We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Page a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caroline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I am an avid traveler and for years I have followed many travel bloggers. Each and every one of them were people who quit their jobs in order to travel the world. These bloggers make money to support their travels by creating content, partnering with brands, etc. For the majority of people who love to travel (or want to travel), quitting your job is not an option. I decided to create my travel blog as a way to not only inspire others to travel without the need to quit their day job, but also to provide advice, tips, suggestions, etc. to do it. I am a full-time attorney with a 9-5 job, but I prioritize travel in order to maintain a great work life balance. Showing others how to do the same is what I love doing. Whether that be guiding people on finding the best flight deals, suggesting the perfect credit cards to sign up for in order to earn miles/points, or providing curated itineraries for trips, I love seeing people who think they can’t [insert reason here] to travel!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a 40 year old attorney living in New York City. I love my day job and all that it entails. However, at the same time I have a huge passion for travel! I was bitten by the travel bug at a very young age thanks to my travel-loving parents. While the majority of my childhood travel was domestic, as an adult I have made it my mission to see as much of the world as possible. My goal is to visit 100 countries and spend New Year’s Eve in every time zone. At the end of 2023, I will have visited 78 countries and celebrated New Year’s Eve in 9 time zones.

For me, taking time for myself and getting away from the daily grind is vital to both my mental and physical health. I also believe that traveling the world and being exposed to different cultures, people, and ways of life has enriched my life in more ways than I can count. Travel has made me appreciative of every blessing I have and always gives me a renewed sense of self when I return from a trip. People constantly ask me how I am able to travel as much as I do. I can assure you, that with proper planning and a willingness to be flexible, ANYONE can travel the world!

I am most proud that I have been able to travel as much as I have without using all of my PTO. It’s all about holidays, taking advantage of weekends, and using your time off creatively. I love helping people plan trips when they realize their standard 15 days a year of PTO is plenty of time once you add in closed office days/holidays/etc. Seeing people’s excitement when they finally see a place they’ve dreamed of visiting makes it all worth it.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When it comes to travel, you always have to be ready and willing to pivot. Whether it’s flight delays, natural disasters, global pandemics, or just bad luck, the trip you’ve spent months planning can go awry in a heartbeat. It’s all about how you handle the problems with which you are facing.

One travel experience that I experienced in 2023 really threw me for a loop. My dad and I had planned a trip to Peru and Bolivia for March 2020, but because of the pandemic it was pushed back three times. We finally got to go on our trip in March 2023. We spent the first 4 days in Peru exploring Lima, Cusco, and Machu Picchu. We flew to Bolivia on day 5 and were all settled in on the first night, ready for our 7am pick up the next day to take us on an 8 hour drive to the Bolivian Salt Flats. As I was going over everything for the tour and our return flight, I found out that (unbeknownst to us) our return flight to Peru and then home was cancelled and we were booked on a different flight that was one full day sooner. We had a 3 day Salt Flats tour booked that would now result in missing our flights home. At 11pm, I was on WhatsApp contacting the tour operator and after many hours of back and forth, we were able to adjust our tour to get us back to the airport in time for the earlier flight.

The panicked that initially set in was overwhelming. When you’re in another country where you don’t speak the language and you find out your flight was cancelled with no notice, panic is the natural reaction. However, it all worked out in the end by being able to adjust our tour. Even though we lost a day of the tour, what we were able to see was amazing!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a travel blogger is getting to see people book that trip they’ve talked about for years. I have had so many people come to me saying they can’t afford to travel, they don’t have the time, it’s too stressful, etc. They talk about always wanting to see a specific place, attend an event, eat at a restaurant, etc. and are overwhelmed at the task of making that dream a reality. When you show someone that not only can they find the time, but there are ways to fit the trip into their budget, it opens up a whole new world. As one person said to me recently after a trip “It was fun! I can see why you love to travel.” Hearing someone say that makes me happier than they’ll ever know. I think that when people travel, they are exposed to different cultures, people, traditions, and experiences that will leave a lasting impact on them for life. It wasn’t until I started traveling the world that I realized how much of a bubble I grew up in. If we don’t leave our comfort zone, we will never know what we’re missing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blondevoyageesq.com
• Instagram: @cpage83
• Facebook: Blonde Voyage, Esq.

Image Credits
(c) Caroline Page