David Fish – Tour Guide, Tour Director, Executive Director of Fun.

I guide for some great companies and ensure that you receive the best experience possible. I put up this web page because many of our clients keep asking what trips I’m doing next.

I love travel and history. I am a native Arizonan whose family settled much of Arizona, Nevada and Utah, with forays into California, Mexico, etc.   History must run in my blood, because more than one of my ancestors wrote much of the area's history from which other historians and authors have extracted their material. Growing up in Arizona and living in several Latin-American countries, I became fluent in Spanish – which comes in very handy on some tours. 

One of the most common questions people ask is, “How did you get into this?”   I was teaching for a college who asked me to go on-site and teach a few classes in an Active Adult Community. I found I really enjoyed this age group. They had recently lost an Activity Director and asked me to take the position. I didn’t even know what an Activity Director was, but I finally told them I would fill in until they found someone. I started planning tours and trips for the communities in which I worked. The trips were fantastically successful and pretty soon we were doing more trips than many tour companies. As the trips became more demanding, I started utilizing several local tour companies. When I left several years later, I had narrowed them down to the two companies who I felt proved themselves the most reliable, most flexible, and provided the best value. I began guiding for them in 2000 and still guide for both of those companies today.  In December of 2013 and 2014, I was nominated and awarded Tour Guide of the Year at the annual Awards Dinner representing tour and motorcoach companies from around the U.S.   I joined the Arizona Guides Association in 2014 and as soon as eligible, passed the certification exams in 2016.  In addition, I certified as a Mexico Travel Specialist, Belize Specialist, Croatia Specialist, and  Viking River Cruise Specialist.  I have been fortunate to be named the #1 requested guide in the Southwest.  In addition to public speaking engagements, in early 2017 I started Arizona Guide Services to train and provide other guides the opportunities I have enjoyed.

I’ve been guiding for other companies now for more than twenty four years.  I am a single father with two great kids (Alexis is 34 years old and Joey is 30) and three grandkids. During the school year while they were growing up, I had to limit my trips to one 4 or 5-day trip per month. I also did a lot of day-trips where I could be home at night for the kids. (While I was on these trips, they got to spend time with their mother, who lives nearby.) During the summer the kids went to their mother and I guided full-time.  Now the kids are grown and my schedule is open! I have found now that I like to limit my tours to 15 days a month.  

A few years ago I started organizing one or two major international group tours each year. My first was a Danube River cruise. I was hoping to get a dozen people and ended up with 55. The homework paid off because everything came off perfectly. The idea is that people would rather travel with a group- especially internationally, and with someone they know.  Last year was China and it was awesome. 

The passengers who have traveled with me know that I will do pretty much anything to make their trip great. I get my greatest satisfaction from knowing I did my best to make their trip as enjoyable as possible. Each group is different. Some want to hear all about history, others the flora and fauna; others just want to know where to get the best Margarita. I try to read the group and fill their needs. In the meantime, it is my job to make sure everything goes smoothly. If I do it well, they never know about the behind-the-scene problems. My philosophy is simple: Please all the people all the time. Simple…