Hi peeps! This week I have another Tuesday Travel Inspiration Interview for you from…Hollie! Hollie and I were put in touch with each other’s blogs a while back through a mutual friend we met whilst working in hostels. Here’s her story!
*Disclaimer – Hollie now works for a fab party & surf tour company called Stoke Travel. You can visit their website by clicking here with no strings attached, or if you love my blog and feel like offering a bit of a tip I will receive a small commission based on any bookings placed through the links below. Thanks guys 🙂
Tell us a little about you…
I’m Hollie. Last year, I made a rapid decision to leave behind my family, friends, and marketing career in Australia to start “work” at the world’s craziest party hostel in Corfu, Greece.
Since then it’s been lessons learnt, fears conquered, and both vivid and hazy memories made.
I fall into the category of solo female traveler. I have supplemented my adventures working with hostels and travel companies using my handy dandy skills from back home. I now work with Stoke Travel, a Barcelona-based travel company focused on partying, travelling, surfing, and backpacking at all the best festivals in Europe. We then recover at our surf camps in Morocco and San Sebastian. It’s not a bad gig really.
When did you leave home & how long have you been away for?
I left Brisbane in July 2013 and have been travelling Europe for 16 months, with a little stint in the Americas.
What experience so far are you most proud of?
As someone who started out an extremely timid traveller, one experience that springs to mind was when I found myself feeling very solo in Berlin. I had left a hostel job, and the new friends that come with it, finished up King’s Day with a travel buddy, and found myself back on the solo travel train in Berlin. I was very alone, yet keen for some semblance of a social evening.
So I psych myself up, head downstairs to the hostel bar, to sit at a bar by myself. This may not sound like earth shattering stuff, but for me to carefully select my barstool and make conversation with complete strangers in such a setting was a big high five for me. As I’ve said, I’m now a born-again conversationalist.
What has been your funniest moment on the road?
Like most now-funny stories, this one was not at the time. I practically begged to get in on a road trip from Taghazout, Morocco to Barcelona. It was meant to take 19 hours. After several breakdowns, five nights of cold, uncomfortable, sleeps in abandoned streets, Moroccan belly, attempted Muslim conversions, comforting McMuffins, and many bouts of delirium later, we made it to Spain. Actually, maybe it’s still too soon for funny.
Do you have a tip to help people save for their travels?
Only once you’ve actually travelled and been so poor you had to do without your Sunday brunch and mimosas, do you understand what you can live without. Yes, my tongue is firmly pressed against my cheek, but it’s amazing what you can do without, to ensure you do with while enjoying the most amazing travel times.
Sure, you’ll experience phenomenal amounts of FOMO at home as all your friends head out together to their third music festival this summer, but you’re saving that coin to see your all-time favourite band play in the north of Spain, while sipping on sangria. Or to ensure you’ve got a few Forints spare after Sziget in Budapest for an early morning post-party goulash.
Do you really need that third espresso martini? That could pay for your trip to the hammam in Morocco, where you feel slightly awkward about your naked scrub and massage, but never have had such soft skin in your life.
Once you’re away from home, you’ll realise pretty quickly your lifestyle’s luxuries are just that, luxuries. Nice to have, but nowhere near as nice as stepping out into a new city for the first time, as your jaw drops in awe. That part might be free, but the flight there isn’t.
Thanks for the tips! So, you’ve worked in hostels, and now for a great travel company – do you have any tips for people who are looking to work & travel?
Put yourself out there. It’s amazing the opportunities that present themselves when you reach out. I highly recommend working while travelling. Even if you’re only given bed and breakfast, it’s significant how it stretches your budget whilst extending your life skills. Be prepared to make friends who become family quickly. You’ll be working with fellow travellers from all reaches of the globe, who you can learn from and more often than not, get drunk with.
I have a whole bunch of tips on working for travel on my blog:Â Will Work for Travel
Tell us a little bit about Stoke Travel & what benefit they bring to budget travellers…
Based in Barcelona, Stoke Travel specialises in European festival, surf and snow trips. We like to keep things nice and flexible, avoiding the usual cookie cutter tours. This flexibility means Stoke works for the budget traveller. Options start from basic for the budget conscious to all-inclusive where you get bang for your buck. And you choose how many nights you want to stay, you’re in control of how much you want to spend. Plus they offer unlimited beer and sangria. Booze budget sorted.
Stoke (strongly) believe in having a good time, meeting different people from around the world, and doing things you wouldn’t usually do. These are some of their tenants of how travel should be. We’re as easy-going as you are, providing a means of independent travel, whilst trying to remember what happened at last night’s unforgettable experience.
What do you enjoy most about working for Stoke?
The people. Cheeeeeeeeesey. I work with people who are passionate about the festivals we stay at, as well as the parties that come with it. They want people to enjoy them as much as they do, and keep coming back for more.
They are surfers who relish seeing a beginner stand up for the first time, or taking a pro to their favourite secret surf spots.
They are travellers like you and me, who do this to make new friends, see great places, and have a lot of that f word that gets thrown around too easily these days, FUN.
If you could choose one country to move to tomorrow, what would it be?
Spain (funny, that’s where I am right now). It’s got everything a good European country should. The beautiful architecture in Barcelona, the party in Ibiza, and the pintxos and surf in San Sebastian. And where else can you find such crazy fiestas and festivals!
What item could you not travel without?
As much as it hurts to say, my iPhone. I can book hostels, flights, transfer money, find my way around, and google to win an argument.
What one piece of advice would you give someone who is getting ready to set off on their first travel adventure?!
Congratulations. You’ve made your first decision in life that you have no chance of regretting. No matter what happens, the good, the bad, and the creepy dude in the hostel bunk above you, every moment is worth it. Say yes, step out of your comfort zone, do something that scares you every day. Do all the cliches. They’re cliches for a reason.
*****
Quick Travel Tips!
Hostel or Hotel…or camping?
Camping! It has all the social benefits of a hostel, with better stories.
Train or Plane?
Plane. If you do it right, you can get such good deals on flights, and it’s the cheapest way to go.
Backpack or Suitcase?
I started off with a suitcase and it actually wasn’t too bad. But ultimately backpack. It forces you to pack lightly!
Card or Cash?
A little from column A and a little from column B is always a smart choice (or lack thereof).
With Friends or Solo?
Solo. It’s amazing the friends you make on the road when you’re forced to talk to people. And then you can meet up with your best friends and new buddies for small-scale adventures.
So thanks again for another awesome set of tips from such a brave solo female traveller!
If you’d like to read more about Hollie’s travels, you can visit her blog at hollieholiday.wordpress.com or catcher her twitter at @holstarrrr!
Alternatively, if you’re interested in seeing what she gets up to at Stoke Travel then click here to visit their website or find them on twitter at @stoketravel!
Interested in Work and Travel?… make sure you check out my video: Top Tips To Work & Travel
Lots of love!
