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We’re more than Africa travel agents. We’re a family with a passion for travel. We know first-hand the difference between a “good” vacation and an “unforgettable” one because we’ve lived it. At Roane Travel Design, you can expect an African safari tailored to your unique goals and interests, custom-created by a member of our team.
Your Africa Travel Agents
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Born in Southern California to two missionary parents, Jim was born to travel. As a child, Jim remembers the Roane family living all over the world, including Barcelona, Spain, Assiut, Egypt, Kathmandu, Nepal, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Manila, Philippines, and throughout India, including Delhi, Kolkata, Madras, Kodaikanal and Mumbai. This experience opened up a world of opportunities for unique family adventures, which extended into his adult life. Jim has visited hundreds of unique vacation destinations and 48 countries to date. Living abroad, wholly immersed in other cultures, instilled in Jim appreciation, empathy and compassion for others.
Jim graduated from Southern California College with degrees in anthropology and political science, followed by a 2-year stint on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He met and married his wife, Mary Beth, a Northwest Airlines employee. Eventually, an Airline merger and career change for Jim brought the couple to Minnesota, where they have lived since 1986.
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The years in MN provided Jim with a fulfilling career as a trader at Piper Jaffray, and the couple had five children in 10 years. Family, especially their children Jay, Michael, Elizabeth, Jack and Mark, have always been the Roane's top priority. Their childhood years were wonderfully busy, filled with sports and community activities. The family was surrounded by supportive grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family, which also blessed them with lifelong friendships.
Sadly, 1998 brought tragedy when 10-month-old son Jack drowned during a trip to their Florida family vacation home. Jack's untimely death caused the family to reevaluate their priorities. Jim ultimately decided to retire as a Trader and take the family on a one-month family adventure to India. The next five years consisted of more heavy travel to unique luxury destinations, including a trip to Tanzania, Africa, that changed the Roanes' lives once more. Finally, after years of traveling with his own family, in 2019, Jim resolved to share his love for travel with the world and started his own travel company, Roane Travel Design.
owner
Jim Roane
To create incredible experiences for families that so profoundly shaped my own.
To allow others to live life and do the things they have always wanted, not taking a moment for granted.
To have the privilege of working alongside my daughter, Elizabeth.
To lead and grow a team that shares similar values.
To share my love of Tanzania with others.
In His Own Words, “My Why:”
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As the daughter of Jim and Mary Beth Roane, Elizabeth grew up a global traveler. The Roane family enjoyed many family adventures and unique vacations, including vacations in India, Tanzania, Mexico and many places throughout the United States.
Her love of travel didn't stop there, however. Elizabeth visited 13 different countries during a "Semester at Sea" experience during college. Then, she took her curiosity for world exploration a step further by taking another semester off school to travel throughout Southeast Asia and Europe. Finally, during her senior year at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, she decided to move to Tanzania, Africa, to accept a position as the Guest Experience Manager at TAASA Lodge.
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After leaving TAASA, Elizabeth went on to work for a family of travel journalists, known as The Bucket List Family. Along with the adventure-loving family, Elizabeth explored even more global destinations, including Mnemba Island, Uganda, Rwanda, Australia, Hawaii and many others. Elizabeth found an incredible amount of joy seeing the world through the eyes of a child while watching their curiosity for the world blossom. In addition, this experience created lifelong friendships while strengthening her love of world cultures and exploration.
Like her father, Jim, Elizabeth has a passion for sharing her love of travel and family adventures to unique vacation destinations with others. From luxury African safaris to visiting remote cultures in a far-off corner of the world, each trip has made a lasting impact on Elizabeth's life.
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So, when Jim approached Elizabeth with the concept of a travel agency as a way of helping to share the love of travel with others, Elizabeth was quickly on board. In 2019, when Roane Travel Design officially began, Elizabeth promptly joined the team as one of the lead Travel Designers, backed by her many years of experience traveling and exploring many of these incredible destinations. She enjoys creating one-of-a-kind vacations that will leave a lasting memory in travelers' lives, no matter their age.
Director of Travel Design & Group Sales
Elizabeth Roane
To ignite a passion for travel in others.
To increase interest in unique vacation destinations.
To deliver a high-quality product to my clients that I am proud of.
To the stage for others to create lifelong memories
To introduce others to new locations, foods, cultures and purposes.
To positively impact others' lives through my work by setting the ground for quality time spent with loved ones, giving back to our environment/ community, and supporting businesses with a similar mission.
In Her Own Words, “My Why:”
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Like the other members of the Roane Travel Design family, Laine also grew up with a curiosity for the world around her. She remembers having a passion for travel from a very young age, fueled by her various childhood moves around the country and different family vacations abroad. Her family adventures included various luxury destinations such as Iceland, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, and more throughout her childhood.
After heading off to college, Laine gravitated toward working in various roles that allowed her to make a difference in the community. She found herself working with nonprofits, marketing agencies, community relations programs and the like. In addition, she used her time at Boston College to focus on her studies on communications, business, management, and medical humanities, hoping that this would help her make an even more significant impact.
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All of Laine's passions converged in a fateful meeting in 2019 with Jim when he offered Laine a position as a travel agent at Roane Travel Design. The move from Boston back home to Minnesota would allow her to spend valuable time with her own family while exploring all of her passions. Surrounded in a supportive and family-centered environment at Roane Travel Design, she can combine her love of service, writing, travel and, her favorite, getting to know clients. Laying the groundwork for unforgettable family vacations where families can strengthen their bonds and make memories together while also supporting other cultures is the role that Laine was meant for.
