Traveller Profile - Emma

This month we are featuring well-travelled Emma, from the UK.

Hey, I’m Emma or you may know me from the brand, ‘Living with the Wolf’. I work part-time in an Aseptic Unit, making life-saving medication. When I am not working in the Aseptic Unit, I am writing blogs about my travel, hikes, and my chronic illness, Lupus. I was diagnosed with Lupus at the age of 21. Every week I document my journey, sharing my experience with others, and helping people along the way.

On a weekend I love hitting the road with our camper van, Casper. We travel all over the UK with him, constantly creating new great memories. Our last big trip with Casper was a road trip around the Scottish Highlands, including a few days on the beautiful Isle Of Skye. Next year, we plan on taking him across to Europe, allowing us to explore more new places with him. You can check out my YouTube videos at The Adventurous Pair.

I was very fortunate as a child. I travelled the world right from birth. At just 10 months old, I was on my first ferry crossing to Ireland. At 20 months old I was taking my first flight to Spain. As I grew older, my passion to explore new places, new cultures, grew and grew. By the age of 18, I had visited 15 different countries, travelling as far as New Zealand, and as high into the Arctic Circle. Today, I have visited 39 different countries, and counting!

To follow me on my journeys, head over to my Instagram account: @livingwiththew0lf

1. Why do you travel? 

Travel is a big part of my life and has been from the day I was born. I love exploring new places, experiencing different cultures, and trying new foods. 

2. Tell us your favourite: place to visit, mode of transport and source to get travel info.

Choosing my all-time favourite place to visit is difficult as I’ve been to so many great places. I love a good road trip in America, travelling from one National Park to the next. In Europe, a road trip around Montenegro. It is one of the most underrated countries I’ve ever visited! If I want to stay in the UK, then the Scottish Highlands always wins my vote. The scenery is just so surreal! 

My favourite way to travel is by going on a good road trip by far! I love the excitement of exploring new places every day. When we are unable to travel by car or camper van, a plane is then our preferred travel.

People ask me all the time, where I get my travel inspiration from. I mainly get it off Instagram, seeing other content creators visiting beautiful places. My save folder is overflowing with places I want to visit. 

3. What is your favourite travel memory?

Travelling has provided me with so many great memories! I get asked all the time, what is your favourite travel memory. It’s a question I can never answer. I just have too many to choose from! Driving in Montenegro along the terrifying mountain roads, while seeing some of the most incredible scenery. Road trips in America, from one National Park to another. Driving in Lapland in the heart of winter, in thick snow, meeting the real Santa Claus. Spending the night in a Glass Igloo in Finland. Seeing the Northern Lights dance away in both Iceland and Finland. Spending New Year’s Eve in the Blue Lagoon’s in Iceland. Spending Christmas Day in New Zealand swimming in the lake. Getting proposed to in Hong Kong on top of Victoria’s Peak. The list just goes on and on! 

4. What's the most important thing you've learned while travelling?

The most important thing I have learned when travelling is to plan well before you go. Plan the things you want to see and do, but don’t try and pack too much into a day, leaving you exhausted. You can’t see and do everything when you visit somewhere, but use that as an excuse to revisit. 

5. Who would you love to sit next to on your next flight?

My partner, Alex. There’s nothing better than exploring the world and sharing experiences with someone you love.

6. What's your best money-saving tip to travel?

When it comes to booking trips abroad, I use Sky Scanner to search for good flight deals and booking.com for good hotel deals. I love Airbnb too. It’s great if you want to do your trip on a budget. Airbnb often means you are self-catering. This is cheaper than paying out for a meal every night. If you are on a budget, look at which airport you are flying into, too. A few years ago we wanted to go on holiday to Miami. The flight to Fort Lauderdale was a lot cheaper than the flight going to Miami. As we were hiring a car, the drive from Fort Lauderdale to Miami was only short and was worth it in the cost of airfare we were saving. Also travelling out of season helps you save pennies too. Plus it’s normally quieter, which we often prefer.

7. How do you deal with the post-holiday blues?

Whenever I come home from a trip, I always suffer from major holiday blues! The best thing to overcome this is to have another trip lined up. Wherever it’s a trip in the UK or abroad, it just gives you something to look forward to.

8. What's one thing you like to do in every place you visit?

Get out and explore!

9. Travelling can leave a big environmental footprint, how do you minimise yours?

If we are on a city break, we try and walk everywhere. Not only are you looking after the environment, but you also see so much more! If we are out on hikes or packing up some food for the day, we always use reusable bags for our food. When travelling, we always have our own drink bottles, which we fill up in the airport once we’ve passed through security, instead of buying single-use plastic bottles. 

10. Plan an around the world trip for us, stopping in one city only on each continent.

Europe - Lisbon, Portugal - make sure you ride Tram 28!

USA - New York - everybody has to experience the big apple once in their lifetime! 

Australia - Sydney - while you’re there, have a day trip to the Blue Mountains!

Asia - Hong Kong - perfect for a city break or a hiking trip! If you have the time, do a boat trip across to Macau for the day!

Africa - Cape Town, South Africa - make sure Table Top mountain is on your list! 

South America - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - make sure you don’t miss the hike to Christ the Redeemer. The views are just incredible!

Antarctica - Antarctic Peninsula (I know it’s not a city, but there are no cities!) - just looks epic! Defiantly high on my bucket list!

Thanks for sharing Emma. How fortunate you are to travel the world and see such incredible places. I love the sound of an RV, something I dream of doing one day. How romantic to be proposed to at the top of Victorias Peak! That is definitely a memorable occasion.

To read past traveller profiles; click here.

Each month an enthusiastic traveller will share with us their personal stories from their adventures around the world. If you would like to be featured in the upcoming months then please drop us a note below…