Why You Should Trust Explore With Erin

I think I was born to travel. I’ve had travel in my blood from a very early age (well, not as early as my kids!). You can trust me. I’ve traveled. I traveled solo in my early twenties; I’ve traveled as a couple, and I’ve traveled with kids.

When it comes to travel, I’ve been doing it for 20 years! And across 77 countries. 2026 EDIT – 83rd country!!

In celebration of visiting my 78th country, 20 years after my very first overseas trip, I’ve put together a post that explains my entire travel history. 

We are going to start way back to a time when I was youthful, energetic,, and 18. To be honest 2 of those 3 things are still accurate today! Let’s go back to the very beginning. A very good place to start. Enjoy Explore With Erin’s travel timeline.

Walking glaciers in Canada 2016

1999

My first overseas trip. I was 18 and had just graduated high school. My parents decided they would take all of us to Bali. From Perth, it was only a mere 3.5 hours, and considering they had 5 kids, (me the oldest, the youngest 7) it was quite a trip.

I hated the heat and never having experienced a third-world culture before I was shocked. I had no interest in ever visiting again. Little did I know more than 13 years later I would live there for two months on my 8th visit! And by 2017 have visited 16 times and lived there more than once.

2000/2001

The day after my 20th birthday I booked a return open-ended ticket to London. My father is British so I was very pleased to be able to also get a British passport. With my parent’s complete encouragement I left my home in Perth, Australia very naïve and green.

I had a stopover in Hong Kong for one evening. I was so nervous and I will never forget how strange I felt being in a hotel room by myself and wondering now what? I ate at McDonald’s, as I wasn’t sure what was safe to eat, and set up an organized tour the next day so I could see the sights safely.

Then I arrived in London. It was December. It was freezing. I’d never seen snow in my life, let alone gone to a ski school, Perth is hot. There is rain and the temp might get down to 15C in winter, but London was cold.

London 2001

My Dad had relatives there and they were kind enough to pick me up from the airport and give me a place in their home. A bedroom, which was the size of a closet back home. I managed to get a job at Harrod’s immediately and after 6 days of working retail (never been done before) I packed it in.

I had a friend living in Belgium at the time and she was like “what are you doing?” and I was like “well I just quit my job, I have some savings so I don’t need to work”. So she invited me over. You must sit back and imagine how adventurous this is for a green 20-year-old who just moved out of the home. I jumped the train from London to Belgium and stayed with my friend for a week.

I believe that trip infused me with confidence. We traveled around Antwerp and saw the most amazing places and I knew I had to get out more. I left her with a renewed mind about what I was going to do when I got back to London.

My trip to London was supposed to be for a 6-month stint, but before I knew it I had moved out of my relative’s house into a home on Finchley Road. The house was huge and each room was set up in studio style for the express purpose of girls living and working in London. It cost me 75 pounds a week including amenities.

Those were the days!

From this home, I started temping. Between jobs, I took the time out to see some of Europe. 6 months turned into 7, 8… 9.

I took a tour group to Amsterdam on my own. It was again an exciting thing for me to be going and doing things by myself. I made great friends and loved seeing the birthplace of my Mother.

I made great friends with a girl in London and in July we decided to take a 10-day trip to Italy. We spent 3 nights in Florence, 3 nights in Rome, and 3 nights in Sorrento. I will never forget that trip. Being young, single (for the first time since 16), traveling with another young single, and just enjoying every moment. It’s so different from traveling with kids or even a partner. Complete freedom to be selfish and do whatever you like, whenever you like. I will never forget that moment I stepped into the Colosseum, it changed my life. Knowing Christians had faced lions for their faith…. It truly impacted me and was a moment in time I will cherish always.

I visited Paris, France. I wasn’t a fan, could have been my English blood. Sure the Eiffel Tower was cool, but the rest to me was kind of like a copycat of Italy. I did manage to get out to Versaille and that was gorgeous. Am a fan of history.

The few visitors I did have in London had me doing the same bus tour all over again, but I love that tour. We saw Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The Eye, everything and anything. I even remember one day I was hanging out with a good friend and having nothing better to do we decided to jump on a train and go see the Monopoly board…. Those cheap places on the board, certainly are cheap in real life too.

Finally, I was convinced to return home. Winter was coming and I had plans waiting for me back in Australia. So nine months later I moved back.

2002

Newly married,  I jumped on a plane for our honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand. I stayed in the most amazing resort, Thavorn Beach Village, where the only way to our hotel room was up a cable car. The rooms were set on a cliff overlooking a beach. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. I fell in love with Thailand.

