The Blonde Abroad • Solo Female Travel Blog

An award-winning solo female travel blog featuring travel tips, packing guides, videos and photography from around the world.

An award-winning solo female travel blog featuring travel tips, packing guides, videos and photography from around the world.

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About Kiersten

You can call me Kiki! I'm a California native who left my career in corporate finance to explore the world. I split my home between South Africa and San Diego and have traveled to over 70 countries!

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travel for free

Learn how I use travel reward credit cards to book free flights and hotels around the world

Bucket List experiences

Road Trip

A Girls' Trip

African Safari

Solo Trip

Tropical Vacation

California Road Trip

Trips to Take in Your 30s

Backpack Southeast Asia

Go to a Festival

Explore By Destination

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1 Africa

2 Asia

3 The Caribbean

4 Central America

5 Europe

6 The Middle East

7 North America

8 Oceania

9 South America

South Africa

Packing Guides

Not sure what to pack for your next trip? I've put together packing guides and outfit inspiration for everything from tropical vacations to multi-day treks!

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Whether you’re just starting out with photography or have been shooting for years, these easy-to-use photo filters will instantly add a beautiful aesthetic to all of your images!

Whether you’re just starting out with photography or have been shooting for years, these easy-to-use photo filters will instantly add a beautiful aesthetic to all of your images!

As a female entrepreneur, I love helping other women with their businesses! Grow your blog, improve your photography skills and get tips from a fellow freelancer!

Instagram

This song tho 😭
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Oliver turned 11 months old yesterday and I cannot get over how much more of a little boy he seems every single day.

The baby phase really does fly by in the blink of an eye.

He started waving on this trip anytime we say “Ciao” — he’s coming home with a new party trick!

We now have SIX teeth! We left with 1.5 lol. His top four teeth are currently coming in at the same time and this poor kid is so uncomfortable but still so happy.

He still absolutely inhales food. I have to order an adult portion at every meal — the whole baby lead weaning thing is great for everything except the bank account.

He’s absolutely fascinated by nature. We’re in now in the quintessential Tuscan countryside and he’s in heaven. We have to touch and look at all of the tiny details of flowers and the way the wind moves things. It really does make you slow down and appreciate the smallest parts of every day life.

And omg he’s a social butterfly! He goes out of his way to get the attention of every single person — this trip has been so fun for him to develop more social skills and he’s loving all the attention.

I was chatting to some German tourists with a baby after asking to pet their dog (obviously) and they said, “we always know if someone is American because they want to pet the dog. Italians want to pet the baby.” 😂 And honestly it’s true.

Italy is such an amazing for families—they just LOVE babies. It makes it such an enjoyable experience with how accommodating and loving everyone is towards you and your baby!

I’m really trying to share as many updates but, honestly, it’s freakin hard with a kiddo. Our days are so full and the last thing I want to do is edit and post at the end of the day.

But, I’m so grateful for all of the amazing adventures we have captured and I’m excited to share them! It just might not be until we’re home 😂
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#venice #italy #travel #11monthsold #thebabyabroad

Florence but make it #WesAnderson 🇮🇹
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It’s definitely more difficult to find moments to be creative (let alone create) what I usually do when traveling with family and a baby—but this trend was too fun not to try!

I had grand plans of shooting way more “Wes Anderson”y reel—like shooting a pizza from above and removing one slice at a time. And finding one of Florence’s famous wine windows to have a mysterious hand appear with a glass.

Alas, Oliver really nailed his scene so I felt it still needed to be shared 🤣
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#florence #firenze #cutebaby #accidentallywesanderson #wesandersontrend #wesandersonstyle #italy #photobooth #travel #travelbaby

“Chilling” on the beach at sunset with the @ic

“Chilling” on the beach at sunset with the @icemulecooler—the ultimate travel-friendly cooler backpack!
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Whether we’re home in San Diego, or traveling abroad—like in Cape Town—I always bring my spacious IceMule Jaunt 15L.

It fits all our beach picnic essentials (like drinks and lots of snacks) without worrying about running out of space.

It’s also SO nice to be able to wear it like a backpack and keep my hands free for mom-duty!

And the best part? It easily packs down into my suitcase for the next adventure! 🌴
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#icemulecoolers

So lucky to be your mama, Oliver ❤️
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Motherhood has been my biggest adventure yet. Nothing could have prepared me for challenges, joy, exhaustion, and love this chapter has brought.

Or the new level of understanding and appreciation for my own mom!

Sending all my love to all the other mamas, and everyone missing their mama, today and every day. ❤️

PS realized as I was getting ready to post this, that I last wore this outfit pregnant in Egypt! A fun little “before and after” 🥰
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#HappyMothersDay

Americans get less vacation time than anywhere els

Americans get less vacation time than anywhere else in the world… 😮✈️
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Did you know that according to @Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation report, 63% of U.S. adults report feeling vacation deprived, the second-highest rate seen in the past 10 years?!

And over 45% of Americans leave vacation days unused!

But travel doesn’t have to be stressful, expensive, or confusing! There are lots of resources to help you find the best options. You deserve a break, you deserve to take the time to book that well-deserved adventure.

To make it a bit easier, be sure to check out @Expedia’s Price Tracking tool. It’s a super helpful tool to can save you time when planning, find amazing deals, and allow you to travel more confidently!

With Expedia, you can also book beautiful hotels, excursions, and more, all in one place.
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#EGPartner #VacationDeprivation #sponsored

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