ABOUT TRAVELIAN

Since its inception in 2009, Travelian Tours has offered travelers an extraordinary way to discover Mexico’s remarkable ancient history, biodiversity, intellectual cultural richness and diversity of its people.

Travelian’s sensitive and responsible approach to travel has placed our travelers in the flow of local life and brought them closer to Mexico’s people and cultures, providing opportunities for spontaneity and camaraderie. We carefully select locations that offer cultural significance and natural beauty.

Our tours are impeccably researched and organized, offering the best local cuisine, hotels, and modern secure transportation.  We travel comfortably in small groups to each location, taking meandering routes and intriguing detours to allow for a slower pace to explore nature and culture in depth. We hire local guides both for their knowledge and to give us their point of view about life in each area we visit.

We strive to offer tours that are enjoyable, enriching, and exciting, giving our travelers an opportunity to discover the heart of Mexico.

    Travelian and responsible tourism

All the adventures that we offer are unique and so are all the places and people that we visit.
Since the very beginning, Travelian has operated under the belief that sustainable tourism can be beneficial to local communities, the environment and the travelers as well. For this reason we run all our trips in a sustainable way, respecting both the culture and the environment, generating this way, richer and more authentic experiences for our travelers.


How we travel responsibly at Travelian:

   We only run groups in small sizes to help minimize environmental and cultural impact.
   We hire local guides wherever possible
   We select locally-owned accommodation wherever possible
   We select locally-owned restaurants wherever possible
   We support local artists and artisans whose works are remarkable and uncommon
   We support projects to help local communities around Mexico
   We give back to the San Miguel de Allende community by funding Environmental Education
     Programs through our alliance with Sociedad Audubon de Mexico. A.C.


By joining one of our tours, you give back to the community, the environment and San Miguel de Allende.

Kids and Nature - Sociedad Audubon de Mexico Program.

TRAVELIAN TOURS TEAM

Rodrigo Lopez

Rodrigo is the Founder of Travelian Eco Tours and is deeply committed to his vision of helping groups, individuals and organizations discover and experience the natural and cultural heritage of Mexico.

In 2010, after 10 years of experience in Corporate Sales and Corporate/Client Problem-solving with Telmex, he left Mexico City behind and moved to San Miguel de Allende to start his new business now known as Travelian Eco Tours.

He holds degrees in Business Administration from the prestigious Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico City, and Creative Marketing from Texas A & M (Mexico City Program). He is co-founder/organizer of the successful Audubon Eco Journeys program. He is currently on the Audubon Board as Secretary, and is actively involved with its Birding Committee.

Rodrigo is an enthusiastic birdwatcher and photographer. His love of Mexico is shared daily in the outstanding in-depth tours he develops and shares with travelers.

Colleen Callaway Besman

Colleen grew up in Central and South America, and is English-Spanish bilingual. She has traveled extensively in Mexico, both on her own and with tours she has organized for 17 years. She is organizer with Rodrigo Lopez of Travelian Tours.

She holds degrees in Latin American Studies and Education from the University of the Pacific, the University of New Mexico and the University of Washington. Colleen was a teacher of highly capable students for over 30 years in Seattle, before she moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

She is deeply committed to her work as organizer, writer and guide with Travelian and for its clients. She and Rodrigo Lopez are dedicated to creating first rate small group tours that allow their travelers to explore Mexico’s rich cultural and natural diversity in depth.

Norman Besman

Norman grew up in Oakland California and has always been keenly interested in nature and birds. He attended the University of California in Berkeley with a degree in Economics, then headed to the east coast for Law school at Harvard University. It was while he was living in Vermont between law school sessions that he started becoming a serious bird watcher.

He practiced law in Alaska and Seattle, Washington, both amazing birding locations. This allowed him to continue enjoy birding watching for the 30 years that he practiced law. He even kept a pair of binoculars on his desk overlooking a pond in his Seattle law office.

Once Norman retired from his law practice and moved to San Miguel de Allende permanently, he immediately became a member of Sociedad de Audubon de Mexico. He was quickly recruited to join the Birding Team as a guide for Audubon. He also volunteered to be a naturalist guide at El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden in San Miguel de Allende with great enthusiasm.

He has traveled extensively in Mexico on his own and with Travelian becoming an expert bird guide in the many regions we visit. Since 2010, as a traveler with Travelian, Norman volunteered to help Rodrigo guide birding tours. He has become invaluable to our team and will now be working with us as a guide for future birding/nature tours. He shares Rodrigo and Colleen’s dedication to offer first rate small group tours to explore Mexico’s vast natural and cultural beauty.

Susana Ojeda Orranti

Susana holds a Master’s degree in History and Interdisciplinary Studies from University of Guanajuato and a career in Marketing from the Monterrey Institute of Technology. She is bilingual (Spanish/English) having studied at prestigious schools in Paris, France, New York City, Ashland, Oregon in the United States, and Calgary, Canada.

She was Coordinator of Rural Tourism and Evaluator of Tourism Strategies for the state of Guanajuato as well working concurrently with Cacomixtle Tours as a marketer and guide since 2004. She also was Conservation Marketer in Merida for the state of Yucatan, as well as Marketing Promoter for San Ignacio Kuyima Ecotourism in Baja California Sur.

Susana has a keen sense of Travelian’s philosophy and shares our dedication in creating first rate small group tours that allow travelers to explore Mexico’s rich cultural and natural diversity in depth. We are fortunate to have Susana as part of our Travelian team!

