Despite being excited to experience all the best things to do in Salento, Colombia, we did not arrive in the best of spirits. Our supposed 6.5-hour bus ride had turned into a whopping 11 hours. We were both carsick from the journey. And by the time we finally rolled into town, everything was closed–so the …
Today, Jeremy and I are celebrating 10 years together. A solid decade. I almost can’t quite believe it: in some ways, it feels like yesterday that we met on our first day of an afterschool job in high school (Fazoli’s–basically a fast food Italian place), that we started awkwardly flirting with each other in the …
Chilly water, cool breezes, and slightly-less-oppressive high temperatures: after enjoying the heat of the Caribbean coast and Tayrona National Park for a week, is it any surprise that the prospect of the delightful Pozo Azul and Marinka Falls were calling us to explore the waterfalls of Minca, Colombia? Whether you’re coming from Tayrona, Cartagena, or …
So, you’re heading either to Costa Rica or Nicaragua! As if narrowing it down that far wasn’t hard enough, now the real work begins: which one of these gorgeous Central American countries will you travel to? As amazing as both destinations are, picking one can come down to a matter of travel style and personal …
Planning your first trip to Italy may feel overwhelming–but this (repeatedly) tried-and-tested itinerary for 2 weeks in Italy will have you relaxing into la dolce vita in no time! For those who are new here, we are Kate and Jeremy Storm, travel bloggers and Italy travel addicts who have cumulatively spent more than a year …
Here’s the thing about visiting Rome: whether you’re spending 2 days in Rome or 2 weeks, you will both never run out of things to do, and have plenty of time to see the highlights. While it’s true that Rome is chock full of enough things to do, see, and eat that it can occupy …
Ghent or Bruges: how do you choose between two delightful things? Truthfully, we had never thought much about visiting Belgium before visiting, but when a detour to Belgium came up as a possibility when researching inexpensive routes from Italy to the USA for the holidays, we were intrigued. It didn’t take long to convince us …
There’s something magical about visiting Venice in November. Before visiting the city for the first time ourselves, hearing people speak about Venice often felt like hearing about 2 different cities, depending on their opinion of the place. To some people, Venice was an enchanting, romantic city like nowhere else in the world. To others, it …
When we first set foot in Bucharest, we knew very little about the best things to do in Bucharest in one day, let alone on a longer trip! While we had long wanted to visit Romania, specifics about the charms of its capital city got crowded out of our daydreams about the country, which were …
As Europe’s smallest island nation, Malta doesn’t traditionally get a lot of tourist attention from visitors outside of Europe–but that is changing, and this quick Malta travel guide will help you discover this unique Meditteranean country. … and hopefully, convince you that planning a trip to Malta is a great idea! Though it is regularly …
If you’re looking to enjoy warm, sunny weather, beautiful sea views, interesting history, and a feeling of extended summer, then you can’t go wrong with exploring the best things to do in Malta in September. From swimming to sailing, all the best Malta activities will be at your fingertips in September–with far fewer crowds than …
Planning a trip to Hungary soon and trying to decide exactly what to do in Budapest? Budapest is our undisputed favorite city in Central Europe: both majestic and accessible, beautiful and bohemian, regal and down-to-earth, it’s one of those cities that has something for everyone… and in our case, there are enough things to do …
Sketching out a Prague travel budget and curious about how much a trip to Prague costs? We can help! For a major European city, this beautiful Central European city remains somewhat of a bargain–though thanks in part to its increased popularity in the last couple of decades, you won’t find prices as low as some …
Gorgeous volcanos, colorful cities, Mayan ruins, crystal clear swimming holes, dirt cheap prices, and adventure around every corner–if that sounds like your kind of vacation destination, it’s time to consider spending 2 weeks in Guatemala. Set just south of Mexico and west of Belize, there are a seemingly endless number of incredible things to do …
I’ve really struggled with how to put our thoughts on Bocas del Toro, Panama into words. The truth is, blogging about destinations is much easier when we fall in love with them–it’s a far simpler task to rave about a place than it is to discuss why you didn’t particularly like it–especially when “not particularly …
