- Do you get overwhelmed by the amount of information out there when you’re planning a trip?
- Do you lack the time to spend hours researching activities and hotels?
- Do you feel anxious when you think about everything that could go wrong abroad?
- Do you want to give travel a bigger place in your life?
- Or maybe you’re just constantly looking for a next destination?
We've got you covered.
On Wonderful Wanderings, you’ll find:
- detailed travel itineraries based on actual trips
- practical information on how to plan a trip
- all the things you need to know before traveling to a country, like which currency to use and if you need a plug adapter
- reviews of travel gear, apps, and services I’ve personally tried and tested
What readers say
Credentials
Tens of thousands of people from literally every country in the world use Wonderful Wanderings monthly to plan their trips. The blog’s been featured on sites like Business Insider, Thought Catalog, and The Washington Post and I have contributed both to national publications and big brand sites such as Expedia as a travel expert.
I don't care about checking off countries but prefer to visit places multiple times to gather in-depth information. That's why I often return to the same places. So far, I've been to 26 countries of which I've visited 17 more than once.
You can find a list of the ones I've written about as well as some guest contributions about other countries on the destinations page.
For what concerns my background, I hold a master's degree in Literature and Linguistics as well as in Cultural Management. For my first job I worked as an editorial employee for the Belgian press agency and afterward I moved on to become a copywriter and marketing coordinator for the international publishing group Éditions Francis-Lefèbvre. I did this until I quit my job to become a full-time travel blogger.
The team
I couldn't run this blog today with the help of some amazing people:
- JJ and Kitty help me with research and writing.
- Mystic helps me with so many different behind-the-scenes tasks I can't possible list them all.
- Chris has been my go-to developer for years.
I'm super grateful to have them on board.
From insecure 9-to-5'er to independent travel writer
Remember that adventurous kid that would always wander off and experiment with new things? Yeah, that wasn’t me. I was the quiet one sitting in the corner, hiding behind a book that took me away to fictional worlds. I was the one who said “no” to the opportunity to go study abroad because I was afraid, and the one who found a job doing exactly what I’d planned to do straight out of university.
But I was also the kid that had gone traveling with her parents and brother ever since I’d been little. When I traveled, I could be whoever I wanted to be. I entered a new world, just like when I dove into a book.
As the years progressed and I got old enough to travel on my own (well, with friends – my first solo trip didn’t happen until I was well in my twenties!), the endless possibilities of travel lured me out of my shell.
I met all kinds of people from all kinds of cultures, tried new foods, climbed mountains and practiced my language skills. Given my degree in Literature and Linguistics and my working experience at the Belgian Press Agency and as a copywriter, it was only logical for me to start writing about these experiences. So in 2012, I launched this blog.
I also learned that preparation is the key to freedom. The better I researched and planned a trip, the more freedom it gave me to wing it while I was there – as I always had a backup plan.
That's why I want to help you travel worry-free.
About you and me
I'll provide you with long, detailed articles that won’t just teach you how to plan a trip, but will also contain ready-to-use itineraries that you can follow from the moment you take off until you fly back home.
While I did quit my job beginning of 2015 to run this blog, I stayed in my home country Belgium until very recently. I have a car that needs fuel, took weekly dance classes, and like seeing my family on a regular basis. For those reasons, my trips have mostly consisted of short getaways and one- to three-week vacations.
I became nomadic at the end of 2019 but for years to go in search of a new place to call home but for years, I traveled the way you travel too. I now just travel more, so that you can take your pick from a wide range of itineraries and travel tips.
So, what do you think? Sounds like your jam? Great! Then why not sign up to get new travel tips delivered straight to your inbox, together with a look behind-the-scenes of this blog and my travels.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to shoot me a message at sofie [at] wonderfulwanderings [dot] com.
Thanks for visiting my website. I look forward to helping you travel worry-free!
Sofie
