Long before solo travel became a social media trend, these women were showing us what it really looked like to travel alone. They were navigating airports, unfamiliar streets, cultural differences, and the inevitable moments of “what on earth am I doing?” and sharing the experience so the rest of us could learn from it.
They were among the bloggers who helped make solo travel feel less intimidating and more achievable. Their stories went beyond pretty pictures. They talked about confidence, safety, culture, independence and the realities of figuring things out when you arrive somewhere with little more than a guidebook and a sense of adventure.
For this edition of The OG Travel Bloggers Who Inspired a Generation, I’m shining the spotlight on four women who have been creating in the solo travel space for years: GRRRLTRAVELER, Anna Everywhere, Your Time To Fly and Breathedreamgo.
GRRRLTRAVELER
First up is Christine Kaaloa of GRRRLTRAVELER, who has been documenting solo travel since 2008 and has built her work around being a responsible, honest and empowering voice for solo female travellers.
Christine Kaaloa
Blog: GRRRLTRAVELER
Website: grrrltraveler.com
Started travel blogging: 2008
Are you still actively travel blogging?
Yes, but I had to take a hiatus from YouTube and, especially, social media.
What keeps you blogging after all these years?
What keeps me in the game is my passion for being a responsible voice for the solo female travel community, which is always evolving as it faces new challenges around self-discovery through travel.
When I started, there was barely any experiential information or real guidance out there for solo, or even general, travel. When you travelled, you only had a paper guidebook and the rest felt like jumping into the unknown and crossing your fingers that you’d land on your feet. You really had to figure it out when you got there.
Blogging and starting a YouTube channel to take people inside my experiences was a huge passion.
Now there’s a flood of online information, but tourism has hit new problems like overtourism and a trend-chasing style of travel. My challenge is to find positively impactful ways to navigate travel without adding to the noise.
How many countries have you visited?
A lot, but probably not as many as people think. I’m not a country counter. To me, a country takes a lifetime+ to explore, and a trip allows me to experience a mere sliver of that country’s potential.
I enjoy revisiting countries and feeling a relationship with them. Plus, I often let my intuition guide my choices. My trips are soul-led.
Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
Too many. India, Nepal, Korea, Thailand, Japan and Italy are the ones my soul has ongoing relationships with at the moment. 😉
One place still on your bucket list?
Kazakhstan and Egypt.
Biggest change you’ve seen in travel blogging since you started?
There are more opportunities for creators now and more open talk about monetisation, but also more competition.
Lesser-known destinations are getting promoted alongside the popular ones, which sounds good until you realise social media’s short-form content only shows a sliver of travel. Social media content has to hit virality to get traction, so audiences end up making decisions based on highly curated highlights rather than the full picture. Those slices are quietly training travellers on how to experience and appreciate a place.
Travel feels trendier right now, but there’s less focus on mindful travel, cultural appreciation, or connecting locally, which is a real problem as overtourism grows.
Search engine algorithm shifts have been huge too, from SEO to AI and monopolies like Google. It makes a creator think twice about tools and platforms we’ve built our audience on, and where to place our trust moving forward.
A lot of people say blogging is dead, but there’s still content not being covered, and travellers want to read honest experiences. Travel blogging remains one of the best ways to put out honest, feature-length deep dives that help people make stronger, more positively impactful travel decisions. It still does more for cultural and destination education than a 30-second clip ever will.
Favourite blog post you’ve ever written:
10 Must-Try Street Foods in Kolkata. This is a trip guide, but it’s the first time I found confidence in exploring Indian street food.
Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Carry on
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle
Did Covid make a difference to the blog?
The pandemic was obviously a stressful period and a big setback for many of us. Emotionally and politically, what the world and the U.S. were going through accelerated my burnout, because in the US we were also getting hit with Asian hate and Black Lives Matter.
I was finally hitting a good flow with income, brand partnerships and my workload, and everything suddenly came to a halt. I didn’t know if we’d ever return to travel and the ongoing question was how would that impact the travel industry moving forward.
