How do a nomadic Costa Rican-Polish-American and a British-Pakistani raised in Saudi Arabia start a travel company together?
Today, we're going to find out.
We're speaking with Sibu Szymanowska and Hira Aftab, co-founders of The Hybrid Tours, a travel company that uses the power of travel and storytelling to challenge stereotypes and foster connections with activists, refugees, and changemakers worldwide.
Use code GOINGPLACES to receive $100 off any of The Hybrid Tours' upcoming trips.
Reminder:
We are running a 10-day trip to Jordan from June 5-14, 2026. We'll visit the Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum, Amman, and many off-beaten spots in between. We'll meet a renowned artist who designed the country's newest currency, spend time with the Bedouins in the desert, and more.
Go to https://goingplacesmedia.com/jordan for details on early-bird booking, which ends on Jan 4, 2026.
Going Places is an audience-supported platform. You can become a member for as little as $6 a month. Visit us at goingplacesmedia.com to learn more.
Thanks to our Founding Members:
- RISE Travel Institute, a nonprofit with a mission to create a more just and equitable world through travel education
- Radostina Boseva, a film wedding photographer with an editorial flair based in San Francisco
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Hira and Sibu’s origins in the human rights work
- How a trip to the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan started it all
- Traveling as a visibly Muslim woman
- Meeting survivors of partition in Pakistan
- What decolonizing travel really is
- Creating travel content with a human rights lens
- Sibu's lessons from 5+ years of full-time travel
- Traveling overland from the West to North Africa
- Hira and Sibu dream of starting the world from scratch
Featured on the show:
Going Places is a reader-supported platform. Get membership perks like a monthly group call with Yulia at goingplacesmedia.com!
For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!
Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!
And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!
Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more.
Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.
