Mark Linn Travel & Cruise Consultant

I’m originally from Dallas,Texas. While living in America, most of my experiences were holidays with my family. As I became “addicted” to travel, I started to venture to destinations such as New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Hawaii.  I’m a true Texan at heart and encourage tourists who visit the USA to put Texas on their itinerary. The state’s unique history, sights and friendly people make it a do-not-miss destination when travelling across the country.

Before moving to Australia, I lived in Tokyo for seven years where I taught English as a second language to Japanese people. In my free time, I travelled all over Japan so I could experience all the country had to offer. I met my Australian wife in Japan and moved to Adelaide with her in 2007 which is when I began my career in the travel industry. I joined Phil Hoffmann Travel in June 2015.

When travelling, I love to see all the well-known sights. If I go to a new city, I have to see everything that makes that place famous and if I miss something, I feel like the trip is incomplete! I love being surprised by something I never knew existed, whether it’s a historical place, story or fact.

travel tips

• My biggest travel tip is to research where you are going BEFORE you go! Don’t just rely on the guides or try to “wing it” when you get there. Find out what the Top 10 things to see and do are in the city or country you are going to then plan to see and do them - nothing feels worse than finding out you didn’t know about something until you got home because you didn’t do your research. There may never be a “next time”!   

hot picks

• My favourite destination is always the last trip, which in this case was India!  But overall, my favourite trip was the tour I did in Tanzania. It was always my dream to go on an African safari. I will never forget visiting the Serengeti - our guides zipping us around the park in open-top jeeps searching for the Big Five! We marvelled when zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, hippos and hyenas crossed our paths. We slept in tents in our camp  - I have never had a more memorable interrupted nights sleep than waking up to sounds of lions roaring and hyenas growling in the distance. At times it sounded like they were right outside my tent - so thrilling! In addition to the animals, we were fortunate to meet many locals and were warmly welcomed to their land and homes where they fed us like we were family. It was humbling to see how the Tanzanian people lived such simple lives…no K-Mart, no Woolworths, no television, no plumbing. Their homes were often just mud and straw huts with a fire pit in the middle and a place for sleeping against the wall, but they were so proud to be able to show them off to us. I can highly recommend this as an experience everyone should have!