gives one thing totally different, group sizes are capped at 16 contributors to make sure a extra attentive, enriching, and individualized expertise. This small group measurement fosters camaraderie, empowerment, and journey amongst feminine vacationers. Moreover, each journey connects contributors with B&R’s unimaginable companions world wide, together with inspiring feminine cooks, warfare veterans, tuk-tuk drivers, and extra, who present distinctive insights and significant connections alongside the best way. Reflecting on the corporate’s core values, Martha Butterfield added, “As my husband has at all times mentioned, we have by no means aspired to be the largest — simply the perfect.”
Since guiding their first journeys within the Nineteen Sixties, the founders have made it their mission to supply one-of-a-kind transformational experiences. “These locations aren’t simply stops on a map; they’re properties to pals we all know intimately and have developed significant relationships with,” mentioned Martha Butterfield. This private closeness deeply enriches the journey expertise for everybody concerned.
B&R’s group of skilled designers are avid adventurers who continuously go to new pockets of the world to scope out the following greatest spot. In 2026, B&R will add three new women-focused itineraries in Peru, Switzerland, and Spain’s Andalucia area. “B&R will proceed to encourage vacationers to immerse themselves in unimaginable locations, forge new friendships, and discover the world on two wheels or two toes,” Martha Butterfield instructed T+L.