A weekend in New York City is one of the top short getaways in the country for very good reason… but experiencing New York in 2 days or less is quite the challenge! Luckily, though, you don’t need to check off every single one of the incredible things to do in the city in order …
Spending 2 weeks in Nicaragua makes for an unforgettable trip, offering you enough time to sample everything from volcanoes to colorful cities to stunning beaches. Of the 6 Central American countries we visited during our time backpacking the region, Nicaragua is that we said goodbye in the biggest hurry to get back to–it’s beautiful, it’s …
There’s a flaw in the way that non-long-term travelers calculate the potential cost of long-term travel. Short-term travelers tend to make an inherent assumption that their two-week vacation is how much it costs to travel for 2 weeks, and then conclude that spending at that level for an entire 3 months/6 months/year/lifetime is obviously impossible, …
We knew that our Honduras travel budget was going to be higher than in other Central American countries due to our love of scuba diving–but I have to say that the numbers were still a little higher than we hoped for! With seven dives, a day of whitewater rafting, and plenty of other interesting sights, …
Travelers in Honduras generally visit one or two places: Copan for the ruins (and hopefully the birds!), and/or the Bay Islands for scuba diving and the generally laid-back island life. While that was mostly our path as well, we had one more stop we were determined to make: right outside of the sprawling city of …
“¡Agua! ¡Agua! ¡Agua! ¡Vámonos!” The shouts came rapidly, urging the crowd forward. The buckets moved up the line: paint buckets, milk cartons, everything in between. From the Caribbean Sea, to the smoke-filled building, and back to the sea, and back to the smoke. Again. And again. And again. When we lazily peddled the bikes we …
If you’ve heard one thing about things to do in Copan, Honduras, you’ve heard about visiting its ruins. The Copan Ruins are set in the jungle in northern Honduras, far from any coastline. They’re known for being beautiful, for having some of the most interesting carvings of any ruins in the region, and for being …
Planning a visit to gorgeous Guatemala, and curious about what a trip to Guatemala costs? Our real-life example for traveling Guatemala on a budget can help you estimate your costs! Our Guatemala trip was not only tons of fun, but it also ended up having a very reasonable price tag: our Guatemala travel budget reflects …
It took about ten minutes after starting our hike up Volcano Acatenango to decide that this was a terrible idea that was all going to go horribly wrong. Similarly, it took about ten minutes after gratefully returning to the paved road the next day where a van was waiting to drive us back to Antigua …
Oh, Belize: you were beautiful, you were home to one of our favorite tours to date, and you were very expensive for your region. Traveling Belize on a budget is no picnic compared to its neighboring countries! We intentionally planned a shorter stay in Belize than in nearby Mexico and Guatemala, because we knew that …
Known for its beautiful cayes, excellent scuba diving, gorgeous turquoise water, and many opportunities for adventure, there are far more fun things to do in Belize than can possibly be covered in one trip! We spent almost two weeks exploring the beauty of Belize, from its beaches to its Mayan cities to the incomparable ATM …
On New Year’s Eve in 2013, I was lying across the bed of a Paris hotel room, fighting a losing battle with jet lag after the first transatlantic flight of my life. As it would happen, that was the same time that a blogger went randomly, stupendously viral with a post entitled “23 Things to …
We really expected to fall in love with Placencia, Belize. It’s supposed to have some of the best beaches in Belize, to be a quiet and laid-back place, and right as we were planning our Latin America backpacking trip in late 2016, it was even listed on the New York Times’ 52 Places to Go …
Mexico is, by and large, a very budget-friendly backpacker destination–but with options ranging from bare-bones dorm rooms to luxury resorts, it’s safe to say that a trip to Mexico costs exactly what you make it. Whatever your preferred Mexico travel budget is, you’ll almost certainly be able to create an itinerary to suit it. The …
Isla Holbox, Mexico is one of those islands that calls to mind cliche words like “paradise”. Really, though, what other word makes sense when the best things to do in Holbox range from enjoying some of the most beautiful and relaxing waters in Mexico to swimming with awe-inspiring whale sharks? Famous for its beautiful, shallow …