2003 – 2006

I did some travel in Australia – Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne. Thought I should get some home turf under my belt while building my own home and getting caught up in a Property Management career.

Sydney Harbour Bridge & the Opera House

2007

The house had been built and it was time to do something big. I knew I was ready to have kids so as a last hoorah since “I would never travel again” I booked a 7-week round the world ticket.

First, stop Hawaii. We were so jet-lagged but had arrived in the morning so it was time to just keep going. We stopped at Burger King (Hungry Jacks in Oz) and got a medium meal. It came as a large and we were so excited we knew it to be true – Things are Bigger in America!

3 nights in Hawaii, snorkeling in flooded volcanoes, drinking from coconuts, and eating things never tried it was divine.

Then onto Los Angeles. 3 nights in Hollywood, a town with so much contrast. Downtrodden, barred windows until you reach Beverly Hills where all of a sudden the mansions are sitting on cliff faces and celebrities are walking around. We weren’t fans.

3 nights in Anaheim. 3 days of just Disneyland. Having grown up in Australia, our amusement parks in Sydney/Perth could not compare. We loved every minute from 9 am to midnight every day. Had to buy new shoes for that trek.

Disneyland with my babies

3 nights in San Diego. The zoo, sea world, what a magnificent place. We fell in love with San Diego. It was a lot like Perth, but the shops were open late and on Sundays! We listed it as a place to come back. Plus while here we took a quick trip to Tijuana, Mexico.

We trained it back to the airport and made our way to Las Vegas. 3 nights in Vegas was not enough, but we crammed everything in: magic shows, Cirque De Solai, hotel viewing, and buffet eating. Some of the best buffets we ever had. We also managed a trip out to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam, an experience I will never forget. No matter what man-made attractions you visit, there is nothing on earth that can compare to God’s natural attractions, wow. We will come back.

Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

From Vegas to New York. We were blessed to have cousins offer us a place to stay in the amazing, but the expensive city of New York. Finally, 7 nights in one place and there was so much to see. Our hosts were so generous with their time and we made firm friends that I still contact regularly to this day, they became family.

During our stay in New York, we visited the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Broadway, etc. we also managed to jump a small flight to Canada & Niagra Falls for the day. Again God outdid any man-made attraction we had seen. We took the Maid of the Mist right to the fall and stood dripping wet in awe of this beauty.

Moving from New York to Washington DC for an overnight blur of seeing the White House, Capitol, etc. Those hop on hop off buses is the best!

Next, we flew out of Washington and headed to London for a quick visit with my Italy travel buddy and a review of the historic places. It was wet and rainy and well, disappointing.

From London, we flew to Munich. My late Father-In-Law was an American basketball player who lived in Australia and played for the Boomers in the Munich Olympics so it was incredible to see part of that history. We traveled to Neuschwanstein and fell in love with the castle.

We also decided to take a train trip to Switzerland for the day and loved the day we spent in Zurich. Again we had a friend in Germany who took us in and we are forever in his debt.
From Germany we had a flight to Israel, however, there was an 8-hour stopover in Madrid, so we left our bags in the locker and made the most of our day in Madrid, before hopping back on the plane to Tel Aviv.

We stayed near Haifa and traveled around a lot of the country. We visited bucket list items; Jerusalem with its quarters and the Dome and the Wall, the Dead Sea and its renewing mud, Haifa, Jaffa, Caesarea, etc. To walk the same streets as Jesus is unforgettable, to see history as old as the Bible was a footprint on my heart I will never forget.

Mount of Olives, Israel

Finally, our 2 weeks in Israel came to an end and it was time to go back to real life. To go forward you have to go back, so the journey home took a long time. Israel to London, London to Singapore, Singapore to Perth. Home.

Home?

2009

Sydney & Singapore (including a side trip to Bintan, Indonesia) with my 9-month-old baby. She won a competition and was voted one of the 5 cutest babies in Australia so they paid for us to go to Sydney and stay for the photoshoot, etc. Then after that, we had plans for Singapore, I fell in love with Singapore – a gorgeous destination and added a mini holiday to Bintan after Singapore.

2010

Bali again. Before the birth of my son.

2011

My son was now 1 and happy to stay with Grandmother so we made 4 trips this year – 2 with the kids, and 2 without.

