My Travel Destinations Before Turning 30!

So now that I have turned the young age of 30, I couldn’t resist looking back at some of the amazing places I have visited until now. I did a quick count (and then recounted!) and see that I made it to 24 countries in total! From quad-biking in the Sahara desert, hiking one of America’s scariest trails, experiencing -21°c in Norway and drinking the best wine in Italy – I’ve done a bit of everything and it’s been quite an adventure! In this post I’ve listed all the locations I’ve visited, and highlighted a few in more detail as the best places I enjoyed most.

Of course there are more people who have visited much more, or much less, but I’m not one for comparing. I am proud and happy to have explored and experienced so many countries. A few locations were with friends and family, which were just as fun as the locations as alone or with the boyfriend.

Europe – 21 Countries

Here is my list of the European countries I have travelled to by the age of 30:

1. Andorra	12. Jersey
2. Austria	13. Luxembourg
3. Belgium	14. Malta
4. Bulgaria	15. Netherlands
5. Czech Republic	16. Norway
6. Denmark	17. Poland
7. France	18. Spain
8. Germany	19. Switzerland
9. Greece	20. United Kingdom
10. Hungary	21. Vatican City
11. Italy

To highlight a few in more detail of my experience, see below:

France

France is a place I have visited I think the most, as I used to go every year as a child with family and have been going back ever since! Most of our travels included staying in the Dordogne, heading back every summer for the delicious BBQs, Saturday markets and activities like canoeing. Some of the best summers I have ever enjoyed.

We also visited the North, where my Grandparents used to live when they were not travelling themselves! I totally have a passion for travelling due to my parents and grandparents treating us so much to new locations and destinations as kids.

Since being older, I have since also visited Paris (like most people!) and enjoyed a few road trip trips! One road trip was along the Alabaster Coast, where we stayed in Dieppe but toured all the way to Etretat. Another road trip was focused on the WW1 and WW2 history locations at Albert (and Ypres in Belgium), Verdun and Bayeux. It was quite personal also visiting where my great great Granddads second cousin was buried after fighting in WW1!

Germany

Germany is a location I used to live in, but this was when I was a baby and definitely don’t remember that! Since then, I have been back and enjoyed city trips to Berlin, Aachen, Munich and a cute trip to Monschau. Ive also explored a few nature parks such as Eifel National Park, a gorgeous place for hiking and and enjoying the lake.

Greece

Greece was never at the top of my travels, but after looking into a few islands I was curious and ended up booking a 2 week island hopping and road trip a few years ago. The route we took was pretty amazing, starting in Rhodes and taking a boat to Patmos. From here we took another boat to Athens and enjoyed a few days in the capital city. Greece has so much to see of course, so from Athens we rented a car to Delphi, Olympia and then Corinth for all the historical spots. Once back in Athens we then took a short flight to Mykonos for the last few days.

I really enjoyed Greece, with it being super easy to drive around and explore cheap. I would totally go back to explore more islands in the future!

Italy

Italy for me is a place that I recommended everyone should visit at least once. I have been many times to many locations, such as Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Florence and Milan. But one of my favourite locations in Italy has been Sicily.

We visited Sicily safely during covid times and visited friends who were already there, making it a lovely opportunity to spend time with them and explore a new location. We stayed on the west coast of Sicily mostly, enjoying the local life like hiking and visiting a hidden hot spring! Before we flew back home, we also enjoyed a few nights at Cefalu.

Sicily is also where my most favourite sweet white wine comes from too!!

Luxembourg

My first trip to Luxembourg was a sweet, sunny weekend during a late Summer. We drove down from the Netherlands and luckily had the best weather for exploring. It was during early covid times, so most restaurants and places were closed. But that didn’t stop us exploring, as we explored as much as possible as well as hiking in the local nature and local architecture!

We also went back for 2 months in 2020 for a mini working abroad situation. This was amazing as we were able to experience living abroad in the city, trying new restaurants and exploring the country. Our best hiking locations included the Mullerthal Trails, which wasn’t far from our home. But we also enjoyed the Moselle region, seeing some Luxembourg castles and checking out Belval too!

During the two months, we enjoyed Luxembourg during the Christmas holidays and had the perfect snowy winter fun.

The photo below was our gorgeous home view during sunset!

Netherlands

The Netherlands is, if you know me well enough, a location I actually moved to at the age of 18 for love. I have now been an expat-turned-local for more than 10 years in many cities. I first lived in Rotterdam, then Eindhoven, followed by Maastricht. I have worked in The Hague and Amsterdam and I’ve been everywhere else with day trips, weekends away and more!

I love that the Netherlands has a bit of everything, from 21 beautiful Dutch National Parks, sandy beaches and of course lots of windmills and cycling routes. City life is also great, with fun events throughout the year and usually lots of music concerts.

