Behind the Scenes: The Life of a Full-time Solo Female Traveler
2025 – MY TRAVEL WRAPPED / RECAP
Hello from my Third Year in Review!
This is year FIVE of being a full-time traveler. This lifestyle began in June of 2020. And I started doing a yearly recap here on my blog back in 2023. You can read more about how I got started here. And my 2024 year in review here. And this year is my 20th anniversary since I left Costa Rica – and with that hitting 100 countries. A milestone.
There is no SEO here, no writing in a specific way for this to rank anywhere, just me being vulnerable and talking openly about what life as a solo female traveler is like.
I’ve actually been journaling since the year 2000 (25 years, I know, insane) so this is a public journal of sorts. If you’re not journaling yet, it’s an amazing way to 1. Truly get to know yourself 2. Know what your wants and expectations are – since you’ll never lie to yourself while writing.
A friend asked me recently: if I had to describe my 2025 in one word, what would it be? And the answer was healing. The craziest part is that I didn’t even set out to “heal” – it just organically was meant to be.
Instead of writing about my year chronologically, I will do this differently this year. I’ll divide it by region. This is not necessarily the order in which I visited them. I switch regions every 2-3 months, and there’s a purpose behind each region I visit.
So here’s my travels (including the most difficult trip I’ve ever done), love, business, burnout recap. Enjoy.
Southeast Asia
I had forgotten how “easy” and effortless travel could be. That’s what SEA represents. Safety, comfort, the right infrastructure, not struggling with WiFi, but also not having to look over my shoulder constantly. Because let’s be real. Going to the places I go to, mostly on my own, can be emotionally draining. Yes, I’m safe, but I’m always “on edge”. I guess most women around the world are. But there are certain parts of the world where you can just “exist” at any time of the day.
If you’ve never experienced that, as a woman, I urge you to go do it for yourself. Imagine going to the beach in the evening, and sitting there for hours with your headphones on, or simply reading a book. No one approaches you, or bothers you. When was the last time you went out in the late evening with headphones on? If your answer is recent, consider yourself lucky.
We, as The Hybrid Tours, also got invited by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism (!!!) to go to Indonesia to explore their ethical and regenerative tourism initiatives, which goes SO hand in hand with what our travel company is doing. We had such a wonderful time (I’ll be posting about it on social media soon), and it looks like we’ll be expanding to Indonesia in 2026! Stay tuned for the announcement. This was unlike anything I’ve ever seen on social media. 90% of the places we visited I’d never seen online. Indonesia is huge and I’m so excited to be partnering with incredible organizations there to show you a side of the country you’ve never seen, even if you’ve been before!
That aside, the reason I spent a few months in SEA this year was simply testing out the waters. Could this be a potential base? And I’m not just talking about affordability, but also health and the way I feel. Community. Connections. It’s definitely an option. I’ll let you know how I feel about it in 2026. For now, we’re experimenting (I spent a few months in SEA this year) and things are going well.
Back in the US
I truly did not want to step foot in the US this year, but my dad is not doing well, and he can’t travel at the moment. He’s currently living in San Diego, so I stayed there a few weeks, where I hung out with family. I have a cousin in Michigan who I hadn’t seen in over a decade! So I went there, too. And I had the opportunity to speak at the Latino Travel Fest this year! This was my first public speaking event of the year.
I am challenging myself to go out of my comfort zone, and public speaking definitely falls in that category. I spoke about taking advantage of free travel opportunities, and going off-the-beaten path. As a Latina, we are still not fully represented in the travel space, and it was wonderful to be able to connect with other latinx travelers and feel seen. Let’s be real. The content creator industry is dominated by white North Americans and Europeans, and we still have a long way to go. I definitely don’t see myself represented when I go online, and let alone in the destinations that I normally visit.
But spaces like LTF are a start. The best travel conferences are usually in the US, but I only stay there around 30 days each year. Why? Taxes. US citizens have dual taxation in place, meaning that no matter where I live, I always have to file (and pay) taxes. But there’s a loophole. If I’m outside of the country 330 days of the year (which I am) these drastically decrease. So after a month, it was time to go.
Europe
I lived in Europe (across 3 countries, that’s why I say Europe) for 8 years and moved out in 2020 when the pandemic struck again. Ever since, I’ve made a conscious effort to spend a chunk of my summer there every year. Simply hanging out with family and friends, which I’ve got plenty of there.
