Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Gabriella Ribeiro
Occupation: Chief Exploration Officer, EXPLORATEUR JOURNEYS
Hometown: Wayne, NJ
Residence: Wayne, NJ
College: Boston University
College major: Journalism and Spanish
Website: explorateurjourneys.com and 48hourpowerjaunt.com
Twitter: @theexplorateur
Facebook: Explorateur Journeys
Instagram: theexplorateur
YouTube: Explorateur Journeys
Short bio: Gabriella runs Explorateur Journeys and spends her days curating immersive, authentic travel for the globally curious. She has also recently launched the 48 Hour Power Jaunt where she plans 48 hour adventures for busy women entrepreneurs. As a single mom who is an avid traveler and entrepreneur, she is proof you can have the trip of a lifetime in two days. By night, she is a frequent blogger, producing The Explorateur newsletter series and Explorateur Concierge city guides, delivering insider travel tips, honest hotel reviews and exclusive deals for subscribers only.
Her travels for both work and leisure take her around the world year after year, and despite the schedule, Gabriella actively works with an orphanage in South Africa, striving to raise funds and assist with securing volunteer doctors to provide medical care for children in need.
Proud to be: A North Jersey native, Portuguese, Italian, and a graduate of Boston University. Gabriella also holds an MBA in Marketing.
Things she can’t do without: Travel, NY Yankees, great food, James Bond.
How often do you fly? 2-3x per month.
How many countries have you been to? 81
How many continents have you been to? 5
Earliest travel memory: Being on the beach in Cascais with my parents.
Favorite American city: New York.
Favorite international city: Lisbon.
Least favorite country: No such thing, the world is amazing and so is each country in its own unique way!
I have no desire to go to: Back to Ibiza. Once was enough…
Friendliest people in the world: Malawi.
Country with the meanest immigration officers: Belgium.
Favorite World Heritage Site: Stonehenge.
Favorite airline: American…they’ve been very good to me.
Favorite aircraft type: 787 Dreamliner.
Aisle or window: Aisle or nothing.
Favorite airport lounge: Any AMEX Centurion Lounge.
Favorite U.S. airport: SEA-TAC.
Favorite international airport: Dubai.
Favorite hotel: Hotel Palacio-Estoril, Portugal simply for the nostalgia.
Favorite cruise line: Not a huge cruiser…much prefer land exploration.
Favorite travel credit card: AMEX Platinum.
Favorite island: Sardinia.
Favorite beach: James Bond Beach, Jamaica.
Favorite National Park: Mount Rainier National Park.
Favorite fancy restaurant: Eleven Madison Park—NY.
Favorite hole-in-the-wall: La Tagliata—Positano, Italy. It’s not much to look at but the food is to die for and the view…no words.
Favorite airport restaurant: I always hit up Bobby Van’s at JFK in the American Airlines terminal before a long-haul flight.
Favorite bar: The Raft, along the Chobe River. You eat and drink, while hippos float by. Unreal.
Favorite fruit: Kiwi.
Favorite food: Honey roasted peanut butter.
Least favorite food: Raw tomatoes.
Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Diet Coke, no ice, with lots of lemon.
Favorite travel movie(s): Charade, and anything James Bond.
Favorite travel show(s): Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain.
Favorite travel book(s): Mine! Soon to be released, entitled “48 Hours In…”
Right now I am reading: “The Girl In The Spider’s Web.’
Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs: Afar, Departures and CNN Travel.
Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! Well, obvi! But if I HAD to choose another, I love combing through the content on Traveldudes.
5 things you bring on a plane: Giant purse, super long scarf, all of my iDevices, Power Crunch protein bars, lip balm.
What do you always seem to forget? Toothpaste. I cannot tell you what a small fortune I’ve spent on it on the road.
What do you like least about travel? I miss my daughter terribly when I’m away.
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport Duty Free store? I’d love anyone who would purchase a lifetime supply of La Mer moisturizer for me.
Favorite travel app(s): Skyscanner. Searching for airfares when I’m waiting for something and fantasizing about my next trip are minutes well spent for me.
Most embarrassing travel moment: Arriving at The Goring in London and tripping on my high heels out of the car onto the floor. All class.
I’m embarrassed I haven’t been to: Australia. Zero excuses.
Worst travel moment: Learning my luggage had been lost on one of the few times I was forced to check it in and not receiving it back until eight days later. I predicted it but I sure did learn how to make eight outfits out of two.
What’s your dream destination? Antarctica, and Easter Island.
Favorite travel charity: I support Hotel Hope with all of my heart. An amazing children’s home/outreach project in South Africa.
Best travel tip: CARRY YOUR BAG ON WITH YOU. NEVER CHECK.