There was a subtle division in the travel community. For some, it was an opportunity to grow their social media accounts by doing what the entire world wasn’t. Travelling.
For GRRRLTRAVELER, responsible and safe solo female travel is always a part of my message. I did not want to encourage travel until the world could find balance and communities, especially vulnerable ones with little medical infrastructure, could feel safe.
But it also felt like shooting all those years I invested time and money into my blog, YouTube channel and social media platforms in the foot. Thinking of ways to pivot was challenging and overwhelming.
Ultimately, I realised it gave me the time I always wanted and needed to develop my YouTube coaching business and course shop.
Does AI make a difference to the blog?
Yes and no. Just like SEO, there’s new ways to navigate the system. But the burning question is, how much do I want my blog content to keep suffering at the hands of a greedy, monopolistic Google algorithm that’s using our content to train its AI?
What is the bigger picture of where we’re going as a content creation industry, and are there solutions that can transform the traditional blog?
One piece of advice for someone starting today?
I still feel like if you’re serious about the business of travel content creation, you have a blog, or at least a website, that is your own platform and actual home base.
A blog is more professional than a “blue checkmark” or LinkTree page. It’s a formal investment in your business, letting others know you aren’t just a hobbyist “trying this content creation thing out.”
Anyone and their grandma can post a photo, be a UGC influencer and get monetised by Meta.
A blog is a travel and content portfolio and earns authority and trust from audiences and potential brand partners, because it is your home base for business.
YouTube is my favourite video blog platform, but I’d even recommend creators there to have a blog if they want to be taken seriously.
Anna Everywhere
Anna is an anomaly and should be in both solo and family. She established an amazing solo travel blog when I first met her and followed, but since then has married and started a family, hence moving into the family travel industry. However, as she is an OG solo travel blogger, I’m happy to introduce her here.
Anna
Blog: Anna Everywhere
Website: Anna Everywhere
Started travel blogging: 2013
Are you still actively travel blogging?
Yes
What keeps you blogging after all these years?
The ability to generate passive income, allowing me to be more flexible while raising kids.
How many countries have you visited?
122, 54 with kids.
Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
South Africa and Mexico.
One place still on your bucket list?
Mongolia.
Biggest change you’ve seen in travel blogging since you started?
Blogging evolves every other year, but recently I’ve seen a big shift back to more storytelling-focused blogs, rather than content factories repurposing the same “10 things to do in X” type of articles.
Favourite blog post you’ve ever written:
Try Controversial Local Food While Travelling
Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Carry on
Window or aisle seat?
Window
Did Covid make a difference to the blog?
Yes. When all travel stopped, it forced me to get more creative and, as a result, I created more websites in different niches, diversifying my income.
Does AI make a difference to the blog?
In a way. More people are trying to plan their trips with ChatGPT, but it’s not realistic when it comes to family travel, as every family has different needs and AI can’t really differentiate the ages of the kids.
In the end, most people are actually turning to me or other travel planners with first-hand experience.
One piece of advice for someone starting today?
Stay true to yourself. Don’t get discouraged that your audience might change over the years. I know mine did since I went from the solo travel niche to family travel.
Breathedreamgo
Mariellen Ward
Blog: Breathedreamgo
Website: Breathedreamgo
Started travel blogging: 2009
Are you still actively travel blogging?
Yes, sort of. Not the way I used to when I was a full-time traveller and blogger. Now it is more strategic and marketing driven, and I am publishing way less often.
What keeps you blogging after all these years?
The blog helps support and promote my tour business, India for Beginners. It’s now more of a marketing vehicle than a blog.
How many countries have you visited?
24
Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
India
One place still on your bucket list?
Vietnam
Biggest change you’ve seen in travel blogging since you started?
There are three:
- The explosion of influencers and vloggers, along with the shift to social media and Reels.
- The so-called Helpful Content Update, which virtually wiped out many blogs.
- The AI takeover.
Favourite blog post you’ve ever written:
Sacred River India
Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Checked
Window or aisle seat?
Window
Did Covid make a difference to the blog?
Yes. Page views plummeted and I did not feel inspired at all to create content.
