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"We live in a world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
​                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ​Jawaharlal Nehru​
The Harvard Travellers Club (HTC) is an organization that has provided a venue for adventurous travelers to gather and socialize since 1902. An affiliation with Harvard University is not required for membership.

The Club meets 8 times each year, and held its 900th meeting since inception in November 2022. Our speakers include many legendary -- as well as up-and-coming -- explorers, scientists, mountaineers, and adventurers.

Listen to Nils Bonde-Henriksen, HTC member, as he describes the Club's history, members of note, and the purpose of the Club on this podcast. He is interviewed by Jonathan Reynolds of the Explorers Club.
​If you are not currently a member of the Harvard Travellers Club and would like more information about the Club, or would like to attend a meeting as a guest, please contact Bruce Chafee at [email protected].
Club meetings are generally held in the Massachusetts Room of the Harvard Club on Commonwealth Avenue. Cocktails (cash bar) begin at 6:00 PM, dinner ($86) at 6:45, and the presentation commences at 8:00. Club meetings are attended by members and their guests. 

The dress code for our meetings is business casual.

A new service for HTC Members!

The HTC Travel Forum, found in the Members Area, is a venue for members to:
  1. Find travel buddies.
  2. Post about trips taken.
  3. Discuss travel plans and list trips available.

The HTC does not authorize or substantiate any trip offers.  Anyone coordinating a trip that might include an HTC member(s) must not represent to third parties that s/he is leading a Harvard Travellers Club tour.

​NOTE: ​If you are looking for members who have experience travelling in a particular area, you can find them by searching (CTRL-F {PC} or COMMAND-F {Mac}) the Member Travel Biographies in the Members Area. Contact information for members can then be found in the Member Directory. 

We hope that you enjoy this new Travel Forum and that it is helpful for your adventures!

Let us know if you have any suggestions for the Travel Forum at [email protected]​
The 2024-2025 Season at a Glance
(Meetings are held on Tuesdays, unless otherwise noted.)​​
(click date buttons for details)
v = via Zoom
All other meetings are (currently) to be in person.
Speaker
Subject
(click date buttons for details) 
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Travels to the Remote: In Search of Answers to the Earth's Geologic Questions
by
Jill VanTongeren
Jill VanTongeren, Associate Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at Tufts, has performed field work at spectacular geologic locations across the world, including the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Oman ophiolite, and the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, working on magma emplacement and evolution in both the oceanic and the continental crust. She'll share photos and stories from her travels throughout the world, as well as some of the exciting science she's been a part of as a result. She'll also highlight her recent highly successful trip to Morocco that was sponsored by HTC's Permanent Fund.
 
 Jill VanTongeren

Travels to the Remote: In Search of Answers to the Earth's Geologic Questions
Prof. VanTongeren is a recent HTC Permanent Fund awardee.
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In Search of Lost Birds
John Mittermeier
Browse through any book about birds and it is easy to assume that the basic details about species, such as where they are, what they look and sound like, and whether or not they are extinct, are all known. But in fact, even in today’s well-connected and well-documented world, some birds are mysteries. These avian mysteries are embodied in “lost” birds, species that we think are out there somewhere but that no one has been able to find or document in at least ten years. How can entire species of bird go missing like this? Why can’t anyone find them?

Join Dr. John C. Mittermeier, the director of the Search for Lost Birds at American Bird Conservancy, to learn about these lost birds, explore why they matter for conservation, and hear stories from the incredible global effort underway to find as many of them as possible before it is too late.
John has been fascinated by lost birds from the day he happened upon an illustration of a Makira Moorhen at age 15. This passion has led him around the world on searches for lost birds in places like Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, and Madagascar. As the director of the Search for Lost Birds at American Bird Conservancy, he now leads a global initiative to identify lost birds and help to support local birdwatchers and citizen scientists around the world to find these species.

John C. Mittermeier

In Search of Lost Birds: Where'd They Go? And Why?

John's website
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Rowing to Alaska: How a Love Affair with Maine’s Islands Led Us to Ketchikan
The Race to Alaska is a 750-mile unsupported, motorless boat race from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska. In 2019, Leigh Dorsey and Dameon Colbry completed the race in a bright yellow rowboat named Mursu. Since then, they have each, separately, completed the race by rowboat a second time. Leigh’s second trip was with her younger sister Clare Dorsey; Dameon chose to row solo his second time around. They credit the Maine Island Trail with preparing them for the many challenges of traveling long distances by rowboat, having completed an unsupported 260-mile thru-row of the Trail in 2018, along with many shorter escapes to their favorite of Maine’s wild islands. Join them as they share highlights, lessons, and photos from their long-distance row-camping adventures.
Leigh and Dameon's bios

Leigh Dorsey and Dameon Colbry or Clare Dorsey

Rowing to Alaska: How a Love Affair with Maine’s Islands Led Us to Ketchikan

www.rowingtowild.com
x
The Juneau Icefield Legacy: In Honor of William B. Osgood Field Jr.
by Prof. Seth Campbell and Caroline Wexler
The Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) has a 78 year legacy of conducting polar research and providing related skills training and science education for participants of the program while in the glacier-covered mountains of Southeast Alaska and Northwest Canada. In fact, JIRP is the second longest operating field research and education program of its kind on Earth. The genesis of JIRP dates back to the genius of legendary glaciologists and Harvard alumni, Dr. William O. Field Jr. and Dr. Maynard M. Miller. Since the program's inception, many JIRP participants have gone on to become renowned Polar scientists, explorers, environmental authors, science advocates, community leaders, and more. This presentation will touch on the rich history of JIRP and how the program continues to inspire future generations as the next stewards of our incredible planet.

