After more than 20 years in corporate America, Christopher Lingren took a professional turn in 2011 by purchasing a travel agency franchise and operating it for 11+ years building experience and helping clients discover amazing adventures across all seven continents. He further expanded the entrepreneurial dream transforming the agency into Wonderful Adventures Travel Group. He is a Noblesville travel agent based in Noblesville, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, with agents in multiple locations around the country.
Christopher and his wife, Julie, reside in Noblesville, Indiana, and together they have three adult children...two college graduates, and one in college. As a child in school himself, Christopher always loved field trips, and today as an adult business owner, that's still true! As a home-based travel agent, getting out on location and experiencing the destinations is extremely important to Christopher. He makes it a point to get out into the "field" and experience destinations and other cultures regularly - multiple times each year - and to as many new destinations as possible. Every fall when setting goals for the coming year, he always includes at least one goal, if not more, centered around discovering new countries, sampling new foods, and experiencing new cultural environments.
YOU CAN'T GOOGLE EXPERIENCE
Travel really is the only thing that you can buy that makes you richer as a person, and to be better equipped at making great recommendations for clients, first-hand knowledge of a destination is so much more important than just having "book knowledge". You simply cannot Google experience! Personal experiences translate into great stories which then inspire clients to discover more of the world themselves through adventure travel and so much more. You can't google experience, and Christopher loves being able to pass along his professional experience while crafting amazing possibilities for new entries into his client's life stories.
As he says, "I have traveled the world, to date visiting six continents, sailing on dozens of cruise ships, and visiting 100+ resorts in dozens of countries. I have explored the Great Pyramids of Giza and sailed the Nile in Egypt, flown in helicopters in the Australian Outback, interacted with elephants in Thailand, been on safari in Kenya, gone salmon fishing in Alaska, been surfing in Hawaii, tubing in Jamaica, walked along the beaches of Normandy in France, watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London, been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, went canyoning on the island of Madeira, and have created many memories in numerous other fabulous destinations around the world. I am a collector of stamps on my passport and am always looking forward to the next one."
When out in the field, on location, Christopher takes the time to get to know assorted activities and experiences, along with getting to know the culinary scene of a location as well. He's hiked through the Australian outback; trekked across the Celtic landscape of Ireland exploring castles and fortress ruins from the Middle Ages; ziplined in St. Thomas; sampled the local cuisine such as the escargot at sidewalk cafes in Paris or the locally brewed beers of Alaska; explored the Valley of the Kings in Luxor from above and below both exploring the tombs and enjoying a hot air balloon ride above the desert and the surrounding area; taken in Broadway shows; visited historic sites such as Pearl Harbor or the old fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico; gone on a safari across the African savannah, snorkeling in the Caribbean, hiking Australian and Canadian national parks, and more! Every excursion or activity that Christopher has sampled while on location in the assorted destinations is tested with the enjoyment and ultimate vacation experience of his clients in mind.
Christopher continually works to increase his knowledge and expert status with a wide array of destinations, resorts, cruise lines, and land tour operators by completing and annually updating several training programs and education series. He gets out "into the field" multiple times each year. He goes so you know!
