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I took the military history version of Brian’s Cuba tour in March 2017.  I was very impressed with Brian’s knowledge and skill in explaining this history.  We studied the Spanish American War, the first and second Wars for Cuban Independence (from Spain), the British siege of Havana (1762), and the Cuban Revolution (including the Bay of Pigs counter-revolutionary efforts).  I have been looking for this type of Cuban tour for a long time and was delighted with the results.

Want to give a long overdue shout out to Essential History Expeditions. Brian DeToy and Sheryl Rankin Shafer led us on a fabulous historical adventure through Cuba last March. If you are looking to up your game on travel and vacationing so as to return home feeling enriched and thankful, I highly recommend their historical journeys. Brian’s infectious passion and amazing knowledge and talent for weaving the tales of time are priceless whether you are a history buff or not. We are thinking to do Vietnam with them in April. Would love to have some friends join us?!

My October Cuba trip with Essential History Expeditions was by far one of
the best, well-organized, educational as well as enjoyable that I have
participated in. Brian was an exceptional host with deep knowledge and
experience.

I have traveled many parts of the world and done several group tours. Traveling to Cuba with Brian and Sheryl was one of my best travel experiences ever! Their passion toward history and dedication to sharing culture was unmatched in any tour I’ve ever done. Everything was well planned, perfectly executed and most importantly, lots of fun! I look forward to my next trip with them.

You’ve created one of the best historical tour companies in the country. Your trips are filled with rich information and fun. I look forward to taking a third trip with you and Brian. You have a wonderful Magical History Tour.

I recently took Essential History Expeditiion’s tour of the Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields. I have visited both battlefields before, but I wanted to take a more in-depth tour than those offered at the sites. I chose this tour after seeing Sheryl and Brian’s presentation at a local travel store. The tour was phenomenal, even better than I expected. Brian’s knowledge of the events at both sites is amazing and he presents the events of the battle in a such a way that the battles almost come to life. For example, as we walked the route of Pickett’s Charge, learned how topography played an important role in the battle. The tour also includes three nights at a lovely Bed and Breakfast and dinners at some of the best restaurants in the area. I highly recommend this tour. I hope to take another tour with Brian very soon. Cuba and Normandy are at the top of my list!

Brian brings you into history, like putting you in a time machine and transporting you back in time to that historic moment. You get to relive history through role-play and hands-on demonstrations, and Brian provides the backdrop and history behind each event to highlight the significance of the decisions that were made. Brian makes history alive and relevant.

My family and friends recently toured Normandy with Brian DeToy. We initially planned four days but could have spent many more days. The tour was a spectacular adventure and a lifetime memory for all of us! It was a shared experience that no matter the age (the ages in our group were 21-81) the experience was emotionally charged, incredibly educational and greatly social. The experience bolted to the top of all my vacations, tours and trips around the world. Brian possesses an encyclopedic knowledge, not only of the Normandy battlefield, military tactics and leaders, but also of the common men and women whose lives were greatly impacted by the D-Day invasion. In addition, his extensive interests and experience took us far beyond WWII, as we explored French culture and history of over a thousand years. A trip with Brian and Essential History Expeditions is an immersive experience that none in our group will ever forget!

My wife and I, along with our adult son, enjoyed an Essential History Expedition to Cuba this past October. We are all well-traveled in Latin America, and my son and I are both fluent in Spanish, so the lure to see Cuba before there’s a Starbucks on every corner was irresistible. Brian and Sheryl’s travel package hit a delicate balance between understanding the historical perspective, and embracing the existing culture. Furthermore, the small group of ten intrepid voyagers included delightful, funny, knowledgeable, and flexible co-travelers.

We started with a dinner for most, but not all, of the group at the hotel in Miami, where we began to get to know each other, and traded stories on the paths that landed us in the care of Brian and Sheryl. The next morning, we were ready, willing and waiting at Miami International Airport, where we continued to wait for a flight that was six hours delayed. We knew we had a good group when that news was met with a shrug of acceptance. Traveling in Latin America often requires a certain sense of existentialism, where anything can change at any time for no apparent reason, and our people seemed to roll with it, which was an excellent sign.

First stop was Santiago de Cuba, and the fun began. The ubiquitous colonial architecture is reminiscent of Cartagena or Cuenca, but the late 1950s American automobiles and the 1960s-80s Russian automobiles are unique to Cuba. While Sheryl deftly handled the logistics, Brian waxed eloquent on the colonial history up to the seeds of the Revolution, and Santiago’s role in both. Throughout the rest of the trip, including Havana, the Bay of Pigs, and Cienfuegos, as well as side trips, Brian enlightened, but never overwhelmed, and casually displayed his encyclopedic professorial education on a broad array of topics.

