Born and raised in post-communist Bulgaria, my love for travel started when I was only 10 on my first trip to Western Europe (back then, we had to queue for hours and hours to cross any border and collect multiple stamps on our passports before we are allowed to enter any country; it was years before Bulgaria joined the EU, so travelling back then wasn’t easy at all). I remember that during that first trip, I was so fascinated by everything I got to see and experience, that I decided that my goal in life will be to see as much of the world as possible.

A decade later, fresh out of University, my career in travel started with my first job in a travel agency: I fell in love with the industry from day one. So far it's given me so many incredible experiences and I've met many amazing people from all over the world. Before moving to the UK, I spent a year working in Paris, led groups to more than 15 different countries, spent three summers in a bustling resort in northern Corfu and earned an international degree in Tourism in beautiful Italy. 

Since joining Regent, I have been lucky enough to travel to Iceland - a country that‘s been on my bucket list for years and I‘m completely in awe of. The country is so stunningly beautiful, no picture you‘ve ever seen does it justice, but what I love about it the most is how different it is from any other place in the world.

It's incredible how travelling to such a remote place, with one of the most severe climates in the world, opens your mind - it was a great opportunity to see just how powerful nature really is. I am blown away by it and will definitely be visiting again as soon as I can. My favourite part of the country, without a doubt, is the north, home to beautiful Akureyri and Lake Myvatn, though the absolutely mesmerising Glacier Lagoon comes in a very close second. My top tip: make sure you go on a glacier hike, it was definitely one of the coolest things I‘ve ever done!

Travelling along the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan and the Karakorum Highway in Pakistan introduced me to some of the most stunning landscapes I’ve ever seen. I’ve always found such remote areas enchanting, so perhaps it’s no surprise that I fell in love with the wildernesses and endless steppe of Mongolia, where there is no contact with the rest of the world. The beautiful mountains, cheesebreads, wine and hospitality found in Georgia puts the country high on my list of favourites but Iran always continues holds the top spot. I visited when it was against FCO advice and tourists were rare, although even now crowds of travellers are delightfully uncommon. The incredible friendliness of the Iranians will always stick in my memory, accompanied by the awe inspiring mosques and rice adorned with saffron and barberries.

I have recently returned from Jordan, a country I have visited on several occasions and adored even more with each visit. The friendliness of the Middle East is found everywhere in Jordan, whether you're walking down the candle-lit siq in Petra to see the iconic Treasury facade at night, floating in the Dead Sea (a strange but must-do experience that should be on every traveller's bucket list) or hiking through the Great Rift Valley in the stunning Dana Nature Reserve. 

If Central Asia doesn't excite you as much as it interests me, Borneo is a fantastic option for a unique holiday with plenty of potential for adventure, but without having to step quite so far out of your comfort zone. The view from the top of Mount Kinabalu after a long (but well worth it) hike to watch the sun rise is an experience I would recommend to everybody, before you set off to catch a glimpse of some of the world's last remaining wild orangutan populations in the virgin rainforest. 

I caught the travel bug from an early age and was lucky enough to have visited 5 continents before I turned 16. A career in the travel industry was always a no brainer for me; it combines my love of geography with the satisfaction of helping people piece together their dream trip. I have been in the industry for over six years and have been lucky enough to have now visited over forty countries.

After studying Russian history, it was particularly inspiring to see the winter palace in St Petersburg in person, and I even enjoyed sampling reindeer stew on a recent trip to Finland. In 2009 I drove from Holland to Russia (and back again!), beginning a life-long fascination with the far eastern corners of Europe. Here Europe ends and Asia begins and an intoxicating blend of cultures, ethnicities, and cuisine means no country is alike.