Jesus Ibarra

Born in Mexico City, Jesús Ibarra has lived in San Miguel de Allende for 23 years. He has a degree in Agriculture by Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey. He is also a journalist and former editor of Atención San Miguel, the local bilingual newspaper in San Miguel. He is a professor of English at the University of León. His books include The Brachos: Three Generations of Mexican Film (Los Bracho: tres generaciones de cine mexicano), Carmen Montejo, a Tall Woman (Carmen Montejo, una mujer alta) and, most recently, The Gardener of Ghosts: The Life and Work of Carlos Ancira (El Jardinero de fantasmas, vida y obra de Carlos Ancira).

He has experience in tours about the history of San Miguel de Allende and he has also offered literary workshops and cultural tours to other parts of Mexico. He is an enthusiastic of history, movies and culture.

Suzanne Barbezat

Suzanne Barbezat grew up in Montreal, Canada and has a degree in Anthropology from McGill University. After traveling extensively through North America, Europe, and Asia, she took a solo trip through Latin America in 1997 and lost her heart to Mexico. Shortly thereafter she decided to make Oaxaca her permanent home. Suzanne is a licensed federal tour guide in Mexico and enjoys showing visitors around Oaxaca and surroundings. She is also a writer and has published many online articles about Mexico travel, culture, and food, and is the author of Frida Kahlo at Home (Frances Lincoln, 2016), a book that explores the influence of Mexican culture and tradition, La Casa Azul and other places Frida Kahlo called home, on her life and work. Suzanne spends her free time discovering off the beaten path locales throughout Mexico with her husband and their two children. Whether exploring little-known archaeological sites, foraging for mushrooms high in the mountains, snorkeling along the coast, or attending fiestas in small towns, there’s nothing she enjoys more than getting to know the country better and sharing her love for it with others.

Arturo Morales

Is originally from Mexico City, has lived in San Miguel since 1981. He studied at the Tecnológico de Monterrey: Agricultural Engineering in Zootecnica, partly at the UNAM, History. The Master of Science in Education course at the University of Valle de Mexico. He has participated in various workshops and graduates include: Planning systemic Dr. Vester Ph Federich in Munich, in Guanajuato with the German technical agency GTZ: the planning process of the systemic or local municipal agenda. From the University of Guanajuato: Implementation and evaluation of the Environmental Impact, and  workshop in geomatics: analysis and interpretation. With the UNAM: Diploma in groundwater management.

He was a teacher at the Del Vale d México University and Gunajuato State Universty. He was president of the Audubon Society in SMA and Director of Environment and Ecology in the municipality. Will is a member of Va Por San Miguel de Allende, A.C. and Fluviales de Vida, A.C.

Cornelio Ramos

Expert bird guide, specialized in the Oaxaca.

Alexander Dzib

Expert bird guide, specialized in bird behavior and studies about Flamingos.
Lives in Celestun, Yucatan.

Manuel Ramirez

Office Manager and Driver, He was born in San Miguel de Allende.

Landy Orozco

Biologist by the University of Guadalajara, developed my bachelor´s research on amphibians and reptiles of the Scientific Research Station “Las Joyas” in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve. I worked for private environmental consultancy offices and governmental institutions as Comisión Federal de Electricidad, doing zoological inventories (reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals) and evaluation of environmental impacts of different infrastructure projects in México.

From 2005 to 2008 I worked as field promoter of the Environmental Services Program for Comisión Nacional Forestal; from 2009 to 2011 as biodiversity monitoring technician at the Sierra Gorda de Guanajuato Biosphere Reserve; later, from 2011 to 2013 as head of the Environmental Education Department at the Guanajuato´s delegation of SEMARNAT. From 2013 and until March of 2017 I worked as director of the Sciences Unit of the El Charco del Ingenio Botanic Garden doing and arranging scientific research on the preservation of the natural resources of North Guanajuato; besides this, got my master´s degree on Watershed Management with a project related to springs conservation in San Miguel de Allende. At this moment, I´m applying to a PhD program on environmental research focused in land management and groundwater.

For more than 10 years I have been running a project and bird club called “Alas de Guanajuato” that have given me a great experience on teaching courses, workshops and talks about Mexican biodiversity and its conservation.

I´m passionate for animals -specially birds, reptiles and amphibians-, hiking, photography, traveling and almost any activity that can be done in nature.

Alberto Martinez

Alberto Martinez is a professional birding guide, biologist, field ornithologist and photographer. Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Alberto developed a passion for birds at a young age exploring around his hometown. He began to bird seriously in 1996 while attending the University of Veracruz where he received his B.Sc. in Biology. At this time he started working for the Veracruz River of Raptors and in 2001 began to guide birders who came to watch the raptor migration. He has collaborated with international agencies such as HawkWatch International, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Pronatura Sur, Pronatura Veracruz, the Conservation Leadership Program, SEO/Birdlife International, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain, Chiapas Birding Adventures, Royal Flycatcher Birding Tours, Environmental Sustainability Leadership, Mass Wildlife, and Origenes Conservación de Especies y Espacios. Throughout his career he has specialized in leading birding tours, teaching census techniques, monitoring and capturing different groups of birds (such as shorebirds, raptors, owls, passerines, and waterbirds) and directed birding workshops in order to train local guide and monitors. Currently, he lives in Chiapas and leads birding tours in southern Mexico and Central America, and also coordinates projects that teach local people about sustainable tourism.