Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Vinković.
Hi Amy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born on a California military base, bounced from Japan to North Carolina to Florida, and spent my teens criss-crossing the Americas on elite softball teams. That constant motion sharpened two skills: the discipline to plan every detail and the curiosity to squeeze meaning from every new place.
Once I left the softball fields to chase after a what I thought was success earned my bachelors degree from UCF. I was the first person in my entire family to graduate from college and I was very proud. But the achievements had just begun, now it is time for me to be ‘successful’ within corporate and climb the corporate ladder! Off I went, from greeting patients as a patient advocate to leading multimillion-dollar rollouts and at the same time I watched colleagues bury their passions under titles. A half-solo trip to China—and later a tree-house week in Costa Rica—showed me what was missing: travel that feels free, personal, and life-defining. I resolved to spend every vacation day chasing that feeling and learning how to design it.
That was just the beginning of my story,
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The trouble started the moment I framed that new degree. I jumped straight into corporate life. The more hours I worked the more I proved myself to the leadership team. Does that sound familiar? Skipped birthdays, special celebrations and volunteered for every high-stakes project the moment it hit my inbox. Promotions followed—each one a quick jolt of pride—but within days I was chasing the next upgrade, sure that the next title would finally quiet the question in my head of whats next.
Years of that took a toll of exhaustion from the joyous red-eye flights, hotel rooms that blurred together, and a phone that never stopped buzzing. This was the beginning of my creations of my personal trips around the world.
Everything cracked during COVID-19. While the world hit pause, I resigned and explored Europe, planning to “enjoy life” for a while. The break felt great—for about two weeks. Then the panic arrived. Without a job title I didn’t know how to introduce myself. I kept wondering if I had thrown away everything I’d worked for. Most mornings I woke up angry and disoriented, trying to answer a simple question: Who am I now?
Travel slowly rewired that answer. Walking unfamiliar streets, learning new languages, and meeting people who measured success in family, art, or free time forced me to re-access, what is success? It took years, but the day I finally believed my worth wasn’t tied to a title was the day the idea for Tag Along Travels clicked. The fear that once chained me to a desk became fuel to design journeys that help other driven people step back, breathe, and see the world—and themselves—differently.
As you know, we’re big fans of Tag Along Travels. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Tag Along Travels is a boutique travel service that creates one-of-a-kind itineraries for people who value privacy, time, and exceptional detail. A women-founded and owned business by Amy Vinković. She begins each trip with a short discovery call to understand each client’s goals—whether those are milestone celebrations, leadership retreats, or simply a week of uninterrupted relaxation in a place most travelers never see.
Our mission is to turn time away from home into something deeply meaningful. Instead of pre-set “packages,” we build trips around individual lifestyles and interests, pairing first-class or private-jet flights with five-star hotels, private villas, or expedition yachts. Because of long-standing relationships with hoteliers, event organizers, and local insiders, we can open doors that stay closed to the public: after-hours access to cultural landmarks, track-side Formula 1 hospitality, or a chef’s table in a Michelin-starred kitchen once the restaurant is locked for the night.
Every itinerary is fully managed, door to door. Private transfers, vetted drivers, multilingual guides, and hand-picked activities come standard; if plans change mid-journey, Amy is only a text or call away, ready to re-route flights, secure last-minute reservations, or arrange medical assistance in minutes. This white-glove support ensures the logistics are managed in the background so our clientele can focus on the experience itself.
Engagement is straightforward. Step one: schedule a discovery call to share your travel wishes and non-negotiables. Step two: review a bespoke proposal outlining the route, accommodations, and exclusive options. Step three: approve, pack, and let us do the rest—we monitor every reservation and remain available until you return home. Executives, entrepreneurs, and families who want extraordinary journeys without the guesswork choose Tag Along Travels to turn their dreams into well-orchestrated reality.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I used to think the top of my corporate ladder would be the end of the story: degree in hand, a string of promotions, and 80-hour weeks that “proved” my value through titles alone. By the time COVID-19 arrived, the badge on my desk was impressive—but I was too exhausted to enjoy it. I resigned, earned my masters degree in business, then left for Europe, and discovered the hard way that my sense of worth had been tied to a job description for way too long! The first months abroad were brutal: no title, no roadmap, and a constant ache that I’d thrown away everything I’d built.
Travel slowly rebuilt what burnout had stripped away. Walking new cities, meeting people who defined success in their own ways, I learned to separate achievement from hierarchy. That space made room for Tag Along Travels, a company born from the same drive I once spent on quarterly targets—only now the goal is designing journeys that help others breathe, reset, and see wider horizons.
The surprise came when I realized every “corporate” lesson still mattered. A decade leading high-pressure healthcare teams taught me to set clear objectives, communicate fast, and uphold a non-negotiable standard of care. Guiding a group through Morocco or Monaco isn’t so different from training clinical leadership teams on proper state regulations: details save the day. On our new partner vetting calls, I lay out those standards of excellence just as I once did with healthcare executives. Everyone knows the plan, the fallback, and the phone number that rings day or night.
So I’m grateful for every role I ever held. Each one drilled a skill—discipline, crisis response, team motivation—that now runs quietly in the background of Tag Along Travels. The company isn’t a break from my past; it’s the practical application of it. Titles are gone, but the high bar remains, carried into every itinerary we build and every promise we keep.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tagalongtravels.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tagalong.travels/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090967801252
