I’ve shrieked my way through the world’s tallest skycoaster with a fear of heights, swam my way through an Advanced Scuba course in Australia with a fear of the ocean, and made friends on 6 continents with a mild case of shyness. All that sounds impressive, but I’ve also missed a flight in Australia, gotten my passport stolen in Switzerland, and left far too many belongings behind.
Just a large town girl, living in a lovely world!
~Carly “Wayward” Heyward
So, who am I?
I’m just like you! I want to see the world, but I’m a human and make mistakes. But I keep chugging along because this world is big, wide, and wonderful, and I’ve just gotta see it all!
My travel bug officially kicked off after I graduated college and was supposed to do the cliche Euro Trip with my college roomie (Hey, Emily!). Sadly, she wasn’t able to come (don’t worry, we met up for Egypt years later!), which pushed me into solo traveling. Uh oh. I was hooked.
(Where else could I take these awkward travel selfies!)
I ended up moving to a darling medieval town in Germany where I helped the owner’s granddaughter with her English homework. I loved it so much that I moved back to the US, took the GRE, and enrolled in a Masters program to become a teacher.
My love of travel didn’t stop there, and I used my breaks to see as much of the world as I could. While it mildly appealed to me to quit my job to travel, I prefer to have a home, a cat, and a life here in Atlanta.
So you see, you don’t *have* to quit your job to travel!
Let me teach you how to travel!
Why did I start a blog?
I honestly started mine because I wanted to combine my two passions: teaching and traveling. Friends were constantly asking how I’m able to travel so much on a teacher’s salary (because you know we are underpaid :p), and my replies were usually that travel doesn’t have to be expensive or “I spend a lot of time on the internet.”
If I can use my mistakes, experiences, and tips to better assist you in planning your own shenanigans, then I consider that time well spent!
What can you expect here?
Well besides horrifically terrible funny selfies, you can expect a few things:
Photography
I love taking heavily saturated and colorful landscapes! But my favorite camera to use is my 360 camera to make the fun Tiny Planets you see above! I’m also really into long exposures.
Budget and Itinerary Tips
My goal is to provide real value in my two main types of posts: Budget Posts and the things to do “Besides the Main Tourist Destination” posts. I think most people just hyper focus on the main spots to see, and sometimes they need to be reminded that a country is more than one place! I like to offer you options, so you can decide what you want to add to your trip!
I like to provide what I actually spend as a Young Professional, mid-range traveler to better aid your planning your own trips. My costs vary per country as I try and keep costs low, but I like to also temper that cheaper route with occasional splurges.
Discounts!
I live my life through discounts, sales, and value. I will always happily pass those along as either a Travel Agent or as a friend 🙂
Carly was great!
We were looking at travelling to the Galapagos sometime in the next year. Carly let us know when a sale was coming up and booked us with G Adventures. We spent extra time in Ecuador and Carly mailed us out a written itinerary as well as providing an electronic one. She was always available to answer any questions we had and did not apply pressure to book through her. I would highly recommend Carly and her services to anyone looking for help with their travels.
Thoughtful, attentive, and detailed service, we got to relax and enjoy our trip
Carly has helped us book day tours on trips we already had planned, has helped us book group tours, and helped me find a tour friendly as a solo female traveler.
Each time – her attention to detail, access to “off the beaten path” opportunities – and passion for what she does shows through. The packet received for my Egypt trip was color-coded, and really laid everything out so connections, airport transfers, and key contact details were all clear and taken care of. Traveling is stressful – so being able to just GO! And not stress the details was a lifesaver.
In Niagara, Carly suggested a day-tour that took us to several wineries. When we had problems getting a hold of our host (no cell phone reception…which was weird) – Carly magically got all the details sent to our hotel concierge and got us taken care of.
100% book with Carly. If you use her tour links and research, you can often SAVE MONEY over other booking sites, and get her insights to add additional touches to your experience. I can’t wait for the world to open up again so she can help plan my next adventure.
Perfect trip!
Great Experience with Carly!
I’ve booked four G Adventures trips with Carly now and she’s been great to deal with! She’s quick to respond and is sometimes able to get additional freebies depending on the trip. I had a flight issue for one trip and Carly took care of notifying G Adventures of my late arrival and updating my airport transfer. Definitely recommend for a hassle-free experience!
An Amazing Adventure
Thank you Carly for booking our trip to Morocco. You were always available to answer our questions and made our adventures go smoothly. We will be reaching out to you again in the future for future adventure bookings.
