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.

featured from the blog

The Ultimate Travel
Bucket List for 2023

The Ultimate Guide to Starting
a Successful Travel Blog

The Best US Destinations
to Visit this Fall

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

Autumn Leaf Peeping

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

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!

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

#ad Unpopular Travel Opinions (After traveling to

#ad Unpopular Travel Opinions (After traveling to 75 countries) ✈️
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Travel with your baby. Travel days are the hardest (flying especially), but you will experience the joy they bring to you and everyone around you once you’ve arrived at your destination! An even more unpopular opinion? Bring that baby in business class! If there’s anyone who deserves to be there, it’s a tired parent.

There’s no such thing as overpacking. I’ve flown over 1,000,000 air miles and checked a bag on every trip. Is it sometimes inconvenient? Sure. But it’s not the end of the world. I’d rather have everything I need than stress over trying to fit everything in a carry on.

Do the touristy stuff! It’s popular for a reason! Should you plan around high season? Visit the Trevi Fountain at 6 a.m. instead of noon? Yes! But still go! @UScellular also recommends using Google Maps to download maps to your phone so you can still get to your destination without using extra data.

Travel solo! If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m a huge advocate for solo travel. It’s normal to be worried about taking your first trip as a party of one. But I firmly believe that solo travel is one of the best ways to learn about yourself and the world!

Plan and research every trip. As much as I would love to book a flight and stumble upon the gems of a new destination, the reality is that nine times out of 10, I have good travel experiences because I have done the research ahead of time.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let yourself stumble upon things; having a plan doesn’t mean sticking to the plan. I always feel like I waste time and money trying to figure things out once I’m there.
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Your phone can also be the best international travel partner. For more helpful smartphone travel tips, go to the @UScellular Newsroom!

So long summer ☀️
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Honestly, it feels like I’ve been living in an eternal summer.

I took a girls trip to Bermuda in January, then we went back to South Africa for 6 weeks, then we spent 6 weeks traveling Italy and Mallorca, then I took my first big “solo” trip to the Galapagos Islands, THEN came home to the middle of California summer and it’s been busy busy busy.

Because Oliver was born last June, I sort of missed summer entirely last year. Going from “omg I’m so pregnant I can’t leave the house” to an all-consuming “omg life with a newborn I can’t leave the house” multi-monthlong period.

Boy did we make up for lost time.

Though I am definitely a summer girl, autumn is my favorite season. Give me all the coziness and fall flavors. I can’t wait for pumpkin patches and the changing leaves and even earlier sunsets (ew I know lol—but Oliver hasn’t seen a sunset because he’s asleep by 7 PM and I can’t wait to experience them with him)!

If you’ve been following me for any length of time you know I have 2 speeds: exotic travels and Halloween ;)

We’re decorating the house next week!
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#solongsummer #summer #travel

Romanticizing life through travel ❤️ •••

Romanticizing life through travel ❤️
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For me, travel isn’t just about checking off destinations from your bucket list; it’s about weaving stories into the very fabric of your existence.

It’s about savoring the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked croissants on a Parisian street corner, feeling the warm, golden sands of a far-flung beach between your toes, and losing yourself in the kaleidoscope of colors at a bustling Marrakech market.

It’s not just about where we go, but how we let these journeys shape our hearts and souls.

I think that these experiences can transform us from the very youngest age. He might not remember it, but I will. And we are both forever changed by it.
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#mallorca #deia #babytravel #thebabyabroad #familytravel

Trying to freeze time 🕰️
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I’ve been really emotional about this stage of Oliver’s young life.

Ever since he was born, his development has been something I’ve looked forward to and been excited about—starting solids, sitting up, crawling, etc.

But now, at 14 months, I’m faced with closing the “baby” chapter and have been desperately trying to freeze time.

It all goes by so fast.

He’ll be walking any day now. He looks and acts more and more like a little boy every day. Before I know it, his chunky thighs will thin and we’ll be scheduling his first hair cut.

Though, that might be postponed for a few years because how do you EVER part with those curls?!

I knew it was the right time to book a session with a professional photographer for no particular reason other than to hold onto a feeling. Enter @chelseamarasphoto.

Naturally, the day of the shoot, Oliver started cutting a tooth. My always happy baby was grumbly and refusing to let out even the slightest giggle. I left that evening feeling apologetic for wasting her time.

And then, Chelsea sends me a preview of that first photo and I absolutely lost it.

There really are no words, but I am enterally grateful for these photos. The love, the light, the warmth. The feeling of being his mama… frozen in time.
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#14monthsold #mommyandme #babyphotography

#ad I’ve been saving my OneKeyCash for our next

#ad I’ve been saving my OneKeyCash for our next trip! 💰✈️
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I’ve saved up nearly $1500 in OneKeyCash from my trips this year, mostly from our summer adventure in Italy (Vrbo vacation rental and Expedia car rental in Tuscany, Hotels.com booking in Mallorca, etc.)

I most recently booked a 3-night stay at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, CA through Expedia and earned $126 in OneKeyCash to use towards future trips.

One Key Members can unlock immediate discounts and earn and use rewards across @expedia, @hotelsdotcom, and @vrbo, giving you more flexibility.

Now, we’re planning Oliver’s first DISNEYLAND® vacation—I used my OneKeyCash towards our hotel booking!

If you’re planning your next trip, you can use the @hotelsdotcom Smart Shopping comparison tool to find the best properties for you!
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#traveltips

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