Welcome to our travel adventure! I'm a huge travel enthusiast, which I am sure is shared by many of you, having explored 23 countries and 29 territories so far, with plenty more on my bucket list.
For this feature, I had a blast chatting with four awesome women between 21 to 25 years old who've bravely taken on solo travel around the globe. They shared their insights on their favorite trips around the world. For the adventure junkies, stick until the end.
So, let's dive into their stories and the amazing places they've visited!
📍1st stop - Seychelles
Seychelles 🇸🇨 is the smallest country in Africa!
Hannah Neves, 23, has traveled to 21 countries and chose Seychelles as her favorite destination.
Pictures as a courtesy of Hannah Neves
“I really loved it because it was very sunny, the weather was warm, there were a lot of beaches,” she said. “The people were very nice and welcoming.”
Seychelles, an island country and archipelagic state with 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, boasts numerous beaches, diverse fauna, and flora, making it a nature enthusiast's paradise.
Hannah visited Seychelles to participate in marine conservation efforts near the capital, Victoria. She went scuba diving multiple times a day, documenting coral loss and invertebrate populations in the ocean's national park areas.
Picture as a courtesy of Hannah Neves
“I made lots of amazing friends and got to talk to a lot of conservation officials and specialists in the area,” she said. “They all do good work.”
Overall, Seychelles is considered a safe destination, especially for travelers without a car.
“I was actually very surprised at how effective and easy to understand the public transport system was,” she said. “I was able to go to very far away places using buses which was very cheap. That was really fun.”
Picture as a courtesy of Hannah Neves
📍2nd stop - Egypt
With a history spanning millennia, Egypt 🇪🇬is known as a cradle of civilization, dating back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE.
Lorena Ribeiro, 24, has traveled to 47 countries, starting her explorations during college and continuing ever since. Among all her travels, Egypt stands out as the most surprising destination.
“I always thought of Egypt as primarily a historical destination, always thinking that if I toured for more than a week I would just start to get bored by seeing the same type of architecture over and over and over again,” she said. “When visiting Egypt, I was actually mindblown by the diversity of fantastic activities available.”
Believe it or not, other activities include swimming with dolphins!! For nature enthusiasts, Egypt can also be a great destination.
“My happiest ever memory is the time I went swimming with hundreds of wild dolphins in Marsa Alam.”
“Asking why I keep traveling is the same as asking why I go to my yearly doctor’s visit,” Lorena said. “I mean, as long as I can afford to go, I will go, because I recognize how much it benefits my health.”
Video as a courtesy of Lorena Ribeiro
“Although I did tons of historic tours, and visited the pyramids in Giza, I still feel like I have to go back to Egypt to spend over a month and explore a lot more of what the country has to offer.”
“From river cruises to desert tours to insane diving and snorkeling opportunities.”
“Recently, I went through I major burnout from a corporate job,” Lorena said. “I did therapy. I read all types of self-help books and even explored some religious practices to understand what drives me and why I exist.”
“I did a lot of reflection,” Lorena said. “I realized that even in my most tired days, the only thing that could keep me up late, or make me wake up early was looking for travel destinations or actually traveling.”
Photos as a courtesy of Lorena Ribeiro
Yasmin Almeida, 21, the youngest among those interviewed, shared her surprise and enthusiasm for Egypt, naming it her favorite travel destination. She ventured to Egypt with AIESEC, an international youth-led non-profit organization providing business development internships worldwide to young people. During her program, she actively promoted tourism in Egypt by exploring cities and showcasing the places they visited.
“My favorite country that I have been to so far has definitely been Egypt because of the people and the culture. It is a place that I have a lot of good memories,” she said. “I got to meet so many people from different parts of the world and they have become my friends and ever since I can not let go of them. We have been friends since 2022 when I went to Egypt.”
Picture as a courtesy of Yasmin Almeida
Yasmin, currently studying international relations in Brazil, sought a cultural experience in a foreign country.
“It is such a beautiful and historical place. You can learn a lot,” she said. “It is very different from how things work here in America, and in South America specifically. This is why it is currently my favorite country.”
Yasmin at the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. Picture as a courtesy of Yasmin Almeida
📍3rd stop - South Africa
South Africa 🇿🇦is a diverse country in fauna, flora, and people.
Amaya Adetiba, 22, has Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, as her favorite destination. Having visited 25 countries and participated in Semester at Sea, she was deeply impressed by her experiences in the city.
“The people there were incredible. They were amazing,” she said. “They were really kind, and it was the first time I’ve been around so many Black people, so many people who look like me. The food was incredible, and I heard music that I liked everywhere.”
While the stunning topography left a lasting impression, it was the warmth and diversity of the people that truly captivated Amaya. She formed bonds with fellow hostel guests, bartenders, and individuals from around the globe.
“Just talking to people, connecting with people who look like me, then also seeing a ton of people who don’t look like me, and a fusion of a bunch of different people,” she said. “The food is a fusion of everything.”
Amaya perceived Cape Town as distinct from the rest of South Africa, noting a rich tapestry of cultures that fascinated her. In terms of security, South Africa has had a bad reputation, especially for women travelers, but Amaya felt safe during her stay.
“Cape Town in itself is perfectly safe. I felt perfectly fine going to different places by myself,” she said. “That being said, the reason Cape Town gets such a bad rap is because right outside, as soon as you leave the city area, you are in more impoverished areas, so that leads to more violence. I feel like so much of what I read was about was that is dangerous, but when I got there, it was amazing.”
Her advice is to opt for Uber rides instead of walking, particularly in areas with nightlife, to minimize the risk of robbery and pickpocketing. Amaya cherished her experiences at the Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Beach for swimming with dolphins, and the Oranjezicht market.
