2025 Year in Review

Looking back at 2025, plus a preview of what I have planned in travel, blogging and business for 2026.

Read my previous yearly reviews for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017.

You might remember that I ended last year on something of a low note. As a result, I went into 2025 with very few expectations. As bad as it sounds, it felt like a year I just wanted to power through.

To keep myself busy – and distracted – I filled the year with travel. We ended up doing almost 30 (!) trips in 2025, and along the way had some truly special experiences.

Only in the past couple of weeks have I had the chance to slow down and properly reflect on the year and my intentions going forward. And I’ve had a bit of an epiphany. More on that later.

I’m writing this from a cafe in Saigon, Vietnam, waiting for our flight to Brisbane to revisit Australia for the first time since February 2020. This is a moment we’ve been planning for all year, and I know it will be a big end to 2025.

Before I get there: here are my reflections on travel, blogging and business for 2025.

First, there were a few personal milestones I wanted to hit this year. These don’t fit into the categories below, so briefly:

I wanted to build better habits around exercise, so in January I joined a gym. Establishing a solid routine helped me immensely in many areas of my life, and it felt good to improve my fitness. I didn’t know it at the time, of course, but it would come in handy later in the year when I embarked on an unplanned hike – one of my biggest adventures of 2025.

And then there was the house renovation in Kutaisi. I feel like I may have said this last year too, but this time it really is finished. 100%. Before we left for Asia, we spent a couple of days filming a virtual tour of our home. That video will go live in January on my revamped YouTube channel.

Video is going to be a major focus for me in 2026, so please subscribe if you haven’t already!

2025 in travel

2025 was a huge year of travel for us. In total, we spent almost half the year on the road, taking 27 trips of varying lengths – from short weekend breaks to two full months away.

Most of that travel was within Georgia, and this year I chose to focus my trip-planning on the seasons and special events (Lamproba, Lelo Burti, Epiphany, Kvirikoba). 2025 was our first full year as car owners, and we certainly made the most of it: countless trips to Tbilisi and Kakheti, driving up to Kazbegi and Dariali, Svaneti (twice), Racha (three times), driving across the Javakheti Plateau, through Upper Adjara from Akhaltsikhe to Batumi, and all the way out to Vashlovani – about as far as you can drive from Kutaisi. I only wish I’d kept track of the kilometres.

There are too many places to mention here, but a few spots in Georgia that I visited for the first time in 2025 that really stand out: Tkibuli Theatre, Khabelashvilebi Bridge in Adjara (below right), Sanatorium Libani, Tsughrughasheni Monastery outside Bolnisi (where I took my favourite photo of 2025 – see it here on Instagram), Armaztsikhe in Mtskheta, Adishi village in Svaneti, and Chora village in Racha.

There were some great international trips too. We visited 12 countries in total this year: Greece, Germany, Hungary, Moldova and Pridnestrovie, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece again, the UAE, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam – and finally Australia.

From the top, highlights included a winter city break in Athens in January, revisiting Budapest (still firmly in my top five favourite cities in Europe) with our friends Paul and Jessica in spring, a big road trip through Moldova and Pridnestrovie at the start of summer, and a night at the Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv to see King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard with our Australian friends Simon and Aoife. In June, we got to show one of my oldest friends, Caitlin, around Georgia.

There were also some very special ‘firsts’ closer to home: meeting Leo and Veronika Gabriadze and attending the Marionette Theatre in Tbilisi for the first time, exhibiting and selling my photography at Fotografia Gallery, and touring the Dmanisi site with archaeologist Jimsher Chkhvimiani.

Another major highlight was completing the Mestia–Ushguli hike in Svaneti with my friends Giga and Nini. In last year’s review, I wrote that I wanted to hike more in 2025 – but I never could have imagined I’d complete Georgia’s most popular multi-day trek. It was a spontaneous decision that turned into one of the defining experiences of my year, and a reminder to leave space in my plans for more opportunities like this.

