Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Walker-Muhammed.
Hi Donna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My travel story began with family road trips through the Deep South. I am originally from New Orleans, LA, and exploring my visit was filled with unexpected and amazing surprises, the best food (not to mention my dad was a chef). I have beautiful memories of fishing trips with my dad, uncles and caravans with siblings, cousins and family piling into cars, taking family photos at landmarks, visiting relatives, and discovering the joy of being on the road together.
Those early trips taught me that travel was about much more than reaching a destination. It was about laughter, fun, exploration, legacy building, delicious food, storytelling, photography, and creating memories that would be shared around tables and at family gatherings for years to come.
Later, as a military spouse, travel became part of my life in a new way. Living in Europe and different parts of the United States expanded my love for culture, history, the great outdoors, and adventure. Each move introduced me to new people, perspectives, and places, deepening my appreciation for the richness of the world around us. New places also introduced me to a deeper relationship with myself, and connected me to my courage, curiosity and sense of exploration, which I hope to pass on to my children.
When military life ended, I wanted to share my love for adventure, exploration, and spirit of curiosity by reconnecting with my family. I began planning family adventures throughout the United States, visiting places like Hawaii, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and many others. I developed a personal goal of visiting all 50 states and have now reached 49, with Alaska still living in my heart, awaiting my presence.
Over time, my passion for travel expanded beyond family vacations into group travel and international adventures. I began organizing hiking excursions, milestone birthday celebrations, wedding vow renewals, cultural immersion experiences, and journeys designed to bring people together in meaningful ways.
In 2016, two years after the death of my father, I traveled solo to Oahu, Hawaii. After spending years caring for everyone else, that trip became a sacred journey back to myself. What I came to understand is that travel is a spiritual and soul-awakening experiences, that opens our eyes, mind, and heart to the world around us.
Soon afterward that Oahu awakening, I became a death doula and I see travel through a different lens. Every travel experience, if we allow it, transforms into a moving meditation and a path of self-discovery that connects us to a higher purpose. Traveling the world is not simply about sightseeing or checking destinations off a list, it is a soul-stirring experience that invites us to slow down, pay attention, and reconnect with what matters most.
Travel strengthens our relationship with ourself, and with others. It creates opportunities to celebrate life’s milestones, process grief, honor transitions, seek spiritual growth, and make space for reflection, release, and renewal. It teaches us that we are both students and teachers, visitors and hosts, connected by our shared humanity.
Today, travel is both a personal passion and a calling. It is how I honor life, embrace transitions, and preserve legacy. It is a way to honor my father, my uncle, my family, and the memories that first sparked my love of exploration. It is also how I help others create unforgettable memories, deepen relationships, and discover the beauty that exists beyond their familiar surroundings.
What started as childhood fishing trips and family road adventures has become a lifelong journey of connection, healing, discovery, and legacy, one that continues to unfold with every new destination, every meal, ritual, sacred practice and every person, I have the privilege meet and travel beside.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, and honestly, after 13 years in business, it still isn’t. I am still learning, growing, and evolving.
For many years, I built Best Life Travels & Adventures while working full-time during a 34-year career and raising two children as a single parent. Recently retired, with adult children, I am finally able to devote more attention to my work as a sacred and transformational travel curator.
One of my biggest challenges has been figuring out how to build a business that reflects my values rather than simply following a traditional travel industry model. I initially started as a home-based travel agent, but I quickly realized that booking trips was only a small part of what I wanted to create.
What excites me most is designing experiences that help people connect more deeply with themselves, one another, and the people and places they visit. I wanted to move beyond traditional tourism and intentionally collaborate with local communities, artisans, guides, and small businesses while honoring local heritage, culture, traditions, rituals, and ways of life.
Another challenge has been understanding the tremendous responsibility that comes with leading people away from the safety and familiarity of home. Whether traveling across the United States or internationally, I am always thinking about traveler safety, logistics, preparation, communication, accessibility, and risk management. Creating meaningful experiences is important, but ensuring people feel safe, supported, and cared for throughout their journey is equally important.
I have also learned that building a purpose-driven business takes patience. There is often pressure to focus on transactions and sales, while my vision has always been centered on transformation, connection, and impact.
I want people to broaden their worldview, participate in meaningful cultural exchanges, support local communities, and return home changed by what they have learned. I believe we live our best lives when experiences foster healing, deepen relationships, support physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, and inspire us to live with intentionality.
The road is still unfolding, but every challenge has helped me refine my purpose: to create journeys that balance freedom, restoration, adventure, spiritual growth, and meaningful human connection.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Best Life Travels and Adventures?
Please tell us more about your business or organization.
Best Life Travels & Adventures was founded in 2013 and inspired by a deep belief in family, legacy, and the power of travel to bring people together through soul-stirring, and shared experiences. We thoughtfully curated experiences that invite travelers to embrace divine curiosity and to allow their hearts to be awakened while uncovering the richness of meaningful connections, savoring global cuisines, and marveling at breathtaking landscapes, vibrant sunsets painted across the horizon, starlit evenings, moonlit skies that inspire wonder and the natural beauty that reminds us of our place in the world.
We believe travel is a sacred thread that connects us to one another, to our stories, and to the experiences that shape who we are and who we are becoming.
