Ildiko Bayer

ILDIKO BAYER grew up in Hungary, but her free spirit and creativity were at odds with the oppressive Communist and Socialist regimes of her youth. Like many others, when the opportunity presented itself she took a one-way ticket out - except that she left on foot, crossing two borders with the help of a topographical map, until she reached the safety of Austria. This was the start of Ildiko's multi-cultural, multi-lingual journey that took her to Germany, France, Western Canada and ultimately the United States, where she now resides in Southern California.

Right from the start she gravitated to the travel and tourism industry, a good fit for her talents and personality - a broad curiosity, a love of history and culture, and a fluency in Hungarian, English, German and French. Working in Europe and North America in tour operations, incentive and convention sales and tour guiding, Ildiko learned the business inside and out, taking in best practices from discerning travelers and travel sellers. She eventually decided to go out on her own, putting into practice the excellent mentoring she had received.

Since 1997, Ildiko has delighted in creating one-of-a-kind themed tours to her favorite places in the United States, Canada and Central/Eastern Europe. Oh... and one other item too: Travel should be fun for everyone, including the travel planners, so she's not averse to inserting a little magic and pure joy into every meeting and itinerary!