April – Singapore, no kids.
July – a wedding in Bali with all my family, including kids.
October – a wedding anniversary to Kuala Lumpur & Langkawi, no kids.
December – a 10-night cruise from Sydney to the South Pacific: Vanuatu, New Caledonia, etc.
It was during this cruise that we realized we had spent a lot of time in 2011 out of Australia and it was so expensive to keep coming back to Australia. It was so far from everything. It wasn’t like London where you could jump across to Europe at any time. It’s not like America where every state is different and unique and has amazing things to do and see…. And well wouldn’t it be good just to not come back for a while?…

Our first cruise in 2011

2012

May 2012 the kids and I set off with a one-way ticket to Bali. I had planned 6 months in Asia and then to return to Australia. However, the 6 months went so well that we decided to keep going and travel across the pond over to the US. Recorded it all on my blog Travel With Bender.

Bali Indonesia

Singapore

Malaysia

Borneo

Philipines

Hong Kong

Thailand

USA

Riding scooters in Bali with friends, while we lived there

2013

Our nomadic journey continued throughout the US and Central America, before flying to the Middle East and returning home in time for Christmas and my brother’s wedding.

USA

The Bahamas

Mexico

Belize

Guatemala

USA – Puerto Rico

The Caribbean

Israel

Turkey

UAE

Jordan

Australia

Spain

Italy

France

Ireland

Czech Republic

UK

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

2014

We spent 3 months back in Australia. The kids attended school and I started selling off our belongings to hit the road again. We left around April on a press trip to Malta, followed by 15 days in Greece. From there we had no idea where to go. The cheapest ticket out of Greece was to Bulgaria and from there we were invited to Poland. We spent the rest of the year making our way around Europe. Highly recommend a Mediterranean Coast road trip.

Australia

Malaysia

Sri Lanka

Malta

Greece

Bulgaria

Poland

Hungary

UK

Italy

Switzerland

Romania

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Belgium

France

Germany

Austria

Croatia

Finland

Sunrise in Kythnos, Greece

2015

After Christmas, we headed home again to say hi and hello to everyone before jetting off to the US. We obtained a 6-month tourist visa as we planned on spending a few years road-tripping America and Canada.

Australia

Bali, Indonesia

USA

Canada

Anguilla

Skywalk in Jasper, Canada

2016

We finished our road trip and set up a 2 month base in Mexico and Canada. Before finally deciding in December it was time to head home again. Of course, on the way was a stop in Bali. The best place to adjust to time zone changes.

USA

Canada

Mexico

Bali, Indonesia

Australia

The amazing USA

2017

Our circumstances changed in January and we stopped nomadic travel. As suddenly and as abruptly as it started. Nomad no more. We made a home in Melbourne, but I managed to still get to Bali twice this year and take several trips to Perth.

Australia

Bali, Indonesia

Beautiful Bali rice paddies in Ubud

2018

Still living in Melbourne, my partner and I took a 2-week vacation to Vietnam in April with a layover in KL. This was my 77th country! In August the kids and I went to visit friends and family in Perth, before heading to the Whitsundays in Queensland. It was our first time in Queensland and the highlight was the Great Barrier Reef by far. Quite soon after that trip my partner and I jumped a plane to Texas for a conference in Austin. We also spent a few days in San Antonio and Irving. After that, we headed to Mexico for a week of sun, surf, and turtle volunteer work. After I returned home I was then invited to speak at the Travelocity summit in Cabo in December. So it wasn’t long before I was back on a plane again. What an amazing year of travel for someone who gave up a nomadic life. 

Australia

Malaysia

Vietnam

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Perth, Australia

Whitsundays, Australia

Whitehaven, Whitsundays, Queensland

Texas, USA

Quintana Roo, Mexico

Cabo, Mexico

Cabo with Travelocity

2019

Never to stay still, the kids and I decided to go surprise the family in Perth for my niece’s baby dedication. And just like that 2019 started with travel.

This year we took multiple family trips to Tasmania, Brisbane, and Sydney.

My partner and I also managed a trip to Singapore in May.

And then in September, after 2 years the kids were removed from the Airport watch-list that prevented their father from removing them illegally from Australia, and we took a month-long trip to Bali and Lombok.

In December my daughter and I took a quick trip to the Gold Coast. And then we ended the year like it began, with travel, but this time one way. The kids and I decided to leave Melbourne, Victoria, and move to Perth, Western Australia.

2020

Wow, what a tough year. I’ve never been grounded as long as I have been now. After a quick visit from my partner in February, the world changed in March and I got stuck in Perth, Western Australia for the entire year. I never thought I’d have a paragraph on here that had no travel. Well, not strictly true, the kids and I did a fair few staycation trips including Rottnest, Wave Rock, and Down South more times than I care to count.

2021

This year was a big improvement from 2020. However Australia was still locked to the world, so Australian exploration it was. In 2021 I was also in a long-distance relationship with my partner, so a lot of my trips involved trying to manage border restrictions and see each other as much as possible.

