Now that we’ve been home for a couple weeks and have had a chance to settle back in to a a new “normal”, it’s time to recap our 240-day trip around the world.
We’re covering the highs, the lows, and even revealing exactly how much everything cost! Without further ado, here’s what we came up with…
Top 3 Places
This question is almost impossible to answer because each place is so different. How can you compare an exotic beach to a snow covered mountain, or gauge how much your personal experience somewhere influenced your objective opinion about it? You can’t—but we’ve done our best to narrow it down to the places that really blew us away.
1. Machu Picchu
The more of the world I saw, the more I realized just how special Machu Picchu is. It’s beyond the stunning view you see in photos—the surrounding landscape is equally as breathtaking in person.
Towering peaks shrouded in layers of cloud and fog transport you to back in time to a prehistoric world. It’s a feeling that can’t quite be put into words—you really must experience it in person (I urge you to do so!)
2. The Italian & Swiss Alps
This famous mountain range cuts through multiple countries and when we first visited them in Italy, I was left speechless.
Every winding turn during our road trip through the Dolomites in northern Italy had me gasping in awe. I think it is truly the most breathtaking place I’ve ever been to.
The Switzerland side is equally as stunning, with its storybook scenery of hilltop chalets and bell-wearing cows—if only it wasn’t so expensive!
3. Greece
It’s no secret that Greece is my heaven on earth.
From the food to the blue and white houses to the culture and crystal clear waters, I relished every moment of our 17 days there.
I’ll never forget the memories and feeling of pure bliss on those islands. It’s my happy place, always and forever. And our Greece video was easily my favorite to make.
Honorable mentions: Southern France; Matera, Italy; Huacachina, Peru; Ilha Grande, Brazil
Top 3 Experiences
1. Our Engagement
Of course, this was perhaps the best moment of my entire life, let alone this trip!
It came as a complete surprise and changed the dynamic of the eight months to follow. Read our engagement story here, and watch our Brazil movie to see it on video.
2. Lucas’ Birthday in Carcasonne, France
For Lucas’ 30th Birthday we planned to be in the medieval castle town of Carcasonne, in the South of France. His birthday falls on Bastille Day, which is the French Independence Day, and Carcasonne puts on the country’s second best fireworks show (behind Paris).
It was the first week of our road trip in Europe, and we were both on cloud nine. We frolicked through the castle walls and ate copious amounts of cheese and baguettes, sipped on French wine while picnicking in a vineyard and stared up at the fireworks while daydreaming about our future. It was pure magic, and honestly the best week of my life. Check out our France video if you haven’t watched it yet!
3. Boat trip in Rincon Del Mar, Colombia
This was one of those surreal experiences we won’t soon forget. We were staying in a tiny fishing village on Colombia’s northern coast, and hired a small boat to take us swimming with bioluminescent plankton at night. On the way out, a massive lightning storm followed us across the open ocean. We eventually made it safely, dragging the boat through a hidden passageway to a secret lagoon.
There we snorkeled amongst sparkling blue algae like a scene out of Avatar, as the night sky was lit up by the most dramatic spiderwebs of lighting we’d ever seen. I wish it was something we could capture on photo or video, but that night will live on in our memories forever.
Honorable Mentions: Dune buggying in Huacachina, Peru; all night street party in Porto, Portugal; sunset swimming in the Amazon, Ecuador; sleeping in our car in the Italian alps; local fire festival in Milos, Greece; reunion with friends at Oktoberfest; waking up to the Matterhorn in Switzerland; double rainbow storm in Ella, Sri Lanka; Bride & Groom competition in Pushkar, India
Least Favorite Places
It’s easy to gush about your favorites, but what about the ones that fell short? Here are the spots we wouldn’t recommend to anyone.
1. Jaipur, India
We arrived in Jaipur after a rough experience in Pushkar left me feeling under the weather and jaded towards India. Jaipur was known as the mecca for shopping—filled with a plethora of handcrafted items, pink buildings and palaces. Imagine our disappointment when we saw this:
Polluted, filthy, crowded, noisy and no decent shopping in sight. We did manage to have a beautiful wedding band custom made for Lucas, and the Monkey Temple was a lot of fun but those were the only two highlights. This was a lesson to always keep your expectations extremely low to avoid disappointment.
2. Salvador, Brazil
This was a similar situation for us—I became ill with the flu just as we arrived in Salvador, after raving reviews convinced us to fly there.
The city itself wasn’t horrible, but we couldn’t explore most of it as we were told to stay near our hostel because of how dangerous it was. Armed police lined the streets all day and night, and multiple people from our hostel had been robbed. It was the most dangerous place we visited and just not worth the risk to go there.
3. Tangier, Morocco
Chalk this one up to too-high of expectations, once again. When you think of Morocco, you immediately visualize pristine palaces covered in colorful patterned tile and intricate wood carvings, right? Think again.