Prof. Seth Campbell and Caroline Wexler

The Juneau Icefield Legacy: Current Research and a Student's Perspective: In Honor of William B. Osgood Field Jr.
x
Members Night! Two presentations as outlined below.
Adventures as a Solo Female Traveler in the Amazonian Jungle
by Katherine McGarr
With a few solo adventures under her belt, Kate set her sights on the wonders of the Amazonian rainforest in 2012. Embarking from Leticia, Colombia, she traveled 2 hours by boat into the thick of the jungle to a small ecolodge where she spent four days exploring and learning about the rainforest and its inhabitants from locals.
Solo in the Arctic by Canoe
by Robert Perkins
Rob will share what 40 years of solo canoeing in the arctic can teach you. He'll tell the story of how he petted a full grown white arctic wolf (How do you do that?), and more.

Robert Perkins is a storyteller. He has traveled in the Canadian Arctic north of Yellowknife for over forty years. He is a solo canoeist and an advocate for animal rights.

Links to previous work presented by PBS include:

Talking to Angels - https://youtu.be/n5UpDCXMLX8?feature=shared

Into the Great Solitude - https://youtu.be/Al2gkkmSWF4?feature=shared

Members Night

Adventures as a Solo Female Traveler in the Amazonian Jungle by Katherine McGarr
Solo Canoeing in the Arctic by Robert Perkins
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Transversing the Nortwest Passage: A Famiy Affair
by
John and Dean Pennington
John and Dean Pennington bring us along as they race to sail their 39-foot boat from Greenland to the Gulf of Alaska, in one summer. For little Dean--age 6--sailing the Northwest Passage is a real-life homeschool lesson in oceanography, meteorology, and Arctic wildlife. But for his mom and dad, it's a journey into the living history of Arctic exploration...and to the limits of their endurance. Together, they all learn what it means to risk it all on the warming of the Arctic, and what it means to be human, far from humanity.

John and Dean Pennington

Transversing the Northwest Passage by Sailboat: a Family Affair
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Exploring the Unknown: Adventures with Untested Crews in the World's Last Frontiers
Sean Meagher
Join Captain Sean as he takes us on a journey from the wilds of the South Pacific to Central America and the Arctic. He will share stories and insights from my adventures, exploring how the challenges of leading untested crews through some of the world’s most remote areas can reveal hidden strengths and potential in ways that are as thrilling as they are unexpected.

He'll delve into the art of identifying and nurturing hidden talent, even when resources are scarce and the stakes are high, using an example from The Solomon Islands.

The talk will also highlight how extreme conditions of remote regions can turn obstacles into opportunities for growth and discovery. Whether navigating through the ice-bound channels of the Arctic or the volcanic landscapes of the Costa Rica, these adventures demonstrate that true leadership often emerges in the most unexpected places.

This talk will not only inspire your sense of adventure but also offer insights into the transformative power of exploring the unknown.
Captain Sean P. Meagher holds a United States Coast Guard Unlimited Tonnage All Oceans license for both sail and power and is an advanced ice pilot. He has commanded some of the world's most sophisticated and technologically advanced vessels. Sean has won numerous awards for exploration, conservation, and management, and speaks internationally on various topics at universities, corporations, and private institutions. He is a member of the Yacht Club d’Monaco’s Captain Club, The Saint Francis Yacht Club of San Francisco, and the New York Explorer’s Club. In addition to his professional achievements, Captain Sean has appeared on the popular television show "Below Deck" and hosts a successful YouTube show, "Dive In with Captain Sean," where he shares his vast knowledge and experiences from his maritime adventures.
 
  Sean Meagher
​  

Exploring the Unknown: Adventures with Untested Crews in the World's Last Frontiers
(Co-hosted with Harvard Business School Association of Boston)
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My Travels with U.S. Presidents and the Olympics
Join the highly talented New York Times Photographer Doug Mills as he shares behind the scenes stories and photos of travels abroad and in the U.S. with Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden, and at the Olympics.  He is known for capturing historic and memorable shots of our times.  Doug has won two Pulitzer Prizes, several White House News Photographers Association’s “Photographer of the Year”, and multiple White House Correspondents Association’s “Photo of the Year”. 

Doug Mills

New York Times Photographer Doug Mills’ Travel with U.S. Presidents and the Olympics