There’s a moment in almost every conversation I have with mamis who dream about traveling abroad where I can hear the “but.” I want to take my kids somewhere new, but… I’d love a trip on my own, but… It’s always followed by guilt, or fear, or the quiet belief that travel is something other people get to do.
That’s exactly why I brought Bianca Alba onto the podcast for this Mamis Abroad episode. Bianca is the founder of This Latina Travels, a first-generation Latina who has now traveled to six of the seven continents, and someone who built her entire platform around the idea that access to travel shouldn’t depend on who you were raised to believe you are.
Bianca’s story starts somewhere a lot of us will recognize: growing up without travel as part of the picture. She was the oldest of four, raised by a single mom, and travel simply wasn’t in the family budget or the family imagination. It wasn’t until college that she realized how much of the world existed outside of what she’d known, and she’s spent the years since trying to hand that realization to other women, especially other Latinas, sooner than she got it herself.
One of the things I appreciated most about this conversation is that Bianca never pretends travel is simple. She’s honest that it comes down to money, time off, and what each family actually considers a vacation. But she also pushes back hard on the idea that going abroad has to be expensive or complicated. Her advice for a mami just starting out: figure out your comfort level first. Maybe that’s a road trip to the next state before it’s a flight. Maybe it’s leaning on the Facebook groups and communities that already exist for moms traveling with toddlers, or with three kids, or solo for the first time.
We also got into something I think about constantly, which is the guilt. Bianca was direct about it – as Latinas, we’re raised to believe family comes first, that sacrifice is the default, that wanting something for yourself is selfish. She talked about therapy, affirmations, and treating a travel fund like a bill you pay yourself every month, not an afterthought. And she was clear that a solo trip isn’t a betrayal of motherhood; it’s part of what lets you show up fully for it.
That part hit home for me. I shared with Bianca how, even though I traveled extensively before becoming a mom – Spain, Italy, Uruguay, Argentina, Panama, and now living in Mexico – I still catch myself hesitating on whether I “get” to keep doing that now. And I loved that her answer wasn’t a pep talk so much as a mindset correction: you can be an incredible mom and still see the world. Those two things were never supposed to be in competition.
If there’s one thing I hope you take from this episode, it’s permission. Permission to start small. Permission to build a community of mamis who will encourage you instead of question you. Permission to book the solo trip. Bianca said it best: you don’t have to disappear just because you became a mom.
Show Notes
For this episode of the Mamis Abroad series, I sat down with Bianca Alba, founder of This Latina Travels. This episode is for every mami who has ever seen someone else’s trip on Instagram and thought, “why not me?” We get into the mindset shifts, the guilt, and the very real logistics of traveling as a mom, whether that’s a family vacation, a solo mom-cation, or your first trip abroad. Bianca shares us practical tools to make it happen. If you’ve ever felt like travel was a luxury reserved for someone else, this episode is your permission slip.
What you’ll hear:
- Why travel doesn’t have to mean “across the world”
- How to reframe mom guilt around solo travel
- What travel hacking is, and tips to travel smart
- How to raise globally-minded kids
- Breaking generational narratives around “who gets to travel”
Resources Mentioned:
- This Latina Travels – thislatinatravels.com | Instagram: @thislatinatravels
- Discount code PODCAST for 20% off Bianca’s shop
About Our Guest
Bianca Alba | This Latina Travels
Bianca Alba is a proud Latina, first-generation college graduate, and founder of This Latina Travels. Born in Cochabamba, Bolivia, she combines travel, storytelling, and community impact to empower women, especially first-gen Latinas, to confidently explore the world and take up space in rooms they once thought were out of reach.
Holding both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Public Health, Bianca has traveled to 6 of the 7 continents and uses her platform to inspire others to dream bigger. Beyond content creation, she is passionate about giving back, leading service-focused programs in Puerto Rico that have generated over $75,000 in support for local communities.
Her goal is simple: to inspire and support women who look like her to explore the world, build confidence, and create lives rooted in purpose.
