Who We Are

We eat, drink and sleep surf

About WaterWays Travel

What a long great trip it’s been going back to March of 1994 when WaterWays Travel started in a small office in Van Nuys California. In the early years the notion of organized international surf travel was new – with little to no competition. Each destination we launched was relatively new to the surfing community at large. Over time the world has become a smaller place with the internet, modern surf forecasting and social media pushing the limits of exploration.

Surfers still dream of getting away from their daily lives and reconnecting with their surfing roots. This may be on a solo trip, a trip with some friends, a trip with the girlfriend/wife – boyfriend/husband or increasingly a trip with the entire family. There is nothing better than winding down the day feeling tired, sun drenched and satisfied: surfed out, well fed and ready for bed to dream dreams that could be reality the next day.

The WaterWays approach to choosing destinations, locations and local operators also remains unchanged. Every location and operation in the WaterWays menu has been thoroughly checked out over all the seasons. WaterWays employees spend part of the year checking out each destination in detail: from the comfort of the beds, to that weird end section on the reef to the speed of the wireless Internet service. There are a lot of travel options and operations to choose from and WaterWays only chooses the most reputable, based on our own experience and the feedback from others. WaterWays employees specialize in different parts of the globe, but all have the information and experience available to assure they recommend the right place at the right time to passengers looking to turn their day dreams into dream days.

From all of us at WaterWays, thank you for your business and we look forward to working with each of you soon.

Sean Murphy

Hobbies (other than surfing):

  • Fishing

  • Raising Orchids / Gardening in general

Favorite Restaurant

Pearl Dragon Pacific Palisades

Favorite Destination (or Favorite Wave):

Tavarua-Restaurants / Nemberala – Nemberala Left

Where were you born / Where you live now:

Pasadena California / Pacific Palisades CA

Nickname:

Murf

Travel Goals: (trip you haven’t been on yet)

Solomon Islands

What year you started at Waterways (and current role)

1994/President

Schooling History

Corpus Christi Grade School Pacific Palisades
Palisades High School
Santa Monica City Collage
Humboldt State –BS: Business Degree – Emphasis in Accounting and Finance
3 Years Public Accounting
3 years Private Accounting
Started WaterWays 1994
Owned and operated multiple live aboard charter boats.
Developed two surf resorts from ground up – Salani Surf Resort & Nemberala Beach Resort

 

Mike Tan

Hobbies (other than surfing):

  • Rock climbing
  • Golf
  • Hiking

Favorite Restaurant

Anything Mexican

Where were you born / Where you live now:

Long Beach Born & Raised / Living in Los Angeles Proper

Nickname:

MT

Travel Goals: (trip you haven’t been on yet)

(trip you haven’t been on yet): Chicama Peru, Bocas Del Toro, go back to Samoa

What year you started at Waterways (and current role)

2009 Director of Operations

Schooling History

UCSC undergrad Economics mainly went to surf the right points ha.

Sara Tatro

Hobbies (other than surfing):

  • Hiking
  • Travel

Favorite Destination (or Favorite Wave):

Fiji!!!

Where were you born / Where you live now:

Yakima / Washington

Travel Goals: (trip you haven’t been on yet)

Southern France/Northern Italy

What year you started at Waterways (and current role)

2001 / Fiji Reservations

 

Bryan Pohlman

Hobbies (other than surfing):

  • Traveling
  • Reading
  • Yoga

Favorite Restaurant

@Kulubar

Favorite Destination (or Favorite Wave):

Tavarua

Where were you born / Where you live now:

LA County / Currently residing in El Segundo since 2010

Nickname:

BP but growing up it was Pokey

Travel Goals: (trip you haven’t been on yet)

South Africa (J-Bay) and back to P-Pass

What year you started at Waterways (and current role)

2013 with 16 previous years in Surf Travel Industry / Tavarua Island Reservations

Schooling History

UCLA undergrad History.  Thought I was going to be a teacher and then got into travel industry and never looked back.

Cris Loomis

Hobbies (other than surfing):

  • Pickleball
  • Reading
  • Exercise

Favorite Restaurant

Old Venice Point Loma

Favorite Destination (or Favorite Wave):

Salani and a couple places between Salina Cruz and Huatulco

Where were you born / Where you live now:

Ocean Beach/Point Loma

Nickname:

Loomis

Travel Goals: (trip you haven’t been on yet)

Too many to name

What year you started at Waterways (and current role)

2007 – 2010 and back in 2023 after way too long of a break – Central/South America, Mexico, & Samoa

Schooling History

Majored in making mistakes and minored in learning from them.

 

 

Wendy Headlee

Hobbies (other than surfing):

  • Reading
  • Hiking
  • Horseback Riding

Favorite Restaurant

Taco Libre

Favorite Destination (or Favorite Wave):

Australia

Where were you born / Where you live now:

Glendale, CA  / Sherman Oaks, CA

Nickname:

N/A

Travel Goals: (trip you haven’t been on yet)

Return to Maldives

What year you started at Waterways (and current role)

Sean’s first employee (May 1994) – Office Manager and Air Specialist

Schooling History

Now Defunct California College of Travel

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