About Emily

Hi everyone, my name is Emily, and I’m a solo traveller from the UK.

Welcome to my travel blog – Journey by Backpack.

In 2021, I took a career break from my job in media to travel the world. It’s fair to say I caught the travel bug, and I soon quit my job to travel full-time.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Welcome to Journey by Backpack, a blog designed to help you plan your dream trips to destinations all around the world.

After quitting my full-time career, I started this blog to combine my love for travel and writing. I want to empower people to travel solo to destinations worldwide, whatever their age. I meet so many people who ask, “How do you do it?” So here I am to show you.

Solo travel can be a scary prospect, especially when walking away from your career, but I’m here to share advice and help you along the way. While my blog is tailored towards solo travel, many of my guides can be used for all types of travellers.

Each piece of content on this blog has been written with first-hand experience of a destination. I’m honest in everything I write, and I want to show all the different sides of travel.

This blog is still quite new, and there’s a long way to go before it’s going to be where I want it to be. I’m writing every piece of content by myself, which takes time, so please bear with me while I work to add more content.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

I discovered my desire to travel in 2012. I travelled abroad for a family wedding and went on a three-month solo travel adventure around the USA. I had the time of my life but decided to return to the UK to focus on my career. I eventually got my dream job as a publicist for one of the world’s largest media organisations.

Fast-forward five years, and as much as I enjoyed my job, I felt like my life wasn’t moving as I wanted. I didn’t feel fulfilled, and there was a voice in my mind telling me to travel. I decided to make this my focus and spent the next three years saving every penny I could.

My career break was approved, and I moved all my belongings back to my parents and said my goodbyes to friends and family. Then, along came a certain global pandemic.

In 2021, my dreams finally came true, and I was able to travel. With the world still recovering, I moved to Costa Rica for six months to volunteer at a rescue centre. It was the best experience of my life. After this, I travelled solo to Ecuador and Guatemala before returning to work.

After a few months back at work, travel was still very much on my mind. So, I made the scariest decision of my life – I quit my career to travel the world full-time.

MY FIRST FULL YEAR ABROAD

My first full year abroad was one of the best years of my life. I went on a road trip through Canada’s Rocky Mountains, spent two months camping and overlanding through ten different countries in Africa, worked as a tour guide in New Zealand for six months, explored Southeast Asia, and went on my dream solo trip to Japan.

There were lots of highs and plenty of lows, but I discovered so much about myself and wouldn’t change anything for the world. In my opinion, solo travel is the best type of travel.

MY SECOND YEAR ABROAD

My second year abroad looked slightly different. While I loved full-time travel, it was time to slow down and enjoy travelling at a slower pace. I decided to make 2024 the year to focus on my blog and make it the best it can possibly be.

After my dream trip to Antarctica and Patagonia, I spent some time working remotely in Argentina before temporarily returning to my old job. Why? Well, I was starting to miss having a routine and felt a few months of normality would do me (and my bank) some good. Plus, I love my old job and the people there.

By the summer, I was ready to hit the road again, so I returned to South America to travel solo through Chile, Bolivia and Peru. This was one of my most challenging solo trips yet. I saw some incredible sights, including Machu Picchu, the Atacama Desert and Salar de Uyuni, but I spent most of the trip battling sickness.

After three months, I made the very tough decision to end my South American adventure early and return home. Health had to come first.

I wasn’t entirely done, though. Once I recovered, I spent some time relaxing in Sri Lanka, before heading to Norway and FINALLY seeing wild orcas.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025

2025 is looking very different than the past few years. Long-term travel is out of my system (for now), and I’m focussing more on shorter trips while still working full-time on my blog.

I’ve also made the terrifying decision to return to university to finally get my master’s degree. It’s always been something I wanted to do, and it feels like a now-or-never decision.

But don’t worry—I will still be travelling as much as I can and have many exciting plans in the pipeline.

I’ll continue working on this blog, adding more helpful resources to help you plan your trips. I also want to focus on creating resources for those thinking of quitting their jobs to travel.

SO, WHY LISTEN TO ME?

I know, I know. There are so many travel websites out there. Why should you listen to me and trust my blog?

I’m an experienced solo traveller.

Well, I’ve now travelled to over 40 countries, most of which has been solo. I’ve planned every single one of my trips alone, and I like to think of myself as a bit of a travel expert.

Every guide and review on this website is based on my own experience and opinion. I ensure I include as many details in my guides as possible, and everything has been written by me, a human!

My blog has come a long way since I started it. It’s finally become profitable, and I love every second of being my own boss.

Remote working doesn’t come without challenges, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Anyway, I hope you find the information on this website useful. And, thank you for visiting.

Let’s see where the world takes us.