About Us
Wingback Travel is owned and operated by Laura Leeker in conjunction with her long time travel partner, Michael Ross Harper. Laura and Ross plan every detail and lead all of our tours, so they are with you every step of the way when you travel with us. Kyle Priddle oversees our finance and technology operations.
In 2026 we moved our headquarters to Aix-en-Provence, France. We operate as a French SAS corporation and are fully licensed by Atout France. Our tours (fall ‘27 and beyond) are financially guaranteed by APST, the leading guarantee fund in the French tourism industry.
About Our Tours
Why Wingback Travel?
Expertly crafted itineraries
Our itineraries feature only the places that we know and love. We conduct rigorous scouting trips and handpick every detail, from hotels and restaurants to private estates and fabulous shops. Our meticulous attention to detail ensures that the daily flow and pace of the trip are just right.
Elevated Experiences
At Wingback Travel, you won’t just see a place, you will get to know: from the history and culture to the people who live there today. Our tours give you access to private estates, talented craftspeople, head gardeners, and more.
Expert Guides & Personal Service
Laura Leeker owns the company and operates all tours herself in conjunction with her colleague Ross. We take care of you from start to finish, from booking to flying home. After you inquire about a tour, you will have our personal cell phone numbers and can call or text us anytime about the tour.
Peace of mind
After moving our headquarters to France in 2026, our company became a licensed tour operator by Atout France. The funds you pay us are fully guaranteed by the APST (Association Professionnelle de Solidarité du Tourisme). We are insured by Hiscox Assurances.
Small groups
Many tour companies promote small group tours, but here at Wingback Travel we mean it. Our tours will never have more than 15 travelers, and some have as few as 8 to 10. This ensures access to sites that are not open to large groups on big buses and lets us use smaller, often locally-owned hotels.
Exclusive access
Through our connections we are able to arrange visits to properties that are difficult to access or normally closed to the public. When possible, we visit well-known historical sites outside of normal opening hours to ensure an enjoyable visit.
Local Relationships
We have established relationships with the people and places we return to time and again, ensuring that you are always in good hands. Whenever possible, we stay at locally-owned hotels and work with locally-owned suppliers.
A More Sustainable Tourism
We know that over tourism is a problem in Europe and actively seek to avoid Europe’s most crowded spots. In larger cities, we stay in quieter neighborhoods and visit smaller museums and locally-owned stores. We keep our groups small and do our best to keep money in the local economy.
Laura Leeker
Founder & Director
A detail-oriented lover of logistics and research, Laura has over 15 years of experience planning complex itineraries and sharing her love of travel with others.
After completing her degree in Finance, she moved to Paris and started a corporate job. Laura quickly realized that cubicle life was not for her.
She went on to live in Berlin and London, where she completed her Masters degree in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art.
She then returned to the US, working as a director of an art gallery in New York City and then returning to school to finish her PhD in Art History. She specializes in the art of medieval Italy, and has taught and studied widely in the field, from ancient to modern periods. Her favorite part of being a PhD student was traveling in Europe doing research and co-leading study abroad trips.
Laura lives in Aix-en-Provence, France. She speaks French and Italian.
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France and Japan!
Michael Ross Harper
Director of Sales
Ross is the co-owner of Fiddleheads in Columbus, Georgia, USA.
He and Laura met in French class at Auburn University. Ross also moved to Paris after graduating with a degree in French. He worked at the Emmanuel Ungaro boutique on avenue Montaigne and as English teacher in Normandy.
After working in Paris, Ross moved to Bayeux, a small town in Normandy, where he taught English for a year. He then returned to Columbus, Georgia where he worked as an Event Designer at Details of the Garden and opened his first store, The French Market, in 2012.
Two years later he opened his store, Fiddleheads, selling special gifts, jewelry, and clothing . Ross travels to England and France several times a year to source antiques, shipping all his finds back in a container and offering them for sale at Fiddleheads.
Ross lives in Columbus, Georgia. He is a fluent French speaker.
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Paris and Venice
Kyle Priddle
Finance & Technology
Kyle has worked in business and technology for over 25 years and was a VP at Spectrum (Charter Communications) from 2017 to 2026. Kyle provides behind the scenes support for Wingback Travel’s finance and technology operations. He has a Bachelor of Business degree from Eastern Illinois University.
Kyle is a long-time travel enthusiast, tallying 38 international trips.
Kyle lives in Aix-en-Provence, France.
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Provence, Swiss Alps and French Alps, Rome, Lugano, Berlin
What to Expect
From the moment you contact us about a tour you will have the personal contact information of our founder, Laura Leeker.
All tours are led by our founder Laura Leeker, and Ross Harper is co-guide on most trips.
When you inquire about a tour, you’ll receive a Tour Brochure with all the details, including hotels, daily itinerary, and arrival and departure suggestions.
About nine months before the trip, you’ll receive Pre-Departure Information. This includes details on the tour meet up point, and how to get there, as well as recommendations of how to start and end your trip with us. It may also specify luggage requirements (for tours that include multiple hotel stays).
You’ll receive a final itinerary 30 days before the trip begins.
While we always intend to follow our itineraries as advertised, they are subject to change if necessary. Any changes will be communicated to you.
