About Us
Solo Travel Blog: My Honest 195-Country Journey
Solo travel blog GoTravelica is built on real experience, not staged photos. Planning your first solo trip? Traveling with your partner or bringing the kids along? Chasing a budget-friendly world trip itinerary? Or just tired of scrolling through the same recycled travel lists? You’re in the right place.
👋 Meet Mabel: The Traveler Behind GoTravelica
Hi, I’m Mabel — a full-time traveler, a slightly obsessive memory collector, and the person writing (almost) every word on this site.
I spent years doing things the “right” way: steady job, fixed desk, two weeks of vacation a year if I was lucky. Somewhere along the way I realized that wasn’t the life I wanted to keep living. So I sold most of what I owned, packed one suitcase, and set myself a goal that sounded a little unreasonable at the time: visit all 195 countries on Earth.
I’m not there yet — 81 down, 114 to go — but every trip on this site is a real step toward that number, not a round-the-world fantasy I talk about and never chase.
💡 The short version: GoTravelica exists so you don’t have to learn things the hard way — I already did that part.
GoTravelica is where I document that goal — the good days, the delayed flights, the meals that changed my mood, and the mistakes I’d rather you skip.It started as a solo travel blog, and that’s still the core of it.
Every trip behind this blog so far has been solo — just me, a backpack, and a lot of trial and error. That’s changing: from here on, I’m traveling with my spouse. The destinations won’t change much, but the trip itself looks a little different with two people planning it, so going forward you’ll find both perspectives woven into the guides here — the solo-specific advice from the trips already behind me, and couple-focused notes from the ones still ahead.
🎯 Why GoTravelica Exists
Most travel content online falls into two categories: staged photos with no real information, or generic listicles that could’ve been written about any city on the planet. Neither one tells you what a place actually costs, feels like, or requires you to know before you land.
GoTravelica is my attempt at a third option — travel writing built from real budgets, real routes, and real mistakes, so you can plan with actual information instead of guesswork.
| GoTravelica at a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Mabel |
| Mission | Visit all 195 countries on Earth — 81 down so far |
| Content style | First-person, experience-based, no sponsored fluff |
| Best for | Solo travelers, couples, budget planners, first-timers |
| Core topics | World trip guides, budget tips, solo safety, under-the-radar picks, honest reviews |
🧭 What You’ll Find Here
- World Trip Guides — city-by-city breakdowns covering transport, neighborhoods, and what’s genuinely worth your time
- Budget Travel Tips — how I stretch a travel fund, find cheap flights, and avoid overpaying for the basics
- Solo & Couple Travel Notes — safety notes, packing lists, and confidence-building advice for solo trips, plus a few notes for when you’re traveling as two
- Under-the-Radar Destinations — places I’d never heard of either, until I ended up there
- Honest Reviews — hostels, tours, and gear, reviewed the way I’d tell a friend, not the way a sponsor would want
🧳 Solo traveler tip: wherever a destination calls for it, guides flag what solo travelers need most — safety notes, single-supplement costs, and how to meet other travelers along the way.
🌍 How I Travel
Travel means more to me than a photo in front of a landmark. It’s the version of a city you only see once you’ve gotten a little lost in it, ordered something you can’t pronounce, and figured out the metro system through trial and error.
A few things guide how I travel and what I write about:
- Respect over spectacle. I try to support local businesses and leave places the way I found them, or better.
- Travel isn’t just for people with unlimited budgets. With the right planning, long-term travel is more accessible than most people assume — and I try to prove that with real numbers, not vague promises.
- Mistakes are part of the story. The wrong bus, the missed train, the sketchy hostel — I write about those too, because that’s what actually helps someone traveling for the first time.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What makes GoTravelica different from other travel blogs?
Every guide here comes from a trip I actually took. That means real costs, real routes, and honest opinions — including the parts that didn’t go well.It’s what sets a solo travel blog built on lived experience apart from one built on guesswork.It’s what sets a solo travel blog built on lived experience apart from one built on guesswork.
How many countries has Mabel actually visited?
81 so far, out of a goal of all 195. New destinations get added to the site as I go, so this number keeps climbing — check the Destinations menu for the current list.
How do I plan a long-term world trip on a budget?
Start with destinations known for lower daily costs — cost of living data is a good place to compare — places like Vietnam, Thailand, and Poland are strong starting points — travel slower rather than faster, and mix in home-cooked meals with local street food. The Budget Travel section walks through this step by step.
Is solo travel safe for beginners?
Yes, with the right preparation. A bit of research on your destination — including checking official travel advisories — decent travel insurance, and basic situational awareness go a long way. Most of what feels intimidating the first time becomes routine by trip three.
📌 Quick Summary Box
- This About Us page introduces GoTravelica, a solo travel blog that also covers couple trips these days
- The goal is all 195 countries — 81 visited and counted so far
- New world trip guides added regularly as the number grows
- Recommendations are unpaid and based on firsthand use
- Focused on solo travelers, couples, budget-conscious planners, and first-timers
- Started as a solo travel blog and still leads with that perspective, even as couple trips get added
🚀 Let’s Get You Moving
If you’ve been dreaming about a trip longer than you’ve been planning it, that’s usually the sign it’s time to start. Have a look through the destination guides, and if there’s a city you want covered next, tell me — there’s a decent chance I’m already halfway there.
💬 Which destination should I write about next?