About
Meet Anna Harrison, Your Travel Advisor
Want to know a secret? The first time I studied abroad in Italy, I told all my friends to “Be sure to bring earplugs and your own food, they only give you Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cups on the plane and the engines are so loud! There are only a few windows too!!”
You see, the only airplane I’d been on before was ten years earlier, when my family had left Portugal and flown on a military craft to the USA after my parents decided to move back after raising a family in Europe. I thought all planes were like this – loud engines vibrated and ropes swinging in the cargo area with many seats removed. I didn’t think it was that pleasant – did people really fly on planes for fun?
I’m pretty sure my friends thought I was crazy when they boarded the commercial flight and found meals & movies & free beverages…and no need to wear earplugs.
I’ve come a long way since that embarrassing error of telling my friends the wrong expectations – and I’ve upgraded my definition of luxury since that college experience! I’ve hiked the Great Wall of China, ridden horseback in Argentina, walked amongst wild giraffes in Niger, and climbed castles in Wales. I’ve slept on dirt floors in Burkina Faso, and ordered room service at the Peninsula in Hong Kong.
As I added more stamps to my passport (75+ countries and counting!), I discovered I had a knack for fitting all the pieces of a complicated trip together. My own travel style helped me send itineraries to clients that carefully balanced the touristic necessities with time for individual discovery and relaxation. My experiences flying around the world for conferences gave me valuable insight on the lovely touches an elegant hotel and upgraded room can provide, while my penchant for research let me discover hidden treasures wherever I visited, such as the myserious Las Lomas sand dunes in Bolivia, a cooking class in Marrakesh, or a tango lesson in Buenos Aires.
I’m the granddaughter of a diplomat, speak multiple languages, have taught English overseas, worked for almost three years in West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, spent a year in Philadelphia at inner city schools as a AmeriCorps alumni, and spent multiple years in international higher education focused on promoting global exchanges. You can be sure that all these opportunities have honed my skills in innovation, creativity, and attention to detail.
After ten years as a travel advisor, here’s my commitment to you:
I plan my clients’ trips as carefully as I do my own. Travel is so wonderfully transformative that you deserve to have an advocate who invests hours of care and research into your trip design. You’ll feel relaxed and secure knowing you’ve been matched with the perfect travel experience. And when it’s time for a splurge, you’ll be also be thrilled with the benefits of VIP partnerships and amenities at luxury hotels that only a professional travel agent can unlock.
I know that you like the finer things in life and that you’re willing to invest what’s necessary – but you want to feel that you’ve made the absolute best decision for yourself, not just based off of someone else’s online reviews or an online booking engine’s algorithm.
You don’t want to second-guess your choices, and you certainly don’t want to feel that you’ve left anything off the list when you visit those once-in-a-lifetime-destinations. I’m here to enrich your experience and to ease your overwhelm.
Ready to elevate your travel experiences?
Sign up for my Field Notes newsletter at the bottom of this site, or click the button below to start the consultation process. Life’s too short to wish for a re-do on your vacation – let’s do it right the first time.
Ten Things About Me You May Not Know
- I love horseback riding and often add it into my personal vacations.
- I used to teach pysanky – Ukrainian Easter egg decorating – at my local community college.
- I love coaching and teaching and used to travel to places like Brazil, El Salvador, China, and South Korea to lead workshops for high school students looking to study abroad. I also was an AmeriCorps Volunteer for a year in inner city schools in Philadelphia.
- I lived in West Africa for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
- I speak French well enough that the flight attendants always assume I live in Paris 🙂
- I have a baby boy who got his first passport when he was 9 months old.
- I hate the cold but the best trip I ever took was four magical days in January to Quebec City.
- I’m most likely to order red wine with dinner. If ordering gin and tonic, it’s always Hendrick’s!
- My dream is to spend a week at an immersive cooking class in southern France. In a villa, of course!
- I’m terrified of heights, yet constantly find myself in destinations where a cable car / funicular is required to reach amazing views!
