For many parents, traveling with small children is a nightmare, but for a couple, it’s “living the dream.”
Meet Nadia Akhtar and Irfan Aziz, who embarked on a world trip with their four-month-old baby, Zakariya, in 2022 and never looked back, abandoning what they call “a life dictated by fear.”
Along the way, they have become a hit on social media, documenting their travels and offering advice to over 80,000 followers via their TikTok and Instagram accounts.
The couple’s world travels began after they tied the knot in 2019. Irfan quit his job in IT, Nadia left her sales position and the couple, in their 30s, left their home in the UK to travel the world for eight months.
When they returned, they “slid right back into their old lives,” working nine to five, putting together a deposit for a house and living “a life that was perfectly planned out.”
Meet Nadia Akhtar and Irfan Aziz, who embarked on a world trip with their four-month-old baby, Zakariya, in 2022. Pictured here, the family at Skardu International Airport in Pakistan.
Nadia and Irfan have been travelling with Zakariya for two years now. They say: “From quitting our jobs to embracing new cultures, we are living our dream together as a family of three.” In the pictures above, the family is relaxing in Bali, Indonesia.
In 2021, they discovered Nadia was pregnant with Zakariya, now two, and began to panic. Despite having signed contracts for a “forever home,” they say they realized “something was missing” and made a decision that their friends and family considered “crazy.”
Nadia explains: “We made the craziest decision of our lives: we left everything behind to travel the world.” And they set off to explore the planet.
“People say you shouldn’t travel with children,” the couple says. “We say, ‘Be careful.'”
They have been travelling with Zakariya for two years now and the couple say: ‘From quitting our jobs to embracing new cultures, we are living our dream together as a family of three.’
Irfan comments: “We have learned a lot about the importance of travelling as a family. We traded stability for uncertainty and a set path for endless possibilities.
‘We realized that the trap was to live a life dictated by fear.
Irfan says: “Every day became an adventure and the world became our classroom.” Above, the family on a beach in Goa, India
Nadia is pictured with Zakariya in Indonesia. She said that “watching him grow up in different parts of the world and spending so much time with him is priceless.”
“Every day became an adventure and the world became our classroom. We learned about resilience, adaptability, and the beauty of human connection.”
No one says: “The most important thing is that we became stronger as a family.”
The couple admits that traveling with a toddler “is more challenging,” adding that it “requires more planning and flexibility,” but says it “added an extra layer of sweetness” to their adventure.
Since then, the trio has visited some incredible destinations.
In Montenegro they headed to the country’s “best kept secret”, the Pavlova Strana viewing platform, where they say the view was “like stepping into a real-life postcard where the landscape unfolds like a painting”.
They also visited one of the “highest and most isolated” villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lukomir, which they say “feels like a world frozen in time” where “life is simple, peaceful and unaffected by the rush of the modern world.”
In Kenya, they went to dinner as a family at a restaurant hidden beneath the coral cliffs of Diani Beach, in a 180,000-year-old underground cave.
They also saw a leopard during a safari in a park, and in Sri Lanka (which they call “the most underrated country on the planet”), the parents climbed the chilling Ambuluwawa Tower while carrying little Zakariya in their arms. It was no easy task, as they had to climb an extremely narrow spiral staircase that winds its way to the top, 38 metres high.
They visited one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s “highest and most isolated villages”, Lukomir (left), which they say “feels like a world frozen in time”. The family have become a hit on social media, documenting their travels and offering advice to more than 80,000 followers.
They also saw sea lions dancing in the water at the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, which Nadia said was “one of her favourite places”. She notes: “The marine life there was like nothing we’ve ever experienced – swimming with sharks and witnessing a whole new underwater world was incredible.”
Nadia says: ‘Since Zakariya was born, we have visited 11 countries and taken 66 flights, covering destinations in Asia and Africa.
‘Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are the most child-friendly countries. People in these countries love children and are always willing to help; they will even entertain your child while you eat in a restaurant or take a boat trip.’
She adds: “Traveling offers a better quality of life, the freedom to explore and the opportunity to live beyond the usual routines. It is a liberating experience.”
And the best part of your “epic” adventure?
“It’s a bonding moment,” Nadia says. “Watching Zakariya grow up in different parts of the world and spending so much time with him is priceless.”
The couple, who will next travel to Japan, Thailand and Bali, say they have “no immediate plans to stop travelling for now” but add: “Of course, we are thinking about Zakariya’s education, but we still have a year before that starts.”
“We’re not entirely sure if the traditional method of education is the path we want to take. We’ve met a lot of families along the way who are homeschooling their children and it’s working well for them, so that might be a possibility for us as well.”