Hi! I'm Lia Garcia, founder of Practical Wanderlust. I created Practical Wanderlust in 2016, just before taking off on a (semi-disastrous) year-long honeymoon. I've since settled back down in the San Francisco Bay Area, and our site has grown to become one of the most-read travel blogs in the world.

Practical Wanderlust helps curious travelers embark on life-changing trips. We tell the story of what makes a place unique (and maybe a little weird) with historical & social context, giving practical travel advice alongside bad jokes and anecdotes. Our goal is make our audience laugh, learn, and relate; to show that travel doesn’t always have to be perfect; and to emphasize travel as a tool for connection, growth, and positive social impact.

Practical Wanderlust has been featured in Forbes, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, The Washington Post, Vice, Fodor's, and more.