What is your vision of the dream life? Gallivanting the globe with the man who gets my blood boiling sounds like just the ticket. If you are lucky enough to find a partner with an equally adventurous soul to wander, hold onto them with all your heart.
Sure, there are obvious perks to being single while traveling. Exploring on your own and not feeling held back from the full experience. The appeal of an adventure where you are the pilot, live by your own schedule, and and don’t have to rely on another. But solo travel is not for everyone.
Travel takes compromise and communication to either make or break your relationship. But the anticipation of unraveling destinations and committing to an endless life of adventure is an experience that brings couples together, while opening their hearts and minds to the vast world before them. A true aphrodisiac.
We met the globetrotting guys last month and I felt it time to reveal the dynamic duos which I am blushing hard on. Can I play third wheel?
1. Uncornered Market
Dan & Audrey are adventurers and storytellers who share a passion for personal development, technology, and public diplomacy. In 2001 they left stable jobs and a comfortable lifestyle in San Francisco on a one-way ticket to Prague. Five years later, they set out on a creative sabbatical traveling the world and sharing tales of people from all walks of life. Everyone thought they were crazy.
Over eight years and 90 countries later, the duo have curated a community of respectful travelers who live at the intersection of adventure, deep experiences and caring for our planet and its people. A movement that views travel as a force for good and outlasts the need to reach a destination, they realize the value of being present and letting go in travel. And they manage to do it all without wanting to kill each other!
While we may occasionally indulge in beachside cocktails here and there, our days are typically filled with on-the-fly problem solving in ever-changing contexts: finding decent places to sleep, negotiating safe transport, and keeping ourselves well and well-fed so that we may focus on understanding the places we visit and the people we meet~ 7 Habits of highly effective travelers
2. Flying the Nest
Stephen & Jessica are an Aussie couple who left everything behind to travel the world. They share their surreal experiences, vlogs, views, and lessons learnt along the way to help inspire young people to fly the nest, to explore and to never stop adventuring.
Do you think travel is worth looking beyond excuses? Especially when you can do it for free? I am gushing over these romantic destinations and dream hotels around the world. Be right back, planning my future honeymoon.
3. Norway to Nowhere
Ever wish you could leave it all behind and just go? From the Alps to the Autobahn, Paris to Prague, Shellie and Jimmy are doing it all. An American couple who quit their jobs to travel full time in 2014, they’ve worked on a horse ranch in Canada, climbed Trolltunga in Norway, and lived in Prague for three months. Find tips, weekend getaway guides and learn why they think counting countries as a traveler is bogus.
4. Hecktic Travels
Dalene & Pete are a Canadian couple who sold everything to begin a life of perpetual travel. From teaching underprivileged kids to swim in Bolivia, riding camels in the Sahara Desert, and kayaking among icebergs in Greenland, it has proven to be an endlessly fulfilling venture.
The secret to their success as 2014 “Travelers of the Year” lies in Dalene’s knack for storytelling paired with Pete’s photog and tech skills. After six years of wandering, 100s of thousands miles traveled, 50 countries and countless friends and memories, there have been lessons learned and a marriage put to the test, but the two know one thing for sure: We’re not done yet.
5. ytravelblog
Caz & Craig are an Australian pair that caught the travel bug 17 years ago, started a family in the midst, and haven’t looked back. To date, they’ve lived in 5 countries and visited 52, recently touring around Australia for 18 months. From the beaches to the Outback and the cities to the country towns, they are on a mission to show you the best that their home country/continent/island has to offer.
Even when society tells you to chase the stable career and white picket fence, don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back. What’s their secret to this life? They believe that you too can make your travel dreams reality without spending a fortune by following their simple 12-Step Plan: finding the inspiration, finding the money, planning your trip and getting on the road.
Through it all, there have been lessons learned, particularly on the value of failure: “Failing teaches you who you really are, what you’re capable of, where to find your strength, how you can lean on others, and what you like and don’t like. It gives you directions, new perspectives and horizons.”
6. No Destinations
Chris & Danika are a couple of tech-savvy, foodies who left a 5-star life in San Francisco for an adventure around the world. Despite hauling knapsacks, they are far from backpackers, enjoying the finer things in life. They want you to throw those guide books to the wayside in favor of a real, unfiltered look.
The Garlottas banished the 9-5 workday after realizing a measly two weeks vacation granted in the States wouldn’t cut it for them. They continue to freelance abroad for tech, social media and online marketing clients, proving that work and travel can go hand in hand.
“Our plan is simple, we do what we want, stay where we want, and if we don’t like someplace we leave.”
7. Mapping Megan
What happens when the worlds of an Australian traveler and an American wildlife photog collide? Sounds like a reverse situation to my own. Meg & Mike met in Africa, married in Hawaii and managed to outlast an 18 month international long distance. How’s that for a story to tell the grandkids?
As active, adrenaline junkies they’ve shared experiences mountain biking death road in Bolivia to skydiving over the Swiss Alps and summiting Mt Kilimanjaro. There is no mountain too high and no fete too extreme for this duo and they aim to bring out the adventure traveler in all of you!
8. Divergent Travelers
Hailing from Wisconsin, Lina & Dave decided just last year to give up the quintessential American Dream, selling all of their possessions and quitting their jobs to travel for an indefinite amount of time. In retrospect, it was the best decision they have ever made.
By the end of 2015 they will have visited more than 60 countries on 6 continents. They’ve had some pretty incredible experiences from skydiving from 15,000 feet over New Zealand, boogie boarding in 10 foot waves off the coast of Sri Lanka, scuba diving in Sipadan, Borneo and the Maldives and are now spending 5 months in AFRICA!
9. Honey Trek
Mike & Anne are American newlyweds who scoffed at the idea of a measly 10-day honeymoon to celebrate a new life together. So they set out on a 675-day honeymoon spanning 6 continents and 33 countries including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Nepal, China, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar.
They have a passion to help others follow the same bliss. Through Trip Coach, their personalized workshops give you the support, tools, and skills to make your own journey a reality.
Their travel philosophy is simple: Don’t try to see everything. Move quickly but thoroughly. Have a plan to guide you, but don’t let an itinerary bog you down.
10. Drive on the Left
Drew & Julie are American expats living in London. Beyond writing for their family, they write for all travellers, armchair explorers, wanderlusters, and those whose travel itch needs a little scratching.
From their comprehensive city guides to their tales of finding their place as expats, if you are looking for a place to fuel your desire for travel and a little push to help you believe you can do it, you’re in the right place.
You know what they say, the couple who travels together, stays together.
Travel Blushes: Dynamic Duos. Who are you blushing on?
Click To Tweet
In case you missed my previous Travel Blushes: Fearless Females / Expat Edition / Globetrotting Guys. Next up, charming kiddos!
Wait we’re not finished here! Join my favourite twins and I to share your own blushes (blog crushes). Who knows, this could be love at first write!
An InLinkz Link-up