More recently in November we celebrated Ross’ 40th birthday by driving through Northern Thailand, revisiting Angkor (my fourth time at the temples), travelling by train around Cambodia, and spending a week in Ho Chi Minh City. That voyage comes to an end tomorrow.

This time away was a mental reset – a chance to step back from Georgia and remind ourselves that there are other places in the world we love spending time in. We even treated it as a bit of a test to see whether a second base in Asia might be an option for us going forward.

But the more I revisit old favourites and discover new countries, the more certain I am that Georgia is my place. I’m still unpacking what that means, but just to say that I will be going back to Kutaisi next week feeling more confident, more sure than ever before of where I want and need to be.

2025 in blogging

2025 marked the 10-year anniversary of Wander-Lush. A decade of travel blogging is no small feat, and I’m incredibly proud of myself for turning what began as a secret hobby into a full-time job.

You can read my reflections on 10 years of blogging in this dedicated post from August.

The blogging world has changed enormously in recent years, and I’m deeply grateful to be one of the lucky ones who gets to keep doing what they love (for now, at least), even as online content creation becomes an increasingly tough space to flourish.

To the 2.9 million of you who used my website this year – thank you!

Here’s a snapshot of what I published in 2025.

New guides for Georgia:

• Monument Route Road Trip
• Upper Adjara Road Trip Guide
• Zagari Pass (Kutaisi to Ushguli)
• Alternative Sighnaghi
• Bakuriani in Winter
• Mestia in Winter
• Sanatorium Libani
• Epiphany on Paravani Lake

Updated guides for Georgia:

• Skiing in Georgia
• Caucasus mountain destinations compared
• Racha-Lechkhumi
• Abastumani
• Autumn in Georgia
• Winter in Georgia

Other destinations:

• Uzbekistan Overland Itinerary
• Samarkand, Uzbekistan
• Bukhara, Uzbekistan
• Khiva, Uzbekistan
• Athens City Itinerary
• Moldova Road Trip Itinerary
• Chisinau, Moldova
• Balti, Moldova

Looking ahead to 2026

Two months is a long time to be on the road, especially when you have responsibilities at home. This is the longest we’ve been away from our house and our cats, and there is a big part of me that feels guilty for spending so much time away. Returning to Southeast Asia was something we’d been meaning to do for years, and while we’ve loved the experience, I’m ready to return to Kutaisi.

2026 will be a change of pace. Instead of building out an ambitious travel schedule, I’m planning to stay flexible and leave more breathing room between trips. I want more time to decompress, to process experiences properly, and to do justice to the writing and photography. This year, I let trips run too close together and missed that opportunity for reflection.

The first three months of the year will be closer to home: winter at the house, exploring Kutaisi, a few day trips, and some skiing.

Spring and summer will be focused on Georgia – mountain roads and high passes, a return to Tusheti, and hopefully at least one multi-day hike. I’m now down to a very small handful of municipalities left to explore in depth. Maybe 2026 will be the year I finally finish that list.

There might be time for a short two-week trip in late spring – perhaps Armenia, southeast Turkey, or even China? But the bulk of our international travel will be pushed to later in the year: Almaty and Kyrgyzstan at the end of August, followed by Bhutan and Nepal in September.

October and November – my favourite months in Georgia – are now a non-negotiable priority. December may bring a long-awaited trip to a country that’s been at the top of my wish-list for many, many years. Let’s see!

After this extended break from Georgia, I feel genuinely energised and excited to get back to work in January. Alongside updating a large chunk of the 250+ Georgia guides already on the blog, I’ll be publishing some long-overdue pieces from last year, and building new content around our 2026 travels.

In early spring, I will release the third edition of The Tbilisi City Guide alongside a brand new product that I’m very excited to share with you!

As mentioned earlier, video will be a major focus going forward. My only real goal is consistency – showing up, experimenting, hopefully enjoying the process, and seeing where it leads. If you have any tips, or if there’s anything you’d love to see from me in 2026 (video-related or otherwise), I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Wishing you a happy holiday season and a fulfilling New Year ahead!