Yo, I’m Rebecca 👋

Full-Time traveler, backpacker, and builder of cool things on the internet.

Welcome to TravelBudgetGirl — my little corner of the internet where I document every adventure, every mistake, and every hidden gem I find while travelling the world on a shoestring.

I’m a twenty-something originally from Orlando, Florida — yes, the city of theme parks and eternal sunshine — and no, I never thought I’d end up living out of a 40-litre backpack. These days I split my time between countries I couldn’t have pointed to on a map five years ago, writing honestly about what I find: the magic, the chaos, and everything in between. If you’re looking for filtered highlight reels, you’re probably in the wrong place. If you’re looking for real — pull up a chair.

How it started

I grew up in Orlando, never having left the United States — not even close. International travel felt like something other people did: older people, wealthier people, people with gap-year parents and trust funds. That changed at 22, when I scraped together enough savings to book a flight to Morocco. It was terrifying, disorienting, overwhelming, and the single best decision I’d ever made. Standing in the medina of Marrakech, completely lost and completely alive, something clicked.

Around that same time, Instagram was exploding with female solo travelers — women my age crossing continents, sleeping in hostels, navigating languages they didn’t speak, and documenting every step of it. I devoured those accounts. Seeing people who looked like me doing something I’d been told was too dangerous, too expensive, or too complicated planted a seed I couldn’t ignore. If they could do it, why couldn’t I? I started planning my next trip before I’d even unpacked from Morocco.

By 24, the seed had grown into something I couldn’t contain. I handed in my notice, sold most of what I owned, and bought a one-way ticket. No safety net. No five-year plan. Just a backpack, a budget spreadsheet, and more excitement than sense. That was the beginning of TravelTown — and I’ve never looked back.

Slow, scrappy, and stubbornly off-script

I’m a firm believer that you don’t need a fat wallet to see the world. Morocco proved that to me on a budget that made my friends wince, and every trip since has reinforced it. My philosophy has sharpened into something I actually stand behind: travel is about presence, not pace. The best stories I have didn’t come from five countries in ten days — they came from staying long enough to become a regular at the corner café, to learn three words of a language, to get genuinely, pleasantly lost:

• Slow travel — I’d rather spend two weeks in one country than rush through five
• Local everything — street food, local buses, family-run guesthouses
• Off the beaten path — if it’s on every Instagram feed, I’m probably looking somewhere else
• Honest writing — I’ll tell you what was awful as much as what was amazing

I’d rather spend two weeks in one place and actually feel it, than two weeks racing through five countries and feeling nothing at all.

The budget-conscious part isn’t a gimmick — it’s how I actually travel. I research local transport obsessively, eat where there are no menus in English, and choose the family guesthouse over the boutique hotel every single time. Not because I can’t afford better (sometimes), but because I’ve learned that the best experiences rarely come with a lobby and a concierge. They come with a family who insists you stay for dinner, a bus ride that takes three times longer than expected, and a view nobody has bothered to put on a postcard yet.

What you’ll find here

• Destinations — real guides from places I’ve actually been, with real prices
• Travel Hub — tips, packing lists, budget breakdowns, and itineraries
• Bucket List — the places I’m still dreaming about

I only write about places I’ve set foot in myself. Every guide comes with honest prices, honest opinions, and the details I wish someone had told me before I arrived.

And about what I pack, how I budget, and the itineraries I’ve actually road-tested. I share it all here so you can skip the trial-and-error I went through.

Not everywhere on TravelBudgetGirl is somewhere I’ve been yet. This is my public wishlist — the destinations I’m still obsessing over, researching, and slowly saving toward. Check my Bucket List here.

Beyond the passport

When I’m not wandering through unfamiliar streets or planning my next trip, you’ll usually find me with a book in my hands, a camera over my shoulder, or a notebook full of ideas. I love reading everything from travel memoirs and history to novels that make me want to book a flight the moment I turn the last page. Writing has become just as important as traveling itself — it’s how I make sense of the places I’ve been and hopefully inspire someone else to take that first leap.

I’m also happiest when I have a camera in hand, chasing interesting light, quiet streets, and everyday moments that most people walk straight past. Photography lets me preserve memories that words sometimes can’t. And when I’m back home, you’ll probably catch me working on a jigsaw puzzle with a cup of coffee nearby. There’s something satisfying about slowing down, piecing together the bigger picture one small piece at a time — a lot like travel itself.

Get in touch

Have a question about a destination? Want to share a tip? I’d love to hear from you — head over to the Contact page.

Currently based: Orlando, FL — currently travelling: Dubrovnik, Croatia