After logging over a decade as a freelance writer with bylines in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and more, Diana’s new adventure as a travel advisor is rooted in her love of creating tailor-made itineraries for her family and friends.

Diana utilizes her skills as a journalist in her quest to research and decipher the best places for her clients to experience, no matter where in the world the journey they’re entrusting her to plan finds them going. She relies on SmartFlyer’s decades-old industry relationships, amplified by her personal connections carefully nurtured over the years in travel journalism to ensure that her clients are getting the first-class experience that they read about in the magazine that inspired their trips in the first place. She thrives on putting together itineraries including the best restaurants, bars, nature reserves, and beaches to squeeze the absolute most out of every trip. Simply put, Diana believes that all trips are not executed equally and that life is too short to waste even one vacation day on a mediocre experience.

Whether her clients want to plan a romantic tour along the Amalfi Coast followed by a quick stop in Rome to get their history fix or want to post up on an epic beach in the Bahamas and not move a muscle until it’s time to check out, Diana’s recommendations come only after getting to know her clients. She’s also very passionate about the rejuvenating power of a weekend getaway. She’s a “type A” list maker who gets just as giddy when people ask her to suggest the perfect place to take their spouse for two to three days as she does a ten-day self-drive adventure through the South of France. As long as the journey involves eating, drinking, and exploring someplace new, sign Diana up.

A Carolina girl born and bred (Go Heels!), Diana is often asked when Dallas will feel like home, and truthfully, the answer is that she feels like there is a part of her heart that will always be in both places. She enjoys her summers back on the East Coast, eating shrimp burgers, and enjoying a slower pace of life in Indian Beach, North Carolina, however, it is also ironically there where she gets that familiar feeling of wanderlust that inspires her to book some of the most epic excursions to more metropolitan places. When Diana is not traveling, you can find her at home making memories with her husband and three kids. She realizes she is truly in the midst of “the good old days” with her young family and tries every day not to take that for granted.

Which destinations or hotels do you go back to again and again? Why?

As a Texan by way of marriage, it’s just too easy to visit Mexico, and so I find myself there at least once a year. With so many amazing luxury hotels, it is fun to explore them and decide which vibe best suits you. But as a Carolina girl by birth and in my bones, there is nothing quite like a trip back to Charleston to enjoy that lovely Low Country cuisine followed by a long walk on nearby Sullivan’s Island beach. My favorite European city that will always be my choice to start any European excursion is London but of course. The Connaught in marvelous Mayfair will always be the hotel that has my heart.

What has been your most memorable travel experience to date?

While my first thought was an Amalfi Coast trip with my husband right before the kids, it feels wrong given how much has changed since then in both our family life and how we like to travel now. I would have to say our recent family adventure to Turks and Caicos is currently ranked at the top of my list. It was our first big trip with all of our kids, and we brought my parents along to help so that we could get away for date nights and also successfully explore the islands via multiple boat adventures. All of my kids still talk about the fun memories from that week and it makes my heart swell.