About us
Sophie and Adam Marland sat on a wall, holding hands and looking at each other at Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park during sunrise.
Our story

How We Met

Hi! We are Adam and Sophie Marland, the writers, photographers, and travel guides behind We Dream of Travel.

Our story is less Romeo & Juliet and more Rom-Com.  It begins with a meet-cute between two broke backpackers at a bar in Australia in 2016.  

It continues with two stubborn, free spirits going their own ways, only to serendipitously cross paths three months later in a completely different part of the country.

It was fate that brought us back together, but it was a shared passion for photography, travel, and the pursuit of an alternative way of life that truly bonded us.

All these years later and we are still happily exploring the world together, always with our cameras in hand.

A drone selfie of Sophie & Adam Marland smiling cheesily at the camera in a polaroid style frame taking in Australia in 2017.

How We Dream of Travel Began

This blog began as a way for us to share our experiences and photos with other people who love to travel.  

Whether that means a rare vacation, the occasional road trip, or an extended backpacking journey, we know the value that comes with first-hand guidance and enjoy being able to live our travel dream while helping others live theirs.

We Dream of Travel is the culmination of more than a decade of adventures all over our beautiful planet.  

Our goal is to provide informative travel and photography guides to the many places we’ve visited to help you plan unforgettable adventures of your own!

Get to know Adam
A collage of three polaroid-style images:1. Adam Marland sat amongst the otherworldly orange-landscape of The Wave in Utah in 2013.2. An underwater photo of Adam snorkeling behind a green sea turtle in Bali in 2017.3. Adam taking a photo of a giant Galapagos tortoise on Santa Cruz island in 2023.

Hi, I’m Adam!

I still call Oregon home, but I have been traveling full-time since leaving a promising career in hotel management in 2011.

My first three years were spent living out of a car, during which time I traveled all 50 states and nearly every National Park in the US. After that, I began backpacking internationally and became determined to turn this temporary lifestyle into a permanent livelihood.

In 2021, my career as a professional travel blogger and photographer took off when I was selected from over 150,000 applicants to become the “Chief Exploration Officer” for the National Park Foundation. My job was to explore and photograph our incredible parks.

When I am not traveling, photographing, or writing, I like to play chess and basketball.

My favorite travel destinations so far have been Iceland, Hawaii, Galapagos, and Scotland.

Get to know Sophie
A collage of three polaroid-style images:1. Sophie Marland crouched in front of a group of penguins in Antarctica in 2016.2. Sophie in a red dress standing on a beach in New Zealand with the southern lights dancing overhead, taken in 2019.3. Sophie with a camera in hand, crouched behind a giant Galapagos tortoise in 2023.

Hi, I’m Sophie!

My love for travel and photography is outweighed only by my love for animals.

I am originally from London but began traveling in 2012 when I took a year off from university to backpack solo around India and Southeast Asia. In 2015, I decided to take another summer off before beginning my career; that “summer” became nearly a decade of full-time travel!

For many years, I supported my adventures by building a large social media presence for those who enjoyed following my photographic journey. However, I wanted to create something that was helpful and had more longevity.

That is when I decided to create a travel blog where I could share advice, photos, and experiences from the many places I have been fortunate to visit over the years.

When I can find the time to relax, I like to take hot baths, drink copious amounts of tea while eating shortbread biscuits, and watch anything narrated by David Attenborough.

My favourite destinations so far have been Antarctica and the Galapagos islands. Both are so remote and unspoiled, and the wildlife encounters are simply spectacular.