A few years ago I shared my Living Abroad: My 7 Year Experience As A Brit In The Netherlands post and it’s great to look back and see already how so much has changed since then!

Norway

Our trip to Tromso and Senja in Norway is 100% the most expensive holiday we have ever enjoyed. It’s also one of the most amazing, as we explored during the Winter months with no sunshine. It was very unique for us, also to try new experiences like whale watching, dog sledging, winter hiking and driving in lots of snow. We would totally go back, but next time to experience Norway in the Summer instead!

I don’t have any blogposts yet from our amazing trip to Norway as I have been simply too busy sharing other content, but as soon as I do, I’ll update it here!

Poland

Poland is a country I’ve only recently learned love, as I only visited last year for the first time. We enjoyed a 10 day Summer road trip through many of the big cities as well as some lesser known spots, such as Krakow, Poznan, Kolobrzeg, Gdynia, Gdańsk, Mragowo and ending in Warsaw. With this trip, we were also able to enjoy visiting some friends along the way too – which is great to combine with travel.

Ive also spent a few weekends at Krakow and Warsaw, which both were super nice. There is also the cutest cat cafe in Warsaw that we loved for a bite to eat!

Switzerland

My first steps were at a petrol station, passing from Germany to Italy on the way to a cruise vacation starting in Genoa, Italy. But this didn’t count for me, since it wasn’t even longer than 5 minutes outside of the bus!

My first actual longer-than-5-minutes trip was to the beautiful location of Lugano, located in the Southern region of Ticino. It was for a last minute weekend getaway after we had found super cheap flights from the Netherlands to Milan, and then to take a train North to the city.

I fell totally in love with Switzerland and Lugano instantly, from cute restaurants, challenging hiking routes and the most amazing views with mountains! Give me plane ticket and I’d go straight back to Switzerland in an instant.

Since this first trip, we have since been back for another weekend recently where we stayed in Bellinzona, the capital of Ticino. Here were were able to explore more of the region and enjoy some local castles, lakes and good food!

United Kingdom

Does it count to have been to the UK when I actually was born here? Yeah right?!

Born on the beautiful Isle of Wight, this was my home sweet home for a full 18 years while growing up. Here I studied, learn’t how to drive and had my first jobs (which got me saving for travelling). These days I go back when I can to see family, as well as to hike for charity, see the local red squirrels and to enjoy the gorgeous beaches during summer.

I have also travelled around the UK, once doing a 2 week circular road trip, stopping at 8 cities in total. This took me all the way from the Isle of Wight, to Brighton, Hastings, Scarborough, Newcastle and back down via a few spots in Wales, Bristol and Bath. Of course London is also always fun to visit too, to enjoy shopping and a fun day out. I’ve also been to Norfolk a few times visiting family. Family trips are the best!

North America – The United States

Here are the 6 states I have visited in North America at the age of 30:

1. Arizona

2. California

3. Colorado

4. Florida

5. Nevada

6. Utah

I was lucky to have visited Florida with a 2-3 week vacation with family when I was younger. Our parents treated us to the best theme and water parks, which was a fantastic experience that I would totally go back for now that I am an adult. We had so much fun and excitement that I could easily talk for hours about the experiences we had and enjoyed!

Out of the 6 states that I have visited however, Utah was my favourite. It was part of my 2 week US road trip! This was purely for the amazing weather and hiking I did at Zion National Park. I hiked the route called Angels Landing, which is ultimately one of the hardest and not for those who have a fear of heights. Once you reach the top and the peak, the view is absolutely breathtaking!

One place I got a bit scared at in the US was when I adventured close to Area 51 in Nevada, we didn’t spot any aliens but sure got a bit intimidated by the local guards defending the top secret base!

Africa

Here are the 2 countries I have visited in Africa by the age of 30:

Egypt

Tunisia

To highlight one of them, Egypt is at the top of the list out of most places I have visited in total. Egypt to me was one of my best vacation locations due to how different it was for me. With such rich history, I have been so lucky to have enjoyed the country twice!

My first time was with family more than 10 years ago, staying in Hurghada and enjoying local life. We had a lovely resort, but also made the most of leaving for day trips such as to scuba dive, snorkel and quad-biking into the desert at night.

The second time I visited, we did a self-organised tour visiting Giza, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada with lots of day trips and this Nile cruise along the way. It was our ultimate 16 day vacation through the country! My top highlights included seeing/climbing inside the pyramids, exploring Valley of the Kings, enjoying local food and snorkeling in the Red Sea.

Not sure where the next country will be, but I’m heading back to a few of these as they were just so good!

Some countries and cities we have on our travel list for the future also include;

• South of France
• Croatia
• Prague
• Slovenia
• Dubai
• More of Switzerland!

Any recommendations for us? Let me know in the comments!