I also spent a whole month in the Netherlands for free! How? Well, housesitting, of course. This is one of my favorite hacks for spending time in expensive cities. I get fully furnished apartments all to myself in exchange for walking dogs or cleaning out a litter box. And no, I don’t have to be indoors with the pets all day. Each listing specifically states how many hours are required. If you want to get free accommodation in 100+ countries, check out Trustedhousesitters. You’ll get 25% off your membership through that link! I don’t recommend anything I don’t personally use. Spending weeks in fancy apartments in San Francisco, NYC, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur? I’ve done all of that and more since 2020 thanks to THS.
I spent a few weeks in Portugal, one of my favorite countries (another potential base option?) hanging out with close friends. I also got invited to participate in WYSTC (a travel conference) as a content creator and went out of my way to give a workshop on how transformative living abroad can be – instead of a waste of time, which is what I have some people tell me sometimes.
I housesat by the beach right outside of Lisbon, and also did a Worldpackers experience. You work 15-25 hours per week and get free accommodation (plus food and activities depending on the set up). I developed a social media/business development strategy for an eco retreat in northern Portugal and got to stay there for free. Worldpackers has experiences in over 100 countries, from working at a reception desk in the Maldives (you read that right) to helping out at a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. Perfect for those looking to travel and save, or for people working part-time. You can get $10 USD off your membership with this link.
Poland was also a must, it always is. I’m half Polish, so I might be biased when I say that Wroclaw is one of my favorite cities in the world. I always make an effort to spend a week or 2 there every year.
And of course, I can’t skip talking about my 100th country visited: Belarus! Why Belarus: I took a DNA test and it turns out that we hail from western Belarus/Lithuania, even though we’ve always been a Polish-speaking family. This was all part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and well, borders are imaginary lines drawn by men, after all. So I wanted to make country #100 something that was connected to me.
Disclaimer: it has taken me 20 YEARS to visit 100 countries. I slow travel and have visited more than half of these at least twice. And if you have time and money (and that’s the key here and privilege in itself), the first 100 aren’t that hard, especially if you focus on easy regions, which has been the opposite of what I’ve done. About a ¼ of the ones I’ve been to are in the African continent and there are plenty of “easy” countries that I haven’t stepped foot in yet. So don’t be fooled by people who country count. I’m aware of the privilege and how this isn’t normal. I work remotely. I have TWO strong passports. I earn in a strong currency. I don’t have a family to support or take care of. I’m my only priority. Do not compare yourself to anyone online: you do you.
The Middle East
I spent around 6 months in the Middle East last year. It was significantly less this year, and a lot of it was work related. We run tours in Jordan with The Hybrid Tours, so I might pop in to oversee a tour every now and then. We work exclusively with locals, and even though I have worked as a tour guide before, it’s not my job to take over a local’s job.
I spent a couple of weeks in Dubai housesitting and hanging out with close friends. And went to Iraq a few times for work. Besides running The Hybrid Tours and being a travel content creator, I freelance as a consultant/tour manager. The main reason I get hired is because I have been a tour guide on and off since 2006 when I lived in China, know the countries well (even if I’ve never been there I know more about them than your average person), and because of my knowledge of geopolitics. But we will be running tours in Iraq through The Hybrid Tours in 2026! Interested? Just sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news.
I just got hired by yet another one of the most well-known travel companies for extreme travel (I hate this term but that’s what it’s referred to: think Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia) so I’ll be working in some new countries next year, and I’ll be sharing those in stories, so stay tuned! Some I’ve been to before, others are completely new… There’s also a marathon involved. I don’t run. My knees and boobs hate it so why would I? But for this… I’ll 100% run. Any guesses?
WEST AFRICA
The most difficult trip I’ve ever done in my life. Forget Afghanistan, Iraq, Venezuela or any other destination I’ve ever been to. This was ROUGH. And together with Central Africa, it is the most challenging part of the world. We’re talking about lack of infrastructure, high prices, and little to no tourism.
Why go to West Africa? Because I wanted to see things for myself. I have been drawn to this region for years and never had the guts to visit it, until now. Turns out that I’ve also got some West African in me from a few countries in the region (thank you, DNA test), from my mom’s side. Her father was Afro-indigenous. This is heartbreaking, though. This means that this was all due to slavery. Slaves taken from West Africa all the way to Costa Rica. Is it beautiful to find out how mixed I am and even how global my DNA is? Sure. But the origins of it all? Not so much.
