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How to stay in Europe longer and extend your stay in the Schengen Countries / Area for more than 3 months — the legal way? Here's how!

The post How to Stay in Europe Longer Than 90 Days — Including the Schengen Countries: The Ultimate Guide (2025) appeared first on I am Aileen.

“How to stay in Europe longer within the Schengen Countries or Area — the legal way?” This is one of the most common questions that I get from readers, especially because I have been able to stay in the Schengen Area for more than the usual 90-day limit despite being a non-EU (non-European Union) national with a third world country passport. I understand that a lot of people want to have the right to stay for more than 90 days or 3 months, especially since going on a complete Eurotrip can’t be done in such a short span of time. So, with this post on how to stay in Europe longer, I will be giving you different ideas and options on how you can legally extend your European vacation! NOTE: Europe is a large continent with a number of countries and one of the biggest zones that they have is the Schengen area. For the purpose of this article, I will be focussing on this region to help you make the most of your stay. Table of Contents Toggle Schengen Area Schengen Visa The 90-Day Limit FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) » Get a European Student Visa Finland Norway Austria Germany Hungary France Belgium Italy Spain » Find Work or Stay as a Freelancer Apply for Normal Work Teach English Abroad Join a Language Assistant Program Be an Au Pair Do a Working Holiday Apply for a Freelancer/Digital Nomad/Self-Employment Visa Be a Volunteer Do a Cultural Homestay » Do a Union or Reunion in Europe Family reunion Marriage or Fiance Visa Cohabitation Home Stays » Apply for Citizenship Through Marriage Through Purchase or Investments Through Ancestry or Naturalization » Hold a Long-Term Tourist Visa (Type D long-stay, no work) France Sweden Spain Italy Greece » In & Out Hop » Schengen Visa Extensions & Bilateral Agreements Bilateral Agreements Schengen Area To date, the Schengen Area is a group of 29 countries and it comprises most of Europe. As part of a unified agreement, all of them have agreed to abolish passports and internal border controls. This means that all the Schengen countries act as if they are only ‘one country’ — so every citizen of each member state is free to go anywhere they want. Meanwhile, outsiders who want to enter the Schengen Area would experience border control once at the first country that they enter, but after that, entering other member countries would no longer require further immigration control. These 29 countries are: Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark[1] Estonia Finland France[2] Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands[3] Norway[4] Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain[5] Sweden Switzerland [1] Excluding Greenland and the Faroe islands [2] Excluding overseas departments and territories [3] Excluding Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands [4] Excluding Svalbard [5] With special provisions for Ceuta and Melilla From the above list, 4 of these are non-EU (or EFTA member states that may have border control) — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — whereas 22 are part of the EU. However, to date, there are a total of 28 members of the EU; so what happened to the other 4? Well, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, and Romania — are just NOT part of the Schengen Area. TRIVIA: There are 3 additional European microstates — Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican — that can be considered as de facto within the Schengen Countries given how they don’t have border controls with the countries that surround them. However, it’s important to note that they are not official Schengen member states since they have not signed documents for it. (But of course, it’s fine to visit with a Schengen visa). – – – Schengen Visa The Schengen Visa serves as the basic short-term visa that you will need to be able to stay in all of the 29 countries. However, non-Schengen citizens are allowed to enter the area without this said visa (their passport will only get stamped upon arrival and departure) as long as they are residents of: Albania[*] Andorra Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Australia Bahamas Barbados Bermuda Bosnia & Herzegovina[*] Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cyprus Dominica El Salvador Georgia Grenada Guatemala Honduras Hong Kong SAR Israel Japan Kiribati Macao SAR Malaysia Marshall Islands Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova[*] Monaco Montenegro[*] Nauru New Zealand Nicaragua North Macedonia[*] Palau Panama Paraguay Peru Romania Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Samoa San Marino Serbia[*] Seychelles Singapore Solomon Islands South Korea Taiwan[1] Timor Leste Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tuvalu Ukraine United Arab Emirates USA[1] Uruguay Vanuatu Vatican Venezuela [*] Visa waiver applies only to holders of biometric passports [1] The passport must include an identity number NOTE: This list is as of 2020. Ireland, UK, and their territories are allowed limitless entry to the Schengen Area. – – – If you are NOT a resident of any of the countries above (which mostly comprises citizens of Africa and Asia) you would need to apply at an embassy to obtain a tourist/short-term Schengen Visa. RELATED ARTICLE: Visa Application Tips: 4 Important Things to Get You Approved! READ NOW Alternatively, check out my comprehensive visa guides per country. NOTE: It helps to mention that there are non-Schengen members in Europe that allow entry to their country if you have a Schengen Visa, namely: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Turkey, and the Vatican City. HOWEVER, you must check these details beforehand since their rules might have changed. Plus, customarily, only multiple-entry Schengen visas are allowed. For starters, you can check this list for a list of countries you can visit with a Schengen visa. – – – The 90-Day Limit Once you are allowed to enter the Schengen Area — with just your passport or with a short-term visa — you are ONLY permitted to stay for 3 months (90 days) in ANY 6-month period (180 days). The 90-day span doesn’t need to be consecutive; it’s treated as cumulative (especially if you have a multiple-entry visa), but the fact remains that after you have stayed in Schengen for a total of 90 days, you have to leave. You are NOT allowed to come back again until the 181st day from the first time you stepped in. IMPORTANT UPDATE (March 2015): As of 18 October 2013, the Schengen member states changed the calculation of the 180-day period. To know more about this and avoid fines, deportations, and bans in Schengen, please check this article. If you don’t leave by the time you hit 90 days, you are subject to a fine or deportation — worst-case scenario, you will be banned from the Schengen Area for a period of time (1-3 years) or indefinitely. It is sometimes considered ‘okay‘ if you stay for a couple more days and even up to a week, but I advise that you don’t try and push your luck, especially if you’re on a visa. And if you stay longer than a week, you should know that you’re going to be in big trouble. Nevertheless, it’s said by most travelers (who are free to enter Schengen countries with just a passport) that southern countries like Greece, France, Spain, and Italy are not so strict on checks. While western countries like Belgium, Germany,the Netherlands, and EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) are very firm with entry and exits (primarily at the airports or train stations, more so if you’re going to an isolated island). Still and the same, as I’ve mentioned, you shouldn’t ‘push it‘. Follow the rules, and if you really want to know how to stay in Europe longer than the 90-day limit, below are the different ways you can stay longer, legally! FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) I am a dual citizen, so I have another passport that I can use to enter and stay longer in Europe’s Schengen Zone. Can I use them and stay in Europe for 3 months per passport? Unfortunately, the Schengen area policy states that if you have more than one passport and none of them is from a Schengen state, the same rule applies: you still need to do the 90-day stay limit within any 180-day period. So technically, the rule is per person, not per passport; hence, it’s not possible to use two separate passports to stay in Europe’s Schengen zone for long. What happens if I overstay in Europe beyond the 90-day limit? Any non-EU national who stays in the Schengen area for more than 90 days (without the appropriate visa, such as a long-stay or residence one) will usually result in a fine, deportation, and/or re-entry ban to the Schengen area. Can I enter the Schengen area more than once during the 90-day period? Yes, as long as you have a visa that allows it (e.g. a double-entry or multiple-entry visa). However, take note that you must calculate your days of stay so as to ensure that you don’t stay for more than 90 days in ANY 180-day period (see here for more info). How do you count the 90-day limit for any 180-day period? It helps to remember that the 180-day period keeps “rolling” — as such, for every entry that you make into a Schengen country, you need to count backward the last 180 days and see if you have been present in the Schengen area for more than 90 days throughout that time. For more info on this (as well as access a more streamlined day calculator), see here. Is it possible to get a multiple-entry tourist visa to the Schengen area for a year or more? Yes, it’s possible! According to the recent Schengen visa code, you can get a 1-year multiple-entry tourist visa if you have obtained and used three (3) Schengen tourist visas in the past. You can get a 2-year multiple-entry tourist visa if you have obtained and used a 1-year multiple-entry visa in the past 2 years. Lastly, you can get a 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa if you have obtained and used a 2-year multiple-entry visa in the past 3 years. DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an embassy officer nor a migration agent. I am only here to provide you with ideas on how you can stay in Schengen countries longer. If you ever need any help with visas or procedures, please check these visa guides or the related links I have provided in this article (as well as contact the appropriate departments). It also helps to note that I do not guarantee the timeliness of the information below, so please make it your responsibility to recheck the facts since there could be more recent updates/changes. Thank you! » Get a European Student Visa Naturally, this is one of the legal ways to stay longer in the Schengen zone. Student visas in all Schengen countries are not hard to obtain as long as you are accepted, enrolled, or invited by a university or school — which, of course, you should apply for before entering a Schengen country. Of course, you would have to pay for these courses, but you can always work part-time while studying since most student visa-holders are allowed to do so. Otherwise, you could try to get a scholarship, apply to an exchange program (if you’re still studying), or simply enroll in FREE universities. Yes, you read that right… FREE! There are actually several countries in Europe that have chosen to eradicate tuition fees for both local and international would-be students, and they are listed below (along with other countries that have the cheapest tuition). So if you’re looking for ways on how to stay in Europe longer, below are your top options! Finland Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: FREE (for EU/EEA), €4,000–€18,000 for non-EU students Since 2017, Finland has charged tuition fees to non-EU/EEA students. However, PhD programs remain free regardless of nationality. Many universities also offer generous scholarships. Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €560+ (~$630 / ₱32,000+) For more information: See ‘Studying in Finland‘ . Norway Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: FREE and €9,000–€15,000 per year (non-EU) As of 2023, Norway introduced tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students. PhDs are still FREE, but bachelor’s and master’s programs now have fees. Cost of living is still high. Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: NOK 13,000 (~$1,200 / ₱65,000+) For more information: See ‘Studying in Norway‘ . Austria Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: €726 ($780 / ₱44,000) per semester for non-EU students. Some developing-country students may get exemptions or pay only €363 ($390). Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €1,110 (~$1,200 / ₱66,000) For more information: See ‘Studying in Austria‘ . Germany Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: FREE (for most undergraduate programs at public universities). Some federal states (like Baden-Württemberg) reintroduced fees (~€1,500 per semester) for non-EU students. Master’s degrees may have fees unless consecutive to a German bachelor’s. Just make sure to check that the course you’re applying for is in English; however, if you’re fluent in German, that’s better. Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €934 (~$1,000 / ₱55,000), usually shown via a blocked account. For more information: See ‘DAAD‘, ‘List of Free German Universities‘ and ‘Studying in Germany‘ . Hungary Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: €1,000–€3,000 (~$1,100+ / ₱66,000+) The good thing about Hungary is that, unlike the Scandinavian countries, it is one of the European countries that has a more affordable cost of living, thus, proving your ‘solvency’ would be easier than in the others. Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €600 (~$650 / ₱37,000) For more information: See ‘Studying in Hungary‘ . France Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: €2,770 ($3,000 / ₱170,000) for bachelor’s, €3,770 ($4,000 / ₱220,000) for master’s. (Much cheaper compared to Anglophone countries.) You’re lucky if you can find a cheap university in Paris because the cheapest ones are actually found outside of the capital (Lyon is one example). Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €615 (~$660 / ₱37,000) For more information: See ‘Studying in France‘ . Belgium Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: €1,000+ (~$1,100 / ₱66,000). Tuition varies by university and program. I have tried this option before through the University of Antwerp for one of their 1-year Master Programs, and the process of obtaining a student visa was fairly easy given how I was backed up by the university that had accepted my application. The tuition was worth $2,000+ (Php 88,500+) which is almost double the lowest yearly tuition possible; so if you want to get the cheapest, try the University of Leuven, Hasselt University, or the University of Ghent (I didn’t manage to apply for these three since I was late for their deadlines, that’s why I resorted to saving up $2K to pursue the University of Antwerp). Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €789 (~$850 / ₱48,000) For more information: See ‘Studying in Belgium‘ . Italy Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: €1,000–€2,500 (~$1,100–$2,700 / ₱66,000–₱150,000) Italy also offers regional scholarships that can cover tuition and living costs, especially in universities like Bologna, Sapienza (Rome), and Florence. Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €467 (~$500 / ₱30,000) For more information: See ‘Studying in Italy‘ . Spain Lowest yearly tuition fee possible: €750–€2,500 (~$800–$2,700 / ₱45,000–₱150,000). Fees vary by region—Catalonia and Madrid often cost more, while Andalusia is cheaper. Affordable compared to many Western European countries, diverse culture, warm climate, and Spanish language programs. Proof of ‘means of support’ per month: €600 (~$650 / ₱37,000) For more information: See ‘Studying in Spain‘ . » READ: How to Save Money for Travel Should undergraduate or master programs remain to be too costly for you, if not the scholarships or shorter courses, consider the language programs since these studies are often cheaper! (Italy is one example of this, as well as Spain). TIP: For ‘means of support’, it’s always best to add more to the minimum requirement. It also helps to add a sponsor (even if it’s just on paper) even if you already can support yourself — this is what I’ve done when I applied for a university in Belgium, after all, it’s always best to ‘overdeliver’. Moreover, if you’re from the Philippines or Asia like me, before you can study overseas for a business or graduate school, check if you need to have a GMAT or GRE certification since most Asian universities are not ‘recognized’ abroad. (GRE is said to be the easiest, which I have done. Others reviewed for months on this, but I only reviewed for a day since I was in a rush; and yet I was fine! But surely, I don’t advise that you do the same). Also, if your studies were not conducted in English, a majority of the European schools would need a TOEFL or IELTS from you. – – – » Find Work or Stay as a Freelancer There are different ways to do ‘work’, some are conventional but some are unique. Check out the list below to see what best fits you in order to know how to stay in Europe longer! Apply for Normal Work This is where you go through the usual process of finding a company (in the form of a transfer, internship, part-time, or full-time work) and then apply for a work visa. » For more information: See EuroJobs or Europa . Teach English Abroad This is not the same as those ‘jobs on the road’ where you hold private English classes for people who don’t have it as a first language. Why? Because doing so is a risk. A short-term tourist Schengen Visa is NOT a work permit. Sure, working can still be done in secret (with Spain & Italy as the most tolerant) but if you somehow attract the attention of authorities, it can get nasty. So if you really want to teach legally, secure a work visa or working holiday visa first (that will make you stay longer too) by searching for opportunities in recognized schools or institutions. Teaching English while under a student visa is possible as well. Countries that are typically open to English-teaching jobs are the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Germany, Spain, and Italy. For these jobs, a TEFL certificate is a usual requirement. » For more information: See TEFL or ESLCafe . Join a Language Assistant Program Often run by governments, it gives non-EU citizens a chance to stay in the Schengen countries or area longer in exchange for offering aid in teaching the English language — they even pay you for the service you’re doing. There are only a few European countries that offer this kind of program and below are their basic requirements: France: must come from one of their 60 partner countries, age 20-30, have a basic level of French, completed at least 2 years of university (https://www.ciep.fr/en) Italy: must be a resident of the USA, have Italian proficiency, a university graduate or undergraduate, 3.25 GPA (https://www.indire.it/en/progetto/language-assistants/) Spain: must be a resident of USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, China, or EU, have a basic level of Spanish, a university graduate, or in their last year of university (https://www.educacionyfp.gob.es/) Switzerland: must be a resident of USA, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, France, Italy, or Spain, age 21-30, have sound language knowledge of the region (can be German/French/Italian), a university student or graduate (source) For openings in other countries, check here. . . Be an Au Pair Usually done for at least 6 months or more, working as an au pair is like being a domestic assistant as you live with a host family that provides free accommodation and food. Other than providing childcare, you are also typically asked to do light housework as you receive a salary for it. » For more information: See IAPA, Great Au Pair, or Europa Au Pair . Do a Working Holiday If you’re young and want to extend your stay in Europe, one option is to apply for a Working Holiday Visa (WHV). These visas allow you to live in a country for 6–12 months (sometimes up to 24 months), with the ability to work part-time to support your travels. However, keep in mind that: There is no EU- or Schengen-wide working holiday program. You must apply country by country. A WHV only lets you work and live in the country that issued it. You can still travel around the Schengen Zone as a tourist, but legally, your right to work is limited to your host country. Most WHV programs are open to applicants aged 18–30 (some extend to 35 for Canadians, Argentinians, or under special agreements). Below are the countries that have WHV agreements: Austria Offers WHV to citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Korea. Duration: Up to 12 months. Quota: 100 visas per year per country. Requirement: Must apply within 12 months of graduation (for some nationalities). Czech Republic Agreements with New Zealand, Canada, and Chile. Duration: Up to 12 months. France WHV available for citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, Argentina, and more. Duration: 12 months (can be extended to 36 months for Canadians under a youth mobility program). Germany Offers WHV to citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Hong Kong. Duration: 12 months. Hungary WHV agreements with Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Netherlands WHV available to Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, South Koreans, Argentinians, and Hongkongers. Duration: 1 year. Poland Agreements with Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Portugal WHV available for Americans, Canadians and Australians. Duration: 12 months. Spain WHV open to Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, and South Koreans. » For more information: See Work Holiday Visas for how to stay in Europe longer . Apply for a Freelancer/Digital Nomad/Self-Employment Visa The rise of remote work has transformed the way people live and travel — and governments have noticed. To attract talent, boost local economies, and revitalize tourism in the wake of the pandemic, many European countries have introduced special Digital Nomad, Freelancer, or Self-Employment Visas. These visas are designed for non-EU/EEA nationals who work remotely for clients or employers abroad. In most cases, you’ll need to prove a steady income, hold valid health insurance, and sometimes meet extra requirements like local accommodation or clean police records. They typically grant stays from 6 months to 2 years, with options to renew, and some even count toward permanent residency. To date, below are the Schengen countries that implement a digital nomad visa for foreigners: Croatia Cyprus Czechia Estonia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Malta Norway Portugal Romania Spain To see a complete list of countries that offer visas for remote workers along with the releveant details, read below: UPDATES: Countries That Offer a Digital Nomad Visa Looking for a Long-Term Travel Insurance? Providing great coverage and flexibility without costing a fortune, SafetyWing is currently the preferred travel insurance of digital nomads! GET INSURED NOW! . Be a Volunteer Much like English-teaching jobs, there are volunteer jobs as well that are ‘under-the-table’ — but apart from being risky, it’s not a legal way for how to stay in Europe longer. Examples are fruit-picking jobs, hostel work, etc. (this is why most of the time their websites advise that you don’t mention to immigration officers that you are going to work on a farm, for example). Therefore, to be able to remain or to be able to become a volunteer for a longer period of time, you would have to either get a work visa/permit or sign up for accredited volunteer programs that could whip out a work visa for you. These often come with a fee, but some can be very affordable. » For more information: See Europa or Voluntary Service for how to stay in Europe longer . Do a Cultural Homestay This is not like the informal homestay set-ups that I have discussed in this article: [click]. Instead, this is a more formal arrangement between a non-profit organization and a foreign country wherein they partner with wannabe travelers like you and send you to a host family elsewhere. For instance, the organization Cultural Homestay International has a ‘World Explorers’ program wherein in exchange for your 3-months worth of accommodation abroad, all you have to do is share your native language with your hosts for 15 hours per week. (These casual English conversation lessons usually run 5 days a week, 3 hours a day). If you want to travel for a year, it’s possible for them to combine multiple programs in different destinations to make it all sum up to 12 months! » For more information: See (CHI) World Explorers Program for how to stay in Europe longer – – – » Do a Union or Reunion in Europe The items below are common solutions on how to stay in Europe longer. They have no ‘special’ tricks or tips but they remain to be conventional ways of obtaining a longer visa in the Schengen Area: Family reunion If you have close relatives who are EU or Schengen citizens (or permanent residents), you may qualify for a family reunion visa. This pathway is one of the most common ways to extend your stay in Europe since many countries allow spouses, dependent children, or even parents to join their resident family member. For example, Germany’s Familiennachzug program grants residence to spouses and children of German citizens or legal residents, provided that housing, health insurance, and financial stability are in place. France, Spain, and Italy also have well-established family reunification policies, though exact rules differ by country. In most cases, the process requires proof of the relationship, stable income, and sometimes language or integration requirements. . Marriage or Fiance Visa Marrying a European citizen opens the door to residence rights and, in many cases, work authorization within that country. If you marry a French, German, or Spanish national, for instance, you can apply for a residence card as the spouse of an EU citizen, allowing you to legally stay beyond a tourist visa. Some countries, such as France and Germany, also offer fiancé(e) visas that let you enter specifically to get married within their territory. However, regulations can be stricter in places like Denmark, which has tough requirements designed to prevent “marriages of convenience.” Once married, you’ll typically gain the right to live, work, and travel more freely within the Schengen Area after a certain amount of time. . Cohabitation Not everyone chooses marriage, and in many parts of Europe, that’s not a problem. Several countries offer visas for long-term partners under what’s often called a “cohabitation” or “durable relationship” visa. Belgium, for instance, is popular for its accessible cohabitation visa program, which even allows you to apply while already in the country. The Netherlands and Sweden also recognize long-term partnerships, provided you can prove the relationship’s authenticity—often by showing evidence of living together for at least one to two years, joint financial commitments, or communication records. These visas give similar rights to marriage visas, though the process can be more document-heavy to prove the relationship is genuine. . Home Stays While not permanent solutions, homestays and cultural exchange programs are another way to stay in Europe longer, especially for younger travelers. Au pair visas are a prime example: France, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands allow foreigners (typically under 30) to live with a host family, help with childcare or light household tasks, and in return receive accommodation, meals, and a small stipend. This type of visa usually lasts up to one year and can sometimes be extended. Students can also find homestay options tied to cultural or language immersion programs, where families host participants for a semester or longer. While these opportunities don’t usually lead to permanent residency, they do provide a legal and immersive way to spend extended time in Europe. – – – » Apply for Citizenship This (citizenship) is more of an option for those who are really focused on staying in the Schengen Area indefinitely. Obtaining this can be done through different ways: Through Marriage Marriage to a European does not automatically grant citizenship; it typically gives you a right to residency first, and then—after a set period and language/integration tests—you can apply for citizenship and the timelines vary: Spain (1 year), France (4 years), Italy (2–3 years), Portugal (3 years with “effective link”); meanwhile Germany doesn’t shorten its clock for marriage, it’s still set to 5 years. . Through Purchase or Investments As of 2025, the EU has effectively ended “citizenship by investment.” Malta—the last EU state offering a direct investor-citizenship route—was ordered to shut its program by the EU Court of Justice in April 2025. Today, no EU country legally sells citizenship for a fee. What does still exist are residency-by-investment (“golden visa”) programs in some countries. These can put you on a residency track (and later, possibly citizenship via standard naturalization timelines), but they are not passports-for-sale: Portugal: Real estate is no longer eligible. Remaining routes include investment funds (~€500k), R&D, culture (€250k/€200k in low-density areas), or job creation. Residence can lead to citizenship in 5 years. Greece: Thresholds were raised in 2024/2025 (in many areas now €400k–€800k); program grants residency, not citizenship. Spain: On April 3, 2025, Spain ended the real-estate golden visa route; earlier rules also covered other financial assets, and the government’s move effectively dismantled the scheme going forward (existing holders keep their status). France (Talent-Passport “Business Investor”): A 4-year renewable residence card for those committing €300,000+ in direct investment and job creation/protection. This is residency, not citizenship. Hungary: “Guest Investor Residence Permit” (golden visa) relaunched in 2024–2025 with options like €250k in a real-estate fund or a €1M public-interest donation; this grants long-term residency, not citizenship. Austria: Not a golden visa—citizenship is possible only discretionarily for exceptional services in Austria’s interests (merit-based), not via a set price tag. Through Ancestry or Naturalization Most Schengen countries grant citizenship after 5–10 years of legal residence, plus language/integration tests. Nearly all countries require language at A2–B1 level and basic knowledge of history/civics before approving naturalization (and you must have lived legally—overstays don’t count). Some also have notable shortcuts or ancestry rules: Portugal: Standard naturalization at 5 years of legal residence. A 2024 amendment lets you start counting from the date you submit your first residence application (very helpful if processing is slow) Spain: The general route is 10 years of residence. It’s reduced to 2 years for nationals of Latin American countries, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, the Philippines, and for people of Sephardic origin. Spouses of Spaniards can apply after 1 year (see Marriage above). France: Typical residency naturalization is 5 years (with exceptions). Germany: Since June 27, 2024, most applicants can naturalize after 5 years (down from 8), with some as fast as 3 years for exceptional integration; dual citizenship is now broadly allowed. Italy (by descent & marriage): Jure sanguinis (by descent) historically allowed recognition for many descendants; in 2025, Italy tightened rules, generally requiring a closer generational link and an “effective bond” (details still being implemented; check current consular guidance). For marriage, see the timelines in the section above. Ireland (EU but not Schengen): If you have an Irish parent, you’re automatically Irish; with an Irish grandparent, you can register in the Foreign Births Register to obtain citizenship. Irish citizenship gives full EU free-movement rights across Schengen. (Handy if your ancestry points to Ireland.) . *As with most cases of naturalization, countries would commonly require that you have basic knowledge of their language, history, and geography before fully processing your citizenship. Also, you must stay there legally; for example, staying for 2 years in Spain without legal papers does not qualify you for naturalization. UPDATE: Try to look into Portugal as well. Any individual who has lived in Portugal as a legal resident for a minimum of five years (by studying, working, self-employment, marriage, or reunification) can apply for citizenship, provided that they can demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and have active ties to the national community. – – – » Hold a Long-Term Tourist Visa (Type D long-stay, no work) Most Schengen states don’t issue a true “long-term tourist” visa. What exists is the Type D national long-stay visa—usually 3 to 12 months—granted for specific non-work purposes (visitor, elective residence, etc.). These visas let you live in the issuing country and still visit other Schengen countries up to 90 days in any 180 days during the visa’s validity. They do not allow you to work locally, though so take note! France France offers a Visitor long-stay visa that is explicitly for private stays (séjour à titre privé) over 90 days without work, typically meant for retirees, people on sabbatical, or anyone with the financial means to live in France without working (about €20,000–€30,000/year in savings or income). If your intended stay is ≤12 months, you’re typically issued a VLS-TS (long-stay visa that doubles as a residence permit), and you must validate it online within 3 months of arrival. You can travel elsewhere in Schengen for short trips (90/180) while holding it. Nevertheless, France does not publish a fixed monthly amount for this category; instead, consulates assess “sufficient means” (bank statements, accommodation, private health insurance). There’s also a VLS-T (temporary long-stay, often up to 6 months), which is not renewable and doesn’t convert to a residence permit. » For more information: See France Consulate or ask your local French embassy for more details on how to stay in Europe longer . Sweden If you want to stay 90+ days in Sweden as a visitor and that you will not work, apply for a visitor’s residence permit. You may apply from outside Sweden or, in some cases, while already in Sweden (before your current stay ends). Total time as a visitor is generally capped at 1 year; you’ll need comprehensive insurance and proof of means to do this though and this route is commonly used for extended family visits, but it’s available more broadly case-by-case. » For more information: See Swedish Migration or consult your local Swedish embassy for more details on how to stay in Europe longer . Spain Spain’s well-known “non-lucrative” is not a tourist visa; it’s a non-work residence for those with sufficient independent income/savings. Initial validity is typically 1 year, renewable if you continue to qualify. The financial threshold is set at 400% of IPREM for the main applicant (€28,800/year based on the 2025 IPREM), plus 100% of IPREM (€7,200/year) per dependent. Private full-coverage health insurance is required and the permit forbids employment or professional activity in Spain (for this, reconfirm any remote-work scenario with your consulate before proceeding). » For more information: See Spain Embassy or consult your local Swedish embassy for more details on how to stay in Europe longer . Italy Italy’s Elective Residence Visa is designed for people who can support themselves without working (pensions, rentals, investments). Consulates publish minimums; as an example, the Italian Consulate in New York lists ~€31,000/year for a single applicant and ~€38,000/year for a married couple (amounts vary by post and can change). Private health insurance and proof of accommodation are required and this is a residence-without-work path often used by retirees or financially independent applicants. . Greece Greece offers a Financially Independent Person permit for those with passive income/savings and no local work. Consulate practice commonly requires ~€3,500/month for the main applicant, plus +20% for a spouse and +15% per child (some sources note lower figures in specific cases; please reconfirm with your Greek consulate). Health insurance and proof of accommodation are also standard, and this is a solid long-stay, no-work option in the Schengen zone.. RELATED READ: Countries That Offer Long Term and Digital Nomad Visas – – – » In & Out Hop As of 2025, the Schengen Area has 29 countries (Bulgaria and Romania became full members on 1 January 2025). Short stays are governed by the 90-days-in-any-180-day period rule. That means you can spend up to 90 cumulative days inside Schengen during a rolling 180-day window—then you must be outside Schengen until you have days available again. Use the EU’s official short-stay calculator to plan this precisely or check this guide. How the hop works: travel around Schengen (e.g., France, Spain, Germany), and when you’re near your 90-day limit, exit to a non-Schengen country for a while. After enough days outside, your rolling 180-day window frees up more Schengen days, and you can re-enter (visa-free nationals) or re-enter on a multiple-entry (MULT) Schengen visa, if you need a visa. RELATED READ: Schengen Short Stay Calculator How to get proof of onward travel? Immigration in any country would often require “proof of onward travel” or basically, proof of a return ticket back to your home country or to any other destination aside from the country you’re entering to. If you don’t have concrete plans yet AND if you want to be flexible with your travels, booking a final flight ticket is extremely costly — thankfully, presenting a “flight reservation” usually already works. To get this, I recommend purchasing it from OneWayFly for a small fee of only $16~! READ NOW As I mentioned, this in-and-out hop setup works best for those who: Hold a passport that grants visa-free entry to non-Schengen countries Hold a visa OR visas that allow visa-free entry to non-Schengen countries Hold a double-entry or multiple-entry Schengen visa RELATED READ: Countries You Can Visit Visa-FREE with a UK Visa Countries You Can Visit Visa-FREE with a US Visa Countries You Can Visit Visa-FREE with a Canada Visa Countries You Can Visit Visa-FREE with a Schengen Visa Below are popular non-Schengen “reset” options (typical allowances): United Kingdom: Standard Visitor stay up to 6 months for many nationalities (others need a UK visa). Türkiye (Turkey): Most nationalities are limited to 90 days in any 180 (visa-free or e-visa depending on passport). Georgia: Many nationalities can stay up to 1 year visa-free; others qualify if they hold certain visas/residence permits. Always verify by nationality. Serbia: Many can stay up to 90 days (others need a visa). Serbia also accepts certain third-country visas/residence permits in some cases—check specifics. Albania: Visa-free for many; holders of a valid, multiple-entry Schengen visa are exempt from an Albanian visa for up to 90 days in 180. North Macedonia: Holders of a valid multiple-entry Schengen C visa may enter visa-free for up to 15 days per entry (rules vary by nationality). Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina: Many passports get up to 90 days visa-free; others may rely on substitute-visa rules (Montenegro accepts certain Schengen/US/UK/CA visas for up to 30 days). Check your nationality as always before you go. Key reminder: Leaving Schengen for “one weekend” does not reset your clock. The 180-day window is rolling—you regain days only as earlier Schengen days fall outside that window. Other things you should take note of are as follows: Track your days with the EU’s calculator (bookmark it). Border systems are tightening with the Entry/Exit System (EES) rolling out from 12 Oct 2025, which will automatically count entries/exits. Have the right Schengen visa type. If you need a visa, ask for MULT (multiple-entry); in general, the Visa Code allows MEVs up to 5 years for frequent, reliable travellers. Stays are still capped at 90/180. Carry proof at borders. Even if you’re visa-exempt, border guards can refuse entry if you can’t justify your purpose, funds, accommodation, or onward plans. Mind each non-Schengen country’s rules. Some require that your Schengen visa be multiple-entry and already used; others have shorter caps (e.g., 15 days in North Macedonia). Always check the official page for your nationality. You generally can’t hold two overlapping Schengen C-visas. Consulates typically cancel a current short-stay visa when issuing a new one; you can’t “stockpile” future Schengen visas. Applying for a Schengen visa outside your country of residence is tough. The general rule is to apply where you legally reside, but consulates may accept applications from non-residents who are legally present and can justify why they can’t apply at home (e.g., long, continuous travel). I know of some travelers who have used the reason of “I’m traveling long term” and have ended up as successful in their appeal. However, it’s still important for you to know that it’s customarily a tough case; but then again… there’s no harm in trying, right? – – – » Schengen Visa Extensions & Bilateral Agreements This is a delicate subject because almost all Schengen countries do NOT tolerate extensions once you get into the area with a short-stay (Type C) tourist visa. Be that as it may, the good news is that it’s still and always possible if you’re resourceful and creative enough. (Extensions for long-term visas for studies, work, etc. are a different matter altogether). If you’re rather one of the nationals who are allowed to come into Schengen countries with just a passport, be mindful that it can prove to be more difficult because you technically don’t have a visa on hand to apply for an extension for — sure, there are chances that you can apply and obtain a visa without a need to go back to your home country; however, as I’ve mentioned previously, I seldom hear of situations that are successful in doing this. (You can try and do your research since some embassies might be able to accommodate such requests depending on your nationality and situation). Nevertheless, Article 33 of the Schengen Visa Code says that short-stay visas can be extended if: Force Majeure – unforeseen circumstances that are not under your control (i.e. bad weather conditions, airline strikes, etc.); this is the only situation that does not require fees for extension. Humanitarian reasons – if you have fallen ill, or a close family member has fallen ill or died. Often no fee as well. Serious personal reasons – case-by-case, e.g., unfinished treatment, unexpected obligations, usually a fee applies Late entry – if you entered Schengen much later than the visa’s validity start date, sometimes an extension is possible up to the full 90 days . Extensions can give you more days only in the issuing country or in the country where you applied—not necessarily the whole Schengen Area. Approvals are ALWAYS discretionary. Now, if your nationality is visa-exempt (e.g., US, Canada, Australia, Japan), technically, you don’t hold a visa to extend. Authorities may allow a “visa waiver extension” in extraordinary cases, but it is rare. Most travelers in this category must leave and re-enter after their 90/180 allowance resets. Luckily, there seem to be some Schengen countries that are quite lenient with extensions, and the ones that I know of are: PORTUGAL Anecdotally, Portugal is among the more flexible countries. Local immigration offices (SEF, now AIMA) may grant up to two extensions if you can show proof of funds, accommodation, and insurance. Travelers often report better chances in Lisbon. » For more information: See Immigration or ask the embassy about how to stay in Europe longer . SWEDEN The Migration Agency accepts extension applications on humanitarian or personal grounds. Travelers with Swedish family, partners, or strong ties often have higher success rates. » For more information: See Migrationsverket or ask the embassy on how to stay in Europe longer . Note: Extensions are not a strategy for staying longer in Europe—they’re safety nets for exceptional cases. You shouldn’t plan your trip expecting an extension, unless you meet one of the strict grounds above! . Bilateral Agreements Some countries have old bilateral visa waiver agreements with individual Schengen states, signed before the Schengen Agreement was in force. In certain cases, these allow citizens of specific non-EU countries to stay longer than 90 days in that specific Schengen country—even after using up their 90/180 allowance in the Schengen Area as a whole. Take note that these agreements only apply within the country that signed them. If you overstay your 90/180 Schengen limit but remain legally under a bilateral exemption in one country, you may still be considered overstaying in the rest of Schengen. Border crossings can therefore be risky. Always verify rules directly with consulates before relying on this method! US Citizens Poland: There are reports of US citizens being allowed to stay 90 days under Schengen and then an additional 90 days under a US–Poland bilateral agreement (essentially 180 days total in Poland). This arrangement appears to be recognized in practice by Polish border officials, but official documentation is scarce. I advise that you confirm with the Polish consulate before attempting to do this. Netherlands: Under the Dutch–American Friendship Treaty (DAFT), US entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals can obtain a Dutch residence permit to live and work in the Netherlands. This isn’t a tourist stay—it’s a residence pathway if you register a business or freelance with Dutch clients. UPDATE: According to the Dutch American Friendship Treaty and Dutch Japanese Trade Treaty, American and Japanese entrepreneurs or self-employed citizens can apply for a Dutch residence permit to live and work in the Netherlands. It’s pretty straightforward if you plan to build a business or are already doing business in Netherlands, but if you’re a freelancer, you need to have one or more commissions in the Netherlands to carry out. Australian Citizens Germany & Denmark: Australia has bilateral agreements with both countries, allowing Australians to stay 90 days in Germany and 90 days in Denmark, separately from the Schengen-wide allowance. In theory, an Australian could rotate between the two for an extended stay. However, outside Germany/Denmark, the 90/180 Schengen cap applies. France: France also has a bilateral agreement with Australia, allowing an extra 90 days in France beyond the Schengen limit. Australians can therefore spend 90 days in Schengen + 90 days in France, if managed correctly. These agreements mean Australians potentially have more flexibility than most nationalities, but it requires careful planning and proof of entry/exit stamps. . Several other Schengen states have similar deals with countries like Canada, New Zealand, and the US. Examples are: France has bilateral deals with the US, Canada, and New Zealand. For instance, US citizens can theoretically stay an additional 90 days in France after their Schengen allowance, but this is inconsistently enforced and must be confirmed with French authorities. Most of the time, border guards don’t know about this so you must be willing to put up a ‘fight’. Switzerland (not an EU member but in Schengen) has special arrangements with New Zealand, allowing longer stays for Kiwi citizens. Now, if I may add, I have also discovered several ‘success extension stories’ in other Schengen countries using the methods below, which are both worth a shot. But again, be aware that some countries may accept this while some others may not: Register as legal partners – if you have a significant other who is a national of one of the Schengen countries, it’s possible to come into the country with a tourist visa and then immediately jumpstart a live-in or cohabitation agreement (NOT marriage) to be able to remain in the country longer, even after the expiry of your tourist visa. Customarily, applications like this only become successful if you can prove that you’re in a relationship for at least 2 years or have lived together for at least 1 year. (Countries that I know of that can take on these kinds of applications are Belgium and the Netherlands.) Partner with an NGO or Tourism Board – if you can find an NGO, tourism board, or organization that can vouch for you, it’s possible to gain an easy extension. Some travel bloggers have been able to use this method as they offer their skills of writing or blog ‘reach’ to the appropriate institutions. This is definitely worth your while, especially if a certain migration office is open to other types of visa applications (i.e., I’ve read an account of someone who’s able to do this in Romania). Looking for more travel tips for Europe? Check out my other detailed Europe travel guides! READ NOW • • • Overall I hope this guide on how to stay in Europe longer helped shed some light on the 90-day limit rule in the Schengen countries; plus, I certainly hope that in one way or another, I helped give you an idea of how you can prolong your European journey without breaking the law! Should you ever have any other tips in mind that should be included in this ‘How to Stay in Europe Longer‘ guide, please feel free to leave a comment below. And if there are any corrections, do kindly let me know of that too! Before I end this post, I leave you with the following general reminders: Do your own research. I cannot stress this enough. Take my advice on how to stay in Europe longer with a grain of salt. Besides, the information that I post here is based on my own findings and experiences, so it’s your responsibility to ensure that the facts that I have here are still up-to-date or true at the time that you are reading this article. I say this because I certainly don’t want you to waste your money or time when you suddenly find out that certain conditions have changed, been eradicated, etc. Check migration rules. Be well-informed of the rules that apply to you depending on your nationality or passport. Know your limits and your benefits. Speaking of a passport, always ensure that it is NOT expiring anytime soon. Ultimately, I hope that this whole article on how to stay in Europe longer can also be a way for you to connect to others who have had successful experiences of staying longer in the Schengen Area; therefore, do feel free to post your questions in the comments section below. However, as I said, be reminded that I am NOT an embassy officer nor a migration agent. Any queries relating to such things should be directed to your local embassy or migration board, and NOT to me. Thank you and good luck! The post How to Stay in Europe Longer Than 90 Days — Including the Schengen Countries: The Ultimate Guide (2025) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Find out the BEST things to do in Boracay, one of the world's top island destinations famed for its sandy white beaches!

