Travel Counsler, Israel and Jewish Heritage Specialist

Interests & Specialties

Sandy has been extremely fortunate to have traveled around the world. Her special interests and love is

for the Middle East and Eastern Europe. These areas are important from a historical background and a love of the cultures and their food.

Expert Bio
With more than 25 years in the travel business, Sandy Nankin has seen it all. Prior to joining Salentine Travel four years ago, Sandy owned her own successful agency, lived in Israel with her family, and feels extremely fortunate to have traveled much of the world.

She loves her association with Virtuoso, which offers wonderful Promotions to her travelers. She has traveled extensively around the world and looks forward to helping you plan a trip that you will long remember. She has lived in Israel and is very knowledgeable concerning this region. She has a real fondness for Eastern Europe and thoroughly enjoys doing independent trips to this part of the world. With over 25 years in the travel industry, Sandy offers a unique and valuable perspective to the client who desires and needs insight in planning a domestic or international travel. Her expert knowledge of the Eastern Europe countries and the middle east, especially Israel, make her extremely well equipped to do both Christian and Jewish Heritage trips. Sandy's travels have taken her to Europe, Far East, South Pacific, and the Scandinavian countries. She has traveled there by land and by cruise ships. Sandy offers extensive experience in doing FIT travel. She is currently in her second year of local business development (LBD) for Crystal Cruises.

Sandy’s areas of expertise include Middle Eastern travel, specifically crafting extensive tours of Israel for her clients, as well as Eastern Europe including the historic cites of Budapest, Prague and Vienna. “I like to create custom tours for my clients and find out what they’d like to do and see,” says Sandy. She uses her extensive connections to book personalized itineraries based upon her clients’ needs. “You’d like to see the famous Lipizzaner horses? No problem, I can make a call and get the tickets. I can recommend the best little restaurants and cafes in Prague, or the best hotels in Budapest.”

Q: One piece of advice I always give my clients is…

A: If you have the time and can afford the vacation, then it’s the right time.

Q: A destination that really surprised me was…

A: My extended trip to the ancient archeological site of Petra, in Jordan. (A World Heritage site, UNESCO has described Petra as “one of the most precious properties of man’s cultural heritage”) It’s carved out of rock, thousands of years old, and used to serve as a treasury. The only way you can get to Petra is walking, or by horse back or donkey. I was on the first Arab plane that was allowed to fly over Israel. I was living in Israel at the time with my children. We took the Queen’s highway, and drove to Petra. It’s a long, arduous trip and should be done overnight; it’s too much to try to accomplish in one day. We also toured Aman on that trip. I encourage travelers to Israel to do try to take that side-excursion to Petra, it’s well worth it.

Q: A great family destination right now is…

A: Disney. A family could go to just one of the resorts or combine the land and cruise through Disney. Disney is very conscious of the current economy, and offering many incentive and deals, trying to work with as many families as possible. Some recent specials, for example, included things like booking five nights and receiving one night free. Disney is just a good buy right now, there are a lot of discounts to be had, depending on when you go, and there are a lot of affordable non-stop flights from many cities which makes the travel much easier. I tell my clients to also speak up and just ask for any specials or deals when you get on the property. I’ve had clients who have saved significant money that way.