Where do you want to go?
Empeiria Escapes is a full-service travel agency — group trips, cruises, safaris and celebrations, planned down to the last detail. You bring the dream. We build the trip around it.
Not just a trip — a travel experience
Empeiria Escapes is a full-service, domestic and international travel agency. We offer personalized, world-class service along with travel consultation, so you can plan your next dream vacation and enjoy peace of mind while we handle the details.
What we offer is not just a “trip” but a “travel experience” — one that creates memories that will last a lifetime. Unlike the do-it-yourself online sites that just find cheap fares, Empeiria Escapes is a complete travel management service: the best fares and rates for your needs, plus personal, value-added benefits you simply won’t find anywhere else.
No agent or agency fees. No binding contract. That’s the Diamond Standard.
Before you book
- Small deposits hold your spot — $25 on cruise deals, $100 on the ski weekend.
- Payment plans available on group trips — ask when you call.
- Book early, save more — early birds get the discounts.
- Check your destination in our Tips & Info section — advisories and passport help, right here.
- Don’t see your place? Browse the A–Z directory or send us the idea — new trips start as suggestions.
Trips & escapes
Every trip below is open for inquiries. Call 540-845-1819 for dates, pricing and availability — or tap a destination on the trip map to see where we’re headed.
Valentine’s Weekend Escapes
Valentine’s Day 2027 lands on a Sunday, right in the middle of Presidents’ Day weekend — three nights to do it properly. Seven cities, one weekend. Luxury escapes are priced per person; the Virginia classics are priced per couple. Full details and pricing arrive November 1 — call now to get on the list for your city.
Ways to save
Deposit cruise deals
Hold your cabin on select cruises with a $25 deposit. Limited time — when the cabins are gone, they’re gone.
Book early, get discounts
The earlier you book, the better the fare. Group rates reward the planners, not the procrastinators.
Last-minute deals
Spontaneous? Last-minute specials pop up all the time. Email empeiriaescapes@gmail.com and ask what’s sailing.
Payment plans
Big trip, small steps. Payment plans are available on group trips so the dream fits the budget.
A trip designed just for you
Let Empeiria plan the perfect escape designed just for you. Luxurious locations. Private jets. Exquisite eats. If you can imagine it, Empeiria can help you experience it.
Never travel alone — unless you want to
Need some travel buddies? Our travel buddy trips roll out to exotic places all year. Excursions and adventures are no fun alone — join the group, enjoy the savings on group rates, enjoy the crowd when you desire, and kick back with alone time and no obligations to anyone. Travel other countries without feeling alone. Safety is another big plus of traveling with the group.
“Marco Polo saw the world — but kept coming home. There’s a reason why. There’s no place like Venice.”
Aruba. The Grand Canyon. Australia. New Zealand. Louisiana. Wherever your Marco Polo moment is, we’ll chart the path of your next adventure.
Every place starts with a letter
Got an idea — Fiji? Belize? the Blue Ridge? Jump to a letter, or search the whole list. Places marked with an orange dot have a trip on the board right now. Tap any place to see what’s going there — or to start a trip of your own.
No places match that search yet — but that’s how new trips are born. Suggest it and we’ll build it.
The trip map
Every pin is a place with an Empeiria Escapes trip on it. Tap a pin — or a name in the list — to see what’s happening there.
Looking for a place that isn’t pinned yet? Check the A–Z directory — if it’s on the list, we can build a trip to it.
Travel smart, travel safe
Good trips start before you pack. Check your destination’s advisory, get your passport sorted, and learn the little things that happen during travel — right here, before you go.
1. Check the travel advisory for your destination
As a first step in planning any trip abroad, check the Travel Advisories for your intended destination. The U.S. Department of State rates every country from Level 1 to Level 4, and conditions can change rapidly in a country at any time. Pick a destination we travel to and see its current advisory — then read the full advisory on the State Department’s site.
Exercise normal precautions — the lowest risk level.
Exercise increased caution — heightened risks to safety and security.
Reconsider travel — serious risks to safety and security.
Do not travel — the highest level, with greater likelihood of life-threatening risks.
Traveling somewhere else? See all Travel Advisories at travel.state.gov — including the color-coded world map. And before any international trip, enroll in the free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so the nearest U.S. embassy can reach you with updates and alerts, and contact you in an emergency.
2. Passport help
Need to renew or update your passport? Many travelers can renew online — it’s the fastest way to be trip-ready. You can renew online if:
- Your passport is (or was) valid for 10 years, expiring within 1 year or expired less than 5 years ago.
