Meet Alex
Purpose-driven entrepreneur, experience designer, photographer
I'm a travel entrepreneur, passionate about purposeful business and regenerative tourism
Meet Alex
Purpose-driven entrepreneur, experience designer, photographer
I'm a travel entrepreneur, passionate about purposeful business and regenerative tourism
I've been a travel entrepreneur for 20+ years
Short summary: I was born and raised in the Altai mountains in Siberia, visited around 100 countries and 500+ cities, and organized expeditions & adventure tours in 40+ countries since 2003.
I was named the Best guide of Russia in ecotourism, but shut down all operations in Russia after they started the war in Ukraine, and moved away. Now I live between Estonia and Mexico, doing everything I can to support a better future.
Besides travel, I also work with IT startups in traveltech, edtech, IT HR, and other sectors.
I was named the Best guide of Russia in ecotourism, but shut down all operations in Russia after they started the war in Ukraine, and moved away. Now I live between Estonia and Mexico, doing everything I can to support a better future.
Besides travel, I also work with IT startups in traveltech, edtech, IT HR, and other sectors.
I have 40+ countries in my travel designer portfolio.
Most often I create tours and expeditions to Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe), South America (Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador), Asia (Mongolia, China, Indonesia, Turkey, UAE, Jordan, Israel, Uzbekistan, Georgia), Australia and New Zealand, and Europe (Scandinavia, the Alps, Estonia and the Baltic states). Here's the map of my favorite places that I work with as a travel organizer.
The Amazon
The Namib Desert and Etosha
Uluru and Kata Tjuta National park
Fiordland and the Southern Alps
Tongariro National Park
Tana Toraja
Cappadocia
Galapagos Islands
Southern Peru
Salar de Uyuni and Atacama
Rapa Nui
Lofoten Islands and the Northern Norway
Victoria Falls, Chobe River and the Okavango Delta
Mont Blanc and the Alps
Arabian Desert
The Himalayas
Mongolian Altai and the Gobi desert
Western Papua
Iguazu Falls and Jesuit missions
Patagonia
Petra and Wadi Rum
The Great Silk Way
Cape Town and the Garden Route
Now, I'm working on two interconnected projects
Travelhood is a glocal community for purpose-driven travel entrepreneurs. We help each other to grow with a positive impact on our places.
Geographic is a collaborative brand by Travelhood. We sell expeditions – purposeful trips to amazing places, connecting guests with real life.
Major dates: a brief resume of my experience
- 1986. Born in Siberia/USSRI'm Siberian, I was born and raised there.
My father is from Lake Baikal, and I spent my childhood in the Altai, a beautiful Siberian land near the borders with Mongolia and China.
My grandfather was a passionate amateur photographer and we spent a lot of time in the darkroom.
I got my first camera from him – it was a Smena 8M, thanks to which I took my first steps in photography.
Lovely memories ❤️1986 - 1995. First hike to the mountainsI was 8 years old when I went on my first hike in the Altai mountains.
It was an impressive route Aktru — Maashei — Shavla lakes. These names tell you nothing, but these are insanely beautiful places.
In two weeks, we hiked about 200 kilometers through stunningly beautiful places. This trip impressed me for the rest of my life.
The following year I visited Lake Baikal for the first time, and this trip only fueled my wanderlust.
Since then, I was hooked ⛰️🏃.1995 - 2003. First job in tourismWhen I graduated from high school, I was sure that my future will be connected with tourism.
But I was unemployable.
So, I started creating the first trip itineraries by myself, made my first website about tourism in Altai (using Microsoft Word as an HTML editor, omg 🤦), and then entered the Altai Academy of Arts to study Tourism Management.2003 - 2004. Tourism website "The Altai Mountains"In 2004, I created my first serious project – the website "The Altai Mountains" that worked till 2010.
During this time, I got my first serious experience with tour guiding.
First, I was a guide assistant and then became a guide and tour leader on hiking, mountain climbing, 4x4 tours, and white-water rafting.
Also, when I turned 18, I was finally able to join the Barnaul climbers club ❤️⛰️🏃2004
1995, Altai, Kurai
My first hike in the Altai mountains of Siberia, just 100 km away from Mongolia. I'll remember these views forever.
1995, Altai, Lake Shavlo
This is one of the first pictures I've ever taken, spectacular Lake Shavlo. It takes at least two days to hike here.
