Our Story

We’re Joc & Zach Lahr—the awkward, mostly normal (hopefully lovable) couple behind World Travel Lahrs. Our love story kicked off back in high school (a hot minute ago…okay, 18 years and counting). While we’ve been together forever, our travel story didn’t actually begin until much later.

Joc spent all of her childhood having never traveled, not even family vacations. Zach, on the other hand, got to travel domestically in the US with his family growing up. Together, our 20s were consumed by school, careers, and just trying to “adult.” We didn’t spend college years backpacking Europe or studying abroad. Our biggest splurge was our sweet, intimate destination wedding—and if we were lucky, one little trip a year.

Everything changed the year Joc turned 30. Zach had one goal: for her to turn 30 in Italy. It felt impossible at the time- our budget was tight and we were very inexperienced travelers. The trip was as frugal as it could be, and I’m sure we made so many “errors”….but we were happy to be eating Pizza IN ITALY.

That moment lit the spark. Suddenly, the world felt bigger—and somehow within reach. Zach’s granny, who had always inspired us with her love of travel, had a saying: “Do it while you’re young.” That hit home. So, we decided to live it

We reshaped our lives around travel—choosing jobs that gave us more flexibility, slashing unnecessary spending, and making a pact to explore somewhere new every single month.

Now here we are: adventure seekers, wildlife fanatics, food lovers, semi-bougie hikers, and proud mid-range travelers. We’re here to inspire you, help you save a little cash, and hopefully steer you away from our mistakes (like the time Joc accidentally flew us into the wrong airport in South Africa…yikes).

So welcome to our story. Thanks for being part of this journey with us—we can’t wait to share the world with you.