Recently my parents taped a Smithsonian Channel special called Aerial New Zealand for me to watch. I was thrilled when I realized that I had been to most of the places featured. I had long wanted to visit New Zealand, and I knew I wanted to experience all of it, trekking from top to bottom of both islands. I’m pretty confident that after spending many weeks I really…
Last April I fulfilled a lifelong goal: to truly explore Italy. I felt a quick visit wouldn’t do all the Italy destinations justice and I wanted to cover all the important areas. So I spent twelve days on a group trip and saw a ton! I did experience a little culture shock – Italia is one of the most heavily visited countries and as a result I found…
Visiting the Outback is an extremely special and rare experience – so much of Australia is truly another world it is so remote. You can rent a car and explore on your own, but I don’t really recommend it. Traveling with a tour or group is a lot safer as you can break down in extreme temperatures and not see another vehicle for hours. Outback Australia also uses…
To experience Norway we opted to take the famous Norway in a Nutshell train voyage. Unlike most tours this one is pretty much unguided. You pick up information from a booth at the station and follow the schedule. We saw so much scenery from the train and had several stops along the way including the classic Fjord tour from a ferry. The peak time for visiting Norway is…
My family has a deep connection to Mexican culture – my dad has spent a lot of time in Mexico and owned a few different houses in Mérida. Mérida is the capital of the Yucatan and about four hours drive from Cancún. It’s a city filled with vibrant people, food and art. It’s also not too difficult to access many Mayan ruins like Chichen Itza and Uxmal. Mérida…
Reykjavik feels like a sleepy little town, despite being home to a little more than a third of Iceland’s residents. In January 2017 I spent a few days exploring the city and put together this guide to Iceland (the main Iceland attractions at least.) Getting there is pretty easy as Reykjavik Excursions provides buses between the airport and capital – some even have stops at the Blue Lagoon.…
From Corporate to Unconstrained I didn’t have much experience traveling growing up and by the time I got to college as a journalism major I was on a very specific track: finish as early as possible and start working in magazines asap so when my mom suggested a semester studying abroad I pushed it aside. Fast forward a few years and I’m an unhappy, recently laid off writer…
I spent a few days in Lisbon with my cousin in 2014. We didn’t have any sort of plan – we just booked an Airbnb and arrived. Thankfully the apartment we rented was right in the middle of Alfama, the historic cobblestone district, and we were able to walk around and see most of the sights easily. We started our day with strong espresso and a pastry and…
Frequently when I talk to people about travel they have misconceptions that you can only travel with a huge budget or that just the air fare will cost thousands. Not true! I went to four countries in Europe after finding a $220 round trip ticket to Oslo and spent less than $2000 on everything. I could have done the trip for less. Friends always ask how I can…
I’m a constant snacker and usually pack several healthy snack foods with me in my bag. These are my favorite guilt-free munchies. Silk Yogurt Silk is the best vegan yogurt in my opinion as the soymilk version has 6 grams of protein vs. 1-2g in the coconut milk, cashew milk and almond milk varieties I’ve tried. The consistency is the same as dairy yogurt to me. I do…
Do you want to know how I found a roundtrip flight to Europe for $200?
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Or my complete guide to 12 days in Italy covering all the major destinations?
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