With a combined experience of over 45 years in creating memories for
discerning travelers, together with a passion for our beautiful continent,
The Craft of Travel delivers extraordinary travel experiences that will create a
lasting space for memories.
‘You can always make more money, but you only have a set number of days to make more memories!’ - Anonymous -
Our Story
and the creation of our logo
In 2002, Bettina and Vicky met while working for the same company, Bettina situated in the Johannesburg office and Vicky in the Cape Town branch. Both were eager and enthusiastic travel designers working closely to divide their responsibilities to manage the inbound operation between the two cities.
As colleagues, they discovered, they shared the same value system and as time passed the relationship between colleagues turned into trusted friendship. During their time working together, they realized they had a similar style in managing and operating their respective divisions, they worked with ease and they started joking about how ‘one-day, they might start and run their own company’.
The logo…
When the time came to start talking about the logo and what would identify their company, they sought to find something symbolic to each of them and to the friendship. During their time working for the Johannesburg based company, one of their projects was to arrange a tour package for 186 people to experience the first full solar eclipse of the 21st century visible in Southern Africa, around this time is when they planted the seed ‘one day we might have our own company’. On 21 August 2017, the Great American Eclipse took place and the two realized they ‘had come full circle’, the potential to give birth to a seed which was planted in 2002 still had the opportunity to come into existence.
The logo is a combination of a solar eclipse and the Japanese Enso symbol, symbolizing the beginning and end of all things, the circle of life and the connectedness of existence. It is said to stimulate the mind and emotions, stimulate the spirit of a person to contemplate the essence of reality.
Each symbol is an expression of both Vicky and Bettina as individuals and as travel designers, using their clients’ inspirations in combination with their own spirit to craft unforgettable travel experiences.
Vicky and Bettina continued to grow their careers and during this time they remained friends meeting a few times a year to catch up and discuss the ‘in & outs’ of the industry, the new trends, and all the exciting possibilities that are out there.
Little did they know that by late 2017 their jokes about starting a company together would come to fruition. After each had left their jobs, they started talking about how they could collaborate and partner and so, with the same vision...
The Craft of Travel was born.
Meet the Crafters
Vicky Pappadopoulos
Co-Owner
Vicky was raised by Cypriot Greek parents in what she believes is the most beautiful city in the world, Cape Town. From a young age, Vicky took a keen interest in different cultures, geography and people of the world.
Her passion for travel combined with her 24 years in creating luxury holidays has afforded her the knowledge and skill to create something magical for each client experience.
Her extensive travels have allowed her to understand and quantify how to meet her clients’ expectations. Vicky believes it is not the destination but the journey which is important.
Bettina van den Hurk
Co-Owner
With European heritage – Swiss father and Austrian mother, and now Dutch husband and a beautiful young daughter, Bettina was born and raised in South Africa with a strong multi-cultural heritage. She studied in Austria and then traveled quite a bit of the world. Her travels included an exciting delivery of a catamaran from Hout Bay to Fort Lauderdale Florida where she stayed and worked for a couple of years. Her strong South African roots drew her back and she stepped into the world of travel where she has been involved in all aspects of inbound journeys for over 22 years.
“There comes a time in life when you just know that the time is just so right to venture off into creating something new, something own, where you have the opportunity to create a space for memories” says Bettina.