What is linger?

Linger is a travel advice blog by travel writer and travel expert, Sunny Fitzgerald (that’s me! You can find more of my story in “The scenic route” section down below + there’s a TLDR at the bottom for those that prefer a quicker read).

What can you find on linger? (And why trust the advice here?)

At linger, you’ll find expert travel tips that include advice on what to pack and when to travel, and recommendations for trusted tour operators, the best slow travel experiences, the best sunset spots, some unexpected and off-the-tourist-track activities, and more—all from my personal 15+ years of travel experience. I also verify data and include official sources (such as reputable academic, governmental, and international institutions), where appropriate.

Who is linger for?

Linger is for people who like slow travel experiences and honest, reliable advice from a travel expert with years of experience in travel planning, globetrotting, itinerary design, and travel writing.

Travel can be transformational. It’s often healing, inspirational, educational, eye-opening, and life-changing. But it can also be challenging to plan! Linger is here to help.

Your social media follower count and the number of stamps in your passport are irrelevant. What’s important is that you love to linger, you value quality over quantity, and you care about the people and places where you travel.

Whether you’re a first-time or seasoned traveler (or an armchair traveler who prefers to linger closer to home), you’re welcome here.

I love to hear from like-minded travelers. Send me your travel questions or reach out just to say hello and let me know where you love to linger.

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The scenic route…

I didn’t grow up traveling. But I always loved to linger. I’d run wild in the forest, foraging wintergreen leaves and building stick forts with my siblings. I’d collect fresh blackberries to bake pies. Cruise country roads on my father’s motorcycle. Ice skate on frozen ponds. Slide down waterfalls on hot summer days.

While I was grateful to be surrounded by nature, I knew there was more to experience beyond my small town. But I also knew we didn’t have the kind of money I’d need to get very far.

Unlike many other travel bloggers, I didn’t “quit my job and sell everything to travel.” I didn’t have a job or anything to sell!! Instead, I set a long-term goal: If I couldn’t afford to travel, I’d carve out a career that would require travel.

My path certainly wasn’t the quickest.

You might say I took the scenic route.

I got a degree in international studies. I earned scholarships to study abroad in Japan. And after graduation, I found a job in Thailand.

I was living in a cliffside bungalow on an island, coordinating TEFL trainings, traveling around Southeast Asia, and writing a travel column for a New York newspaper.

I’d reached my goal.

But political unrest in Thailand led to the abrupt loss of my job, and I reluctantly returned to the U.S. Thankfully, my international experience helped me land a new position with an educational travel company.

But just a few months after I was hired, they downsized and terminated my job.

A friend introduced me to another educational travel company, and that job stuck. I worked with them for 10 years, designing short-term study abroad programs, helping grow the business, and working my way from program coordinator to management to business development. I was bouncing around the globe, scouting new destinations, testing out hotels and activities, building partnerships, and networking at events.

Once again, it seemed, my dream was a reality.

People would often tell me I was “lucky.” While I was absolutely grateful to have the opportunity to travel, I was also working hard for it. And even after 10 years, I still didn’t have anything financially to show for all the work I’d put in.

My enthusiasm for the industry and my dedication to our clients was unwavering, but the truth was, I was burned out.

Behind my smile was the heaviness of personal things I couldn’t discuss*, and the weight of all the years I’d poured my heart, energy, and time into other people and into someone else’s business—while building nothing of my own.

In 2017, on a work trip in India, I had a panic attack. At the time, I didn’t know what was happening; my body suddenly felt like lead, I had a debilitating sense of dread, I couldn’t move, and was certain I was dying. Thankfully, I was able to reach my sister on the phone, and she talked me through it. I would have never made it home without her help. And when I did get home, I was so shaken by what had happened, I didn’t know if I could ever travel again.

I was already scheduled to go to Jordan for a networking event a few weeks later. I considered canceling, not knowing whether I’d find myself alone abroad again, paralyzed by another panic attack. But I had a gut feeling I was meant to go to Jordan.

My gut was right; the trip proved pivotal.

I was grouped with travel writers on a tour of Jordan, and watching them do what I loved—interviews, photography, storytelling—opened my eyes. I needed to make a change.