After some staycations with the kids in January, I managed a quick weekend getaway to Adelaide in February.

March, my partner, and I had a week in Cairns. I’d never been too far north Queensland and it was stunning. I had no idea places like this even existed in Australia.

End of March, and the beginning of April the kids and I spent 3 weeks in Melbourne with my partner and his daughter. We also took a staycation to Lakes Entrance and Wilsons Prom.

In May I took a weekend trip to Melbourne by myself.

In July I took another quick weekend trip to Melbourne. And my partner came back with me. The borders shut around us and he ended up spending 2 months in Perth. So we visited Rottnest and had a wonderful family trip Down South.

November I headed to Adelaide again, and my luck changed. 6 trips and they wouldn’t let me off the plane until they announced that at 1 pm the borders had changed again and I had to 14-day quarantine.

2022

The year has just begun. After 2 years of border closures the Premier had promised to open on February 5th and my partner and I began to make plans straight away to Turkey. 16 days before opening. Delayed. How will 2022 pan out? I sincerely hope better than 2020, because so far it sux travel-wise.

Update: It happened! In April I had 3 heavenly weeks in Turkiye, with a quick layover in Singapore. In Turkiye we did the most magical road trip, spent a few days in gorgeous Istanbul, and time with family in Bursa.

In June my partner and step-daughter came over to Western Australia and we took a road trip North to Kalbarri. I had never been north of Lancelin, so it was pretty special and relaxing.

In August I went back to my second home in Australia, Melbourne.

In September it was time to get out of the country again and this time we brought all 3 kids with us. We spent a week in Malaysia, visiting Kuala Lumpur, relaxed in overwater bungalows in Port Dickson, and had fun at Legoland Johor. Before spending the day in Dubai. So expensive!

Lastly we spent two weeks in October in Turkiye, visiting Ephesus, Kusdasi, Istanbul, and family in Bursa.

November was also very busy with another trip to Melbourne, before jetting off to Phuket, Thailand for a Travel Blogging Conference and then some professional Travel Blogging in Koh Samui, and back to Phuket with my lover.

I think I’ll stay home in December, before planning 2023!

2023

This was an epic, life-changing year of travel, as I opened my world to women from all over the planet.

But first.

January started with a bang with a surprise week in Melbourne, followed by a staycation in Perth city centre.

By March/April I was back in Bali for a blended family vacation. Vacationing with teens was actually a lot of fun, and I’m so glad we did 3 weeks in our favourite place.

At the end of April I ran a Girls Trip through Turkey. It was so much fun and I had an absolute ball showing off one of my favourite countries to some pretty awesome ladies. We had 4 from Australia, and 2 from the US.

On the way to and from Turkey we also managed a brief vacay in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

After our Turkey tour Ahmet and I went on vacation to Egypt. We took a tour ourselves to have a well-deserved break from the tour we ran. Seeing the pyramids was a dream come true, but Egypt is definitely a one and done deal for me.

June and July were a recovery period from the 7 weeks of travel through March, April, and May. But come August, I was back on a plane over to Melbourne.

September, after a life-changing milestone, I decided the kids and I needed to spend some quality time together, so we spent some time on Gili T and in Ubud.

November I was back in Melbourne, while in December I spent the time enjoying the festive season with friends and family.

1 new destination this year under my belt, several international destinations, and plenty of trips to Melbourne. This should slow down in 2024 since my partner, who was living there, has officially moved to Perth.

2024

2024 started with a bang. Or, more accurately, a plane ticket to Bali. January school holidays meant our annual Bali fix was firmly on the calendar, because when you’ve been to Bali approximately a million times, it becomes the travel equivalent of your favourite pair of jeans. Easy, familiar and always a good idea.

We also squeezed in a quick escape to Ferguson Valley in WA, and honestly, put this one on your map. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I reckon it’s going to be giving Margaret River a serious run for its money.

Then came May, and one of my favourite adventures of the year. We took Explore With Erin readers and followers on our second group trip to Tukiye, spending 10 days exploring together. There is something pretty special about travelling with people who started as readers and followers and somehow end up feeling like old friends.

After that, Ahmet and I headed off on our own adventure in Turkey, jumping in a campervan and exploring parts of northern Türkiye we hadn’t seen before. Because apparently visiting a country six times still isn’t enough. There’s always another road to disappear down.

August saw us flying over to Melbourne for Ahmet’s birthday.

And September brought a much bigger family adventure. We headed to South Vietnam, starting with Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City. Then Ahmet abandoned us. Okay, technically he flew home, while Mia, Caius and I carried on without him, making our way north to Hoi An and Nha Trang. There were overnight buses involved. Let’s just say I have absolutely no plans to make that mistake again anytime soon.