The post Top Fun Things to Do in Boracay, Philippines (Best Activities & Attractions) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Whenever someone thinks of a vacation trip in the Philippines, the first destination that most likely comes to mind is Boracay — which comes as no surprise! After all, it’s a dreamy destination that’s known worldwide for its white-sand beaches. (Things to Do in Boracay) Of course, it helps to note that there are a LOT of other islands in my home country that are not only equally beautiful but are also recently gaining more recognition (e.g. Siargao, Batanes, and more!). Nevertheless, the fame of Boracay as one of the top islands in Asia remains. It truly holds an unmistakable natural magnificence that various international travel agencies and publications have come to acknowledge by showering Boracay with various awards and accolades over the years. As a result, tourists rush to book flights to this pristine island not only during the Philippine summer but in the other months of the year too! Looking for the best places to stay on the island? From cheap hotels to luxurious accommodations, here are the best hotels in Boracay! READ NOW It’s true that given the continued rise of Boracay’s popularity, there have been several travelers who have been put off by it, saying that it was too touristy. I have actually first landed on this island at a time when it had already been in such a state — but I still had a really, really, great time! It made me realize that for as long as you know what to expect, what to do, when to go, and where to go, you’ll end up enjoying the utmost beauty of Boracay no matter the crowds; so I say, go and give it a try! As of 2018, the government did an extensive natural and urban “facelift” of Boracay; so as a visitor, you’ll get to enjoy a better scene! Before I discuss the top things to do in Boracay, let me share with you some essential travel tips. Table of Contents Toggle Boracay Travel Guide » Quick Travel Planning » Best Time to Visit Boracay » Getting in to Boracay Island » COVID-19 Travel Requirements » Visa for The Philippines » Where to Stay (Boracay Accommodations) » Philippine Currency » Cost of Travel in the Philippines » How to Get Around Boracay » Safety in the Philippines » Helpful Filipino Phrases Top Things to Do in Boracay 1. Go island & beach-hopping to enjoy the island’s white beaches and turquoise waters! » New Boracay Rules » COVID Protocols 2. Join the island’s lively nightlife and events 3. Indulge yourself in the local food 4. Try out the various water sports and activities! 5. Enjoy the sunrise and sunset BONUS: Other Best Things to Do in Boracay FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Boracay Travel Guide Photo by: Shutterstock » Quick Travel Planning Top tours & experiences Find best flights to Boracay Visa requirements Best places to stay Travel insurance Stay connected TIP: It’s a good idea to crosscheck the prices with other popular travel insurance providers like World Nomads and HeyMondo (as my reader, you get 5% off)! However, take note that a travel insurance’s affordability typically means lesser coverage; so please always ensure that you read the fine print in order to decipher which travel insurance company is the right fit for you and your trip! – – – » Best Time to Visit Boracay It is best to visit Boracay during the dry season (November to May, commonly called ‘Amihan’). The White Beach will be very calm so it’s suitable for swimming, whereas, on the other side of the island, strong winds pass by making it suitable for activities like kite surfing or windsurfing. It’s still okay to visit during the wet or rainy season (June to October called ‘Habagat’) because travel costs will also be a LOT cheaper. Most days you’ll still get to enjoy the sun too; but of course, there is also the risk of typhoons. With regard to “tourist seasons” take note of the following… Low Season: June to November (June being the wettest month) High Season: November to May, with the following peak seasons (that usually cover big Philippine holidays) Christmas & New Year Chinese New Year (first half of February) Easter (late March and up to April) DRY: Nov to May WET: June to Oct – – – » Getting in to Boracay Island You can take a ferry to Boracay (e.g. from Batangas Port) — but the best way to reach Boracay is to ride an airplane! There are various airlines that you can choose from Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, or SEAIR among many others. Starting points can be from Manila, Clark/Angeles City, or Cebu. The best way to scan through all of these airlines and find the best flight deals is to use Skyscanner. 
 There are two (2) airports located near Boracay and you can choose from either of the following… NOTE: Because of the pandemic, Caticlan Airport is currently the only allowed point of entry for leisure travelers, whereas Kalibo is for overseas Filipino workers (ROFWs), locally stranded individuals (LSIs), and authorized persons outside of residence (APORs). Caticlan or Godofredo P. Ramos Airport (IATA: MPH) PROS: It’s the fastest connection to Boracay. After landing, you just need to reach the Caticlan Jetty Port which is a 3-minute tricycle ride away (₱50) or a 10-minute walk. From this port, you just need to board another boat (total cost of Php 200 or $4+) that will take you to Boracay in just 15 minutes. For a hassle-free experience, book a shared transfer or a premium private transfer online. Check with your hotel because they might be offering free transfers, if not a transfer that is at a cheaper rate. CONS: Airfare is more expensive than that of Kalibo and since the airport size is small, it is limited to small aircraft only, often resulting in more flight disruption problems due to sunset flight limitations and weather sensitivity conditions. . Kalibo International Airport (IATA: KLO) PROS: Airfare is cheaper and larger aircraft can land here because the airport is bigger (it’s an international airport). It helps to mention that it’s usually in this route that promo fares are typically applied so watch out for those! For a hassle-free experience, book a shared transfer or a premium private transfer online. Check with your hotel because they might be offering free transfers, if not a transfer that is at a cheaper rate. CONS: Travel time to Caticlan takes a while. After landing, you need to take either a bus or a van in order to get to Caticlan Jetty Port which is 1.5 to 2 hours away. After arriving at the port, you will still have to take the 15-minute boat ride to Boracay Island. – – – » COVID-19 Travel Requirements In order to enter Boracay, visitors should secure the following. “Quick Response” (QR) Code via the Online Health Declaration Card (OHDC) that can be accessed at https://www.touristboracy.com/ or https://aklan.gov.ph. Proof of identification which can be your passport or any other government-issued ID. Travel details of your trip A copy of a confirmed booking slip/form from a DOT – Accredited Boracay Island accommodation/establishment. You can get this from Agoda or Booking.com Round Trip flight/travel details (only Caticlan Airport can be used by those traveling via air) Proof of vaccination Fully Vaccinated: you can provide ANY of the following VaxCertPH Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate with full vaccination status Locally-issued vaccination card/ID with full vaccination status and verifiable QR code or with contact details of the vaccination center World Health Organization International Certificates or Vaccination Card/ID/Certificate issued abroad Unvaccinated: Negative RT-PCR result certificate taken from any DOH-accredited laboratories within 72 hours to date of travel For minors below 12 years old, please accomplish the certificate of undertaking traveling with minors template at https://aklan.gov.ph/ – – – » Visa for The Philippines If you’re NOT a citizen of any of the Philippines’ exempted countries, you are then required to avail of a visa beforehand. (Most nationalities are granted 30-days in the country, visa-free). Check full visa requirements here as per your nationality. – – – » Where to Stay (Boracay Accommodations) To search for the best hotel accommodation in Boracay at the best prices, I suggest cross-checking hotel prices between Agoda and Booking.com. But if you’re rather interested in renting comfortable houses or apartments, you should search through AirBnB. For the ultimate list of cheap hostels and luxury accommodations, check out this list of the best hotels in Boracay. – – – » Philippine Currency Philippine peso (PHP / ₱) wherein USD $1~ or €0.85~ is equal to about Php48~. In the event that you want to exchange your money for PHP, I highly advise that you do NOT exchange your money at the airport since the rates there are not competitive. How to best exchange your currency? Either exchange it at a bank or at a money exchanger in your home country or in any city center in the Philippines. Better yet, just withdraw from an ATM with your debit/credit card — however, you must make one big withdrawal to minimize fees with your bank. Speaking of cards, many Philippines establishments accept credit cards but it’s always advisable to have cash on hand because a lot of smaller shops do not accept cards. – – – » Cost of Travel in the Philippines Much like any other country in Southeast Asia, the cost of travel in the Philippines is quite low compared to other parts of the globe such as Europe. To give you an idea, you should expect to travel to the Philippines with an average daily cost of about USD $20~ (Php 1,000~) per person on a budget, or at least $50~ (Php 2,500~) if you want to experience more comfort on activities, tours, hotels, and more. (Values below show low budget to medium budget ranges only). Hotels: $7 to $20 USD / day Food: $5 to $15 USD / day Fun: $5 to $13 USD / day Transport: US$7 on average per taxi ride As for Boracay Island itself, contrary to popular belief, it is NOT expensive to stay on the island because there are a lot of hotels and inns that won’t break your travel budget. There are even various restaurants scattered around the island that can offer you hearty yet ridiculously affordable meals; so it can surely be a backpacker’s haven! – – – » How to Get Around Boracay Boracay is a small island and if you only need to go around White Beach, you can do so on foot. Otherwise, the primary mode of transportation is motorized tricycles. By tricycle. There are two kinds, the smaller tricycles and the e-trikes (a bit bigger in size). Be wary of tricycle drivers who try to rip you off. The standard rate for short distances (e.g. from D’Mall to Station 3, or from Station 3 to Station 1) should only cost you ₱20 per passenger if you are going to ride a tricycle that is shared with others. The most they should charge you (let’s say, you want to go to Puka Beach) is ₱80 per passenger. If hailing a chartered tricycle (you and your companions are the only ones riding it, maximum of 5 persons), the fares will start at ₱100 and can go up to ₱250 depending on the distance. (Rest assured, there are often big tarpaulins spread across Boracay that show the standard tricycle or e-trike fare). Drivers often charge higher prices in the evenings. Tricycles that often idle around near hotels and key locations waiting for passengers may charge you ₱100 to ₱200 even if you are alone. By motorcycle. Renting a motorcycle or scooter is the best way to go if you want the flexibility of going around the island by yourself (though personally, I think that riding a tricycle is more economical). Most scooters offered are automatic and semi-manual, and rates can start at ₱1,000 per day depending on the brand. If you are ever in doubt, just use Google Maps! – – – » Safety in the Philippines Traveling around the Philippines is relatively safe — take it from me, a local! You just need to exercise the same ‘street smarts’ or caution that you’ve practiced in your home country and you’ll be fine. In fact, it becomes safer when you stay on small islands like Boracay. But of course, this doesn’t mean that petty theft doesn’t happen, because there are. You just have to be cautious of your belongings at all times. Nevertheless, Filipinos are one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet, so solo travelers don’t have much to worry about in this amazing country! HOW TO: Find the right travel insurance for you – – – » Helpful Filipino Phrases Filipino is the national official language of the Philippines — and so is English! Because of this, tourists often don’t have a hard time when speaking to locals. However, there could be some Filipinos who will find it hard to converse with you in English especially when you venture out to places that are outside of the bigger cities; so, it doesn’t hurt to learn a Filipino/Tagalog phrase or two. RELATED READ: Best translation apps for travel How are you (informal): Kumusta ka? (koo-MOOS-tah kah?) How are you (formal): Kumusta po kayo? (koo-moos-TAH poh kah-YOH?) Thank you (informal): Salamat (sah-LAH-maht) Thank you (formal): Salamat po (sah-LAH-maht poh) Yes (informal): Oo (OH oh) Yes (formal): Opo (OH-poh) No (informal): Hindi (HEEN-dee) No (formal): Hindi po (HEEN-dee poh) Goodbye: Paalam (pah AH-lahm) I’m sorry: Paumanhin (pah oo-MAHN-heen) or Patawad (pah-TAH-wad) Is there someone here who speaks English?: Meron ba ditong marunong mag-Ingles? (MEH-rohn bah DEE-tohng mah-ROO-nohng mahg-een-GLEHS?) Help!: Saklolo! (sahk-loh-LOH!) or Tulong! (too-LOHNG) Cheers!: Tagay! (Ta-guy!) Best Tours in Boracay? Come and check out this list of the top activities to do in Boracay which features the best things to do and tours on the island and more! READ NOW • • • Top Things to Do in Boracay 1. Go island & beach-hopping to enjoy the island’s white beaches and turquoise waters! Photo by: Shutterstock MY TOP TIP? Don’t confine yourself in the ‘White Beach’ area. The white beach may be the center of it all — a 4-kilometer-long postcard-perfect stretch that is divided into three stations (Station 1, Station 2, and Station 3). Station 1: Northernmost area that has the widest beachfront. Naturally, this is where all the premium hotels are found. Station 2: This is regarded as the commercial center because you will find most of the establishments here (restaurants, clubs, shops, etc.). Because of this, the station is often the most crowded of the 3. Station 3: Quieter than the rest as it is far from most of the key spots, and it’s also the least developed. You will find a lot of hostels here. » New Boracay Rules NOTE: After the 2018 cleanup, here are the new rules that must be followed by all visitors. Eating and drinking on the beach are NO longer allowed. Pets and single-use plastics are also banned on the beach. A bit of an absurd rule but there should be NO building of sandcastles or sand structures on the beach (you need an official’s approval to do this). » COVID Protocols Tourists should have a copy of their Tourist QR code at all times as it is vital for contact tracing whenever you enter establishments, etc. Wear a mask and face shield at all times. Only 2 passengers are allowed in tricycles and a maximum of 4 on e-trikes. Areas on the beach are marked with red and yellow flags to signal places that you can swim in or note. Swimming is also only allowed from 6AM to 6PM. Establishments are closed by 11PM and any lingering tourists will be asked to return to their accommodations. * * * * * Given that White Beach is the center of the island, expect many people to be there; fortunately, however, there are other white sand beaches in Boracay that you can explore and are less packed. Of course, White Beach holds that iconic splendor that you’ve seen in photos but if you’re looking for more tranquility, you can still achieve it in the rest of the island. You see, the great thing about Boracay is that there are a lot of other areas that you can go to, and they are equally picturesque as that of the prominent White Beach. And the best thing about it? There are 13 of them and they are not too far away from one another because Boracay is a small island that is only approximately 7 kilometers long. ★ Puka Shell Beach Named after ‘Puka‘ shells (shells of cone snails that are bead-like objects that are normally used in making beach anklets, bracelets, and necklaces) this beach is the next crowd favorite in Boracay. Truth be told, its simple surroundings are similar to that of White Beach back when it wasn’t so cramped yet. Simply catch a ride with a tricycle and you’re bound to reach this place is just 20 minutes from White Beach. . ★ Ilig-iligan Beach With the same white sand feature, this is a great spot for snorkeling and it has some scenic limestone islets that you can explore. There are two of these islets: one is deep and the other, shallow. To reach this beach, there are two ways: either join an island-hopping trip that has a stopover here or just simply walk inland from the White Beach. . Lapus-Lapus Beach To the best of my knowledge, this beautiful stretch is privately owned by the Fairways & Bluewater Newcoast Resort, and it is only open to its guests. It really has that feel of seclusion to it, so if you want to visit this part, you have to book with the resort. . ★ Bulabog Beach If you’re into beach sports like kiteboarding, parasailing, and windsurfing, this is the beach for you! You will instantly feel the vibrant vibe due to these adrenaline-pumped water activities done by locals and tourists alike, so if you’re for this kind of thing, make sure to book a hotel on this part of the island. . Lagutan Beach This is actually one of the places where boats dock in Boracay. Though it may not be as scenic as the others, photographers may find the charm of this place frame-worthy. . Tulubhan Beach There are some local villages that live by this beach and they typically go to the sea to look for seafood like fish, urchins, and more. With decent resorts here and there, Tulubhan can be a nice place to stay if you’re looking for a quiet getaway. . ★ Tambisaan Beach Tambisaan is popular for its coral gardens and reefs that are just near the shore. For this, you can simply bring your gear with you and then take your own sweet time snorkeling in these waters. . ★ Crocodile Beach This is a small nearby island in the southeast part of Boracay. Often a trip that comes along in prearranged tours, it’s a favorite destination for underwater activities given the abundant and unspoiled marine life in the area. What’s more, there are also small canyons where you can see some sea snakes. . Manoc-Manoc Beach A lot of locals play here so it can be a bit crowded, but despite the low-key attractiveness of the landscape, it can be a quaint change of scene. . Cagban Beach Much like Lagutan Beach, this is one of the boat docks on the island (it’s actually the main port), but somewhere near this area, you can find private spots to relax in under the sun. . ★ Diniwid Beach This is close to White Beach’s Station 1 and it is full of backpacker-friendly resorts. What I like about this place (that is only 200m long) are the stunning cliffside views! To add, there is also a crowd favorite here called Spider House and it is a great place to hang out. Otherwise, you can lounge in the water or lie down on a floating wooden piece that they have set up. . Balinghai Beach Yet another small private beach but this time, owned by Balinghai Resort and it has a lovely view. Unlike Lapus-Lapus, they permit non-resort guests as long as you pay the entrance fee (wherein the value is consumable in food from the restaurant). With this in mind, take advantage of the scenery by eating your meals by the beach! Just take note that during high tide, the beach is almost entirely submerged so time your visit during low tide. . ★ Punta Bunga & Banyugan Beach An additional private beach of the island, this piece of land is owned by the big chain: Shangri-La Resorts. I have to say that this part of the beach is very idyllic (hence the reason why Shangri-La bought it) and since it’s only open to in-house guests of the resort if you have the budget, this is a great place to book yourself into. *★ = Favorites TIP: There are some smaller islands near Boracay like Crocodile Island, Magic Island, and Crystal Cove that you can explore with this island-hopping tour for a hassle-free experience! • • • 2. Join the island’s lively nightlife and events View this post on Instagram A post shared by ᴘᴀʀᴀᴡ ʙᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴄʟᴜʙ (@paraw.beachclub) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Haqqy Boracay PubCrawl (@pubcrawlph) I personally think that if you were to ever ask Filipinos why they visit Boracay, their answer would be because of two things: (1) the beach and (2) the nightlife. Actually, a huge chunk of the younger population LOVE to go to Boracay for the nightlife scene! Indeed, when I was still in university, every vacation time (around March to April), a lot of my friends would suggest going to Boracay as it was also in those times that the bars and clubs on the island would typically start to do themed parties (think foam party, neon party, etc. etc.). NOTE: The country, in general, has cheap alcohol so if you’re a foreigner (who holds a stronger currency) take advantage of this! In fact, there are ‘happy hours’ in each and every bar in Boracay. So during off-peak times, most drinks will be at half price. If you want to know the places for partying with the right vibrant crowd, consider the most popular bars and clubs below for your things to do in Boracay: Exit Bar One of the well-known bars in Boracay. Back when I was visiting the island, my friends and I spent a good amount of our time here especially since we enjoyed the kind of music that they were playing. . Coco Bar Famous for its neon-lit bar, it’s a vibrant place to be in! Come and enjoy your night here with their signature drinks while playing a game of Jenga. . Guilly’s Island This is where most of the people go for parties, and it has that gung-ho kind of vibe going on. Typically open from 5PM to 4AM, you can enjoy happy hour from 5PM to 9PM. . Epic With a prime location in Station 2 near D’Mall, Epic is one of the classier places for partying with your friends. Come morning though, it’s your typical restaurant spot. (Happy hour starts from 12PM to 10PM). . ★ Cocomangas Shooters Bar Famous for its ’15 Shots’ challenge, one can say that they have profoundly ‘conquered’ Boracay if they managed to win this ordeal. As the name goes, you have to chug down 15 shots consecutively and if you can still manage to stand after drinking it all, you will become a part of the ‘legends‘: you’ll get a shirt stating your achievement, your name will be engraved on the ‘golden’ wall, and then you will be counted to the scoring table that is grouped per country. (Apparently, Filipinos are winning so far!) Given this kind of challenge, Cocomangas can be such a fun and lively place to be! . Club Paraw A favorite of both locals and tourists, you will enjoy a bigger dance floor in this venue. Make sure that you take advantage of happy hour from 4PM to 9PM. . ★ Boracay Pub Crawl If you ever find yourself traveling to Boracay alone, don’t fret! The island is a great place to meet locals and fellow travelers (even expats!), and the best way to start a networking spree? By joining the famous Boracay Pub Crawl! For a low price of only Php 990 ($20~) you will get to ‘hop’ around 5 bars + clubs, have free drinks, get discounted drinks, gain a free iconic shirt + shooter glass, and experience fun get-to-know games with the other group participants all night long! (To book your trip, go online here). . Manic Monkey Crew Why not try a yacht party if you want to escape the crowded beach bars? This crew organizes bi-weekly parties on a 44-feet catamaran sailing yacht as they sail to key locations around Boracay. In just a day, you can enjoy a DJ on board, all-you-can-drink cocktails/beer, BBQ feasts, cliff jumping, snorkeling, and a sunset cruise! *★ = Favorite Of course, there are TONS of other bars and restaurants in Boracay, and as much as I want to list them all, I chose to merely pick the most known ones above. Otherwise, if you’re more into a low-key kind of night, pick a restaurant by the beach and enjoy a show of fire dancers! NOTE: As of 2018, fire dancing on the beach is no longer allowed. Photo by: Shutterstock If you rather want to know the best time for visiting Boracay in order to fully enjoy the peak of the island’s nightlife, that would be during: “LaBoracay” (Month of May) From the words ‘Labor Day’ and ‘Boracay’, Laboracay is the biggest summer party celebration of the island! It’s not an official event though, but it’s a term that is typically used by Filipinos to commemorate the series of big events that commonly happen during this period. It’s not only the locals who come here for LaBoracay but even foreign and local celebrities who are ready to party hard! (From DJs, to actors, etc.). If you want to know the complete list of parties every year, you can check this site. Holy Week Christmas & New Year OTHER TIPS: If you want some novel or quirky fun, check out this theatrical variety show. Otherwise, if you’re a fan of sports, the ‘Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival’ and ‘International Beach Volleyball Tournament‘ are held during the month of May (1st half). Sometime along this same month, the annual ‘Dragon Boat Racing‘ affair of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation is also held. . Come January (2nd half), water sports take place under the event name ‘Boracay International Funboard Cup‘. And since it’s the beach, there is a Frisbee tournament that is done on the White Beach during July (called ‘Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate’). • • • 3. Indulge yourself in the local food Photo by: Shutterstock One of the things that you have to understand about Boracay is that if you are not well-informed, you could find all these typical western restaurants that hold no personality of the island’s cuisine. This is not to say that these western restaurants are no good — because they are — but if you really want to enjoy authentic Filipino fare and dishes, follow my advice and tips: Go to D’Talipapa. Because a beach trip is NOT complete without seafood! For sure there are a lot of seafood restaurants in White Beach, for example, but if you want the true-blue way of eating like a local, drop by Station 2 to find D’Talipapa, a wet market that sells fresh seafood ingredients! Once you are done shopping for the food that you would like to eat, simply go to one of the nearby restaurants and have them cook it for you. (They have a wide range of cooking styles that you can choose from such as garlic butter, etc.) . Go to Filipino Restaurants and try local Philippines food! Other than gaining the chance to experience our hearty dishes, these are typically priced cheap too so it’s quite a steal (starting at Php 50 or $1+). For my favorites, try Smoke Resto at D’Mall, Plato D Boracay (also) at D’Mall, Mesa at Station 2, or Boracay Kitchen at Station 1. . Try the street food. To start, taste the local BBQ sticks, pork fat crackers (chicharon), balut (famous fertilized egg), and of course the Chorizo Burger! This is a favorite snack on this island and it’s basically a sweeter version of grilled chorizo with sweet sauce in a bun… BUT the taste is something that everyone and you would go gaga for! (If you’re not a fan of sweet meat then this might not work for you, but it’s still worth a try). . Take advantage of the fresh local fruits. What else but mangoes?! I promise you, we might just have the best mangoes you’ll ever taste in your whole life! Other than this, indulge yourself with coconut juice that is freshly picked. And while we’re on the topic of drinks, take your time in enjoying all the kinds of fresh juice mixes that every establishment serves. If you want to try another favorite, go to Jonah’s Fruit Shake & Snack Bar at Station 1 because the drinks here are absolutely addictive! Apart from being cheap, they are even served in such big quantities, so it’s going to be worth your money. TIP: For big groups, order a ‘boodle fight’ spread wherein copious amounts of food is spread on the table (usually on top of a banana leaf). Filipinos also usually practice ‘kamayan’ for this in which they eat with their hands. . WESTERN DISHES: Check out Station X, Aria at D’Mall for Italian cuisine, Bite Club at Station 2 for burgers, Tres Amigos at D’Mall for Mexican fare, Cafe Marujua for coffee, and Zuzuni at Station 1 for desserts • • • 4. Try out the various water sports and activities! Photo by: Shutterstock Boracay can hold your attention for a looooong while given the array of activities that you can do. Sure, it may be a small island but it sure packs a LOT of fun! Aside from the island-hopping tour activity that I have already suggested back at point #1, also try the water activities below to get the most out of your summer vacation. ★ Fly Fish Ride I absolutely recommend this if you want to have a wild ride with your friends! Basically, you will be riding this HUGE inflatable that’s like a ‘flying fish’. It will be pulled by a speedboat that will abuse its power and speed, and you have to hang on to it (for dear life) as it tries to spin you around at the sea! You can even try to put a challenge among your friends, like who will fall off the most for example! If I can impart another piece of advice, let your competitiveness slide for a bit, and then let yourself get thrown off the ‘fly fish’. Why? Because it’s part of the fun! (A milder alternative for this riding a banana boat). . Snorkeling or Scuba Diving Boracay is not only beautiful above water but underwater too! You won’t see much of a ‘view’ in the shallow waters of White Beach but your snorkeling gear will be put to good use on the other beaches like Ilig-Iligan or Tambisaan. (If you want the full-blown snorkeling experience, you should head to Batangas or Palawan — which are other destinations in the Philippines). If you’re more into scuba diving, you will see more coral reefs in the deeper parts of the Boracay ocean. There are a lot of rental shops around Boracay and PADI-certified divers will only have to pay Php 1,600 ($35+) while beginners can take an introductory course for just Php 3,000 ($50+) only. Beginner diver? Book online for an introductory course. Wanna take the PADI course? Take this licensing course by booking online. . Marine Walk This is an activity that lets you walk on the seabed as you wear a 30kg helmet to keep you down on the floor. This package that is customarily priced at Php 900 ($20+) comes with free compilations of your underwater photos + videos as well as a few pieces of bread that you can feed to the fishes while you’re submerged. (To book this marine walk or helmet diving experience, reserve online.) . ★ Cliff Diving I never leave Boracay without doing a cliff diving spree on the island and I suggest that you do the same! If you want the ultimate experience, I highly recommend signing up for the tour in Ariel’s Point. Priced at Php 2,800 ($50+) per person, it’s a deal with many ‘perks’. Apart from enjoying this special spot’s cliff diving platforms (with heights of 3 meters, 5 meters, 6 meters, 7 meters, and 13 meters) this cost lets you enjoy a roundtrip boat ride, unlimited drinks, BBQ lunch buffet, afternoon snacks, and full use of Ariel Point’s other services (canoes, kayaks, snorkeling gear, and floating raft). Ain’t that a steal?! . Photo by: Shutterstock ‘Mermaiding’ A new ‘thing’ that seemed to have popped up recently… I haven’t tried this for myself but it seems like it’s spearheaded by the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy. What happens is that you will be joining a ‘mermaid swimming’ course under a professional teacher as you wear a stretchable fabric mermaid tail. You can either get a package where you learn how to swim with your fins or just take photos with it (or both!). I don’t think this is my cup of tea but it could be yours. Besides, the exercise AND the photos that come with it are interesting perks! . ★ Paraw Sailing Paraw is a sailboat with two outriggers to keep it afloat on the sea. This is a GREAT way to enjoy the waves and the view of Boracay with your friends especially since it’s also quite affordable. If I may add a tip, I suggest that you go sailing in a paraw at a time before or during sunset! (To book, reserve online here.) . Zorb and Zipline These are located in certain parts of the island and it’s one of those newer activities that have been on the rise for tourists lately. . ATV Ride Explore Boracay in a swanky ATV! Most of these trips go to Mt. Luho which is the highest peak on the island so it’s a chance for you to get an aerial-like view of it all as a whole. Renting these ATVs is said to cost Php 1,000 ($22+) per person. . ★Other Water Activities Banana Boat Jetski Paddle Board (SUP) Parasailing River Tubing UFO Wakeboarding *★ = Favorites • • • 5. Enjoy the sunrise and sunset Photo by: Shutterstock Ask anyone who has been to this island and they will surely tell you about Boracay’s breathtaking and extraordinary sunsets! It’s a view that will definitely mark its spot in your heart and mind, that up to this day, I myself can still picture the scenes in my mind and it makes me swell with happiness… with a tinge of melancholy (because I miss it a lot!) Feel free to pick your spot on any of the Boracay beaches to watch the sunsets (typically between 5 to 6PM), but I do highly recommend the view by the White Beach for this since the silhouette of the passing boats (or paraws) by the horizon perfectly adds to this spectacular display. …But of course, don’t forget about the sunrise too! It is equally beautiful and it’s always a wonderful thing to welcome the new day by the beach in this way. So enjoy and savor this experience! TIP: Make the most of the sunset views by booking any of the following: – Chartered Paraw Sailing – Sunset Cruise Experience • • • BONUS: Other Best Things to Do in Boracay Avail of massage services. The stretch of White Beach is full of massage shops that are relatively cheap and it’s the perfect day-ender for you after all the arduous activities that you have been through. For this, check out Bella Isla. . Try a “kawa” relaxation treatment. For a more traditional experience, join this day tour wherein after you do white water rafting, visit the Bugtong Bato Falls and some other exciting stops, you’ll get to be pampered in a “kawa” spa. . Get a henna tattoo. If you’re not into the real permanent tattoos but still into the idea of marking your body with some temporary ink, then a henna tattoo is the option for you! You will see a lot of beach-goers who have these marks on their body and if you find it cool enough, join the craze and display that art on your body. The beach is speckled with small stands of these henna artists so just take your pick, choose a design, and then flaunt it all for the rest of your stay. Some of these shops also offer a braiding service wherein they will style your hair in cornrows. . Do a Go-Kart experience with friends. Enjoy an exhilarating Go-Kart activity at Boracay Paradise with your family and/or family. Round trip service transfers are even provided for your convenience — to book your spots, go here. . Marvel at professionally-made sandcastles or make one of your own. There was a time when White Beach had lots of magnificent sand art displayed every day, however, the local government decided to minimize this activity for some reason. Anyhow, this practice is still there so just explore the length of White Beach and you’re bound to see one; or better yet, make your own! UPDATE AS OF 2018: This is NO longer allowed. . Do beach sports with your friends. There are shops that can rent you some but I suggest that you just bring your own volleyball, frisbee, or soccer ball to play with your friends. . Go for a night swim. Do you want to have the sea all to yourself? Then why not a night swim — try it at least once! . Try a unique helicopter flight above Boracay – Get a different perspective of the beauty of Boracay with this exhilarating helicopter ride. Book your spot now online! • • • FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Which is the best station area on Boracay’s White Beach? Station 1 is said to have the best and finest stretch of white sand on the entire island; given this fact, most of the luxury hotels and resorts are found there. Meanwhile, Station 2 is the busiest,, especially because most of the shops and restaurants are concentrated there. As for Station 3, it’s a quiet area like Station 1 where you will find most of the cheaper accommodations such as hostels, etc. When is the best time to visit Boracay Island? It is best to visit Boracay during the dry season (November to May, commonly called ‘Amihan’). The White Beach will be very calm so it’s suitable for swimming, whereas, on the other side of the island, strong winds pass by making it suitable for activities like kite surfing or windsurfing. When is the rainy season in Boracay? The wet or rainy season is from June to October (called ‘Habagat’). It’s still ideal to visit the island during these months because travel costs will be a LOT cheaper. Most days you’ll still get to enjoy the sun too; but of course, there is also the risk of rain and typhoons. Which months draw in huge tourist crowds in Boracay? When it comes to tourist seasons, low season is from June to November (June being the wettest month). The high season is from November to May, with the following peak seasons (that usually cover big Philippine holidays) such as Christmas & New Year, Chinese New Year (first half of February), and Easter (late March and up to April, usually when schools are also on vacation break). • • • Overall It should be apparent by now that Boracay is packed with a lot of activities and attractions that can attract every kind of traveler out there. So what are you waiting for…? Start planning your perfect summer escapade to Boracay — go and have the BEST time of your life! IMPORTANT NOTE: Like any responsible tourist and traveler, PLEASE mind your trash when you party and/or stay in Boracay. Don’t leave anything behind. Remember to dispose of your trash properly and responsibly. There have been rising problems of irresponsible visitors over the years and I hope that you don’t become one of them. We really should respect nature more and continue to do our part in saving the environment. Please, and thank you! The post Top Fun Things to Do in Boracay, Philippines (Best Activities & Attractions) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Transform your long Singapore layover into an exciting adventure with these things to do in or out of Changi Airport within 24 hours!

The post Singapore Layover: Things to Do In & Out of the Airport in 24 Hours or Less appeared first on I am Aileen.

It’s no news that travelers detest long flight stopovers — but, if there is one place that I wouldn’t mind having a transit or long layover in, it would be Singapore! After all, with the country’s relaxed immigration and fast transportation, it’s quick and easy to get out of the airport and into the center in order to witness its vibrant “City in a Garden” expanse that’s brimming with an eclectic mixture of cultures, cuisines, energies, sights, and sounds. (Singapore Layover) …Though if the layover hours won’t make the cut, Singapore Changi Airport in itself is worthy of being a ‘separate destination’ because as one of the largest transportation hubs in Southeast Asia, it has over 4 terminals that houses a wide array of shops, services, theaters, gardens, entertainment centers, and more! Besides, did you know that this is the world’s top-ranked airport for six years running? So if you’ve got a Singapore layover ahead of you, prepare to be utterly awed — and of course, look no further because, with this comprehensive transit guide, I will show you the vast options that you have in order to make the most of your brief stay! RELATED READ: Ultimate List of Top Things to Do in Singapore » Quick Travel Planning Top tours & experiences Find best flights to Singapore Visa requirements Best places to stay Travel insurance Stay connected TIP: It’s a good idea to crosscheck the prices with other popular travel insurance providers like World Nomads and HeyMondo (as my reader, you get 5% off)! However, take note that a travel insurance’s affordability typically means lesser coverage; so please always ensure that you read the fine print in order to decipher which travel insurance company is the right fit for you and your trip! Table of Contents Toggle » Quick Travel Planning Singapore Layover Explore Singapore on your own! Explore Singapore for FREE! Explore Singapore Changi Airport’s wonders! Singapore Travel Guide » Best Time to Visit » Getting in to Singapore » Visa for Singapore » Where to Stay (Singapore Accommodations) » Singapore Currency » Cost of Travel in Singapore » Leaving Luggage at Changi Airport » How to Get Around Singapore » Staying Connected in Singapore » Safety in Singapore » Helpful Singapore Phrases Other Singapore Layover F.A.Q. Singapore Layover To start off, I have sectioned the following Singapore Layover guide into three (3)… Go Outside (DIY): Advisable to follow if you have at least 6 hours of total Singapore layover time. The ‘safest’ is if you have at least 8 hours of a stopover — this is considering traffic during rush hours, etc. Of course, you can also do the suggestions listed under this section if you have lesser hours BUT only if you’re really fast and efficient (…and if you’re willing to take the risk of missing your flight). . Go Outside (FREE Tour): You can only do this outside tour if you have at least 5.5 hours of total layover. This service won’t be given to you if you have less. . Stay Inside (Airport): Obviously, this is best if you don’t have the time to go through immigration and back; hence, it’s ideal if you have 6 hours or less of Singapore layover time — rest assured, there are so many fun things to do inside the airport! IMPORTANT: If you want to GO OUTSIDE, no matter if it’s the DIY or FREE Tour option, you need to have a valid visa to exit the Singapore Changi Airport and clear immigration. Depending on your nationality, you will need a visa to enter Singapore (e.g. if you’re from the Philippines like me, we are issued visas on arrival for stays of up to 30 days). . Take note that one of the requirements for entry into Singapore is to provide proof of onward travel — or basically, proof of a flight ticket back home or to another destination after your stay in Singapore. If flight reservations are enough, you can easily purchase this from OneWayFly for only $16, and then present it to the immigration counter. The following section is in a tabbed format. Simply click the corresponding heading to see its contents. » Go Outside (DIY) » Go Outside (FREE Tour) » Stay Inside (Airport) Explore Singapore on your own! Before you get drawn into the next tab that says the magic word “FREE“, I recommend doing this DIY Singapore layover tour by yourself if you rather want the flexibility to choose the places that you actually want to go to. After all, the free tours offered by Singapore Changi Airport typically don’t give you enough time to explore the city and its stops. This is aside from the fact that they have limited tour time slots. IMPORTANT TIPS: – Much like I’ve already mentioned above, this kind of Singapore layover itinerary is ideal if you have at least 6 hours in between your flights (8 hours being the safest) — this is taking into account traffic, transit, check-in, and immigration times. . – Don’t forget to leave your luggage at the airport. It’s best to leave your carry-on too, as well as any other heavy backpacks because they will be a pain to carry when you explore the city. . – It’s also best that you have all of your flights under the same airline, if not operated by airline partners so that you can have your checked-in luggage go all the way to your destination. (This saves you the hassle of checking in your luggage again after your Singapore layover or stopover). . – To know how to get in and around the city, scroll up and check the “Travel Guide” section below. . – Check out this great-for-value Singapore Pass that will allow you to visit 2, 3, 4, or 5 attractions in Singapore for a discounted package deal! Choose from any of these places: Universal Studios Singapore, Gardens by the Bay Singapore, Singapore Cable Car, Skyhelix Sentosa Singapore, Singapore Flyer ticket, Singapore Zoo, Singapore River Cruise, Big Bus Singapore tour, and many more! The pass has a long validity period of 30 days so it will offer you some flexibility on your schedule. The Fun Top Things to Do in Singapore? Come and check out this list of the top things to do in Singapore which features the best activities and tours in the city and more! (Use code AILEENKLOOK to save 5% off when checking out!) READ NOW Now, I’m NOT telling you to do all of the below activities in one go, because that’s just impossible. Sure, Singapore may be a small mega city but it still holds tons of attractions and activities. So what I suggest instead is that you pick 1 or 2 categories below (colored green, depending on your preference), and then you either do all the activities under it or a few (depending on how long your layover is). ◘◘ The Typical Hotspots Marina Bay Sands: This is an iconic resort complex that faces Marina Bay in Singapore and it features The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Mall, a museum, two large theatres, restaurants, Crystal Pavillions, art-science exhibits, casinos and so much more! SkyPark Observation Deck = Providing breathtaking panoramic views over the city, this observation deck also has the world’s longest elevated swimming pool with a vanishing edge (a.k.a. infinity pool) that’s located 191 meters above the ground. (You can only swim in it though if you’re a guest of the hotel; but still and the same, this is a great spot to be in and you can buy entry tickets through this link). Spectra Light Show = This is an amazing outdoor light and water show that’s displayed along the promenade. The show happens at 8PM and 9PM on Sunday to Thursday, and at 8PM, 9PM and 10PM on Fridays and Saturdays. (If you ask me, it’s better to watch this show from the other side of Marina Bay Sands). Gardens by the Bay: This mystical oasis features more than 500,000 plants and about 18 Avatar-like Supertrees that will take your breath away! To book entrance tickets for this as a part of your Singapore layover, go here. Take note that there are a LOT of attractions here but notable of which are the following… SuperTree Grove: These Avatar-ish trees light up at night and have a music and light show at 7:45PM and 8:45PM daily! It’s even possible to have your dinner inside this SuperTree and feel like a modern Tarzan and Jane (or Jake Sully and Neytiri, in line with the Avatar feel). Cloud Forest: This features the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at 35 meters as well as a scenic mist-filled Treetop and Cloud Walk! Flower Dome: This is the largest glass greenhouse in the world as listed in the 2015 Guinness World Records! OCBC Skyway: Placed 22 meters above the ground, this is an amazing stroll that goes through the Gardens and gives you a great view over the Marina Bay skyline as well. Merlion Park: A landmark that you must NOT miss! Located at One Fullerton, you will find here the iconic Merlion, a mythical creature with a lion’s head and the body of fish — a widely used mascot of Singapore Singapore Flyer: Reaching a height of 40 stories, I recommend riding this Ferris Wheel at night to have an amazing view over the entire Marina Bay. You can also try their signature drinks here such as the famous ‘Singapore Sling’ that dates back over 100 years! Also, unlike typical Ferris Wheel rides, the capsules here are huge. (Book your tickets here). Singapore Botanic Gardens: A 158-year-old tropical garden that is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Singapore’s first!). You will love the fact that entrance here is FREE from 5AM to 12AM (except for the National Orchid Garden – the park’s crown jewel – which is open 8:30AM to 7PM and charges SGD 5). ArtScience Museum: This place is that giant white flower-like building that you see on Marina Bay and it is famous for its varied art and science exhibitions. One of the most popular of which is the Future World exhibition for its impressive light set-ups (in collaboration with teamLab, a renowned Japanese interdisciplinary art collective). Entrance here typically starts from USD $9~ and you can grab discounted rates if you book online. S.E.A. Aquarium: This is said to be the biggest aquarium in the world that features state-of-the-art facilities that let you explore the depths of the oceans and glimpse at several sea creatures. (Book your tickets here). – – – ◘◘ For Shopaholics The Shoppes in Marina Bay Sands: As one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore, this should be on your Singapore layover itinerary if you want to do some luxurious shopping Orchard Road: This is a 2.2-kilometer-long major road in the city that is regarded as a famous shopping street. It holds a lot of fashion favorites, specialist stores, and so much more Haji Lane: Considered a ‘hipster’ neighborhood, you will love the boutique shops in this area (not to mention the impressive wall art). ◘◘ For Nightlife Clarke Quay: This is a historical riverside in the city that is now a hotspot for bars, clubs, and restaurants Orchard Road: After dark, the party animals come out to play at Orchard Road too! Be sure to check out Emerald Hill Road. ◘◘ For Foodies Singapore is passionate about food and you will find some of the best places in the following areas: The Old Airport Road Hawker Centre: This is one of the biggest hawker centers and which a lot of Singaporeans swear by given its long history! You can never go wrong in any of the stalls as you try some of the famous Singapore food items such as chili crab, chicken rice, char kway teow (stir-fried rice cake), lor mee (noodle dish), satay (skewered and grilled meat), and rojak (salad dish) among many others. Kampong Glam: This is a neighborhood in the city that’s filled with watering holes, cafes, and restaurants to fill up your tummy. One of the places you must not miss is Zam Zam in order to try their murtabak (stuffed pancake) that has been famous since 1908. Chinatown: This ethnic enclave is also a place that you must witness, other than its distinct Chinese cultural elements, you should enjoy the area by grabbing a bite at one of the hawker stalls and a drink too in places such as Tea Chapter. Don’t forget to buy some Chinese souvenirs! (Want a guided tour? Reserve your spot online now!) Little India: As the name suggests, this is the center of the Indian community in Singapore. While here, head over to Serangoon Road to enjoy the atmosphere, and don’t forget to try fish head curry! Singapore Cable Car and Sky Dinner: If you’re still in the city during nighttime, I suggest riding the Cable Car Sky Network to soar above the city’s views and then have a romantic dinner. (Book this experience here). Wondering what Singapore food or dishes that you must absolutely try? Check out this blog post to find out: Top Singapore Food Dishes to Try & Where – – – ◘◘ For Out-of-the-City Places Pulau Ubin: If you’ve got the time during your Singapore layover, go ride a bumboat to reach Pulau Ubin, a nearby island that is famous for its wildlife, cycle trails, and footpaths. Truth be told, this might just be the last real ‘kampung’ (village) in Singapore and you will love its unspoiled and rustic charm. MacRitchie Nature Trail: This is a gateway to the city’s natural reserves and it is a well-known spot for nature lovers and exercise enthusiasts. One of the things you must try here is their Treetop Walks, a 250-meter aerial suspension bridge that spans the two highest points within MacRitchie. (Nearest train station: Marymount). ◘◘ For Families Sentosa Island: Not only for the kids but also for the ‘kids-at-heart’, this island resort off the southern coast is a leisure place filled with fun and recreation! (Nearby train station: Harbourfront). Here are just some of the many things you can do here… Universal Studios Theme Park = Go beyond the world of cinematic entertainment to enjoy the seven themed lands here in Singapore’s very own Universal Studios! (Book your tickets here.) Skyline Luge: Ride this fun half-go-kart and half-toboggan-like sled through two different trails. This is the only Asian site of New Zealand’s famous luge activity. (Book your tickets here.) Resorts World Adventure Water Cove: Escape the summer heat and visit this must-see attraction in Resorts World! Your young ones will love the Riptide Rocket and Rainbow Reef! (Book your tickets here.) Singapore Zoo: Occupying 28 hectares of land within the city’s heavily forested area, this zoo has an “open concept” which means that you and your kids will get to closely experience the wonders of nature given that the animals here roam freely in their natural habitats. (Book your tickets here). Night Safari: This is the best way to see the world’s nocturnal animals. As a unique night safari experience and the world’s first nocturnal zoo, you can also board a tram that goes through the 86-acre rainforest! Don’t miss out on this unique experience! (Book your tickets here). River Safari: Can’t get enough of the wildlife? Make a stop at Asia’s first and only river-themed wildlife park where you can encounter manatees, giant pandas, and other creatures! (Book your tickets here.) ◘◘ NEW: Visit Changi Airport’s Jewel Opened in 2019, Jewel Changi Airport is the newest 10-level glass-dome complex that has an array of attractions not limited to gardens, a hotel, aviation facilities, and 300 retail and dining facilities. Some things that you must NOT miss out on are… HSBC Rain Vortex: The world’s tallest indoor waterfall at 40 meters high and the nucleus of Jewel. Open daily from 8AM to 12:30AM. Canopy Garden: Take a stroll along creative garden trails, glide down giant slides, or hide in bowls of gentle mist! Canopy Bridge: Suspended 23 meters above ground, with a glass bottom at the center portion for a gripping vantage point, the Canopy Bridge is sure to thrill and impress. ManuLife Sky Nets: Experience the thrill of being almost weightless as you leap about this giant net! Stretching 250 meters long, even little ones can safely indulge in free play. At its highest point 8 meters above Canopy Park, you’ll feel like you can reach the sky. Discovery Slides: As the name implies, this is a fun playground but also an amazing work of art! Foggy Bowls: Let your child slip in among puffs of cloud and hide away in gentle bowls of non-toxic mist. Kids will love the chance to play in this dreamy setting and let their imaginations take flight. Shiseido Forest Valley: A lush green sanctuary and retreat in the core of Jewel. Hedge Maze: Have a field day weaving your way through Singapore’s largest hedge maze. Be rewarded with a bird’s eye view of the maze’s intricate windings when you reach the watchtower at its core. NOTE: Jewel is found landside of Changi Airport so you need to clear immigration in order to explore this complex. But if you are short on time, you can still get a glimpse of this amazing building if you take the Skytrain that passes from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 and back — or you can join a FREE tour (just click the second tab above for more details). Anyhow, Jewel is easily connected to the Arrival Hall of Terminal 1. A free airport shuttle bus service also goes between Terminal 4 and Terminal 2. TOP TIP: Check out this great-for-value Singapore Pass that will allow you to visit 2, 3, 4, or 5 attractions in Singapore for a discounted package deal! . Choose from any of these places: Universal Studios Singapore, Gardens by the Bay Singapore, Singapore Cable Car, Skyhelix Sentosa Singapore, Singapore Flyer ticket, Singapore Zoo, Singapore River Cruise, Big Bus Singapore tour, and many more! The pass has a long validity period of 30 days so it will offer you some flexibility in your schedule. • • • Singapore Travel Guide » Best Time to Visit Much like most of Southeast Asia, Singapore is customarily hot and humid all year long but with the following months having pronounced differences: October to January: Wettest months February to April: A bit more pleasant May to June: Hottest months July to September: Most festive season and typically the best months – – – » Getting in to Singapore By air. As Southeast Asia’s (SEA’s) largest aviation hub, the main airport, Changi Airport (SIN), is known to many. In order to find the best flight deals from your point of origin, I recommend browsing through Skyscanner. 
 From the airport, there are a number of ways to reach the city: Airport Shuttle: There are Ground Transport Desks in every terminal with different transport options (limousine, 4-seater, etc.), but if you want to avoid the lines, you can already book online. Private Transfer: Apart from taxis, you can get round-trip transfers from the airport and also book this arrangement online. Train or Bus: The trains (MRT) run between T2 and T3, to Tanah Merah. From there, you have to change trains to get to the city and the western part of Singapore. For buses, they pass through all terminals with fares less than $2 (if you pay in cash, an exact fare is required). You can purchase an SG Tourist Pass to get unlimited travel on MRT and LRT lines as well as buses for a number of days. By land. The country is linked by 2 land crossings to Peninsular Malaysia namely the Causeway and the Second Link. You can drive in your own car, ride a bus or even a taxi (but only specially-licensed ones). Otherwise, there is a shuttle train service from Malaysia through Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railay or KTMB). By sea. Singapore has 5 ferry terminals: HarbourFront (formerly World Trade Centre) near Sentosa, Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Marina Bay, Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on the East Coast, as well as Changi Ferry Terminal and Changi Point Ferry Terminal, both at the eastern side of the island near the airport. These terminals all link to Indonesia’s province of Riau Islands and the Malaysian state of Johor. – – – » Visa for Singapore Most nationalities can enter Singapore without a visa. For more information, you can check this link. But if you’re from the Philippines like me, we are issued visas on arrival for stays of up to 30 days, whether it’s for touristic or business purposes. Meanwhile, passengers of eligible nationalities may also qualify for VFTF (Visa Free Transit Facility) if the prevailing entry requirements are met. Assessment for this entry is determined by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the point of entry. (For more information, please see here). Check full visa requirements here as per your nationality. – – – » Where to Stay (Singapore Accommodations) To search for the best hotel accommodation in Singapore at the best prices, I suggest cross-checking hotel prices between Agoda and Booking.com. But if you’re rather interested in renting comfortable houses or apartments, you should search through AirBnB. – – – » Singapore Currency Singapore dollar (sign: S$; code: SGD) wherein USD$1 is equal to about SGD 1.30~ or Php 48~. In the event that you want to exchange your money for SGD, I highly advise that you do NOT exchange your money at the airport since the rates there are not competitive. How to best exchange your currency? Either exchange it at a bank or at a money exchanger in your home country or in the city center. Better yet, just withdraw from an ATM with your debit/credit card — however, you must do one big withdrawal to minimize fees with your bank. Speaking of cards, a lot of establishments accept credit cards but it’s always advisable to have cash on hand because a lot of smaller shops do not accept international credit cards. – – – » Cost of Travel in Singapore To give you an idea, you should expect to travel in Singapore with an average daily cost of about USD $45~ per person on a budget, or at least $120~ if you want to experience more comfort in activities, tours, hotels, and more. (Values below show low budget to medium budget ranges). Hotels: $25 to $75 USD / day Food: $8 to $20 USD / day Fun: $10 to $25 USD / day Transport: $3 to $8 per ride – – – » Leaving Luggage at Changi Airport All terminals in Singapore Changi Airport have baggage storage and counters — plus, they are available 24 hours! Prices for this typically start at USD$4, so it’s great when you have a Singapore layover. For more information, see here. – – – » How to Get Around Singapore Singapore is a small metropolis, so you can either walk (depending on the locations you’re going to) or take the following options: Rail: MRT and LRT trains are cheap and reliable modes of transportation. It’s best to get an EZ-link or Nets FlashPay farecards (this can be bought either from the station or at convenience stores or online), and fares usually cost from $.80 to $2.20. Bus: These are a bit slower but still great for shorter distances. You can pay in cash or coins but it’s best to pay with your Ez-link or Nets FlashPay card, just don’t forget to tap out or you’ll end up paying the maximum fare. Taxi: The flag down rate starts at $3, anyhow you also opt for an Uber-like service by downloading the Grab ride-hailing app (you can pay by cash or credit card). Meanwhile, when you’re mapping out your day-to-day route, just use Google Maps because it will show in detail the fastest connections you can do (by walking, by car, by bus, and by train). – – – » Staying Connected in Singapore Singapore has one of the fastest internet connections in the world so you’ll be assured of great connections wherever you go. To add, most places even offer FREE WiFi — but in order to consistently stay connected online during your Singapore trip, get your own pocket WiFi or SIM Card. – – – » Safety in Singapore Singapore is one of the safest countries in the world with very low crime rates — however, this is NO excuse to get too complacent. ‘Little crime’ does not mean ‘no crime’, so stay vigilant and be “street smart” by using your common sense at all times. Nevertheless, solo travelers don’t have much to worry about in this amazing country. HOW TO: Find the right travel insurance for you – – – » Helpful Singapore Phrases English is widely spoken and it is one of the 4 official languages (the other three being Mandarin, Malay and Tamil). That being said, you won’t have difficulty going around Singapore because everyone speaks English. Nevertheless, below are some helpful Mandarin and Malay phrases. RELATED READ: Best translation apps for travel MANDARIN Hello: Nǐ hǎo (Nee how) Thank you: Xièxiè (shièh shièh) You’re welcome: Bú kèqi Goodbye: Zàijiàn (dsaì jiàn) Excuse me (getting attention): Qǐng wèn I’m sorry: Duìbùqǐ (dweì bú chi) Is there someone here who speaks English?: Zhèlĭ yǒu rén hùi shuō Yīngyǔ ma? Help!: Jiùmìng! Cheers!: Gānbēi! (gon bay) MALAY Hello (formal): Hello Hello (informal): Hai (Hi) Thank you: Terima kasih (TREE-muh KAH-seh) Yes: Ya (YUH) No: Tidak (tee-DAH) Goodbye: Selamat tinggal (SLAH-maht tin-GAHL) [“Safe stay!”] or Selamat jalan (SLAH-maht JAH-lahn) [“Safe trip!”] Excuse me / I’m sorry: Maaf (mah’AHF) or Maafkan saya (mah’AHF-kahn SAH-yuh) Is there someone here who speaks English?: Adakah orang yang cakap Bahasa Inggeris di sini? (AH-duh-kah OH-rahng yahng CHAH-kahp bah-HAH-suh ING-grees dee SEE-nee) Help!: Tolong! (TOH-lohng) Cheers!: Sorakan! • • • Other Singapore Layover F.A.Q. What are the current travel restrictions and quarantine policies in Singapore? Please check their latest travel advisories page for more details. If I exit the airport and enter Singapore, does immigration ask for proof of onward travel? Yes, immigration usually asks for proof of onward travel — or basically, proof of a flight ticket back to your home country or to any other destination after your stay in Singapore. If flight reservations are enough, you can easily purchase this from OneWayFly for only $16, and then present it to the immigration counter. How early do I have to reach my gate for my departing flight? You should make your way to your departure gate at least 60 minutes before your flight departure time. My passport will expire within a month. Can I still travel to Singapore? All visitors to Singapore must have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after their date of arrival in the country. What is the power socket used in Singapore? Singapore typically uses plug type C (two round pins), type G (three rectangular pins in a triangular pattern), and type M (three round pins). The country operates on a 230V voltage and a frequency of 50Hz. What is the tipping policy in Singapore? It is not customary in Singapore to tip. In hotels and some restaurants though, you will sometimes see a 5-10% service charge on your bill. Looking for more travel tips for Singapore? Check out my other detailed Singapore travel guides! READ NOW • • • Overall Clearly, a long flight stopover can be so much fun if you’ve got a Singapore layover! All in all, I hope this helped you out. Let me know! The post Singapore Layover: Things to Do In & Out of the Airport in 24 Hours or Less appeared first on I am Aileen.