Operations Manager & Director of Philanthropic Outreach
Laine Langenbrunner
To follow my love for learning new cultures by experiencing the traditions, food and lifestyles that make them unique.
To serve others by curating meaningful and intentional experiences that will make a lifelong impact.
Make a difference in the world by connecting travelers with resources to get involved, through Explore with Purpose, Inc.
Working alongside teammates with the same family-oriented, hard-working, kind and passionate values.
In Her Own Words, “My Why:”
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All it takes is a tiny spark to ignite the passion for world exploration. Jenna's began when she was just ten years old, when she began studying the Spanish language. From there, the love of meaningful cultural experiences and travel blossomed.
Jenna immersed herself in the Spanish language and their culture from then on. Finally, in 2018, Jenna followed her dream and moved to Madrid. During her time there, she traveled all around Spain and many other European countries.
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After completing her degrees in Spanish and communications from the University of North Dakota in 2019, Jenna is now bilingual in English and Spanish.
To date, Jenna has traveled to over 19 unique countries and is always looking to check more adventures off of her bucket list. Between her passion for building meaningful relationships and her love of travel, she found her home as a travel agent here at Roane Travel Design. As a travel expert and official travel designer, Jenna strives to find unique experiences for each traveler.
Travel Designer
Jenna Worre
To ignite the same love of culture in others as I have.
To be a small part of giving you memories to last a lifetime.
I believe that making memories with people you love is priceless and I want to help create those opportunities for others.
In Her Own Words, “My Why:”
- Chris Moody
Thank you for assisting us to set up this trip and taking care of all of the logistics. Everything was seamless and ran like clockwork... Thanks for the trip of a lifetime! Both times we have come to the Serengeti and Taasa it has been the trip of a lifetime - lol. We are looking forward to future visits with more family and friends.
~ Grant and Janine Drenkow
Traveling to Africa has been a life-long dream. Roane Travel Design was the PERFECT company to take us there! After a couple of conversations with Jim, we followed his expert advice and had the trip to Tanzania planned. Elizabeth...does a great job of taking care of everything so preparing for the trip was effortless on our part. The trip exceeded our expectations in every way!
- Deanna and William Bloodworth
We have traveled extensively and I usually do all the research and book everything myself. It was so nice to just ask Elizabeth.. We so enjoyed our first trip we were planning to return before we left Africa. We have already booked our next trip to Africa and Elizabeth made it so easy. We highly recommend Roane Travel and Taasa Lodge.
We're thankful to be part of making lifelong memories for travelers. These are just a few unforgettable moments.
We’re Honored to Be Included
- Deanna and William Bloodworth
We have traveled extensively and I usually do all the research and book everything myself. It was so nice to just ask Elizabeth.. We so enjoyed our first trip we were planning to return before we left Africa. We have already booked our next trip to Africa and Elizabeth made it so easy. We highly recommend Roane Travel and Taasa Lodge.
- Chris Moody
Thank you for assisting us to set up this trip and taking care of all of the logistics. Everything was seamless and ran like clockwork... Thanks for the trip of a lifetime! Both times we have come to the Serengeti and Taasa it has been the trip of a lifetime - lol. We are looking forward to future visits with more family and friends.
~ Grant and Janine Drenkow
Traveling to Africa has been a life-long dream. Roane Travel Design was the PERFECT company to take us there! After a couple of conversations with Jim, we followed his expert advice and had the trip to Tanzania planned. Elizabeth...does a great job of taking care of everything so preparing for the trip was effortless on our part. The trip exceeded our expectations in every way!
~ Grant and Janine Drenkow
Traveling to Africa has been a life-long dream. Roane Travel Design was the PERFECT company to take us there! After a couple of conversations with Jim, we followed his expert advice and had the trip to Tanzania planned. Elizabeth...does a great job of taking care of everything so preparing for the trip was effortless on our part. The trip exceeded our expectations in every way!
- Deanna and William Bloodworth
We have traveled extensively and I usually do all the research and book everything myself. It was so nice to just ask Elizabeth.. We so enjoyed our first trip we were planning to return before we left Africa. We have already booked our next trip to Africa and Elizabeth made it so easy. We highly recommend Roane Travel and Taasa Lodge.
- Chris Moody
Thank you for assisting us to set up this trip and taking care of all of the logistics. Everything was seamless and ran like clockwork... Thanks for the trip of a lifetime! Both times we have come to the Serengeti and Taasa it has been the trip of a lifetime - lol. We are looking forward to future visits with more family and friends.
Talk to an Experienced Travel Designer
Since you've read about all of the unique luxury destinations we've been to, you may wonder why we specifically chose Africa. The truth is, Africa holds a special place in our hearts, and we hope anyone with interest makes it a point to go. However, for many Africa excursions, we highly recommend having a guide. The other continents are slightly easier to navigate without a professional holding your hand. For example, can you visit the Eiffel Tower in France or the Statue of Liberty in New York without a guide? Yes, of course, people do it every day. However, to get the most out of your trip to Africa, we highly recommend having experienced travel experts help you plan your trip!
For the Love of Africa
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