November was another Bali trip, but this time it was extra special. I took Mia and her friends to Bali for her 16th birthday, which was equal parts fun, chaos, and me wondering how I had somehow become responsible for a group of teenagers in Bali. 

We also squeezed in another Melbourne trip later that month, because apparently one Melbourne visit in a year simply wasn’t enough.

And that was 2024. Bali, WA, Türkiye, Melbourne, Vietnam, and plenty of questionable transport decisions. Not a bad year at all.

2025

2025 started unusually quietly. January came and went without a single trip, because my kids had developed a rather inconvenient love of school holiday camps. Apparently hanging out with Mum and travelling the world was no longer quite as exciting as going off to camp with their friends. So I waited patiently until February, when I finally escaped to Bali. Of course. Where else? It’s quick, it’s easy, I know my way around, and there’s always good food. Basically, my travel comfort blanket.

May brought another Explore With Erin group trip to Türkiye, spending 10 days travelling around the country with readers and followers. I genuinely love showing people Türkiye, especially when they’re seeing it for the first time, and this was such a fun group. Good people, good food, plenty of laughs and, as always, me trying to convince everyone that we definitely needed to see just one more thing.

Then things got surprisingly quiet on the travel front. I didn’t head anywhere again until September, and this time it was for work. I had an influencer event in Melbourne followed by another event in Sydney that I was running. Work trips are always fun, especially when they involve events and creators, but I’ll be honest. Give me a personal trip where I get to explore somewhere new any day.

In September Ahmet surprised me with a glamping weekend in Busselton – it was divine and I loved it!

Then came November and December, and one of the biggest travel adventures of the year. Thailand with the whole family. This was our first blended-family holiday with Ahmet’s kids and mine all travelling together, and somehow, miraculously, it was amazing. We explored Krabi, Koh Lanta and Bangkok, ate our way around Thailand and discovered that I absolutely love Koh Lanta. In fact, I’d pick it over Phuket any day.

And that was 2025. A quieter travel year by my usual standards, but still filled with Türkiye, Bali, Thailand, work adventures, and a pretty important milestone. Getting the whole blended family on a plane together and actually enjoying it. I’ll call that a win.

2026

2026 started with one of my favourite things. A friend coming to visit from the other side of the world. My friend Sabina flew over from Canada, which meant plenty of exploring, eating and generally making the most of having her here.

Of course, Ahmet and I couldn’t resist sneaking in a little weekend getaway of our own, so we headed down to Pemberton, where Ahmet had never been. I love showing him different parts of WA, and Pemberton was the perfect excuse to get out of Perth for a few days.

By February, I was back in Bali. Obviously. This time I was visiting Sabina and squeezing in some special adventures with Ahmet, including our first trip to Nusa Lembongan. And WOW. This little island absolutely stole my heart. Gorgeous beaches, beautiful water, and that blissful feeling of being somewhere just a little removed from the chaos. I’d go back in a heartbeat and highly recommend adding it to your Bali itinerary.

And then… nothing. 😂

Well, almost nothing. My kids were in their final years of school and had apparently decided that travelling with their mother was no longer on their list of priorities. No matter how much begging, bribing, or strategic holiday planning I attempted, they weren’t going anywhere. So 2026 turned into a surprisingly quiet travel year.

Until August.

I spontaneously booked a surprise trip to Melbourne for Ahmet’s birthday, which was already going to be fun. Then, completely unexpectedly, I was invited to Central Asia. So obviously I said yes. Because who says no to that?

What followed was two and a half weeks travelling through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It was one of those trips that reminded me exactly why I love travelling. New countries, crazy adventures, incredible food, unexpected dramas and plenty of stories that I’ll be telling for years. And yes, I came home with another country ticked off the list.

Then 2026 finished exactly how you’d expect. With another trip to Bali. 😂 Finally, the kids had finished school, so we headed straight there as a family in November for massages, beauty treatments, pool time, and all the relaxing things we’d been waiting for. After surviving the final years of school, I think we all deserved it.

December brought our second Melbourne trip of the year. This time we had a wedding to attend and another very special reason to celebrate. Mia turned 18. It was the perfect little end-of-year getaway and a pretty big milestone for all of us.

And that was 2026. A slow start, a surprise adventure across Central Asia, and plenty of Bali. Not quite the year I expected, but probably one of the most memorable.

And then there’s 2027…

2027 is already shaping up to be a BIG one. I’ve got a fully booked Vietnam group trip in March, another Türkiye group adventure in September, and absolutely no idea what I’ll get up to in between. Knowing me, there will be planes involved.