“I ubered by myself all the time. The idea that women shouldn’t be by themselves, I don’t particularly subscribe to that unless I feel unsafe, then it’s different,” she said. “I didn’t feel unsafe at all and I left the city to do the Cape of Good Hope where you go to see where the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean meet. That is not in Cape Town, but you can just take an uber and it’s fine.”
📍4th stop - England
England 🏴 was chosen by Yasmin, who has traveled to 21 countries, as the most surprising country she has visited.
During her time in England, she felt a strong sense of belonging. Much of her traveling occurred between high school and college, and she found England to be exceptionally comfortable and safe.
Picture as a courtesy of Yasmin Almeida
“It felt like it was not the first time that I was there,” she said. “Like I grew up there or something. I knew I would like London, Manchester, and Liverpool as soon as I arrived. It really surprised me how much I was relating to a place.”
Picture as a courtesy of Yasmin Almeida
Overall, Yasmin remains eager to continue traveling to discover new people and cultures.
“I want to try new foods, experience different traditions, and see how things work in various places with diverse cultures,” she said. “It really gives me a new perspective on how the world works.”
Picture as a courtesy of Yasmin Almeida
📍5th stop - Brazil
Lorena’s favorite place to travel is Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil 🇧🇷. She has read before that happiness is contagious and she believes that Rio is the perfect place to test that hypothesis.
“The vibe of parties, bars, and the beach culture there is unmatched,” she said.”There is an amazing variety of experiences that I can do in every weather, and in every mood, like I can do when I am 15, when I am 20, and when I am 60.”
“For example, you can go for a chill walk around Sugarloaf Mountain and then you can go paragliding over the forest if that’s what you like. If you do so, you can land on the beach just in time to have a refreshing drink.”
“Whenever I get somewhere I try to see if I can fit a stopover in Rio so for example, if I am going from the South of Brazil to America, I try to stop over in Rio. Or if I’m going to Argentina, I try to stop over in Rio to have three days of heaven.”
Photos as a courtesy of Lorena Ribeiro
After leaving her corporate job, Lorena started a travel blog where she can help people craft their way into amazing experiences around planet Earth.
“I realized that travel and exploration is what makes me wake up in the morning,” she said.
📍6th stop - Canary Islands
Amaya was surprised by the Canary Islands 🇮🇨, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago. She was mostly surprised because of the very little understanding of English she encountered while traveling. She hasn’t traveled to many places where she couldn’t get around without English before.
“Nobody knew what I was saying so I was using my very broken Spanish,” she said. “But it was very beautiful to be in a place where you can’t get around with English because we don’t have that experience very often. It was cool to feel like an outsider and understand how to culturally engage with a language barrier.”
Amaya also shares her itineraries and travels for young women. She does it in both video format on her YouTube channel and in text in the Out of Office app. She travels to learn how much of the world she doesn’t understand yet.
“You don’t realize how much media, and propaganda, portray a certain culture in a certain way,” she said. “It’s crazy things you don’t think about until you go there and your entire world is shaken up. And also seeing the way that different people see happiness. We view happiness in one way and we wouldn’t be happy in certain cultures, but other cultures love this. It is a great part of humanity.”
📍7th stop - Indonesia
Now, it’s time to turn to my favorite travel destinations. Indonesia 🇮🇩 is a country with over 17,000 islands!
I visited Indonesia in May 2023, right after graduating from college, accompanied by a friend I've known since my very first day of undergraduate. She had previously visited me in Brazil, so naturally, I had to reciprocate the gesture and visit her in Indonesia (not that she needed to ask me to haha).
I'm not entirely sure if it was because I traveled with a local (thanks to Tiara!), but it truly turned out to be the best experience of my life.
While Bali was undeniably beautiful and a well-known tourist destination, it was Labuan Bajo that truly stole my heart.
Tiara gave me the option to either stay solely in Bali or explore other places that she and her family deemed superior in terms of beaches and nature.
I'm incredibly grateful that we opted for the latter. The beaches were breathtaking, and I had the incredible opportunity to swim with turtles, stingrays, and colorful fish, making the entire experience unforgettable.
Video provided by tour group in Labuan Bajo. I'm in the video!
Plus, I got to know her friends and family, and it was really fun to get to know a little bit of her life outside our university. I also got to go to not-so-touristy places in Jakarta and Yogyakarta that I probably wouldn’t have gone without Tiara guiding me. Indonesia truly resembled a paradise.
A word of caution for those with sensitive stomachs: the food is SPICY. Seriously. But it's incredibly delicious, and I can prove:
Pictures taken by Tiara throughout the trip
My tip: While Bali is amazing and definitely worth visiting, Indonesia as a whole is vast and diverse. I highly recommend exploring other islands as well; they are bound to exceed your expectations and offer equally amazing experiences.
📍8th stop - New Zealand
New Zealand, an island country, holds a special place in my travel memories, particularly from when I visited with my parents when I was 16. Even though I was still underage during my first visit, I noticed numerous people in their 20s exploring the country with their friends. Now, as an adult, I feel drawn to revisit and experience New Zealand's adventures again.
This trip inspired one of my Hinge prompts: “What if I told you that I went bungee jumping three times in a week when I was 16?”
Picture by my mom
While exploring the entirety of the country with my parents, my favorite spot was Queenstown, because of the number of adventure sports. I rolled down a hill inside a giant inflatable ball filled with water, went jet boat rides, and jumped off a building in Auckland.
However, the highlight of my adventures was undoubtedly my first bungee jump. I jumped from the Kawarau Bridge Bungy, the world’s first bungee jumping spot, standing at 43 meters high.
The second jump made my mom very worried and made the workers at the bungee jumping place start joking to “tie her well otherwise a Brazilian mom will come after you.” It was the Canyon Swing is the world’s highest cliff jump, with 60 meters of freefall.
