About Rivers & Roads

Tailored Travel, Expedition Spirit

Rivers & Roads is a professional travel advisory that designs and books custom journeys from start to finish. Flights, hotels, transfers, guides, and activities are arranged so your trip runs smoothly and feels personal.

The specialty is expedition-style travel made possible for every traveler: overland safaris through wild landscapes, small-ship voyages to remote coasts, rail journeys across iconic regions, and cultural encounters that connect you with local life. Every trip is tailored to your style and goals, with the confidence that comes from expert planning and on-the-ground support.

With personal travel to more than 30 countries and years of experience in designing complex itineraries, Kerk brings both insider knowledge and professional planning to every journey.

His itineraries don’t just connect flights and hotels. They connect you to specialists, guides, and local hosts who bring each destination to life. Past trips have included:

  • Riding Icelandic horses across volcanic plains.

  • Staying in a converted abbey on the shores of Loch Ness.

  • Learning plasterwork with a sculptor in Fes.

  • Crafting lanterns in Hoi An.

  • Discovering hidden thermal coves outside Athens.

This balance of planning, access, and cultural depth defines the Rivers & Roads approach — turning travel into an experience that feels purposeful, personal, and worth the investment.

Meet Kerk, Founder & Travel Advisor

Core Values

  • Respect for Place & People

    Every destination is someone’s home. Rivers & Roads works with guides, hosts, and local experts who share their knowledge with care. That might mean learning from artisans in Turkey or staying in family-run guesthouses in Japan, always with respect for the cultures and communities that welcome us.

  • Responsible Travel

    Travel is an investment, and it carries impact. Rivers & Roads partners with companies that care for the environment, wildlife, and the communities you visit. That means staying at places that give back locally, supporting conservation, and avoiding harmful wildlife practices like elephant rides or close-contact animal encounters.

    The goal is simple: experiences that are memorable for you and meaningful for the places you visit.

  • Thoughtful Design

    No two travelers are alike. Each itinerary is designed with intention, balancing discovery and ease so the trip feels purposeful and personal. For some, that might mean combining city stays with quiet countryside retreats; for others, it might mean mixing guided adventures with time to explore on your own.

  • Trusted Relationships

    Rivers & Roads is built on connections with hotels, guides, and operators. These trusted relationships open doors to experiences that go beyond what’s possible online: from private walking tours in historic cities to added amenities at select hotels.

How We Work

  • Custom Expedition Itineraries

    Trips designed from the ground up, combining major landmarks with cultural access and efficient routing. Each itinerary is built to reflect your pace, priorities, and interests.

  • Independent Journeys

    Travel on your own while everything is arranged in advance — hotels, transfers, guides, and experiences — with your full itinerary organized in a personalized travel app.

  • Guided Expeditions

    For deeper immersion, choose options like small-ship voyages to remote coasts or guided treks in Patagonia, led by naturalists, historians, and local specialists who add insight along the way.

What Travelers Are Saying About Rivers & Roads:

“I can’t speak highly enough about how great a job Kerk did for us. All I had to do was tell him what we wanted, and he pulled it all together and even gave our trip to Italy a name, ‘Ruins, Renaissance and Religion.’ Kerk was there for us during the trip to help make minor changes and also help us with lodging when the registration process was confusing! We received an itinerary with everything mapped out in detail, including transportation instructions and recommendations for things to do in our free time. There was also an app that we could access anytime with the itinerary, tickets, directions, instructions...literally everything we needed. If you are considering a major trip but stressed about the thought of planning it, I can’t recommend Kerk at Rivers and Roads enough. I will be forever grateful for the experience he put together for us.”

— Cindy C. (Italy and Czech Republic 2025)