Meet Michaela D’Angelo of The Bon Voyage Blonde

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michaela D’Angelo.

Michaela, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My love for travel started at a young age and this was largely influenced by my grandmother. She was a world traveler and she started taking me on continental and international trips when I was in grade school. She was a leader for People to People and this inspired me to join the program for an educational and immersive experience. I traveled across Europe and Australia with the program and it further fueled my desire to continue exploring and immersing myself in different cultures.

While I was completing my bachelor’s degree, I spent a summer studying abroad in Spain and this is where the idea to start blogging about my adventures came about. I started playing around with photography and began posting photos to my social media. I continued to document and share my travels online and I slowly began to develop my photography and editing skills. I was amateurly posting to Instagram and was nervous to launch a “real” blog since I wasn’t too sure how to actually do this. Additionally, I tend to be on the more introvert side and feared putting myself out there as I wasn’t sure what my friends and family would think.

Two years ago, I took the leap and launched The Bon Voyage Blonde as a space to share my story and inspire others to continue or start traveling. I am SO thankful that I made this choice and only wished I did it sooner since it has become such a meaningful and important platform for me. About six months after I launched my blog, I received a message from a traveler thanking me for sharing my story and being able to relate to me. It was a very rewarding message to receive as it made me feel like I can have an impact on someone’s life and it fueled me to continue to grow my brand so I could continue to connect with other like-minded travelers. In a short time, I have been doing this I have made connections with like-minded travelers across the United States and around the world, including plans to eventually meet some of them! Currently, I am focused on creating an impact in my community and have begun to partner with local businesses and bloggers to shed some light on what Phoenix and Arizona have to offer.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It may not always be smooth, but I have enjoyed every minute. One of the biggest struggles is how oversaturated the blogging world has become since it can be difficult to have your work stand out. In particular, there are SO many travel bloggers who all have beautiful photos and share great travel trips, which means I had to find what makes my content different than what is already out there.

As a full-time student, I have both limited funds and time off to travel (which is a struggle on its own), but I still make the most of it and am able to travel quite frequently, which makes me a go to for the budget-friendly traveler. One of the biggest struggles, though is that I am running my blog on the side, so sometimes I struggle with finding time to create content when life gets a little too busy. I’ve been improving on this as I’ve started creating goals each month for my blog and have started allocating time to ensure they are achieved.

Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I am just a girl that loves to travel. I created The Bon Voyage Blonde to have a space to share my travels and inspire others to do the same. I specialize in adventure travel since I am very into the outdoors and live in the perfect state for exploring. Additionally, since I am a full-time student, all my travels are typically budget-friendly so readers love seeing how I score a good deal. I think what sets me apart from others is that my content is realistic and achievable for the everyday traveler.

There are so many bloggers that share about their travels and have spectacular photos, but when you dive deeper into the details and see the price of the 5-star resorts, they’re staying at the thought of recreating their trip seems unattainable. Don’t get me wrong, I love being pampered too so I work hard to create an itinerary that has a luxurious feel for a budget price. I do a lot of research on each destination I’m traveling to and spend a few weeks creating Excel sheets laying out all the information I find regarding reviews and cost so I can put together the best itinerary. Planning and researching is enjoyable to me, but I know others despise it, so when you read my itineraries and tips, you can rest assured that I’ve got you covered on what you need to know.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
There are quite a few changes coming up! I’ll be getting married in Hawaii this July and completing my doctorate next May so life is definitely about to change. Additionally, I’ve started compiling information on the next destinations I’d like to travel to begin planning the next adventure. In the next two years, you can expect to see me around Europe and Africa as I explore some places that have been on my bucket list for years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebon-voyageblonde.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @thebonvoyageblonde
• Facebook: @bonvoyageblonde

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