Joyati Lockley

Blessed to be a world traveler from a young age, I am passionate to bring travel experiences to new and seasoned travelers alike. I was born in India and adopted by my parents from the Mother Teresa's orphanage when I was a month old. I came to the US, specifically to Durham, NC, at five months. I was privileged that my parents took me back to India every other year, and because my father was a college professor at NCCU, who attended global conferences, my mother and I traveled with him. And thus, my love for travel was born, so I blame my parents. When I was young, I dreamed of traveling back to India with my own children one day, and I knew whomever I married, must love travel as much as I did. When I met my husband, being one of four boys, he rarely traveled out of state as a child, and never internationally. He didn't begin his travel journey until young adulthood. When our son was born, it was really important for me to pass on my love for travel to him because I knew it would provide him an education that was more valuable than any book. When our son was young, we made several trips to the Carribean (we had a Black and Indian wedding in Mexico when our son was six months old) but I had dreamed of taking him to India so he could meet my family. I organized our first trip to Spain in 2023 and had the best time planning it. I knew I loved the travel side, but the planning side allowed me to use my project coordinator skills from back in the day, which gave me such a rush. I felt I found purpose. I then planned a trip to Arizona, next my son's birthday in Treasure Cay, Bahamas, and my niche became really honing in on the activities that my husband and son loved to do and reaching out to locals to build relationships and get the true cultural experience. Through my relationships, I have become family with some of my tour excursion operators around the world. I have organized spearfishing expeditions for my husband and son where they fished for lobster in Treasure Cay Bahamas, fishing charters for my husband and his brother where they caught Wahoo and ATV adventures all over the world. When I started traveling, I noticed there weren't many Black families who were able to travel internationally, so I wanted to let others know that if I can do it, they can do it and I want to help make it happen for them. We can do high-end luxury, but I am also about finding a beautiful, an AirBnB on one of the most private beaches in the world (yes, I have stayed in one). Marrying an adventure buff, has led to me to tailor my itineraries to off-the-beaten path and local adventure experiences, but as a luxury traveler at heart, I definitely love a place to stay with a view. As a lover of all cuisines, my itineraries include must-try hole-in-the-wall food joints along with upscale restaurants. I love finding the perfect balance between adventure and luxury and everything in between for families, especially Black families and families of color. And if you're wondering if my dream of taking my family back to India became a reality, it did in December of 2024 when we flew home to Delhi and my son met my family after 11 long years and my first time home in 14. It was a trip of a lifetime with a four-day adventure-filled layover in Dubai.