1996, Lake Baikal
Another bright memory from my Siberian childhood is riding the Trans-Siberian to Baikal, my father's homeland
2005, Altai, Little Aktru glacier
One of the first field trips in the university and the very first digital picture (back then I was only using film camera)
2005, Altai, climbing expedition
Expedition of the Barnaul climbing club to lake Shavlo
2006, Altai, Sibiryak summit
One of the first summits that I was guiding – Sibiryak (Siberian) mountain in the Altai mountains
2006, Mongolia
First trip to Mongolia, visiting the Golden Eagle Festival, and my first digital camera – Nikon D50
- 2006-2007. First expeditions in Central Asia: Mongolia, China, and KazakhstanThe Altai mountains are located in 4 countries: Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan, and I was always keen to go to Mongolia and China.
In 2006, I visited the famous Golden Eagle Festival in Western Mongolia for the first time.
Mongolia was my first foreign country to visit – not many people can say that:)
In 2007 I helped to organize a large expedition from Moscow to Shanghai via Kazakhstan and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. That was an epic experience.
During these years I also participated in a few mountain climbing expeditions, visiting some awesome mountain peaks.2006-2007 - 2008-2009. Foundation of the Russian Expeditions and the first big expedition: "West-East"In 2008, I founded the Russian Expeditions company, aiming to create more ambitious and interesting expedition projects.
Our first project was the expedition "West-East" with a length of 60,000 kilometers, which passed through Altai, Baikal, the Gobi Desert, and Tibet in two years.
Russian Expeditions partners were National Geographic Russia, the World Wildlife Fund, the Russian Geographical Society, and many other amazing companies and people.
We also ran tours in Altai, Baikal, and Mongolia, and built our first adventure camp in the Altai mountains.2008-2009
2008, Baikal
A photo with Mir submersible (they filmed Titanic with James Cameron) visiting their expedition at Lake Baikal
2008, Moscow
Press conference for the West-East expedition together with National Geographic Russia, BASK and Auto@Mail.ru
2008, Mongolia
Gandagtenchinlen monastery in Ulaanbaatar
2009, Mongolia
Group photo next to the Yolyn Am canyon
2009. Mongolia, the Gobi desert
Khongoryn Els – Singing sands in the Gobi desert
2009, Mongolia
Group photo in the Singing Sands of Gobi
- 2011-2013. New expeditions: Africa, Asia, Oceania, South AmericaSince 2011, I significantly expanded my geography, creating tours and expeditions across different continents.
During these years, we:- had a fantastic drive from Victoria Falls to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa,
- went hiking in the wild mountains of New Guinea,
- visited majestic and shocking Tana Toraja on the island of Sulawesi,
- crossed breath-taking New Zealand from north to south,
- walked the kora around the sacred Mount Kailash in Tibet,
- drove through Argentina and Brazil from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro.
At the same time, I organized private tours and expeditions: for example, we traveled through Central Asia and the South Caucasus with a large family expedition of 40 people.2011-2013 - 2013-2014. First journey around the worldFrom the autumn'13 to the summer'14, I went on my first trip around the world, during which we visited South America, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Scandinavia.
I organized a few tours to Argentina, Peru, New Zealand, and Australia, and scouted new regions on the way.
I designed a one-of-a-kind road journey through Norway from the North Cape to the Southern Fjords and a spectacular mountain drive around Mont Blanc in Switzerland, France, and Italy.
I also got an insane experience of private tour guiding to my portfolio: for example, I ran an unforgettable tour to Cappadocia, Jerusalem, and Petra: it took a month to organize, but the tour itself lasted only 4 days.2013-2014
2011, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Visiting National Geographic Explorer on their voyage back from Franz Joseph Land
2013, Iguazu Falls, Argentina
My first visit to the Iguazu Falls, which instantly became one of my favorite places
2014, Namibia
Walking around Deadvlei with my fellow outdoor fashionista Dawid:)
2014, Jordan, Petra
Petra is hard to describe. I spent countless days here, walking around the ancient city, and never get enough of it
2011, South Africa, Cape of Good Hope
Finishing the 5000 km long drive from Victoria Falls to the Cape of Good Hope by our epic overland Kwagga
2013, Armenia, Mount Ararat view
Guiding a family expedition around Southern Caucasus to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia
2014, Peru, Ica
People have fun riding a buggy in the sand dunes of the Ica desert in Southern Peru, and I have fun taking pictures
2016, the Altai mountains
After an off-road trip to the mountains
- 2014-2016. War in Ukraine, moving to Estonia, MBA in TalTechSadly, good times are left behind.
Russia annexed Crimea and started the war in Eastern Ukraine, cracking the very core of the Russian-speaking travel market.
It was a big challenge. To that day, my company had sales reps in both Moscow and Kyiv. People from both Russia and Ukraine were always traveling together, but after the war had started, we saw the first conflicts in groups.
