Craig Beal – CEO

Background:

Craig caught the travel bug at an early age. He literally grew up in the business when his parents started Travel Beyond in 1975. While many of us spent our childhood reading about far-away lands, Craig was visiting them. In fact, he personally visited over 50 countries and adds to the list each year.

Before taking over the helm of Travel Beyond in 2005, Craig attended the US Naval Academy and spent ten years as a Naval Officer on a nuclear submarine (clearly a very different way to see the world).

The places I’ve visited:

Canada, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Bermuda, Jamaica, Bahamas, Anguilla, St. Barts, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Galapagos, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Guam, India, United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Seychelles, Egypt, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

The year I started working in the business:

2005

The year I joined Travel Beyond:

2005

The things I enjoy most about consulting:

I love designing first time safaris. It is so much fun to channel a clients excitement and use my experience to design the perfect trip that exceeds their expectations.

The most interesting trip I’ve designed:

Cape Town, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia by private aircraft with a four day trip to Mauritius at the end.

My most memorable travel moment:

I loved our family vacation to Africa in 2008. My kids were finally old enough to go on safari. Seeing the looks in everyone’s eyes when they saw their first Lion in the wild reassured me I had the best job in the world!

My most embarrassing travel moment:

I left my passport in the safe on the Rovos Rail and went to the Johannesburg airport. The train manager saved the day and I got my passport back thirty minutes before our flight. My second most embarrassing moment involved my passport too!

My favorite meal while traveling:

The seven course meal at the Tasting Room in Franschhoek.

My favorite quote:

Not sure whose quote this is originally but I heard it from Susan Saunders: “Life should not be measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”