Guest Bio

Aiste Stanley is the founder of Trabeona Travels, an award-winning boutique travel agency specializing in meaningful, immersive, and highly personalized travel experiences. Born and raised in Lithuania, Aiste brings a global perspective to her work as a luxury travel advisor, helping clients move beyond surface-level vacations and into journeys shaped by culture, connection, learning, wellness, cuisine, history, and adventure. Through Trabeona Travels, she designs custom itineraries, small group experiences, luxury cruises, expedition travel, and corporate incentive trips that invite travelers to see the world with more curiosity, confidence, and intention.

Show Summary

In this episode of the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Aiste Stanley, founder of Trabeona Travels, about what it means to create travel experiences that feel authentic, personal, and deeply connected to place.

Aiste shares the story behind the name Trabeona Travels, inspired by Abeona, the Roman goddess who watches over people as they leave home. That sense of care and guidance runs through her entire approach to travel planning. Rather than simply booking trips, Aiste focuses on understanding each traveler’s personality, comfort level, dreams, and reasons for exploring the world.

The conversation also explores Aiste’s journey from Lithuania to the United States, her perspective on culture and curiosity, and the realities of running a professional travel advisory business. She and Jason discuss the difference between transactional vacation booking and high-touch travel planning, the importance of trusted local partners, the value of small-group connection, and why meaningful travel has the power to change how people see both the world and themselves.

Big World Made Small guest features are invitation-only and selected based on story, experience, and fit with the show. Some guests support the show through paid production features, cross-promotion, referrals, or other partnerships. This helps keep the show free of third-party ads and interruptions while keeping the focus on real, story-driven conversations.

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