I also felt a responsibility to tell the truth about Jordan and share the beautiful things I’d experienced there—the warm hospitality, dramatic landscapes, archeological sites, a couple of powerful and unexpected encounters (you can read about one of them in an essay I wrote for Unity Magazine here), and more.

The media in the U.S. shares a disproportionate amount of negative news from the Middle East.

I wanted to do what I could to change that.

Stories started spilling out before I even arrived back in the U.S.—I wrote a draft of one on my return flight (and that story went on to be nominated for an award). When I got home, I dove into an intensive freelance writer course and started pitching top travel outlets like Lonely Planet.

BBC Travel published one of my first travel articles about Jordan, an untold story about a Jordanian guide who grew up in an ancient archeological site near the Syrian border. To this day, he says, that story I wrote still leads travelers to him and has helped him grow his community-based travel business.

After my initial trip to Jordan, I returned a couple of months later and lingered longer.

And then I returned again. And again. And again. Motivated by my sense of responsibility and desire to shift the negative narrative and encourage others to set aside their preconceived ideas of the Middle East and get to know Jordan through culture and adventure, I pitched and produced hundreds of articles and guidebook contributions for top travel outlets—including National Geographic, Lonely Planet, United Airlines Hemispheres magazine, and more—becoming the most-widely published travel writer covering Jordan.

I was living part-time in Jordan and part-time back home in Hawaii, and traveling to other places on assignment.

This was even more than I had dared to dream.

But (you knew there was another one coming, didn’t you?!) there’s a dark side to working in media, especially as a freelancer. It’s a volatile industry. The hours are long. The pay is often very low and almost always late (several well-known outlets made me wait months to receive payment. One paid me so late—more than nine months after I’d completed the work—I could have made and birthed a baby in the time it took them to deposit my check).

I was, yet again, pouring my genuine heart and soul into my work while others were profiting off my energy and ideas— and leaving me to beg for crumbs.

With all that I’d accomplished, it should have been a time to celebrate. But it’s hard to feel successful when you’re completely drained by constant uncertainty, and demoralized from begging to be treated kindly and paid fairly. It massively impacted my health. But I wasn’t ready to fully walk away from what I love: Meeting and connecting with people around the world. Traveling slowly and immersing in nature and new experiences. Offering tips to help others plan meaningful trips. Sharing stories with the power to challenge stereotypes and encourage people to live and travel more mindfully.

That’s when linger was born.

And I’m so glad you’re here.

So take your time, stay awhile, linger longer.

We’re in no rush around here.

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TLDR;

For those who like to travel slowly but read quickly, here are some bullet points about linger and where my trusted travel expertise comes from:

• Linger is a travel advice blog by travel writer and travel expert, Sunny Fitzgerald (that’s me!).

• I have 15+ years of experience traveling and working in the travel industry. This includes expertise in hospitality, travel planning, travel booking, itinerary design, travel writing, and more.

• I didn’t come from a wealthy family, I didn’t grow up traveling, and I didn’t “quit my job and sell everything to travel.” Instead, when I was a kid (for real—ask my parents!) I set a long-term goal to travel, then I pursued an international education and a career in travel.

• I worked for 10 years in travel program management, partnerships, and business development for a study abroad company.

• I’ve been working as a travel writer and journalist officially since 2017. You can find my writing in National Geographic, Travel+Leisure, Lonely Planet, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. My writing portfolio is available here.

• I also have GSTC certification in sustainable tourism, a BA in international studies, an MA in cultural sustainability, and two TEFL/TESOL certificates.

• I have lived long-term in Hawaii, Japan, Thailand, and Jordan, and I frequently return to Costa Rica. I love Costa Rica so much I even led a group of high school students—without their parents—on a trip there.

• I haven’t counted the total number of countries I’ve visited (because I truly do not care about that number. I care about experiences, not simply checking off a box), but over the years, my other travels have included Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Ireland, the Maldives, Palestine, Svalbard, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, and more.

• * I am currently working on my first book. If you’d like to know more about that, feel free to reach out!

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