Women Who Wander: Kiley Iveson

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying the Women Who Wander series. In this post, we are going to talk about Kiley. She has been featured in several of my blog posts, but if you don’t already know her, she is my super cool little sister. 

Where She Went

After graduating high school, Kiley decided to take a gap semester to travel around Europe. She spent about two months traveling around Portugal, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, and Belgium. 

Where She Stayed

The first half of her trip in Portugal and Cyprus, she stayed with family friends. The rest of the time she stayed in hostels. This was her first experience staying in hostels, and she was pleasantly surprised. One that she loved in particular was Hostel Celica in Slovenia. However, she did say a few were kind of nasty… but that’s to be expected in some hostels. She found that hostels were a great place to meet people while solo traveling and really helped her get out of her shell. 

Her Favorite Place

Going to Portugal was a very special experience for her. It’s where our grandmother was from, and while we were there, we got matching tattoos of her birth year. In fact, Portugal was her favorite country she visited while traveling. She started and ended her trip there and loved everything about it.

What She Struggled With

One thing she struggled with was being alone. I personally feel like this is something a lot of solo travelers struggle with. It’s hard being in an unfamiliar place trying to meet new people. However, Kiley learned to put herself out there and ended up meeting a ton of great friends during her travels (and I’m so proud of her for doing so). 

Her Recommendation

Kiley highly recommends visiting Lake Bled in Slovenia. She said it looked like it was straight out of a fairytale. She was in awe over the church in the middle of the lake and the fall leaves all around. 

Highlights of Her Trip

Although she saw and did some amazing things on her trip, she said the highlight was the people. She appreciated having the opportunity to reconnect with our uncle Andreas in Cyprus. He took us on many amazing adventures, and she really enjoyed spending time with him.

On her birthday, she spent the night going out with her friends she met at the hostel in Italy. She recalls this being a very special night and is grateful for the friends around the world who celebrated her.

While she was in Belgium, there were not many people at the hostel she was staying at, but she did meet a friend from Argentina. However, she only spoke Spanish, and they had to use Google Translate to communicate. Despite the language barrier, they were still able to connect. I have had a similar experience while traveling in Australia, and it just goes to show no matter how different you are from someone, you can still form a connection. 

What She Learned

Kiley always thought she would go straight to college after high school, and traveling was never really a part of her plan. However, life after high school turned out better than she could have imagined. She is so glad she ended up traveling instead of taking a more traditional route. This trip made her see the beauty in the unknown, and living out of her backpack made her realize that she doesn’t need material things to be happy. Instead, she finds happiness through experiences and relationships. She decided to start following her passions because she knows that is what’s going to make her feel fulfilled. 

Her Advice

Kiley wants you to know that the thought of solo traveling or taking a gap semester is way scarier than actually doing it. She believes that at the end of the day, you are the only person holding yourself back. She says if you take the time to plan, budget, and stay in hostels, it’s doable. She thinks everyone should solo travel at least once, no matter how old you are. 

After her gap semester, Kiley began doing college online. She is obtaining a degree in marine biology, something she is truly passionate about. Since her gap semester, she has lived in Hawaii and Australia but comes home to Florida in the summer to lifeguard. I am so proud of her, and she continues to amaze me every day.