Carly was Super-Helpful
Carly helped me figure out how to resolve issues with the trip (that were not her doing). She was incredibly helpful. I will definately work with Carly again!
Perfect trip!
My family’s trip to Disney World and Universal Studios was perfect! I especially loved the packet that Carly sent to us; it included our itinerary and our Universal tickets with confirmation codes too. Carly is the best!
Amazing Experience
Carly helped me originally book a trip to South America. However, due to the civil unrest in Peru my trip had to be canceled last minute. Carly was extremely helpful in changing my trip so that I could still go somewhere else without feeling like I missed out on a vacation. Within a few days I was already booked and ready to go to Costa Rica. It was truly an amazing experience and I can’t think Carly enough for all that she’s done for me!
Carly is amazing!
Carly is simply amazing! She helped me book what I thought was a great deal and then Atlas had a sale and she got me a longer trip for cheaper!! Top notch service. Always responsive when I had questions. I’m heading to Israel/Jordan with her help in April and look forward to having her help me explore even more places
Thank you Carly!
Justin
Highly Recommended!!!
Carly helped me book my family trip to Peru with Intrepid. It was our first time joining a group tour and I was very nervous about how it would all work. Carly gave me expert advice, insights and tips! It definitely helped that she had personal experience travelling to Peru! It was a pleasure working with her and I would not hesitate to book another trip with her in the future!!!
Travel made easy
We were thankful to have Carly work with us to plan our trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe. She recommended a tour that fit our wishes, always answered questions within a reasonable time frame, and kept an eye on our plans to make sure we did not miss booking any extra hotels, flights, or interesting excursions.
SERIOUSLY FABULOUS
Carly was amazing from day one!
I originally booked for a different destination in Saint Martin but there were some issues with the resort. Carly personally spent hours on the phone to get things resolved and us transferred to a new resort. Top notch personal attention to details and even made us an itinerary!!
Seriously cannot recommend this lovely soul enough! So helpful and friendly!!!
So helpful!
My girlfriend and I went to a wedding in Savannah! Carly was able to find us a hotel near the event that was cheaper than anything I found! She also suggested different things to do in the area. It was a great weekend, with no stress!
Well Taken Care of on our Trip of a Lifetime
Planning a trip like this takes a lot of time and effort. Carly started by making a Zoom presentation to my two traveling companions and I on the various options for Antarctic tours. After understanding what we were looking for, Carly encouraged us to use Quark. What a recommendation!! All aspects of the Quark crew were top notch, from the tour guides to the dining room / kitchen staff to navigation to housekeeping.
It was almost a year between the time we committed to the trip and actually left for it. During that time, Carly was very responsive to questions we had while preparing. Even after the trip, she continues to take care of us, helping me get a refund for one of the services I paid for but didn’t use. I give Carly my top recommendation.
Can’t wait for the next adventure!
I have been on two trips with Carly herself, not just using her services. I HIGHLY recommend traveling with her when she offers group tours. She is so much fun !
For our Atlas trip, she honestly offered up such a great deal, I couldn’t say no. I had no intentions of traveling to Norway, but the price was unbelievable. She also found us a super affordable flight on an airline I didn’t even know existed so there was no way I could have found it myself. I have a new addiction to Atlas cruise lines and can’t wait to go back.
On our G Adventures tour, her personal touches made a huge difference. From the nifty travel packet she sends out to getting out of bed to help us at the front desk when our AC wasn’t working correctly. Bonus that her Spanish is exponentially better than mine!
On both trips I can tell you that even though she was traveling, she was always checking in on her clients that were on other trips, even skipping out on some of the fun activities so she could stay back and work to make sure everyone was well taken care of.
The only downside about working with Carly is that you’ll be wanting to book another trip right away!
The best in the biz!
My husband and I typically book our own trips, but when it came to booking our Antarctica adventure, I was getting overwhelmed with the number of options available. This was not going to be a cheap trip, and we wanted to make sure we were getting everything we wanted out of our experience.
Carly made a PowerPoint presentation with all the information we needed (and more) to help us make the right choice. She is efficient, quick to respond to any questions, and always available to for recommendations. We wanted to maximize our time on the continent so it was a no-brainer to go with G Adventures. Carly even secured our spots in the kayaking and camping program too! Don’t miss out on these!!
I HIGHLY recommend Carly to help you book your next adventure! She’s simply the best!!!
