Hi! Hola! Bonjour! Ciao! Hallo!

I’m Megan Joy, a wanderlusting soul who is curiously journeying the globe, collecting passport stamps, experiences & making memories. While wellness focused, I’m a foodie at heart who loves restaurants & delicious wine (especially local wines throughout South America & Europe;) I also have a love of architecture, details, fine fabrics and ceramics.

I LOVE all parts of travel experience (and always have). My Virgo Sun thrives in diving into researching and analyzing all the things and ultimately making the plans!  While my Sag Moon fuels my permanent wanderlust and desire for travel, with less structure and more spontaneity when exploring.  And…as I’ve leaned into over the past few years, striking a balance between structure and flow with travel leads to the most incredible and memorable experiences. 

I adore hotels and the details…and finding the #balance between budget and bougie that doesn’t break the bank is always the goal.  Particularly when traveling solo, which most of my travels are just me, and wanting to travel frequently…finding a comfortable, quality and safe stay is key.  Especially when barely in the room and hotel, there are so many options for quality stays (4+ star) with comfy beds and bathrooms. As such, this leaves money to enjoy amazing food and experiences, and travel more of course! (side note, while there are plenty of quality reasonable stays, there’s also plenty of doozies, which, unless personally asked about, I won’t mention here.  I only share hotels/accommodations that I would return to or suggest:)  

How did I get here?  I’ve always been fascinated by and drawn to travel and foreign places.  But I didn’t grow up traveling internationally.  In my 20s living in NYC I subscribed to and would read Travel & Leisure magazine and daydream about all the places I’d someday visit.  I started traveling slowly; more to come in a Soulful Story.  Yet it took until 2006 when I was 37 to take my first entirely solo trip; I was finally tired of waiting around for people to go with me.  The daydreams were ready to become reality.  And I was hooked.  

While traveling internationally is one passion, for a very long time, I was called to and drawn to living internationally as well. I tried and explored ways to make it happen… and even put the dream on the back burner.  It took over 8 years to become a reality and nowhere near how I originally thought, dreamed or could have imagined!

I am fortunate to have trusted myself and followed the sparkles, listening to my intuition, which led to living in 3 countries other than the U.S. since 2020: (Nosara, Costa Rica (2 years), CDMX, Mexico (2 months) & Buenos Aires, Argentina (15 months).  These are incredible destinations and experiences that have been fundamental in my overall health and well-being evolution journey and transformation.  In time, Soulful Stories will share the juice;)  

The ‘other’ aspect of me that ties into these travels is my passion for (and work in) health and wellness. It’s because of travel and living abroad that I retired from my 21 year career in insurance and finance to start over in my early 40s as a certified holistic health practitioner.  I also am super excited to have started new ventures as a travel advisor.  As such sprinkled within the site will be suggestions and stories that tie mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being with travel.  From hydration tips to suggestions for reconnecting with yourself while abroad, to navigating traveling with family, I’ve got you!

As this space evolves, it will be a collection of stories, experiences and insights, both practical and purposeful.  While it is currently a passion project and something I’ve mused on for years, bringing it to life sparks so much joy for me. 

My intentions with this blog are to blend both practical and purposeful perspective to inspire and support curious and conscious travel, along with personal stories of transformational travel.  Under ‘Destinations’ you’ll find a mixture of both insights, aka helpful hints, tips & tricks for an incredible experience at various destinations around the world that I’ve recently visited.  The other part, ‘Soulful Stories’, are a more intimate read on the places that have stirred my soul. These places and travel experiences have changed me and helped me heal mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally.  Travel has the power to transform us as it educates, inspires and connects us with the world, others, and most importantly ourselves.

One of the most important things that I have learned from both living abroad and traveling to over 40 countries (as of Sept 2024) is that:

The journey and the experiences we have there are more important than the destination itself.

My hope is that this site sparks wanderlust and provides both practical and purposeful nuggets which allow you to have memorable and amazing travel journeys.

If you’re inspired and want to travel, I would love to help you in taking an incredible journey! Send me an email to set up time to speak.

Wishing you joy-filled journeys,

Megan

When I’m not writing for this site, you can find me customizing incredible experiences and travels for clients as a Travel Advisor with Fora Travel. You can also find me helping people heal their health and regulate their nervous systems naturally at Megan Joy Holistic Health.