From haunted prison to polar plunges, Dubai woman's incredible 100-country adventure

Dubai: Not many can say they have taken the polar plunge at both ends of the Earth, kayaked in Greenland’s icy fjords, and stayed inside a repurposed Boeing 727 in the Costa Rican jungle. But for Isabel Ferrao, a highly spirited Indian expat in Dubai since 2004, these are just chapters in her extraordinary travel diary that has now turned the pages of visiting 100 countries.

Having hit the century mark across all seven continents, including both the North and South Poles, Isabel is gearing up for more.

She describes herself as someone who managed a busy career while travelling the world, hoping to inspire other women to pursue their careers or businesses without giving up their passion for travel.
“For me, travel is not just about checking off destinations from your bucket list. It's about weaving stories into the very fabric of your existence,” she told Gulf News in an interview.

Over the last 15 years, Isabel has embraced danger, adventure, and luxury in equal measure. While she has explored 33 countries solo, she has also travelled with friends and her husband, making each trip its own story.

She has stayed at Latvia’s most haunted jail, trekked with gorillas in Rwanda, and explored Iceland’s lava caves beneath a volcano.

Floating among icebergs in the dark, icy waters (-20°C) of the Arctic Circle, wearing survival gear in the middle of a frozen Baltic Sea in Lapland, Finland, also ranks high on her long list of thrilling experiences.

The one with surreal moments? “Ivory Coast was wild. The black magic, the mystery, even the food—I still don’t know what I ate and don’t want to know,” she laughed.

From piranha fishing in the Amazon to hiking the Acatenango volcano in Guatemala, where there are eruptions every 15 minutes, and walking across the blazing desert to witness Turkmenistan’s fiery Gates of Hell, Isabel seeks out experiences that would make most travellers pause. Many have told her she is the most adventurous woman they have ever known.

"Going to dangerous places gives me a thrill. Everyone asks me, ‘Why do you want to do it?’ Honestly, I don’t know—I just absolutely love the thrill of going to all these places."

"In Greenland, I stayed in an aluminium igloo overlooking the fjords. In Bolivia, my bed was carved out of salt,” she recalled.

Yet, amid these adrenaline-fuelled trips, she maintains a soft spot for luxury.
“Rugged offbeat adventures give me a thrill. So any place that has this would take first place during my trips. Next, I keep a few days for the best luxury hotel in the country and also try all the best traditional restaurants the country has to offer. I always try to have a mix of both.”

Isabel is not someone who carefully budgets a trip. She always dives fully into exploring everything she wants to and typically spends up to Dh50,000 on most of her exotic trips.

Born and raised in the western Indian state of Goa, Isabel credits her parents for nurturing her curiosity by taking the family on yearly trips across India. That wanderlust grew after she moved to Dubai and began working in hospitality—eventually helping launch two iconic luxury resorts as an executive assistant to the managing directors.

She recently took a bold leap to pursue her second passion—fashion—by launching her own luxury label, Susegad x Isabel Ferrao, at the Royal Enclosure of Meydan Racecourse during the Dubai World Cup in April.

“Dubai taught me to follow my dreams, be open-minded, embrace new experiences and challenges and never give up. I will always be grateful for the lessons I learned and the memories I made in this amazing country, the UAE.”

Isabel also met the love of her life in Dubai — Savio D’Souza, an engineer raised in the city and educated in the US — who has become her travel partner to 39 countries. Fitting her adventurous spirit, Savio proposed to her during an underwater expedition in a luxury private lagoon in the Bahamas in 2011.

Being from the western Indian state of Goa, a former Portuguese colony, Isabel said it was easier for her to switch to a Portuguese passport.
“I had a goal though, to prove that it’s easy to travel on an Indian passport with absolutely no difficulties. I hope this helps my fellow Indians to do the same. Yes, the only hassle is the paperwork – but in my experience, it has been easy to get visas as an Indian.”

Recognition has followed. Last year, she won the 2024 Middle East Travel/Food Blogger Award and is being considered for more honours in 2025. But for Isabel, the rewards are deeply personal.
“Travelling is the greatest gift I’ve given myself. It taught me to embrace the unknown.”

With a quest to go where few have gone, Isabel has no plans to slow down. Bora Bora and Iraq are on her wish list for the near future.
“I want to visit every country on Earth. But I’ll do it slow. The journey matters more than the number. Hitting my first 100 countries took ages as I’m a chronic destination repeater and tend to do both summers and winters in many countries. I believe in quality over quantity and was in absolutely no rush to reach my target. I just want to romanticise life through travel… travel on your own terms and inspire others to learn new cultures when you travel—not just go there and click a picture. I think you need to explore the place, make friends, do whatever it takes to learn the country, love the place, and respect it.”

Her only regret so far is not keeping a backup of her incredible pictures and videos, as she lost most of the original copies when her laptop crashed.
“My only solace is my Instagram handle, where I try to share most of my experiences,” she added.