Committed to responsible adventure tourism which protects the environment, wildlife, and cultural and social heritages, and makes a positive difference on the planet, Adaro Adventures is a sustainer of the World Ethics Code for Tourism. Adaro Adventures and its sister company, Adeona Odysseys, are accredited members of the Airline Reporting Commission (ARC), the premier international standard which verifies a tour company’s legitimacy and professionalism in the travel industry. Adaro Adventures travel curators are certified South American Specialists by the LATAM Airlines Group, and certified brand professionals by Marriott’s Hotel Excellence!, credentials which further recognize our expertise in the tourism industry.
Connie Haeder: Founder, CMO, and Chief Travel Curator
A self-professed junkie for raw, cutting-edge experiences in the remotest corners of the globe, Connie can’t get enough of the unusual. Her limitless curiosity, passion for exotic cultures, and insatiable drive for adventure led her to leave corporate America as a senior global marketing executive to build on her decades of outrageous travel and to share her best-of with you through Adaro Adventures.
Harassed by police at 4am in Baku. Wind-surfed the Nile River. Trapped in the middle of a military crack-down during an anti-Chavez riot in Caracas. Trekked knee-deep in mud with a Gurkha regiment in the rain forest of Kuala Belait. Crashed with a Bedouin tribe after a seven hour hike in the Gobi desert. Swam in freezing Antarctic waters. Hiked the Patagonia Mountains. Summited Mt. Kilimanjaro on New Year’s Day. Fed a falcon in Doha. Endured an overnight cramped bus ride next to squealing pigs, flapping chickens and discordant karaoke singers to reach Wonogiri. Straddled the most heavily militarized international border in the world at Panmunjeom. Observed the Umubano mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park. Practiced jujitsu in Aktau with the world’s champion fighter. Sang with Golden Sticks of the Buena Vista Social Club at Habana Café. Ran into a business school classmate in Tegucigalpa. Sampled spices at the Bit Pazar in Skopje. Sand boarded in Dubai. Mountain biked Easter Island. Massaged with mud 15m above ground in the crater of El Totumo volcano. Survived a flight to Kyzylorda on a burning SCAT airplane held together with duct tape. Called by stone-faced guards at the Bulgarian border to exit the bus, later to receive a tourist pamphlet.
Connie more than knows her stuff. Acknowledged by industry insiders as an authority on travel, she has unsurpassed first-hand knowledge of worldwide destinations. She has circumnavigated the planet several times, having explored 103 countries spanning all seven continents and all four oceans. Most likely she’s been there and done that.
Connie holds an MBA from Purdue’s Krannert Graduate School of Management where she was awarded Dean’s List honors, a General Course Degree in European Community Law from The London School of Economics, and a BA in Political Science from Wellesley College where she graduated cum laude. Connie also is a Brown University certified MBSR teacher, and a Yoga Alliance registered yoga instructor.
At every opportunity Connie continues to explore the far edges of the world and discover new travel gems for clients.
+1.202.290.4312
Valerie Haeder: Director of Communications and Research, and Travel Curator
Imagine the steppes of central Asia where wild camels roam free, global cowboys drill the world’s energy from fields rich with oil…a frontier where if your baggage is lost, you’d most likely never see it again. But not so for this intrepid curator; it was just another day in the office. Such was the scene in Kyzlorda, Kazakhstan, the stopover in what has now become her favorite, if not dubious, travel memory. On a jalopy of a plane, dilapidated and held together with duct tape, Valerie traversed from Almaty to Aktau, Kazakhstan while her mismarked luggage was destined for who-knows where if not for her fast acting rescue. In a land where English was ne’er heard, upon touchdown she kicked into baggage handler mode, stealthily entered employee-only airport territory, liberated her luggage and heaved it onto the correct flight to Azerbaijan.
Such adventures are par for the course in Valerie’s travels, which have taken her to all seven continents and a myriad of exotic and compelling locations within the United States and internationally. A respected and prolific writer and editor, her works have appeared in Frommer’s Fiji and South Pacific, Insider Perks, the Washington Post’s Sunday Travel section, newspapers and multi-media.
A student of the world, Valerie’s curiosity and interests foster singular, specialized travels for clients that leave lasting impressions. Valerie earned her B.A. in history from St. John’s College, Oxford University and Wellesley College, and holds an M.L.S. in library science from Indiana University Bloomington.
valerie[at]adaroadventures.com
+1.605.431.2849