Founder/Owner of Heather Lane Adventures
Hello and Welcome! My name is Heather Lane Chauny. My family name "Lane" was given to my ancestors who were traveling peddlers who roamed the lanes of England selling their goods.
While travel is literally in my DNA, my passion for travel began at age four after riding "Its a Small World" at Disney World. When other kids were playing with barbies and Hot Wheels, I dreamed of seeing the world beyond my small town in Michigan. I began my global travels in college, participating in many of the study abroad programs offered by my alma Mater (Michigan State University). I studied in Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; Brussels, Belgium; Barbados; Trinidad and Tobago; and Guyana. I went on to live and work in Costa Rica and then South Africa.
My work and travels have taken me to more than 45 countries, where I have traveled as a solo traveler or with my best traveling gal pal until I met my husband and travel companion for life, Gilbert.
My travel philosophy is my tagline: Travel global, Live local (global travel does include the United States of America). While relaxing and refreshing at times, travel for me is not an escape but rather an immersive experience, where I can learn as much as possible about a place, its people and its culture as a local might (and reserve time to sit back and enjoy the view). My core values include sustainability and respecting the rich biodiversity and ecology of the places I visit, and honoring and learning about the cultures of the people in those places.
I bring experience from my 20+ years in fundraising and grantmaking for large international non-profits to my travel planning business – attention to detail, organization, the passion for research and planning, and the ability to listen and respond to a client’s needs and desires.
I speak English, Spanish and Portuguese (and a bit of Isi-Zulu) and my goal is to plan and create the most authentic, meaningful and memorable travel experience tailor-made for you and your travel companions.
“I was fortunate to work with Heather to plan an international family trip. From our first call, Heather was nearly as invested in the trip as I was! She listened carefully to my goals for the trip, inquired about each traveler’s preferences, and integrated all of it into an authentic experience that will be a trip of a lifetime.”
”We worked with Heather to plan a family trip to Costa Rica…Heather was and continues to be awesome throughout the planning process. First, she‘s very organized with her approach…Heather was enthusiastic and engaged throughout the process, and was always extremely responsive, attentive and accommodating...”
“Heather is AMAZING!! Her down-to-earth personality, extensive knowledge, years of experience and attention to detail was exactly what we needed to plan two different adventure…for a truly bespoke travel experience with someone who is as invested as you are in ensuring your trip is all you hope it to be, I highly recommend Heather Lane Adventures!”
“Heather was fantastic! She’s knowledgeable and thorough in making recommendations from boutique hotels, restaurants and things to do…Made a trip to Italy even more enjoyable than expected.”