“Every Socrates trip is distilled
from the best of our own experiences.
Each adventure is a story we’ve lived.”
We’re Michou and Alain and, together with our four children, we’ve made a habit of pushing our travel experiences to the limit. Our friends jokingly refer to us as the ‘League of Extraordinary Travellers’. We take that as a great compliment as it’s in the same fun spirit that we organize trips for our clients and our own family.
“Take us with you next time!” people have always said upon hearing about what we get up to on our travels. This got us thinking… why not share what we’ve learned? After all, with my husband Alain — an experienced pilot — and my oldest son Mathieu — whom you might call an ‘early adopter’ of the Socrates travel concept — we have the combination of experience and know-how required to design legendary family vacations. We understand exactly what families want and need when travelling and over the years we’ve built up a vast network of contacts all over the world.
Every Socrates adventure is distilled from the best of our own experiences. Each adventure is a story we’ve lived. We’ve done everything from game watching in South Africa, to driving cattle with cowboys on the American prairielands, to mountain climbing in the Grand Canyon and training with ex-Special Forces soldiers in North Carolina. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to visit an iceberg, we can arrange that, too, by the way.
Our team
Michou
Meet the organisational mastermind behind this ‘League of Extraordinary Travellers’.
Michou grew up with the kind of pleasant-but-traditional approach to family vacationing that most of us have shared with our parents and siblings: staying at hotels, seeing the sights, remaining in close proximity but doing little that everybody can enjoy together. It wasn’t until Michou started travelling with her own family of six that she discovered what a tailor-made vacation could truly offer: memories that last a lifetime, mind-expanding revelations and soul-enriching experiences that bring the family closer than ever before. She now funnels the passion born of this discovery into every Socrates vacation.
Alain
The CEO of a successful Belgian textiles company and a trained airline pilot, Alain is the driving force — or flying force — behind the adventurous spirit of Socrates.
Ever since childhood, he has been blazing his own trails and finding ways to quench his thirst for travel and excitement. As a boy he always wanted to be an astronaut, and he still hasn’t given up on his dream of reaching the stars. His motto is ‘Dream it, plan it, do it!’
Mathieu
‘There’s always room for improvement’ could be the family motto, according to Mathieu, Socrates’ self-appointed quality control manager. Like his father, Mathieu isn’t satisfied with the mediocre. Growing up, Mathieu enjoyed first-hand the kind of far-flung tailor-made adventures most children can only dream of. This perspective has made him the perfect consultant when it comes to planning vacations the whole family will enjoy.
In addition to making sure every trip surpasses his own high expectations, Mathieu is also involved in client relations. He is convinced that getting to know what excites his clients is vital in designing them a tailor-made experience that will be remembered fondly for years to come.
