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About

About

Last Updated on August 22, 2021

Hi there! I am Dani, the girl behind GlobetrotterGirls.com.

As the name indicates, Globetrottergirls was started by two girls – me and my partner Jessica. We set off on this incredible journey in 2010 as a couple, but as our planned one-year trip turned into a voyage without an end date, our life paths moved into different directions and in 2014, we separated. This was in no way an easy decision, and you can read the full story here.

After four years of traveling the world as a couple and running this website together, I have been globetrotting on my own since early 2014 and made the decision to continue to share my travel stories here on Globetrottergirls.com, and keep the precious memories of our amazing travels together alive at the same time.

How it all began…

Our passion for travel was a thirst that could not be quenched by just a few holidays a year. That’s why, in the middle of a long, gray British winter in January 2010, Jess The Globetrottergirlsand I decided to break free and fly to Las Vegas on the first leg of what we thought would be a year-long trip around the world. I looked back on how I quit my job to travel the world in February 2015, exactly five years after walking out of my office.

We didn’t have much in the way of savings and had limited experience with long-term travel. Jess was working as a copywriter / ‘content creator’ and I was a recruitment consultant in the financial sector. Our plan was to take our jobs on the road and see where it all would lead.

Before we met each other, back in Germany in 2006, we had both lived abroad for years: Jess in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Germany and England; Dani in Austria, Spain and England.

But until I met Jess, I used to be one of those people with a giant suitcase. If I was going on vacation for 14 days, I would have 14 outfits and almdani negev desert hikeost as many pairs of shoes. Now, pretty much everything I own fits into a 65-liter backpack (I know, it’s way too big – but hey, I’ve come a long way from my suitcase travel days, no?) I’ve been traveling non-stop since the end of April 2010 – the same time Jess and I started this website. As GlobetrotterGirls, we’ve traveled throughout North America, Europe, India, South East Asia, Mexico, Central America and South America. We have climbed volcanoes, swum with sharks, gone caving deep into sacred Mayan caves, spent time with Buddhist monks, hiked in Patagonia and lived in some of the world’s most exciting cities.

white sands new mexico dani sunsetWith absolutely no home base to speak of, I combine months of rapid travel with longer stays living as locals in places around the world. Sometimes, I research hotels and hostels like crazy before settling on one, other times I wing it once I get into town. In cities like Berlin or Buenos Aires, I rent vacation apartments for five or six weeks at a time, but my favorite long-term option is housesitting. I have done that more than 20 times across four continents in the last 5.5 years, both by myself and together with Jess, we even wrote a book about it. I 2014, I did eight housesits  in New York City, which allowed me to spend five months in my favorite city in the world, and I absolutely loved it – especially the summer. I love to adapt to the local lifestyle and develop habits in each place, whether that means finding a regular bakery to visit in the morning, stopping at my favorite market or meeting with local friends I make in the evenings. Long-term travel means having the opportunity to experiencing what life is really like in each place I visit.

From full-time traveler to part-time nomad..

On 1 March 2018, after eight years of vagabonding without a permanent address, I finally signed a lease. Spending that summer in New York in 2014 affirmed my love for this incredible city, and I decided to make it my home. It took me almost another four years after making that decision to finally sign a lease, but I now call Brooklyn home – at least for part of the year. The nomad in me can’t stop traveling, of course, and I am trying to spend the warmer months in New York and travel during the winter. So far, this has been the perfect solution: I get to spend the summers in my favorite city in the world, and I get to escape the brutally cold East Coast winters.

You can read my most recent annual updates here:

Globetrottergirls is turning 11

If you’re wondering why there is no “Globetrottergirls is turning 10” post: …well, we were in the middle of a global pandemic when this milestone rolled around, and instead of celebrating with the special anniversary trip I’d long planned and looked forward to, I was mourning the loss of 90% of my income, my businesses, and scared I’d never see my family again. I wrote What it’s like to live in NYC during COVID-19 in April 2020.

