The Story Behind Hankinco Adventures
It all started with a text message that Steph Hankinson sent to Sarah Roe which said: “You got any plans this weekend? What are the odds you could go to Belize with me to scope out hotels for a retreat I’m planning?” And then a second text message: “This is not a drill.” A few days later Steph and Sarah were driving through the Belizean countryside, flying in tropical puddle jumpers, and hiking through the jungle scouting for howler monkeys. Together the pair of travelers used their superpowers to secure massive group discounts at the stunning Naia resort, close relationships with local tour guides and purveyors, and the vision for a truly one-of-a-kind adventure took root in Placencia, Belize. They unknowingly planned what would become the Hankinco Adventures - Belize 2022 experience.
Shortly after returning from Belize (in February) the organization Steph was working with moved their retreat location to Southeast Asia. A few hours after getting the bad news, Steph called Sarah with a second question: “Do you want to start a travel company? Our first trip is to Belize.” This was also, very much, not a drill. The duo started calling close friends and family to gauge interest, along with the help of those who would become the rest of the Hankinco team, and quickly realized: Belize 2022 was on.
Last year’s inaugural Hankinco Adventure to Belize was a rip-roaring success and Steph and Sarah can’t wait to see all of you again this August in Hungary!
Steph and Sarah have been training for organizing travel experiences their whole adult lives. Whether it’s securing a castle in Scotland for a week of highland festivities, road tripping through the Balkans, or organizing a wedding in Chiang Mai, Thailand during the middle of a pandemic, these two were born to do this work.
They are so pleased to continue sharing their spirit of adventure, vision, and their exceptional taste (if they do say so themselves) with all of you.
Meet the fine folks behind Hankinco Adventures
Sarah, Steph, and their coffee baby outside Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2021.
Sarah Roe & Steph Hankinson
Co-Founders of Hankinco Adventures
Steph and Sarah have been training for organizing extraordinary travel experiences their whole adult lives. Whether it’s securing a castle in Scotland for a week of highland festivities, road tripping through the Balkans, or manifesting a wedding in Chiang Mai, Thailand during the middle of a pandemic, these two were born to do this work.
Last year’s inaugural Hankinco Adventure to Belize was a rip-roaring success and they can’t wait to see all of you again this August in Hungary!
On the side they’re faculty members teaching Philosophy (Sarah - Southern Connecticut State) and Humanities/Drama/English (Steph - South Seattle College). So do let them know if you need to enroll in some classes to complete your Liberal Arts degree — they can arrange that as well.
They are so pleased to continue sharing their spirit of adventure, vision, and their exceptional taste (if they do say so themselves) with all of you in Budapest and the Hungarian countryside this August!
Brianna outside Practicing Yoga Studio in St. Louis, Missouri
Brianna Owens
EYRT-500/YACEP, Reiki Master, Cat Wrangler Extraordinare
Brianna has been practicing yoga for nearly 15 years and has spent the last six years guiding others in the practice, amassing over 2000 hours of teaching. She completed her initial 200-hr teacher training in trauma-informed yoga in 2016 with Yoga Buzz St. Louis, and in 2019 she participated in an immersive 300-hr certification in Costa Rica with master movement artists and teachers Steph Gongora, Erin Kelly, and Bianca Scalise of Authentic Movements. After returning from Costa Rica in mid-2019, Brianna assumed ownership of Practicing Yoga, her home studio in St. Louis, Missouri and ran the studio until the summer of 2022.
Brianna continues her private yoga practice, has begun writing the next great American romance novel, and works full-time for the St. Louis County Parks department.
Brianna's classes seek to combine both the mental and physical systems of yoga and she provides encouraging affirmations and assists, creative and fluid sequencing prioritizing playful movements, and an endless supply of love.
Vacation Greg at a coffee shop in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2021.
Hannah making phone calls (not really) during a hike in Montana in 2021.
Mr. Ben proudly holding his coffee baby outside Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2021.
Greg Damico
Tai Chi Instructor & Expert Cocktail Tester
Greg has been studying Tai Chi for over five years and has attained the rank of second-degree black sash. He practices at Shaolin Seattle in Shoreline, WA under Sarah Yoffe, where he has been exposed to several Wu Dang or “internal” Chinese martial arts, including Qi Gong, Ba Gua Zhang and a little bit of Ching Yi in addition to Tai Chi proper. The Chinese arts of Wu Dang combine the meditative with the martial and are excellent for anyone seeking to improve flexibility or balance in body or mind.
Hannah Levintova
Director of Budgets & Boring-But-Important Money Stuff
Hannah and Steph met as teenagers at summer camp, and they've been going on travel adventures ever since: traipsing around California, Montana, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Thailand (to name just a few). Along the way, Hannah got an MBA, so in Belize she'll be the number-cruncher focused on the boring-but-important money side of this operation!
In her day job, Hannah is a staff writer at Mother Jones, where she focuses on investigative financial reporting, and an adjunct writing professor at Johnson & Wales University in her home city of Providence, RI.
Mr. Ben
Pool Connoisseur & Preeminent Emotional Support Human
You might be asking yourself: who is this man? This is Mr. Ben, world traveler and master of all pools: salt and fresh water!
You might also be asking yourself: why is he so handsome? That’s simple, genetics!
Mr. Ben is one of the many amazing surprises waiting for you to discover in beautiful Hungary! Join us, join Mr. Ben.