I also wanted to see if it was as hard as other content creators make it to be for clicks. Think white men making you think that you can’t do this on your own, and only they can. It IS hard. BUT, and here’s the big but, I felt safe 95% of the time (only the borders were a bit tricky). People would go out of their way to help me, even if we didn’t even have a language in common. And it is completely doable on your own. Yes, even as a solo female traveler. Although it’s not for the faint of heart. Travel is a school, and you don’t go straight into the one of the hardest regions in the world. You gain experience and slowly make your way there. I also traveled overland from southern to East Africa a few years ago and that’s what prepared me for this big trip. You can check that out here. A few of the countries in West Africa I probably wouldn’t go back to unless I have to. So unless you’re going to every country in the world or have something specific to do here, this isn’t for everyone.
The best part about this whole trip? Besides the million more stories I can add to my travel repertoire? The people. West Africa completely restored my faith in humanity. And it also took me down a wormhole of self-discovery (more on that down below) that I wasn’t expecting to go on. And connections. And reassurance. And confidence. It is one of the best things I’ve ever done, and also one that the algorithm does not seem to agree with. And that’s ok. I promised myself I’d document and post everything, even if it got no attention whatsoever. Because these are stories worth sharing, even if no one cares about them.
If you’ve made it this far, go watch my West Africa series if you feel like it. Engage with it. Share it. That’s the best way you can support a creator you like. And it’s completely free to do so.
Business + money
I think people assume I get paid from my content. I break it all down here. Unless it’s an actual work trip or speaking at an event (I forgot to mention that I was in South Africa to help organize the ACWAY forum and speak about social media), everything you see online I pay for myself. And no, I’m too lazy, busy and tired to be pitching to companies.
Traveling isn’t a holiday for me. It’s a full-time job. So when I get somewhere, I don’t want to be thinking about videos, aesthetics or deliverables. I just want to chill. I also want to talk about the topics I’m passionate about without thinking about how brands will be turned off by me talking about human rights issues. It was yet another year in which I said I’d get a collab manager and didn’t. I finally created a job post and I’ll be interviewing people next week so I can get one by early 2026. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Regarding The Hybrid Tours… when you see a content creator hosting a trip, they’re usually using another platform to organize it (unless they have their own company). No website, marketing costs or anything related to that. And because it’s a one-person show, they get to keep all of the profits. They’re also one-off trips.
I’m thinking about sustainability. This is the 3rd business I’ve started from scratch and I’ve obviously learned some things about business development. The reality is that most small businesses fail in the first 5 years. On top of that, we did not start with any funding, loans, or grants. This is all savings and credit card debt. And whatever is made goes back to paying that.
We love what we do and we believe in it, but it is not easy building a business from scratch. Our growth has been slow, but steady. We are looking for Hybrid Tours Ambassadors for next year. So if you’re into ethical travel, care about global issues, and belong to a community (whether that’s through social media, your university, work, etc) reach out to me! There will be travel involved to our destinations if things go well.
TRAVEL AND LOVE
Phew, this year was a very slow one. And that’s ok. Working on myself, healing, and decentering/seeking validation from them. Unfortunately, when you grow up being constantly bullied for your looks, the latter is what might happen. I don’t feel like my life has particularly revolved around men, but they (unfortunately) still occupy my mind, sometimes. On the bright side, I’m strong enough now to detect BS and I’ve completely raised my standards, which I’m very proud of.
The two encounters worth mentioning are the following ones: in Belarus, I traveled with a guy that I spend time with romantically every time I am in San Francisco. Let’s call him “J”. He’s not on social media, and we don’t talk during the year, but I always told myself that I’d probably want to date him if I ever lived in SF. He’s sexy, we get along fabulously and have the most amazing conversations and fun together, and he even works in human rights. A catch. Imagine my surprise when he asked if I’d been to Belarus yet (because I’d mentioned it to him before) and asked if he could join me. He’s very well-traveled, even lived in China, and he is the kind of person I know I wouldn’t be babysitting if we traveled together. So I said yes, and we had an amazing time together. To the point where I know we’d probably fall for each other if we kept seeing each other.
Then there’s “M”. Damn. Just when I was questioning everything about my West Africa trip, even though I’d already fallen in love with Sierra Leone… he came along. And let me tell you, this man was SO Sibu-coded, it was like he’d just popped out of my journal. So emotionally intelligent (he was years ahead of me in his healing journey), so fascinating. We met, and we’re sitting there across the table from each other having fresh juice (I barely drink now, he doesn’t at all) and just couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. And it was so mutual.
