WILD VIKING TRAVELS is
Joe and Liisu
How Joe’s travels started?
In 2015, Joe took a break from studying law at university in Estonia and headed to Australia. His goal was to work and travel for only six months. With just enough money to survive for one week, he had to find a job quickly. Joe started picking mangoes, a common job for backpackers in Australia.
He quickly fell in love with this new lifestyle and his physical and mental health improved tremendously as he took on demanding farm work. During those first six months, he lost 20kg in weight and magically cured his years-long insomnia problems. In between jobs, he explored South-East Asia and Oceania. Realizing that six months wouldn't suffice, Joe decided to drop out of university and continued this adventurous lifestyle for two years. Eventually, his visa expired, leading to new questions about the uncertain future. Will he come back and continue studying and settle down?
How Youtube started?
After a brief break in Estonia, Joe embarked on a new journey that took him to Canada and later New Zealand on a Work & Holiday visa again, where he primarily operated heavy machinery. This allowed him to earn, save, invest and continue exploring — an absolute dream. But it wasn't as simple as it sounds from the beginning - learning a foreign language and relocating for work isn't everyone's cup of tea.
After years of being on the road with only brief returns to Estonia, Joe realized that while the nomadic lifestyle suited him and his hard work opened doors, he'd always be working for someone else in this manner.
He launched the YouTube channel "Wild Viking Travels", occasionally posting travel videos while holding down regular jobs. Then, in 2020, as the world grappled with COVID-19 and air travel restrictions tightened, Joe and his former partner transformed the yellow Mercedes Sprinter van, Freyja, into a travel van in just four months. In January 2021, he began regularly sharing videos on YouTube about travels and van life.
Why is it called “Wild Viking Travels”?
While traveling in Australia, Joe earned the nickname "Viking" from the people he met, and it stuck. When he launched his travel channel, the name seemed like a perfect fit, even though Estonia isn't traditionally associated with Vikings.
However, the name "Viking" doesn't tie to a specific nationality or country, which makes it even more fitting. In Old Norse, "víkingr" referred to a seafaring pirate or raider, more of a profession or job than an ethnicity. While most Vikings came from Scandinavian countries, their influence spanned from the North to Russia, the British Isles and even all the way down to the Mediterranean. Baltic countries like Estonia were close enough to be frequently visited, raided and even inhabited by Vikings; Viking settlements were discovered on many Estonian islands in the Baltic Sea.
But even without all of this - as they say, a name doesn't define a person, right?
What about Liisu?
While Joe was traveling the world, Liisu was focused on her goal of becoming a licensed doctor. She set her sights on finishing medical school and saving up for future travels after university. To prepare for her journey, she dedicated two years to learning Finnish so she could work in Finland's healthcare system just to save enough money. Despite facing tough times working in an unfamiliar system in a new language, just when she was ready and about to book her dream trip, the world went into lockdown in 2020, postponing her plans.
In late 2021, the timing was finally right for Joe and Liisu, who had known each other for over a decade since high school. They decided to take their relationship to the next level by embarking on a journey together, first in a van in Europe and then South and Central America. The rest is history.
Now, they've teamed up to turn Wild Viking Travels and adventuring into their main priority. While savings still play a significant role in their finances, they've discovered various ways to minimize expenses for their full-time travel. Joe takes the lead as the main character and narrator on YouTube, while Liisu handles short-form content on Instagram and TikTok.
Around-the-world adventures?
While working in Australia and New Zealand, Joe explored South East Asia, including countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. He even ventured to some remote Oceanian destinations like Vanuatu. After his time in Canada, he embarked on a road trip across North America, eventually reaching Central America, where he spent six weeks doing Workaway in a hostel's bar in Mexico and Guatemala. Joe is no stranger to living in various vehicles, having called five different ones home.
On the other hand, Liisu, before traveling with Joe, had shorter travel experiences, including a few months of internship in a Brazilian hospital and volunteering at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She also visited memorable destinations like Thailand, Oman and Tanzania.
In 2021, they began their journey together by living in a van in Spain and then backpacking through South and Central America. You can see videos about all their adventures from this journey on Youtube here. Their longest and most epic overland trip was titled "Europe to Japan," although they couldn't reach Japan due to declined Chinese visas. Nevertheless, their experiences crossing Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal were truly unforgettable. You can find the complete journey video playlist here. Before selling the van in the summer of 2024, the last tribute to Freyja was around the Arabian peninsula managing to get all the way to Oman. The journey’s playlist is here.
Now they are back again to backpacking and after selling the van, Joe and Liisu tried out horsetrekking in Mongolia (well, that was crazy), then headed to South-Korea and finally made it to Japan.
They have both visited over 60 countries and have no intention of stopping traveling full-time! Where should they go next?