Globetrottergirls is turning 9

Globetrottergirls is turning 8

My mission is to inspire curiosity about the world and provide the tips and tools to help you see as much of the world as you can for yourself.

I do this through all of the different articles here on Globetrottergirls.com, plus our housesitting book. At its core, however, GlobetrotterGirls.com remains the first-hand account of one girl exploring the world.Dani & Mariposa in Leon

I know not everyone wants to be nomadic like I am, which is why this site is for globetrotters at heart – independent travelers who are curious about the world around them.

I believe that travel is a state of mind, requiring only curiosity and exploration wherever you are.

On a two week vacation, you don’t hide away in a resort, and the thought of never seeing what’s beyond it is suffocating. You’re the one booking tours out every day or even hopping the local bus to head into town and eat at a hole in the wall and soak up local life wherever you are.

dani 2015When you consider buying an expensive item, do you first have to calculate how many nights in [insert your favorite travel destination] it would cost just to buy it?

Have you ever hopped on a bus in your own city and just taken it to last stop, to see where it goes and what it looks like out there? Or have you had three days free and rather than taken a much-needed rest, you booked a last minute trip instead?

If you’re like me, you travel independently, researching and making plans on your own based on reviews and recommendations, and travel according to your own taste.

I make mistakes so you don’t have to!

I am here to help you make traveling easier for you, sharing what I’ve learned on my journey, the good, the bad and the ugly. I am sharing the mistakes I’ve made so you don’t have to make the same ones. I am sharing my money-saving tips, travel hacks, and places I loved. I strive to make GlobetrotterGirls.com your go-to travel resource you can trust, from inspirational articles like

to practical facts like

and the mistakes I have made along the way.

Some of my more personal stories:

and I’ve shared my best and worst travel moments of my first five years of travel here:

What you find on Globetrottergirls.com:

I share travel stories related to what it’s like to be a gay or lesbian traveler, and also publish guest posts by fellow LGBT travelers who share their travel stories and experiences as well: LGBT posts on Globetrottergirls.com.

Things I love about… This series sees me list, in no particular order, things I have loved about each country or city. Places where I spend a long time have thirty three things, and for places I spend less time in, I choose one thing for each day we are in the country.

I am a hotel enthusiast and have stayed in over 300 hotels through to today and give shout outs to my favorites in our Where To Stay In… series.

dani ostionalI regularly put together photo essays of places I love and also publish a Polaroid of the Week every week which gives you an idea of what I’ve been up to in the past seven days, since most of my articles are a few weeks behind my actual travels. I also summarized every month in my Life Lately… round-ups while I was still traveling full-time.

The Go Beyond series covers what is just beyond the tourist attractions in popular travel destinations, while Please Don’t Go is a series where I ask you, quite seriously (but also not seriously at all), NOT to go to certain destinations that are so precious I don’t ever want to see them overrun with tourists.

In 2013, our GlobetrotterGirl of the Month interview series highlighted 12 women who successfully incorporate travel into their work lives.

In her What I Wonder When I wander column, Jess examined topics like plastic waste (Bottled Up Guilt), the art of bargaining, what makes a song a global hit, weight gain and weight loss while traveling, Indian TV, and what exactly is “The West”.

One Globe. No Regrets.Dani with her Asus Netbook

When I look back on life I know I won’t regret the risks I took and things I did, but all those things I did not do. I live by the motto “One Globe. No Regrets” as a reminder, everyday, to follow our passion for travel, wherever it may lead.

Keep up with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Flickr. Sign up here to receive the Beyond the Blog newsletter and contact me through the website or email me directly at dani at globetrottergirls dot com.