One delightful aspect of the trip was that Brian had offered the opportunity for each traveler to choose a character from Cuban history, and to play the role of that character at pertinent times during the trip. My wife chose a revolutionary figure, I chose Ernest Hemingway, and we assigned our son Emilio Bacardi which, given our consumption of Mojitos and Daiquiris, seemed appropriate. For our small and friendly group, that mechanism served us all very well.

The food was always ample, always healthy, and occasionally very good, even the crocodile. Private sector services are only just emerging in the Cuban economy, and the private restaurants were easily distinguishable from their government-run counterparts. There was often a protracted negotiation about whether the price of the meal did or did not include a cocktail of some variety, which Sheryl handled with a relaxed aplomb.

The hotels we stayed in tended to be quite modern, although Brian and Sheryl indicated they had planned on some older properties, only to have arrangements changed at the last moment. They were very well appointed, although again, a lack of infrastructure led to logistical challenges from time to time, but nothing major.

Music played a wonderful role on our travels. Brian and Sheryl arranged a private concert and dance lesson outside Santiago and a very splashy and professional floorshow at the famed Tropicana Club in Havana, but Cuba spontaneously offered live music and dancing along every block, and occasionally right out in the middle of the road.

I cannot recommend this experience enough. It won’t be a five-star tour through a first-world country, but it will be an immersive Cuban experience before Cuba is changed irreparably.

After presenting the Battle of Gettysburg to high school students for over thirty years and reading numerous books on the topic, I was shocked at the new insight Brian provided. We were not surprised when he knew every detail of this military engagement, but his focus on the human element made the battle come alive. His stories and personal commentary brought to life the drama and the tragedy that our forefathers faced in July 1863 in Pennsylvania.

Having taken multiple tours in Normandy and Gettysburg, I can say with confidence that Essential History Expeditions is a premiere experience. What makes it such a rich experience is Brian DeToy. Unlike other historians, Brian brings a unique perspective that creates a surreal experience. Taking a tour with Brian is like riding across a battlefield with Napoleon, Nathanael Greene, or George S. Greene. Brian can bring out the decision-making cycles of these leaders because he has lived that life himself. His knowledge of history– combined with three decades of mentoring young officers, teaching West Point cadets, and commanding Infantrymen– enables Brian the ability to capture the nuanced details other historians overlook. Perhaps most important is Brian’s passion for sharing history. He believes in what he is doing and that makes the entire experience a true delight!

I’ve been to Normandy several times, but the trip that shaped my in-depth understanding of the events leading to its liberation was this one! Brian’s expertise as a teacher and as a soldier brought those days surrounding D-Day to life. He is the consummate historian/story teller! In addition, the trip was very well organized with no weak links. I am looking forward to more trips with Essential History Expeditions!

My experience with Brian’s teaching events has been nothing short of phenomenal. His ability to analyze complex problems, provide historical context, and portray the human dimension of leadership is unparalleled. Brian’s scenarios are consistently challenging, stimulating, and informative. In 28 years of active military service, I count Brian’s events as the best leadership development I received.

Lt. Col. DeToy was brilliant, engaging and essentially an encyclopedia of information on the battle and the events of the era. I have been to the battlefield nearly 10 times and read countless books and articles on the battle, but nothing compares to spending two days under the leadership of Lt. Col. DeToy.

Brian was, in a word, spectacular.

I loved the entire simulation experience of the battles at Antietam and Gettysburg. I loved the depth of knowledge I received from Brian. I loved the simulations from using people to represent the various military units, to the marching, to the rush up the rocky hill before Little Round Top. Brian’s words and the personal experiences he shared at the cemetery were moving. The opportunity to be reflective about how I feel regarding the sacrifices so many living and dead have made on behalf of my freedoms was overwhelming. The time spent in gratitude was precious to me. What means even more, though, was that my daughters had that experience. With so much that is jaded, cynical, and denigrated it was invaluable for them to have the opportunity feel the purity of that sacrifice, the goodness of it. I am so grateful.

Brian exquisitely illuminated the most profound lessons of history to his audience. As a sage and passionate historian, Brian fomented heartfelt and deeply intellectual appreciation for the hallowed grounds we walked. His historical battlefield mentorship routinely built stronger teams among students, faculty and military units by inspiring the young, old, civilian and military alike to grow in their own individual capacity for leadership and citizenry. Simply put, a staff ride or battlefield tour with Brian is a brilliant experience.

Going on a three-day staff ride to Gettysburg under the leadership of Brian DeToy was the single best educational experience of my life…. As a history professor at both the United States Military Academy and the United States Air Force Academy, I have spent the last twelve years trying to create an atmosphere as conducive to learning as that which Brian established during those three days at Gettysburg.

Brian spoke first-hand as though he was reincarnated from 1799.