The Five Foot Traveler emerged from my love of travel and my need to show people that there were kindness and hospitality to be found all around the world. I enjoyed experiencing different cultures and off-the-beaten-path destinations.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I grew up with a massive fear of flying. It wasn’t until I was studying at New York University that I was able to overcome my decade-long debilitating fear of flying and study abroad. I ended up studying abroad twice (Florence and Buenos Aires) and life as I knew it was forever changed.
I discovered my immense love of travel, launched my own business, and never looked back. I have since visited 114 countries across all 7 continents. Today I run two successful businesses: The Five Foot Traveler and Sarah Gallo Consulting.
2. What kind of content do you create and when did you begin?
I casually started my brand back in 2011 but began taking it seriously and earning an income from it in 2013. Most of my content revolves around travel and lifestyle, as I showcase various destinations, properties, and activities around the world.
3. Why did you start The Five Foot Traveler?
The Five Foot Traveler emerged from my love of travel and my need to show people that there were kindness and hospitality to be found all around the world. I enjoyed experiencing different cultures and off-the-beaten-path destinations.
I never expected my passion to turn into a business until, one day, it just did.
4. How and where do you find inspiration to churn out content?
All of my content is from my own journeys and experiences, so I don’t have to “find” it anywhere. The most difficult part is just knowing where to find the content I’m looking for, as my images are saved across ten different external hard drives.
Thankfully, I have a spreadsheet keeping track of what’s to be found where!
5. What are some challenges or issues you have faced as a female traveler?
The challenges that I’ve faced haven’t been because I’m a female. One of my initial goals was to set out to prove that even someone five feet tall could get out there and safely explore the world. Everyone should be a conscious, responsible traveler, no matter the gender.
That said, I never explore while distracted and I’m very rarely out after dark. Honestly, my biggest issues typically lie in the fact that I’m too short to put my carryon into the overhead bin on airplanes!
6. How would you define feminist and what steps should be taken for women empowerment?
Feminism is about the progress of equality for women while raising the standard of living for everyone. There are multiple steps that should be taken for women empowerment ranging from…
- Educating girls, as this is the best way to raise a society out of poverty.
- Access to healthcare, especially in countries where women are denied healthcare solely for being female.
- Teaching boys how to respect boundaries from a young age.
- End child slavery and sex trafficking.
Of course, this barely even scratches the surface of such a complex issue.
7. Which places are at the top of your bucket list?
I am blessed to have visited most of my bucket list, but French Polynesia still tops my list of places I have yet to visit, followed by the Seychelles and Madagascar. I’ll make it there one day!
8. How do you define success for yourself?
Happiness. Too frequently do we associate success with money. And, while I’ve achieved that financial freedom and the ability to work wherever and with whomever I please, that’s just one part of it.
My happiness and the impact that I can have on others are what’s truly most important to me. That’s what success is.
Instagram ID -@thefivefoottraveler
Sarah Gallo, better known as The Five Foot Traveler, is one of the world’s top travel experts. She works with leading companies, hospitality brands, and national tourism boards to help increase their brand awareness and to promote their travel services and destinations.
Some of her clients include Olympus Cameras, GoPro, DJI Global, Windstar Cruises, MSC Cruises, Victoria Cruises, Air New Zealand, Capital One, The Ritz-Carlton, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, and Wonderful Indonesia, among many others. She was also just named a GoPro Ambassador.
Sarah is not just a great writer, content creator, and photographer, but she has a passion for travel that literally leaps off the page and helps people share her experiences.
During the last 6 years, Sarah has visited a remarkable 114 countries on all 7 continents; she has polar plunged in Antarctica, jumped off the world’s highest Bungy in Macau, learned to dive in the Maldives, trekked to gorillas in Uganda, sailed the San Blas Islands, chased the Northern Lights in Lapland, and even road-tripped through Mongolia.
Sarah’s goal is to help ignite the passion for travel in others and to encourage them to visit the many amazing destinations the world has to offer. Today, she consults small businesses and large corporations with their brand and marketing strategies.
Sarah Gallo
Founder and Travel Expert at The Five Foot Traveler
Named one of the “Game Changers of the Travel Industry” by Forbes
Rated the "#1 Cruise Influencer of 2019" by Porthole Cruise Magazine
GoPro & Olympus Cameras Ambassador
Interviewed By - Sandeep Virothu
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