Southlake Travel is a relationship-driven luxury travel firm serving clients across Grapevine, Colleyville, and the greater DFW area. The firm is led by Managing Director Karen Dawson, a nationally recognized Virtuoso travel specialist and Top 1% Tauck Certified Advisor with more than 20 years of experience across American Express Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, and global luxury travel networks. She is joined by Marketing Director Jim Dawson, whose background includes partnership marketing and the development of national trade shows and large-scale client and corporate events with organizations including AT&T, Verizon, and Colgate.

The firm maintains preferred relationships with leading travel brands including Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Abercrombie & Kent, Tauck, Silversea, and AmaWaterways. Southlake Travel designs thoughtfully planned journeys—from European river and small-ship ocean cruises to custom itineraries across England, France, Italy, Egypt, and beyond—each shaped by trusted relationships, firsthand insight, and careful attention to detail.

Karen is an active member of the local community, supporting organizations such as Summer Santa, women’s groups, garden clubs, and civic initiatives across the GCISD area. The firm also supports select corporate and group travel, including incentive trips and executive retreats. Each journey is designed so clients can look forward to it for months—and remember it for years.

Karen Dawson is the founder and Managing Director of Southlake Travel, a boutique travel advisory serving clients across Southlake, Grapevine, and the greater Dallas–Fort Worth area. With a career spanning both corporate and leisure travel, she brings a depth of experience and perspective that allows her to design journeys that are not only well-planned, but truly meaningful.

Karen’s background includes leadership roles in corporate travel and meetings, where she managed complex travel programs for senior executives and large organizations. That experience continues to shape her approach today—thoughtful, detail-oriented, and grounded in understanding what matters most to each client.

She is recognized as a Certified Tauck Specialist, ranking among the top 1% nationwide, with deep expertise in European land journeys and small ship travel. As part of a Virtuoso-affiliated agency, Karen provides her clients with access to preferred partners, exclusive amenities, and trusted relationships around the world.

Clients value Karen’s calm, steady guidance and her ability to simplify the complexities of travel planning. Whether designing a milestone journey, a multi-generational trip, or a luxury cruise, she focuses on creating experiences that feel seamless, personal, and memorable.

For Karen, travel is not simply about the destination—it is about the moments along the way, and ensuring each journey reflects the people taking it.