Chidi Ashley
About me.
I have 3 passions, simple, but overwhelmingly strong: Travel, Business & People
When I think about it, I have been a traveler all my life. I was born in Canada and I grew up Nigeria, South Africa and England before moving to New York to study Business economics and Marketing at NYU Stern business school. My experiences with the wide array of cultures and the challenges that emerged from constant change over the years shaped a woman today whose greatest assets are adaptability and open mindedness .
I believe my love for travel, business and people are strongly intertwined.
It wasn't until my junior year of college, when the realities of the working world started to creep in, that I realized I wanted to make the most of the time and the freedom I had to take risks. I began to seize every opportunity I had to create new memories and challenge myself with a new experiences. From scenic road trips with friends to spontaneous flights, delving into countries of which I had little prior knowledge.
Today, I am based in Bali while traveling the world. I am a traveling Entrepreneur and a business analyst consultant to a U.S based tech company.
I went from working a 9-5 to renegotiating my corporate contract, turning my passions into profit and making this traveling thing a full on reality so that I never have to settle! I have come to find that travel and work are not antithetical so I blend the two. I continue to take risks and challenge the boundaries of my comfort zone in all aspects of my life.
This website is an avenue for me to share my global experiences and lessons learnt along the way.
Why I started Chidi Ashley Travels?
“I was never going to go if I waited for someone to come with me..”
To me travel is an essential pillar to living a life filled with purpose and meaning. It enables you to venture beyond your small pocket of the world and find beauty in the unknown. I started Chidi Ashley Travels as an avenue for me to connect with other travelers.
Finding friends who valued and prioritized traveling was always my biggest challenge and for so long I let that stop me from living my life to the fullest. In December 2018 I decided I wanted to visit Bali. Rather than asking the same friends who I knew would say yes initially and then find some reason to flake on me, I put together a list of everything I would want on my ideal trip. Then I reached out my Instagram followers to see who would be interested in traveling with me. In less than an hour I went from potentially having to travel solo to having over 200 women sign up to travel to Bali with me!
The Bali trip and all other future trips are really about connecting travelers and working professionals together. Whether you are a seasoned traveler or you finally mustered up the courage to venture beyond your pocket of the world, the experiences and packages I curate are all about building lasting friendships beyond your existing circle of friends, networking and opening up to new adventures and cultures without travel feeling like a financial burden.
Chidi Ashley Travels is all about encouraging everyone to explore more by breaking barriers and making travel exciting, accessible, and affordable:
Payment plans: Our trips are meant to be affordable and convenient for you. Therefore, you can choose to pay for your trip in full or monthly!
Curated experiences: Each trip is meticulously planned. I work with an array of trusted service providers, local creatives and small businesses who have an unparalleled expertise on their countries. I only curate experiences to places I have spent significant time getting acquainted with. This way I am able to put together meaningful experiences with the knowledge of what truly works and what doesn’t.
A community of Travelers: Waiting for others to commit is over; I bring together groups of likeminded professionals from all over the world so that you don’t have to worry about the guest list and you also have the opportunity to broaden your network and create lasting friendships.
Personalized experiences: Chidi Ashley Travels puts together personalized experiences for individuals or private groups who aren’t able to make the travel meet-up dates. So you can travel at your own time either solo or with your own crew.