I remember a man from Donetsk calling our office, he wanted to join one of the tours to Africa, but he was waiting for the conflict to be over. The conflict has never ended since then.
So I took a break from organizing trips, moved to Estonia, and enrolled in an MBA at TalTech, the birthplace of Skype and the Estonian e-government program.
At TalTech, I dedicated my time to studying business processes and startups, and participated in several hackathons and IT conferences, learning about managing teams and new business models.2014-2016 - 2017-2019. Startups, IT conferences, and the first Best Guide of Russia awardAfter studying at TalTech, I experimented with new business models and startups, trying different things for travel and other industries.
I started working in the events sector, co-organized conferences for IT professionals in the travel sector – Travel Tech Conference Russia and MITT Digital, and participated in Phocuswright Europe in Amsterdam and the first Arival in Berlin.
From time to time, I was still guiding, creating a few tours in South America and Oceania.
In 2019, I even became the first runner-up in the "The Best Guide of Russia" competition by the Russian Geographical Society.2017-2019
2017, Estonia
Talking about travels and photography tours on the Estonian TV
2019, Altai
One of my favorite places in the highlands – an ancient stone warrior of the Bronze Age
2020, online
While the borders are locked, I've got stuck in Siberia; but at least I could participate in first online hackathons
2018, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
We caught up with my friend Jury, who's also from Siberia, in Rio de Janeiro, and took pictures with the Buenos Aires cafe sign. Don't ask why:)
2018, Argentina, ruins of San Ingacio Miní
Studying the Jesuit missions in Northern Argentina – UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2020, Moscow
A lecture about photography travels and large format photography masterclass. A couple of days after everything went on the lockdown.
- 2020-2021. New website Alex.travel and the second Best Guide of Russia award2020 was supposed to be a great year 😅
We had a plan to go to Mongolia, on a first winter expedition to visit Golden Eagle hunters.
We had the MITT Digital conference lined up.
Russia was about to go visa-free for 50+ countries, we have been waiting for it since the dawn of time.
Instead, we've got covid lockdown.
MITT Digital was canceled one day before the start.
I got stuck in Russia, my then-a-girlfriend-now-a-wife was in Estonia. We spent 7 months apart.
Being unable to cross borders and go home to Estonia, I have been running tours to the mountains.
After the borders got a bit "unlocked" and I could sneak through, we got together with my girlfriend, went straight to the city council and got married, and we also bought a van on the way to convert it into the camper.
Also, meanwhile I won The Best Guide of Russia award in ecotourism, organized by the Russian Geographical Society.2020-2021 - 2022-2023. First international tour after the pandemic, the escalation of war in Ukraine, and moving to Mexico2022 was supposed to be a great year 😅🤦
In January, I got the Best Guide of Russia award 🏆
In early February, we ran our first international tour after the pandemic – a trip for a startup team to Dubai. We also visited friends in winter Cappadocia.
Everything went great and we got our hopes high about the recovery of the market.
What could go wrong?
On February 24, Russia started an invasion to Ukraine. Not just some regional conflict, but this dirty crazy full-scale war.
You may think covid was hard, but the war is incomparably harder.
As a sign of protest, I closed all tours in Russia. We haven't been there since Dec 2021.
We took our campervan, and shipped her across the ocean, ending up in Mexico. Our son was born in Mexico on Nov 30, so we literally started a new life.
Since then, we have driven our campervan across Mexico, getting to know the country and looking for a place we could call home.
That's still a work in progress.2022-2023
2020, Altai
Running adventure tours in some of the most remote corners of Siberia: no lockdowns in the mountains
2020, Altai
A picnic with a view in the middle of nowhere
2020, Altai
September in Siberia can get quite cold!
2020, Estonia
Building our campervan Aurora from zero
2021, Saint Petersburg
The Tiger: a historic Scythian tattoo that was worn by a chief in the Altai mountains 2500-years ago
2022, Hatta, UAE
Visiting a bee center in the mountains of Hatta, UAE
2022, Coatepec, Mexico
The first family picture with our newborn son in Mexico
Awards
I constantly look for innovations in tourism and other sectors, that's why I enjoy participating in hackathons and study programs. If you know an interesting event to participate in, or would like to invite me as a mentor, feel free to message me in the Contacts section
TravelScrum (global tourism hackathon) — Best Design/Business Model award, 2020
The Global Hack (global hackathon) — first runner-up in Media and Entertainment, 2020
48 for the Future (global hackathon) — special prize from Visit Estonia, 2021
Best Guide of Russia (a competition by the Russian Geographic Society) — winner of the Best Ecotourism Guide award in 2021, first runner-up in 2019.