And if you’re planning on going to Antarctica, you need to go with G Adventures!
Thank you!!
Thank you for organizing everything for me! My trip went by so smoothly and I had a great time. Can’t wait to have your help again for future trips. Happy Holidays.
Carly is awesome to work with!!
Carly made our trip to Antarctica so easy!! We had no idea where to start when planning a trip to Antarctica. Carly helped laid out all of the options we had and the pros/cons of each. It was great that she had first hand experience in Antarctica and on some of the cruise companies. I would highly recommend her to others!!
Carly Cares!
Wanted to go to Jamaica for my birthday with a girlfriend and had NO clue where to stay, what we wanted to do or even where to start! Carly took our financial concerns plus our all-inclusive resort request and managed to come back with our dream vacation all within our budget parameters. Before we left for paradise, she ensured she sent me a customized folder with all the specifications regarding our vacation so we didn’t have to sort through endless emails or stress out about finding answers to questions we had during our trip. There were some slight issues with the hotel accommodations when we arrived but Carly responded within MINUTES of messaging her to try and help us resolve everything! I asked her for a customer service number to call but she insisted on calling them directly on our behalf and made everything better than we could have imagined! HIGHLY recommend contacting and using Carly’s services when planning any travel as she is very knowledgeable and proved to be a valuable resource!
Bucket List Trip
For my 40th birthday, I wanted to check something off my bucket list, so I picked the Galapagos Islands. I had a lot of questions, and Carly quickly and thoroughly responded to each one. She even responded when she was on a trip to Antarctica! Carly ensured that I had airport transfer, information about additional day trips, additional nights for the hotel, and anything else I needed for the trip. She is detail oriented and efficient. If she didn’t have an immediate answer, she quickly found one. I’m excited to work with her in the future!
😀
Working with Carly was very easy–it was like asking a fellow traveler for assistance which is wonderful. Knowing Carly has the experience I could trust her advice. Booking the Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan tour was easy and her insights for hotels on my extra days were helpful along with inputting my flight details with G Adventures. I would definitely use Carly again and appreciate her insights!
Beautiful Adventure, Perfect Planning
We recently booked a trip to Iceland through Carly, and it was fantastic! We never thought we’d be able to take a trip like this, but with Carly’s help and recommendations, we were able to see the most amazing parts of Southern Iceland. She helped us find the right tour for us in our budget, and by relying on her experience and expertise, we were able to book a tour that enabled us to see so much of the country in just 5 days. She prepared a detailed itinerary for us, and the entire trip went smoothly – from transferring from the airport to our accommodations, meeting up with our tour group, and through the return trip home. We would highly recommend Flight of the Educator, and can’t wait to plan our next adventure through her!
Amazing guidance for an amazing vacation!
Carly helped me find the perfect trip based on my wants, needs, and timeline. I ended up going to Bolivia with G Adventures. She arranged everything and sent a detailed itinerary with everything I needed. She was always available to answer questions. I had the time of my life on this trip and am so grateful!
Carly found the PERFECT trip for us!
I happened to meet Carly in a women’s travel Facebook group when I started asking questions about the best photography equipment if I was to go to Antarctica one day… SO GLAD I MET HER! After considering companies online on my own, we turned to Carly to help suggest a trip that would best fit our desires and budget. We were two women in our late twenties and my best friend’s father in his 60s. With Carly’s help, we secured the perfect trip and found reasonable discounts that worked for us.
After securing our trip, Carly was an amazing resource to us as we prepared and packed. I even got a hold of her via Facebook messenger while in Ushuaia when we had an issue with our cab plans. I trust her completely and would happily book with her again and again.
If you are not sure about going to Antarctica. Go! The Drake Passage was amazing if you are in for the ride. The scenery is breathtaking. The wildlife is unmatched. And, especially on Quark, I felt they had excursion options for all fitness levels! I had just finished chemotherapy and was running slower than normal – and I was capable of doing everything I set my mind to…even climbing mountains and kayaking and polar plunging! The staff always made me feel supported!
Carly is Amazing!
Carly was an amazing trip planner! She gave us advice on which cruise to book to Antarctica, booked our hotels in Argentina, and gave us a digital itinerary as well as an itinerary booklet that we could refer to when traveling. It was a pleasure to work with her and I’m looking forward to booking with her again!
