Intro

What would your travels look like if you planned them around the most epic, life-shaping active adventures you could dream up?

Heidi Niklaus is the founder of Heidi Runs Abroad LLC, where she helps travelers, expats, and digital nomads maintain their wellness routines on the road. With a background in higher education at Rutgers University, she pivoted into fitness instruction, became a long‑term traveler, and is now planning her move to Sofia, Bulgaria.

In this episode, Heidi shares how a divorce, a career pause, and a couchsurfing connection sparked a global lifestyle. She also shares her active travel and fitness adventure bucket list, ranging from volcano sunrises and glacier kayaking to a marathon under the midnight sun.

You’ll hear how Heidi traded structure for uncertainty and why she now helps travelers maintain their wellness routines on the road. She shares practical insights on how to blend movement with exploration, and why fitness doesn’t have to take a back seat just because you're abroad. Heidi’s bucket list and personal stories will challenge how you think about travel and inspire you to create your own list of active travel adventures.

What’s one adventure you’ve always thought about doing, big or small, that would get you moving and exploring? I'd love to hear what they are, and I hope you’ll share them by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

• How couchsurfing and solo travel unlocked a new chapter for her

• Why fitness wasn’t always part of Heidi’s life, and how she made that shift

• Advice on staying active and finding the balance while traveling (even on “vacation”) • The difference between intentional exercise and being physically active while traveling

• Why labeling your trip a “runcation” or “active adventure” actually matters

• The seven fitness adventures on her bucket list (plus three bonus picks)

• How movement during travel doesn’t need to be a “workout”

• Nutrition tips to balance indulgence and wellness abroad

• How to start your own bucket list to help you prioritize your travels

• And so much more

Resources:

• Sign up for our FREE newsletter

• Being Box

• Heidi’s website

• Instagram

• VoiceMap walking tours

• Peaks of the Balkans

Want More?

• Top 10 Health and Wellness Destinations (The Best Places To Live In The World) with Nina Butler

• Staying Healthy and Stress-Free While Traveling With Kirsten Pontius

• Greatest Hits: How Travel Can Improve Your Mental Health With Gilad Gamliel

Thanks To Our Sponsors

• Moon Travel Guides: USA National Parks Hiking - Use code ‘ZERO’ for 20% off your order of Moon’s latest book and other guides.

• Holafly - Get 10% off your annual Holafly eSIM with code “ZEROTOTRAVEL”

• Turkish Airlines Series - Listen to the podcast on Apple and Spotify

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