Our mission, Journey Within While Exploring Beyond, is rooted in three guiding principles: Honoring Life, Embracing Transition, and Preserving Legacy. We believe each person has a story, and everyone is experiencing something. Our meaningful travel experiences honor each traveler’s journey. We consider what you hope to gain, what you are carrying within, and what kind of connection, curiosity, adventure, healing, spiritual, mental, emotional, and personal growth and fun you may be seeking.
At the heart of our work is the understanding that travel provides a beautiful opportunity to nurture connection, create new bonds, and strengthen existing relationships through reflection, release, and moments of pause.
What should we know/What sets you apart from others?
We believe travel is one of life’s sacred teachers. It invites us to honor life, embrace transition, and preserve legacy. It connects us to our stories, our ancestors, our communities, and ourselves. Through meaningful experiences, cultural traditions, rituals, reflection, adventure, and curiosity, we deepen our understanding of who we are and our place in the world.
As a Sacred and Transformational Travel Curator, Death Doula, and Celebrant, 34 year civil servant and former military spouse, I bring a unique perspective to the travel experience. My work is rooted in the belief that travel can help us celebrate milestones, process grief, honor transitions, seek spiritual growth, and create space for reflection, release, and renewal.
Travel is a journey of remembrance, transformation, connection, and belonging.
What do you do/What do you specialize in/What are you known for?
At Best Life Travels and Adventures, we specialize in soul-awakening and transformational group travel experiences for adults, including women, men, couples, retirees, elders, lifelong learners, and spiritual seekers who are drawn to cultural immersion, adventure, wellness, personal growth, and purposeful exploration.
Our journeys are intentionally designed to balance adventure and restoration, physical activity and reflection, community and personal exploration. We are known for cultural experiences, meaningful rituals focused on mortality, grief, release, legacy, and life review, as well as fun, wellness practices, guided activities, and free time for personal discovery.
We believe living your best life means embracing your whole life and through every journey, travelers are invited to explore both the world around them and the world within them.
What are you most proud of brand-wise?
I am proud that to have created a brand that encourages people to live more intentionally, deepen relationships, broaden their perspectives, honor their stories, and create memories that endure for generations.
Most importantly, I am proud that our experiences invite travelers to embrace divine curiosity and remember that life is precious. We are intentional about caring for the whole person through daily reflection prompts, meaningful rituals, and thoughtfully curated experiences that encourage travelers to pause, reflect, and fully engage with each day.
I am also proud that we are intentional about supporting local economies and participating in meaningful cultural exchanges that create lasting, positive impacts in the destinations we explore.
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, and services?
I want readers to know that every itinerary is intentionally designed. We thoughtfully balance exploration and rest, guided activities and free time, adventure and restoration.
Life is short, and travel is one of the most meaningful investments we can make in ourselves, our relationships, and the memories we leave behind. When we choose to explore, pause, reflect, and connect, we honor not only ourselves but also our ancestors and the legacy we are continuing to build.
The world is filled with beauty, wisdom, and possibility, and travel reminds us that there is always more to discover—about the places we visit, the people we meet, and the lives we are here to live. Investing in experiences that awaken us, restore us, and connect us more deeply is something we are unlikely to regret.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe growth often lives just beyond our comfort zone.
Some of my most memorable experiences have involved taking calculated risks: traveling solo across the United States and internationally, leaning over the edge of Victoria Falls, swimming in Devil’s Pool, taking a hot air balloon ride with elders over 65, and traveling to South Africa with travelers in their 70s and 80s. One traveler hiked the Cape of Good Hope Trial in South Africa.
One of the risks I am most grateful for is continuing to say yes to adventure as I have grown older. I have traveled with groups of women veterans, and explored unfamiliar destinations, and continue to plan bucket-list experiences with elders.
Those experiences remind me that age should never be the reason we stop exploring, dreaming, or living fully.
I also traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea for 30 days without a fixed itinerary, just a list of meaningful things to explore. It became one of the most relaxing, welcoming, and freeing experiences of my life.
For me, risk is no longer about adrenaline. It is about remaining open to possibility. It is about saying yes to experiences that challenge me and the group, being spontaneous, expanding our perspective, and discovering strengths we did not know we had.
As a Death Doula, I spend a great deal of time thinking about mortality and being with people near the end of life. That perspective has taught me that life is precious and finite. Because of that, I try to focus less on what could go wrong and more on what might be missed if I allow fear to make my decisions.
Some of the greatest regrets people share at the end of life are not the chances they took, but the opportunities they did not pursue.
Travel has taught me that courage is not the absence of fear; it is choosing to move forward despite it. I would rather take a thoughtful risk, learn something new, and grow from the experience than spend my life wondering, “What if?”
Another risk has been choosing to openly include grief, ritual, mortality, and spiritual practices in my group travel business. I know this may not appeal to everyone, but Best Life Travels & Adventures is soul-rooted and purpose-driven. I would rather build a brand that is deeply aligned with my values than one that tries to be everything to everyone.
Pricing:
- Pricing varies based on destination, length of trip, group size, accommodations, activities.
- $3k – $5k (not including flights)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bestlifetravels.co/about
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestlife_travels
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-walker-muhammed-b772a872
