About Me

“She wants to do it all, see it all, and taste it all. There are so many wonders in the world and by golly, she wants an insider’s look at each one. She wants french bread in France, chicken kiev in Russia, tacos in Mexico, and hot dogs at Dodger Stadium. But that’s not all. She wants to hike the redwood forest, ski the Swiss Alps, watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and dive the Great Barrier Reef. Her passport is always current ….. She has enough frequent flyer miles to travel around the world ….. And the best time of her life is when she’s packed and ready to go.”

— Suzy Toronto 

Hi, I’m Kim, the solo traveler behind She Loves to Travel. I have always wanted to travel since I was in college falling in love with a place that I only read about in books and magazines; Ireland. I didn’t make it to this magical ‘land of a thousand welcomes’ until 1997. By this time I was living in Yosemite National Park and could save the money needed for the trip I wanted to take. I wasn’t as spontaneous as I would have liked when I was there: car rental, bed and breakfasts. Not your typical girl who would want to backpack through Europe and prefer hostels and campgrounds over hotels. That would happen four years later.

Fast forward 2001. I was still living in Yosemite National Park but decided to take the leap, quit my job and travel through Europe. I was supposed to travel with a friend who backed out but that didn’t stop me from stepping out of the norm and doing something I never thought I would do; backpacking through other countries on my own. Coming from the shy girl this was the chance to discover what I was made of, who I really was and learn more about myself. It helped me get over my shyness, meeting new people and taking some of these adventures with people I met on the road. Three months later and I was a stronger person for having taken this trip on my own.

Since then, I traveled to London and Paris in 2003 with my mom. Her first trip overseas and for me, one of many that I would take over the years. Then came Rome, Venice and Florence in 2004, Spain in 2006, Aruba, Mexico and my most challenging trip to Maui in 2012. Maui taught me that I could set new challenges and accomplish them if I set my mind to it. Challenges being that by day #5 of the goal I had set for myself that I had walked 16 miles in one day. I had worked my way up to this number and it wasn’t an easy feat but one I was proud of nonetheless. It was something that helped prepare me for the half marathon that I took later that year. Mission accomplished.

I am still not done traveling; Dublin, Kilkenny and Wicklow, Paris, Versailles, Rome and Frascati were on the agenda for 2013 with New Orleans following in 2014.

Where will I go next? Who knows? All I know is how much I love to travel and the happiest I am is when I am on the road to somewhere. Already planning my next trip to somewhere. Hope to see you on the road wherever it may be.

I hope my posts will inspire you to get out there and travel on your own. You don’t need to wait for the time when your friends are ready to travel. Travel when you are ready to travel even if others aren’t ready to travel with you. Take chances because they could be some of the best experiences you may ever have in your life. Open yourself up to new possibilities, see things in a whole new light because that is what traveling to other places allow you to do; see things differently.

Solo Travel for the Budget Conscious; traveling on your own and not spending all of your money to do it!