For many parents travelling with young children is a nightmare – but for one couple, it’s ‘living the dream’.
Meet Nadia Akhtar and Irfan Aziz, who set off to travel the world with their four-month-old baby, Zakariya, in 2022 and have never looked back, ditching what they call ‘a life dictated by fear’.
Along the way they’ve become a social media hit, documenting their travels and offering advice to over 80,000 followers via their TikTok and Instagram accounts.
The couple’s globetrotting began after they got married in 2019. Irfan quit his IT job, Nadia left her sales role – and the pair, in their 30s, left their UK home to travel the world for eight months.
When they returned, they ‘slotted right back into their old lives’ working nine-to-five jobs, putting together a deposit for a house and living ‘a life that was perfectly planned’.
Meet Nadia Akhtar and Irfan Aziz, who set off to travel the world with their four-month-old baby, Zakariya, in 2022. Pictured here, the family at Skardu International Airport in Pakistan
Nadia and Irfan have now been travelling with Zakariya for two years. They say: ‘From quitting our jobs to embracing new cultures, we’re living our dream together as a family of three.’ In the above images, the family relax in Bali, Indonesia
In 2021, they discovered Nadia was pregnant with Zakariya, now two, and began to ‘panic’. Despite having signed the contracts on a ‘forever home’ they say they realised ‘something was missing’ – and made a decision their friends and family thought was ‘mad’.
Nadia explains: ‘We made the wildest decision ever – we dropped everything to travel the world.’ And off they set to explore the globe.
‘People say don’t travel with kids,’ the couple comments. ‘We say “watch us”.’
They have now been travelling with Zakariya for two years and the couple says: ‘From quitting our jobs to embracing new cultures, we’re living our dream together as a family of three.’
Irfan comments: ‘We’ve learnt so much about the importance of travelling as a family. We traded stability for uncertainty and a set path for endless possibilities.
‘We realised that the trap was living 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 photographed here 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.’
Nadie notes: ‘Most importantly we grew stronger as a family.’
The couple admits that travelling with a young child is ‘more challenging’, adding that it ‘requires more planning and flexibility’, but says ‘it added an extra layer of sweetness’ to their adventure.
The trio have since visited some incredible destinations.
In Montenegro they made their way up to the country’s ‘best kept secret’ – Pavlova Strana Viewpoint – where they say the view was ‘like walking 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, quiet and untouched by the rush of the modern world’.
In Kenya, they went for a family dinner at a restaurant hidden beneath the coral cliffs of Diani Beach in a 180,000-year-old underground cave.
They also spotted a leopard while on a safari park game drive and in Sri Lanka – which they call ‘the most underrated country on the planet’ – the parents climbed the nerve-shredding Ambuluwawa Tower while carrying little Zakariya. No mean feat, as they needed to conquer an extremely narrow spiral staircase that winds its way to the top, 157ft (38 metres) up.
They visited one of the ‘highest and most isolated villages’ in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lukomir (left), which they say ‘feels like a world frozen in time’. The family has become a social media hit, documenting their travels and offering advice to over 80,000 followers
They also watched sea lions dance in the water at the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, which Nadia says was ‘one of [their] absolute favourite places’. She notes: ‘The marine life there was unlike anything we’ve experienced – swimming with sharks and witnessing a whole new world underwater was incredible.’
Nadia says: ‘Since Zakariya was born, we’ve visited 11 countries and taken 66 flights, covering destinations across Asia and Africa.
‘Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines stand out as the most child-friendly. People in those countries love kids and are always happy to help – they’ll even entertain your child while you eat at a restaurant or go on a boat trip.’
She adds: ‘Travel offers a better quality of life, the freedom to explore, and a chance to live beyond the usual routines. It’s a liberating experience.’
And the best part of their ‘epic’ adventure?
‘The bonding time,’ says Nadia. ‘Watching Zakariya grow up in different parts of the world and spending so much time with him is priceless.’
The couple, who will be heading to Japan, Thailand and Bali next, say they ‘don’t have any immediate plans to stop traveling right now’, but add: ‘Of course, we do think 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 way we want to go. We’ve met so many families on the road who are homeschooling, and it works well for them, so that could be a possibility for us as well.’
