Isabel Chalem

Wheeling, IL

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 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.

My Reviews

26 of 39 people found this review helpful
Amazing Vacation-One more of our Bucket List.
Isabel was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful with our cruise and our tours to China and Japan
By  Liz D,  from  Miami, Florida
Traveled to  China ~ East and Southeast Asia
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends
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26 of 41 people found this review helpful
Could not have done it without her.
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.
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.
We recently returned and I cannot recommend Isabel, and for that matter Morocco, enough.
By  Leslie  from  Parkland FL
Traveled to  Morocco ~ Africa
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends
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22 of 35 people found this review helpful
An Amazing Trip to Remember
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.
By  Penny  from  aventura
Traveled to  Israel ~ Middle East
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends
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20 of 34 people found this review helpful
Outstanding Travel agent
Always a pleasure working with Isabel. She is fantastic at narrowing down numerous possibilities for a hotel down two a few good choices, and I have never been disappointed, only amazed. This was the sixth trip I have booked with her help, and I suspect there will be more in the future.
By  Jaime  from  Delray Beach, Florida
Traveled to  Edinburgh ~ Scotland ~ Europe
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Isabel Chalem responded:
Thank you Jaime for your words. It has been also a pleasure working with you. I also hope you and I continue working together for much longer. Kind Regards Isabel

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22 of 41 people found this review helpful
Beautiful trip
It was very nice working with Isabel and I recommend her very highly
By  LINDA  from  SOUTHWEST RANCHSES
Traveled to  China ~ East and Southeast Asia
I would recommend this agent to my family and friends

Isabel Chalem responded:
Thank you Linda. It was also my pleasure working with you - Glad that the cruise and all the tours worked out so well. Kind regards Isabel

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Destination Expert:

  • East and Southeast Asia
  • Israel
  • Egypt
  • Tunisia
  • Europe

Travel Specialist:

  • Arts & Culture
  • Cruises
  • European Culture
  • Luxury
  • Luxury Cruises

Languages I Speak:

  • English
  • Spanish
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