Susan Gullia, a travel agent who specialized in customized trips for culturally oriented individuals, families, and groups, died of an apparent heart attack on Nov. 13 at home on Hawks Nest Lane in Amagansett. She was 89, and had divided her time between the South Fork and Manhattan.
Ms. Gullia became a travel agent “by luck and providence, but it was a happy choice,” she said in her biography on the Protravel International website. After college, she spent time in Italy, and on her return to New York saw an advertisement for a beginning travel agent.
In 1964, after a conversation at the Brooklyn Museum about ways to raise money, she planned a museum-sponsored trip to Egypt for the museum. That trip was so successful that it developed into one of her specialties, and she arranged group trips for other museums and organizations, among them the Garden Club of America.
Her itineraries afforded access to private collections, manor houses, and castles not often open to the public. She also developed a roster of art historians, garden specialists, and other experts whose knowledge she was able to draw upon to create unique tours.
Because her father was from Italy, that country was a frequent destination. In Rome she was able to arrange for visits to the Vatican when it was closed to the public, as well as to private mansions and villas. India, which she first visited in 1966 on a trip she planned for the Brooklyn Museum, was another frequent destination for her clients.
Ms. Gullia also specialized in travel to Cuba, as she was one of the few agents in the United States with a license to offer travelers that experience.
A supporter of many arts and animal welfare organizations, she served on the board of directors of Two Mauds, a humane organization that joins with grassroots organizations to provide funding and resources for spay-neuter projects in the Appalachians.
Other organizations Ms. Gullia supported included LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet.
Ms. Gullia left no immediate family, but survivors include her beloved cat, Target, and many friends around the world.
A memorial service will take place in the spring.