This is my third time
This is my third time working with Carly, she has been so helpful and thoughtful every time. My first trip, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, after a few conversations, she was able to send me a list of trips that met my needs and made the decision process easy. After that, it gave me the confidence to be able to make decisions on trips and she was still there every step of the way!
Smooth sailing in Egypt
I usually book my trips independently, but I knew Egypt would be a tricky one. I meet Carly in the Girls Love Travel Facebook group. Since we are both teachers, we hit it off. She helped me book a 10 day trip through Egypt. She was professional, flexible and easy to work it. I will reach out to her in the future when I feel safe traveling again. Peace, love and travel!
A perfect trip from start to finish
Carly was instrumental in the planning of our trip to Antarctica. Being such an epic destination, we wanted to make sure we chose the perfect trip, & Carly did as well! She took in everything we were looking for & provided us a fantastic presentation & spreadsheet comparing different trips. She answered all of our questions promptly & provided suggestions & advice.
We couldn’t have planned this trip to go as perfectly as it did without Carly’s help & enthusiasm.
A faboulous trip!
I had a pleasure of boking my G Adventures Morocco trip with Carly Heyward whom I met online in one of the travel groups. Carly exceed my expectations, she went above and beyond of what I expected from a travel agent. Her customer service focus is unmatched. She was very organized and patient in answering my numerous questions. I was super impressed with Carly’s knowledge, dedication and commitment to meeting the needs of the customer. I would not hesitate to book another tour with Carly, as a matter of fact, I am already looking at booking my next trip. Thank you, Carly, for helping us create the memories of a lifetime!
Trip Cancellation-Great Service & Response time
Due to a family situation I had to cancel my trip to India. Carly was so kind, responsive, and professional. It’s easy to give a nice review when all goes well but the true testament to an agent is when it all goes south. It was so helpful to have her take care of the cancellation process while I was managing a family crisis. I will absolutely work with her again when the world opens back up.
You need a trip advisor!
I worked with Carly while booking my trip to 5 different countries in Africa. I am so glad I decided to! At first I thought why do I need her its not like I am organizing the trip all by myself- I was using a company. But I was wrong. There was still a lot of deadlines and small details that needed to be addressed like which countries required visas ahead of time, what vaccines were required etc.
She kept everything super organized which led to much less stress on my part. She even gave me this super organized folder that included extra copies of the itinerary, my flights and packing lists that I know keep as a remembrance of the amazing trip I took. I highly recommend Carly!
Carly was awesome!!!
Carly helped us book an amazing G Adventures trip to Jordan. She made planning and booking this trip so much easier. In addition to her excellent customer service, she proactively identified where we may need help for bookings outside of the days that were part of our planned tour. It was really reassuring to have her booking our drivers and extra hotels. I would highly recommend using Carly for your next adventure.
Majestical and magical
I would like to thank Carly for assisting in making a dream come true. Her attention to detail is greatly appreciated.
ALWAYS a good time
I have been on a few trips with Carly, and they are always a good time! Carly has a way of making travelers of all ages and abilities feel welcome, with positive attitude and lively conversation. The few times we had problems or questions, Carly was available to assist with information and/or intervention. Looking forward to the next adventure with Carly!
So easy and So fun!
I have always planned and booked my own vacations: Iceland, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Peru….But I doubt I will again. Carly made everything so easy and stress free! The tour with G Adventures was amazing, but Carly was also booked my hotels for extra time before and after the tour began. This was one of the best vacations ever partially because I didn’t have to sweat the details! Thank you Carly!
Definitely book with Carly, it took the stress out of travelling!
I have travelled with G Adventures a few times before and their customer service has always been great. However, Carly added that extra personal touch. She was available to answer all of my questions whenever i had them and kept me updated on any questions outstanding that were waiting on a G Adventures to answer. This totally kept my mind at ease as i didn’t need to keep on top of anything or chase anybody for answers.
Carly arranged my airport transfers, extra hotel nights, and excursions and this all went smoothly. She sent me all of the vouchers/confirmations that I needed and reminded me of anything I was missing.
The added bonus of booking through Carly is also that she has travelled to so many countries and has a lot of valuable travel experience. This meant that any questions I had whether it was regarding appropriate clothes, packing, the weather, cash vs card/ ATM access, local sim card etc, it was all answered from personal experience which is invaluable!
I would 10/10 recommend booking through Carly to everybody, I am already ready to book my next trip through her!
So, if you also want adventure in the great, wide somewhere, then I invite you to be my guest! Subscribe to the newsletter! Subscribe for new posts!