talk to an expert

Ali McLean

Ali founded Activities Abroad way back in 1999 after telling his last boss where to stick his job! Not surprisingly, he woke up the next day and found himself unemployed.

Undaunted, he sat down with a piece of paper and wrote down a list of what he wanted to do with his life. The first two items on the list were: Travel and Adventure Sports. That's where it all started.

His plan to travel extensively was somewhat scuppered when his wife, totally irresponsibly, became pregnant. Not once but twice! Ali now claims that his plan has gone fundamentally wrong as it is his employees rather than himself who get to do most of the travelling these days. Regardless, he has Daisy and Archie as compensation.

Nevertheless, Ali has managed to mark up an impressive range of destinations over the years.

 

Countries of expertise:

Canada ,  Finland ,  France ,  Italy ,  Norway ,  Portugal ,  Slovenia ,  Spain ,  Sweden ,  Turkey ,  United Kingdom

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Barry Nolan

Barry has been with Activities Abroad since the very start. He has researched, developed and experienced more of our holidays than anybody. What's more, as a single parent, he has tried both our family trips and our adult holidays extensively.

At the last count, Barry has experience of every one of our holidays. It's a tough job!

 

Countries of expertise:

Austria ,  Canada ,  Costa Rica ,  Finland ,  France ,  Germany ,  Iceland ,  Italy ,  Norway ,  Portugal ,  Romania ,  Slovenia ,  South Africa ,  Spain ,  Sweden ,  Turkey ,  United Kingdom ,  Egypt ,  Malta ,  Croatia

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Jo Doran

Jo joined Activities Abroad on a one year student placement and found herself in the exalted position of Long Haul Product Development Manager after her graduation. Not bad for a girl whose passion is travel, she now gets paid to do it!

Jo is one of the driving forces behind our Responsible Travel Policy and always seeks to incorporate a local community or environmental project into each new holiday she develops. Her contribution in this area was instrumental in our success at the British Travel Awards where we won the Silver Award for Most Environmentally responsible Small Tour Operator.

Countries of expertise:

Finland ,  Canada ,  Costa Rica ,  Egypt ,  Iceland ,  Jordan ,  Slovenia ,  South Africa ,  Spain ,  Sweden ,  United Kingdom ,  Morocco ,  Norway ,  France ,  Austria ,  Germany ,  Italy ,  Borneo ,  Croatia

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Amy Griffiths

Amy joined us on a one year university placment back in 2009 and never left! She started out as a sales and marketing assistant and has now moved on to product management. Amy is now in charge of all of our summer holiday destinations and also the family winter holidays too. 

Amy thoroughly enjoys her role at Activities Abroad and is always on the look out for new and exciting destinations!

 

Countries of expertise:

Finland ,  Italy ,  Norway ,  United Kingdom ,  Austria ,  France ,  Germany ,  Slovenia ,  Bulgaria ,  Ecuador ,  Montenegro ,  Peru ,  Iceland

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Dawn Rawlings

Coming to the travel industry in a roundabout way after studying a degree in History, Dawn is the newest addition to the Activities Abroad team. She is enjoying her role working in the sales side of things and is quickly learning all there is to know about the trips we offer. 

Countries of expertise:

Canada ,  France ,  Fuerteventura ,  Germany ,  South Africa ,  Spain ,  Sweden ,  United Kingdom ,  Finland ,  Malta

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Kate McLean

Kate originally met Ali working at the CAA in London and knows everything there is to know about ATOL and financial protection. She has been involved in Activities Abroad since the very beginning and shares Ali’s passion for travel and has enjoyed visiting many of our destinations.

Since having Daisy and Archie in 2002 and 2005, as a family the McLeans always look forward to their annual holiday in Finland (normally during the first week of the Easter holidays when the temperatures are warmer and the daylight much longer). Archie’s favourite activity is mini snowmobiling whilst Daisy loves cross country skiing. The family also enjoys visiting many of the summer destinations with Tuscany being a particular favourite… and not just for the wonderful swimming pool and delicious ice creams.

Countries of expertise:

Finland ,  Italy ,  Slovenia ,  Turkey

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