See the top tips & things to do on Bastille Day when you're in Paris France. A day of fireworks, parties and parades are in store!

The post Things to Do on Bastille Day in Paris, France (Celebration Tips & Travel Guide) appeared first on I am Aileen.

One of the European celebrations that you should NOT miss out on would be the French National Day: ‘Bastille Day‘ in France! Called in many names: La Fête Nationale (The National Celebration), La Fête de la Bastille (Bastille Celebration), or Le Quatorze Juillet (the fourteenth of July), this amazing affair is celebrated annually on the 14th of July. With French people all over the world celebrating this day, naturally, it is a HUGE celebration — more so in Paris as they hold festive events for all tastes and ages from the early hours of the morning till the wee hours of the night. That’s why this year, I was incredibly happy when I was invited to the ‘City of Love‘ to join the fête! Best Tours in Paris? Come and check out this list of the top things to do in Paris which features the best activities and tours to do in and out of the city! READ NOW Table of Contents Toggle About Bastille Day Things to Do on Bastille Day » 9AM: Witness the Military Parade (Défilé Militaire) at Champs-Élysées » Rest of the Day: See Paris’ Sights or Watch a FREE Movie Outdoors » 9PM: Catch the Live Concert and Fireworks Show at Champ de Mars » Late Night: Attend a Fireman’s Ball (Les Bals des Pompiers) About Bastille Day Bastille Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille (a fortress and prison for those who opposed France’s kings) on July 14, 1789, thereby marking the French Revolution. . Bastille Day only became a national holiday in 1880 and the French continue to celebrate it today as a way of recognizing the significance of this event which ushered the end of the royal monarchy and the beginning of its modern republic. . It is only on Paris’ Bastille Day that you get to witness the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe! It happens on the morning of July 14 on the Champs-Élysées. So how was it for me? Well, I certainly had a swell time spending Bastille Day in Paris — it was memorable and I highly suggest that you make it a point to attend this too! • • • Things to Do on Bastille Day » 9AM: Witness the Military Parade (Défilé Militaire) at Champs-Élysées As I’ve already mentioned above, this is Europe’s oldest and largest regular military parade; therefore, it’s quite a sight to see! All traffic will usually be closed starting at 7AM in Champs-Elysées and its surrounding streets, and it’s actually around 10AM that the program starts from the Arc de Triomphe — however, I’ve mentioned 9AM because it’s always best to come early. Given the hype that surrounds this military parade, it can get very crowded! So during this parade, trumpets would often first signal the arrival of the President of the French Republic, the Air Force will start cruising low in the sky either doing stunts or spreading colored smoke (of course in the colors of the French flag and it often happens around 10:45AM), and then the elite units of the French army will start to parade down the picturesque avenue down to Place de la Concorde on foot, on motorcycles, on horses, on tanks, on jeeps, etc. Recently, it has even become a custom for France to invite units from its close allies to participate in the parade. For this year, they’ve invited troops from Australia and New Zealand. HELPFUL TIPS: There will be a HUGE crowd. Tons of people will line up on both sides of the avenue of Champs-Elysées and security will also be quite tight! Given this fact, it’s advisable that you come early; or if you can’t, bring a stool to stand on (I’ve seen some people doing this). It’s best to avoid standing underneath a big tree because you can miss seeing the aerial show during the parade. One of the best spots to be in would be below George V avenue. Another option is to come around 8AM or earlier to reserve a seat in one of the open cafés or restaurants in Champs-Elysées that are on an upper level of a building. You can also book an AirBnB or Paris hotel that has the necessary vantage point to look over the avenue (just make sure there are no trees in the way of your view!) Some of the metro stations near Champs-Elysées will be closed from 8AM until 12PM. They’re not always the same every year, but most of the time it’s the stations of Concorde, George V, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Champs Elysees Clemenceau, and Tuileries that will be closed. That being said, do make sure to check before you go! Before and after the show, I took the Saint-Philippe du Roule metro stop and it was just a 5-minute walk to get to the avenue area. To check which metro stations will be closed, go here. After the Bastille Day parade, you can walk on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées until 6PM since it transforms into a pedestrian-only road for the time being so go mad snapping pictures away in this spot! – – – » Rest of the Day: See Paris’ Sights or Watch a FREE Movie Outdoors Though it is a national holiday, a lot of Paris’ restaurants, museums, and attractions stay open — some of them can even be entered for FREE. For that reason, you should make use of this time to visit the Louvre Museum, the Notre Dame de Paris, the Musée d’Orsay, the Chateâu de Versailles and so much more! For ideas, go read my guide here: » READ: Top 10 FREE Things to Do in Paris If however, you just want to chill with friends, you can attend a FREE Open Air Cinema in the green lawns of Parc de la Villette that’s located in the 19th district in the northeastern part of Paris. It runs from July to August as part of its annual Open Air Film Festival — so it’s one of the best things to do on Bastille Day. You can always rent chairs and blankets on site if in case you didn’t get the chance to bring one. But like I said, it’s open for all! If you want to access the lawn on other dates, you need to register on the La Villette website. (Most films, however, are in French but there are also foreign films being played but with French subtitles.) For more info, you can check by here. – – – » 9PM: Catch the Live Concert and Fireworks Show at Champ de Mars Yet another highlight of this day that’s great to do with friends as you bring along a picnic blanket, some food, and bottles of wine! So first and foremost, the live classical concert will start at 9:15PM at the foot of the Eiffel Tower featuring the Orchestre National de France and the Choir of Radio France — this can change in the coming years, but so far they’ve been consistently doing it. They will perform popular show tunes and soundtracks, and by the end of the night (during the fireworks show) they will play the French national song: Le Marseillaise. The Fireworks Show will start at exactly 11PM and the dazzling lights will set off from the Eiffel Tower and the gardens of Trocadéro for about 35 minutes. HELPFUL TIPS: As per usual, Parisians and visitors alike will be flocking to this, so if you want to have the best view, reserve your picnic spot on Champ de Mars at around 5PM. (Some people even start marking their territory at the early hours of the morning!) Rest assured, there are other spots in Paris that are good for watching the fireworks (such as that on a Seine river cruise). I didn’t manage to get a spot in Champ de Mars so I ended up in the bridge of Pont de l’Alma which still had great views of it all (as you can see in my video and in the photo above)! For the other best places to view the fireworks display, you can read my post below… » READ: The Best Spots to Watch Bastille Day Fireworks in Paris, France Be aware that there are very few public toilets and they will end up being crowded too; so I suggest that you prepare some cash beforehand for buying cheap drinks in nearby cafés or bars in order to use their restroom. Much like the Bastille Day Military Parade, metro stations within the vicinity will be closed before and/or after the show. Even if there are nearby metro stations open after the Fireworks Show, they will be packed with people so I suggest that you wear comfortable shoes for walking since you might need to walk a bit further out from the Champs de Mars area to get to a metro station that is open and less crowded. After the show, I had to walk a bit to reach the Iéna metro station (since it was the nearest connection to my hotel located in the Bastille neighborhood). Once I was there, I had to wait for 10 minutes still until the crowd thinned a bit more. To check which metro stations will be closed, go here. If you think you can get a taxi or Uber — don’t. The surrounding area will be in a jam so you’re really better off walking. – – – » Late Night: Attend a Fireman’s Ball (Les Bals des Pompiers) One good way to avoid the busy metro stations after the Fireworks Show: make a detour and attend a nearby Fireman’s Ball! As the name goes, this party takes place in fire stations (casernes) around Paris’ 20 arrondissements — so yes, you can party with (hot) firemen and French folks! *wink* While there are plenty of choices to go for Firemen’s Balls, it is said that the best parties are done on the eve of Bastille Day (July 13). You can see on this link a list of the participating fire stations. These are not only for entertainment but for charity too since there’s always a small entrance fee to be paid for and of course, snacks and drinks to buy. If you’re up for it, the firemen will also be selling raffle tickets and again, all of the proceeds will be given to charities or for the improvement of their own facilities. If you stay in these places up until late night, most of them will transform into a dance club filled with younger people, complete with a DJ. HELPFUL TIPS: These all-night soirees start at around 9PM until the early hours of the morning (but most would wind down around midnight) These parties do not only happen on the 14th of July but also on the 13th; but take note that metro stations are open until 2:15AM only during these days. If you want a complete list of Fireman’s Ball parties going around in Paris, check by this link. • • • » Top Paris Tours « Disneyland® Paris Ticket Go to one of the happiest places on earth! Seine River Sightseeing Cruise Ensure a memorable day or night in Paris Where to Stay in Paris? Come and check out my list of the ‘Best Hotels in Paris’ which features the top recommended choices for cheap to luxurious accommodation choices. READ NOW • • • Overall The month of July is truly a time wherein the whole of France comes alive, and even if you’re not a local, you are always welcome to celebrate Bastille Day with the French people! If you want to be at the center of it all, then for sure a trip to Paris on July 14 is a must. With tons of events and activities to choose from, it’s now my hope that you get the most out of this day with the help of this guide. Bonne Fête Nationale! The post Things to Do on Bastille Day in Paris, France (Celebration Tips & Travel Guide) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Avoid the crowd and save your spot in one of these best places to perfectly watch the Bastille Day Fireworks Show Display!

The post Where to Watch Bastille Day Fireworks in Paris, France (Top Tips & Best Spot) appeared first on I am Aileen.

The Bastille Day Fireworks Show on the 14th of July is a grand event that must not be missed during the French National Day celebrations (Bastille Day / La Fête Nationale) in Paris, France! After all, when the clock strikes 11 in the evening, splashes of bright colors would erupt from the foot of the picturesque Eiffel Tower and the charming gardens of Trocadéro for about 35 minutes — a seemly way of commemorating the start of the country’s French Revolution back in 1789. (Bastille Day Fireworks) Of course, a lot of other cities and towns all across France also hold a Bastille Day Fireworks Show, but I believe that it is in Paris where you should first see such a display! » READ: Things to Do on Bastille Day Best Tours in Paris? Come and check out this list of the top things to do in Paris which features the best activities and tours to do in and out of the city! READ NOW All in all, given the significance of this event as well as the festivities that surround it today, a lot of French people and even non-French folks alike join this annual affair in Paris… and by ‘a lot’, I mean a LOT. So, if you want to catch the Bastille Day Fireworks, you have to be prepared to brave the crowds. The best spot to watch would be Champ de Mars; however, everyone eyes that spot every year like a hawk! Rest assured, there are other places and spots all over Paris that you can go over in order to catch the best view of the Bastille Day Fireworks. First off, let’s start with the best one, which is naturally… Table of Contents Toggle » Champ de Mars » Any cruise along the Seine River » Montparnasse Tower » A terrace restaurant » The balcony of your Parisian friend’s house or your hotel » One of the bridges crossing the River Seine » Boulevard Pasteur » Trocadéro » Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur Basilica » Parc de Belleville » A last alternative… Best Spots for Bastille Day Fireworks » Champ de Mars (FREE) As a large public greenspace smacked right in front of the Eiffel Tower, this is the perfect spot to watch the Bastille Day Fireworks as they set it all off from behind the tower somewhere near Trocadéro. Besides, this is also where you can watch the live concert of the Orchestre National de France and the Choir of Radio France which usually starts at 9PM, and then afterward, hear them loud and clear as they play the French national song Le Marseillaise during the fireworks show. It helps to note though that people start reserving their picnic spot here as early as 5PM, so it’s best that you either go here early or take turns with your friends to keep guarding your ‘territory’. Nearby metro: Champ de Mars / Tour Eiffel on line RER C, Ecole Militaire on Line 8, or Bir-Hakeim on Line 6. – – – » Any cruise along the Seine River ($$) The next best thing you can do — especially if budget isn’t an issue for you — is to book a river boat cruise that goes along the Seine river. A lot of the providers there set a special dinner and tour for this day which spans for a few hours. They will glide along the Seine and then they will stop at a close distance from the Eiffel Tower when it’s time for the Bastille Day Fireworks Show, thereby giving you a prime view! Some of the providers you can book from are: Bateaux Mouches, Vedettes de Paris, PARISCityVISION, and Bateaux Parisiens. – – – » Montparnasse Tower This is a tall office tower that’s close to the Eiffel and it offers a great panoramic view that’s perfect for viewing the Bastille Day Fireworks. ($) Unfortunately, the viewing deck here is usually closed before the start of the fireworks display. If in case it does open in some years, you will have to fight with the crowd apart from paying an entrance fee (around 13 EUR). ($$$) That’s why if you’re willing to pay a bit more while enjoying a nice dinner, you can book a table by the window at Ciel de Paris that’s located on the 56th floor of the tower (best to reserve weeks or even months in advance!) Nearby metro: Paris Montparnasse on Line 6. – – – » A terrace restaurant ($$$) There are several terrace restaurants that offer a great view of the Bastille Day Fireworks up close, namely: Les Ombres, Monsieur Bleu, and Maison Blanche. The same principle as with Montparnasse, it’s best that you book your spot way in advance to secure your spot. – – – » The balcony of your Parisian friend’s house or your hotel (FREE) If you’ve got a pal living in Paris and who has an apartment with a good view of the Eiffel Tower, then this makes it all easier of course! But if you don’t know anyone there, maybe try Couchsurfing to see if there are any hosts who are nearby that are willing to take you in? ($$ – $$$) Otherwise, if you’re going to book your own accommodation, consider these hotels that have really good rooftop views: Hotel Terrass, Hotel Plaza Atheene Paris, Hotel Raphael, and Shangri-La Paris Hotel. – – – » One of the bridges crossing the River Seine (FREE) If you can’t be on Champ de Mars nor on a river cruise, then the next best thing you can do is save a spot in one of the nearby bridges that cross over the River Seine. These would be: Pont Alexandre III, Pont des Arts, Pont de la Concorde, Bir Hakeim, Alma, Grenelle, and Pont de l’Alma. When I celebrated Bastille Day, I went to Pont de l’Alma, and even if it was not facing the official front of the tower like that of the view in Champ de Mars, it provided me nonetheless with such a great ‘side’ view and I can also perfectly hear the music played by the orchestra. – – – » Boulevard Pasteur Photo by: LPLT / Wikimedia Commons (CC License) (FREE) I read somewhere online about how someone found a nice spot over at the corner of Boulevard Vaugirard and Boulevard Pasteur in the Montparnasse neighborhood. Apparently, it’s a street that goes a bit downhill, so it gives a pretty good view of the Eiffel Tower during the Bastille Day Fireworks no matter what part of the street you ended up standing on. Over the years though, it’s not so much of a ‘secret spot’ anymore so there will be people — BUT, probably not as much as the other areas (yet). That being said, go and give it a try! Nearby metro: Pasteur on Line 6. – – – » Trocadéro (FREE) This will be very near the Eiffel Tower — however, you will have a view of the wrong side since this is the area where the fireworks will be set off. This means that you won’t clearly see the tower itself and the whole art of the fireworks display since you’ll be seeing it from “behind” and not from the front. Nearby metro: Trocadéro on Line 9. – – – » Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur Basilica (FREE) Montmartre will give you great panoramic views of Paris from afar. HOWEVER, take heed of the word ‘afar’ in my sentence because even if you get a good spot here in Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower and the fireworks display will be very small in your vision. Additionally, you won’t hear much of the accompanying music, so make this as a last resort if in case you can’t go to any of the former places that I’ve mentioned. Nearby metro: Anvers on Line 2. – – – » Parc de Belleville (FREE) This park is located on the hill of Belleville so it is also a great vantage point for overlooking the whole of Paris. BUT much like Montmartre, this is very far from the Eiffel Tower so take note of this fact. Nearby metro: Couronnes on Line 2. – – – » A last alternative… There’s a different kind of joy to be experienced when you watch the Bastille Day Fireworks up close along with the crowd or with your friends and family. However, if you really couldn’t make it on time to the show due to traffic or whatnot, there’s always the option of just watching it on television! • • • » Top Paris Tours « Disneyland® Paris Ticket Go to one of the happiest places on earth! Louvre Museum Priority Access Beat the notoriously long ticket queues! Where to Stay in Paris? Come and check out my list of the ‘Best Hotels in Paris’ which features the top recommended choices for cheap to luxurious accommodation choices. READ NOW • • • Overall The fireworks display is but only one of the many great ways to celebrate the French National Day. If you want to learn more about Bastille Day and see the other things that you can do during this special day, come check out my article below: » READ:Things to Do in Bastille Day The post Where to Watch Bastille Day Fireworks in Paris, France (Top Tips & Best Spot) appeared first on I am Aileen.

This isn’t your typical island-hopping itinerary: discover the side of slow travel in the Philippines through its culture, cuisine & stories.

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Ever tasted Filipino adobo cooked by someone’s grandma in a small-town carinderia, or watched the sunset from atop a 2,000-year-old rice terrace? (Slow travel in the Philippines) If that sounds intriguing, then you’re in for a treat—that’s exactly the kind of genuine encounter the Philippines offers beyond its famous white-sand beaches. With over 7,000 islands, applying for an eTravel Philippines can be your gateway to a colorful mix of history, culture, cuisine, and hidden gems just waiting to be explored. Step away from the typical resorts and you’ll find rice terraces older than the Roman Empire, craggy volcanoes, Spanish-era colonial towns, secret caves, bustling wet markets, remote islands… we could go on and on! Ready to go further? In this article, we’ll show you five ways to go beyond the usual routes and explore the Philippines in depth. Table of Contents Toggle Don’t Just Stick to the Capital Learn More About the Country’s History Go on a Food Tour Learn a Few Words of Tagalog Don’t Just Stick to the Capital Many visitors land in Manila, hop over to Boracay — maybe squeeze in a stop in Cebu — and then call it a day. While these destinations are great, limiting your trip to this trio is a bit like visiting Italy and skipping Florence, Sicily, and Venice. In fact, with 7,000-plus islands to explore, why settle for the most popular spots? Let’s take out the map and let wanderlust lead the way to these hidden gems: If you’re looking to go surfing and enjoy a laid-back pace, head to Siargao, the country’s surfing capital. Beyond catching waves, the island has a relaxed, barefoot charm and natural gems like the Sugba Lagoon and Magpupungko Rock Pools. For something completely different, head north to Batanes. With its rolling hills, stone houses, and windswept cliffs, it’s often called the “Scotland of the Philippines.” Meanwhile, in Davao, you can sample the famously pungent durian fruit and spot the rare Philippine eagle (one of the most endangered eagles in the world). Finally, in northern Palawan, Coron’s turquoise lakes, hidden lagoons, and dramatic limestone cliffs offer an island-hopping paradise for snorkelers and divers. – – – Learn More About the Country’s History To truly understand and do slow travel in the Philippines, you have to get acquainted with its history, and there’s no shortage of places to do so! Let’s start at the very beginning: the Tabon Caves in Palawan. Known as the “Cradle of Philippine Civilization,” this archaeological site is where the oldest human remains in the country were discovered—some dating back over 16,000 years. . From there, head north to Banaue and Batad to marvel at the rice terraces, which were carved into the mountains more than 2,000 years ago and are still used to this day. No wonder it’s a UNESCO Heritage Site that has been described as “a living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty”. . Now let’s jump ahead to the Spanish colonial period with a visit to the capital, Manila, where the city’s Intramuros district—also known as the “Walled City”—was the center of power during more than 300 years of Spanish rule. Stroll its cobbled lanes, explore Fort Santiago, and admire the grandeur of San Agustin Church, the oldest stone church in the country. . Some 250 miles to the north is Vigan, another UNESCO-listed site and one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial towns in Asia. Horse-drawn carriages (kalesas), baroque mansions, and heritage homes paint a vivid picture of 18th-century life. . For a deeper dive into more recent history, take a boat to Corregidor Island, where ruins and hidden tunnels offer a look into the defining WWII battles fought between Filipino-American forces and the Japanese. – – – Go on a Food Tour Filipino cuisine is as diverse as its islands—a delicious fusion of Malay, Chinese, Spanish, and American influences. To get an authentic taste of it, skip the chain restaurants and head to a carinderia, a small, family-run eatery where you’ll find authentic home-cooked meals. The country’s “unofficial dish” is adobo, a stew of meat, usually pork or chicken, cooked in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and bay leaves — and every island, town, and grandma has their own version. Be sure to try several to find your favorite. Another must-try dish is sinigang, a tamarind-based sour soup that can be made with pork, shrimp, or fish and is beloved for its comforting tang. For something truly festive, there’s lechon, a whole pig roasted over charcoal until the skin is perfectly crisp. Want to check off all the good Filipino food? Visit my list of the top local delicacies that you MUST try! READ NOW – – – Learn a Few Words of Tagalog Filipinos are famously warm and welcoming, but make the effort to learn a few basic Tagalog phrases, and you’ll be rewarded with even bigger smiles. Learning just a handful of everyday words can go a long way. Try saying “Salamat” (thank you) or “Kamusta?” (how are you?) when greeting locals. If you’re enjoying a delicious meal, “Masarap!” (delicious) is always a crowd-pleaser. Shopping in a market? “Magkano ito?” means “How much is this?” and is handy when browsing local stalls. And on a hot day, asking “Pahingi naman po ng tubig” (Can I have some water, please?) might just lead to a refreshing break and a friendly chat. • • • Overall Go and discover your own place by doing slow travel in the Philippines! After all, the Philippines isn’t just another vacation spot—it’s a beautiful mix of cultures, languages, landscapes, and lifestyles. To appreciate its beauty, go beyond the typical routes. Explore further. Try the unfamiliar. Go deeper! And who knows, maybe you’ll find your perfect spot and never want to leave. With thousands of islands to choose from, there’s a good chance one of them might just be “the one”. The post Slow Travel in The Philippines: Exploring the Country in Depth appeared first on I am Aileen.

Discover the best things to do in Doha—from desert adventures to luxury dining and seaside strolls. Plan your perfect Qatar itinerary today!

