About
Travel, well designed.
Carte & Compass is about traveling well and living fully. Exploring with curiosity. Returning with intention. And travel that becomes a way of living, not a list of places.
We craft your journey from relationships — with places, with the people who live in them, with the hoteliers, guides and owners who know them best.
The best trips are the ones that feel unmistakably your own.
The Founder
Gina Paoloni
For as long as she can remember, Gina has loved to explore. She can still hear her dad's voice: “You don't really care where you're going, as long as you're going somewhere.” Back then, most of the places she dreamed about lived in the travel magazines she devoured: Bhutan, Thailand, Italy, India, Africa. She wondered what it would feel like to be there in person. Every one of those dreams has since come true, and many more besides: she has traveled every continent except Antarctica, which is still on the bucket list.
Gina's deep love for Africa has drawn her back for more than 20 years, to South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi. She has seen the Big Five multiple times, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, trekked to see silverback gorillas, and witnessed the majesty of Victoria Falls. That connection led to another passion: her work with Maloto, an NGO dedicated to elevating the lives of women and children in northern Malawi.
Before founding Carte & Compass, Gina served as President of the boutique travel agency Indagare, ran her own business development consulting firm for premier brands including Internova Travel Group, and was Vice President of membership sales at Equinox, where she was responsible for more than $100 million in revenue. Membership taught her that trust is earned over time, and that the best experiences come from really knowing the people you serve. She built Carte & Compass on that idea. The team gets to know each client, including what they love, what they'd rather skip, and how they like to travel, and uses that to plan every trip that follows.
Gina believes a well-lived travel life makes room for both new destinations and old favorites, and she helps clients build one that does: discovering somewhere new, and returning to the places that feel distinctly theirs.
Proud affiliate of Fora Travel, Inc.
A Virtuoso-affiliated advisor — an invitation-only network of the world’s top travel advisors.
The Collective
Experts who have been there, and keep going back.
Places change. A hotel that was the right answer last year may not be this year, and the best things to do and places to stay are always moving. So we are always moving, too, traveling constantly to find the newest and the best. Around that core team is an extended network of partners who live in the places we send you, partners who are on the ground every day and on top of every new trend.
You will always have one advisor who knows you, and behind that advisor a collective of experts who have been there, traveled, and will guide you. The combined firsthand knowledge and the quiet backstage work that makes the journey feel seamless once you are in it.
Preferred Partnerships
Our relationships place you in a different category of guest, with amenities, upgrades and access that are not available to the general public.
In Their Words
“From the moment we first connected with Gina, it was clear we were in the hands of an expert. What followed was not just a vacation, it was a masterpiece of meticulous planning, insider access, and experiences that far exceeded every expectation. Every detail was flawlessly executed: from private airport transfers in sleek, chauffeured cars, to accommodations and thoughtful touches. The service throughout was white-glove, attentive, intuitive, and always one step ahead. We can't wait to book our next journey, because after this, there's simply no going back. This is not just travel; it's art.”
Let's Begin
Tell us how you like to travel.
The first conversation is about you, not an itinerary. Everything else follows from it.