Golden Compass Travel Film Festival (Moscow)
— winner in Portrait and Landscape photography nominations, Audience award in photography, first runner-up in Travel short films nomination, 2010
Baltic Startup Passion (Finland/Estonia/Latvia) — winner, 2018
Loomehakk (creative industries hackathon, Estonia) — first runner-up, 2018
Garage48 Grodno (IT hackathon, Estonia/Belarus) — first runner-up, 2016
I'm also an alumnus or participant of TalTech MBA,
USG Alumni Mentoring Program, American Councils RBL 2021, Phocuswright Young Leaders 2019, Garage48 Tourism Pärnu, EU:Africa Journey 2021, EdHack 2022, University of Tartu Startup Lab, and other programs
The Global Hack (global hackathon) — first runner-up in Media and Entertainment, 2020
48 for the Future (global hackathon) — special prize from Visit Estonia, 2021
Best Guide of Russia (a competition by the Russian Geographic Society) — winner of the Best Ecotourism Guide award in 2021, first runner-up in 2019.
Golden Compass Travel Film Festival (Moscow)
— winner in Portrait and Landscape photography nominations, Audience award in photography, first runner-up in Travel short films nomination, 2010
Baltic Startup Passion (Finland/Estonia/Latvia) — winner, 2018
Loomehakk (creative industries hackathon, Estonia) — first runner-up, 2018
Garage48 Grodno (IT hackathon, Estonia/Belarus) — first runner-up, 2016
I'm also an alumnus or participant of TalTech MBA,
USG Alumni Mentoring Program, American Councils RBL 2021, Phocuswright Young Leaders 2019, Garage48 Tourism Pärnu, EU:Africa Journey 2021, EdHack 2022, University of Tartu Startup Lab, and other programs
Pitching photography tours in the University of Tartu
UT Startup Lab
Just fun facts
I bought my hat in Australia in 2013 and since then I've been always taking it on tours and tourism events. One day I forgot it in a taxi in Peru — fortunately, a month later I was flying to Australia and I bought the same one. UPD. The second hat was consumed by the forest mold in Tulum in 2024.
I had a crazy drive from the Andes to the Amazon in Peru, when I was stopped by locals with a Kalashnikov. I found nothing better to say than to ask if there was any accommodation around, and they showed me the way to the nearest hotel (which took a couple of hours to reach).
I intentionally studied all the ways of taxi fraud I could find in Buenos Aires so I could help tourists to travel safely.
My mother tongue is Russian, in the family we speak English, and I also Spanish and some Estonian. Because I come from the Altai mountains, I have a basic understanding of Altaian, Mongolian, and Turkic languages. And my family believes our ancestors came from Scotland! Latha math!
One of my favorite activities is to study common traces in different languages. For example, the word safari came to English from Swahili, but to Swahili it came from Arabic, where safar simply means "travel".
I had a crazy drive from the Andes to the Amazon in Peru, when I was stopped by locals with a Kalashnikov. I found nothing better to say than to ask if there was any accommodation around, and they showed me the way to the nearest hotel (which took a couple of hours to reach).
I intentionally studied all the ways of taxi fraud I could find in Buenos Aires so I could help tourists to travel safely.
My mother tongue is Russian, in the family we speak English, and I also Spanish and some Estonian. Because I come from the Altai mountains, I have a basic understanding of Altaian, Mongolian, and Turkic languages. And my family believes our ancestors came from Scotland! Latha math!
One of my favorite activities is to study common traces in different languages. For example, the word safari came to English from Swahili, but to Swahili it came from Arabic, where safar simply means "travel".
Iguazu Falls
2018, Argentina
Photography portfolio
Together with designing travel experiences, I am also a passionate travel and landscape photographer.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from recent years. Click on the picture to open a full-screen gallery!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from recent years. Click on the picture to open a full-screen gallery!
Feel free to reach me if you want to talk about business or travel
Message me, where it is convenient:
Telegram: @alexfarlander,
Instagram @alexfarlander,
E-mail alex@alex.travel.
Telegram: @alexfarlander,
Instagram @alexfarlander,
E-mail alex@alex.travel.
Alex Farlander
I am always on the road (after all, I am a full-time nomad), but I keep an eye on messengers and email
My social networks:
LinkedIn: /in/alexfarlander
Facebook: fb.com/alexfarlander
Instagram: @alexfarlander
LinkedIn: /in/alexfarlander
Instagram: @alexfarlander
The best way to connect is to have zoom coffee, please pick up the time on Calendly: https://calendly.com/alex_travel/hi
I've lost the access to this account, my baby broke the phone with 2FA app😅