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When you think of the Middle East, chances are… your mind probably instantly jumped to the thought of Dubai or Abu Dhabi. However, just across the Gulf lies Doha, Qatar’s vibrant capital and a place where futuristic skylines rise above golden deserts, and centuries-old traditions blend effortlessly with world-class art, design, and hospitality. Though often seen as a layover destination, it is more than just a quick stop—it’s actually an experience in itself! After all, this capital of Qatar is bursting with surprises; so, whether you’re visiting for a few days or longer, here are some of the best things to do in Doha! » Quick Travel Planning Top tours & experiences Find best flights to Qatar Visa requirements Best places to stay Travel insurance Stay connected TIP: It’s a good idea to crosscheck the prices with other popular travel insurance providers like World Nomads and HeyMondo (as my reader, you get 5% off)! However, take note that a travel insurance’s affordability typically means lesser coverage; so please always ensure that you read the fine print in order to decipher which travel insurance company is the right fit for you and your trip! First and foremost, Doha offers travelers a unique combination of luxury and culture. You can wander through bustling souqs, marvel at modern museums, cool off by the turquoise Corniche waters, or sip Karak tea while watching the sun melt over the sand dunes. As such, no matter if you’re a foodie, history buff, art lover, or adrenaline junkie, there’s something in Doha that will surprise and inspire you. Now, as you are planning a visit—or even just dreaming about one—here’s a curated list of the Top 10 Things to Do in Doha that showcase the best this dazzling desert-meets-coast city has to offer! Table of Contents Toggle » Quick Travel Planning Top Things to Do in Doha 1. Stroll through Souq Waqif 2. Dive into history and art with the city’s museums 3. Unwind at the Pearl-Qatar 4. Chill out at a beach club or resort 5. Hit the dunes & the Inland Sea on a desert safari 6. Wander around key districts 7. Sample authentic Qatari & international flavors 8. Explore the Katara Cultural Village 9. Shop (or window-shop) at luxury malls 10. Sail on a traditional Dhow Cruise Doha Travel Guide » Best Time to Visit » Getting into DOHA » Visa for QATAR » Where to Stay (DOHA Accommodations) » Qatar Currency » Cost of Travel in Qatar » How to Get Around Doha » Safety in Qatar » Helpful ARABIC Phrases Top Things to Do in Doha 1. Stroll through Souq Waqif Doha’s old-town market is a joy for the senses—twisting alleys, colorful textiles, dried spices, and ornate arabesques… You’ll definitely find everything from falconry supplies and frankincense to souvenirs and shisha lounges here! And so, don’t skip sampling local treats like karak chai (a style of masala chai tea made of black tea, aromatic spices, sugar, and milk) and freshly grilled meats, eaten right on the street. It helps to note, though, that the Souq comes alive more in the evening with music, chatter, and vibrant lights — and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch a parade with camels and horses! It’s surely a great way to take in Qatari culture in an informal and authentic setting. Some key things to take note of: Falcon Souq: Where you can see (and even hold) trained falcons — it’s quite a unique window into Qatari tradition. . Souq Waqif Art Center: Features galleries and studios showcasing local art, paintings, and handcrafted pieces. You might even catch live painting or craft demonstrations. . Gold Souq: Found adjacent to Souq Waqif, this is a good place to go if you’re looking for beautiful gold jewelry and traditional Qatari designs. . Al Terrace at Al Mirqab Boutique Hotel: Qatari and Lebanese cuisine with beautiful views. It’s perfect for a romantic evening, if not a great place for a good breakfast spread. . Chapati & Karak Cafe: Famous for their street-style chapati (roti) wraps and karak tea. It’s great for a quick and tasty snack while you’re roaming around! TIP: Visit just before Maghreb prayer time (usually after sunset) to see families gathering and hear the call to prayer echo through the market! 2. Dive into history and art with the city’s museums Doha is home to some of the most impressive and thoughtfully curated museums in the Middle East as they blend cutting-edge architecture with deep cultural storytelling. I swear to you, their museums here are so tastefully designed that they are wonders in themselves! That said, for your top things to do in Doha, here are the top museums you shouldn’t miss: National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ): Designed after the desert rose (a rose-like crystal that typically forms in the desert), the interactive galleries here take you from Bedouin heritage to modern urban life. Massive-scale installations—like a giant pearl diver—that you can actually walk through are also mesmerizing. Though in hindsight, the architecture alone is worth the trip! . Museum of Islamic Art (MIA): Framing the skyline through massive geometric windows, this architectural icon that’s designed by I.M. Pei houses one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Islamic art: from manuscripts and ceramics to textiles and jewelry, spanning over 1,400 years! . Mathaf – Arab Museum of Modern Art: Dedicated to modern and contemporary Arab art, this place features works by both established and emerging artists from across the Middle East and North Africa. If you’re interested in political, social, and cultural narratives of art, this should be on your list. . Msheireb Museums: A cluster of four beautifully restored heritage houses focusing on Qatari social history, slavery, oil discovery, and urban transformation. Found in the modern Msheireb District, you’ll be happy to know that this is FREE to visit and walkable, perfect for a half-day cultural immersion! TIP: For NMoQ and MIA, allow at least an hour or more each for a relaxing, immersive experience. 3. Unwind at the Pearl-Qatar This 4sqm artificial, luxury-infused island feels like a mini Mediterranean town! Did you know…? This is also the first land in Qatar to be available for freehold ownership by foreign nationals. For the best time in this location, you should make time to wander the marina-lined promenades, which have plenty of pastel buildings and cute boutiques — you’ll find Italian gelato, Lebanese mezze, and chic cafés as you stroll. If you’re rather looking for water fun, kayak or paddleboard rentals are available right from the quay from certain providers. Porto Arabia Marina: Think yachts, palm-lined promenades, luxury boutiques, and cafés with waterfront views. This area is perfect for sunset walks, people-watching, or just soaking up the upscale vibe. . Qanat Quartier: A picturesque neighborhood inspired by Venice, it is complete with colorful buildings, canals, arched bridges, and cobblestone streets! Naturally, this is ideal for Instagrammable moments and peaceful strolls. . Dine at World-Class Restaurants: The Pearl offers a wide range of cuisine—from fine dining to trendy brunch spots—featuring restaurants like Megu (Japanese), Sasso (Italian), Burj Al-Hamam (Lebanese), Toro Toro (Latin American), and Evergreen Organics (plant-based), many of which boast stunning terraces with sea or marina views. TIP: Head over here on weekdays to avoid crowding, or visit during the evening to see the lights reflected in the water. Especially during cooler months, keep an eye out for weekend pop-ups, night markets, food truck festivals, and seasonal events. 4. Chill out at a beach club or resort With Qatar’s intense daytime heat, finding a cool escape is a must. For a dose of leisure and laid-back coastal vibes, check out these top spots to unwind until the weather cools down as part of your top things to do in Doha list: Banana Island Resort: Just a fifteen-minute ferry ride from Al Shyoukh Terminal, this private, crescent-shaped island is pure getaway vibes! Their QAR 350‑395 day‑pass includes beach and pool access, QAR 200 food credit, QAR 50–70 activity credit, and round‑trip boat transfers — what more can you ask for? So go and lounge by the surf‑pool, test your aim at bowling, or get your adrenaline up at their Adventure Park with ziplining and giant swings. . Bagatelle Beach Club: This is the city’s newest and most glamorous beach destination, and it blends French Riviera chic with Qatari flair. With Mediterranean cuisine, DJ sets, luxe cabanas, and direct beach access, it’s perfect for upscale day lounging, parties, or sunset cocktails! . The Ritz-Carlton, Doha Beach: Known for its private beach access, luxury spa, and waterfront dining, the Ritz offers a refined, quieter beach escape for guests and members. . Meryal Waterpark: This is a must-add for adventure lovers and families alike, especially with its unique setting on Qetaifan Island and world-class facilities. With over 85 rides, slides, and attractions, this is lauded as the LARGEST waterpark in the region. In fact, their “Icon Tower” is a Guinness World Record–holding waterslide standing at 85 meters (279 feet)! TIP: As usual, weekdays are less crowded across all of these spots! 5. Hit the dunes & the Inland Sea on a desert safari This is definitely a MUST on your top things to do in Doha: a full‑day desert tour that includes dune‑bashing in a 4×4, sandboarding, and wind-swept scenic photo stops! Now the desert tours usually include Bedouin-style camps, light meals, and camel rides. But the highlight is reaching Khor Al Adaid (Inland Sea), where golden dunes meet the sea—a UNESCO World Heritage site with a picture-perfect view near the Saudi border. This is quite special because Qatar is one of the few places in the world where the desert meets the sea. So with this, you’ll get to see towering dunes drop dramatically into the azure waters of the Arabian Gulf, and it’s an impressive, rar,e and surreal sight if you ask me. (I booked a private tour and even managed to take a dip in this sea!) For this activity, make sure to bring a scarf, sunscreen, and plenty of water; depending on the season, you’ll need a sun hat and layers for early morning chill. Many tours offer sunset packages, so if they do, expect glowing horizons and professional photo ops! TIP: Book through licensed operators such as this = [click] and I would suggest including a stop to the Inland Sea, even if it is an activity that will take some time; after all, it is a unique spot like no other! 6. Wander around key districts The fun doesn’t stop in Doha—it’s a city of distinct neighborhoods, each offering its own charm, culture, and experiences. So whether you’re in the mood for a scenic stroll, café hopping, art spotting, or luxury shopping, here are a few must-visit districts that should be on your top things to do in Doha list: Corniche: This is Doha’s waterfront ribbon, and it’s a 7 km-long promenade hugging zebra-striped beaches lined with palm trees and manicured gardens. If you’re up for it, this is a great spot for running, cycling, or walking at any time of day. If you stay around golden hour, you can spot some traditional Dhow cruise gliding across the water. . Mina District: Adjacent to the Corniche, this is a wonderful location that offers colorful heritage-style homes, laid-back cafés, and public art installations. It’s a quieter, more local-feeling stroll compared to the touristy Corniche and I absolutely enjoyed taking a lot of photos there! . Crystal Walk (Lusail Marina District): Located in the ultra-modern Lusail City, Crystal Walk is the longest open-air, air-conditioned shopping promenade in the region—and it’s just as luxurious as it sounds. With its glittering crystal-themed design (yes, the place is indeed speckled with real crystals!), shaded walkways, and built-in climate control, it offers a comfortable, high-end shopping and dining experience even in Doha’s warmest months. 7. Sample authentic Qatari & international flavors If you want to truly experience Qatari culture, start with the food—it’s rich, flavorful, and rooted in tradition! Must-tries are: Machboos: A beloved national dish made with spiced rice, slow-cooked meat (usually lamb or chicken), and aromatic herbs, often served with a side of homemade tomato sauce. . Luqaimat: Deep-fried dough balls glazed with date syrup or honey and topped with sesame seeds—crispy on the outside, soft and warm inside. . Harees: A creamy wheat and meat porridge typically served during Ramadan . Balaleet: A unique breakfast dish of sweet vermicelli noodles topped with a saffron-spiced omelet. . Karak Chai: Qatar’s famous sweet, spiced milk tea that’s both comforting and addictive — in fact, don’t be surprised if you crave it every day! TIP: If you’re looking to elevate your culinary experience, book a table at IDAM, located inside the Museum of Islamic Art. Led by Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, it offers a refined fusion of Qatari and French Mediterranean flavors, all served with breathtaking views of Doha’s skyline. I had the chance to try this myself and I kid you not: it’s not just a meal—it’s a cultural and visual experience that was delectable! 8. Explore the Katara Cultural Village Katara is a cultural playground: art galleries, amphitheater, beach stages, and pigeon towers. So ready your camera because there are a lot of views here to behold. Katara Cultural Village was built as part of Qatar’s national vision to become a global hub for culture, creativity, and dialogue. In fact, it was envisioned by Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Emir of Qatar. Opened in 2010, it has since been designed to celebrate Qatar’s rich heritage while fostering intercultural exchange, and to serve as a premier platform for local and international artists, performers, and thinkers. Drop in during the day for exhibitions and public art or come in the evening for concerts and film screenings under the stars. The beach is also calm here and often used for yoga or tai chi sessions. If you’re into art, galleries rotate through local and international shows, and entry is often FREE. Dining options include easy cafés to high-end Riva seafood restaurants. Don’t forget to check the local calendar too—festivals, fireworks, and fashion events happen here regularly! 9. Shop (or window-shop) at luxury malls No matter your budget or style, Doha is a shopper’s paradise. It’s home to a range of malls that cater to everything from high fashion to budget-friendly basics. And let’s be honest, these sprawling, air-conditioned havens are a blessing when the desert heat becomes too much to handle! Place Vendôme: One of Qatar’s newest and most luxurious shopping destinations. Inspired by Parisian elegance, this mega-mall features European-style boulevards, ornate fountains, and even a musical water show by the central canal (happens every hour). It’s home to over 500 stores—including the largest Sephora and Apple Store in the Gulf region—alongside high-end fashion houses, art galleries, cinemas, and opulent cafes. . Villaggio Mall: Famous for its Venetian-themed interiors, complete with indoor canals, gondola rides, and faux-blue skies overhead. You’ll find luxury brands like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and more, as well as mid-range retail and family-friendly attractions like Gondolania Theme Park, an indoor skating rink, and a bowling alley . City Centre Mall: For a discount vibe, this place offers staples like Zara, H&M, and Mango, alongside local and regional brands. It’s a go-to for everyday needs, casual dining, and for many Filipinos, a nostalgic treat awaits—Jollibee is right there! . Doha Festival City: Qatar’s largest mall, home to IKEA, ACE Hardware, and Angry Birds World theme park. . Mall of Qatar: Located near Education City, this mall boasts over 500 stores, a massive indoor stage for live shows, and a variety of international dining options. . Lagoona Mall: More boutique and lifestyle-focused, located near The Pearl and West Bay Lagoon, with a peaceful, upscale feel. 10. Sail on a traditional Dhow Cruise Cap off your things to do in Doha list with a sunset Dhow Cruise along the Corniche and beyond! These wooden boats were historically used for pearl diving and fishing, so it’s a taste of Qatari maritime heritage. They typically run from Box Park daily (though some also depart from Mina District) at around 5–7 pm during summer hours, letting you float by the skyline, Katara, and Pearl . Cruises include soft drinks, sometimes light snacks, and often commentary. Evenings are cooler, but summer humidity can be intense so I suggest book an evening slot in cooler months or find AC models if you’re sensitive. If you want a more intimate experience with your own clique, small groups can charter private dhow rides; just expect QAR 80–100 per person for a couple hours and it should be complete with food, music, and swimming stops. TIP: Book your Dhow Cruise here = [click] and go from October to April to dodge the heat, and bring a light cardigan for post-sunset breezes. • • • Doha Travel Guide » Best Time to Visit The best time to visit Qatar is from November to early April, when the weather is pleasantly mild with daytime temperatures ranging from 20–28°C (68–82°F). Avoid May to September, when temperatures can exceed 45°C (113°F) with high humidity! Shoulder months would be October & April — warm, but still bearable than the height of summer. SUMMER: May to September WINTER/COOL SEASON: November to April – – – » Getting into DOHA By air. Hamad International Airport (DOH) is the primary international airport of Qatar, and it also serves as the home base of its national flag carrier airline, Qatar Airways. To find the best flight deals from your point of origin, I recommend browsing through Skyscanner. 
 From the airport, getting into the city is easy via the following options: Metro: Take the Red Line directly from the airport to key areas like West Bay, Msheireb, and Katara. Rest assured, the metro is modern, clean, and affordable (QAR 2–4 per trip), and it also runs frequently. Taxi: Primarily operated by Karwa, the official taxi provider. The price is approximately QAR 45–70 to central Doha (you can also book them via their own app). Ride-hailing app: Uber is widely used here, and prices are also almost on par with Karwa. Hotel shuttle or private service: Check with your accommodation, as they might offer this. – – – » Visa for QATAR Qatar offers visa-free entry or visa on arrival to citizens of over 95 countries, including: USA, UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and GCC countries. This lasts for 30 to 90 days, depending on your nationality. Otherwise, if you’re not eligible for their visa-free entry scheme, simply apply via their Hayya portal — it’s easy and costs only about QAR 100. Check full visa requirements here as per your nationality. – – – » Where to Stay (DOHA Accommodations) To search for the best hotel accommodation in Doha at the best prices, I suggest cross-checking hotel prices between Agoda and Booking.com. But if you’re rather interested in renting comfortable houses or apartments, you should search through AirBnB. – – – » Qatar Currency The official currency is the Qatari Riyal (QAR) is Qatar’s official currency. If you want to exchange your local money for QAR, I highly advise that you do NOT exchange your money at the airport, since the rates there are not competitive. How to best exchange your currency? Either exchange it at a bank or at a money exchanger in your home country or in the city center of Doha. Better yet, just withdraw from an ATM with your debit/credit card; however, you must do one big withdrawal to minimize fees with your bank. Speaking of cards, a lot of Doha establishments accept credit cards, but it’s always advisable to have cash on hand because there can be some smaller shops, especially in Souq Waqif, that may not accept cards. – – – » Cost of Travel in Qatar You should expect to travel to Qatar with an average daily cost of about USD $200~ per person on a budget, or at least $400~ if you want to experience more comfort on activities, tours, hotels, and more. (Values below show low-budget to medium-budget ranges only.) Hotels: $50 to $300 USD / day Food: $45 to $150 USD / day Fun: $10 to $35 USD / day Transport: US$10 to $40 on average – – – » How to Get Around Doha By bus. There are buses available run by Mowasalat (Karwa) — but though it’s cheap, it can be confusing to use for visitors. By taxi. Taxis are typically affordable, and you can choose between Karwa or Uber. Personally, it’s the BEST way to go around Doha. By car. Available with a valid international driver’s license, but given how you’re not exactly in tune with local driving rules and practice, it’s best to stick to taxis. TIP: When you’re mapping out your day-to-day route, just use Google Maps because it will show in detail the fastest route you can take. – – – » Safety in Qatar Qatar is considered one of the safest countries in the world: It has a very low crime rate It has a strong police presence and strict laws Solo travelers, including women, typically feel safe Just be mindful of local customs and dress modestly in public areas HOW TO: Find the right travel insurance for you – – – » Helpful ARABIC Phrases The locals’ native language is Arabic, but English is widely spoken. Nevertheless, it can help impress some locals when you know a Chamorro word or two! RELATED READ: Best translation apps for travel Hello: مرحباً (Marḥaban) How are you: كيف حالك؟ (Kayfa ḥāluka?) Thank you: شكراً (Shukran) You’re welcome: على الرحب والسعة (ʿAla al-raḥb wa al-saʿa) or simply ‘Afwan Goodbye: وداعاً (Wadaʿan) or مع السلامة (Maʿ al-salāmah) Good morning: صباح الخير (Ṣabāḥ al-khayr) Good evening: مساء الخير (Masā’ al-khayr) • • • Other Qatar F.A.Q. What is the tipping policy in Qatar? Tipping is NOT mandatory in Qatar, but it is customary and appreciated for good service. Here’s a general guide: — Restaurants: 10–15% of the bill if a service charge isn’t included. — Cafés and casual dining: Round up or leave QAR 5–10. — Hotels: Bellhops and housekeeping staff often receive QAR 5–20. — Taxis/Ride apps: Not expected, but rounding up or adding a small tip is always appreciated. What is the power socket used in Qatar? Qatar typically uses the Type G electrical socket (three rectangular pins in a triangular pattern), which is the same as the UK, and they operate on a 240V supply voltage with a frequency of 50Hz. If you’re from a country that uses a different plug type or voltage, you’ll need a universal adapter and possibly a voltage converter. Can I drink alcohol in Qatar? Yes, alcohol is legal in Qatar, but it comes with strict regulations. It is only available in licensed venues, such as certain hotels, bars, clubs, and specific licensed restaurants in Doha. However, drinking alcohol in public places—including beaches and parks—is strictly prohibited, and public intoxication is a criminal offense. Additionally, travelers are not allowed to bring alcohol into the country in their luggage; any alcohol found at customs will be confiscated. During Ramadan, alcohol service may be temporarily restricted or suspended altogether. What should I wear in Qatar? Qatar has a conservative dress code, influenced by Islamic culture, and modesty is expected in public—especially in malls, government buildings, museums, and during religious occasions like Ramadan. Rest assured, there is no strict dress code, but as a sign of respect, it’s best to keep your shoulders and knees covered. Headscarves are also not required if you’re non-Muslim (though, of course, it might be requested at religious sites like mosques). As for swimsuits, this is generally acceptable within the premises of your hotel or a beach club; on public beaches, however, modest swimwear is advised, and some may discourage bikinis. • • • Overall There’s no shortage of things to see, taste, and experience in Doha—and these ten are just the beginning. Save this post for your itinerary planning, and if you’re heading to Qatar soon, drop any questions in the comments—I’m happy to help! The post Top 10 Things to Do in Doha, Qatar for First-Time Visitors (Travel Guide & Tips) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Try a unique Japan activity and dress up as a miko (shrine maiden): learn more about their customs and duties directly from a Shinto priest!

The post How to Be a Shinto Miko for a Day in Japan (Shrine Maiden Rental) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Have you heard of or watched the popular Japanese anime movie: Your Name (Kimi no Nawa)? If so, you would recall that the main heroine, Mitsuha, worked as a miko — a Shinto shrine maiden — and that was absolutely one of the many parts of the movie that captured my fancy. After all, when I saw her perform kaguramai (a Shinto ritual ceremonial dance with bells and chimes) as a miko in one of the movie’s scenes, I was utterly enthralled. The profession instantly got me curious and I was glad when I found out that as a visitor, I could head over to Hyogo Prefecture’s Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine in Amagasaki City of Japan (near Osaka) to sign up for a miko experience package to try and rent their attire for a day — and so, I did! For a day (or technically, an hour) I did not only learn about the profession but I also got to try being a miko, and you bet that was such an enriching and fun affair! UPDATE: You can now do this experience in Kyoto as well! Check the tour here: [link] Travel Tip — book this tour and input AILEENKLOOK upon checkout to save 5% off! Where to Stay in Osaka…? Come and check out my list of the ‘Best Hotels in Osaka‘ which features the top recommended choices for cheap to luxurious accommodation choices. READ NOW Top photo by: Shutterstock Table of Contents Toggle » What is a miko? » What is Shinto? » How did the miko experience come about in Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine? » What does that 1-hour miko experience entail? Ama Travel Guide » Address » How to book and rent a miko attire » How much is the miko experience » How to get to Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine » Visa for Japan » Safety in Japan » Helpful Japanese Phrases Miko Experienc Photo by: Shutterstock » What is a miko? A miko (巫女) in Japan is a shrine maiden that is trained to perform certain rituals and tasks in order to support Shinto priest(s) in a traditional shrine. They are not be mistaken as fortunetellers or mediums, and as per the fact that they are ‘maidens’, miko must be unmarried females (oftentimes they are priests’ daughters). » What is Shinto? Shinto or kami-no-michi is a polytheistic religion in Japan that primarily revolves around the veneration of many deities known as kami (gods or spirits) or supernatural entities that are believed to inhabit all things. Today, Shinto remains to be the country’s major religion alongside Buddhism with Shinto shrines being the places of worship and homes of kami. » How did the miko experience come about in Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine? Back in 2016, the Amagasaki Hospitality Group proposed this idea to the head priest of Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine, Nobuyo Otagaki, and since then, the program was established as a way for tourists to further understand Japanese culture. TRIVIA: The Shrine is dedicated to Ebisu, a kami or deity of luck and prosperity, and he is one of the 7 Gods of Fortune. With its location, it’s also a prime choice for being one of the fun day trips from Osaka that you can do! » What does that 1-hour miko experience entail? – Shinto shrine and miko lesson by a guide – Try a suzu or Shinto bell and have a glimpse of the kaguramai dance – A chance to dress up in a miko attire and take photos around the shrine It helps to note that a Miko’s traditional attire is a red hakama (long trouser-like skirt tied with a bow), a white kosode (kimono robe), and some white or red hair ribbons. In Shintoism, the color white symbolizes purity, and the garment placed over the kosode during kaguramai or kagura dances is called a chihaya (as pictured above). . Please remember by the way, that this is not a cosplaying event as it is more of an experience to garner further understanding of Shinto faith or the miko profession. • • • Ama Travel Guide » Address Where is Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine? Address: 3-82 Kanda Nakadori, Amagasaki 660-0884 in Hyogo Prefecture In Japanese: 〒660-0884 Hyogo, Amagasaki, 神田中通 ３丁目 ８２ Operation hours: Monday to Friday from 10AM to 5PM UPDATE: You can now do this experience in Kyoto as well! Check the tour here: [link] Travel Tip — book this tour and input AILEENKLOOK upon checkout to save 5% off! – – – » How to book and rent a miko attire You only need to book online a day in advance and that’s it! Go to this inquiry page and fill the form with details of your name, mobile number, desired date, time, and number of participants (minimum of 2). You can fill the form in English or Japanese. Participants must be female for the miko or shrine maiden program; however, accompanying males can wear a Japanese happi or traditional straight-sleeved coat with no charge. Your reservation is confirmed when you receive a response by email, and this email acts as your proof of reservation. Cancellations can be done via email or phone at least 24 hours before. If you stay more than 1 hour, there will be an excess charge. Due to the fact that it is a busy season, the shrine does not offer this miko experience from November to February. However, it is still possible to make an inquiry for your date in case the shrine can accommodate your request. – – – » How much is the miko experience As of 2020, it only costs ¥2,000 per person to undergo the 1-hour program. – – – » How to get to Amagasaki Ebisu Shrine Just head over to Amagasaki Station. For this, it is best to buy a Hanshin Tourist Pass. From there, it’s only a 4-minute walk to the shrine. What is the Hanshin Pass? It’s a 1-day train pass that grants you unlimited rides on the Hanshin-serviced train lines around places like Osaka and Kobe — including the Hanshin Line that passes through Amagasaki (cost: ¥500). OTHER TYPE: You can also try the 1 day or 2-day Hankyu Pass for unlimited travel in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. (Cost: ¥700 for 1 day / ¥1,200 for 2-day) If you need help when riding the trains, just use the directions feature in Google Maps — I find this as a very helpful tool if I want to reach a certain place from a particular location. However, take note that Google Maps doesn’t work offline if you want routes or transportation schedules, so I recommend that you get a pocket WiFi or a SIM Card to stay connected online). – – – » Visa for Japan If you’re NOT a citizen of any of Japan’s exempted countries, you are then required to avail of a visa beforehand. (If you’re from the Philippines, you can read my guide on how to get a Japan visa in Manila here.) Check full visa requirements here as per your nationality. – – – » Safety in Japan Japan is one of the safest countries in the world with very low crime rates. I have been traveling solo to this country many times now and I have never felt unsafe even in the late hours of the night — however, this is NO excuse to get too complacent. ‘Little crime’ does not mean ‘no crime’, so stay vigilant and be “street smart” by using your common sense at all times. Nevertheless, the Japanese people are one of the kindest and most respectful people I have ever met, so solo travelers don’t have much to worry in this amazing country. HOW TO: Find the right travel insurance for you – – – » Helpful Japanese Phrases Japan may be one of the most developed countries in the world, but a lot of the locals don’t speak English. However, this should not discourage you from traveling to this country because apart from the fact that there are a lot of translation apps that will help you understand and speak Japanese, a lot of the locals are also making the effort to learn and use the English language. RELATED READ: Best translation apps for travel Anyhow, below are some helpful Japanese phrases that will help you along the way! And even if you do encounter a Japanese who can speak English, it doesn’t hurt to say a word or two in their language. Hello: Konnichiwa (Kohn-nee-chee-wah) Thank you (normal): Arigatō. (Ah-REE-gah-tohh) Thank you (less formal): Arigatō gozaimas (Ah-REE-gah-tohh goh-zahy-mahs) Thank you (informal): Dōmo (DOHH-moh) Yes: Hai (Hai) No: Iie (E-eh) Goodbye (long term): Sayōnara (Sah-yohh-nah-rah) Goodbye (informal): Ja ne (Jahh neh) Excuse me: Sumimasen (Soo-mee-mah-SEN) I’m sorry: Gomen nasai (Goh-men-nah-sahy) Is there someone here who speaks English?: Dareka eigo ga hanasemasu ka? (Dah-reh-kah ey-goh gah hah-nah-seh-mahs kah?) Help!: Tasukete! (Tahs-keh-teh!) Cheers!: Kanpai! (Kan-pie!) • • • » Top Kansai Tours « Kyoto & Nara Tour Staple trip to do in Kansai! Kimono Rental Try Japan’s traditional clothing in Kyoto! • • • Overall You’ve probably already done a kimono rental before, so why not give a miko experience a try? As you can see, it’s surely going to be memorable! The post How to Be a Shinto Miko for a Day in Japan (Shrine Maiden Rental) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is one of Japan's most scenic mountain routes & its majestic Snow Wall is a must-see!

The post The Roof of Japan: Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route & Snow Wall (Travel Guide) appeared first on I am Aileen.

If you’re up for incredible and unique nature activities in Japan, it’s a MUST to visit the stunning mountain sightseeing route called Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (Arupen Ruto). This 90km route that’s commonly referred to as the “Roof of Japan” goes through the lush scenery of Mt. Tateyama in the Northern Japan Alps as it spans from Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture, up to Omachi Town in Nagano Prefecture. Since its opening in 1971, the path comprises of several stops or stations — with Murodo Station as the highest at 2,450 meters high — and they can be traversed on various different vehicles such as buses, cable cars, and ropeways. A lot of people actually go through Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route for days during its opening season (mid-April to November) as they enjoy the spectacular vistas of the Tateyama Mountain Range which is a part of the Chubu Sanguku National Park in Japan. In fact, all throughout the year’s seasons, there are various hiking and sightseeing activities that can be done; however… when I made a grand tour of the Chubu region earlier this year, I only had a day left to explore the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine route so I ended up going on a quick adventure. Basically, I started from Tateyama Station and then up to Shinano-Omachi Station in just 5 hours as I made sure to see the route’s following top 3 highlights! » READ: – Japan Itinerary – Chubu Itinerary Table of Contents Toggle » Snow Wall / Corridor (Yuki-no-Otani) » Tateyama Ropeway » Kurobe Dam » Other Activities to Do Per Season Spring (May to June) Summer (July to Mid-September) Autumn (Late-September to November) Winter (December to Mid-April) » Side Trips & Attractions Tateyama Travel Guide » How to Get to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route » Where to Stay (Toyama Accommodations) » Safety in Japan » Visa for Japan » Helpful Japanese Phrases Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route Want to join a guided tour to Tateyama? You can join the following trips below: – Day tour to Tateyama Alpine Route from Kanazawa or Nagoya – 2-Day tour to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route from Tokyo BOOK NOW » Snow Wall / Corridor (Yuki-no-Otani) As the highest point on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, Murodo Station features a lot of fantastic activities and views. One of the most-known attractions that it has would be the Snow Wall or Yuki-no-Otani which opens from mid-April to mid-June after months of heavy snowfall. (Doesn’t it remind you of ‘The Wall’ from Game of Thrones…?) TRIVIA: Tateyama experiences one of the heaviest snowfalls worldwide! On average, there are about 7 meters (or 23 feet) of snow that accumulates every year, but in the area near the wall, there are times that up to 20 meters (65.6 feet) would accumulate because of snowdrifts! To expel this heavy snow, this famous ‘Snow Wall’ was then born. Running from Bijodaira to Murodo, you will you first witness the 1km passage of the Snow Wall in the bus. Once you get off at the Murodo Bus Terminal, there is approximately a 500-meter-long section of the road where you can walk along the walls of snow and take wondrous photos! I visited here during the last day when the Snow Wall corridor walk was still open (June 22 on 2017) and the walls were about 12-meters high. At that height, I was already in utter awe of its beauty; so you could just imagine, if you were to visit earlier in April, you will get to witness it in its full glory! Though, if you visit late in June, the crowd is a lot less. OPENING TIME: Mid-April to mid or late June (for accurate opening and closing times of the Snow Wall, check this website.) OTHER THINGS TO DO AT MURODO STATION: During late autumn and spring, aside from the Snow Wall, you can enjoy sledding around some areas near the station, as well as visit Mikurigaike which is a crater lake of the Tateyama volcano. In summer and early winter, you can enjoy the surrounding network of hiking trails that have varying levels of difficulty. (In winter, Murodo is not accessible due to heavy snow). For a complete list of things to do in Murodo, see website. DIRECTIONS: From Dentetsu Toyama Station, it takes 2.5hours to get to Murodo via a train, a cable car, and a bus (total of ¥3,500). Alternatively, if coming from the other side’s Shinano-Omachi Station, it takes 2.5hours too but with a total cost of ¥7,000 via several buses, a cable car and a ropeway. To get the best deal on transportation costs, I highly suggest that you just buy the Alpine-Takayama-Matsumoto Area Tourist Pass (more info on this at the latter part of this article). – – – » Tateyama Ropeway Tateyama Ropeway is a cable car that connects the stations of Daikanbo and Kurobedaira for ¥1,300 one way. It is said that this one of the most unique cable cars because it is the only one in Japan that operates without any support towers for a span of 1.7 kilometers. Riding this ropeway will only take 7 minutes but the grand panoramic sights that you will see around you as you go down will (not to mention the slight thrill!) will make you feel as if you’ve been treated to a long show filled with majestic views. OPENING: Closed from December to mid-April. It’s best to come here either during autumn or when the snow covers the alpine route to enjoy the best views possible. DIRECTIONS: If you don’t plan to go through the whole alpine route and opt to just visit this ropeway, you need to go to Shinano-Omachi Station on JR East Oito Line. Next, take the bus from Oigazawa Station to Kurobe Dam Station where you can walk to Kurobeko Station and head to Kurobedaira Station. Alternatively, if you want to explore all of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, get the best deal on transportation costs by buying the Alpine-Takayama-Matsumoto Area Tourist Pass (more info on this at the latter part of this article). – – – » Kurobe Dam This place is near the end of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and it’s quite a sight to be seen given that it is the tallest dam in Japan at 186 meters. And if you visit from late June to mid-October, you can get to witness the dam discharging a spectacular amount of water (about 10 tons every second)! According to history, the Kurobe Dam was built across Kurobe Lake for over 7 years; by the time it was completed in 1963, over 171 people have lost their loves due to some problems along the way. Today, it supports a hydropower plant that supplies electricity to the Kansai Region in Japan. Some of the other attractions around the dam are: Dam Observation Deck: located at the eastern end of the dam is a steep long flight of stairs (about 220 steps) wherein you can reach a concrete slope that offers the best view of the dam and its surrounding terrain. Monument to Workers: this is a monument by the side of the dam which is dedicated to the 171 workers who lost their lives during the construction of the dam. Kurobe Cruise Ship (Garube): from early June to early November, you can ride this boat for about 30 minutes as you enjoy the scenery of the Alps and of the Lake Kurobe. Due to its location, this is the highest sailing boat in Japan (at 1,448m above sea level). OPENING: Closed from December to mid-April. It’s best to come here either during autumn or when the snow covers the alpine route to enjoy the best views possible.st views possible. DIRECTIONS: If you don’t plan to go through the whole alpine route and opt to just visit this dam, you need to go to Shinano-Omachi Station on JR East Oito Line. Next, take the bus from Oigazawa Station to Kurobe Dam Station. This whole trip will cost about ¥3,000 (for a total of about 1.5hours). Alternatively, if you want to explore all of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, get the best deal on transportation costs by buying the Alpine-Takayama-Matsumoto Area Tourist Pass (more info on this at the latter part of this article). – – – » Other Activities to Do Per Season Spring (May to June) During Spring, the whole of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is covered in snow. Aside from the Snow Wall that I already mentioned above, one of the things you could do here is to walk on the snow fields especially around Murodo. I’ve been told that around this time, you might be able to catch sight of a white Alpine ptarmigan, a kind of bird that is referred to as “messengers of God” — because the Japanese believe that if you see a ptarmigan, it will bring you happiness. (Best time to spot them is from late May to June especially in the area around Mikurigaike pond). Summer (July to Mid-September) If you’re looking to do hiking, walks, climbing, and sightseeing, summer would be the best time to visit the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route! Aside from witnessing the water discharge on Kurobe Dam, you could also witness beautiful carpets of alpine flowers in the surrounding landscapes. Up in Murodo, there can still be some snow up until July; after that, you can enjoy easy trails (such as going around the Mikurigaike pond) and challenging hikes (such as climbing the summit of Mount Tateyama) around the area. Autumn (Late-September to November) The leaves slowly turn into warmer tones at the end of September and this beautiful change first starts at the higher areas. This will take about 6 weeks until the color changes reach the end of the mountain slopes (around late October to early November). If you’re lucky, you can witness greener leaves at the foot of the mountain, autumn leaves in the middle of the route, and then white plains of snow at the top! (Like I mentioned before, the Tateyama Ropeway is a great place for watching the season’s foliage.) . “New Snow”: Most of the time, the first snow of the year already falls in Murodo by September, but then it will melt straight away. It is only around early or mid-November that the snow stays and where you can enjoy a blinding white wonderland! To see this, it’s best to go into the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route from the side of Shinano-Omachi station because due to the weather, service is often suspended from Bijodaira Station to Murodo Station. Winter (December to Mid-April) The whole of Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is closed during wintertime. To know more info about the whole alpine route, go to https://www.alpen-route.com/en/ – – – » Side Trips & Attractions The following is a list of attractions that are near Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in Chubu region: Kurobe Gorge: this is a sightseeing train that will take you through Japan’s steepest gorge. Shirakawa-go and Gokayama UNESCO villages: protected historic villages that are famous for their gassho-zukuri style farmhouses. Takayama City: lauded as the ‘Little Kyoto of Hida’, this charming old town will delight you at every turn. Matsumoto City: the city where one of Japan’s most beautiful castles is found. Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park: a unique place where you can find wild “Snow Moneys” bathing in an onsen (hot springs). …and more! » READ: An Ideal 5-Day Itinerary for Exploring Some of Chubu or Central Japan’s Best! • • • Tateyama Travel Guide » How to Get to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route From Toyama city, go to Dentetsu-Toyama Station. Ride the Chitetsu Line and get off at Tateyama Station (which is the start of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route). To get to Toyama city from Tokyo, ride the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen which takes about 2 hours. You’ll get to ride this train for FREE if you have a JR pass. Personally, I would highly recommend that you buy the Alpine-Takayama-Matsumoto Area Tourist Pass for ¥17,500 OR the Takayama-Hokuriku Pass which gives you unlimited rides on JR express trains between Nagoya to Toyama, as well as unlimited use on all transportation within the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route for 5 days — which then makes it the PERFECT pass for exploring the region that the alpine route is in which is Chubu. (If you want a detailed itinerary for exploring the area, see here). TOP TIP: When booking with Klook.com, make sure to use my coupon code AILEENKLOOK to save 5% off (can be used up to 5 times!) If you need further help, use the directions feature in Google Maps — I find this as a very helpful tool if I want to reach a certain place from a particular location. However, Google Maps doesn’t work offline if you want routes or transportation schedules, so I recommend that you get a pocket WiFi or a SIM Card to stay connected online. – – – » Where to Stay (Toyama Accommodations) Budget: Toyoko Inn Toyama Ekimae / Mid-Range: Toyama Excel Hotel Tokyu / Luxury: River Retreat Garaku To search for other hotel accommodation options at the best prices, I suggest cross-checking hotel prices between Agoda and Booking.com. But if you’re rather interested in renting comfortable houses or apartments, you should search through AirBnB. – – – » Safety in Japan Japan is one of the safest countries in the world with very low crime rates. I have been traveling solo to this country many times now and I have never felt unsafe even in the late hours of the night — however, this is NO excuse to get too complacent. ‘Little crime’ does not mean ‘no crime’, so stay vigilant and be “street smart” by using your common sense at all times. Nevertheless, the Japanese people are one of the kindest and most respectful people I have ever met, so solo travelers don’t have much to worry in this amazing country. HOW TO: Find the right travel insurance for you – – – » Visa for Japan If you’re NOT a citizen of any of Japan’s exempted countries, you are then required to avail a visa beforehand. (If you’re from the Philippines, you can read my guide on how to get a Japan visa in Manila here.) Check full visa requirements here as per your nationality. – – – » Helpful Japanese Phrases Japan may be one of the most developed countries in the world, but a lot of the locals don’t speak English. However, this should not discourage you from traveling to this country because apart from the fact that there are a lot of translation apps that will help you understand and speak Japanese, a lot of the locals are also making the effort to learn and use the English language. RELATED READ: Best translation apps for travel Anyhow, below are some helpful Japanese phrases that will help you along the way! And even if you do encounter a Japanese who can speak English, it doesn’t hurt to say a word or two in their language. Hello: Konnichiwa (Kohn-nee-chee-wah) Thank you (normal): Arigatō. (Ah-REE-gah-tohh) Thank you (less formal): Arigatō gozaimas (Ah-REE-gah-tohh goh-zahy-mahs) Thank you (informal): Dōmo (DOHH-moh) Yes: Hai (Hai) No: Iie (E-eh) Goodbye (long term): Sayōnara (Sah-yohh-nah-rah) Goodbye (informal): Ja ne (Jahh neh) Excuse me: Sumimasen (Soo-mee-mah-SEN) I’m sorry: Gomen nasai (Goh-men-nah-sahy) Is there someone here who speaks English?: Dareka eigo ga hanasemasu ka? (Dah-reh-kah ey-goh gah hah-nah-seh-mahs kah?) Help!: Tasukete! (Tahs-keh-teh!) Cheers!: Kanpai! (Kan-pie!) • • • Overall Going up to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route was a spectacular journey — after all, every station led me to a different natural wonder that surely took my breath away! I would love to visit this route every season because of how it offers various unique sights and activities at different times of the year. All in all, from its majestic Snow Wall up to the grand Kurobe Dam, venturing out to this mountain scenery is an absolute MUST when you’re in Japan’s Chubu region! The post The Roof of Japan: Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route & Snow Wall (Travel Guide) appeared first on I am Aileen.

Wondering why you should travel to Mallorca? From breathtaking beaches to mouthwatering cuisine, here’s what makes this island a must-visit.

The post Why Travel to Mallorca in 2025 appeared first on I am Aileen.

Are you planning to travel to Mallorca this year? Mallorca is a wonderful destination with so much to see and do. You can swim in Alcudia’s crystal-clear waters, wander around Palma, explore its historic old town, or head out to sea for some snorkeling or scuba diving—the possibilities are endless! So whether you are planning on staying for a few days — or a week or two — there is SO much to do that you won’t get bored. Our best advice would be to look into car rental in Mallorca with ROIG and rent a vehicle for the trip; in this way, you can explore the island and spend time in different areas. After all, there are some beautiful beaches you can drive to! To help inspire you, we have put together a guide on why you should travel to Mallorca in 2025. Table of Contents Toggle The Beautiful Beaches The Delicious Food The Fun Activities You can Do! The Beautiful Beaches The Beautiful Beaches: Travel to Mallorca Mallorca’s beaches are a must-see for any visitor, with their crystal-clear waters and soft sand. Alcudia, in particular, is renowned for its beautiful beaches, but stunning stretches of coastlines can be found all over the island. The best thing to do before visiting is to search Mallorca on Instagram, and you’ll find a few spots that you should visit on your break. If you get the chance, make sure you book a water activity as well; you could go kayaking or snorkeling, which is great fun! – – – The Delicious Food If you are a foodie, you’ll be in heaven in Mallorca. They have so many different cuisines to try, as well as award-winning restaurants for you to dine in. A few local dishes that you should try include Coca Mallorquina, Sopas Mallorquinas, Tapas (there are plenty of tapas restaurants in Palma), Botifarron and Cocarrois. RELATED ARTICLE: Spanish Food – 20 Must-Eat Authentic Local Dishes in Spain READ NOW Nevertheless, TripAdvisor is a useful tool if you are stuck on where to dine. You could also speak to the receptionist of the hotel you are staying at since they will more often than not be able to give you a couple of good recommendations. – – – The Fun Activities You can Do! Mallorca definitely offers a wide variety of activities to suit all interests! History buffs can explore museums, while those seeking adventure can embark on water excursions. Wine enthusiasts can indulge in tasting tours, and nature lovers can discover the island’s beauty through scenic hikes. Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the fascinating caves either or wander through the charming old town. When looking into activities, try to book them as far in advance as possible, as this will mean you won’t miss out. After all, there are some excursions which get very busy throughout the year, especially during peak season. • • • Overall We hope you get to travel to Mallorca and have a great time, as we know you will love it! So when are you planning on visiting Mallorca, and what sort of trip are you planning? Why do you think Mallorca is a great place to go? Is there anything missing in my guide that you think I should be adding? Let me know in the comment box below, I look forward to hearing from you! The post Why Travel to Mallorca in 2025 appeared first on I am Aileen.

Food, Travel, Journalism.

Chef Thomas Zacharias has helped spark a grassroots movement in India around local ingredients and disappearing food traditions. Now, through his fast-growing Local Food Club, he’s building something even more ambitious.

The post How to Build a Grassroots Food Movement in India appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post How to Build a Grassroots Food Movement in India appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

What happens when an Italian coffee dynasty, a filmmaker, an eccentric, and one of the world's great chefs dream up a restaurant? Turin's Condividere is the subject of a new book co-authored by R&K's Eugenio Signoroni.

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A pilot project explores the challenges of sustainable dining in China. Pride on Our Plates is a finalist for the 2025 Food Planet Prize.

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The post China’s Quest to<br> Reduce Food Waste appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

A Swedish innovation may hold the key to cutting the fertilizer industry’s massive carbon footprint—by harnessing the power of lightning. NitroCapt is the winner of the 2025 Food Planet Prize.

The post The Physicist Taking on Big Fertilizer appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post The Physicist Taking on Big Fertilizer appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

A once-dismissed discovery in Yellowstone’s geothermal soils is now helping farmers worldwide fight drought, boost yields, and reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers.

The post The Fungi That Could Transform Agriculture appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post The Fungi That Could Transform Agriculture appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

By integrating traditional Balinese farming wisdom with modern agroecological practices, Astungkara Way works to promote food security, restore degraded farmland, and deepen connections between farmers and the land.

The post A Balinese Initiative<br> Reimagines Rice Farming appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Balinese Initiative<br> Reimagines Rice Farming appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Roads & Kingdoms is proud to co-release this short film about the opening of the great Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan's first restaurant in North America—and the first prominent restaurant in Toronto to call itself Palestinian.

The post A Palestinian Chef’s<br> Quiet Resistance appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Palestinian Chef’s<br> Quiet Resistance appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

An innovative biotech startup is using nature’s own signals to fight crop-killing insects—without toxic chemicals.

The post Could Plant Communication Help Save Argentina’s Crops? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Could Plant Communication Help Save Argentina’s Crops? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

By helping farmers measure soil moisture with precision, a simple sensor is reducing waste, improving yields, and making agriculture more sustainable.

The post Could a Device Reshape Farming in Africa? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Could a Device Reshape Farming in Africa? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

A conversation with the Peruvian photographer whose dreamlike new book is the latest in a rich and truly original body of work that explodes the boundaries between documentary and art photography.

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The post The Photographic Dreamscapes<br> of Musuk Nolte appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The founder of Angola's largest food and travel platform reflects on what the country's current flourishing means not just for Angolans but for the world.

The post I Was Born in Luanda appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post I Was Born in Luanda appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

What did the extended Roads & Kingdoms family learn in the hills of Emilia-Romagna? Let's start with these eight simple rules for travel.

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The post Lessons from a Team Retreat appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

A father-daughter journalist team reports from Tbilisi, where nearly every night since protests broke out in October, the pioneering chef Tekuna Gachechiladze has been ladling out soup to demonstrators.

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The post Soup at the Barricades with the Queen of Georgian Cuisine appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

How does one become a successful chef and restaurateur? If there is a standard path, Andy Ricker sure as hell didn’t take it.

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The post The Life and Wanderings<br> of Chef Andy Ricker appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Documentary photographer Cengiz Yar discusses his nine-year project documenting Mosul and the so-called war on terror's long-term effect on the northern Iraqi city

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The post A Decade of Images in Iraq:<br> Q&A with Cengiz Yar appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Drinking highballs and talking about life, creation, and food with Roads & Kingdoms co-founder Matt Goulding. A special revival episode of The Trip Podcast.

The post Matt Goulding on “Omnivore,” His New Show with René Redzepi appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Matt Goulding on “Omnivore,” His New Show with René Redzepi appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The beer is cheap and the larb is fresh, but Chiang Rai is more than all that. These 10 bits of local wisdom will help get you started.

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The post 10 Things to Know Before You Go to Chiang Rai appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Ahead of our League of Travelers trip to northern Vietnam, R&K’s Charly Wilder caught up with Daniel Nguyen, an activist, distiller, researcher, and our host for this fall's journey into the highlands and beyond.

The post How Vietnam Eats Today:<br> Q&A with Daniel Nguyen appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post How Vietnam Eats Today:<br> Q&A with Daniel Nguyen appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In Tanzania, NovFeed is transforming the country’s compost into a source of cheap and nutritious feed for farmed fish. NovFeed is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Can Fruit Help Feed the Marine Life of Tanzania? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Can Fruit Help Feed the Marine Life of Tanzania? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In Bangladesh, Pumpkin Plus transforms rural lives through the innovative technology of growing crops on sandbars. They are a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post The Sandbar Farmers of Bangladesh appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post The Sandbar Farmers of Bangladesh appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Could an all-natural steam seed treatment replace mainstream agricultural chemical treatments? ThermoSeed, a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize, thinks so.

The post A Swedish Seed Solution Takes On Big Agriculture appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post A Swedish Seed Solution Takes On Big Agriculture appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Transfarmation is an organization helping former factory farmers move from debt-laden, environmentally damaging practices toward a sustainable future. Transfarmation is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Taking the Factory Out of the Farm in the American West appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Taking the Factory Out of the Farm in the American West appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

In a small dry corner of England, Aquagrain is creating a super-absorbent biodegradable hydrogel that could help crops grow in degraded lands. Aquagrain is a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize.

The post Could A Scientist’s New Soil Treatment Solve Desertification? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Could A Scientist’s New Soil Treatment Solve Desertification? appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Food accounts for 13% of cities’ carbon emissions every year. But a small league of C40 Good Food Cities, from New York to Quezon City, is hoping to change that.

The post A Global Alliance of Mayors Aims to Make Good Food Cities appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

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Ask Beatriz Janer about Seville’s storied Feria de Abril, and you’ll get a quick sense of what makes her photographer’s eye for detail so special.

The post Visions of Andalusia:<br> Q&A with Beatriz Janer appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

The post Visions of Andalusia:<br> Q&A with Beatriz Janer appeared first on Roads & Kingdoms.

