Small Guide Travel was established in 2003 and is a licensed travel agency, and member of the Travel Compensation Fund, with offices in Brisbane, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.

Our philosophy is to only promote destinations we personally know and provide our guests with personal service, local knowledge and competitive prices. And, of course, to get back to our favourite destinations as often as possible!

Small Guide Travel director Ian Heydon's love of the tropics began with a holiday in Fiji in 1994. Those two weeks were life-changing. After completing his PADI dive accreditation and a few more visits to Fiji he, and the family, took a vacation in Vanuatu in 1999.

While there, his wife Annie was offered a job teaching at Port Vila International School and Ian couldn't think of a better place to continue his career as a writer. They lived in Vanuatu for three years until reality dictated a return to Australia and, until the children complete their education, tropical sojourns can now only be holidays or research trips.

2003 saw the publication of his travel guide to Australia (The Small Guide to A Big Country) and his acquisition of a travel agent's licence, Small Guide Travel, with business partner Jenny Cowles.

Jenny's background is travel, Ian's is writing. Drawing on their personal experiences, they specialise in providing personal service and local knowledge for travel to the South Pacific. Following the Vanuatu site came sites for Fiji, Samoa and the Cook Islands and now, we have added cruising to the stable. Enter Laura...

Laura Gant is part of the Small Guide team in Australia. Laura has also travelled extensively throughout the Pacific (Vanuatu, Fiji, Cook Islands, Tonga) and recently fell in love with cruising after a recent trip, so she is our resident expert and will be your personal consultant for booking your cruise.

Contact Us

For more specific information on cruising, tropical weddings or Pacific holidays contact us or visit some of the other Small Guide websites: