Travel Planner -Ryan David King
Name: Ryan David King
Birth Place: Orangeville (Ontario) Canada
Occupation(s): Entrepreneur and university professor
How did you become involved in the travel/ cruise business?
After graduating law school, I briefly worked in finance. I was married to a French woman who is now my ex-wife and following the birth of our first son in 2002, we moved back to her village near Mâcon, Burgundy. My original plan to be a stay-at-home dad lasted just 72 hours because I was going stir crazy. The only company that would hire me on short notice was a Burgundy-based bike tour company. After leading my first bike tour, I caught the travel business bug and later founded my own bike tour business in 2005. Bike tours became more event tours and last year I organized my first gay cruise in Croatia.
What kinds of places have you planned out for groups in the past?
I have organized tours to: Pamplona’s running of the bulls; bike race tours to see the Tour de France and Tour of Italy; Oktoberfest tours; and wine tours to every part of France.
Describe your ideal group to have?
I can’t lie: I love demanding, crazy, and totally neurotic clients. I particularly enjoy people who claim to have certain meal requirements, mostly coastal Americans, only to break these rules on tour in the most delicious way possible. The classic example is the self-proclaimed gluten-free surgeon’s wife from California who gets caught eating a flour-based chocolate cake in Paris. As I often tell my guides, the craziest clients always make the best stories. So I don’t really believe there are “ideal” groups as I just take people as they come…quirks and all.
Your last cruise to Croatia was very successful that you are in fact doing it again !
Absolutely! I had so much fun running my first cruise in August 2022 that I decided to do it again this coming August. I can’t wait.
Tell us about the new Croatian cruise you are having in August?
Following a successful gay cruise last August, we’re following the same itinerary. It’s a 7-night / 8-day cruise along Croatia’s spectacular southern coast. We depart from Split, often called the Saint Tropez of Croatia, sail south Dubrovnik, then back. The cruise is a fantastic mix of small fishing villages, vineyards, medieval fortified towns like Korcula, and bustling Dubrovnik. The beaches, food, and scenery rival anything I’ve even seen in Europe.
Can you be single and still have a good time?
Absolutely! My last cruise was half singles and half couples. We ate the majority of our meals on the boat and there were always planned excursions so none of the single travelers felt lonely nor excluded. Conversely, none of the couples felt like they had to stay with our group as there were plenty of opportunities for romantic meals or outings in the different ports of call. The yachts are perfectly designed with capacity for groups of just 30-40. So the yachts, meals, and excursions are all single-friendly in my opinion.
Where do they join you at? Ideal airport? Etc.
The cruise starts and finishes in historic Split. This once sleepy seaside Croatian town now has an international airport, so most our guests connected to Split via London, Paris, Rome or Munich.
Let us get personal, we want to know a little about yourself…
Words that best describe you.
Adventurous, irreverent, kind, and loyal.
When did you become out to friends and family?
Later than most I reckon. I came out to a very surprised (then) wife in May 2012 at age 40. I then came out to my family in May 2013. Following separation and divorce, I came out to my three kids in 2015.
Who has been your biggest influence in your life?
My father. We look almost exactly alike, have similar mannerisms, and I’ve learned generosity and the art of conversation by following my dad’s example. My parents are both straight and still together after 50+ years. They’re also my greatest allies.
I would give anything to meet…
Author John Irving to thank him for writing my all-time favorite book: “The Cider House Rules.” I’ve read that book at least 15 times.
Your idea of a perfect evening is?
Dinner last August during the cruise. We were in the tiny Croatian fishing port of Trstenik. We’d just walked back down to the port after a private wine tasting. The weather was perfect and clouds started to cascade over the mountains surrounding the town as the sun set on the Adriatic. It was a table full of fun gays, great food, and we all laughed so hard we had cramps the next day. So my idea of a perfect evening is: beautiful setting; good friends; and great food.
The last book I read was ….
I just re-read “The Tommyknockers” by Stephen King. No one does horror better than Mr. King.
My favorite movies/plays are?
Favourite movie: “Aliens” starring Sigourney Weaver. I love a badass female lead and that final showdown with the alien queen was perfection.
Nobody knows that I ……
…graduated law school and was once an accomplished competitive sailor.
What’s your favorite place in the entire world?
Paris in the early morning before the July Tour de France finish. Every July the race finishes on the Champs Elysees. French police shut down the city centre to vehicle traffic so we take our groups on a sunrise bike tour. It’s always one of the highlights of my year.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
Organized a Croatian cruise for 40 gay men.
What odd talent do you have?
Languages. I speak fluent French and can learn and/or imitate other languages and accents quite well.
What had been your biggest setback or failure in life and how did you overcome it?
Separation/divorce from the mother of my three children was, by far, the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The worst day of my life was telling my three kids “mom and I are divorcing.” I’m getting a lump in my throat just writing about it. Hurting my own children will always be my biggest regret. But things got better because I just took healing one day at a time.
If I could meet my younger self, I would tell him…
Absolutely nothing. I’m proud of who I am now and the challenges I’ve overcome. I am who I am because of my history so I wouldn’t want to do anything to change that.
What would you like to say to the Gay Life after 40 tribe?
Travel. Don’t wait to see the things you’ve always wanted to see. Go now.
Where can our readers find you or know more about the cruise?