Travel That Cares for Our Planet and Its People

Last Updated on December 8, 2024 by Audrey Scott While many cities in Germany have one main Christmas Market, Berlin has dozens of Christmas Markets from which you can choose based on your interests and style. So, which are the ... Continue Reading

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Last Updated on December 8, 2024 by Audrey Scott While many cities in Germany have one main Christmas Market, Berlin has dozens of Christmas Markets from which you can choose based on your interests and style. So, which are the best Christmas markets in Berlin? Whether you're looking for a traditional German Christmas market or something a bit more offbeat, I offer here my handy Berlin Christmas Market guide. The recommendations are based on our experience living in Berlin for ten years and being avid Christmas market fans. It has all the information you need to know, including dates and schedules of Berlin Christmas markets and notes on how to visit my local favorites — these are Christmas markets that will make your visit to Berlin during the Christmas and holiday season even more special. Berlin Christmas Markets. How can you not get into the holiday spirit? The Spirit of German Christmas Markets There’s something that just about everyone looks forward to in December in Berlin: Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt or Adventsmarkt). They offer a retreat from the shortening days of the year, into the company of gathered friends and neighbors. In the selection that follows, you'll find the “markets” listed less about shopping and more about community — where friends and families make plans to meet at the market after work or on weekends. A place where the aroma of glühwein (spiced, mulled wine) and sweet roasted almonds wafts in an atmosphere of twinkling lights in a chilly winter vapor. As conversations happen over steaming mugs of glühwein and hearty German street food like bratwurst, market-goers catch up on life and give air to what awaits at the turn of the new year. Christmas markets serve as the perfect antidote — or accompaniment if you like — to the approaching Winter Solstice. I confess that I am a bit of a Christmas market geek. I helped launch a Christmas market when I lived in Estonia many years ago. Dan and I have even taken Christmas market-themed road trips through Germany and Central Europe. Maybe this Christmas market affinity of mine has something to do with the fact that I'm American and I didn't grow up with the Christmas market culture. So, I get a little giddy when the season rolls around and I'm within reach of one. Whatever the cause, this is one of the reasons we stick around Berlin in December. Eierpunsch (egg liqeur punch) in Potsdam. Winter therapy? Does Berlin Have Christmas Markets? At this point you might be thinking: “German Christmas markets are famous, but I’ve never heard anything about Christmas markets in Berlin.” OK, then. Berlin’s Christmas markets haven’t traditionally carried the same reputation or history as those in other German cities like Munich, Nuremberg or Stuttgart. But that’s changing. Berlin makes its own way and blends the traditional into the tapestry of its forward-lurching, unusual self. Just as Berlin doesn’t have one town center, it also doesn’t have one main Christmas market. Instead, Berlin usually features more than 50 markets (in 2022 it's gone up to 70 markets!) spread throughout the city, each with its own distinct personality, atmosphere and specialties. Some run the length of the Advent season, while others are limited-time offers or tuned to the spirit of their local neighborhood for only a weekend or two. Of course, a certain commercialization and schlock lurks conspicuously at some markets. With this in mind, we share our personal recommendations: a few trusted and traditional or local and authentic favorites to help you get started in your Berlin Christmas market exploration. Note: This post was originally published on December 3, 2015 and updated on December 8, 2024 with updated dates, times and other information. . Berlin Christmas Market Dates Berlin Christmas markets are usually open for the entire Advent Christmas market season, from the end of November through Christmas (and sometimes through to the New Year). In 2024, most of the Berlin Christmas Market open on 25 November 2024 and run until the very end of December or beginning of January 2025. Best Berlin Christmas Markets With around 70 Christmas markets in Berlin, so you'll have quite a few to choose from to enjoy the holiday season. We find these Christmas markets especially atmospheric when it's dark and everything is tastefully lit, which is easy since the sun sets in Berlin before 4PM throughout December. Glühwein seems to taste better in the evening, too. READ MORE: Berlin Travel: A Beginner's Guide WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market. Traditional, bright and cheery. Why: For a bit of the traditional in a beautiful setting, especially at night as the Konzerthaus (Concert Hall) and nearby churches and buildings are lit. Gift stands at the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market tend to be handicraft-oriented or luxury-focused. Food quality is generally pretty high here as well. Be sure to check out the big feuerzangenbowle (fire-tongs punch) tent and seek out the wooden barrel of rum to the right of the bar should you need to “enhance” your steaming mug full of punch. In general, if you encounter a choice of glühwein “mit schuss”, that simply means “with a shot” as in a shot of rum or possibly amaretto. Note: Gendarmenmarkt charges a nominal entrance fee of €1. For more information, check out the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market page. Location and Directions 2024: The WeihnachtsZauber market has moved in 2024 from Gendarmenmarkt to Bebelplatz at the State Opera just off of Unter den Linden. Take the U6/U5 to Unter den Linden station or the U5 to Museumsinsel. It is expected that this Christmas will return to its regular location in 2025 after construction ends at Gendarmenmarkt. Neighborhood: Mitte. 2024 dates for the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market: 25 November – 31 December 2024 Opening hours: 12:00 – 22:00 Sunday-Thursday, 12:00 – 23:00 Friday and Saturday (except 24 December until only 18:00) Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas Market Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas market. Why: To drink mugs of steaming glühwein in the shadow of a 300+ year old Baroque palace. The Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas market is one with big time European fairytale charm. Some of its stands feature traditional — and huge — Christmas pyramids which entertain as figures go round and round all night long. Also fun, but kind of cheesy, is the light show at night. For more information, check out the Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: Just in front of the Schloss Charlottenburg Palace main entrance on Spandauer Damm. Closest U-Bahn stations include Sophie-Charlotte-Platz or Richard-Wagner Platz, as well as Westend station on the S-Bahn. Neighborhood: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Dates for the 2024 Schloss Charlottenburg Christmas Market: 25 November – 29 December, 2024 Opening hours: Monday to Thursday from 1 to 10 pm, Friday to Sunday from 12 to 10 pm, 25 and 26 December from 12 to 10 pm, closed on Christmas Eve Lucia Christmas Market at Kulturbrauerei (Nordic-Scandanavian Christmas Market) Berlin's Lucia Nordic-Scandinavian Christmas market at night. Why: Because you always wanted to taste the difference between Swedish, Norwegian and Danish glögg (Scandinavian mulled wine). Top off the entire experience with reindeer sausages and a host of other Nordic games and treats and you might just forget where you are. Compared to other open-space Christmas markets, the Lucia Christmas Market is set up in the winding courtyards of Kulturbrauerei, a 19th century brick industrial complex. For more information, see the Lucia Christmas Market at KulturBrauerei page. Location and Directions: The Lucia Christmas Market (and Kulturbrauerei) has multiple entrances at Knaackstr. 97, Sredzkistr. 1 and Schönhauser Allee 36-39. Closest U-Bahn station is Eberswalder Str. (U2) or Trams 12, M10, M1. Neighborhood: Prenzlauer Berg Dates for the 2024 Lucia Christmas Market: 25 November – 22 December, 2024 Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 15:00 – 22:00; Saturday – Sunday, 12:00 – 22:00 Spandau Old Town and Citadel Christmas Markets Spandau Christmas Market in all its holiday-lit glory. Why: To feel as though you’ve been transported to a small German village even though you remain within the Berlin city limits. The citadel of Spandau, one of the best preserved Renaissance fortresses in Europe, is also taken over by its Christmas market. The old town of Spandau also hosts a large Christmas Market on its streets. While the atmosphere and some of the bigger stands along the main strip can feel a bit commercial, the little courtyards and stands convey something a bit more traditional. For more information, see the Spandau Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: Take the U7 to Zitadelle Spandau or S3/S7 to Spandau. Neighborhood: Spandau Dates for the 2024 Spandau Christmas Market: 25 November – 22 December 2024 Opening hours: Daily from 12:00 – 20:00, closed 24-25 December Medieval Historical Christmas Market at RAW Why: To feel like you've gone back in time to a medieval village complete with axe throwing or archery competitions and hand-operated carousels. This Berlin Christmas market is built each year on the grounds of the RAW Cultural Center and is a fun experience and atmosphere, especially for families or kids, thanks to all of its performances and games. You can warm yourself up around one of the several fire pits and drink mulled wine or hot mead from heavy ceramic mugs. There is also plenty of hearty food, some of it of it aiming to be “medieval” (aka, heavy), to keep you warm and full. A fun way to spend a cold winter evening. For more information see the Historical Christmas Market at RAW Cultural Centre page. Location and Directions: Revaler Straße 99, take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn to Warschauer Straße station. Neighborhood: Friedrichshain Dates for the 2024 Historical Christmas Market at RAW: 14 November – 22 December 2024 Opening hours: Monday – Friday 15:00 – 22:00, Saturday – Sunday 12:00 pm – 22:00 Entrance Fee: €2 for adults, Thursday – Sunday. Free from Monday – Wednesday. Potsdam Christmas Market A proper Christmas pyramid at the Potsdam Christmas Market. Why: To take a break from the big city. Visit the Potsdam UNESCO sites of Sanssouci Palace and gardens during the day and enjoy eierpunsch (spiced egg punch) at the Christmas market at night. The market takes over the streets of the old town for blocks on end and features some of the most elaborate and largest displays we’ve seen. There’s also an ice skating rink and other fun stuff for kids…or adults. There is also a Polish Christmas Market nearby at the Kutschstallhof from 2-4 December to get your fill of Polish pierogis, handicrafts and other specialties. For more information, see the Potsdam Christmas Market page. Early gatherings at the Potsdam Christmas market. Location and Directions: Take the S-Bahn to the city of Potsdam, which is about a 45-60 minute ride from central Berlin. This requires an ABC ticket. Neighborhood: Potsdam Dates for the 2024 Potsdam Old Town Christmas Market: 25 November – 29 December 2024 Opening hours: Daily from 12:00 – 20:00, closed 24-25 December Berlin Neighborhood and Weekend Christmas Markets In addition to Christmas markets which run the entire length of Advent, Berlin also features its share of short-run special and weekend markets. These markets are typically smaller affairs featuring local organizations and neighborhood-oriented venues. If you're visiting Berlin for a couple of days during the Christmas season and authentic and local is what you seek, it's absolutely worth doing some research to see which of these markets happens to be timed with your visit. Alt-Rixdorfer Christmas Market The Rixdorf Christmas market is local, but its atmosphere draws crowds from across Berlin. Why: The Rixdorf Christmas Market serves as a nice kickoff to the Christmas season. It also illustrates how a neighborhood Christmas market can be done well and at scale with local organizations selling homemade crafts to raise money for schools, charities, firemen’s groups, and more. Stands tend to be locally run and offer a perfect excuse to get to know the Neukölln district a little better. The square where the Alt-Rixdorf Christmas market is held, Richardplatz, features an enclosure with pony rides and a petting zoo. The whole thing is sweet, quaint and helps take you back in time a bit. For more information, see the Alt-Rixdorfer Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: On Richardplatz near the Karl-Marx Strasse station (U7). Neighborhood: Neukölln. Dates for the 2024 Alt-Rixdorf Christmas Market: 6-8 December 2024 Opening hours: Friday 17-21:00; Saturday 14:00 – 21:00; Sunday 14:00 – 20:00 Heissa Holzmarkt Bonfires and an urban village scene are all part of the Christmas market at Holzmarkt. Why: For a mixture of traditional and alternative in a fun and eclectic Berlin community space. Located on the Spree River in Friedrichshain, Holzmarkt is open all year around with its fixed shops, bakery, art studios and event space. Its Christmas market open on weekends during the advent season transforms what feels like its own urban village into a bit of a traditional and modern winter wonderland with bonfires by the river, ample amounts of glühwein, silent disco booths, German and international food options, bizarre puppet shows, and much more. This has become one of our favorite Berlin Christmas markets in the last years. For more information, see this Heissa Holzmarkt Christmas Market page. Location and Directions: Holzmarktstrasse 15, Friedrichshain. The Holzmarkt urban village is a compound of buildings on the Spree river. It's a 10-minute walk from S+U Jannowitzbrücke station. Neighborhood: Friedrichshain Dates for 2024 Heissa Holzmarkt: 16 November – 22 December 2024, €2 entry Friday to Sunday Opening hours: Wednesday – Friday 16:00-22:00; Saturday-Sunday 14:00 – 22:00 Schloss Britz Christmas Market Schloss Britz, a Christmas market with a medieval feel. Why: To experience an intimate Nordic Medieval Fairytale Christmas market in the courtyard of an 18th century manor house. Though medieval costumes are involved here, the market somehow seems to pull this off without being a caricature of itself. As Schloss Britz Christmas market doesn't typically see the hordes that other markets might, you'll have the opportunity to speak to the various artisans and learn more about their handicrafts, preserves and other wares. The food served is usually inventive and a bit different than standard fare. There is a €3 entrance fee, but we feel that the atmosphere and quality of the stands warrants the price. For more information, see the Schloss Britz Christmas Market page. Icicles and Christmas pyramids at Schloss Britz. Location and Directions: Schloss Britz, near Parchimer Allee station (U7) or bus 181 Britzer Damm/Mohriner Avenue. Neighborhood: Neukölln Dates for 2024 Schloss Britz Nordic Market: 30 November – 22 December 2024, weekends only Opening hours: Friday 14:00-21:00; Saturday-Sunday 11:00 – 21:00 Christmas Market at Domäne Dahlem Why: Located on the grounds of a manor house which also serves as a sort of farm and agricultural museum, the Christmas Market at Domäne Dahlem includes many small producers and artisans selling everything from sea salts and spices to traditional German handicrafts. There is also an emphasis on fresh and organic foods, so you can certainly eat well and heartily here. Domäne Dahlem is a bit outside Berlin center, but if you want a more neighborhood and countryside feel, check out this Christmas Market during one of the Advent weekends. Entrance is €4.50. For more information, see the Christmas Market at Domäne Dahlem page. Location and Directions: Königin-Luise-Straße 49, 14195 Berlin. Take the U3 to Dahlem-Dorf station. Neighborhood: Dahlem Dates for 2024 Domäne Dahlem Christmas Market: 30 November – 22 December 2024, Saturday and Sunday Only Opening hours: Saturday-Sunday 11:00 – 19:00 Berlin Christmas Market Resources A complete list of Berlin Christmas markets maintained by Visit Berlin More Holiday Things to do in Berlin Even if visiting Christmas markets is the main goal of your winter visit to Berlin, there are other holiday and Christmas-oriented things to do in the city. Here are a few of the more popular tours, events and experiences in Berlin as offered by our partner (also Berlin-based), Get Your Guide. They offer many different Berlin tours with no booking fees and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Christmas Garden in the Botanical Gardens: I have to admit that I never thought about visiting the Botanical Gardens for Christmas this until my hairdresser recommended it as her favorite holiday activity in Berlin. A 2-km route takes you through a winter wonderland of lights and different holiday installations. Berlin TV Tower Fast View Tickets: Get out of the cold and up above it all with these fast-track tickets that allow you to skip the line and go straight up to the top of the TV Tower. You'll have great views of the Christmas market below at Alexander Platz as well as the city as a whole. Berlin Welcome Card with Transport Pass: Get around the city by public transportation easily without worrying about buying or validating your tickets with this Berlin Welcome Card (ABC Zones). You can choose different lengths, from 48-hours to 6-days. And, the Welcome Card provides you with lots of discounts at different attractions, shops or museums. We've used Berlin Welcome Cards quite a bit when we've had visitors as it's cost-effective when you plan to travel around a lot and do a lot of different activities. Best Areas in Berlin To Stay for Christmas Markets Here are a few recommended accommodation options in some of our favorite Berlin neighborhoods of Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain, Neukölln, and Mitte. Weinmeister Hotel in Mitte: Located in the heart of Mitte near Hackescher Markt and not far from Alexanderplatz, this design hotel is in a great location and has a beautiful rooftop terrace for meals and drinks. Several friends and work colleagues have stayed here and recommend it. Note: this is an adult-only hotel. Hüttenpalast in Neukölln: Located in a fun and hip area between Kreuzberg and Neukölln, Hüttenpalast offers both retro-style caravans and cabins, as well as hotel rooms, and a relaxing garden. Friends have enjoyed staying here. Nena Apartments in Bergmannkiez, Kreuzberg: If you want your own apartment and kitchen to self-cater, these apartments on a quiet street in the cute Bergmannkiez part of Kreuzberg are a good option. There are also Nena Apartments in Neukölln (Hermannplatz) and in the Moritzplatz area of Kreuzberg. Michelberger Hotel in Friedrichshain: Located close to the East Side Gallery (2km of the Berlin Wall that is now an outdoor mural gallery) and Spree River, the Michelberger Hotel has a great lobby and restaurant on the ground floor and unique design rooms of all sizes and prices. Several friends who have stayed here recommend it for the rooms and the location. Circus Hostel in Berlin: If you are looking for a hostel or budget accommodation option, several friends have recommended Circus Hostel with both dorm and single/double room options. It's located very close to Rosenthaler Platz in Mitte with lots of local restaurants, cafes and bars in walking distance. The owners have recently opened up Circus Hotel nearby if you aren't into the hostel vibe. Plan Your Berlin Christmas Market Trip How to get to Berlin: There are endless options to fly to Berlin thanks to all the traditional and low cost airlines flying into TXL (Tegel Airport) or SXF (Schönefeld Airport). We often use Skyscanner to compare flight prices and to book tickets because it displays all the various airline combinations, including options from low-fare airlines. Berlin restaurant recommendations: For budget eating, check our our guides for favorite cheap eats in Berlin under €5 and our favorite neighborhood meals under €10. StilinBerlin offers another reliable resource for local Berlin restaurants and “best of” guides. The post Berlin Christmas Markets: The Ultimate Guide (Updated 2024) appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on September 12, 2024 by Audrey Scott Active sustainability communications should be an integral part of any sustainable tourism journey, yet it is often seen as an afterthought instead of integrated into all marketing and communications. This is ... Continue Reading

The post 7 Ways to Effectively Communicate Your Sustainability Story in Tourism appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on September 12, 2024 by Audrey Scott Active sustainability communications should be an integral part of any sustainable tourism journey, yet it is often seen as an afterthought instead of integrated into all marketing and communications. This is a missed opportunity. Sharing your sustainability story — initiatives, achievements, challenges, and impact — in a way that is easy to understand and resonates with travelers, trade partners and other stakeholders not only highlights your accomplishments, but it also helps engage others in this journey which can amplify the impacts of your work. I was recently asked by a colleague to contribute some tips on how to do this for a sustainable tourism training program. Below are a few practical ways to tell your sustainability story to avoid jargon and incorporate storytelling that also highlights the local context, strengths and challenges. Exploring Lazio, Italy by ebike on a specially designed ecotourism route to limit impacts. 1. Start your sustainability story with why you decided to start this journey or certification process in the first place. Why was this important to you, even if it might be difficult and messy at times? Why did you care enough to do this? What were the underlying values or motivations behind choosing to operate more sustainably? What big change did you want to create or what impact did you want to make? And for whom or for where (e.g., location or natural environment)? Be transparent if your motivations changed as you get started. For example, I was recently speaking with a guest house owner who shared that when she first started the training for sustainability certification she did so because she thought it was a trend and something she should do to meet traveler demands. However, after attending the training, those motivations moved way down the list as she understood better the underlying values of sustainability and realized for herself the need to do more now to preserve for future generations. And how she could contribute to that by operating more sustainably. 2. Provide local context when sharing your sustainability activities and stories. Don’t only provide a list of sustainability initiatives of what you did, but also explain why these specific initiatives are so important to you, your community or surrounding environment and the impact of these initiatives. Cyprus is a popular Mediterranean destination with limited freshwater resources so efforts to conserve water have great impact, but many travelers don't realize this. Your audience may not know the local context to understand the importance of these activities locally as their home context might be different. For example, in a fragile high desert environment activities around conserving water take on higher importance. Or how the impact of providing economic opportunities in remote areas can help prevent migration of young people to cities or to foreign countries. 3. Don't be vague when describing the impact or change as a result of your sustainability activities. This can be interpreted as greenwashing or trying to hide something, and it doesn’t support the greater transparency we need to advance sustainability as the default. An important part of sustainable tourism is measuring and monitoring, so use that information to provide tangible results whenever possible. For example, don’t just say “reduction in water use” but give the average percentage or liters of reduced water use over a period of time. Or instead of “increased employment”, specify the number of local people who now have a sustainable livelihood from tourism thanks to your company’s activities. 4. Remember that sustainability is not only about the environment. Some environmental or carbon reduction initiatives might feel more tangible and therefore, easier to talk about. However, be sure to tell stories as well about the activities and impacts related to local people, economy, and that also highlights the specific local context. Staying with families during a trek in the Alay Region of Kyrgyzstan provides them with additional income that is often invested in children's education or improving living arrangements. One way to highlight the socio-economic elements of sustainability is to think of one person impacted through your sustainable tourism initiatives. Tell that person's story of what changed — individually, for the family, for the community, etc — and use their name (with permission, of course). This makes a story personal, relatable and the impact feels real. 5. Tell stories of your challenges – and what you learned from them — as well as your successes. This type of transparency and honesty earns trust, combats greenwashing and helps others learn from your journey. Sustainability is messy and sometimes doesn't always work out as you had hoped. Share not only your challenges or mistakes, but most importantly what lessons you learned from the experience and what you plan to do in the future to try and overcome these challenges. Keep sharing updates as you make progress and find new solutions to address these issues. Other companies or destinations may be able to learn from how you overcame obstacles, or perhaps share their own solutions to similar problems they faced. 6. Highlight how your sustainability activities actually are an experience enhancer. Travelers sometimes think of “sustainable” or “responsible” as boring or more expensive as has been shown in different studies over the years (yes, sustainable tourism has a branding problem, but that is for another article). However, it shouldn’t be this way. Incorporating sustainability principles into your tourism product or service should improve or deepen the travel experience (if it doesn't then you need to go back to the product development stage). Learning to Make Shrak, traditional bread, during a community tourism project in Jordan provided so many opportunities to connect with and learn from local women. A highlight from our ten days in Jordan. For example, don't just list all your sustainability activities at the top of your tour description. Instead, highlight first how your tour provides a deeper or more personal connection to local people and culture…and how your sustainability initiatives to involve the local community in product development contributes to this. Or highlight how your hiking tour provides greater immersion in nature as you’ve developed new routes with fewer crowds, and have worked with local families to set up homestays. Or there is the “feel good” satisfaction for travelers of knowing that their money is staying local and having an impact in the community. When visiting the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op in the Sacred Valley of Peru you know that the money from all the handicrafts and souvenirs you buy goes directly to the women who made them. 7. Invite travelers to be part of your sustainability journey, and make it easy and simple. Don’t assume that travelers know what the “right” or more sustainable thing to do is, especially as they might not be familiar with the local context and its specific environmental and socio-economic situation. Don't preach with a list of things only focused on what not to do. Travelers sometimes tune this out, especially as behavior science shows that their first priority on vacation to have fun and not “behave sustainably.” Instead, provide simple and easy ways that travelers can make more sustainable decisions or adjust behaviors to advance sustainability locally. A key behavior science principle of this is to break down desired sustainable behaviors into actions that truly are easy and simple for travelers to do so it's a friction-less choice. Then, place this communication in strategic places in order to nudge them when they are making decisions. The post 7 Ways to Effectively Communicate Your Sustainability Story in Tourism appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by Audrey Scott The 2024 International Women’s Day theme is Inspire Inclusion, a call to action “to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected.” While much ... Continue Reading

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Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by Audrey Scott The 2024 International Women’s Day theme is Inspire Inclusion, a call to action “to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected.” While much progress has been made in gender equality and inclusion over the years, there is still so much awareness needed and work to be done to achieve the goal where everyone is included and has an opportunity for success. Companies, governments, and communities play a crucial role in creating this more equitable world through deliberate change and actions to ensure that women and marginalized groups are: included, that women of all backgrounds are invited and welcome to the table given access to support, education, resources, and investment provided opportunities in employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The tourism sector is certainly no exception in the role it can play to provide these fundamentals to women of all backgrounds and nationalities. Travel and Inclusion In an ideal form, travel is all about celebrating diversity, valuing differences, breaking down stereotypes and bias, engaging local communities, and making places better for local people to live. At least that's the goal for many people who work in tourism, and something that much mindful and sustainable travel achieves. We know, however, that sadly not all tourism businesses and travelers live up to this ideal. The tourism sector is able to deliberately pursue greater participation from women and greater social impact as a way to get closer to this ideal. This inclusiveness promises not only to strengthen the sector and make it more resilient, but it will also help construct deeper and more transformative travel experiences for travelers that are closer to that ideal above. With the landscape in mind, this article offers some specific ideas and mechanisms that tourism and travel can apply to empower women, support women entrepreneurs and businesses, and actively invest in communities to do so. Through all this, the travel sector can #InspireInclusion and deliberately work towards making a more equitable and inclusive world. Women in Tourism In 2019, women accounted for 54% of the tourism sector’s employment worldwide (we haven't been able to find an updated post-pandemic statistic). On one level, this statistic can be interpreted as an achievement, a foundational step toward opportunity and access for women. However, according to research done by the UNWTO, most of those jobs are concentrated in the least powerful, lowest-skilled and lowest paid positions. Only around 19-25% of leadership and C-suite levels are filled by women. This implies that women are often hired only for low level jobs and especially for those participating in the informal economy, the remain the most at risk of job loss and displacement from economic shocks like the pandemic. The tourism sector's challenge is not only to focus on greater involvement of women as part of the workforce, but as partners, managers and leaders. And if we think of this year's theme of inclusion, to provide the needed resources and opportunities in that local context for women and marginalized groups to be successful. Why Investing in Women Matters Before we dive into some of the ways that the tourism sector can better invest in and support women, let's look at why this matters for our world. TL;DR: Investing in women is an investment in our communities and future generations. Kiva, a microfinance organization which lends money low-income entrepreneurs around the world, found that women reinvest 80% of the income they earn into the education and wellbeing of children. Other research from the United Nations indicates that women-led economic empowerment leads to more gender equality and rights, economic growth, increased rates of girls education, and other community indicators of well-being. Moshi Mamas provides business and skills training to women, as well as market access for handicrafts. We've seen this play out in our projects repeatedly over the the last 10+ years, whether working with microfinance or tourism organizations. Shoshe, who had received business training and market access for her handicrafts through a program in Moshi, Tanzania, explained this concept above in personal terms: “I want to break the cycle for my daughter. I want to prove women can work and earn money.” Alessandra Alonso from Women in Travel explained during a G Adventures Retravel panel on the topic of women in tourism: “For us, economic empowerment is the beginning of everything. Because when a woman earns, then the kids get educated, the extended family eats and the whole community is much better off.” Learning to Make Shrak, traditional Jordanian bread, with women from a Zikra Initiative social enterprise. How Tourism Can Better Invest in Women Here are a few practical ways that travel and tourism can better invest in women, be more inclusive, and support empowerment, women businesses and leadership. Develop tourism products together with local community organizations and social enterprises that focus on supporting local women and marginalized groups. This social impact product development approach not only provides opportunity and to women and marginalized communities, but it can also provide crucial market access and a source of income for the local organization. If you are unsure on how to get started with a community-driven product development process, we can help. Hire more women, and not only at the lowest levels of participation. Focus especially on leadership and management positions. If you believe that your company already does an adequate job at gender diversity, conduct a simple audit to see how many positions in the company are filled by women or individuals from marginalized communities. This might offer a more objective snapshot of the actual diversity of your company’s workforce. Deploy innovation in gender diversity. Open positions and offer or expand training for women-led initiatives that might at first be considered unconventional. This will help to expand the definition and idea of what a “woman’s job” is or what’s possible for women to aspire to do. For example, Chobe Game Lodge was the first company to in Botswana to feature an all-female safari guide team. Sakha Cabs in India trains women to be taxi and professional drivers, a profession once considered “a man’s work.” Women in these roles push boundaries. Stereotypes are changing. Get ahead of the curve. Don’t just localize the supply chain, but make it more gender equal by choosing women-owned suppliers and local businesses. If you don't know where to get started in finding women-owned tourism businesses, check out this list on Wanderful of women-owned tourism businesses, women empowerment community tourism enterprises at the Planeterra Foundation or search for local women tourism networks where you operate. This approach will not only support your sustainability efforts, but women-owned businesses tend to amplify and expand opportunity and employment for other women in the community. Identify barriers and understand local women’s needs by asking them. Then provide the support they need to productively engage in projects, get the skills they want, and join the workforce. For example, this might include offering child care, transport to and from work to alleviate safety concerns, skills training to supplement basic education, and flexible work hours to accommodate traditional responsibilities at home. Encourage women to be the storytellers. Especially in indigenous communities, we’ve found that women are the stewards of tradition and culture. They are often the ones who pass on knowledge, traditions and techniques to their children, thereby sustaining community wisdom. Women’s voices often go unheard, for they don’t understand the value of their knowledge, nor are they actively given the opportunity to share it. Tourism companies are in an ideal position to amplify these stories and voices by inviting women to be guides or speak as local experts. Communicate to your customers and your travelers the deliberate decisions you’ve taken to invest in women. Share stories of access and opportunity. Be transparent and don’t be afraid to season your story by sharing some of the mistakes you’ve made along the way. Invite your customers to join this journey with you. Educate them on the impact of their decisions and behaviors to support women around the world. If you don’t know how to get started with social impact communications, let us know. Lynn, part of the all-women guiding team at Chobe Game Lodge, with her fully-electric Land Cruiser. For those of us in tourism, we know that it can create opportunity and jobs, thereby enhancing lives and livelihoods. It can take transferable skills and embed them for use in the formal economy. The Business Case for Inclusive Work Forces In addition, investment in women and inclusive work forces makes good business sense. Studies show companies that exhibit higher levels of gender diversity, especially at the executive level, usually outperform those without in terms of economic profit. One of the reasons is that men and women often display different leadership styles. The expression of diverse opinions and perspectives generates collective intelligence and can often result in more creative solutions and more effective problem solving. The business rationale is there on the consumer side, too. In tourism and travel, it’s estimated that women consumers make 70-80% of the travel decisions. Women travelers comprise a growing percentage of the entire traveling community. A company’s capability – aided by workplace diversity — to comprehend and process the needs of its current and prospective customers seems a no-brainer. Inspiring Inclusion Every Day As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we need to move from words and inspiration on one day of the year to deliberate and continual action which supports and empowers women every day. Should the tourism sector rise to “Inspire Inclusion,” women will be invited, welcomed and provided with the resources and support they need to take the driver’s seat on the journey to create a more inclusive and equitable future for all of us. And that's the inclusive world we'd like to live in. The post How Tourism Can Better Invest in Women appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on July 17, 2025 by Audrey Scott The tires of our e-bikes rested on the cobbles of what we imagined was an old imperial road. Our early morning cycle had wound up through the meadows and canopies of ... Continue Reading

