We understand the many challenges and concerns associated with international travel in today's world. Your safety and peace of mind is our number one priority when planning and executing a tour. This is why we personally inspect our destinations, in order to gain the maximum insight of each country and its many spectacular cities.
We continually educate ourselves in the many cultures, customs, languages and landscapes of all our destinations. We use colorful local guides, who add rich accounts of history and provide powerful insight to each tour. We work closely with these guides to ensure that all of our clients understand the important customs and traditions of their scheduled destinations. We also remain current on the latest attractions, hotels, entertainment, and restaurants; so you can be sure that our advice and recommendations come from our own experiences.
We want our clients to experience an entirely new way of traveling, through customized tours that leaves them inspired and excited for their next destination. Our experts will plan unique tours that take you beyond the well-traveled tourist circuit, we want you to use all your senses to feel the warmth and hospitality of the local Chilean villagers, smell the ocean breeze of the Mediterranean, see the grandeur of the most beautiful sunsets on earth in New Zealand, and taste the amazing cuisine with a traditional Tuscan family.
We look forward to sharing our knowledge and passion for travel with you today!
Carlos L. FidaPresident, Wren & Fida International
Carlos was born and raised in beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina. At age 18 he joined the Argentine Navy and was posted in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Later, he studied in England and earned a degree in Latin American history. In the years that followed, he held teaching positions with the University of Patagonia and an Argentine military academy, where he taught English and Latin American History, and led study-abroad groups for nearly a decade.
In 1979 he immigrated to United States, where he began an association with one of the country's top ten travel agencies. In 1985 he created the agency's Latin American division, acting as its director until 1996. That year he founded PanAmerican Travel Services, sister company to Wren & Fida International, where he now serves as president to both companies.
Carlos became a Certified Travel Counselor in 1984. He has traveled extensively within every country in Central and South America. . Participants on Carlos' tours are privy to his lectures on pre-Columbian civilizations, Latin America colonization, and the history of ancient business practices. Carlos serves as a Community Mentor for students at the University of Utah Eccles School of Business and keeps close contact with academics from colleges and universities throughout the world.
Carlos has also journeyed throughout Antarctica, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He loves to read and is an accomplished landscape painter. He and his family now reside in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Travel + Leisure Magazine's A-List ranks Carlos as one of the top travel agents in the U.S. Carlos has been ranked as Travel + Leisure's recommended Super Agent for Argentina, Peru, and Galapagos (2005 and 2006).
Douglas B. WrenVice President, Wren & Fida International
Doug was born in Pennsylvania and later moved to Brazil in his twenties. Over the years as he developed a strong bond with Salvador and the Northeast and learned everything from the native languages and local customs, thus his love for travel and diverse cultures came to be. He continues to return to Brazil several times each year.
Doug joined forces with Carlos Fida with the hopes of sharing his love for travel and knowledge of the world with people.
Over the years Doug has traveled extensively throughout Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a featured speaker at several elite travel conventions and airline board meetings. Doug has also co-hosted several travel shows, and continues to do weekly radio travel programs broadcasting live to the United States and several places abroad.
Doug oversees the luxury travel division, groups and incentives, and educational services at Wren & Fida. He currently resides in North Salt Lake City, Utah with his family, where he enjoys mountain biking in the beautiful mountains of Utah and snowboarding the greatest snow on earth.
Doug is recognized by Travel + Leisure's A List as the premier agent for South America (Super Agent 2005 and 2006).
Watch this video to see an interview with Doug discussing his top 5 "Active Family" vacations.
Dave Burrup, MBACFO
Dave has been part of Wren & Fida for many years. Dave handles many aspects of strategic relationships for Wren & Fida, and also ensures the quality of our services. Dave has traveled throughout Latin America and his favorite country to visit is Brazil. Dave enjoys racing in his spare time and spending time with his family.
Susan AlbrechtDirector of Business & Client Relations, Wren & Fida International
Susan has extensive experience in planning educational and recruitment tours throughout the world. Susan loves adventure. She has traveled throughout Central America, South America, Europe and the Middle East.
Ted WinderTour Manager, Wren & Fida International
A geographer at heart, Ted has been managing tours for Wren & Fida since 2002. Involved with the travel industry for the past 32 years, his professional background has covered a variety of positions. In addition to his years in the travel agency management, he has escorted tours to many parts of the world.
Reared on a dairy farm in Granger, Utah, Ted attended Ricks College (Rexburg, Idaho) and the University of Utah (Salt Lake City) majoring in Geography. He is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC-Life Member) and has been involved in a number of volunteer positions in his community and church. He enjoys hiking, classical music, basketball and travel.
Cheri FaustAccounting Specialist
