Exploring the World with a Lifelong Friend

“It’s Never Too Late” is a series featuring people who pursue their dreams on their own timeline.

Eleanor Hamby and Dr. Sandra Hazelip have been best friends for over two decades. They didn’t expect that one day their friendship would garner attention on news shows or be referenced on “Saturday Night Live.” They’re now known as the TikTok Traveling Grannies, thanks to their Around the World in 80 Days project.

Inspired by Jules Verne’s adventure novel, the women’s travels earlier this year took them from Antarctica to the Grand Canyon, earning them over a million likes from thousands of followers. They’re working on their next adventure, Around South America, slated for 2024.

On their first meeting over 20 years ago when Dr. Hazelip visited Ms. Hamby while in the US on medical work:

“One day, I said: Ellie, I’ve always wanted to ride the trans-Siberian train. Do you think that’s something we could go on as a trip together?” Dr. Hazelip recalled. That was their first big adventure, in 2008, and trips to Southeast Asia and the Middle East followed in 2010 and 2011.

Their 80-day tour this year was updated daily to thousands of followers around the world through their Instagram and TikTok accounts. In contrast, their previous trips were documented on a blog for friends and family.

“People kept saying how much we were an inspiration — an inspiration for a good friendship, an inspiration to get out and do things,” said Ms. Hamby. “The whole experience has definitely been a life changer.

The friends agree that they cannot travel all the time due to their work. Dr. Hazelip works at a hospice center while Ms. Hamby works for the medical-mission. However, there’s still more exploring to be done. Their next adventure, Around South America, is already in the works for 2024.

The following are excerpts from an interview with Ms. Hamby and Dr. Hazelip

How did you plan your 80-day trip around the world?

ELEANOR HAMBY: We started with reading Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 days.

DR. SANDRA HAZELIP: We wanted to go to as many cities as the protagonist, Phileas Fogg, supposedly went to on his trip. We also knew that we definitely wanted to go to all seven continents. We wanted to see as many wonders or natural wonders of the world as we could.

HAMBY: In the end, we visited 18 countries and saw eight wonders. Sandy created a document for every day of the trip. We always start with accommodation. We look for a place that’s clean and has a good location, always on a budget. We love finding little gems of hotels, like the one we stayed at in Cairo for $13.50 a night. It wasn’t where most tourists would stay, but we had a million-dollar view on the rooftop.