CruCon Cruise Outlet & Travel Leaders Vacation Center are now "The Vacation Group"
Isabel Chalem
Isabel Chalem

Isabel Chalem

Wheeling, IL Travel Agent

TL365

8 Reviews
100% Recommended
Years of Experience
Additional Languages

I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, where I went to school, got a Master’s Degree in Child Psychology, married and had three children. We moved to the United States in 1983. At first, my profession involved working with children while my husband, who had purchased a travel agency, worked in the travel industry. It was my passion to know about other cultures, different people, and parts of the world and with my previous travel experiences, I was attracted to this great industry. I became more and more involved in the agency until I took over the business.

After 20 years of managing my own agency, we merged with Travel Leaders. This merge allowed me to travel more and visit remote and exotic places, like India, Turkey, Africa, Egypt, Israel and most of Europe, increasing my ability to recommend, plan and design more independent and complex itineraries for my clients.

Thanks to this job, I've become great friends with my co-workers and my clients, which has enriched my life and given me the satisfaction to assist my clients for many years.

Areas of Expertise

Destinations:

Israel
Egypt
Tunisia

Interests:

Arts & Culture
Cruises
European Culture
Luxury
Luxury Cruises

Suppliers:

My Travel Specialties

Independent Exotic Destination Specialist

Independent Exotic Destination Specialist

I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, where I went to school, got a Master’s Degree in Child Psychology, married ...

Read More

Reviews

8 Reviews
Isabel was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful with our cruise and our tours to China and Japan
Liz D, - China ~ East and Southeast Asia
Normally I make all of my own vacation plans, but once we had decided on Morocco I knew I needed help. I was lucky to find Isabel through a Google search that I probably couldn't duplicate today. I chose her because she had in depth knowledge of Morocco. Once I got to know her I realized that she is in fact expert in a lot of areas. She has been in the business long enough that she could adapt to any of our requests. This is unlike many travel agents/agencies that don't deal in anything beyond a brochure and tours.<br/>My husband and I met with her and explained the things we wanted to do. She took the time to get to know us and came back with a personalized tour. We reviewed it together and she made suggestions and changes to reflect our comments about the itinerary. Additionally, she told us what to expect with the driver and guide and what to expect from Morocco itself.<br/>We recently returned and I cannot recommend Isabel, and for that matter Morocco, enough.
Leslie - Morocco ~ Africa
We recently traveled abroad and could not have had a more perfect experience. Everything was pre-arranged for us and we loved our itinerary and accommodations.
Penny - Israel ~ Middle East

Certifications & Awards

Certifications

  • Travel Expert

My Places