Welcome to the Bill Moniz Travel website. I am a lifelong Californian, born in San Francisco, raised in San Jose and educated at San Jose State College, with an MBA from Santa Clara University. I have lived in Los Altos for 40+ years with wife Judy and have two daughters, Stephanie and Laura.  After spending my 40+ years of professional business life traveling throughout the U.S. and the world with major international fortune 500 companies, I decided to put my experience to work helping you plan and enjoy the vacations of your dreams. I am an independent travel consultant and travel agent associated with GoldRush Getaways, one of the largest Travel Agencies in California, with member travel professionals throughout the United States. Please refer to the “About GoldRush Getaways” section for more information.

The following provides a bit of background on my travels:

• Have been to all 50 of the United States
• Traveled to all 7 continents, including camping on Antarctica
• Visited 116 countries so far, with a  goal of continuing to see the world and all it offers
• Lived and worked in 17 different countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia
•  2023 travel: This year’s  travel included Arizona in late January and early February to play in my 4th USTA National Invitational Team Tennis tournament in Surprise AZ.  We did  the Philippines in March,  The Big Island of Hawaii in April, Tunisia and Algeria in May/June.  I visited the states of Oregon and Washington in July, attending the National Buick Club meet in Spokane. The trip was to include British Columbia, but due to fires raging in Canada at that time, had to be postponed.  August saw a trip to Labrador and Newfoundland, with a 3 day stop over in Toronto, Canada, and three weeks in Madagascar and South Africa in October/November. Our scheduled December Middle East Cruise with Windstar was cancelled due to the war in the Middle East. Instead, we took a week in December to Cancun and Tulum, Mexico.
• 2024 Travel plans include a repeat visit to Arizona in late January early February for the USTA National Invitational again, and to visit friends in Tucson. At the end of February I will be going to salt plains of Bolivia and Chile and then to Easter Island (Rapa Nui), followed in April with a trip to the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of California, a cruise in mid May to the Canary Islands and Portugal, July a trip to Cleveland for the National Buick Club annual meet followed by a drive down to Alabama to see what’s going on there. Late August/early September we will visit Andalusian Spain and the Basque country, along with Andorra. October/November will go to Dubai and UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Late November a trip to Torino Italy to watch the ATP Men’s Tennis finals and if I have any energy left,  in December take a trip back to Germany to see the Christmas markets and festivals.
• Two Million air miles traveled- United Airlines One Million Miler and Premier Gold Life Member (1.7M miles)

Travel Company Certificates and Education:

• Sandals Resorts – CSS (Certified Sandals Specialist)
• CLIA Member (Cruise Lines International Association)
• Princess Cruises – “First Officer” Category
• Starwood Hotels and Resorts “Pro Level”
• Carnival “Fun Seeker” level
• Continuing education courses, tour company seminars and webinars
• GoldRush Getaways in- house education and seminars
• On-going travel to various parts of the world