About Us

AIMEE LEON

Unique Experiences + Luxury Properties

Aimee Leon has over 15 years in the travel industry, has visited over 30 countries and worked with the top cruise lines, tour operators and luxury hotels in the business. She spent the past several years of her career at a leading luxury Virtuoso agency overseeing the leisure division, handling all independent contractor business development and agency sales and marketing efforts.

She started Avant-Garde Travel to cater to fellow travelers who, like her, look for unique experiences, off the beaten path and upcoming destinations. She enjoys staying at luxury properties with a modern design as well as hotels that encompass their surrounding heritage. When she is not working she enjoys traveling (of course), photography, going to live music venues and spending time with her hubby and two adorable miniature dachshunds.

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EFFIE PATRIANAKOS

Cruise Expert

Effie Patrianakos has been helping clients realize their travel dreams since 1992. Effie is our resident cruise expert, as she has intimate knowledge of all cruise lines, having personally experienced each one during her tenure in the industry. She has had the opportunity to work with and learn from the leading players in the industry.

Luxury cruising is her premier specialty and her clients trust her exclusively when it comes to choosing their next voyage. She has well established relationships with the representatives from every cruise line, allowing her to ensure that her clients are getting the very best deals available!

Effie is always in her office, based in Canada, working hard to ensure that her clients receive the time and attention they need.

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BETTY ROTH HELLSTROM

SMALL GROUPS + CRUISES + CUSTOMIZED TRAVEL

Betty Roth Hellstrom has traveled to over 100 countries and growing and sailed on almost every premium, luxury and expedition cruise line (and not so fancy ones too). While her expertise is in leisure group travel and custom trips for individuals, she also specialized in family reunions, destination weddings and honeymoons.

Betty’s loyal clients have enjoyed traveling with her on multiple, annual customized group trips around the world. With over 37 years’ experience Betty has extensive knowledge on global destinations to assist in making your trip an unforgettable and exciting journey of a lifetime.

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ERIN PHILP

CUSTOM ITINERARIES WORLDWIDE + CRUISES + ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Raised in California, Erin Philp was working in the restaurant management field and decided she wanted a different career path. She started working with a large Virtuoso agency in 2005 as an administrative assistant while learning about the world and travel industry. Erin quickly realized she had a passion for travel and assisting people arrange their perfect trip that she decided to stay in the industry. 13 years later she opened her own storefront travel agency office located in Rancho Bernardo called Grand Journeys.

Now with over 15 years’ experience in the travel industry, Erin is here to assist in arranging the perfect journey for her clients. She specializes in custom 4-star and 5-star worldwide itineraries, adventure travel, land journeys, cruises, and air travel. Erin can assist with everything from the time you leave your home till you return – making your entire journey memorable and seamless.

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NELLY KATS

Eastern + Central Europe, Cruises, Hawaii + Resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico

Nelly Kats has over 22 years of experience as a travel advisor. Originally from Lviv, Ukraine, Nelly lived in Chicago for many years before moving to the West Coast and calling Carlsbad her home. Nelly studied Fashion Design in college and was an Art Director before starting her career in travel. Her education and travel expertise allows her to plan amazing getaways for the most discerning clients.

Nelly has traveled to over 30 countries, is fluent in Russian and her specialties include Eastern & Central Europe, Cruises, Hawaii and All-inclusive Resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico. In her free time she enjoys dancing and recently dazzled us in a local performance of the Nutcracker.

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BRIANNA GLENN

Customized Vacation Experiences

Brianna Glenn considers herself a tastemaker of customized vacation experiences, and runs her boutique travel agency, Milk and Honey Travels, from her home in sunny Newport Beach, CA, or anywhere around the globe that has decent WiFi.

Her wanderlust spirit was born during her career as a professional athlete. It was a career that not only allowed her to pursue her purpose and passion as a track and field athlete for over 10 years, but gave her the opportunity to fall deeply in love with the world and all the incredible places available to explore and experience.

More than anything, Brianna loves helping people have better travel experiences. Her sweet spot in travel is where luxury meets authentic, and she is incredibly passionate about creating the right space for people to travel in a way that speaks to exactly who they are and what they desire to experience on vacation. Follow her adventures on Instagram!

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ELIZABETH MCEACHRON

Air Expert + Family + Multi-generational travel

Elizabeth McEachron has 17 years of experience in hospitality & tourism. Originally a Culinary school graduate, in 2002 she joined the luxury hospitality industry as a concierge for The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. During her 8 years with Ritz she advanced to the leisure sales team and, eventually, ended up in Revenue Management.

In 2010 she decided to make a life change, leaving the hotel industry to join a large luxury travel company as a travel advisor so she could start a family (now mommy to Fiona 7 and Oliver 3). As she grew her book of business she became an air expert, was trained in Sabre and began taking on several small corporate air accounts. In addition to be our resident air expert, Elizabeth specialize in family, and multi-generational travel as well as cruising, honeymoons, and all things Disney.

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APril Cheng

CUSTOMIZED Unique Experiences + HAWAII WEDDINGS AND HONEYMOONS

April Cheng has been a luxury travel advisor since 2017. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, April has been lucky enough to travel the world extensively with her family while growing up. April loves learning about different cultures around the world through their food, history and creating once in a lifetime experiences with unique activities and excursions for her clients.

Her background working in the sales and customer service industry since 2007, is an asset as she value clients’ time and thoughtfully considers their personal experience when planning a trip for them. April’s clients always come first and she prides herself on providing a quality, stress free trip styled to her clients wants and needs.

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Lisa fisher

AFRICAN TRAVEL + CRUISING + ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Lisa Fisher’s passion for travel started in her teens when she caught the travel bug after her first international trip; a month-long mission trip in Haiti. After graduating from nursing school, she enjoyed a summer in Germany and Italy, which further intensified her interest in travel.

Lisa has have traveled to over 50 countries and counting! She has recently located from San Diego to the east coast, which has allowed her to further explore some of the beautiful islands and resorts in the Caribbean. Some of Lisa’s amazing and memorable experiences throughout her travels include riding a camel in the Sahara Desert, gorilla trekking in Uganda, participating in India’s Holi Festival, driving a dog sled in Alaska, and going on multiple African safaris. As an avid sports fan she has attended the Super Bowl, the World Series and the Kentucky Derby.

Working as a pediatric hospice nurse has taught Lisa that life is short, so take the trip! Lisa transitioned from a nursing career to a travel advisor as she wanted to share her wealth of travel knowledge and experience to create memorable, extraordinary vacations of a lifetime for her clients. She looks forward to helping you plan your next adventure!

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Leonora Di Mauro

Italy + Custom Luxury Travel Worldwide

Leonora Di Mauro was born and raised in Milan where she graduated with a degree in tourism management and worked for some of the most important tour operators and event management companies in Europe. Since 1998 she has been calling the U.S. home. While working for an Official Olympics Travel Company during Turin 2006, developing and promoting the travel offers for Olympics and beyond, she felt there was space to create unique travel experiences, showing Americans the Authentic Italy and the side of her native country that not everyone gets to see. Leonora has been creating unique travel experiences with a personal, bi-cultural touch ever since.

In addition to Italy, Leonora assist clients planning trips domestically and to other destinations particularly across Europe, South Africa, South America and Japan. Central to everything Leonora does is with the vision to enrich the lives of those who travel with us. Creating everlasting memories for our clients is the reason we exist. It’s what makes the job worth it for all our team from our U.S. based Travel Designers to our local guides.

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