Those instagram-worthy places do exist, but they’re usually hidden behind the closed doors of hotels or mosques, many of which you aren’t allowed in, or have to pay to enter. From the outside, Morocco looks like any other developing country, complete with the array of less-than-pleasing smells and sights that come with it. Once we accepted this and adjusted our expectations accordingly, we came to appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of Morocco… but I still wouldn’t recommend Tangier as a place to visit.
Top 5 Favorite Photos
Almost an impossible task to pair down eight months into just five photos, but here they are—chosen both from personal preference and your favorites on Instagram:
1. St. Magdalena, Italy
2. Machu Picchu, Peru
3. Pushkar, India
4. Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
5. Lago di Braies, Italy
How much did it all cost?
That’s the million dollar question! We sat down the other night and combed through every single bank and credit card statement over the past eight months. Before traveling, we knew we had enough money saved up to cover our expenses—and don’t forget, I still have an online shop I run remotely—so it wasn’t necessary to determine a specific budget beforehand.
With that said, we’re always budget minded with everything we do in life, and will travel as inexpensively as possible (without completely sacrificing comfort). And while we did spend over 3 months in Europe, more than half the trip was traveling within more affordable countries. PSA: America is one of the more expensive countries in the world, comparably.
Unfortunately, many places aren’t up to date on technology and don’t accept credit cards, so all of our cash purchases (nearly half of our expenses) are unaccounted for. So while we do know how much we spent overall, we don’t have an accurate breakdown by category. Instead, we’ve tried to break it down by country—which still isn’t entirely accurate as some of the cash spent was brought with us from home, or converted currencies along the way. Basically, use this information as a general idea and not a guidebook 🙂
The breakdown below includes everything—flights, visas, trip insurance, accommodations, food, travel, shopping (not including our wedding rings), etc. Important note: Last year, we both opened Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card accounts and received 100,000 bonus points each. We used the card almost exclusively and by the time our trip ended, we were able to redeem 512,000 points on air travel which equaled $7,700 in flights. We ended up paying another $1,670 out of pocket for airfare. That was a huge savings!
3 Weeks in Brazil: $3400
3 Weeks in Peru: $2425
8 Days in Ecuador: $900
3 Weeks in Colombia: $1187
2 Weeks in Portugal: $2716
10 Days in Spain: $2704
10 Days in France: $1869
4 Weeks in Italy: $6855
4 Days in Malta: $990
17 Days in Greece: $3026
17 Days in Croatia: $2918
4 Days in Munich: $974
1 Week in Switzerland: $1308
14 Days in Morocco: $1726
1 Week in Sri Lanka: $924
3 Weeks in India: $2636
4 Hours in Tokyo: $145
Grand Total: $37,937
When you break that down by day, we averaged $158/day for both of us, or $79/person per day. Not bad, considering rent alone in San Francisco cost $110/day for our room in a shared apartment. When you add in all of the normal living expenses, we definitely spent less while traveling the world.
We certainly could have scaled back and sacrificed things like renting cars for road trips, the occasional splurge for dinner or a nicer AirBnb, or extras like boat trips and excursions—but those became some of our favorite moments and what made the trip special.
Alternatively, we could have easily spent 2-3x as much by staying in comfortable hotels, dining out for every meal and filling our day with activities. This is what you normally do on vacation, which is why it’s difficult for people to understand how they could afford an extended international trip. But you see—this wasn’t a vacation. It was replacing our existing lifestyle with one of a nomads—trading in our apartment for a temporary bed in a new city every few days. By committing to this lifestyle change, we were able to replace most of our monthly expenses rather than add to them.
And there you have it… almost eight months of travel boiled down into one single post. I hope this was helpful to those wanting to know how we made it work, and that our trip has given others inspiration to get out there and see the world! And make sure you read about how we pack minimally in case you missed it.
Can I ask which country was your favorite to follow along with? Did any particular photos/stories convince you to make travel plans? Connect with me in the comments below or on Facebook and Instagram 🙂
Just in case you missed it, here’s the full lineup of the travel videos we made. These were so much fun to create, and a much needed creative outlet for me personally while I was away. Do you have a favorite?
3 Weeks in Brazil (& He Proposed!)
17 Days in Peru: Cusco to Lima
3 Weeks in Colombia: Our Backpacking Adventure!
2 Weeks in Portugal: New 4k Drone Footage!
A Road Trip Through France: The best week ever!
One Month in Italy: A cinematic travel film
Switzerland in September: A 4k aerial film
Thank you all again for following along—I hope you enjoyed the ride! As always, if you have any questions about anything related to this trip, feel free to drop me a line. I’m happy to answer and share my experience with you!
Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season…
Andy Rudkin says
What truly inspiring blog post, thank you for sharing.
Out of interest, what camera(s) were you using on your trip?
jennasuedesign says
Thanks Andy! I used my Canon 6d, DJI Mavic Pro, and a GoPro a few times.
