Moni
Founder & Guide
Co-founder of WatchOut! and guide on every trip, start to finish. She landed in New Zealand seven years ago with a backpack full of dreams, and now translates the country through story, touch and sound.
The heart of the projectMuch more
Much more
than a trip.
Watchout was born from the desire to create experiences where blind or visually impaired people can discover New Zealand from a more sensory, human and authentic place.
But it's also born with another purpose: to help open conversations, raise awareness of the invisible and spark new ways of travelling that people want to share.
What we've learned
Before starting this adventure we thought we were creating accessible trips. Today we know it's much more than that.
Every trip reminds us that there are many ways of perceiving the world. When we share those ways of feeling, listening, touching and discovering, something changes in all of us who are there.
We've seen how people who didn't know each other end up connecting in a deeply human way. How a small detail comes to hold great meaning. How we learn to trust more, to listen better and to be truly present.
That's why we believe the real impact of these trips isn't only in the places we visit. It's in the people we become when we live them together.
Our greatest wish is that you go home with the feeling of having lived something you'll remember for a lifetime. Because the best trips aren't measured by the kilometres travelled, but by what they leave inside us.
Hello
We're Mónica and Sylvie.
Two Spaniards who arrived in New Zealand seven years ago with a backpack full of excitement... and who are still amazed by this country.
We love getting up early to watch a sunrise, improvising a stop because someone heard a hidden river, laughing for hours in the van and ending the day sharing stories around a table.
"I'd never experienced anything like it."
— What we're most moved to hear
We're curious by nature. We love asking questions, listening to stories and discovering how each person lives in the world. Maybe that's why Watchout came about so naturally.
Team
The people behind every trip
Sylvie
Founder & Guide
Co-founder of WatchOut! and guide on every trip, start to finish. Her father, a ski guide for blind skiers in Spain, sparked the idea that became this project.
Nuria
Europe Representative & Accessibility Consultant
Nuria travelled with us on our pilot trip — 23 days across New Zealand with her husband and son. She's an accessibility consultant and writes at Six Sense Travel, her platform on inclusive tourism. She's now our representative in Europe.
Our philosophy
Five principles that guide every decision
Designed for, not adapted from
We build every trip from the very first step thinking about who travels with us.
Luxury is sensory, not visual
The silence of a fjord at dawn is opulent for any sense.
Groups of six at most
Because the sensory experience needs space and each person has their own pace.
Respect for Māori culture
We work with local communities, not over them.
Zero condescension
Our travellers are adults who have decided to live an extraordinary adventure.
We thought we were going to show people New Zealand. And in the end it was New Zealand —and the people we've shared the road with— who taught us.
Our greatest wish is that when you go home you don't just remember the places you visited. That you also discover you pay attention to things that used to go unnoticed.
Because perhaps that's the best souvenir you can take with you.