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About Morris Murdock Escorted Tours & LDS Travel Study

From 1958 to Today

 

Morris Murdock Escorted Tours:

Morris Murdock Escorted Tours has been fulfilling travel dreams for our clients for over 60 years. Beginning in 1958, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) approached Franklin Murdock about starting an agency to handle the travel needs of its employees and missionaries. Murdock Travel, now Morris Murdock Escorted Tours, was the first tour operator to offer LDS faith-based and Church History escorted tours. Since then, we have expanded our offerings to include cruises, humanitarian, shopping and other types of tours. We only select tour guides and tour directors that are experts in their field or celebrities with an attachment to the destination or tour's theme.

Columbus Travel: 

MMET bought LDSTS (former BYUST) in 2008 and it has become a valuable part of our programs in both the Holy Lands and other Faith Based travel destinations. Then when Morris Murdock Travel and Columbus Travel merged in 2022, these two great companies joined to provide you with the best in the industry. The owners of Columbus Travel had a long and incredibly successful career as travel professionals. Mark Faldmo lived with his family in Hawaii during his childhood. Years after the family moved to the mainland, Mark would tag along with his parents as they brought friends and family back to visit the Hawaiian Islands. This eventually grew into a successful business, Columbus Travel. Larry Gelwix, a published travel writer, talk show radio host, and motivational speaker formed a partnership with Mark Faldmo and established Columbus Travel in 2001. Now Larry, the Getaway Guru, is part of our new Morris Murdock Escorted Tours family.

Larry Gelwix, The Getaway Guru: 

Larry is probably best known as the “Getaway Guru®” and host of the “Travel Show” radio broadcast on several radio stations. The weekly two-hour radio show highlights the best travel deals, lowest airline and cruise fares, and takes call-in questions from listeners. Larry also provide a travel segment that is broadcast on several TV stations and his professional travel career includes CEO of an airline, member of car rental, airline, and cruise line national advisory boards, co-owner and Executive Vice President of Morris Travel, and published travel writer of books and travel related articles. Larry graduated from Brigham Young University with a Masters Degree in Organizational Communications. He and his wife Cathy have five children and reside in Salt Lake City.

The combination of our longevity, knowledge and expertise allows us to offer a wide variety of tours and cruises to destinations throughout the world. We use only the most experienced and knowledgeable Tour Directors and local guides to ensure that your travel experience is educational and worry-free.

All tour itineraries are carefully planned by our destination experts to ensure that you see, hear, taste, touch and immerse yourself in the local culture. Providing unique travel opportunities and visits will ensure that you return home with a deeper understanding and a truly authentic experience.

Traveling on a Morris Murdock or LDS Travel Study Tour means that you can sit back and relax. Our travel service team will cheerfully and professionally handle all arrangements associated with confirming your trip, including making airline and hotel reservations. Your booking experience will be a pleasant from day one.

We invite you to travel with us. Whether you decide to travel by land, sea or rail, you will see the sites that matter most and return home with memories to last a lifetime!

Meet Our Staff

Why Travel With a Morris Murdock Escorted Tour?

Reason #10: Unique Itineraries and Special Visits

We carefully plan each tour to include the places you most want to see. Our themed tours and cruises will let you select the trip that is perfect for you.

Reason #9: Travel With Like-Minded People

They say that “likes attract” and that couldn’t be more true on our tours. Traveling with people who want the same experiences make the trip all that more enjoyable.

Reason #8: It’s Educational

Rest assured that you will learn much more from a group tour than you could learn from a guidebook or on your own. You will come home with a greater love and appreciation for the culture and customs of the people you have met along the way.

Reason #7: Qualified Tour Directors and Local guides

To ensure that your trip is educational, we work with only the most qualified Tour Directors and local guides. Most have spent years teaching and researching and they love to share their knowledge with you. Our local guides provide a glimpse into everyday life.

Reason #6: It’s Safe

Your safety is our number one priority! With our many years of creating tours, we know the places to visit and also the places to avoid.

Reason #5: It’s Easy

All you need to do is decide where you want to go. Then sit back and let us do the work.

Reason #4: Excellent Value

Traveling with a group means that you qualify for great discounts. We work with hotels, airlines and others to ensure that you get the most bang for your buck, leaving more money in your pocket for souvenirs!

Reason #3: Make Friends

Sharing experiences with other group members automatically binds you together. Many former group members still e-mail each other, exchange Christmas cards and are Facebook friends.

Reason #2: Memories to Last a Lifetime

Whether your choose an exotic once-in-a-lifetime trip or a repeat visit to a beloved destination, each memory will hold a special place in your heart. Flipping through photos or reading a journal of your trip brings those memories back as if it was just yesterday.

Reason #1: It’s FUN

We know your time is valuable and we won’t waste one minute on tour. Our trips are packed with amazing sights and experiences. Come travel with us and remember; “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

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What Our Clients Say

It was an amazing & spiritual experience to have been able to travel for a while in the Apostle Paul & Savior, Jesus Christ footsteps. Thank you for such a better than expected experience.

Ron & Debbie Herbert – Fall Holy Land Cruise 2017

Kim at Morris Murdock Escorted Tours was fantastic to work with and helped make our group cruise to Alaska the perfect vacation! She patiently answered all of our questions and gave us insights to allowed us to more fully our time onboard and onshore. It was nice knowing that our trip was organized by a professional and that she had our best interests, and not the bottom line, in mind.

Jeremy C. Holm - Mid Singles Alaska Cruise 2016

We loved both the Egypt and Israel tours - trip of a lifetime. The entire trip went flawlessly.

Art and Shirley Samilijan – Egypt 2017

Best of State Winner

We’re incredibly proud to receive Utah's Best of State 2022 award for Best Travel Agency for our sixth time as part of the Morris Columbus Travel family. Our tour specialists are truly passionate about helping you experience the best vacations possible. Thank you for allowing us to deliver excellent service before, during, and after your travels.

Come On and Get Away With Morris Murdock Escorted Tours!

*The products (services) offered by Morris Murdock Escorted Tours & LDS Travel Study are neither made, provided, approved nor endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Any content or opinions expressed, implied or included in or with the goods (services) offered by Morris Columbus Travel, LLC are solely those of Morris Columbus, LLC and not those of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.