5 Minutes With Savannah Grace

For McCool Travel’s 137th travel interview, I am pleased to present Savannah Grace. In 2013 with fellow adventure traveller Shane Dallas (@TheTravelCamel), Savannah founded #TRLT (The Road Less Travelled) Twitter chat which now regularly ranks as the top travel chat in the world. She is an adventurer, author, and desires to visit every country on Earth.
Savannah Grace‘s bio: “Savannah Grace is a 26-year-old Canadian, Dutch resident travelling to every country in the world (111 so far). She currently lives in The Netherlands, where she has been an expat for the past 8 years, with her Dutch husband who is also an extreme traveller. Savannah is best known for her bestselling travel memoir series Sihpromatum, which includes “I Grew My Boobs in China” and “Backpacks and Bra Straps”. She is currently writing the third volume in the series, “Rusty Tracks and Booby Traps”. These fascinating stories take you on a journey with her family on their extraordinary four-year, 80-country journey around the world, starting when she was just 14 years old. She now runs the popular adventure website Sihpromatum and has been actively documenting her travels for the past twelve years. When she’s not travelling she is hosting travellers from around the world in her four Airbnb apartments in The Netherlands.

McCool Travel interview with Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum
Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum

Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum

Hometown …
Vancouver, Canada
Always in my luggage …
Aside from the obvious passport? In my early travel days it was a journal, now it’s my iPhone which has my notes, social media, and camera!
3 favorite home-away-from-home places …

  1. A gorgeous cottage my family built 30 years ago, 5 hours north of Vancouver, B.C. by Loon Lake.
  2. C’est La Vie in St. Lucia.
  3. Brugge, Belgium!

A favorite travel memory is …
I can never answer “favorite” or “best” questions because there are so many, but fighting the muddy jungle roads of Cameroon, just after crossing the border from Nigeria, was a battle I’ll never forget. Dirty, sweaty, and covered in scratches and bugs….those were the good days!

McCool Travel interview with Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum.
Savannah Grace, stuck in the mud in Cameroon

3 favorite travel brands …

  1. Emirates Airlines
  2. Arcteryx Outdoor Clothing (Founded in North Vancouver, Canada! I only just recently realized that.)
  3. Four Seasons Resorts

3 money-saving travel tactics I use (before trips) are …

  1. eat Local
  2. Couch Surf or accept random offers from locals to stay in their homes
  3. WALK or take local transport for greater distances
McCool Travel interview with Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum. article by Charles McCool. Photo provided by Savannah Grace.
Savannah Grace in Afghanistan

3 ways that I have fun while traveling are …

  1. building unforgettable travel memories with family and friends who I bring along with me
  2. photographing gorgeous streets, people, sites and views
  3. meeting locals

8 word (or less) travel mantra …
Life’s a Journey Best Done on The Road!
favorite non-travel website …
goodreads.com
most memorable souvenir …
Other than my husband?! There have been a few cool things, Nepalese prayer flags, singing bowl, buddha statues, 25 piece matryoshka doll from Kazakhstan… but nothing beats the husband.
favorite cheap eat …
Thali for 15 cents in India! Oh how I miss those days.
recent discovery …
Ladera Resort in St.Lucia where we got married….What a gem!!! Actually, the entire island country is a treasure. If I ever move abroad (again) that’s where I’m headed.

McCool Travel interview with Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum
Savannah Grace in St. Lucia

I am fortunate to have met …
Kees, my now husband and father of our (unborn) child, on the road in Ghana, West Africa 9+ years ago. We were both on year+ overland adventures in Africa and I swear he saved my life the day we met.
I would like to meet …
Any of the Game of Thrones cast. Wooohooo!!! Oh wait, Ellen Degeneres would have to be my first choice.

McCool Travel interview with Savannah Grace of Sihpromatum
Savannah Grace with a future great adventurer

Thank you so much, Savannah, for taking a few minutes to share travel inspiration and tips.
Follow Savannah Grace on TwitterInstagramFacebook, Pinterest, and Sihpromatum.com.


McCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes travel interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Check out McCool Travel’s previous travel interviews. Previous 5 Minutes travel interview: Cacinda Maloney.


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