Hey there, and welcome to Go Global with Sibu! I’m a global citizen that has been living and traveling around the world since 2005 – all through budget travel, scholarships, study/work and living abroad opportunities. I share everything I’ve learned over the years here – to prove to you that you don’t need money or privilege to enjoy everything that this world has to offer.
I was “stuck” in Sierra Leone waiting for my Guinea visa to come through, and I spent a magical time with this man, and that includes spending our last few days together on a well-known island that had practically no one in it. The man had lived in Afghanistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and had even spent 2 years volunteering in Ukraine. He felt like an equal, which is so rare in my world. I could go on forever.
But what happens when you have an incredible connection while traveling? If there’s anything I’ve learned, it is that you should try to act on it, instead of taking it for granted. But it’s also important to understand that there is no such thing as “right person, wrong time”. J, the Belarus guy, wants a family and kids, and that is a massive deal-breaker. I have no desire whatsoever to raise a child, to the point where I even got sterilized to make sure biology wouldn’t betray me one day. You can learn more about my journey here through my IG highlights. I’m very open about it, simply because growing up I didn’t think NOT having children was an option. You don’t have to do things just because others are doing it, too.
Then M. Damn. Imagine wanting the same things out of life. We talked about supporting locals, neocolonialism, love, trauma, growth, and challenges. He was a freaking gentleman, so smart… and the way he just moved about in the country left me in awe. He was also SO incredibly patient and respectful towards locals, even when they were trying to rip him off! Another man would have tried to act the “macho” part. Not M. And it also allowed me to take a step back, and simply trust someone. I had never been treated like that before, by anyone. Someone might call it love-bombing (which I know plenty of, unfortunately) and I don’t think this was it. Because that’s driven by narcissism and selfishness, not like M.
But he’s in Sierra Leone building a business from scratch and is not planning on leaving anytime soon, even if he wants to. But it’s not time yet. Years ago, I told myself I’d never stay in a country for someone again. I did it before for the wrong person. But if things feel right… that’s how you know I’ve been healing. But he’s a man I just met briefly, I have a life of my own, and because I have a travel business, that requires me to be mobile. And I can’t afford to do that from West Africa. Flights cost a fortune.
Short-lived experiences but sweet. What am I taking from all of this? It’s not meant to be, but there are fascinating people out there who I’m compatible with. It’s just a matter of putting yourself out there, and finding them. It has also allowed me to reevaluate the kind of relationship I know I deserve. And the type of expectations I should have. I did share my experiences with M online (can’t believe I did that), I’ve been posting about it if you want to check it out.
HEALING
So when was the last time you spent hours in your own thoughts? Not writing, watching anything, scrolling or listening to music or podcasts. Just you, in your head. No distractions whatsoever. Well, that’s how I spent most of my year. I didn’t have a subscription for the most of 2025 to any music/streaming platforms. And then there was West Africa. Where, if you’re alone, using public transportation, you’ll spend hours deep in thoughts. The vehicle is too loud for you to do anything else, and it’s so cramped you can barely move, read or write. So you just think.
And that’s what I did. For DAYS (if you add up all of the hours). And I went into a spiral. Not in a bad way, but I guess I just thought about my life. My past. My traumas. The patterns I kept putting myself through over and over again. And I realized, I needed to take things a step further and get therapy.
To break trauma, to live my life in the present, and to actually learn from my mistakes. So I’ve been going to a very specialized kind of therapy (in Spanish, before you ask for a recommendation) and it’s been groundbreaking. It has been crazy to feel how my body sometimes tries to reject change and growth during the sessions. Lots of crying, introspection but also healing.
I feel lighter than I have in years. I feel like this has been long overdue. And yes, I could have continued living the way I always do. But to put myself through this was needed. Because we tend to forget that we should continue evolving and growing as human beings. It’s so easy to remain stagnant. And I’d never want that for myself. Not just intellectually, but emotionally as well. This is not the end of healing and growth, of course. I will aim to do this for as long as possible.
So that’s just a little reminder to not be afraid to work on yourself, even if you’re scared to start. If you want to keep track of your thoughts for this upcoming year, get the One Line a Day Journal. It’s THE best tool and a great way to start journaling. I’ve been using it for 8 years and highly recommend it. So if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my rants. Comment down here below or just leave a few 🌎🌎🌎 on the “My Story” IG pinned post as a comment.
This year was all about slowing down, spending time with loved ones and of course, healing. Excited to see what 2026 brings. In the meantime, thank you for your support, and for following me along this unusual journey I just happen to call life.
With love, Sibu