- You are age 25 or older, and not changing your name or other personal information.
- You are not traveling internationally for at least 6 weeks from the day you apply.
- You have your passport in hand, undamaged, and can pay by card (passport book: $130).
Only one official renewal site
The only official place to renew a U.S. passport online is opr.travel.state.gov. Look-alike websites charge extra fees and put your personal data at risk — even ones with “Gov” in the name. Always check the address ends in .gov. Questions? The National Passport Information Center answers at 877-487-2778.
Validity rules bite
Many countries won’t let you in if your passport expires within 3–6 months of your trip — Greece requires 3 months beyond departure, and South Africa requires validity 30 days past your exit plus two blank visa pages. Check the rule for your destination on its advisory page above.
3. Trip tips, by the way you travel
Book early, ride easy
Group rates and room blocks go to the early birds. A small deposit — $25 on cruise deals, $100 on the ski weekend — holds your spot while the payment plan does the rest.
Cruise documents
On a closed-loop cruise (same U.S. port out and back), a birth certificate plus photo ID can work — but we strongly recommend a passport book. If you had to fly home from a foreign port in an emergency, only a passport gets you on the plane.
Protect the trip
Payment protection and comprehensive travel insurance, transport to and from the airport, and optional excursions are the services our travelers rate most important before they go. Ask us to add protection when you book.
Sleep like you mean it
Where you sleep is half the trip. Our Valentine’s escapes pair a signature hotel with the experience — the Setai in Miami, Skylofts at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the St. Regis in New York, Boar’s Head in Charlottesville.
Know before you go
Conditions change fast abroad. Check the advisory for your destination when you book and again a few days before departure, enroll in STEP, and keep a photo of your passport’s ID page on your phone.
Paying for your trip
No agency fees, ever. Paying by card through our payment link adds a 3% merchant fee to the final payment. Ways to pay with no fee: call us at 540-845-1819, or Cash App $paramountenterprises.
Reviews & your photos
Our favorite trip reports come from the people who took the trips. Share yours — the photo, the story, the honest review — and help the next traveler plan theirs.
Share your best look
Send us your trip photos and videos through our share form — the best ones get featured here and on our social pages.
Or post your experience on Instagram with a photo or video, tag @empeiriaescapes and use #EmpeiriaEscapes so we can find it and cheer you on.
Restaurant reviews from the road
The best meals of our travels, reviewed by the travelers who ate them — rooftop dinners in Miami, French Quarter favorites in New Orleans, vineyard tables in Virginia. This section is being built now. Ate somewhere unforgettable on an Empeiria trip? Send us the name and we’ll hold your review for opening day.
Traveler photos
Scenes from Empeiria trips — the beaches, the cities, the wild places. Traveling with us? Send your photos and we may feature them here.
Real moments from the road
Photos from trips I have taken as a travel agent — Las Vegas, Disney, the Caribbean, and the rails. More to come as I sort through the collection.
Las Vegas
Disney
Caribbean
By rail
Ready to travel
Tell us about your trip
Thank you for traveling with Empeiria Escapes. Please take a few minutes to fill in this short survey — surveys help us serve you more proficiently, and we appreciate your feedback. Your answers open in your email app, addressed to us and ready to send.
Talk to Empeiria
A full-service travel agency with certified and experienced travel agents. Our services let you leave the details to us, so you can concentrate on having a successful experience — vacation, meeting, presentation, conference, or retreat. Contact us below, or call us now at (540) 845-1819 to get started.
Ways to reach us
- Call or text: (540) 845-1819
- Second line: 1-703-328-1682
- Email: empeiriaescapes@gmail.com
- Instagram: @empeiriaescapes
- More Empeiria services: ecsassist.com
Making a payment
A deposit holds your spot — $25 on cruise deals, $100 on the ski weekend. Paying by card through our payment link adds a 3% merchant fee to the final payment. Other ways to pay without a fee: call us at (540) 845-1819, or Cash App: $paramountenterprises.
For business — corporate travel
- Full Service Travel
- Institution Travel
- Small Business Travel
- Mobile Travel Technologies
- 24 Hour Emergency Travel Service
- Corporate Agents
Your ideas build this site
Where should we go next? What should this page do better? Every trip on our board started as somebody’s idea — the “Next Adventure Coming Soon” slot is waiting for yours.
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Call 540-845-1819 to reserve a spot.
Call 540-845-1819 to reserve a spot.