Who is behind @alidalifetravel?

My name is Alida Paljevic. 
 

Simple facts: 

• 100% Croatian + born in Italy where I lived for 10 years + lived in Florida US for 5 years + digital nomad since 2020

• Happily married and have an 11-year-old son.

• Love my family, love to travel (just about anywhere), love to meet (and hang out with) interesting people, love good music and dancing, love good wine and good food! (what else does one need? :) )

• I am in love with creating unique tours for travel lovers.

 

My career:

• I have been a travel industry professional, for over 20 years!

• My first job was as a "front desk clerk" at a hotel on the island of Hvar, I was only 18 years old! 

• At 20 I got my first job as a travel Advisor with a small travel agency in Zagreb, Croatia, and started to brush up my skills as a tour manager. I have led groups to many different destinations over the years and worked as a product manager for several tour companies.

• In 2008 I got a job with a big and powerful Croatian travel company called Atlas. I started as a travel advisor in one of their branch offices and worked my way up slowly to the middle and executive management. In 2016 They chose me, among many other candidates to move to the US - to run their US-based office. It was a life-changing year for me and my family. Moving to another country for a job can be very stressful, but the company took really good care of me, besides generous financial compensation, they also provided a company car at my disposal 24/7 and paid accommodation from day 1. 

• At that moment all my hard work through the years was materialized and rewarded. Unfortunately in companies as big as Atlas things tend to change and unfortunately, I did not like some of the changes that happened through 2018/19 which led me to seek another opportunity.

• In 2020, I joined IWorld of Travel - a US-based tour operator and wholesaler that only works with travel advisors. I moved to Croatia and started their Europen Head office, so working from Croatia, I held 2 positions with this company. I was the president of the branch in Croatia and the Vice President of the Product  Development department.  I was not happy in this job because I could not express my creativity the way I wanted... 

• So, after so many years of only dreaming about it, it was finally time to launch my very own travel agency, I named it Vagabonda Travel - which in Italian describes a wanderer, a vagabond... A female vagabond! 

• In the past 2 years, Vagabonda travel has grown exponentially! I worked hard, 10-12 hours a day... Planning trips for clients, creating content for social media, creating a website, and taking care of all the back-office stuff..... None of that would be possible without my husband! He supported me in every way he could. From taking care of the visuals of my proposals to clients, to designing the website(s), to cooking and helping our son with school stuff... But this hard work led us to growth! It was exhausting but very rewarding! Now Vagabonda is a team of 4! Soon to grow to 5 :) 

• I will gladly put to work all of my years of experience, industry connections, expertise, and intimate destination knowledge to help you with your trip, to make it memorable and unique. Filled with life-changing experiences, giving you a taste of real local life through visits to off-the-beaten-path-places, dining at Mama's and Papa's little restaurants, and many other wonderful experiences.

• To book your trip with me and/or my team, or to join any of our small group tours, please visit my agency website Vagabonda Travel.

• If you are looking to just consult with me, about the trip you plan to book by yourself, you are on the right website! :) Pick your consultation HERE, I offer consultations for travelers as well as individuals and businesses who are looking to grow their TikTok with travel content. 

• If you have any questions about me or any of my services, please feel free to reach out to me directly on my email alida@alidalifetravel.com 

 

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Alida