Driving through sand dunes, peering out from the world’s tallest building, visiting a world-class hospital for falcons and dining under a glittering desert sky—those were the moments that made Linda Young’s trip to the United Arab Emirates unforgettable.

“We did things that you never could have done on your own; you wouldn't have known about them,” says Young, a Norman, Okla., resident who took her first trip with Sightseeing Sooners in 2022 to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Each year, hundreds of OU alumni fan out across the globe with Sightseeing Sooners, the OU Alumni Association’s travel program. The 2026 lineup offers dozens of trips across seven continents, from river and ocean cruises to land tours and wildlife experiences. Alumni and friends—as well as their families and friends—are welcome to travel with the program.

OU partners with several tour operators to oversee logistics and itineraries for Sightseeing Sooners. Alongside local guides who lead travelers on cultural and educational experiences throughout their journeys, OU travelers say the program has allowed them to maximize their travel time and money while feeling safe and secure.

“Hearing from Sightseeing Sooners about their plans for the trip, the itinerary, where we're going to stay, what we'll see, what professor or staff member is going to accompany us—that gave me a real sense of trust our travel dollar was going to be well used, and we were going to have an experience that was worth it,” says Kay Musser, who travels through the program with her husband, Clark.

The Mussers’ first trip with Sightseeing Sooners was a 12-day tour of Italy in 2014. In that time, the Oklahoma City couple visited the Vatican, Pompeii, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum, to name just a few highlights. 

“If we were to plan the trip on our own, it would be difficult to determine all the must-see sites, not to mention locating and scheduling local guides,” Clark Musser says. “Knowing that OU will take care of the details assures us that our adventure will be interesting, enlightening and stress free.” 

Since their first trip, the Mussers have traveled with the program many more times by bus and boat: they’ve traversed the Tennessee River, visited the French countryside, toured the Panama Canal and cruised through the Great Lakes, learning their importance and feeling Niagara Falls’ mist on their skin.

They have their sights set on a tour of the United Kingdom. “Kay and I eagerly await Sightseeing Sooners’ list of adventures so we can continue expanding our perspectives of the world all while supporting our alma mater,” Clark Musser says. 

For Cassie Wilson of Bethany, Okla., Sightseeing Sooners was a way to get back into traveling after her husband died in 2018. They had traveled together often.

“The ‘Southwest National Parks’ tour was the first trip that caught my eye,” Wilson says. “That was the way I dipped my toe back in.” 

She says her fellow travelers, who were mostly couples, were exceptionally welcoming to a solo traveler. Most trips aren’t exclusive to OU alumni and friends, so Wilson connected to people traveling with other alumni groups. 

“I met people from all over the country who had allegiances to different universities, and that just made it so fun,” she says. “And I didn't feel one bit bad about being the ‘fifth wheel.’ ”

That first trip was a sentimental one for Wilson, bringing back memories of car camping through Arizona with her husband. Since then, Wilson has taken several more journeys, including to southeast Alaska, Yellowstone National Park and the Galapagos Islands, where the group fed hummingbirds right from the palms of their hands.

“That was just over the top,” says Wilson, who credits excellent tour leaders for bringing OU travelers up close to the natural world. 

“At Yellowstone, the guides were unbelievable,” she says, recalling how the experts helped travelers find the right vantage point to watch a pack of wolves have a feast from afar. “They know where to go to see the wildlife—we had moose walking right across the road in front of us.” 

Wilson has plans for more Sightseeing Sooners tours this year, including to Greece this summer, then France. She even has dreams of a visit to Antarctica with a friend she made on the Galapagos trip.

For Linda Young, this summer’s itinerary will include a tour of Italy. She says her first Sightseeing Sooners trip set a high bar.

“It was the adventure of a lifetime.” 

Dana Branham is a former reporter for The Oklahoman and a freelance writer who lives in The Village, Okla.

The slide show above represents a brief selection of 2026 Sightseeing Sooners offerings. To see the full catalog, contact program director Stacy Berglan at shassinger@ou.edu or click here.

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