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Last Updated on July 17, 2025 by Audrey Scott The tires of our e-bikes rested on the cobbles of what we imagined was an old imperial road. Our early morning cycle had wound up through the meadows and canopies of a nature reserve carved out along the banks of the Tiber River in central Italy. A long stretch of road opened revealing veils of mist rising above the bends of water below. As the road turned steeper still and narrowed, a 13th century castle with hill towns in view just behind it hinted at the medieval history around us, of struggles between barons and popes. This is Lazio, a slice of Italy with all the archaeological, culinary, natural and romantic trappings you might expect but, for now at least, without the crowds. Storming the castle in Nazzano…by e-bike. Lazio, Italy: Wide Open “Where is Lazio?” a friend asked when we first spoke of setting off on this trip. Despite having visited Italy well over a dozen times since we married (in Tuscany), we knew little about Lazio prior to this project, one initiated by Thybris River Experience and funded by Lazio Region, one intended to craft new guided e-bike itineraries in the region. If you felt the need to place yourself in the geographic center of Italy, you might not imagine Lazio, the regional home to Italy’s capital Rome. But it’s about where you’d be. As our guide Giorgia unspooled her stories, she hinted that Lazio was pressed between the ritualized Etruscans to the north in Tuscany and the free-wheeling Bourbon-influenced provinces of southern Italy. In all ways, Lazio seems to teeter in between these worlds. She also explained the word Lazio was derived from the Latin word latus meaning “wide.” While this referred to the low-lying areas around Rome, the idea of Lazio as “wide open”, including for exploration, grew on us as we spent more time. Much of what we experienced felt relatively undiscovered from a tourism perspective. Cycling the pine forest of Castel Fusano outside Rome. From the well-preserved ancient echoes of Ostia Antica to the modern psychic imprint of Italian film greats and philosopher-poets like Pier Paolo Pasolini, this part of northern Lazio might bear a label that reads “greater Rome.” Yet our daily experience was more expansive. It featured hill town espresso breaks, hidden sculpture gardens, migratory bird hides, and overnights in restored villas, all punctuated with random encounters and mid-afternoon noshes on pastas turned in local products and paired with local wines. Developing guided e-bike itineraries in Lazio Our journey through Lazio included ten days' worth of e-bike rides in three distinct areas, each within about an hour's train ride from Rome. The goal of these three itineraries, which our involvement and feedback will help refine, is to enable travelers to engage with lesser-known hill towns, protected areas, cultural curiosities and historical sites in Lazio Region along the Tiber River as it winds its way from north of Rome, through the city and out to the Tyrrhenian Sea on Italy's west coast.⁠ The two- and three-day customizable trips connect travelers to still relatively unknown areas near Rome in a way that celebrates local communities, artisans and experiences. Cycling with e-bikes from hill town to hill town in Lazio. Core to these guided tours are the concepts of sustainability, community, and a focus on all things local, including accommodation, guides, food, transport and providers. Although all destinations noted here can be accessed via other methods of transport, e-bikes featured as our primary mode of transport together with an occasional regional train. The aim: to maximize local benefit and minimize environmental impact. Across three multi-day itineraries in Lazio, here are just some of the people and places you might encounter. A big thanks goes to Giorgia Cadinu, a dynamic professional guide in Rome and cycling enthusiast. She initiated this project and shared her curiosity and passion for the Tiber River and Lazio Region with us all along the way. If you wish to book or customize any of the following guided itineraries, contact Thybris River Experience. Note that the website may refer to the tours as Pomona (Tuscia and Teverina), Bona Dea (Tevere Farfa Reserve and Nazzano), and Leucotea and Egeria (Ostia Antica, Fiumicino, and Isola Sacra into Rome) lands respectively. 1. Tuscia and Teverina: hill town and villa life Just an hour outside Rome by train are the Tuscia and Teverina districts of northern Lazio on the border of Italy's Umbria and Tuscany regions. Despite the accessibility of these districts to the capital city, you'll find what feels like a completely different world — one defined by rolling landscapes, wine farms, and a spread of palazzi and manor houses which harken back to barons whose designs for power may have conflicted with a pope or two. Explore the hill towns of Tuscia in Lazio by e-bike While Tuscany and Umbria are famous for their hill towns, you’ll find the beauty of medieval hill towns with melodic names like Civitella d'Agliano, Celleno, Roccalvecce, Sippiciano and Vitorchiano perched high above the Tiber River valley in Lazio. But these destinations come without the crowds, for now at least. The town of Vitorchiano, perched cliffside and catching some early morning light. Cycling the medieval walls of the hill town of Roccalvecce. Over the hills and vineyard dale, Teverina by e-bike. One of the benefits of traveling by e-bike from hill town to hill town around the region is the opportunity to appreciate the contours and changes in landscape, as well as the subtle shifts in character of the towns and townspeople along the way. From forest to rolling hill to volcanic farm, our cycling journey from one destination to another delivered some of the most memorable and most photogenic experiences of the day. Trebotti Wine Farm: Taste volcanic wines from a fully sustainable winery While many wineries today have only just begun to focus on sustainability, Trebotti winery in the hills of Tuscia has made sustainability core to its family-run operations for over 20 years. During a tour, you'll see this considered in every detail: the (re)use of an ancient Etruscan cellar to store its sparkling wines, the choice to grow only indigenous grapes on its volcanic soils, the use of lightweight glass bottles, and an elaborate self-regulating air circulation system to reduce energy consumption. The goal of all this is to operate sustainably, to live up to the wine's organic label, to manage environmental impact and to find balance with nature. If anyone wished to understand what sustainability looks like in detailed operation, this wine farm would be a great place to start. Federico, our host, summed it up well: “To be sustainable is to respect the land.” Wine tasting above the terraced vineyards at Trebotti winery. Federico, our Trebotti winery host and guide. Trebotti wine farm overlooking the valley. Our wine tasting featured five wines paired with homegrown produce and homemade bites, enjoyed overlooking the Trebotti vineyards below.⁠ Sample the local Grechetto, a white wine varietal you'll likely become familiar with on your visit to the Lazio region. We sampled a rose and orange wine, both of which paired nicely with semi-dried tomato confit, crostini and local cured sausage. Finally, we tasted two red wines, including our favorite Gocce Rosso made from Violone, the local Lazio name for the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo varietal. This paired with a 72-month aged caciocavallo cheese and homemade salted chocolate nocciola red wine crema proved an astonishing way to conclude a tasting. La Serpara: Find the hidden sculpture garden For over 25 years the artist Paul Wiedmer and his wife Jacqueline have invited artists to find inspiration in nature and to harness the creative spirit at their home-atelier tucked in the hills near the town of Civitella d'Agliano. Today, La Serpara is open for private visits. You can enjoy a guided walk around sculpture gardens and bamboo forests dotted with modern art installations and take in the story of the site and the works that various artists-in-residence have created over the years. Jacqueline takes us around the garden to admire the sculptures. Paul Weidmer, artist and co-founder of La Serpara, with his puppy welcoming committee. Civitella d'Agliano: craftsmen bicycles and castles There seems to be no trade or service that couldn't be delivered on the back of a bicycle in early- to mid-20th century Italy. Knife sharpener, priest, portrait photographer, mattress cleaner, hairdresser, obstetrician. These are just a few of the professions, together with their customized, elaborately outfitted bicycles, that form the private collection at Il Mulino dei Mestieri (The Mill of Craftsmen) in Civitella d'Agliano. Yes, all of that photography processing equipment went on the bike. Streets so steep, Civitella d'Agliano. Alessia and her husband Daniele have spent over ten years collecting, repairing and lovingly restoring their collection of antique craftsmen bicycles. This snapshot of 20th century village trade history is now on display in a local mill. As Alessia showed us around and demonstrated kits of each bicycle, it was remarkable to see how every step, tool and feature of each service or trade was carefully integrated into bicycle construction. If you are a bicycle-bound obstetrician, a baby's life depends on it! Delivery services today seem to have nothing on the early 20th century blend of ingenuity and efficiency. And certainly nothing of the personality. Celleno: Il Borgo Fantasma The town of Celleno, known today as Il Borgo Fantasma (the “Ghost Town”), had been a vibrant, living hill town for over 1000 years until the mid-20th century when a string of earthquakes and landslides rendered it a dangerous place to live. However, each time the authorities tried to clear inhabitants from their homes and move them elsewhere, they returned. It was their home after all. Eventually, in the 1950s, the authorities demolished most of the old town buildings. Hence, Celleno became a ghost town where only the ruins of buildings remain. Like a movie set, the “Ghost Town” of Celleno. Some of the surviving medieval structures have recently been transformed into an open air museum and a series of historical exhibitions. One features a collection of 20th century sound and recording devices, while another antique and artifact exhibition is built around a multi-story medieval trash tunnel dating back 800 years. These “medieval trash heaps” as they are called are fascinating, not least of all because they give pause and make one wonder what story will one day be drawn from all the trash we currently generate. Celleno, beautiful and intriguing, offers a fascinating story of of rescued history. A taste of Tuscia, with a view at San Rocco Restaurant San Rocco Restaurant, in the inhabited “new town” of Celleno, lies just outside the rampart walls of the ghost town and focuses on local Tuscian fare. Note that's not Tuscan fare, but Tuscian fare from the local region including hill towns like Celleno and the nearby city of Viterbo. We were fortunate since our visit coincided with the porcini harvest. In-season porcini mushrooms were picked fresh from the forest off in the distance below our lunch terrace. Lunch also included rabbit stew, gnocchi in cime di rapa (broccoli greens) and a plate of stewed fagioli (beans). We opted to pair it all with a local Lazio Pinot Grigio called Satres from Le Lase vineyards. The orange hue in the glass? From 24 to 48 hours of contact with the skin of the grape. A visit timed with fresh porcini season. Delicious! San Rocco Restaurant, Celleno. Stay in the restored 18th century Villa Lais One of the most memorable highlights of this itinerary was our 3-night stay at Villa Lais just outside the town of Sipicciano. Maddalena, the artist proprietor of Villa Lais, purchased this 18th century compound almost ten years ago and has lovingly renovated it over the ensuing years. Returning “home” to Villa Lais after a day of exploring Tuscia. Design and decor at Villa Lais. A warm welcome from Caino as one of Villa Lais' 10 cats conducts surveillance. Ceilings and walls of inlaid wood illustrated in muted yet dazzling color mesmerize with detail, line and story. The tableau is rich yet not gratuitously busy or overdone. Maddalena's careful eye for design shows in everything, from the furniture to the wine glasses used at dinner, to create a feeling of living history and continuity to the villa's past that feels in no way contrived. Another characteristic that makes this place feel like home are the four dogs and ten cats who are always ready to greet you when you return from a day of countryside exploration. Sacro Bosco, the 16th Century “Park of the Monsters” Sacro Bosco (“Sacred Forest”), also affectionately known as Park of the Monsters, is more firmly on the tourist path than most other destinations we visited in Lazio. But we kind of understand why. The park and its sculptures were commissioned in the mid-16th century by Prince Pier Francesco Orsini as a way to express his grief due both to the untimely death of his wife and the weight of the brutality he had witnessed in war. This one was probably for war grief. Sacro Bosco, Bomarzo. Featuring a collection of large stone sculptures depicting fantastic and often disturbing creatures all scattered about in a forest just outside the hill town of Bomarzo, the park was a bit ahead of its time in its vision and anticipation of the need for exhausting one's grief. Despite the fairly steep price of individual admission (13€) and the park's undeniable commercial feel, it might still be worth a look. 2. Tevere-Farfa Reserve and Nazzano: nature, hill towns and art Our exploration of Lazio continued further along the Tiber River in and around the Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve. This is the place where the Tiber River environment takes center stage in the experience. Landscapes are green and the pace is reflective, despite the area only being an hour northeast of Rome by train. Hill towns feature again, but they serve as the backdrop for natural surroundings like swimming wild boars, as well as moments of contemporary culture and artistic flourish, and a surprising lesson in modern history. Canoeing the Tiber River The bends of the Tiber River in open green space define the Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve. Landscape is defined by texture, including hillsides of exposed volcanic tufa rock. Castles seem to keep watch atop the nearby hills overlooking the river valley. Wildlife make their way about. For the first time, we encountered wild boars swimming, making their way from one side of the river to the other. When we did our paddle, we encountered grey herons and egrets, and various birds pausing as they make their way southward. Canoeing the Tiber River in Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve. Nazzano Castle up ahead. Eat farm-to-table at La Fattoria Campo di Contra As we lounged and noshed farm-to-table with Mauro, founder of La Fattoria Didattica Campo di Contra, we found our table refreshed multiple times with simple dishes fashioned from produce fresh from his organic garden and goods sourced from nearby farms and producers. Over conversation about life in the region, we enjoyed a range of small plate treats like zucchini flower fritters sided with honey made by bees who snack on local resin, antipasto locale, grilled melanzane (eggplant) and peppers, and fresh bean salad. And Mauro served all of it with his rather quaffable homemade wine. With our meal as the object lesson, we could feel the vision Mauro has for his land and for helping to connect visitors to nature. A post-canoe lunch at La Fattoria Campo di Contra. Medieval hill towns and castles to explore Hill towns featured again in our travels across the Tiber River valley, including one of our visual favorites, Nazzano. It's the one you'll see from below in the Tevere-Farfa Nature Reserve. Historically, we imagined it high up and cliffside in order for its minders to eye the Tiber River below as it flowed with goods into Rome. As we dreamily perused listings posted inside windows of real estate agents in Nazzano we wondered what it would be like to set up shop, restore one of these buildings and actually live here. There be castles in Lazio, too. This one in Nazzano. Grand entry by e-bike to the hill town of Filacciano. In other hill town stops, we enjoyed beer and snacks in a piazza (and got invited to lunch), took espresso breaks with locals enjoying the morning sun and did things like snack-slurp suppli di telefono, a warm croquette so-called because its mozzarella is so oozy it stretches like telephone wire. Hike and cycle the trails of Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve is the first protected area in Lazio Region. When we first entered the park, we found ourselves clearly in the thick of nature. The sun was low and peeked through the trees, casting light and shadows on the more curious members of the local boar families lurking about. Between boat rides and canoe trips, we took gentle strolls and and cycled much of the trail that winds itself around and through the bends in the Tiber. HIking in Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve, Lazio A few of the characters at Ecoturismo Tevere Farfa. The cycling trails of Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve in late afternoon. Ecoturismo Tevere Farfa, built on the site of the old organic farm cooperative, is the only accommodation in the park itself and served as our base. Home to a curious cast of characters including a donkey and a sheep who enjoys giving head butts, it functions also as an educational and community gathering center. Ponzano Romano: Enjoy a conversation with a local artist Though most of Michele Longo's working years were spent in Rome directing films and mixing it up in cafes with the likes of Pasolini, he now focuses his time painting and creating mixed media art in his apartment studio in the hill town of Ponzano Romano. Surrounded by plants and fruit trees on his sunny veranda, we enjoyed a conversation with him over Cornettino di Ponzano Romano (a savory crisp croissant twist dashed with anise, extra virgin olive oil and glazed just slightly sweet) and demi-tasses of espresso. Longo's passion is palpable, as is his concern for what he sees as the deterioration of societal elements that support the development of creativity. We appreciated his pithy wisdom and spirit at 82-years young. We also discovered his secret to “creative fermentation” along the way. Hint: it's not about virtual interaction. Conversation with an artist, Lazio edition. Ponzano Romano is also known for its contemporary art museum, which was unfortunately closed at the time of our visit due to a change in exhibitions. However, if you take note of Longo's observation that Ponzano Romano is a more creative city than Rome, the museum is likely worth a look. Bunker Soratte: Go deep in the WWII and Cold War tunnels Just when you think you've seen it all in terms of WWII and 20th century military history, you walk into this place and one jaw-drop follows another as history bends the mind again. Marvel at the scale of Bunker Soratte, Mussolini’s mega-bunker tunnel complex atop Mount Soratte and near the town of Sant'Oreste. Apparently sensing the winds of war, Mussolini ordered it carved into the mountains by Italian engineers. After its construction from 1937 to 1939, and due to Il Duce’s loose hubristic lips, the bunker was squatted by Nazi Germany thereafter and run by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring as the Supreme Command of the South. Later during the Cold War, the four kilometer tunnel network would become a nuclear fallout shelter for officials in the Italian government. One of the long, deep tunnels of Bunker Soratte. Bunker Soratte's Cold War history comes through in the NATO situation room. Exhibition illustrating the Nazi German occupation of Bunker Soratte during World War II. Site lore makes the place even more intriguing. One story tells of the allied bombing of the bunker (that deliberately spared the nearby town) with the help of a local engineer who communicated intelligence and guidance signals via a transmitter hidden in a birdcage. (Does that make him “the bird man” of Sant'Oreste?) And the lost, stolen Nazi gold? That one begs a miniseries. The whole thing is pretty sobering too, once you overcome the fascination. Some reflective time out for an espresso or the drink of your choice should follow in the friendly little town of Sant'Oreste nearby. Fondazione Serpone: art, nature and a surprising chapel The sculpture garden and outdoor art installations at Fondazione Serpone in Torrita Tiberina are made available by way of a private family collection open to the public (by appointment). Each of its artist-donated pieces is carefully considered and positioned throughout the grounds of the hillside property. Together, the pieces delight in playful, subtle ways. The subtlety ends, rather deliberately, upon opening the door to the chapel installation executed by Austrian philosopher-artist Hermann Nitsch. What might be considered the centerpiece of the property and its installations, the chapel's interior offers a surprising and challenging interpretation of the spiritual. And the chapel is blessed by the local bishop! Art in nature at Fondazione Serpone. Nitsch Chapel, something to experience. Ecofattorie Sabine: terrace lunch on an organic farm After all that movement and cycling, uphill and down, a bit of restoration and stock-taking is required. Ecofattorie Sabine in Poggio Mirteto offers an ideal location for a meal before catching the train to Rome. The farm is right there, so everything is fresh, but so is the train station, so you can roll onto the train after your meal. For lunch, we shared honey-bathed ricotta; gnocchi with pumpkin cream, sheep cheese, sage and crouton crumble; pici pasta with walnut pesto and stracciatella; cicory greens ripassta and an autumn salad. With our meal, we enjoyed a Lazio Tragugnano Orvieto DOC from Sergio Mottura vineyard, an organic white wine blend featuring, again, the Greccheto varietal. Ecofattorie Sabine, where ingredients are fresh from the organic farm next door. III. On Rome's Edge: Ostia, Fiumicino, and Isola Sacra Everyone knows of Rome, the Eternal City, for its deep history and archeological wonders. However, not too far out of town in the direction of Fiumicino airport lies a handful of remarkable sites that often go unnoticed. ⁠ If you are looking for even more impressive history and ruins without the crowds, check out Ostia Antica and Portus, two nearby Tiber River gateways for commerce and exchange during the Roman Empire. These lesser known archeological ruins speak to the development and growth of Rome and form the cornerstone of a kind of “Rome you never knew” experience. To connect past to present, our itinerary also included encounters with passionate local people and projects highlighting the link between community, history and nature in and around the surrounding communities of Fiumicino and Isola Sacra. Ostia Antica: The ancient Roman Empire…just outside Rome Stroll the ancient streets, homes, theater and businesses of the once thriving ancient city of Ostia, known today as Ostia Antica. Although this site does not garner the attention (or crowds) of the top-tier archeological sites in nearby Rome, nor trigger the kind of emotion you might experience at Pompeii, the evidence of what life was like in this town some 2000 years ago astonishes due to its remarkable state of preservation. Marble-topped bars? Ostia Antica had them. Street food stalls? Those too. Maybe that's why Ostia Antica is considered among Rome's first colonies despite its proximity to Rome itself. Theater mask sculptures in the Roman Theatre, Ostia Antica. Mosaics in the Roman baths of the chariot drivers, Ostia Antica. The 1st century A.D. Roman amphitheater of Ostia Antica. It's still in use today. Portus (The Port of Claudius and the Harbor of Trajan) Just down the road from Ostia Antica in the direction of Fiumicino (home to Rome's airport FCO) lies Portus and the Archaeological Area of the Imperial Harbours of Claudius and Trajan. Imagine the bustling ancient city of Portus while strolling the stone-quiet ruins of the Port of Claudius (42 AD) and Harbor of Trajan (100 AD). Today, this archeological site is 3 km from the Mediterranean coastline, making it difficult to imagine that 2,000 years ago this artificial, hexagon-shaped harbor was fully submerged and served as Rome's main port to the Mediterranean Sea. Portus, once ancient Rome's main port on the Mediterranean. Severiani warehouses, Portus. Goods arriving by sea were unloaded at the port and harbor, then transferred to smaller boats on the Tiber River to take to Rome. This configuration allowed Rome access to the Mediterranean Sea along with a layer of protection. Portus grew in such size and importance that it received the status of an independent city in the 4th century. However, history consigned the port to disuse. Much of it remains undiscovered, quite literally underground, so one can only imagine what lies underneath the airport and the nearby towns of Fiumicino and Isola Sacra. Explore the ancient tombs at the Necropolis of Portus If you wish to understand the ancients, understand how they honored, buried and stored their dead. The Necropolis of Portus in Isola Sacra is a vast cemetery dating from the 1st century A.D. Although the well-off at the time could afford mausoleums and tombs whose epic mosaic floors remain intact even today, workers from the Roman port and harbor and tradesmen of various crafts were relegated to packed burial niches and much tighter quarterage. Mausoleums and burial niches, Portus Necropolis. Tomb layers, Portus Necropolis. The site is absolutely worth a visit. The necropolis and its surroundings combines the tranquility you'd expect from a burial site with the wonder and story of a cache of archaeological ruins offering a glimpse into the lives and livelihoods of those who helped build the surrounding history. Eat and drink local in Fiumicino For lunch on the Tiber River near a marina in Fiumicino, we enjoyed 4112 – QuarantunoDodici Restaurant, a more laid back bistro version of the Michelin-starred Il Tino restaurant upstairs Resisting an urge to try everything on the menu, we reined it in and opted for a palate cleansing starter, the merluzzo (salted codfish) and red beet carpaccio dashed with raspberry vinegar. Appreciating the scratch pad of the seven local species of fresh fish on offer, we shared a whole sarago, a kind of Mediterranean bream not to be confused with either branzino or orata. Distinct, tasty and light. We went bold and paired it all with a Fioranello Bianco from Lazio. Codfish and red beet carpaccio. QuarantunoDodici (1441) restaurant, Fiumicino. Fried polenta and tomato cream atop cicoria greens, BioAgricola Triano. Homemade pasta in zucchini pesto, BioAgricola Triano. When we were in Fiumicino poking around the Port of Claudius and Harbor of Trajan, we stopped by nearby Bioagricola Traiano for lunch. The restaurant is located on the edge of its organic garden, chicken hut and bee hives so you can imagine the source of many of the ingredients you see on the regularly changing menu. We opted for a couple of appetizers and pasta dishes, including fried polenta over cicoria greens and homemade pasta with zucchini pesto. Meals are visually appealing and tasty enough, but portions are big and hearty so beware of over-ordering as we did. Meet a local historian at Museo della Cultura Contadina ⁠Past and present come together at the Museo della Cultura Contadina in Isola Sacra. Our host, Oswaldo, shared the history of the area and how it had been transformed from a swamp — they literally drained the swamp — into a productive tract of agricultural land during the early-to-mid-20th century. The unique story of Isola Sacra, Museo della Cultura Contadina. He is one of the few remaining descendants who still lives there. Through the museum he works with the community to preserve the story of the establishment of the area as an economic development opportunity and enticement to Italian World War I veterans from around Italy to settle and work the land after the world wars. Check out the Pietro Micca steam tugboat Along the Tiber River as it readies to spill into the Tyrrhenian Sea, Giulio, the passionate owner of the Pietro Micca steam tugboat, keeps a piece of maritime history and heritage alive to illustrate the evolution of technologies and energy use. The Pietro Micca dates back to 1895 and has known many incarnations, including its original role as a tugboat, then support ship for an American military base in Naples. Most recently it served as a traveling, floating modern-day sustainability education program run by Giulio and his family. The Pietro Micca Steam Tugboat. Giulio in the engine room of the Pietro Micca steam tugboat. Although the operations of the ship are not currently sustainable since its steam is generated by diesel, Giulio remarks that “we need to remember and understand where we were and are [in terms of sustainability and energy] to know where we're going.” In fact, his vision of sustainable evolution for the ship includes its eventual conversion to electric power. That would be something. Birdwatch at LIPU Oasis and witness the regeneration of nature Two decades ago, Alex Polinori of LIPU Oasis (Centro Habitat Mediterraneo Ostia) set off to turn a garbage dump into a suburban oasis and a thriving home for migratory birds. Since then, he and his team have planted over 7,000 trees and helped reclaim a patch of once disregarded wetlands that now attracts a fast-growing list of migratory bird species and local wildlife. LIPU Ostia is a case study in natural land reclamation and regenerative tourism. If you are bird enthusiast, it's worth the effort to time your visit with that of the visiting birds' migratory patterns. Before image from 20 years ago. After: Ostia's Lipu Oasis, now a natural reserve. To optimize the atmosphere of the wetlands, it's only possible to watch the birds through two bird hides. The hides provide birdwatchers an opportunity to enjoy the birds in their natural environment without disturbing them. Depending upon the time of year you may see an unusual and wide array of birds and water fowl including flamingos, pelicans, rare Europeans duck species, woodpeckers, and more. Birdwatching in one of the bird hides. Lipu Oasis, Ostia. Sentiero Pasolini and Regina Ciclarium: A return to Rome From Ostia and the coast, human civilization yields again to nature. As it does, reeds and thickets have been cleared along the hand-marked Sentiero Pasolini (Pasolini Path). Pier Paolo Pasolini, whose name comes up often throughout the itinerary, was a prolific poet and film director, perhaps most well-known for his film Mamma Roma (1962). For the first-timer, Pasolini is difficult to grok: in parts folk, suburban, spiritual, philosophical, and wary and weary from his time in the war. Controversial, thoughtful. And unfortunately, a voice snuffed out by murder (and some say assassination) in 1975. The Pasolini Path yields to the Regina Ciclarium as it winds its way through the suburbs of Rome, by street art caches, and over and around old bridges and Tiber River infrastructure from the Roman Empire. The paths, for cyclists and hikers alike, are community-maintained and in full disclosure, a work in progress. Sentiero Pasolini (Pasolini Trail) en route to Rome. When in Rome, you see the Colosseum. A street mural tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini along the cycling route from the coast to Rome. After navigating and emerging from what felt like a time warp, we found ourselves somehow startled to be staring at the Roman Colosseum. From there, we wound our way further past the imposing yet human scale of history, through to more polished neighborhoods and the touristic center city Rome. In many ways, we'd completed the cycle. Disclosure: The experiences above were provided to us in conjunction with a Lazio Region-funded consulting project with Thybris River Experience entailing product advisory, product marketing and destination positioning. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post Exploring Lazio: Off-the-Beaten Path Italy Outside Rome appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 9, 2025 by Audrey Scott The hike to the Lost City in northern Colombia takes you 46km (28 miles) round trip through the jungles, hills and river valleys of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We’d had our ... Continue Reading

The post The Lost City, Colombia: A Guide to Hiking to La Ciudad Perdida appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 9, 2025 by Audrey Scott The hike to the Lost City in northern Colombia takes you 46km (28 miles) round trip through the jungles, hills and river valleys of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We’d had our sights set on the Lost City Trek for years, so expectations had built up. Fortunately, the challenge, landscape, and experience exceeded so many of them. This Lost City Columbia Hiking Guide shares why that is and includes a day-by-day overview of the Lost City Trek, all you need to know to choose the right tour, how to pack and organize so that you can enjoy the Ciudad Perdida and this multi-day hike to the fullest. We were out of breath, having just climbed 1,200 stone steps when Celso, our indigenous guide, called for us to join him around a group of stones arranged in a circle in a clearing. In the middle of the circle stood another square stone on top of which lay a pile of coca leaves placed as an offering. Celso explained with trademark calm in a slow, deliberate voice, “This is a place where we should let go of our impurities, our negative thoughts and emotions.” We stood in silence, not only to “cleanse” ourselves so that we might better experience this sacred site, but also to enjoy its peace and quiet. To Celso, we were then prepared to further visit Teyuna, otherwise known as the Lost City (La Ciudad Perdida) in Colombia, the ultimate destination to which we’d been trekking in the rain forest for the previous two days. A taste of landscape along the Lost City Trek. Here’s why you might want to consider putting the Lost City or Ciudad Perdidia in Colombia on your travel or hiking wish list, in case it isn’t there already. In this Lost City Colombia Guide we include the day-by-day hiking experience plus all you need to know about to choose a Lost City tour and how plan, prepare for and pack to be able to enjoy the complete Lost City Colombia experience. Update: This article was originally published in June 2015 and updated in May 2022 with information about the new G Adventures Lost City Trek itinerary. The following experiences are from our G Adventures Lost City Trek. If you are considering this tour and want to know what to expect, here’s a taste of the itinerary and route, interaction with local indigenous guides, campsites and Wiwa community project. Disclosure: This tour was sponsored and provided to us in conjunction with our partnership with G Adventures as Wanderers. About this Lost City Colombia Trek Guide When I researched the Lost City Trek as part of our travels in Colombia, I found a fair bit of conventional history about the site, often paired with a photo or two of the final destination, including what I refer to as the “golf course” shot. What I didn’t find much of was information on what the actual journey to the Lost City was like, including the hiking experience, difficulty, landscapes, sleeping and eating conditions, weather, and more. That's the goal of this Lost City Trek day-by-day section. Us in front of the “golf course” shot. The landscape along the trail is more beautiful and varied than we had expected and the Lost City site itself is far more extensive than most photos indicate. We especially appreciated having an indigenous guide to put everything into cultural and historical context. Celso, a member of the local Wiwa indigenous community, shared his culture with us and linked it to the other indigenous communities, their relationship to nature and their shared connection to the ancient Tayrona civilization. Our Wiwa guide, Celso, with his poporo, a gourd used for carrying crushed seashells (lime). Our days usually began early, around 5:00 A.M., so we could get on the trail while it was still cool and so that we could complete our day’s journey before the rains of the mid-late afternoon. We appreciated getting up early, and we enjoyed all the benefits of the early morning – light, coolness and silence among them. Lost City Trek Map The map below shows the basic Lost City trail with different options for campsites and sections. We did a four-day hike, but if you opt for a five-day Lost City trek then your second and third days will be shorter as you'll have two days to complete that same route. The current G Adventures Lost City Trek is five days. Lost City trailhead sign with route, campsites and distances. Hiking to the Lost City in Colombia: Day by Day Itinerary Day 1 of the Lost City Trek Start/Finish: Machete (El Mamey) to Adán or Ricardito Camp (Campsite #1) Distance: 7-8 km All Lost City treks, no matter which tour company you choose, seem to set off from Santa Marta in northern Colombia. From there, a jeep or van transfer takes 45 minutes along the highway. You’ll likely stop at a convenience store for last minute snacks and water. From there, you’ll head up a dirt track into the mountains. After you arrive in Machete, you’ll have lunch, say goodbye to the driver and meet your local indigenous hiking guide. Then, the hike begins. (Note: this is when you should ask the people coming off the trek if they have a walking stick they can give you. It is really helpful for balance and ease on the trail.) The first of several swimming holes along the trail. The beginning of the walk eases you into things, with a swimming hole a close 25 minutes from the trailhead. After cooling off in the water, you’ll have a steep uphill for around 45 minutes, then a bit of a break, then a long descent into the valley where the first campsite is located. Everything on the trail comes up on the backs of mules or horses. Enjoying the view during a fruit and water break, Day 1. Steep terrain into the valley of the first campsite. Day 2 of the Lost City Trek Start/Finish: Adan or Ricardito Campsite #1 to El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzo Camp (Campsite #3) Distance: 14.7km (Note: for the 5-day Lost City Trek this day is 7-8 km) If you are doing a 4-day Lost City Trek, then this is a long hiking day. If you are doing a 5-day route like the G Adventures Lost City Trek then this will be a similar distance as the previous day, 7-8 km, to Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2). The trail crosses Rio Buritaca several times during the journey. The first segment of the day takes you uphill and across some beautiful terrain, including some local farms. After a jump in a swimming hole and lunch at Campsite #2 (Wiwa Camp), we continued all the way to Campsite #3 (El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzo Camp), located only 1 km downhill from the site of the Lost City. If you are doing the 5-day Lost City Trek, then you would stop at Campsite #2 for the night. A little rain never hurt anyone… This day takes you through a great deal of varied landscape — deeper into the tropical jungle, across rivers and by a couple of Kogi village communities along the way. Passing by a small Kogi village. When the river is too high, you cross in a mid-air cage-like contraption. Don't worry, it's more secure than it looks. After the rains, enjoying the open landscape. Day 3 of the Lost City Trek: Visiting La Cuidad Perdida Start/Finish: El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzo Camp (Campsite #3) to Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2), via the Lost City / Ciudad Perdida Distance: 13.6km Note: This is day 4 if you are doing a 5 day Lost City Trek. You rise very early on this day (around 4:30A.M.) so that you can set off at dawn and enjoy the Lost City in the softest light and coolest air possible. After a short walk from the campsite, you reach the starting point of the 1,200 stone stairs you’ll need to walk and scramble to reach the terraces of the city above. It’s not an easy climb, and can be a bit treacherous if wet or damp, but if you take care and get into a meditative rhythm, you’ll find it goes very quickly. Slow and steady up 1,200 carved stairs. After the steps, you’ll have reached the lower chambers of Teyuna, also known as The Lost City or Ciudad Perdida. It is believed that this was a capital city built by the Tayrona civilization in 800 A.D., approximately 600 years before the Incas built Machu Picchu in Peru. When Spanish colonialists came close to finding or approaching the in the 16th century, the Tayrona people opted to abandon the city instead of allowing it to fall into Spanish hands. Two Kogi men return from the upper chambers of Teyuna. Of course, the Lost City Colombia was never truly “lost.” Teyuna was overtaken by jungle for the next several hundred years, as only the shaman (holy men) of the four indigenous groups who live in the area were aware of its existence and would visit it regularly for ceremonies. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that the site was “discovered” by the outside world. Tomb thieves cleared out much of the gold, valuable artifacts and other remains. Due to this misfortune and the fact that no written record of the Tayrona exists, much about the city and civilization remains the subject of speculation. Celso explains the competing theories of the Lost City version of the Rosetta Stone. The Wiwa, Kogi, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo indigenous groups that remain in the area are believed to be the descendants of the Tayrona and have carried on their stories and traditions. We noticed when we arrived at the Lost City, Celso let down his hair, the surprising length of which is said to represent the wisdom that flows from the sacred mountains through the rivers to the coast. He was dressed in white, as was his custom, to represent the purity and integrity of the snow-covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, out of sight in the distance. Celso leads us to the upper terraces of Teyuna, the Lost City. Throughout our journey, he shared stories that had been passed on to him, through generations, from shaman to shaman, from elders to children, about the Lost City / Ciudad Perdida. The stories told of its creation, the symbolism of the different terraces, and the Tayrona relationship with nature. The indigenous people that inhabit the area around the Lost City in Colombia believe they are the symbolic “elder brothers,” there to protect both the sacred Sierra Nevada Mountains and their “younger brothers” – meaning the rest of us. The sense of responsibility to the equilibrium and the good and health of others was evident. Approaching the upper chambers of the Lost City. After your visit to Teyuna, the Lost City, you return to El Paraiso or Paso Lorenzto Camp (Campsite #3) for a quick lunch and begin your return all the way to Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2). For us, we were met with an afternoon downpour that made it feel as though we were skiing through mud crevasses in the rain forest. We were glad for the experience. It was actually more delightful than it sounds as the rain was warm and everything around was so green and lush drinking in the much appreciated water. After the rains, watching the clouds rise up through the hills. Day 4 of the Lost City Trek Start/Finish: Wiwa Camp (Campsite #2) to Machete and Santa Marta Distance: 12.7km This is another early rise since much of the trail is uncovered and therefore becomes quite hot as the day goes on. Try to make it as far as you’re able before the sun becomes too strong. Through a limestone path en route to Machete. As you’ll remember from your first day, much of the trail is up or down, without much in between. After a stop for fruit at the first campsite and a jump in the swimming hole, you find yourself back where you began, with a celebratory lunch in Machete. Then you'll transfer by vehicle to Santa Marta for a nice, hot shower and to reunite with the rest of your stuff. Back where we started, at the trail head sign in Machete. Lost City Trek Difficulty and Hiking Conditions We’d give this trek a medium-high difficulty ranking for all the reasons we’re about to elaborate. This means that you should not require special training to hike the Lost City Colombia trail, but you should be relatively active and in good physical shape. You should either be accustomed to or be prepared for day-long treks with steep, slow uphill climbs and long walks in intense heat and humidity. Lost City Trek is Not a Technical Trail The Lost City Trek is not at all technical, meaning that you will not need any special equipment (e.g., climbing ropes or other fittings). The trail is well-maintained and for the most part, it’s an easy path to follow. But, it’s necessary to have a guide to navigate the rivers and some turns. Through the tropical forest on the way to the Lost City stairs. You’ll have to cross a few streams or rivers — with river shoes on or with your shoes and socks in your hand — but that is part of the fun. Altitude, Steep Hills and Valleys Altitude is not really an issue, as the trek’s highest point is around 1,500 meters/4,920 feet. However, the Lost City trail seems to either be straight up or straight down without much flat so there's a lot of steep ascents and descents on the trail. Our advice is to take it slow and steady on the uphill. Keep in mind that it’s not a race. It’s better to hike deliberately and slowly and take fewer breaks than to go quickly and wear yourself out with frequent and longer stops to recover. Heat and Humidity One of the challenges of the Lost City Colombia Trek is the combination of heat and humidity. I’m not sure we’ve ever poured sweat with such intensity and consistency. It actually felt great, like a cleansing process. Just be sure that you drink plenty of water to replenish. Note that respite from the heat comes a couple of times a day in the form of rivers and swimming holes to jump into. Bugs Along the Trail Another challenge and irritation of this trek: bugs and their bites. There are lots of them, especially mosquitoes at the Lost City itself. We suggest applying plenty of bug repellent (bring on the DEET if you need to). If you are especially susceptible to mosquito bites consider hiking in long trousers as Dan did. Finally, pick up a pack of generic B-complex tablets (“Compejo-B generico” runs 25 pills for $1.00) in a pharmacy in Santa Marta before the hike, as certain B vitamins are said to repel mosquitoes. Another thing to watch out for are fleas and/or bedbugs in the hammocks and/or blankets at the campsites – this is where we collected most of our bug bites (especially campsite #2). We recommend carrying a sleep sack, so that you have another layer of protection while you are sleeping. Finally, check your body closely for ticks when you emerge from the Lost City Trek. We each had a few on us; they are very tiny and difficult to see, so look closely. (Note: For advice on how to properly remove a tick, check out this article.) Rain and Mud Along the Lost City Trail We had been warned plenty about rain and mud, but didn’t find wet weather too much of a hindrance. Yes, it rained from time to time (usually mid-afternoon), but it was often so hot anyway that the cool rain was welcome. Be certain any valuable electronic gear is well-protected and any dry sleeping clothes are at least wrapped in plastic (e.g., ziploc, garbage bags or a dry sack) inside your backpack. Then, have an outer backpack cover to protect your backpack from the elements. A little rain and mud just adds to the excitement. If you fall in the mud, just go with the flow and don’t think about it too much. You can always wash yourself and your clothes later. Best Time to Hike the Lost City Trail While you will experience heat and humidity almost all year round in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern Colombia as it is a rain forest, there is still a rainy and dry season. December through March is considered the dry season and so it often is considered the bet time to hike the Lost City Trek. In general, May through September is considered the rainy season for the region. This means expect more downpours and higher river crossings. That doesn't mean that you should avoid those months altogether as the rain can be a welcome relief from the heat and provide an interesting experience. For example, we did our G Adventures Lost City Trek in early June and thought the few rainfalls were kind of pleasant and added to the experience. Note: The Lost City Trail is usually closed in September for trail maintenance and to do upkeep on the campsites and other services. Lost City Trek Food You will certainly not go hungry on the Lost City Trek. Each group is assigned a cook and not only will you be served three large meals a day (e.g., fish and rice, pasta, chicken and potatoes), but you will also enjoy well-placed fruit stops along the trail. These are very welcome for the additional boost of energy and hydration just when you need it. Enrique, our cook, made us a feast every dinner. If you are vegetarian or have food restrictions (e.g., gluten or lactose free), alert your trekking company and your guide in advance so they can respond accordingly. Lost City Trek Campsites and Sleeping There are a handful of different campsites along the way that the tour companies use. We can only speak firsthand to the ones that we stayed in — Adán Camp, Wiwa Camp, and El Paraiso — but we understand that the other campsites are quite similar in design, comfort and services. Not always, but often, you’ll have an option to sleep in a hammock or on a mattress/bed (both with mosquito nets). We always chose the hammocks, but some may prefer mattresses. Sleeping along the Lost City Trek. Hammocks covered with mosquito nets. There are cold water showers and flush toilets at all the campsites. Clotheslines will be strung around so you’ll be able to hang up your wet clothes from the day. However, the rain forest is damp so do not expect anything to fully dry overnight, if at all. Evenings also get cool, so keep a long-sleeved shirt or fleece jacket handy at night. Organizing a Lost City Tour: Your Options Choosing a trekking operator You cannot do the Lost City Trek independently (at this time), meaning you must go with one of the four or five authorized tour operators. We took our Lost City Trek with G Adventures and can highly recommend the experience. G Adventures work with a local organization that provides indigenous guides so that their travelers are able to learn about the indigenous cultures and communities still living in the Sierra Nevada mountain area. Regardless of which operator you choose to take you on the Lost City Trek, we suggest you select one that works with indigenous guides. The cultural and living history background is essential to a full Lost City Colombia experience. How many days do you need for the Lost City Trek? Most trekking operators offer four-, five- or six-day trek options. We did the Lost City Trek in four days, but now all the standard G Adventures Lost City Trek offerings are five days. As the route is the same, the main difference is that a five-day trek includes a relaxed day #2 with only a few hours of trekking to the second campsite. As for the six-day option, we can’t really imagine taking that much time to do the trek. But if you are worried about your trekking abilities and stamina then talk with an operator regarding what they suggest. Leaving your luggage behind during the trek Most accommodation and tour operators/trekking agencies will allow you to leave your big bags or luggage with them for the few days that you're doing the Lost City Trek. We left our big backpacks at our hotel in Santa Marta and we saw other travelers leave their bags at the tour operator/trekking agency office. Lost City Trek Essential Gear and Packing List Much of what we include in our Hiking Essentials Checklist holds true for the Lost City Trek. However, we offer a customized Lost City Trek packing list with recommended hiking gear for this specific hiking experience. The goal is to ensure you have what you need for the tropical rain forest conditions but that don't overpack and weigh yourself down with a heavy backpack. While there is the option on some of the route to hire a mule to carry luggage and belongings, it's best not to count on it. You should pack and plan as if you will be carrying your pack the entire length of the trail. Trust us, pack light. You’ll quickly begin to feel the extra weight going up those steep hills. Hiking Backpack for the Lost City Trek When we did our Lost City Trek we just repurposed our regular travel and laptop daypacks. This worked fine at the time, but since then we have invested in real hiking backpacks that fit our backs better and don't cause any aches and pains in the shoulders or back. Here are two recommended options for hiking backpacks that will fit the hiking clothing and gear you need, but not be too big or bulky: Women's Hiking Backpack: I have a larger version of this Deuter ACT Trail Pro SL Backpack (22-Liters) and love it. The SL backpacks are designed for women's bodies and I find this backpack fits me really well, is well designed with its own backpack cover and zippered areas, and is both light and sturdy. Men's Hiking Backpack: Dan loves Osprey hiking backpacks as they fit his body type (e.g., tall) and back really well. He likes the Osprey Stratos 24-Liter Hiking Backpack for day hies or for multi-day hikes like this where you don't need to carry a lot of gear. Refillable Water Bottle for Drinking Water You will go through several liters of water each day (if not, then you’re not drinking enough) since you’ll be sweating constantly. Bring with you 1-2 refillable water bottles or a water bladder so that you always have at least one liter of water on you at all times. Each campsite offers clean water, so you can refill your water bottles every couple of hours on the trail. If you really want to play it safe consider carrying with you a SteriPEN or sterilization drops. Consider bringing electrolyte sports drink tablets or packets with you to help you replenish some of the minerals that you’ll sweat out each day. And let’s face it, sometimes drinking liters of water gets boring and you want some flavor. Walking Stick We highly recommend carrying a walking stick. We were very thankful for ours, especially when things got muddy and slippery. Hikers just finishing and on their way out of the trail donated their wooden sticks to us. If this doesn’t happen, then ask your guide for one and he will find a walking stick for you, or fashion one for you with his machete. Alternatively, bring your own walking sticks (these are good travel-friendly walking sticks). We usually just use one stick each so a set of two is sufficient for two people. A walking stick, even a basic one like this, is essential for this trek. Hiking Clothing for the Lost City Trek You really don’t need much in the clothing department. Don’t worry about packing clean clothes for each day. You will be sweating buckets within minutes every morning of getting out on the trail. Here’s what we suggest for hiking clothing and gear essentials: 1 set of hiking clothes: T-shirt (preferably quick dry), shorts, hiking socks. This means you will wear the same clothes every day. Don’t worry about it. Everyone does it. And you’ll be thankful not to carry the weight of extra clothes. Note: if mosquitoes love you, consider wearing hiking pants the whole time. Dan did this and it cut down on his mosquito bites considerably. If you are especially sun-sensitive, consider bringing a very light long-sleeved hiking shirt, but be aware that you may be warm. Hiking shoes: We wore low-rise hiking shoes (his and hers) and these worked great for us. Other people wore light trainers, however some mid-ankle support is useful because of the pitch of the terrain. 1 set of evening clothes for post-shower and sleep: T-shirt, long pants (or pajama bottoms), socks. To ensure these remain dry, pack them in a plastic bag or other impermeable container inside your backpack. Extra t-shirt: Just in case. Underwear for every day of your trek: With an extra pair thrown in for good measure, if you like. Recommended his and hers quick dry underwear for men and women. Extra pair of socks: Just in case your first pair get soaked beyond comfort while rock jumping at the river crossings. Bathing suit: Keep near the top of your backpack to have handy for swimming holes. Long-sleeved shirt: For cool nights or sleeping (recommended his and hers). Fleece jacket: For cool nights or sleeping (can double as a pillow, too). Rain jacket (optional): We didn't use ours due to the heat and humidity. We appreciated the cool rain. Not to mention, a rain jacket in the tropics can feel like a personal sauna. Flip-flops or river shoes: To use in river crossings, showers, and evenings when you wish to get out of your hiking shoes. Women's Tevas | Men's Tevas Other Essential Hiking Gear Waterproof backpack cover: You never know when a rainstorm will hit, so it’s essential to keep a rain cover for your backpack close at hand. Your guide will likely also have a supply of plastic garbage bags in case you need extra rain protection. Quick-dry travel towel: To dry off after showers, and also after a swim. Hang it on the outside of your backpack in the morning so it dries quickly in the sun and air as you move. Silk sleep sack: To provide an extra layer between you and the hammock (or mattress) and blanket. Fleas and other bugs in the hammocks bit us and other travelers we spoke to. Headlamp: Most of the campsites do not have electricity, so be prepared. Carry your own headlamp to find your way to the toilet and to sort through your stuff at night in and around your hammock. Silicone earplugs: A precaution in the case your camp has a snorer. We know from our Lost City experience that this can demolish a good night’s sleep. Toiletries and Health Kit You will have access to a shower every evening, and you will be so thankful for the cold water shower to wash away all the sweat and salt on your body from the day’s efforts. Shampoo, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste: The basics. Sunscreen: The higher the SPF, the better Sunglasses: Of course. Bug repellent: You will apply this frequently, especially at the Lost City itself. The mosquitoes there are big, aggressive and plenty. Hand sanitizer: To be on the safe side. Pack of tissues or toilet paper: The campsites all have toilet paper, but it’s always a good idea to carry a pack of tissues in case of messes, spills or emergencies. Vitamin B Complex: Take one pill per day (called Complejo-B in Spanish, available at pharmacies in Colombia). Supposedly, mosquitoes don’t appreciate the smell and taste of your blood when B-1 Thiamine is present. It is debatable whether this really works to repel mosquitoes, but we appreciated using it and felt that it helped. Foot care and blisters: Duct tape is very effective for hot spots and blisters on your feet. Also consider picking up some Compeed, which is magic when you already have blisters. Medical Kit (for emergencies): Your guide will also have some basic first aid items with him, but it's always good to be prepared. Our basic medical kit includes: Band-Aids, anti-bacterial gel (for cuts), rehydration powders or electrolyte tablets, Azithromycin/Ciprofloxacin (or another medication against stomach bacteria), Tylenol/Panadol (anti-headache/aches), Immodium (or some sort of “stopper” if you get diarrhea), tea tree oil (great to apply to mosquito bites) Note: all these are easily and inexpensively purchased at local pharmacies, including in Santa Marta from where you depart for the trek. Electricity and Charging Batteries While a couple of the campsites do have electricity, it’s unreliable. Prepare yourself for not having access to electricity during the trek. Some tips to handle this and further your battery power. Put your smartphone on airplane mode. There is no connectivity along the trek anyhow, so don't waste your phone’s battery power trying to find a network. Consider buying a phone case that doubles as an extra battery. It provides another 1-1.5 charges. Take an extra camera battery or two. Don’t spent time reviewing your images, as this will eat up your battery power quickly. Unless you are reviewing images to determine whether you’ve captured a specific shot, there will be time enough for photo review when your trek is finished. Have other questions about the Lost City Trek in Colombia? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll incorporate the information into the article so others may benefit. Disclosure: Our Lost City trek was provided to us by G Adventures in cooperation with its Wanderers in Residence program. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post The Lost City, Colombia: A Guide to Hiking to La Ciudad Perdida appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 4, 2023 by Audrey Scott What hiking essentials do I need for a multi-day hike? What gear and hiking backpack should I take on a day hike? What gear would be too much? And what hiking ... Continue Reading