Marc Levy

Monday 15th of August 2022

Hi Dani,

Thank you for you essay on Todos Santos. In 1992 I spent several months there, using the village as a base to backpack to other parts of the country, and to Honduras and El Salvador. At the time only two buses a week arrived in Todos Santos. There were not more than a dozen tourists in town at any one time. Cars were a rarity. Dogs sunned themselves on the main street. There was no plumbing. The first pipes were laid a month or two after I arrived. There were no phones. I once received a telegram sent to the cubicle room post office staffed by a man named Roosevelt.

There were two or three places for gringos to stay. For my first week I put up at Tres Oglitas, a rustic two storey fire trap in the center of town. One dollar a night got you a single dusty mattress and pillow and a felt blanket. The cigar box sized room with a wood hatch for a window--you could barely turn around in it---was unheated and freezing. I loved it.

There were two or three simple restaurants. The food was cheap and delicious. I hiked often, hours at a time, mostly up the main trail to the top of the mountain and back, and got to know some of the towns people quite well. Comedor Katy was a favorite spot to eat after an exhausting day.

I happened to be in the village the day Carl Franz showed up. He is the author of the very successful, and very good read,"Wherever You Go, There You Are," a book on how to travel, not where. Carl made a good impression with the other long term gringos (there were four or five of us) but two months later he showed up with three identical jeeps crammed with loud tourists. This may have been the beginning of the end for the true remoteness of the village.

I have very fond memories of Todos Santos and have written about them here: http://medicinthegreentime.com/after-reaching-the-house-of-juan-pablo-lorenz/). Inevitably, the village has changed.

Safe travels. Sincerely,

Marc

Andres

Saturday 25th of November 2017

I loved to read your trip about Colombia. You wrote the true and impartial. I hope that you come back some day. Cheers

Dani

Sunday 3rd of December 2017

Hi Andres, thanks for stopping by :) I'll return to Colombia for sure - I already came back for a quick visit this year :)

Praveen jacob

Wednesday 15th of November 2017

Hi Dani, You are an inspiration. I am starting my first solo trip soon with a European trip. It would be nice if you could explain how a full time travel blogger like you manage to fund your expeditions. It was nice reading your articles. I wonder what took me so long to reach here.. Sigh!! All the best for many more incredible journeys.

Regards, Praveen Jacob

Dani

Thursday 16th of November 2017

Hi Praveen, thanks so much for your comment! So exciting that you are going to Europe!! If you have any questions while you're planning your trip, feel free to message me :) I wrote this article about how bloggers make money a few years ago, but a lot of it still holds true till today. In addition to the things I mention in the article, I do some freelance work for travel apps, I do freelance writing, and the income I'm making from this website has also grown as my readership has become larger. Ie. I get offered better sponsorship deals and make money through advertising on the site.

jeniffer

Saturday 20th of May 2017

Hello, I'm an architecture student, I would love to travel to the rhythm you do ... however I do not know how to do it, I would like advice to realize my dreams of traveling the world, money is a problem and that I am a student and work Makes me difficult with studies ... I hope you can advise me. Congratulations on everything you've achieved.

Kaysha

Tuesday 28th of March 2017

This is exactly the type of lifestyle I kind of have. I would change my majors in college and move to different states and loved it. But now after college, I still want to live somewhere for a couple months and then leave, but one thing I have a problem with, is I was diagnosed with epilepsy. So I always have to have my medication on me. Right now I have been living in Memphis, TN for two years, which is great, but I am ready to go again. And at a faster pace. How did you get these housesitting jobs? and do you know anyone with a similar problem as mine? I'm going to travel either way, because to me it's worth it... but I'd rather not have a seizure! lol Love your story, anything will be helpful!

Dani

Saturday 1st of April 2017

Kaysha - your determination is inspiring!! I think housesitting is a great way for you to start. That way you can also move around the U.S. for a while, doing 1 or 2 month housesitting gigs. I see so many of them, it's hard not to apply for all of them ;-) I am using various housesitting sites to find housesits, I am talking about them here. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else with your condition.. I know that there are a few travel blogs from disabled travelers but it's not the same. I am sure there must be some information online though about traveling with epilepsy?