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Zero To Travel Podcast

7 Epic Travel Fitness Adventures (For All Levels) and Solo Travel for Transformation with Heidi Nicklaus (+ Jason’s Ultimate Travel Blunder)

Zero To Travel Podcast

Jason Moore

Society & Culture, Business, Entrepreneurship, Places & Travel

4.6866 Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I feel like I lived one big era of my life and now I'm onto something completely different.

0:08.2

And I think as someone in my mid-30s that I could have multiple circumstances like that in life just because you made a big decision.

0:16.7

Now doesn't mean you're married to it that you could make a big life change. And within a full

0:23.2

year, I'm in a very different place. And it feels awesome. I love that. I love that reminder that

0:28.8

we can reinvent ourselves in such a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things. Always a great

0:33.1

feeling to know that is possible. It's just one part of an inspirational and actionable

0:38.5

conversation with today's guest, Heidi Niklaus, a former education administrator who ditched

0:43.9

her comfortable life in New Jersey to embark on a solo trip, which was the catalyst to a life

0:48.6

of travel, which she is currently living. And it also led her to discover her passion for fitness travel has a knack

0:56.3

for that in my experience helping to reveal passions anyway in this episode you're going to get

1:01.9

hidey's ultimate fitness bucket list amazing adventures to seek out for a variety of fitness levels

1:08.0

including a mix of different activities and places where you can

1:10.9

experience unforgettable natural phenomena, for example. You're also going to get practical strategies

1:16.5

for maintaining fitness routines while traveling, trying to find that balance between

1:20.7

indulgence and wellness, always tricky, and how combining your passions with travel can

1:27.1

create those transformative experiences out on the road.

1:31.0

And frankly, when you come home.

1:32.1

So if that weren't enough, I'm also going to share with you.

1:35.6

This is unbelievable.

1:36.5

I recently made the ultimate travel blunder.

1:40.1

I'm talking about the ultimate travel blunder.

1:42.6

So this is going to be sort of a PSA, a public service announcement.

...

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