Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Gibson.
Hi Brittany, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Brittany in Wanderland actually began as proof that I was alive.
After college, I packed my entire life into a 32-liter backpack and left to travel the world. My parents have never had many rules, but they did require two things: that I learn some basic self-defense and provide one form of communication every day. It could be an Instagram post, a phone call, a text, or—as it eventually became—a blog post. Essentially, they needed daily confirmation that I had not disappeared somewhere between hostels.
I majored in journalism and had always dreamed of writing for National Geographic Traveler or another publication that explored the world through culture and storytelling. Before leaving, I started a blog as a way to document the journey, practice the kind of writing I loved, and reassure my parents that I was alive and well.
I traveled to 25 countries on that first trip and gained a little over 10,000 followers along the way. I also met people who were considered influencers on VSCO Cam—which is a sentence that immediately dates this story—and tried to learn how they had built their platforms. They were not especially interested in sharing the secrets to their success, but honestly, that only made me more determined. I knew I could figure it out. And I did.
What began as a travel diary and elaborate proof-of-life system gradually became Brittany in Wanderland. Since then, I’ve traveled to more than 50 countries and grown it into a travel and lifestyle brand encompassing destination guides, digital travel-planning products, editorial content, brand partnerships, and an email community of more than 31,000 readers. Today, my content reaches more than 500,000 accounts in an average month.
The path has not been perfectly linear. I’ve built the business between restaurant shifts, changed strategies more times than I can count, celebrated exciting opportunities, survived plenty of rejection, and repeatedly chosen to keep going before I had proof that it would all work.
At its heart, however, the mission has remained the same: I want to tell meaningful stories about the world and help people believe that travel—and a magical life—can belong to them without first becoming someone else.
So yes, the blog successfully kept my parents informed of my whereabouts. It also accidentally became my career. I’d say the proof-of-life plan worked out pretty well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Absolutely not. And I think anyone who tells you building a business or chasing a dream is a smooth road is either lying or has a much better GPS than I do.
I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to turn something I genuinely love into something sustainable. I’ve worked in the travel industry, built businesses, changed directions, started over, and questioned whether I was doing the right thing more times than I can count.
One of the hardest parts has been learning that loving something doesn’t automatically make it easy. There’s a lot that happens behind the pretty pictures. Rejection emails, financial uncertainty, technology that refuses to cooperate, content that you pour your heart into that reaches approximately seven people, and the occasional moment when you wonder if getting a normal job and calling it a day might be easier.
And sometimes, I have had the normal job while trying to build the dream. I think that’s a part of entrepreneurship we don’t talk about enough. Not everyone has the luxury of dropping everything and chasing their passion without worrying about rent.
But the biggest struggle has probably been learning to trust myself and stop measuring my progress against everyone else’s timeline. It’s so easy to look around and feel like you’re behind, especially in an industry where everyone’s highlight reel is literally their job.
I’m learning that success doesn’t have to look the way I originally imagined it. Sometimes it looks like a big opportunity, and sometimes it looks like getting up, making coffee, and trying again.
I still believe you don’t have to become someone else to have a magical life. And I think part of that magic is accepting that the messy, uncertain, not-so-Instagram-worthy days are part of the story, too.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Brittany in Wanderland is a travel and lifestyle platform built around one very simple belief: **You don’t have to become someone else to have a magical life.**
And you certainly don’t need an unlimited budget, a perfectly curated wardrobe, or a one-way ticket to Europe to start enjoying the life you’re living.
What started as a little travel blog to reassure my parents that I was still alive while backpacking around the world has grown into a community of people who want to experience more, travel deeper, and find a little magic in the everyday.
Today, Brittany in Wanderland combines travel storytelling, destination guides, practical resources, and a healthy dose of humor. I’ve traveled to more than 50 countries, lived abroad, and worked professionally in the travel industry, but I still believe some of the best experiences are the ones that never make it onto a typical tourist itinerary.
I love the beautiful hotels, the incredible restaurants, and the occasional first-class upgrade as much as anyone. But I also love getting lost in a neighborhood, finding a tiny café, talking to locals, and discovering the places that make a destination feel like somewhere you could actually belong.
That’s really what sets Wanderland apart. I’m not interested in simply showing people beautiful places and telling them to book a flight. I want to give them the tools, confidence, and inspiration to experience those places for themselves.
Through my website, I offer interactive destination guides, downloadable travel resources, and my AI City Keys, which help travelers use artificial intelligence to plan more personalized trips without losing the spontaneity and magic of exploring somewhere new. I also write a weekly newsletter called *The Friday Boarding Pass*, where I share everything from travel discoveries and flight deals to products I genuinely love and the occasional story about something going spectacularly wrong.
I’m especially proud that I’ve built a community that has grown with me. Some people have followed my adventures since I first packed my life into a backpack, and now we’re navigating careers, responsibilities, budgets, and all the other things that come with adulthood together. The dream of seeing the world hasn’t disappeared; we’ve just learned to make room for it alongside real life.
As Brittany in Wanderland continues to grow, I’m excited to work with destinations and brands that share that philosophy, while creating more resources that make meaningful travel feel accessible.
Because ultimately, Wanderland isn’t really about how many countries you’ve visited or how beautiful your Instagram looks.
**It’s about realizing that the life you’re living right now is worth making magical.**
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that it’s okay not to take everyone’s advice.
Especially when that advice is to give up on what you’re building, get a 9-to-5, and accept that it’s the only way you’ll ever make a decent living.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a 9-to-5. But there’s also nothing wrong with wanting something different. And just because someone else can’t imagine making a living doing what you love doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.
I’ve learned that people often give advice based on what feels safe or possible to them, and while their intentions might be good, their limitations don’t have to become yours.
If traveling the world, building businesses, starting over, and occasionally having absolutely no idea what I’m doing have taught me anything, it’s that nobody else gets to decide what my life is supposed to look like.
I think we spend so much time waiting for permission. Permission to take the trip, change careers, start the business, move somewhere new, or simply want more out of life. We wait until we have enough money, enough experience, enough confidence, or until someone tells us it’s a good idea.
But at some point, you have to decide that the life you want is worth pursuing, even if nobody else understands it yet.
And perhaps the biggest lesson of all is that creating that life isn’t just about working hard enough to get there. It’s also about believing you’re allowed to have it, being willing to receive it, and recognizing the beautiful things already happening along the way.
Because ultimately, the only person who can give you permission to live the life you want is you.
Pricing:
- $500-750/ Reel
- $350-500 for Static Post
- $350 for Email Newsletter
- $450 for Dedicated Blog post
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brittanyinwanderland.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanyinwanderland
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brittanyinwanderland
