About Early & Away Travel Co.
Early & Away Travel designs research-focused travel experiences for writers and curious travelers who want to understand a place—not just visit it.
We believe that some knowledge can only be gained on location. How history shapes daily life. How geography influences behavior. How culture reveals itself in ordinary moments—in markets, neighborhoods, conversations, and routines. This is knowledge that doesn't fit neatly into guidebooks or Wikipedia entries. It requires presence, patience, and attention.
We work with writers in two ways: through personalized Research Travel Planning for individual journeys, and through small-group Field Studies for shared research experiences.
Both approaches are shaped by the same principle: place comes first. Writing follows naturally.
See our Resources for Writers for recommended books and tools.
What We Do
Research Travel Planning
Most travel advisors plan vacations. We plan research trips.
Whether you're a novelist gathering sensory details for a setting, a nonfiction writer conducting interviews, or a memoirist tracing family history, research travel has different requirements than leisure travel. You need time in archives, not theme parks. Conversations with locals, not guided tours. Flexibility to follow leads, not rigid itineraries.
Early & Away specializes in understanding what writers need and translating that into practical logistics. We design customized itineraries that support your specific research goals, then handle the bookings so you can focus on observation rather than coordination.
You travel independently, with the confidence that someone who understands the writer's process has thought through every detail—from which neighborhood offers the best walking routes to which museums allow photography to how much unstructured time you'll need to process what you're learning.
We offer three levels of research travel planning, from comprehensive destination guides for self-sufficient planners to full-service itinerary design and booking for complex international trips.
Field Studies
Once or twice per year, we convene small groups of writers for immersive research journeys to a single destination.
Field Studies are not traditional writing retreats. There are no workshops, assignments, or productivity expectations. Writing is welcome, not required. The primary work is attention.
These are outward-facing experiences designed around observation, movement, and lived experience. We design the framework—thoughtful pacing, curated experiences, strong local connections—and the group moves through a place together, each person noticing differently.
Some moments are guided. Others are deliberately unstructured. Conversation happens organically, often over meals or walks. Not everything is explained.
Field Studies sit at the intersection of travel, research, and creative practice. They're for writers who value shared observation without forced collaboration, who want structure without rigidity, and who prefer depth over performance.
Our Approach
Early & Away works primarily with writers—novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists, journalists, memoirists, and travel writers—who want to engage with place as part of their creative process. We also work with solo travelers who think like writers: observant, curious, and attentive to context.
Whether planning an individual research trip or joining a Field Study, our travelers value depth over checklists and presence over performance.
We design experiences in destinations that reward close attention and layered thinking. We don't rush. We don't over-explain. We create the conditions that make insight possible: thoughtful pacing, strong local connections, and logistics that support immersion rather than distraction.
Our role is not to teach or interpret, but to design the framework that allows you to orient yourself honestly—to a place, to a project, and to your own patterns of attention.
Why Early & Away Exists
Early & Away was founded on a simple observation: writers need to travel differently.
Not because writers are more sophisticated travelers, but because they're traveling with a different purpose. They're not collecting experiences to remember. They're gathering material to transform. They're not looking for highlights. They're looking for the details that make a place feel lived-in rather than described.
That requires different logistics. Different pacing. Different priorities.
It also requires working with someone who understands that research isn't always linear, that the most valuable discoveries often happen in unplanned moments, and that the discomfort of not immediately understanding a place is part of the process.
Early & Away exists to remove the friction between a writer's research needs and the reality of travel logistics—so you can arrive ready to notice rather than manage details.
Who This Is For
Early & Away is for writers who:
- Are working on projects that require place-based research
- Value authenticity over convenience
- Understand that good research takes time
- Want expert support without losing independence
- Prefer observation to explanation
- Think of travel as fieldwork, not leisure
You don't need to be a published author. You don't need to know exactly what you're looking for. You just need to be genuinely curious about how a place works and willing to spend time figuring it out.
If you approach place with attention and patience—if you notice textures, rhythms, and contradictions—this work is for you.
How We Work
Every project begins with a conversation.
For individual research travel planning, we start by asking about your project: What are you writing? What questions are you trying to answer? What do you need to see, hear, and understand? From there, we design an itinerary tailored to your specific needs and handle the logistics.
For Field Studies, the process is different. Each experience is designed around a specific destination and lens—such as place and identity, movement and borders, or history as lived experience. We announce upcoming Field Studies individually, with details about the destination, dates, and focus. Writers apply or register, and we build a small group (typically 8-15 participants) who share curiosity about that particular place and inquiry.
Whether individual or group, our goal is the same: to create the conditions that allow understanding to develop naturally, without forcing interpretation or rushing insight.
Ready to Begin?
If you're working on a project that requires place-based research—or if you're simply curious about how travel can deepen your writing—we'd love to hear from you.
Contact us to discuss your research needs, or subscribe to be notified about upcoming Field Studies and receive resources on research travel for writers.