In addition to Kensington Investment Company and other holdings, the Lewis Family owns America’s leading family of travel companies, Grand Circle Corporation. Specializing in international travel, adventure, and discovery for American travelers over 50, we strive to provide impactful and intercultural experiences that change the lives of our travelers and of the communities we visit.
Established in 1978, Overseas Adventure Travel offers unique small-group adventures worldwide. By land and sea, we explore on — and off — the beaten path with a resident OAT Trip Leader, immersing ourselves in local cultures, sampling unique modes of transportation, and staying in authentic lodgings that reflect the essence of a destination.
Voted the “#1 River Ship Cruise Line” in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards (for the fifth year in a row), Grand Circle Cruise Line is widely known for exceptional value and high-quality experiences around the world. With more than 50 small ships and river ships that we either own or privately charter, we offer river and small ship cruises and cruise tours throughout Europe, as well as Burma, Antarctica, Panama, and beyond.
Launched in 1958 to serve American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) members, Grand Circle Travel today offers popular international vacations to all older Americans. Key to the company’s popularity are the pillars upon which we build every vacation: comprehensive value, leisurely pacing, varied choice, and cultural discovery. Our company is also known for our resident, expert Program Directors and our signature Discovery Series of cultural and educational events and activities.
Philanthropists and Grand Circle owners Alan and Harriet Lewis established Grand Circle Foundation in 1992 as a way to give back to their hometown of Boston and the communities around the world where we live and operate. Since its inception, our Foundation has donated or pledged $97 million to more than 300 humanitarian, cultural, and educational organizations worldwide.
Alan and Harriet Lewis established the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation to support communities in which Grand Circle works and travels, including some 300 humanitarian, cultural, and educational endeavors worldwide—among them, 100 schools, in 50 countries. The Foundation is an entity of the Lewis Family Foundation, which has pledged or donated more than $169 million since 1981.
