Spend Less Time Planning. More Time Exploring.
Ann Ellingsen
Europe • Alaska • Personalized Adventures
The world is full of incredible places to experience. Finding the right ones, and figuring out how to fit all the pieces together, can quickly become overwhelming.
I help travelers turn big ideas into thoughtfully planned adventures filled with the experiences that matter most to them. You get carefully researched options, beautiful places to stay, and an itinerary designed around your interests, pace, and budget.
That leaves you free to stop researching and start getting excited about where you're going.
Travel Should Feel Stress-Free and Effortless
You shouldn't have to choose between a well-planned vacation and a sense of adventure.
I believe the best trips give you both.
I take care of the research and details while creating room for the experiences that make travel memorable: exploring the outdoors, learning about a destination's history, experiencing another culture, and discovering the local places you might never have found on your own.
The goal isn't to fill every minute. It's to make the minutes you have count.
Experiences My Clients Love Most
Europe
One trip can take you through centuries of history, completely different cultures, incredible food, and landscapes that change from one destination to the next. I especially enjoy creating personalized, multi-destination European journeys that bring everything together—from accommodations and transportation to excursions and time to explore on your own.
Alaska
Alaska showed me just how extraordinary it can be to experience a destination beyond the expected.
I traveled by rail from Fairbanks toward Seward, explored Denali and Kenai Fjords, watched glaciers meet the sea, and encountered wildlife in its natural habitat. I love helping travelers experience Alaska's breathtaking landscapes, outdoor adventures, and wild spaces in a way that fits how they want to explore.
Personalized Adventures
Some of the best trips don't fit neatly into a category.
A honeymoon through Italy. A retirement celebration. A girlfriend getaway. A National Parks adventure. An island escape with the whole family. I love taking the pieces that matter to you and bringing them together into one personalized journey, with the right accommodations, experiences, transportation, and breathing room along the way.
Why Work With Me?
You shouldn't have to spend night after night sorting through hundreds of hotels, tours, reviews, transportation options, and conflicting recommendations.
I actually enjoy that part.
I listen carefully and ask questions about your priorities before I begin researching. Then I narrow the possibilities into quality options that fit your travel style, pace, and budget.
Behind the scenes, I'm researching accommodations, evaluating experiences, considering logistics, and working with vetted travel partners. My goal is to make complicated planning feel simple for you.
I'm detail-oriented, organized, and prepared, but never interested in handing you a cookie-cutter itinerary.
Your trip should feel like your trip.
A Lifetime of Exploring Led Me Here
Travel has been part of my story since I was young.
At 14, I traveled to Ireland with my parents to visit my grandparents. Now I'm dreaming about returning to the village where my mom came from and reconnecting with that part of my family's history.
I've also made it a personal goal to experience all 50 states. By the end of next year, I'll have explored 41 of them, along with travels to Mexico, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, Ireland, Hawaii and Alaska.
Retirement gave me something I hadn't always had: the time and flexibility to turn my love of researching, organizing, and exploring into a way to help other people travel.
Now I get to listen to your travel dreams and help turn them into memories of your own.
Some Places Make You Stop and Take It All In
I'll never forget sailing toward Kenai Fjords National Park from Seward when we encountered a pod of orcas.
There were about a dozen of them, coming completely out of the water in every direction. Suddenly, our boat was surrounded.
On that same Alaska journey, I stood before glaciers that are living remnants of the last Ice Age,ancient rivers of ice reaching toward the ocean.
Experiences like those are why I travel.
Reading about something in a book or seeing it on a screen is one thing. Standing there and experiencing it for yourself is something entirely different.
That's the kind of moment I want my clients to bring home.
Some Things You Should Know About Me
01
I'm Working My Way Through All 50 States
I'll have 41 under my belt by the end of next year, and I'm not stopping there.
03
Plain M&M's Are Coming With Me
Some travel decisions require extensive research. This isn't one of them.
02
Give Me the Aisle Seat
Apparently all that love for gorgeous scenery ends when I board the airplane.
04
I Make a Travel Book After Every Vacation
It's my favorite way to preserve the stories and memories from a trip—and it helps rescue thousands of photos from my phone.
Ready to Start Planning?
Your vacation shouldn't begin with hours of stressful research.
Tell me what you've been dreaming about, who you're traveling with, and what you want to experience. I'll help narrow the possibilities and create a personalized journey designed around your interests, pace, and priorities.
You can spend less time wondering if you've made the right choices and more time looking forward to the adventure ahead.