Travel Bloggers Shafeen & Waseem Shaheed Share Their Favorite Places 

As a travel blogger, I’m constantly inspired by the people who create beautiful content around me. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I see nothing but beautiful destinations and incredible adventures that are truly drool-worthy. The people behind those images inspire me to travel more, live more and dream big. I set out to chat with the some of the amazing people behind the camera who inspire me, and see what inspires them.

Shafeen and Waseem Shaheed are a married couple traveling the world together and documenting their adventures online, and they took the time to talk to me about their favorite destinations. They discussed how they got into blogging,  their most memorable trip, and how they maintain full time jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area.   

Give us a bit of background! How’d you meet? How’d you decide to start a travel blog/vlog?

Waseem and I met online on Facebook by the end of 2011. Fast forward three years later, we got married in February 2015. We decided that our honeymoon had to be in an overwater villa, so we set off to the Maldives for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Well, safe to say, we were hit by the travel bug and we decided upon returning home that we wanted to make this into a lifestyle. I already had a YouTube channel doing beauty reviews, but we decided to turn it into a vlog/travel channel moving forward. As far as the blog, we created a website via WordPress and started it. I haven’t been as active on the blog as I should be, since I focus more on Instagram and Youtube, but I think it’s time to shift my focus to monetize my blog.

Traveling isn’t your full time jobs: how do you work it into your schedule? Do you feel like it’s a big commitment?

Travelling is life for us. We make it a priority and thankfully our jobs allow us to take frequent vacation/off days to be able to travel.

What has been your favorite trip to date?

Maldives is paradise on Earth.

Tell me about that trip – how did you decide on this place? What was your favorite part?

Maldives was our honeymoon getaway. The best part of the trip was to disconnect from the outside world as there were no sounds of cars or the hustle and bustle of city life. Of course, free wifi was provided, but we never touched our phones, only for pretty photos once in a while.

Do you ever feel discouraged by the “influencer life” or feel like you’re not at the level you want to be? If so, how do you move past that feeling?

This is a feeling that comes and goes when I’m trying to analyze where my life is going. I always try to stay positive and be grateful for what I already do have. A wonderful husband, a supportive family, awesome friends like you who build me up and share the wealth of knowledge, and access to knowledge that I need to act upon. I don’t compare my life to anyone’s as everyone has their own struggles that they may not highlight in social media.

If someone offered you a free trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go right now?

Maldives has our heart all the way. Their waters are more beautiful than Fiji waters and I’m born and raised in Fiji.

Article by Maren Engh, all photos via Shafeen Shaheed. Find Maren on Instagram, or get in touch directly at team@voyagerguru.com. Follow Shafeen and Waseem on Instagram and Youtube.

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