The post How to Pack For A Hike: The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on February 4, 2023 by Audrey Scott What hiking essentials do I need for a multi-day hike? What gear and hiking backpack should I take on a day hike? What gear would be too much? And what hiking gear is essential so that you are prepared for all types of weather and other scenarios? How am I going to carry it all so it's not too heavy? This Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist aims to answer all of those questions — and much more — to prepare you for your next day hike, multi-day trek or outdoor adventure. It's no secret that hiking and going on multi-day treks is one of our main loves in travel. We've gone hiking on all continents, from the top of Tanzania to the jungles of Colombia, and over the years we've become quite adept at packing efficiently and effectively for treks of all lengths and weather conditions. Our goal in figuring out the best hiking essentials and gear is to be prepared for changing weather, but to still pack light so we're not carrying a lot of weight. After receiving numerous emails, queries and comments asking about how we prepare and pack for these multi-day and day hikes, we decided to assemble our hiking essentials checklist with our favorite gear and advice for hikes, long and short. Packing light and efficient for a multi-day trek in the Alay Region, Kyrgyzstan. By way of background, during the first six years of our journey we carried all that we needed in our backpacks so as to be prepared for just about any kind of climate or activity, from beach to glacier. In retrospect, we made some silly decisions in those early days. As a result, we carried a few bits of gear we never used. But through experience and experimentation and after about a dozen multi-day treks in all types of weather and altitudes, we got smarter and more effective in our packing for hikes. This isn't only regarding what hiking gear to carry with us, but also when it made sense to rent gear locally for the duration of the trek or even to buy the gear on the ground. And we figured out how to do all this while on a budget. What is the difference between trekking and hiking? Good question. While this article does a good job breaking it down, for our purposes here we're using the two words somewhat interchangeably to represent going out and walking in nature for a period of time. This is different from mountaineering that usually involves specialized climbing gear and technical skills and backpacking that usually involves camping gear. Note: The following advice applies mainly to multi-day hikes where your sleeping and eating arrangements are taken care of already (think guest houses, lodges, tea houses, home stays, yurts or even with a trekking agency that takes care of carrying your tent and food). If you are camping on your own, then you'll need to add food, camping, and cooking gear to everything below. Update: This article was originally published in June, 2014 and updated last in May 2022 with additional gear and tips that we've learned from additional day hikes and multi-day hikes we've done during that time (e.g., Alay Mountains in Kyrgyzstan, 10-day Huayhuash Trek in Peru, a winter trek in Bhutan, hiking in Cyprus). We've added a section on winter trekking gear, a note on sustainability when thinking about hiking gear, and an updated Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist. This article is long and covers a lot of different topics and types of hiking gear. Use the Table of Contents below to find the information and section that best suits what you're looking for and your needs. If the hiking gear that we originally bought and use is no longer available, we will find and recommend the closest current option. Hiking Gear Myths: Don't Make The Same Mistakes as Us We've made a lot of mistakes with hiking gear and packing for hikes over the years. Here are some of the trekking packing myths that we've discovered along the way. 1. You must purchase the latest and greatest hiking gear. It's true that some trekking clothing technology is especially useful for lightness, wind-resistance, waterproofing and wicking (GoreTex, fleece, Polartec, etc., come to mind). However, we suggest focusing on the hiking gear essentials: clothing that is comfortable, breathable, light, easily layered. You're not climbing to the peak of Mount Everest here. (If you are, that's for a different article altogether). For a little perspective, watching locals breeze by you in flip-flops might make all your fancy hiking gear seem a little unnecessary. There's no need to overspend. Go for good quality so you can use it for a long time, but resist the shiny bleeding-edge hiking gear toys. I know it's hard. Outdoor stores are dangerous shopping vortexes for us, too. 2. You need to bring EVERYTHING with you. For almost every multi-day hike we've undertaken, there's been ample opportunity to rent or buy gear to supplement our regular hiking gear kit. For example, it's just not practical for us to carry around bulky sleeping bags in our backpacks when we only need them a tiny fraction of the time during a trip. Do your research and find out what is available on the ground and at what cost. Ask the tour company you're going with or reach out to other independent travelers who've experienced the same hike. When you land on the ground, shop around for the best price to rent or potentially even buy something used or new. Decked out in layers of rented trekking gear on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Before climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, we'd traveled through Bali, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Jordan and Thailand — all with the same gear in our backpacks throughout. So it was more than worth the $65 I spent in Moshi, Tanzania to rent a sleeping bag, waterproof pants, waterproof jacket, walking stick, gaiters and more to get me to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Dan even rented hiking shoes for $15 which offered a little more ankle support and stability than the ones he'd been wearing. When we departed for our safari just after the Kilimanjaro trek I could just drop all that stuff off at the trekking gear shop and continue with my regular light backpack. 3. Real treks require camping. This is all subjective. It's true that camping and carrying all your own gear may give you a greater sense of independence and accomplishment and allow you to dive deeper into nature. However, we take issue with the assertion that camping equals a better hiking experience. In fact, some of our most memorable hikes (e.g., Annapurna Circuit, Markha Valley Trek, Svaneti, Peaks of the Balkans, Kalaw to Inle Lake in Burma, etc.) have been memorable precisely because of the local culture and human interaction dimensions surrounding our sleeping and food arrangements with local families. It's the combined experience of nature and people (and the human nature that responds to the surrounding environment) that we find truly soul nourishing. READ MORE: 13 Best Offbeat Treks That You’re Not Considering…But Should Packing for Your Hike: Hiking Essentials Principles When it comes to packing for a hike in an efficient way so that you have maximum flexibility with minimum weight, we follow the following hiking essentials gear and packing principles and philosophy. This has come together over the last fifteen years with all the different treks we have done all over the world. 1. Hiking clothing: it's all about the layers. This is true in all types of travel, long-term and short, but especially for hiking into high altitudes. Temperatures can change very drastically during the course of a day. I always prefer to have an extra layer in my bag than to go cold or wet. Layers. The key to preparing for a freak Himalayan blizzard in June. Even if the days are warm at low altitude, nights may still be chilly. On summit days you'll often need to pile on everything you have to get to the top, only to peel it off layer by layer as you descend. 2. Hiking clothing for overnights: carry separate rest and sleeping clothes. I learned this from the folks at Erratic Rock in Puerto Natales near Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. They called the yucky, stinky clothes you'll find yourself wearing every day until the very end your “hiking uniform.” In light of this — and even if you are going minimalist — try to include an extra set of night clothes to change into at the end of the day to relax and sleep in. These clothes will be dry (quite important if you've hit snow or rain that day), comfortable and relatively clean (in comparison). I usually pack an extra t-shirt, pajama pants and socks. I'll further layer other clothes on top to stay warm at night. Regardless, the layer closest to my skin is dry and relatively fresh. Oh, the little joys while on the trail. This technique also gives your wet and stinky clothes a chance to dry and air out overnight. The next morning you can slip back into your hiking clothes — yes, your uniform — and you'll be ready to go for another day on the trails. 3. Never skimp on sun protection. As you advance higher in elevation, the sun becomes scary strong. So even if you tan beautifully on the beach without any sunscreen, be sure to pack ample and strong sunscreen once you head into the mountains. Carry a hat that will protect your face from the sun (think rollable foldable sun hat or baseball cap — we don't need to look pretty while trekking). Hiking with sunburn — face, neck, or hands — is miserable. And if your sunburn is bad enough, you'll almost feel flu-like. Not good for peak performance. Also be sure to have sunglasses with quality lenses that protect your eyes. Otherwise, they too will become burned and sore. Choosing a Hiking Backpack You’ll be carrying all your stuff on your back up and down mountain passes so the size, fit and comfort of your hiking backpack is super important. Aim to carry a hiking backpack that is big enough to hold the essentials (e.g., water, jacket, rain gear, sunscreen, etc.), yet not too big that it will weigh you down. The size of your hiking backpack will depend on the number of days of your hike is, your sleeping and eating arrangements, and temperatures. No matter what, don't forget to bring a rain cover to protect your backpack in storms. In the early days of our travelers we often repurposed our laptop backpacks or rented backpacks from trekking agencies. This usually did the trick, but they did not always fit use entirely and thus were not very kind to our back and shoulders. We've since invested in proper hiking backpacks and haven't looked back. Our only regret is that we wish we had done this earlier to save ourselves some of that early discomfort. Here are the hiking backpacks we're now using and can recommend for comfort, weight, size and convenient features. Recommended women's hiking backpack I really do love my Deuter ACT Trail Pro SL hiking backpack (32-liters) and take it with me every chance that I have. It's very light with all sorts of great functionality like a built-in rain cover, water bladder compatibility, wide waist belt for stability, and more. The SL means that it's designed for women's bodies and I don't know how much of a difference that makes, but I find that it does fit my back and body quite well. Loved my Deuter hiking backpack walking 960km along the Camino Norte. Even after walking almost 1,000 km / 600 miles with it on my back during the Camino de Santiago, I still found it comfortable and had no issues with it. I've used this hiking backpacks both on multi-day hiking trips as well as on day hikes when I wanted to carry several layers of jackets and rain gear, a water bladder and other hiking essentials. Although it is a bit big for a traditional day pack, I still find it comfortable and light enough to serve this purpose. Deuter no longer makes this backpack in 32 liters, but you can still find it or similar Deuter SL hiking backpacks in other sizes. Buy on Amazon (28-Liter) | Buy on REI (22-Liter) | Buy on Backcountry.com (34-Liter) Recommended men's hiking backpack for multi-day hikes The Osprey Exos hiking backpack comes in several sizes, so the Large version is well-suited for tall people (like Dan). Light, comfortable, and durable. This was the first hiking backpack that Dan used that didn't leave him with a sore back and shoulders at the end of the day. Dan light on his feet with his Osprey Pack on the Camino. The only complaint about this backpack is the walking stick holder as it's a little janky, but that's a small thing compared to comfort and all the other great features of this Osprey hiking backpack. Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI (48-liter) | Buy on Backcountry Recommended men's hiking daypack As you know from above, Dan is a big fan of Osprey packs as they are adjustable and fit his back and torso well. So when he was looking for a smaller size daypack he stuck with Osprey and chose the Osprey Packs Stratos 24. This 24-liter size is great for day hikes or as a daypack on multi-day treks (e.g., when most of your hiking gear is carried by mules). Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry.com Hiking Clothes for Men and Women Below is an overview of the hiking clothes we each carry for a 5-10 day hike. If you are going on a shorter trek then you can cut back, but if your hike is longer you can still carry the same amount of clothes or even less (e.g., we carried a similar amount for our 40-day Camino de Santiago walk). Recommended trekking pants = Clothing Arts Travel Pants for Men and Women For longer hikes and treks you'll just need to “recycle” your hiking clothing more or find a way to wash them along the way. By recycle, I mean turn things inside-out, air them out, wash them. Whatever the best mechanism you have available to give it longer life and whatever your tolerance level might be. The most important thing is not whether you stink (there's a good chance you just might), but that you are dry and comfortable. My approach is to carry and maintain separate hiking and sleeping (or relaxing at night) clothes so that you always have something clean(ish) to change into at night (see above for more details on this). To be on the safe side to protect against things getting wet, put your sleeping clothes and whatever else you aren't wearing at the time in Ziploc or another kind of plastic bag. Hiking Clothing: Base Layers and Mid-Layers Hiking pants (one pair): We're both been using Clothing Arts Travel Pants (men's hiking pants and women's hiking pants) for over ten years on all of our day hikes and multi-day treks. These hiking pants are not only are sturdy (we've put them through a lot and they still look great), but they are also quick-dry and avoid stains and odors. We find the additional secure zipper and buttoned pockets useful on treks for keeping phones, money, tissues and other things handy. (Note: This is especially relevant for women as many women's trekking pants hardly have any pockets of any size.) Women's hiking pants in the Dolomites of northern Italy. Thermal underwear (top/bottom): I love my silk long johns as they are warm, comfy and take up almost no room at all. Also good is Uniqlo's Heat Tech collection of thin, but warm, layers of leggings and tops. Dan is still keen on his Patagonia zipper top and bottoms that he's been using for over 20 years. 2-3 short-sleeved t-shirts: Preferably quick-dry or regular cotton for comfort and versatility. We often use our running shirts on hikes as they are light and wick away sweat well. Plus, the bright colors of the shirts allow us to easily find each other when we're hiking at different speeds. Bright running shirts also make for good hiking tops. 1 long-sleeved pullover or zipped shirt: When you need another light layer to go over your t-shirt for cold or sun protection. I've been enjoying a light zipped top for women and Dan's been using a half-zip pullover. Pajama/sleeping pants: I find that cotton leggings or yoga pants work quite well. Hiking Socks and Underwear Underwear: However many pairs that you're comfortable with carrying. Underwear is light and doesn't take up much space so you have some flexibility here. Here are recommended men's boxer shorts and women's underwear. 3 pairs of socks: I love SmartWool hiking socks. Not only are they comfortable, but my first pairs lasted me almost seven years of very heavy usage. If you prefer a thinner sock check out their ultra-light line. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Hiking Outerwear: Jackets and Waterproof Gear I always prefer to have the option to remove layers than to not have enough to put on when I'm beginning to chill as I head over a mountain pass or through a storm. Never know when a freak snowstorm will hit. Always be prepared with layers. Waterproof Shell Jacket and Pants For jackets, we each usually bring a light fleece jacket, thin windbreaker and some sort of outer waterproof or water resistant jacket. Waterproof Jacket: For our recent trek in Peru I upgraded to a NorthFace Climatech technology waterproof jacket and I love it. It not only provided protection against the rain and cold, but the jacket material is very breathable so it didn't feel like a sauna inside. Highly recommended. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry A waterproof jacket as an outer layer provides comfort and protection against rain. Waterproof Pants: We used to borrow or rent waterproof pants from a local trekking agency, but most recently we picked up a pair of light pull-on biking waterproof/water resistant pants. They fold up into a small bag so they barely take up any room or weight in your backpack, but keep you quite dry when the clouds open up. Waterproof Poncho: If we really think we're going to be facing a lot of bad weather we'll also pack a waterproof poncho that goes over our hiking backpacks for extra protection. It can get steamy under the poncho, but it's worth it for that additional layer to keep you and your gear dry. Light Down or Puffy Jackets We've also started carrying a light down jacket that can be stuffed into a tiny cinch bag. It hardly takes up any room or weight in the backpack, but can provide warmth and comfort at night when temperatures drop. Dan loves his seamless ultra-light down jacket from Uniqlo. I carry a down jacket similar to this that packs up small and light. Hiking Shoes and Other Footwear Shoes may be the most important thing you bring with you so if you invest in one thing in advance, invest in a solid comfortable pair of hiking shoes. And break them in. Your shoes can literally make or break a trip. Hiking Shoes or Boots If you have a particular trek or hike in mind, ask in advance whether you need mid- or high support hiking shoes for ankle support as this may influence your purchasing decision. We don't find ourselves often needing high support boots. However, if your ankles are weak or susceptible to turns and sprains, more support is better than less. We both recently shifted to wearing Oboz Sawtooth hiking boots. The insoles and support for your feet are really good, and the shoes are sturdy and can stand up to some tough terrain. In addition, Oboz plants a tree for every pair of shoes sold so you can feel good that your purchase is going towards reforestation and environmental projects. Men's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Women's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Flip flops or river shoes At the end of a long day of walking you may want to take off your hiking shoes and give your feet a rest. But you'll still need something on your feet to go to and from the outhouse or nearest bush. That's where flip flops or river shoes worn with socks (yes, ignore the fashion police) are perfect. Outside of these situations, you may find river shoes either useful for crossing or fording rivers. Depending on the bottom surface of the river and the depth, we've also just managed in bare feet, but river shoes protect your feet from stray rocks and make the crossing more comfortable. Women's Teva River Shoes: Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry Men's Teva River Shoes: Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry Other Hiking Gear Essentials Sleeping and Drying Off Gear Sleeping Bag Liner: Arguably non-essential, but nice to have. Whether staying in home stays with provided bedding or sleeping in a rented sleeping bag, you sometimes wonder when the last time anything was properly laundered. And you may also wonder about bed bugs and other critters. That's where a sleep sack with a pillow wrap comes in to provide a clean layer between you and everything else. Our preference is for a silk liner as it is very light, but keeps you quite warm and dries quickly. Buy on REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Note: We do not usually carry a sleeping bag with us as we prefer to rent one locally if we need one. This saves us a lot of room in our luggage. Quick-Drying Travel Towel: Always good to start and end your day by washing your hands and face. Don’t expect hot showers on treks, nor running water of any kind. But on a few occasions we've been able to get a couple of bucket baths that were really, really nice. Buy on REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Silicone earplugs: A good night's sleep on the trekking trail is supremely important for your condition. And although you may be sleeping in the middle of nowhere, there are still noises from roosters, howler monkeys, birds, lions, and not least other trekkers that will all conspire to keep you up. That's where earplugs come to the rescue and help shut it all down to silence. Trekking Poles and Walking Sticks Walking stick: Highly recommended on most treks, especially for steep downhill sections. Two walking sticks or one, you ask? We'll usually share one walking stick set of two so each of us uses one stick. However, using two walking sticks will provide you with more stability. This set of reasonably priced travel-friendly walking sticks fold up easily for luggage and assemble quickly when on the trail. Walking sticks help keep your balance in all sorts of terrain. If you don't bring a walking stick with you, then keep your eye out for a tree branch or limb that can be carved for the purpose. We've done that plenty of times as well. Sharp Knife and Lights Leatherman: A multi-tool device with a knife, bottle opener, screwdriver, and more comes in quite handy when on the trail. We use ours all the time for cutting cheese, vegetables, bread or other food items for picnic stops. Note: remember to take it out of your carry-on bag when you fly! Headlamp: Lights the way and keeps your hands free. If you're staying with families in guest houses or home stays, you may find they are without electricity at night or in the bathroom/outhouse, a most unfortunate place to trip in the dark. If you're camping, headlamps are of course absolutely essential. Water and Filtration Reusable water bottle: We each carry a reusable liter water bottle on us and refill along the way with purified or clean water. We also usually carry CamelBak water bladder in the backpack as well as we find we drink more water this way as it's easy to access and you can easily hydrate while walking. Even if your trek has bottled water to sell, resist the urge to buy it. Plastic bottle waste is an enormous problem at elevation and in villages around the world. If you get tired of the taste of regular water, consider adding some electrolytes to it. Water Purification: Some treks will provide you with clean, boiled water as part of the service (e.g., Kilimanjaro, Markha Valley). Sometimes there will be a program of UV (ultraviolet) purified or pass-filter cleaned water services in villages where you can refill your bottle with clean water for a small fee. Hop on it, maybe even pay a little extra. It's worth it to you, the village, and the environment. On other treks it's up to you to somehow purify or clean the water you source from mountain streams or village taps. We suggest carrying either a water bottle that has its own purifier, a SteriPEN or sterilization drops/tablets. We've found this 2-part water sterilization drop system to be good and doesn't make the water taste too much like chemicals. The SteriPEN uses ultraviolet (UV) light and technology to purify the water which does not affect the taste so it still might taste funky even if it's clean. The sterilization drops may make the water taste a little funny, but it won't make you sick. Sun Protection Sunscreen, hat and sunglasses: Bring the highest SPF sunscreen you can find and wear a hat at all times. The sun's rays are exceptionally powerful at altitude and you'll find yourself especially exposed when there isn't a cloud in the sky. Moisturizing skin cream and lip balm (with SPF): Creams and moisturizers may sound extraneous, but they can make a difference. Many mountain treks involve high desert where you will not only be exposed to lots of sun, but also arid conditions. Your skin and lips will dry and crack to discomfort if you don't keep them moist. Treat them nicely: moisturize! And be sure to carry only a tiny lightweight container, not the original 32 oz. tube! Personal Hygiene Items and Toiletries Hand sanitizer gel and soap: One of the best ways to avoid becoming ill: wash your hands thoroughly and often. If you feel a little obsessive compulsive with the hand cleaning, that’s a good thing. Toilet paper / tissue packets: One roll, used sparingly. Better to be self-sufficient here. No explanation needed. I often also keep a pack of tissues in my pocket as well for such emergencies. First Aid Kit and Medicines Basic first aid gear we recommend packing: Band-Aids, aspirin/Tylenol, rehydration/ electrolyte packets, anti-flu powder (a packet that dissolves in water that breaks fevers may work better than a pill if someone has been throwing up), Foot care: Address any hot spots or blisters the moment you begin to feel them as they can get painful really quickly. Our go-to gear for preventing and treating blisters include duct tape (magic in preventing and managing blisters) and Compeed (magic when you already have blisters). Medicines: You may be miles or days away from any doctor so be sure to have some basic medicines with you in case you (or others) fall ill. On our treks, we've picked up sinus infections and helped others who have picked up the wrong kind of gut bacteria. Having some basic medicines with us like Amoxicillin (or other basic antibiotic) has allowed us to deal with medical issues immediately and to keep going. For a full list of travel medicines and how to use them, check out these travel health tips. Note: You can easily stock up on medicines at pharmacies in many countries. Basic medicines such as the ones listed here and in the article above will likely not be very expensive and will often not require a prescription. Other Useful Hiking Bags Dry sack: You never know when it's going to rain or snow, so prepare for the worst — particularly if you have gear that must remain dry. We carry a dry sack with us in order to protect our gear against freak storms or inadvertent submersions while fording rivers. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry.com Camera Bag: If you're carrying a separate camera and multiple lenses consider packing a separate camera bag to protect your gear and to allow you easy access to it. My ThinkTank camera bag fits perfectly under my small daypack. Recently, we switched to a mirrorless Fuji camera and lenses. One of the main reasons for this was that they are smaller in size and weight, meaning I could carry a smaller camera bag on treks. I really like the ThinkTank Sling Camera Bag which fits a camera body and two lenses. Its shoulder strap is useful for urban settings while the waist strap makes it comfortable for hiking as it sits right on my hips. I can still wear a backpack or daypack that rests on top of it. Hiking Snacks and Food Snacks: Even if your meals are provided to you on a trek, it’s sometimes nice to have a little something to nibble on between stops. We usually bring a small stash combination of Snickers bars, granola/power bars, a jar of peanut butter and crackers. You'll want a little bit of both salty and sweet foods. Peanut butter. Helped us up Mount Kilimanjaro. Electronic Gear and Chargers Batteries, memory cards: It's usually better to assume that you won't find electricity along your trekking route. If you do, consider it gravy. Be sure to ask your trekking guide or agency, or other route-experienced travelers (either in forums or once you are on the ground). Ask them all once, then again for good measure. Bring extra memory cards for your camera so you have ample space to snap away or record video. This means you should try to bring extra batteries for your camera, headlamp, and anything else that's battery-powered. If you're carrying your smartphone with you consider bringing a solar powered power bank and putting your phone on Airplane Mode to preserve battery life. We also use a battery case for our iPhone as this will usually provide 2x of the phone's regular battery life. And, it protects the phone if it is dropped accidentally. If there's electricity along your trek and you'd like to recharge, by all means bring rechargers. We do. But it's just something else to pack — and something you must prioritize when the final bag stuff begins just prior to setting off. READ MORE: Ladakh Trekking: A Beginner’s Guide Winter Hiking Gear We recently did our first proper winter trek — The Druk Path in Bhutan — and needed to gear up specifically for those conditions. This included temperatures going down to -10 C /14 F at night (and it felt even colder than that), potential snowfalls and walking on snow and ice. However, daytime temperatures were quite pleasant and warm (15 C / 65 F) when the sun was out. So, we had to be prepared for all types of temperatures and conditions. Winter Sleeping Bag If you are doing a winter trek it is very important that you bring a warm sleeping bag so that you are not uncomfortable in your tent at night. We highly recommend buying or renting a sleeping bag that is COMFORT rated to -10 C/15 F (or even more). Even if you don't trek during the winter some places still get very cold at night and in the early morning. It's better to take off layers or unzip the bag than to not be warm enough. Trust us, being cold in your tent sucks. Enjoying the last bits of sunshine and warmth at Simkotra Lake campsite. We always prefer to rent our sleeping bags locally, but for our recent winter trek in Bhutan that wasn't an option so we had to bring our own. We purchased this Mammut Nordic OTI winter sleeping bag, which was warm enough, synthetic (vs. down, which requires more care) and came at a great price. However, it's a bit bulky and took up quite a bit of space in our luggage. (Here's a similar Marmot winter sleeping bag that is comfort-rated to 0F) Another good sleeping bag option would be one of the down sleeping bags offered by Hyke & Byke (e.g., this sleeping bag goes down to 0 degrees F) as they are very reasonably priced for down and the quality of the bags. Here are some other winter sleeping bags offered at REI. Winter Hiking Clothing and Gear We didn't really change our clothing packing strategy or items listed above based on having lots of different clothing layers. Instead, we just added more — and heavier — layers together at one time for the early hours of the morning and in the evening after the sun set when temperatures were the coldest. Then, as we started walking and the day warmed up we'd take the layers off bit by bit. This mean that our day backpacks always had several layers of clothing inside, including rain gear (jacket and pants), fleece and other light jackets, and a down jacket. Winter hiking at its best. Prepared with shoe gaiters, waterproof outerwear and lots of layers. Here are a few other pieces of winter hiking gear we'd recommend, especially if you know there will be snow and ice on the trail. Shoe gaiters: We picked up a knock-off North Face pair of gaiters in Paro, Bhutan before our trek to protect our shoes from getting wet from the snow on the trails. We were very thankful to have them, especially on day 3 when we woke up to a snow storm. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon Crampons or Traction Cleats: If you're doing the winter trek and have fears of slipping on the ice, carrying a pair of lightweight traction cleats can provide peace of mind. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Waterproof gloves: The only thing worse than cold hands are wet, cold hands. It's important to have waterproof gloves (or mittens) if you think you'll be trekking during a snowfall or rain. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Hand or toe warmers: If your hands and feet get cold easily consider bringing a pack of adhesive hand and/or toe warmers. One of the women in our group in Bhutan had bad circulation and she used these adhesive warmers daily in her shoes and gloves. They were a lifesaver and really helped keep her warm and comfortable. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Winter sleeping clothes: Even if it's cold in the tent I'll change into separate sleeping clothes as it feels cleaner and better to me. For winter conditions this meant heavier base layers, including a long-sleeve Uniqlo HeatTech shirt and warm leggings (or fleece-lined running tights worked really well). Then, I added to that a fleece jacket, socks, hat, and scarf to stay warm during the night. Buying Sustainable Hiking Gear and Clothing If you are concerned about sustainability here are a few considerations and things to think about regarding buying sustainable hiking gear and clothing: The most sustainable option is the one you already own. If you can reuse or repurpose a piece of clothing, backpack or other piece of hiking gear that is already in your closet, this is usually what is most sustainable as you don't need to purchase anything new. We realize this may not be particularly fun or sexy, but it is practical and also good for your budget. Buy second-hand hiking clothing and gear. There are more and more options available for purchasing high quality second-hand or “barely used” clothing and hiking gear, whether through 2nd hand or consignment shops or in online marketplaces. This is another great way to shop sustainably as you are reusing something (and perhaps preventing it from going in a landfill) vs. buying new (that takes a lot of resources). Buy from brands focused on sustainability and fair wages: If you can't meet your hiking essentials needs through the suggestions above, then purchase your hiking clothing and gear from brands that are grounded in sustainability in terms of sourcing, materials used, fair wages, packaging and more. Do research on your favorite brand's website to see how specifically they are tackling sustainability in their operations and products. For example, Patagonia has been a leader in sustainable practices and materials for decades. Not only that, but their products do tend to last a long time (Dan using his Patagonia long underwear for 20+ years is proof of that) and they also have a strong repair policy. Another brand whose clothing we like that is focused on sustainability is Prana. These are just two of many outdoor gear brands who are making good products that also focus on minimizing their negative impacts (e.g., environmental) and maximizing their positive ones (e.g., socio-economic). If you can't find the information you want on a brand's website then contact them directly and ask your questions. Any company truly focused on sustainability would be proud to respond with transparent answers. The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist – PDF Download To help you pack and prepare for your next hike with all the right gear, we've created a simple one-page downloadable hiking packing checklist. I know from experience when I haven't used this list that I have accidentally forgotten to pack a scarf, hat or river shoes. I really missed these items when I was out on the trail, but by that point it was too late. Now we're more careful to review that we have everything we need before going to the airport. How to use this ultimate hiking essentials checklist: Print out a copy or save a version to your phone (that's what we do now). As you're preparing for your hike or trek, review the list to see if you have everything you need already. If not, the linked items on the list go to recommended gear that you can purchase online or look for in a shop. When you are ready to pack for your hike or trek, put all your trekking gear on the floor and go through the list one by one. Double check that everything is there before placing it your suitcase or backpack. What did we miss? What are your go-to items and essential gear for hiking? The post How to Pack For A Hike: The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on December 1, 2022 by Audrey Scott Hiking in Cyprus may not be top of mind when travelers consider this Mediterranean island for vacation. Most associate it with its beaches and resorts. However, our recent visit to Cyprus ... Continue Reading

The post Hiking in Cyprus: Best Hiking Trails and Travel Itinerary appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on December 1, 2022 by Audrey Scott Hiking in Cyprus may not be top of mind when travelers consider this Mediterranean island for vacation. Most associate it with its beaches and resorts. However, our recent visit to Cyprus illustrates that the country not only offers sea, sun and deep history, but a variety of natural landscapes and geological diversity that makes hiking on the island a delight. We share here our favorite hiking trails in Cyprus, from coastal to mountain hikes. Whether you're interested in a hiking vacation or just to include a hike into your visit to Cyprus, here is all the information you need to plan your trip. Cyprus, a Surprising Hiking Destination With its rocky coastlines, dramatic cliffs, impressive Troodos Mountains, and forests filled with old, gnarly juniper, cypress and pine trees, Cyprus surprises as a hiking destination. Add to that pleasant weather almost all year around thanks to its position in southern Europe, a fascinating and long history, hearty local food and increasingly good quality wines, and you have all the ingredients for a well-rounded, active Mediterranean getaway. Hiking in Cyprus. A view from the Aphrodite Loop hiking trail. Our goal traveling to Cyprus for a week: a vacation filled with hiking, sunshine, good food and wine — all rounded out by walks around the capital city of Nicosia and visits to archeological sites. To do this, we chose several hiking trails in Cyprus as the anchors of our one-week travel itinerary, then planned everything else around those hikes and whatever the weather gods threw at us. For us, exploring Cyprus through its hiking trails allowed us to see the best of the island by way of its national parks and natural beauty including endemic flora and fascinating geological formations. This approach also helped us avoid many of the touristy areas and crowds that Cyprus can be known for. If you’re interested in the best hiking in Cyprus and assembling an active travel itinerary, then this hiking guide has all you need to know. It includes our favorite hiking trails, the best time to go hiking, what to bring with you, and where to stay — all so you can plan, organize and enjoy your hiking trip to Cyprus. This post is long as it includes everything in one place we needed to know before we took our hiking trip to Cyprus. Feel free to click on a specific section from the table below to get to the information you need. Favorite Hiking Trails in Cyprus Despite Cyprus being a relatively small island, its hiking trails feature a surprising diversity of natural landscapes and styles. As you'll see from our photos, each of the hiking trails highlighted below was unique to the others, making for a well-rounded hiking experience. Most of the hiking trails below are located in protected areas and feature some trail markings, but we suggest downloading GPX tracks and/or using you favorite map app (we use PocketEarth for offline maps) or hiking app (we use Komoot and AllTrails). This way, you'll have at least one digital version of the trail in case you get lost. As Cyprus’ environment and nature is quite fragile, be sure to stick to marked trails and be gentle with the natural surroundings. Surveying the rocky coastline on a hike near Cape Greco, Cyprus. Be sure to check the forecast in advance as weather can change quite dramatically, especially in winter. Bad weather can make a hike unpleasant and, especially in the case of canyon hikes, dangerous. Early starts are recommended, both to take advantage of better weather in the mornings and to end early enough to seek out a sunset drink. Finally, be sure to seize the occasional moment to take a deep breath, look around you, and appreciate where you are. Note: All hiking trails noted below are in Republic of Cyprus, the southern side of the island. We did not hike any trails in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Aphrodite Loop Extended – Best Hike for Coastal Views in Cyprus Distance: 11.5 km / 7.15 miles Time: 3-4 hours Difficulty: Moderate Aphrodite and Adonis Loop Trail Map and Tracks Deep blue coastal views from the Aphrodite Loop hike. Located in the northwestern part of Cyprus near the Akamas Forest, the Aphrodite Loop is deservedly one the island’s most popular hikes thanks to its dramatic cliffs and coastal views. The trail takes you past the Baths of Aphrodite and a waterfall grotto set in some botanical gardens, then up along some juniper-dotted rocky cliffs to the Moutti tis Sotiras overlook of Cape Arnoutis below. On the descent the hiking trail makes its way past some ruins of a medieval monastery, a 500-year old oak tree and through diverse forests populated with local mountain goats. The highest point of the Aphrodite Loop hiking trail. We recommend following the Aphrodite Loop trail clockwise. This way, you begin your hike along the coast and continue climbing higher toward the cliffs, with the hills with sweeping coastline views beneath you. The trail markers indicate the opposite direction, which might make the hike easier and less steep overall. However, setting off along the coastline offers excellent light and pairs the best early morning weather with the coastline where you'll likely appreciate it most. Taking the longer Adonis hiking trail through old pine forests on the return. While the standard Aphrodite Loop is around 7.5 km / 4.7 miles, we turned onto the Adonis trail on our inland descent (after the monastery ruins) to add more distance (4 km / 2.5 miles) and some additional landscapes. The Adonis is a pleasant trail through old pine, cypress and juniper forests and grassy areas filled with grazing sheep and goats. Keep an eye out for all the wild sage, oregano and other herbs along the trail. How to get to the Aphrodite Loop trailhead: We drove from Paphos to the Aphrodite Loop trailhead, a beautiful route of around 50 km or 1 hour. Free parking is available near the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. There's also a public bus stop for bus 622 from Polis which you can connect to from Paphos and other locations. Avakas Gorge Trail – Most Dramatic Hike in Cyprus Distance: 10 km / 6 miles Time: 3-4 hours Difficulty: Moderate-Hard (Do not attempt this trail when raining or if there is any risk of rain.) Avakas Gorge Trail Map and Tracks Go deep…into the Avakas Gorge in Cyprus. The depth of the Avakas Gorge makes this hike both stunningly beautiful and challenging. While most only hike the first kilometer or two into the gorge and turn back (this segment offers the most dramatic landscapes for the least effort), we encourage you to keep going until the end of the gorge. For the fit and intrepid, the gorge deepens, winds and opens up in varied and striking ways. You may even run into some wild goats grazing in the hills along the way. A bit of bouldering on the Avakas Gorge hiking trail. Unfortunately, the trail markings mostly end after the first kilometer or two, leaving you to follow the direction of the gorge and look for worn paths and footprints on either side of the stream. The trail becomes quite challenging at times, especially following rainfall (common in winter) as the water in the stream rises and the rocks become slippery. You may find yourself climbing over boulders and hugging onto cliffs, so be sure to wear good hiking shoes and carry your hiking poles. The hiking trail around the rim of Avakas Gorge on the return leg of the hike. The Avakas Gorge Trail continues through the entirety of the gorge until you reach a hilly, green pasture at the end. This is a good stop for a snack or picnic, or just to enjoy the bucolic scene of grazing sheep and goats around you. Many Avakas Gorge hiking trails suggest you return again through the gorge, but we found a hiking trail south of the gorge up along the rim and through the Peyia State Forest. We recommend taking this trail back. This approach will offer some variety, be easier on your joints, and be faster than going back through the entire gorge again. How to get to the Avakas Gorge trailhead: We drove from Paphos to the Avakas Gorge, which was supposed to take around 30-45 minutes. However, beware of Google Map directions as it will suggest the shortest route, which includes going on some unpaved country roads until it reaches a road that has been washed out, forcing you to turn around (as it did us). Instead, be sure to follow the directions which take you by the Avakas Gorge Road that approaches the gorge from the west (the coast). The last part of the road is not paved. We ended up parking around 0.5 km away from the trailhead parking lot, just to avoid taking our tiny rental car on the final stretch of the road that was full of bumps and holes. However, you can drive further to the parking lot at the trailhead. Just be advised. It’s technically possible to get close to the Avakas Gorge by public bus, but you’ll have to switch buses times and have a bit of a walk at the end to get to the trailhead. Atalante Trail – Best Troodos Mountains Hiking Distance: 14.75 km / 9 miles Time: 4-5 hours Difficulty: Moderate Atalante Trail Map and Tracks It may surprise you, but Cyprus has mountains! Hiking in the Troodos Mountains in winter. Atalante Loop hiking trail. The Troodos Mountains in the center of the island of Cyprus features a peak of close to 2,000 meters / 6,400 feet at Mount Olympus. Not only does this mean skiing in the winter (yes, Cyprus has ski resorts), but it also means some terrific Troodos Mountains hiking trails. We opted for the Atalante Trail Loop as it did a circle around Mount Olympus and was a bit longer and more difficult than the Artemis Trail (8 km / 5 miles). Enjoying a bit of snow, hiking in the Troodos Mountains. When we hiked the Atalante Trail in early January most of the hiking trail was covered in snow, sometimes several inches deep. While the snow made it tricky at times to follow the trail — thankfully a few others had gone before us so we could follow their footsteps and we had our digital tracks/map — it also made our walk beautiful and somewhat magical. We recommend following the trail clockwise from the trailhead near the parking lot, just as we did. The trail is fairly well marked and the first few kilometers of the Atalante hike take you through some beautiful old forests punctuated by gnarly juniper trees and other local endemic growth. The vista then begins to open up so you can look west over the hills to the coast. The loop continues around past the ski resort and through more tall pine forests Completing our Troodos Mountains hike on the Atalante Trail. Note: If you visit Cyprus in winter, be prepared for possible snow in the Troodos Mountains. We knew this in advance and came prepared with layers of jackets, hats, and gloves. We also highly recommend taking hiking poles on this route, no matter what the weather, as some sections are steep and can be slippery. How to get to the Atalante Hiking Loop trailhead: The Troodos Mountains are located almost halfway between Nicosia and the coast (Paphos or Limassol). The Atalante trailhead and free parking lot are located right next to Troodos village. We drove there from Nicosia, which takes around 1.5 hours on the fast route or 2 hours on the country roads. After our hike we then drove to Paphos, which took around 1.5 hours. There are also a couple of buses that will take you to the main square in Troodos village from Nicosia or Limassol. If you want to do several hikes in the Troodos Mountains, you could consider staying in Troodos village or in a nearby town so that you can get an early start on the trails. Cape Greco Hiking Trail, Sea Caves to Konnos Beach Distance: 10 km Time: 2.5 – 3 hours Difficulty: Easy Cape Greco Sea Caves to Konnos Beach Trail Map and Tracks Hiking near Cape Greco, first stop: sea caves. There are a several different hiking paths around Cape Greco National Forest Park and out to Cape Greco itself. Many paths are quite short and just go to the sea caves, up to the Cape Greco Viewpoint or to visit the picturesque Ayioi Anargyroi Chapel. We wanted something a bit longer and more continuous to stretch our legs and see more of the natural landscape along Cyprus’ eastern coast near Ayia Napa. Most of the dramatic scenery is in the first 5-6 km / 3 – 4 miles along the coast. The path we took then returns to the trailhead via an inland route. Continuing our hike on one of the Cape Greco hiking trails. This Cape Greco hike took us first to the sea caves, a collection of sandstone rock formations that stand in dramatic contrast to the crystal clear turquoise waters below. We then continued along the coastal trail past the hilltop with a view over the entire cape. You can opt to take one of the hiking trails up to the viewpoint, but we continued east along the coast. The landscape changed frequently, from dry, rocky desert-like conditions to fields of green and blossoming flowers. Winter daffodils blossoming along the Cape Greco hiking trail. The trail then continues along the coast past the blue lagoon and the natural rock bridge to Ayioi Anargyroi Chapel. Take the stairs to a sea cave that you can scramble into. (Be sure to time your entrance and exit so that you and your camera are not soaked by crashing waves.) We continued to Konnos Beach where we doffed our shoes and walked across the white sand beach. If we had had our bathing suits with us, we would have gone in — it was just warm enough even in winter. We returned via the hiking trail following the road. Cave near Ayioi Anargyroi Chapel along the Cape Greco trail. How to get to the Cape Greco Sea Caves trailhead: We drove from Larnaca (around one hour) and parked near the sea caves at the marker indicated on the map above. You can also park closer to the sea caves. There's plenty of space to park there. As for public transportation, you can catch bus 101 from Agia Napa waterpark to the sea caves or the Cape Greco National Forest Park entrance. Hiking in Cyprus: What to Pack Because the hiking trails in Cyprus we recommend here are day hikes that take only a few hours, you really don’t need to bring much with you. Just be sure to carry clothing layers to protect from the elements — sun, rain or maybe snow. Always be sure to carry plenty of drinking water with you. You can also find a full list of our favorite hiking gear and essentials. Hiking Daypack: We shared one hiking daypack between the two of us. This was more than enough space to carry the essentials for our day hike. Hiking Shoes: We saw some people hiking in sandals or sneakers. While that works for some of the easier hikes, we recommend wearing hiking shoes to provide your feet with support and traction for climbing over boulders and steep inclines and descents. Hiking Poles: For lighter hikes, we typically share one set of trekking poles between the two of us (i.e., we each use one pole). We were especially thankful we had these on the Avakas Gorge Hike and Atalante Loop Trails. We recommend this foldable traveler set of hiking poles as they are easy and light to carry. Drinking water and snacks: Many of these Cyprus hiking trails are far away from shops and services, so be sure to bring your own water and snacks with you on your hike. Temperatures can get very warm, especially in the summer, so make sure you bring LOTS of water with you to avoid dehydration. One of the unfortunate things in Cyprus is that tap water is not potable (all the locals we met advised against drinking it) so bring a water bottle that also purifies or buy large (e.g., 5-10+ liter) containers of water and refill your own reusable water bottle. Sun protection: Even in the winter, the sun can be strong in Cyprus. Be sure to carry plenty of sun protection with you in the form of sunscreen (the highest SPF you can find), hat, and sun glasses. Best Time to go Hiking in Cyprus We hiked Cyprus in winter, over the New Year’s holidays, from the end of December to the beginning of January. We thought it was a great time to go hiking as the weather along the coast was beautiful most of the time with highs in the mid to high 60s F / 18-22 C. The added bonus of this time of year: we also experienced fresh snowfall in the Troodos Mountains. Enjoying some glorious winter Cyprus weather at the Tomb of Kings in Paphos. In addition, there weren’t many people on the hiking trails at this time of year. However, Cyprus winter weather can be very changeable — including rain — so be sure to stay tuned to weather forecasts and remain flexible when planning and taking your hikes. Several local people we spoke to said that spring (March-early May) offers great hiking weather since it’s precedes the hot summer season and offers the chance to see wildflowers blossoming along many of the hiking trails. A few others recommended November since temperatures have cooled off from the warm summer and early autumn, but the winter rains have not yet arrived. Summer is the most popular time in general to visit Cyprus, especially for the beaches. However, we’ve heard that summer (June-September) is not the best time for hiking in Cyprus given the high temperatures (90+ F/30+ C) and intense sun. If you hike Cyprus in the summer months, be careful to avoid heat exhaustion and overexposure from the sun, particularly in the wide open areas along trails. Carry LOTS of water with you. Planning a Hiking Focused Cyprus Trip: Our One Week Travel Itinerary When we assembled our one-week Cyprus travel itinerary, we focused mainly on finding the best hikes in Cyprus and used those as our anchors. We then figured out a general route to travel around the island, noting places we could stay and base ourselves along the way (see below). We also watched the weather at all times as it changed frequently. Since we traveled in Cyprus during the low season and had a rental car, we were able to remain flexible and book accommodation pretty last minute. Here is our final Cyprus travel itinerary for one week that included four day hikes, a 2-day stop in Nicosia (where it rained) and visits to archeological sites. Day 1: Fly into Larnaca Airport Day 2: Larnaca – Cape Greco Hike – Nicosia Day 3: Nicosia (Greek Side) Wandering the old town streets of Nicosia, the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. Nicosia remains a divided capital city, with the southern side of the city as part of the Republic of Cyprus and the northern side of the city as part of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The United Nations Green Zone, a buffer zone, divides the two sides. There is an official border crossing which is very easy to cross at the moment. Wander the streets in the Nicosia's old town (southern side of the city). We did a variation of this self-guided walking tour, but in reverse order. For more recommendations, check out this Nicosia travel guide by our friend Steve and try to get your hands on the Use It Nicosia map/guide as it's got lots of great restaurant and cafe recommendations, as well as historical, cultural and other info presented in a fun and light way. We highly recommend a visit to the Cyprus Museum (free entrance at the time of writing). This small but jam-packed archeological museum is filled with well-interpreted antiquities going back almost 10,000 years. The museum does a remarkable job illustrating Cyprus’ long history and civilizational influences over the millennia. Day 4: Nicosia (Turkish Side) Exploring north Nicosia, Büyük Han Caravanserai. Cross the border to the northern side of the city (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). As of January 2022, you need proof of a negative PCR test (less than 7 days old) and full vaccination to cross into the Turkish side. Follow the blue line that takes you past most of the major sites on this side (mosques, markets, caravanserai, etc.). Once in the northern side of Cyprus, you'll notice that the currency and language both change to Turkish. Despite this, you'll likely get along fine with your Euros and English, and even your credit cards in some restaurants and businesses. Day 5: Nicosia – Troodos Mountains Hiking (Atalante Trail) – Paphos The Troodos Mountains are between Nicosia and Paphos on the coast. Stopping off in Troodos for a hike like the Atalante Trail is a great way to break up the drive and get a feel for Cyprus' mountains and the geological diversity at the center of the island. Where to stay in Paphos: We stayed in a convenient studio apartment a short walk to the sea, archeological sites, restaurants and shops. Day 6: Paphos – Aphrodite Loop – Paphos Day 7: Paphos – Avakas Gorge – Paphos Day 8: Paphos – Archeological Park and Tombs of Kings – Larnaca Airport Note: There is also an airport in Paphos in case that offers more convenience for your Cyprus itinerary. The Tombs of the Kings archeological site in Paphos. Our final morning in Cyprus. Renting a car in Cyprus We really appreciated having a rental car on Cyprus. It gave us a lot of flexibility. which proved especially helpful because of the changing weather. A rental car also allowed us greater spontaneity to stop off in different places along the way. During the time of our visit, rental car prices were very reasonable (e.g., around $20 USD a day including insurance). And since the island isn’t very big, we didn’t spend a lot of money on petrol. All of the hiking trails above featured free parking lots and most of the places we stayed in Cyprus also had free public or inexpensive private parking lots. Driving in Cyprus is on the left-hand side of the road. If you’ve never experienced this, note that it takes some practice and getting used to. Podcast about Hiking in Cyprus and Our Itinerary If you prefer an audio version of all this, you can listen to our interview about our travels in Cyprus on the Amateur Traveler Podcast. We talk about all the details of our one-week itinerary and all of the Cyprus hikes we recommend in this article. Travel to Cyprus – Amateur Traveler Episode 798 If you've only thought of Cyprus as a beach getaway or resort destination, we hope this Cyprus hiking guide has provided a different perspective on the island as a hiking destination. From the coastlines and cliffs to the gnarly, old juniper forests and mountain vistas, Cyprus offers a lot of hiking trails and options, making it a pleasant, worthwhile and surprising Mediterranean hiking getaway destination. The post Hiking in Cyprus: Best Hiking Trails and Travel Itinerary appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on August 6, 2022 by Audrey Scott What is it like to go trekking in Bhutan? To go on a Himalayan mountain adventure with wide open landscapes, snow-covered peaks, Buddhist temples, prayer flags, high altitude camping and alpine ... Continue Reading