Gabriella says
Hi Jenna!!
I have loved following your travels. I am just so impressed with how you documented everything in pictures and videos. Can you please share what camera/drone/video/lenses/editing tools you use? Honestly you should make a coffee table book with all of those beautiful pictures!! My other question has to do with picking where you went next. Was everything planned out in terms of order of places to visit before you left the states? Did you plan anything according to seasons/time of year /best time to visit certain countries? Thank you so much for sharing with us. Good luck on your new business, you have so much to look forward to.
jennasuedesign says
Thank you Gabriella! All of my gear is listed in the YouTube video descriptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aslTdkZm3l8
We left with a general idea of the countries we wanted to visit, and figured it out once we got there (staying away from regions that were too cold). Talking to other travelers and going from there is the best way to do it. You have to leave yourself open to opportunity and living in the moment.
Noelle Smith says
Loved following along with you both – wonderful videos/editing, and especially was fond of your later vlogs – your compatibility/chemistry is adorable! 🙂
As a HUGE lover of Italy (have been 3 times), I was probably most inspired to visit there again, as while we’ve spent a fair amount of time in Tuscany/Amalfi Coast, we’ve never been to the Dolomites. After your incredible photos from there we MUST go back again! Greece (more specifically the islands) has been on our bucket list forEVER, but for some reason we’ve never made there yet – perhaps this year will be our year. It looks like my idea of paradise, and your impressions only confirm that!
Thank you so much for sharing your incredible adventures with us – while I try to subscribe to a “never say never” philosophy, it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever visit all the places you did, so following along virtually with you was a fascinating travel education. All the very best with your future business,and more importantly, your future together! The best is yet to come! 🙂
jennasuedesign says
Aw that made my day Noelle, thank you so much for the kind words! Thrilled to help inspire you to travel to new places. You will absolutely love Greece — I hope you do get a chance to go this year!
Amie says
THank you for sharing your experiences. My favorite was Switzerland and I would love to go there. Are you or Lucas trained in cinematography because your videos were epic. I enjoyed every minute of your trip. Awesome. I also started following you through your design blog
jennasuedesign says
Thank you so much Amie, glad you enjoyed it all! No training in cinematography, I’ve always just loved the idea of storytelling with video and music. That will never stop! 🙂
Brie says
Thank you so much for inviting us to be part of this amazing journey. It was such a joy to follow along- reading your posts, seeing the pictures, watching the videos. I had started reading your blog because I loved your design style before your first traveling adventure a few years ago, and it is so thrilling to vicariously experience the places you visit. Your photos and videos are stunning, a welcome daydream escape from my quieter life. After reading about your adventures, I think I’d really love to visit Carcasonne as well. I share a birthday with Lucas, and it’s been a dream of mine since childhood to celebrate my birthday in France someday… 🙂 Best wishes on your new endeavors upon returning home!
jennasuedesign says
Love love love hearing your feedback… that is exactly why we do this and what we hoped people would gain from sharing our experiences! And you really MUST go to Carcasonne, it’ll be the most unforgettable birthday. France is just magical. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment! <3
Linda Grubbs says
Welcome home Jenna. I have loved following your adventures, and excited to see what’s next for you both. I’m happy you’re home! (Sorry,it’s the Mom in me!!)
The cost breakdown was very interesting to me. Not quite as expensive as I thought it would be. Makes me kinda sad that we didn’t do something like this in our younger years.
SO happy that you’re loving life! Hugs to you!
jennasuedesign says
Thank you for your continued support Linda! The cost breakdown was interesting to us too. I had originally underestimated and Lucas overestimated. Regardless… I’d trade all of my money for experiences any day 😉 Happy Holidays to you!
Shauna says
Good on you, keeping such close tabs on your expenses. And then sharing.
My question is, how does it feel to switch back to a less nomadic lifestyle? Are you relieved? Confused? Nostalgic? Maybe just ready to jump into whatever the next adventure is?
And it will be so much richer for all that wealth of travel!
Loved all of your fabulous “favorite photos”. Raw talent.
Welcome back!
jennasuedesign says
Thank you thank you Shauna! The travel hangover hasn’t hit us yet… perhaps it won’t at all? We’re completely focused on starting our business and more excited about this next chapter than traveling the world, to be honest. There’s no time to look backwards! One day we’ll miss it I’m sure, but for now we’re just grateful to be back home and anxious for 2018 🙂
Jane says
I have enjoyed your posts and videos – definitely a life changing and the most memorable experience ever! So many of us say we couldn’t do it but we can!!! Thanks for sharing your journey. I can’t wait to see what you do next. I look forward to seeing how your travels influence your decorating! Enjoy a wonderful holiday with family and friends!
Jane
jennasuedesign says
Thank you so much Jane, and happy holidays to you as well!