Female Adventures That Will Make Your Day

Who doesn't dream of travelling the world, seeing amazing places, learning about new cultures, languages and trying exotic foods? Meet four stylish globetrotters who dared to leave their ordinary lives behind and make travel blogging their full-time occupation.

Back in the mid-18th century, some women explorers, like Jeanne Baré, had to pass as men to be able to sail around the world. Lady Stanhope, who dreamed of travelling from an early age, wore masculine attire, rode a stallion across the Palmira desert, and even carried a sword.

But, in today's information age, the freshest crop of nomads come armed with laptops, phones, cameras, and their trendiest outfits —no swords or menswear here— to share their experiences with the world, redefining the very meaning of adventure.



There have been many reasons that led these women to leave behind a conventional life for the adventure of travelling solo (or with their partners). From wanting to experience the world differently and not feeling stuck in a regular office job, to the case of a model and a dental assistant turned wanderlusters.

"I admire any woman who steps out into the world by herself, I think it's an incredible achievement," says Emma Higgins, founder of Gotta Keep Movin', a blog focused on slow travel. She states she's always been inspired by women like Robyn Davidson — who walked 1,700 miles across the Australian outback— and highlights the "insane amount of bravery" it takes.

The British writer spends an entire year exploring one country before moving onto the next destination. She began in her native England and is currently in Portugal. "I decided it was about time I saw my own country through a travellers eyes," she says when she speaks about how she chose her first destination. Each year's journey is encapsulated in a special print journal that Higgins photographs and writes herself.

Model turned travel blogger, Nuria Val, also has a particular fondness of her home country. She still considers her native Barcelona her favourite city even when she's been all over the world. She began travelling due to her work as a model and soon became a "restless globetrotter" working also as a photographer and creative director.

Meanwhile, Lauren Bullen (a.k.a @gypsea_lust) was juggling a full-time dental assistant job while taking photos of exotic landscapes in Cairns, Australia and posting them on her social media. Her amazing photography landed her a job with the local tourism board, and her modest Instagram following began to grow quickly. In a matter of months, it turned into her full-time job as more and more brands requested her services.

Soon after, she met her partner Jack Morris @doyoutravel on a travel tourism job in Fiji. At the time, Morris was also creating Instagram content. When the two began travelling and posting pictures together, their success skyrocketed.

Val also travels with her partner Coke Bartrina who is behind most of the photographs of her enviable Instagram gallery. She says that she plans every trip carefully, particularly work ones. What she loves the most is discovering new cultures, meeting people and documenting their experiences.

Higgins takes the time to carefully choose hotels that fit well with her brand and explains she doesn't just write for a free night's stay. "I do what I can to subsidise my travels, she says, "but I don't go crazy on getting absolutely everything for free, sometimes you just want to be a traveller without having to feel like you're always working."

If a leisure only holiday can result in the occasional burnout for the regular vacationer, it's no surprise that months and months on the go can make the greatest adventure loose its thrilling lustre. "What you see on social media is just a curated highlight reel of people's travels, we all experience homesickness and the occasional bout of food poisoning, it's not all glamour," she adds.

For Higgins, taking regular breaks is "essential." To avoid burnout, she leaves days aside for complete rest, catching up with friends and family or simply having a lazy day at the hotel. "I want to arrive at a place with fresh, excited, eyes because it makes for a better experience and thus a better story," she says.

Bullen and Morris often go back to their home base in Bali where they can catch up with work, go back to their regular gym workouts and cook healthy foods at home and recharge. Bullen says it's "like a holiday home" and adds she loves Bali because it's easy to eat healthily and they can also relate to many like-minded people.

Meanwhile, between travels Val and Bartrina like to take a break back at their apartment in Gràcia, Barcelona. Val says she doesn't have "the feeling of weekdays" but that she feels happy when waking up at home after a trip and remembering incredible experiences. This makes her appreciate everything she's lived and begins to get ready for the next adventure.

But ultimately, the secret to their travel blogging success is due to the fact that all of them followed their heart and their passions. Morris says that he never expected to get paid so well for doing what he loves. He thinks that it all comes down to doing what they want to do and also "being genuine and having fun in the process."