Hi, I'm Vanessa Rivers!
I grew up on a solar-powered farm on the Central Coast of California and went to college at UC Santa Barbara, where I fell in love with surfing.
During college, I started a surf lesson company offering private surf lessons in Santa Barbara and Malibu. Over 20 years later I am still teaching lessons to children and adults from around the globe and I love it!
Surfing led me around the world and it was on one of these trips that I decided to combine my love of the ocean and nature to create an eco-friendly bikini line made in LA out of recycled fishing nets, Summer Love Swimwear (as seen in Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Daily Mail).
I began travel writing in 2012, and in 2016 I co-founded the popular travel community We Are Travel Girls (as seen in Forbes, CNN, Fox, Oprah).
My work has been Seen In:
A little bit (More) about me
I lived in London for seven years before re-locating back to California in 2018 where I live in Malibu with my beautiful daughter. I spend my free time (not that I have much free time with a 7-year-old) reading, writing, surfing and traveling.
I have visited over 70 countries and specialize in luxury, adventure, eco, and family travel. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with top brands and hotels around the world such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Nikki Beach, 1 Hotel Group, Google, TUMI, Pepsi Group, Boxed Water Is Better and Alaska Airlines – the first airline committed to reducing its carbon emissions to net-zero (by 2040)!
I took over as the CEO of We Are Travel Girls in 2023, and I am currently working on launching new Travel Girls Getaways around the world. Our affordable luxury trips offer women the chance to explore new destinations with other adventurous travelers, while giving back to the local communities we visit.
My Family
People are usually surprised to find out I also come from Hollywood lineage. I am the daughter of late artist Christi Zabel and singer Johnny Rivers, and stepdaughter of producer Todd Fisher and actress Catherine Hickland. I grew up with Hollywood icon, Debbie Reynolds, as my beloved Grandma Debbie, and Star Wars actress, Carrie Fisher, as my “Aunt Fishfood.”
I often claim one of my biggest accomplishments is managing to be “semi-normal” despite my celebrity family. My memoir, sharing stories about growing up with a famous, dysfunctional yet vibrant family, will be out soon! Join my email list to be notified.