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Sandy Schmidt

Specialty Travel Consultant & Garden Tours Director

Worked at Holbrook Travel since: 1992

Favorite quote: "Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.” — Dalai Lama

Email: schmidt@holbrooktravel.com

Phone: 877-907-5360

Sandy’s first career was as a professional musician, from a Jr. in high school through her early thirties. She graduated in 1991 from UF with a BS in Horticulture. A year later she met Giovanna Holbrook and began her career at Holbrook. She has been a Specialty Travel Consultant throughout her time at Holbrook, working with all types of group travel and enjoys assisting friends and family travel as well. In 2006, she began the International Garden Tours of Holbrook Travel, serving as not only as a consultant but development of the itineraries.

The Holbrook Explorer

Large group of people gather for birding

Learning, Connecting, and Birdwatching at the Belize Birding Festival

Guest post by Holbrook Ambassador Debbie JordanEarlier this month, I was honored to represent Holbrook as the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Belize Birding Festival. Way down in the southeast co

A person walks on a dusty dirt road with a herd of goats in the background

Photo of the Month: November 2025

Above: On the way to see baobab trees at sunset on the red dirt roads in the bush of Madagascar, we stopped as the young goat herders crossed directly in front of us, looking like majestic figures in the sunlit, dusty glow. It felt like the scene of a movie, and this photo captured the feeling of that moment perfectly.

eBird Trip Reports: South Africa

Want to know which species other Holbrook travelers have seen on their birding trips to South Africa? Check out these eBird trip reports shared by past groups to see their checklists and get an idea of what you might encounter on your own birding expedition.