Danielle Faviano
At the age of 20, Danielle Faviano graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs. Knowing she wanted a life filled with culture and inspiration, she decided to teach English abroad for a year and moved to South Korea a few weeks after her 21st birthday. She fell in love with the beauty of Asia and continued her teaching journey in Taiwan. These three years allowed Danielle to experience nine countries with friends and as a solo female traveler. Her favorite destinations include Vietnam, Cambodia, and Japan.
Danielle’s passion for travel comes from the privilege of taking many cruises with her family as a child. Growing up in coastal Florida, where practically every city has a terminal, she visited numerous Caribbean islands—including Cuba. But her favorite North American destination is the Central American country of Costa Rica!
A spring break trip during her senior year of high school took her to the United Kingdom and Paris with her classmates. She returned to London as part of a study abroad summer program in college only to realize she belonged to the world. Thus far, Danielle has ventured to 26 countries and hopes to reach 30 before her 30th birthday.
Anytime Danielle doubts herself, she reminds herself of the lack of hesitancy her not-yet-legal-to-drink self had when she moved to the other side of the world, to a country she had never visited, to a place where she didn’t speak the language or know anyone: She got a job offer in South Korea through a university connection and went after completing her TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification. When you want it that badly, what is there to fear beyond a little bit of initial discomfort?
Her usual style of travel is backpacking or carry-on, but she has an ambitious bucket list of adventures for the future including a Tanzanian and Kenyan safari, a trek to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal, a luxury river cruise through the Amazon rainforest, and the first place she can remember her five-year-old self dreaming about visiting—the Great Wall of China.
Danielle currently teaches English remotely and is focused on finally taking the adventures she missed out on due to the pandemic, including a second visit to Vietnam, a first-time visit to Laos, and a rescheduled birthday trip to Bali before making her way to Australia on a working holiday visa! In addition, she wants to further her education by earning a master’s degree in the not-too-distant future.
Unable to leave Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic, she began practicing photography as a creative way to better document her travels. Follow her on Instagram @bucketlist_dani.