Does AI make a difference to the blog?
Yes, in that AI summaries are replacing a lot of content online.
One piece of advice for someone starting today?
If you want to make money, start with a business model and then choose your niche, platforms, strategy, etc.
If you don’t want to make money, follow your bliss. Think of blogging as a labour of love.
People respond well to good stories and passion-driven projects.
Your Time to Fly
Tamara Gruber
Blog: Your Time to Fly
Website: Your Time to Fly
Started travel blogging: 2013
Are you still actively travel blogging?
Yes, but I also plan and book client trips as a travel advisor.
What keeps you blogging after all these years?
Travel is my passion and, as much as I can demystify and simplify the experience for others, I want to try to encourage more people to experience the world.
This is why I love sharing sample itineraries, travel stories and things I’ve learned along the way.
How many countries have you visited?
40-ish
Favourite destination you’ve ever visited?
Italy. Basic but always a favourite, even after eight or so visits.
One place still on your bucket list?
Australia 😉
Biggest change you’ve seen in travel blogging since you started?
The switch from blogging as a passion or hobby to blogging as a business.
That isn’t all bad, but when people hire writers or use AI, it changes the authenticity I love about travel blogs.
Favourite blog post you’ve ever written:
Hadrian’s Wall Path
Carry-on only or checked luggage?
Carry on
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle
Did Covid make a difference to the blog?
For a while, but things bounced back when everyone started travelling again.
Does AI make a difference to the blog?
Yes! Sadly, Google’s move toward AI Overviews and people getting answers through AI has changed the way people search and therefore discover new blog posts.
Unfortunately, this switch has had a dramatic negative impact on my revenue, so I’ve recently added travel planning services to my portfolio.
One piece of advice for someone starting today?
Be prepared to build a following through social media that drives traffic or business to your website.
OG Travel Bloggers
Love discovering the stories behind the original travel bloggers? Continue exploring the OG Travel Bloggers series:
- OG Travel Bloggers Still Going: The Original Travel Bloggers Who Built An Industry
- OG Family Travel Bloggers: The Original Family Travel Bloggers Who Changed Travel With Kids
- OG Couple Travel Bloggers: The Original Travel Couples Who Built a Life Around Travel
More OG Travel Bloggers Series Coming Soon
From destination experts and travel photographers to solo travellers and adventure bloggers, we’re celebrating the creators who helped shape the travel industry.
Explore With Erin Wrap Up: Celebrating The OG Solo Travel Bloggers
These four OG solo travel bloggers are a reminder of just how much the original travel bloggers shaped the way we travel today.
When Christine Kaaloa, Anna, Mariellen Ward and Tamara Gruber started their travel blogs, there was no Instagram Reels strategy, no TikTok, no ChatGPT planning your itinerary and certainly no AI Overview deciding whether someone ever gets to read the article you spent hours writing.
There were blogs, cameras, guidebooks and a whole lot of figuring things out along the way.
What makes these original travel bloggers so interesting is that they have all taken very different paths. From solo female travel and long-term travel to family travel and travel planning, each has adapted as the travel blogging industry has changed.
But they share something important. They started creating travel content because they genuinely wanted to share their experiences and encourage other people to see more of the world.
And I think that’s what makes these OG travel bloggers so important.
They weren’t just documenting where they went. They were helping build the road for those of us who came after them.
The platforms may have changed. The algorithms certainly have. The business models have evolved and, let’s be honest, surviving as a travel blogger in 2026 requires a whole new level of adaptability.
But the value of a good travel story hasn’t changed.
If anything, in a world increasingly filled with AI-generated itineraries, recycled listicles and 15-second highlight reels, real travel experience, personality and a story worth telling matter more than ever.
That’s why I wanted to celebrate these OG solo travel bloggers and original travel bloggers. They didn’t just travel. They helped inspire a generation of travellers to go further, travel differently and, most importantly, believe that they could do it too.
And for anyone searching for the best solo travel blogs, the stories from these pioneering travel bloggers are a pretty good place to start.