The post Bhutan Trekking: The Druk Path Trek and New Trans Bhutan Trail appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on August 6, 2022 by Audrey Scott What is it like to go trekking in Bhutan? To go on a Himalayan mountain adventure with wide open landscapes, snow-covered peaks, Buddhist temples, prayer flags, high altitude camping and alpine lakes? We share a taste of trekking in Bhutan with our Druk Path Trek experience — including what you’ll experience day by day, difficulty, how to pack and organize a Bhutan trek, what to expect from a winter trek, and why this is one of the most popular treks in Bhutan. We also share information about the Trans Bhutan Trail, a new hiking route in Bhutan coming available in 2022. Over the last years we've been fortunate to do some incredibly beautiful and challenging hikes around the world, yet hiking in Bhutan remained high on our travel wish list. We were curious about the trekking experience given the country's location in the Himalayas, its focus on environmental conservation and the fact that Bhutan sees so few visitors. Druk Path Trek, Bhutan. A Himalayan adventure with mountains, temples and glimpses of living history. We chose to hike the Druk Path Trek, one of Bhutan's most popular trekking routes, in late January-early February. Our decision to do a winter trek, something that we had never done before (we usually flee the cold), provided a new sort of adventure, experience and challenge for us. Druk Path Trek in winter, beauty and stillness. The experience did not disappoint. We enjoyed the winter trekking experience, appreciating the snow, stillness and silence. The following tells why — and makes the case as to why you might want to add trekking in Bhutan, whether the Druk Path Trek or another route, to your trekking wish list. We’ve included in this Bhutan Trekking Guide all you need to know to plan, prepare for and enjoy trekking in Bhutan. In addition, we provide some information about a new trekking route in Bhutan – The Trans Bhutan Trail — recently restored and opening up again to the public in April 2022 for the first time in 60 years. The following experiences are from our Druk Path Trek on a tour to Bhutan with G Adventures. Currently, this tour no longer includes the Druk Path Trek as part of its itinerary, but if you want to go trekking in Bhutan then we recommend looking into the G Adventures Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail (11 days) or Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail (12 days). If you want to know what to expect on a trek in Bhutan, this article shares a taste of a trekking itinerary and route, trek difficulty, campsites, food, and what you need to pack and prepare. Disclosure: This tour was sponsored and provided to us in conjunction with our partnership with G Adventures as Wanderers. Bhutan Covid Travel Requirements Bhutan is opening up to all tourists on 23 September, 2022 without any quarantine requirements (check for official updates). Bhutan used its focus on community and trusted leadership to manage the pandemic quite well. In April 2021, Bhutan was able to vaccinate 85% of adults (first shot) in just one week and in early 2022 the country was finishing up a booster vaccination campaign. This shows the country's commitment to public health and protecting its people. Find more Covid-19 travel resources and recommendations on how to travel responsibly during Covid with care towards the health and safety of local communities and people. The Trans Bhutan Trail: A New Trekking Route in Bhutan Starting in 2022 The history of the Trans Bhutan Trail is deep and goes back thousands of years as an ancient trading and pilgrimage routes between Bhutan and Tibet. The trail not only connected fortresses, or Dzongs, across remote areas of the Bhutanese Kingdom, but it was also used by Buddhist pilgrims to visit sacred sites and temples in western Bhutan and Tibet. Although the trail was actively used for centuries as it was the only way to get to certain remote parts of the country, it fell into disrepair and disuse in the 1960s. Repair of the trail began in 2018, but the restoration of the Trans Bhutan Trail was accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic as 900 furloughed workers worked to rebuild bridges and create hundreds of miles of footpaths. The Trans Bhutan Trail is being opened to the public in April 2022 so travelers, local people and pilgrims can walk this ancient trail once again. The total length of the Trans Bhutan Trail is 403km / 250 miles long, going from Haa in the west to Trashigang in the east. Don't feel like you have to do it all; you can select shorter segments of the trail to experiences specific mountain landscapes and culture. The goal of hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail is not only to be able to enjoy the stunning landscapes and nature of the high Himalayan mountains, but also to connect with local people, culture and communities along the way through village homestays, sourcing food from local farms, and other community initiatives so that rural communities also benefit from the trail and tourism. In addition, the Trans Bhutan Trail is focused on several sustainability initiatives to conserve the natural environment, from a zero plastics policy along the trail (which also includes providing refillable water bottles and filtered water) to planting a tree for each international visitor. Our partner, G Adventures, was selected as the first group adventure tour operator to offer trekking tours when the trail opens in 2022. This speaks to the alignment of values regarding community tourism and sustainability. Currently, G Adventures is offering two different active tours that include selected segments of the Trans Bhutan Trail. This includes the G Adventures Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail (11 days) that has a similar style as the tour that we took as it includes four days of trekking with several nights of camping. Alternatively, Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail (12 days) also includes several days of hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail, but has more family homestays and guesthouses for overnights than camping. Both tours include both trekking and visiting some of Bhutan's famous monasteries, temples and sites, so it's a good balance of experiences and immersion into Bhutan's nature, culture, history and cuisine. What to Expect on a Bhutan Trek: The Druk Path, Day by Day The Druk Path Trek, or Thunder Dragon Path, takes you approximately 36-45 km (22-28 miles) through pine forests and rhododendron thickets, along mountain ridges and past alpine lakes in the lower Himalayan Mountains in western Bhutan. The trail follows an ancient mule route connecting Paro and Thimphu, and the area plays home to yak herders in the summer months. The highest point of the trek is Labana Pass at 4,200 meters / 13,800 feet. Much of the trail and its campsites sit at a similar and fairly high altitude, so the Druk Path Trek is considered a medium-difficulty trek. The Druk Path Trek includes a diversity of landscapes, trails and views. When I researched the Druk Path Trek, especially for information regarding winter trekking and conditions I found plenty of tour itineraries. However, I didn't find many details or images of the different landscapes and experiences — and possible weather — along the trek. That's what this “Day by Day” section is aimed to do: to help you understand the actual trek journey and give you a sense of what you might encounter and experience each day, including the camping, difficulty of the trail and landscapes. Our days usually began early, with tea served to us inside our tents around 6:30 A.M. Breakfast followed around 7:00. The goal was to set off on the trail in the morning when the skies were still clear and the sun had the chance to warm things up. As is typical in the Himalayas, clouds might develop as the morning and day unfolded. Note: The route below is for the four-day Druk Path Trek that we took with G Adventures in late January. Many tour companies offer this as a five to six day trek, but we found that four days was perfect for us in terms of the daily distance, difficulty, breaks and free time in the evenings at the campsite. If you are in reasonable shape and have some experience trekking at altitude then four days for this trek should provide ample time. Our trekking guide made a couple of adjustments to our route due to winter conditions so that the mules carrying our gear wouldn't injure themselves on the snow and ice. If you do the Druk Path Trek in the spring or fall you might notice a few differences to the route below, but most of it will be the same. Also, our guide said that our small group walked rather quickly. Some daily hiking times might be longer if your group is larger or has less experienced trekkers. Note: the hiking times below do not include resting, snack and lunch breaks. Day 1: Ta Dzong to Jele Dzong Temple to Tshokam Distance: 13.7 km / 8.5 miles Number of hours hiking: 5 1/2 – 6 hours Most Druk Path Treks set off from outside Paro in the early morning. You'll make your way by van transfer along a relatively new dirt road rising into the hills for around 30-45 minutes. (Prior to the road being built, this segment was part of the actual trek.). At the conclusion of this short ride, you'll meet your trekking support team: a cook, assistants, mule handlers and a group of mules to carry your tents, your allotted camping and trekking gear, all the food and cooking gas, and the kitchen, dining and bathroom tents. Starting out on the Druk Path trail, through the woods. The start of the walk begins on the dirt track and eases you into things with a slow and steady incline that takes you into mid-alpine woods. Eventually this turns into a steep uphill for around 45 minutes through beautiful forest trails until you reach a clearing where you begin to get above nearby hills and have a view of the valley below. The trail leading up to Jele Dzong Temple on day 1. After a short incline you'll reach the 15th century Jele Dzong temple and take a tea break. The temple guardian was away during the time of our visit. If he's around, you'll be allowed to explore inside. We continued onward alternating between forest paths and trails along the edge, revealing valley views and mountain layers in turns. At one of the clearings we stopped for lunch, a hearty meal of rice and several hot dishes. Getting above it all to enjoy views of the valley below. We began our final push towards the Tshokam (Dry Lake) campsite (3,800 meters/12,500 feet) on mostly flat trail. When we arrived, our tents had already been set up for us, which is always nice to see after a day of hiking. We took the free time and enjoyed the last bit of sunshine with some snacks and tea outside. It gets cold once the sun sets, so we enjoyed a bonfire before and after dinner. Tshokam campsite, our home for the first night. Day 2: Tshokam to Janytscho to Simkotra Lake Distance: 8.5 km / 5.3 miles Number of hours hiking: 4 hours While this is a shorter trekking day than the first, it features a couple long, steep inclines which make for a bit of a challenge. Our guide had to make a few adjustments on this day due to snow and ice on the trail. As a result, we didn't go on the higher (and longer) trail to Jimilang Tsho lake as it was dangerous for the mules. Following the mules along the trail in the early morning light. The first segment of the day is relatively flat and takes you on a forest trail along a stream and over a bridge. After a short break there, you continue to a clearing called Narithang for some mid-morning tea and snacks. Then the uphill really begins. This was a steady climb of a couple of hours through the forest. The idea: go slow and steady on the steep incline so that you maintain a consistent pace as you climb in altitude. The trail continues from the woods onto a clearing at Janytscho which overlooks the lake. This is where we stopped for lunch and a rest, but we've heard that some groups will stop here to camp for the night. Dan emerges from the forest and a rhododendron thicket. Mules make their way carefully in the snow, carrying all of our trekking gear and food. Following our trekking guide along the ridge trail to Janye Tsho. It was a winter trek after all, so we encountered some snow and ice on the trail at this point, so we and the mules had to be careful on the ascents and descents. The path continues along a rocky ridge until you reach Janye Tsho, an overlook draped with prayer flags and offering views of the nearby snow-covered Himalayan mountains in the distance. A break and a view at Janye Tsho along the Druk Path Trek, day 2. It's an easy and short walk from here to the campsite near Simkotra Lake at 4,000 meters / 13,100 ft. As this is the highest elevation campsite of the Druk Path Trek, expect it to also be the coldest campsite at night. Be sure to bundle up with lots of layers, especially if you are doing the trek in winter, early spring, or late fall. Enjoying the last bits of sunshine and warmth at Simkotra Lake campsite. A campfire keeps us warm at night as the temperature drops. Day 3: Simkotra Lake to Labana Pass to Phajoding Monastery Distance: 8 km / 5 miles Number of hours hiking: 4.5 hours This was my favorite day of the Druk Path Trek as it not only took us to the highest point of the trek — Labana Pass at 4,200 meters / 13,800 ft — but it was also filled with a diversity of landscapes, experiences and views. Note: Sometimes trekking groups camp before Labana Pass making it part of the fourth day. Winter trekking at its best. We woke up to a blanket of snow everywhere at Simotra Tsho. This meant that some of the views we were supposed to have that morning of the high Himalayas were obscured by the clouds. Instead, we enjoyed some remarkable landscapes in the beauty of their winter stillness and silence as the snow continued to fall for the first couple of hours. Enjoying the silence of the frozen trail on the morning of day 3. The trail is a combination of a gentle uphill and flat through endless rhododendron patches until you reach the final ascent towards Labana Pass (4,200 meters / 13,800 feet). This final push is a bit steep, but you'll be rewarded at the top with prayer flags and excellent vistas, including of the valley below and of the snow-covered mountains of Dochu La and Jhomolhari in the distance. Enjoying the view at Labana Pass (4,200 meters/13,800 ft). Taking in the layers of hills and mountains at Labana Pass. Our trekking group takes a well deserved break at Labana Pass. The trail then descends into the valley on a rocky ridge path for another hour or more. We stopped for lunch before continuing up along a chain of small hills until we reached a chorten atop one final peak overlooking Thimphu, Bhutan's capital city. One last bit of snow on the way up to the chorten. Chorten with a view of Thimphu, Bhutan's capital city. Descend into Thimphu Valley on a rocky trail for around 30-45 minutes until reaching Thujidrak Goemba, a Buddhist temple and meditation center stitched into the mountain rock face at 3,950 meters / 13,000 feet. We were fortunate that a local monk was around. He let our group inside to see the 14th century temple. Temple kitty at the 14th century Thujidrak Goemba. Food is deliberately left outside to feed nearby animals. From there it was an easy walk downhill through fields to reach Phajoding Monastery. The camping area on the monastery's edge had recently been closed to trekkers so our group ended up staying, with the permission of the resident monk and school principal, in the monastery's abandoned schoolhouse. Since temperatures dropped quite considerably that night, we were thankful for the protection the building provided from the wind and cold. However, a new camping area is being set up for future groups. One of our group's mules enjoying the view from the Phajoding Monastery. Day 3: Phajoding Monastery to Thimphu Distance: 5 km / 3 miles Number of hours hiking: 2-2.5 hours This final day is very easy, with a relatively short downhill hike. The dirt trail from the monastery continues through the forest, and becomes steep at times, so use your walking sticks and be careful. As the elevation decreases, the trees and flora begin to change. You hear signs of “civilization” below as cars and trucks use the mountain roads. The final descent, forest track toward Thimphu. The trail ends at the edge of the forest, near one of the prince's residences. Our tour driver met us with a big smile, a selection of local beer, cake and other snacks. This is where you'll say goodbye to your trekking support team and the mules that carried all of your gear during the trek. Our mighty trekking support team of our guide, cook, helpers and mule handlers. Bhutan Trekking Difficulty Level and Conditions We’d give the Druk Path Trek a medium difficulty ranking given its length, inclines and altitude. You should be accustomed to or be prepared for slow, steep uphill climbs at reasonably high altitude. A couple of the people in our group felt that the long ascents and hills on the first day were quite difficult, but this broke them in and they didn't have problems with any of the climbs during the rest of the trek. Plenty of trail and landscape variation on the Druk Path Trek. If you are already relatively active and have some experience trekking at altitude you shouldn't have any problems along this trek, nor should you require special training. However, if you don't have a lot of hiking experience then consider doing a series of long day hikes, preferably with hills, prior to this trek. In addition to preparing you physically, this will help build your confidence. As long as you have the proper winter gear, hiking through the snow is beautiful and peaceful. The winter conditions made this trek a bit more challenging for us at times as we had to watch our footing more in the snow and ice. Nights were also very cold (down to -10 C / 14 F). This did not impact the trek experience or its difficulty much. The Druk Path Trek is not technical, meaning that you will not need any special equipment (e.g., climbing ropes or other fittings) or training. The trail is well-maintained and is easy to follow. Even in the winter, none of us had any special ice or other gear, just some gaiters to prevent the snow from getting in our shoes. Dealing with Altitude When Trekking in Bhutan The Druk Path Trek does take you pretty high, up to 4,200 meters / 13,800 feet, at its highest point. In addition, the first two campsites are just below and just above 4,000 meters / 13,100 feet. This means that you need to be prepared for hiking and sleeping at altitude. If you don't have experience at altitude, be sure you talk with your trekking guide about what to expect and possible symptoms of altitude sickness. Take it slow on the uphills. It's better that you walk at a steady pace and take fewer breaks than to quickly wear yourself out by speeding up the hills and needing to recuperate with frequent and longer stops. Proceeding at a slow, steady pace will also allow your body time to adjust to the high elevation. Slow and steady on a steep climb through the forest. Be sure to drink lots and lots of water, as in liters per day. This is one of the best ways to prevent potential altitude sickness. Consider using a water bladder in your day pack and drink from it regularly as you walk. I find I drink more water this way than with a water bottle, that usually requires a stop to get it out the bag. Our tour included an acclimatization hike to Kila Goempa outside of Paro. This helped us adjust to the terrain and the altitude. If your tour does not include this, be sure to ask for an acclimatization hike. Acclimatization is important to gauge how your body reacts to altitude. It also prepares your body for the multi-day trek ahead. Snow, Rain and Mud Along the Druk Path Trek Since we chose to do the Druk Path Trek in winter (late January/early February), we understood that we might encounter snow. We packed — and at times wore — waterproof/water resistant pants, jackets, and gaiters to protect us from the snow, wet and cold. We did not find the snow and winter conditions a problem, but a feature and differentiating factor of this trek and timing it in winter. Really important to be careful on the icy and snow-covered trails. During other times of year, especially in May as you get close to the rainy season, you might encounter some rain and mud along the trail. It's always good trekking practice to carry waterproof layers or a rain poncho with you to protect you and your daypack from rain and the elements. See the packing list section below for recommended trekking gear to pack to keep you warm and dry, and protect you from the elements. Food Along a Trek in Bhutan You will certainly not go hungry while trekking in Bhutan! Each trekking group is assigned a cook and a couple of helpers. In addition to three hot meals per day you will also have several tea breaks and snacks (e.g., cookies, popcorn) along the trail and when you arrive at the campsite. A hot lunch with several vegetarian options and a meat dish was served each day on the trail. Luxury. On our Druk Path Trek, breakfast included a combination of a hot dish (e.g., eggs or oatmeal) with toast and different toppings (peanut butter, jam, honey, etc.). For lunch and dinner expect several options of Bhutanese vegetarian dishes (e.g., chili and cheese, sauteed greens, vegetables and cheese, etc) and a meat dish or two (e.g., chicken, beef or pork curry) served with rice or noodles. We ate mainly from the vegetarian options as we prefer lighter, vegetarian meals when we trek. If you are vegetarian, vegan or have food restrictions (e.g., glucose or lactose intolerance), alert your trekking company and your guide in advance so they can respond accordingly. Campsites and Sleeping Arrangements The Druk Path Trek has a few standard campsites that are located on flat ground and near a water source. By the time we would arrive at the campsites, our 2-person tents and sleeping mats were already set up for us by the trekking support team (luxury, I know!). A large tent is also set up for eating meals together. Our sleeping tents and dining tent under a layer of snow at Simkotra Lake campsite. At night we would usually have a bonfire made from dead or fallen tree or bush branches (it's illegal to cut down branches) to warm us up as it got rather cold once the sun went down. Just before bedtime we were given hot water bottles to put in our sleeping bags – so nice!! Each morning hot tea or coffee was delivered to our tent at around 6:30 AM as a wake up call. A bowl of hot water followed to wash our face, hands, etc. We would then pack up the stuff in our tent before taking breakfast in the dining tent at around 7:00AM. A hearty breakfast outside at the campsite. There are no showers or permanent toilets set up at the campsites, but the trekking support team set up a camping latrine or toilet at each one. Please use this instead of going off into the woods so that all waste and toilet paper is collected and disposed of in one place. Best Time to Go Trekking in Bhutan The high season for trekking in Bhutan, including the Druk Path Trek, is in the spring months of April and early May when the rhododendron bushes and trees are in blossom. September, October and early November are also considered good times to trek because it's dry, warm and the skies are clear. The summer months from late May to July are usually not considered a good time to trek as this is the rainy season so you would likely encounter muddy and rainy conditions, as well as clouds blocking views of the surrounding mountains. Although we had to bundle up for the cold weather we really enjoyed the Druk Path as a winter trek. Although winter (January – February) is not considered a recommended time to do the Druk Path Trek, we actually enjoyed it. The snow and winter weather added another dimension to the experience and we had the trails and campsites to ourselves. It can get very cold at night (-10 C/14 F), however, so it's important to pack a warm sleeping bag, lots of warm layers, and waterproof gear. All this said, weather in the Himalayas is highly variable. Organizing a Trek in Bhutan Choosing a Bhutan trekking company You cannot trek in Bhutan independently, meaning you must go with an authorized tour operator in Bhutan. This means that your trek will be fully supported, including a trekking guide, cook, helpers, and a team of mule porters to carry your trekking and camping gear. The same minimum daily package fee for Bhutan applies on treks as well. Our Druk Path Trek was with G Adventures and was part of a larger 11-day tour to Bhutan. We recommend this as the tour combines several days on the trek where you are immersed in nature with visits to temples, fortresses and towns to learn more about Bhutan's culture, religion, people and history. Note: The Druk Path Trek tour that we took no longer exists, but both the G Adventures Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail (11 days) and Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail (12 days) offer a similar combination of trekking with exploring Bhutan's monasteries, historical sites, villages and towns. For more details on how to get a visa to Bhutan, minimum daily package fees, flights to Bhutan, and more, check out our Bhutan Travel Guide. Packing for a Trek in Bhutan and Leaving your Luggage Behind For the Druk Path Trek and other treks in Bhutan with G Adventures (and other trekking agencies), you are allowed to bring a maximum of 7.5 kilos per person for the mules to carry. This includes your sleeping bag, clothes, toiletries, towel and any other trekking gear you might need at night. We carried a day pack with us during the day with water, camera, snacks, and necessary layers and winter bits like hat and gloves. Two people would share one of these G Adventures duffel bags for a maximum of 15 kilos. We left our big bags or luggage behind with our tour driver in Paro. We took only what we needed for the trek with us. At the end of the trek, when we emerged from the mountains all our luggage was waiting for us in the tour van. It was available immediately when we arrived at our hotel in Thimphu. Bhutan Trekking Packing List Much of what we include in our How to Pack for a Trek article applies here. However, we offer a customized Bhutan Trekking packing list based on our Druk Path Trek. It has a special focus on winter trekking as this was our experience, to ensure you have what you need to stay warm and dry in all conditions, but that you don't overpack. Remember that you will not have access during the day to the bags with the 7.5 kilos/person of gear so this bag should only include things you need at night. All our waterproof gear and jacket layers we carried with us in our day packs. Better to be prepared as you never know when the temperature and the weather might change as you walk. Even with these layers, try to pack your day pack as light if you can. You’ll quickly begin to feel the extra weight going up those steep hills. Drinking Water You should consume several liters of water each day (if not, then you’re not drinking enough) since you’ll be walking at altitude most of the time. Bring with you a refillable water bottle or a water bladder (or both) so that you always have at least one liter of water on you at all times. I find that I drink more water on the trail when I drink from a water bladder so I carry both. For hygiene and safety, you'll have access to boiled water at the campsites. This can be used for tea and coffee, but it is also what we used as clean water to refill our water bottles. If you really want to play it safe consider carrying with you a SteriPEN, sterilization drops or a water bottle that includes a filter. Trekking Daypack Recommended Women's Trekking Daypack Deuter ACT Trail Pro Backpack: Very light with all sorts of great functionality like a built-in rain cover, water bladder compatibility, wide waist belt for stability, and more. I have the 32-liter, but you could go with a smaller 28-liter option for this trek as you don't need to carry that much during the day. Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI (28-Liter) | Buy on Backcountry.com (34-Liter) Recommended Men's Trekking Daypack Dan's Osprey 24-liter hiking backpack was comfortable and had more than enough space. Osprey Packs Stratos Men's Hiking Backpack: Dan is a big fan of Osprey packs as they are adjustable and fit his back and torso well. The 24 – 34 liter size is great for day hikes or as a day pack on multi-day treks like this. Buy on Amazon | Buy on REI | Buy on Backcountry.com Sleeping Bag It's very important that you bring a warm sleeping bag so that you are not uncomfortable in your tent at night. We highly recommend getting a sleeping bag that is COMFORT rated to -10 C/15 F (or even warmer). Even if you don't trek in the winter time it still gets rather cold at night and it's better to take off layers or unzip the bag than to not be warm enough. We purchased this Mammut Nordic OTI winter sleeping bag, which was warm enough, synthetic (vs. down, which requires more care) and came at a great price. However, it's a bit bulky and took up quite a bit of space in our luggage. Another good sleeping bag option would be one of the down sleeping bags offered by Hyke & Byke (e.g., this sleeping bag goes down to 0 degrees F) as they are very reasonably priced for down and the quality of the bags. Here are some other winter sleeping bags offered at REI. Trekking Poles / Walking Sticks We highly recommend carrying trekking poles. We were very thankful for ours, especially on the steep downhills and when the trail was covered in snow and ice. We brought our own set of travel trekking poles (they fold up compact) with us. We share one set between the two of us so that we each carry one pole on the trail. If you didn't bring walking sticks with you ask your guide if you can rent or borrow them. Our guide made several wooden sticks available for people in our group who didn't have them. They were very thankful to have them. Clothing to go Trekking in Bhutan You don't need a lot of clothes, but you do need the right layers. Don’t worry about packing clean clothes for each day, as you can just re-wear the same things each day. Trust me, no one cares and that's what everyone does. Here’s what we suggest: 1 pair of trekking pants: We're both been using Clothing Arts Travel Pants (for men and for women) as our go-to trekking pants for over eight years. They've been through a lot of different treks and conditions, yet remain in excellent condition. We find the additional secure pockets useful on treks for keeping phones, money, tissues and other things handy. Thermal underwear (top/bottom): I love my silk long johns as they are warm, comfy and take up almost no room at all. Also good is Uniqlo's Heat Tech collection of thin, but warm, layers of leggings and tops. Dan is still keen on his Patagonia zipper top and bottoms that he's been using for over two decades. Short or long-sleeved shirts: I often start with a quick dry t-shirt at the bottom and then add the layers on top. This tends to wick away any sweat quickly so that I don't get cold. On this trek, however, I mainly used a long-sleeve shirt as my bottom layer (e.g., this Uniqlo option or this REI long-sleeved option) as I was aiming for warmth. 3-4 pairs of socks: I love SmartWool hiking socks. My first pairs lasted me almost seven years of heavy usage. If you prefer a thinner sock check out their ultra-light line. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Hiking shoes: We wore low-rise Oboz hiking shoes and were fine. Other people wore light trainers. However, some mid-ankle support is useful because of the pitch of the terrain, and some traction is the soles is useful when you encounter rain, mud, snow and ice. Men's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry + Women's Obuz Sawtooth Hiking Shoes: Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry 1 set of sleeping clothes: I prefer sleeping in different clothes than the ones I've hiked in all day. So even if it's cold in the tent I'll change into my sleeping clothes as it feels cleaner to me. Given the winter conditions this included a long-sleeve Uniqlo HeatTech shirt, fleece jacket, warm leggings (or fleece-lined running tights), socks, hat, and scarf. To ensure these remain dry, pack them in a plastic bag or other impermeable container inside the bag the mules are carrying. Underwear for every day of your trek: With an extra pair thrown in for good measure, if you like. Recommended men's underwear and women's underwear. Long sleeved pullover or zipped layer: This thin layer provides an important layer of warmth during the day. Buy on REI (Men's)| Buy on REI (Women's) Light fleece jacket: For an extra layer during the day or to keep warm during sleeping, but not too bulky. Buy on REI (Women's) | Buy on REI (Men's) Rain jacket: A useful layer for warmth and against the snow, rain or wind. You can use a light windbreaker-in-a-bag that is water resistant or a more substantial waterproof rain jacket like this (women's and men's). Down jacket: This is an invaluable layer, especially if you are trekking in the winter, as the jacket compresses into a small bag so it's light and easy to carry. But, it provides an important layer of warmth, especially when you get to the campsite and the temperature drops as the sun goes down. Dan has really enjoyed his down jacket from Uniqlo. I use a similar down jacket to this. Flip-flops or river shoes (e.g., Tevas): To use at night in the campsites to give your feet a break from hiking shoes. Women's Tevas & Men's Tevas. Shoe gaiters: We picked up a knock-off North Face pair of gaiters in Paro before our trek to protect our shoes from getting wet from the snow on the trails. We were very thankful to have them, especially on day 3. Gaiters are especially important if you're doing a winter trek and expect snow. Buy at REI | Buy on Amazon Crampons or Traction Cleats: If you're doing the winter trek and have fears of slipping on the ice, carrying a pair of lightweight traction cleats can provide peace of mind. We left our set of Yaktrax traction cleats at home (we were not expecting much ice) and were fine without them. We used our walking sticks to maintain balance on ice. However, were we to pack again for a winter Druk Path experience, we would bring them with us just to be on the safe side. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Other Trekking Gear Waterproof backpack cover: You never know when a rainstorm will hit, so it’s essential to keep a rain cover for your backpack close at hand. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry | Buy at REI Quick-dry travel towel: To dry off your hands or face after washing them in the morning. Hang it on the outside of your backpack in the morning so it dries quickly in the sun and air as you move. Buy at REI |Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Sleep sack or sleeping bag liner: To provide an extra layer of warmth in the sleeping bag. Highly recommended. We prefer the silk liner option as it is light to carry, but a warm layer. Buy on REI | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Backcountry Headlamp: The campsites do not have electricity so a headlamp is useful to make your way to the camping toilet and to sort through your stuff at night in the tent. Silicone earplugs: A precaution in the case your camp has a snorer. Hand or toe warmers: If your hands and feet get cold easily consider bringing a pack of adhesive hand and/or toe warmers. One of the women in our group had bad circulation. She used these adhesive warmers daily in her shoes and gloves. They were a lifesaver and really helped keep her warm and comfortable. Buy on Amazon | Buy at REI Toiletries and Health Kit On the Druk Path Trek, you won't have access to a shower. But hot water bowls in the morning go a long way. Soap, toothbrush and toothpaste: The basics. Sunscreen and lip balm with sunscreen: The higher the SPF, the better. You'll be at high altitude. Sunglasses: The sun is strong at altitude. Hand sanitizer: To be on the safe side. Pack of tissues or toilet paper: The campsites all have toilet paper, but it’s always a good idea to carry a pack of tissues just in case. Duct tape: Very effective for hot spots and blisters on your feet. Also consider picking up some Compeed, which is magic when you've already developed blisters. Medical Kit (for emergencies): Band-Aids, anti-bacterial gel (for cuts), rehydration powders, ciprofloxacin (or another medication against stomach bacteria), Tylenol (anti-headache/aches), Immodium (or some sort of “stopper” if you get diarrhea), tea tree oil (great to apply to cuts and mosquito bites) Note: all these are easily and inexpensively purchased at local pharmacies, including in Paro from where you depart for the trek. Electricity and Charging Batteries None of the campsites have electricity so prepare yourself for not having access to electricity during the trek. Some tips to handle this and further your battery power. Put your smartphone on airplane mode to not waste your phone’s battery power trying to find a network. Consider buying a phone case that doubles as an extra battery. It provides another 1-1.5 charges. Take an extra camera battery or two. Don’t spent time reviewing your images, as this will quickly consume your battery power quickly. Unless you are reviewing images to determine whether you’ve captured a specific shot, there will be time enough for photo review when your trek is finished. Pack a solar-paneled power bank. We would leave ours outside in the early morning light or during breaks along the trail to charge it in the sun. Not sure how much it really recharged, but ours did give us some much appreciated juice to recharge our phones after a couple of days. Have other questions about trekking in Bhutan or the Druk Path Trek? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll incorporate the information into the article so others may benefit. Disclosure: Our Druk Path Trek and tour in Bhutan was provided to us by G Adventures in cooperation with its Wanderers program. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post Bhutan Trekking: The Druk Path Trek and New Trans Bhutan Trail appeared first on Uncornered Market.

At the end of last year as winter days grew shorter and the holidays approached, we set our sights on checking in with each other before we found ourselves immersed in the uptake of a new year. Taking off to the Caribbean to spend some time together away from our laptops, reflect on the past year and take a deep breath before a busy year ahead was just what we needed.

The post Travel to St. Maarten: 18 Unusual Things to Do appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on December 8, 2024 by Audrey Scott Many people travel to St. Maarten / St. Martin for its Caribbean white sand beaches. While they are beautiful and all that you would expect from a Caribbean island, there are so many more things to do in Saint Maarten / Saint Martin than just its beaches. This travel guide shares 18 unusual things to do in St. Maarten / St. Martin drawn from ten days traveling all around the island with the goal of finding some of its more off-the-beaten path experiences and places. Whether you’re traveling to St. Maarten / St. Martin as a standalone Caribbean island vacation or as an excursion from a cruise, you'll be sure to find something from our travel guide below with our favorite boat trips, outdoor activities, hikes, beaches, and day trips to make your visit memorable. Exploring St. Martin / St. Maarten beaches. Deservedly famous. Visiting the Caribbean Island of St. Maarten / St. Martin At the end of the year as winter days grew shorter and the Christmas holidays approached, we set our sights on checking in with each other before we found ourselves immersed in the uptake of a new year. Taking off to the Caribbean to spend some time together away from our laptops, reflect on the past year and take a deep breath before a busy year ahead was just what we needed. It was with this frame of mind that we left our home base in Berlin mid-December for St. Maarten, the Dutch side of an island in the Caribbean divided in two with its French counterpart St. Martin. Caribbean beaches – long horizons and shades of blue. While we weren't fully disconnected from the internet and the world during our time on St. Maarten, we found that removing ourselves from all that was familiar and routine — and giving ourselves a dose of sunshine and warmth — helped us to relax, gain some perspective, and enjoy time together as an ordinary married couple (i.e., not as business partners). Not to mention, a sort of decompression seems to occur naturally when staring out over water to the horizon for long periods of time. In this way, pressing the pause button from time to time in one’s life creates space to disconnect, reconnect and to clarify what matters most. Note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and updated in December 2024. Going Off the Beaten Path in St. Maarten / St. Martin The idea of this trip, as with most of our travels, was to go beyond the obvious — in this case, the beaches. This involved exploring both sides of the island — Dutch St. Maarten in the south and French St. Martin to the north – and following suggestions, on and off the tourist trail, to experiences that would move us. The cliché of white sand Caribbean beaches stretching along dazzling, turquoise water is far too accurate. We were tempted to park ourselves on one of the several we sampled, and never leave. But we also knew there was more to discover and things to do in St. Maarten than appears on the surface. Next, we would be fibbing if we told you that St. Maarten / St. Martin is not heavily touristy. It would be very easy to visit and only see the developed and trafficked areas of the island and draw your experience and conclusions from there, but dig a bit deeper and you’ll find a dimension to the island that few others see. On several occasions we found ourselves surrounded by rugged natural beauty, without a soul around. Resorting to a selfie; nobody else around to take our photo along the Sentier des Froussards trek. We enabled our experience of St. Maarten in full by talking with as many people as we could. Our goal: to connect with and better understand this island of 80,000 inhabitants that welcomes an astonishing 3.7 million travelers a year, and to uncover a diversity of experiences that speak to both adventure and relaxation. That’s where this travel guide filled with unusual things to do in St. Maarten / St. Martin comes in. Pick and choose from the experiences below to piece together a St. Maarten travel itinerary that best suits your travel goals and interests, from boat trips to beaches to hiking to adventure activities. 18 Unusual Things to Do, See and Experience in St. Maarten / St. Martin As you go through our recommended boat trips, beaches, hikes, tours, and things to do in Saint Maarten / Saint Martin below you'll notice that they are mostly activities that take place outdoors, in nature and away from crowds. This reflects what we did and our personal recommendations. Some of the following experiences and activities we paid for ourselves and some were provided free to us (as indicated below). Some we learned about by talking with locals or long-time residents, and others we discovered on our own. In other words, we tried to learn as much as we could about St. Maarten/St. Martin and experience it to the fullest in the ten days we had. A note on costs: Prices for experiences vary slightly depending upon season (high or low), number of people in the group, and other factors. Legend: $ = up to $50, $$ = $50-$100, $$$ = $100-$150, $$$$ = $150+ 1. Race at sea and take the controls of a real America's Cup boat with the 12-Metre Challenge. Yes, this experience can take you on THE winning boat from the 1987 America’s Cup, the Stars & Stripes. This alone is kind of exciting. Board the boat, and each of your group is assigned a crew position. From there, you get a quick lesson, you practice a bit, the helmsman issues the commands and with a traditional 6-minute start, it’s off to the races. You witness and participate firsthand in the teamwork required to make a craft like this take flight on the water. This became even more evident – and dramatic — as we sailed right into a brief tropical storm with the wind whipping the sails and our boat carving slightly terrifying angles. What really set this experience apart, however, was the competition. We raced against another America’s Cup boat (True North, from Canada) under standard regatta regulations, giving us a wee taste of the adrenaline of an actual race. The 12-Metre Challenge, returning to shore after a successful race. The only danger with this experience is that it may make you want to take sailing lessons and rent your own sailboat to go around the Caribbean. Not that we speak from experience or anything… If you only have one day in St. Maarten as an excursion from your cruise, consider this activity. It has the right mix of adrenaline, being out on the open waters and fun. How to do it: The 12 Metre Challenge is located at Dock Maarten, Philipsburg. Note: Cruise ship passengers must book through their cruise line. Cost: $$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 2. Day trip to Shoal Bay, Anguilla to relax on the #1 ranked beach in the Caribbean. On our first day in St. Maarten we heard Shoal Bay beach described to us as “heaven on earth.” That the recommendation came from a long-time resident with experience throughout the Caribbean told us we must go. But we’ve been to plenty of “best beaches,” so we managed our expectations. Shoal Bay blues, with a side of paddle boarding. Shoal Bay Beach over-delivered. Not only was the beach a carpet of soft, pristine white sand, but the light and water played a range of blue shades of the likes we’d never before seen, except for glaciers in Antarctica. The blue glow can appear almost artificial and HDR’d, but it’s not. It’s simply the way Mother Nature worked out in this part of the world. Now we understand why this beach is ranked #1 in the Caribbean and #5 worldwide. The other notable feature of this beach during our visit: it was almost empty. The restaurant where our tour went was a simple, local family-run establishment, which lent a fitting and traditional laid-back Caribbean feel. Shoal Bay Beach, Anguilla – a little slice of nostalgia and Caribbean beach life. How to do it: We took a day trip package that included a speedboat from St. Maarten (dock near the airport) to Anguilla + bus transfer to/from Shoal Bay + lunch + free use of beach equipment such as snorkel gear and paddle boards. Cost: $$$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. Other day trip options to Anguilla from St. Maarten include: Catamaran to Prickly Pear and Anguilla islands (8 hours): This day trip sails along the coast of St. Maarten and visits both Prickly Pear and Anguilla Islands so you can swim in the clear waters and enjoy the beaches in both places. Departs in the morning from Simpson Bay. Price includes a BBQ lunch. Private speed boat from St. Maarten to Anguilla (8 hours): Enjoy a private excursion to Anguilla to enjoy the beauty of Shoal Bay beach and nearby Sandy Island and the clear waters of Crocus Bay. Enjoy complementary champagne and drinks. You'll have flexibility with your day as you'll have your own captain and guide to help create a memorable private trip experience. Speed boat day trip to Anguilla (6 hours) that includes stops in Cap Juluca, Sandy Island, and Little Bay in Anguilla to go swimming and enjoy lunch (included in price). On the return you stop by Maho Beach in St. Maarten to watch the planes land just above you at the airport (see #3 above). Departs in the morning from Cole Bay, St. Maarten. Remember that Anguilla is a different country so be sure to bring your passport and $20 for the clearance and customs fees. 3. Get away from it all with a hike in Guana Bay. It’s easy to get caught up in St. Maarten tourist trail areas and question, “Is this all there is to the island?” However, a short drive over the hill to the southeastern corner of the island and Guana Bay served as our first glance at a different sort of St. Maarten / St. Martin. Hiking in Guana Bay with our guide, Joost. The trek from Guana Bay to Pointe Blanche is one of the areas on the island where you'll find yourself surrounded by rugged natural beauty without a soul around, save perhaps for a few goats. How to do it: You can do this Guana Bay hike with Tri-Sport. They offer a couple of departures each day during high season. We recommend choosing the morning departure (9AM) as you’ll avoid the strong heat and sunshine. Joost, our guide, provided terrific historical and environmental context. Not to mention, he’s a font of useful information and recommendations for other treks in St. Maarten. Cost: $ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 4. Drive a Rhino along the western coast of St. Martin. “I designed this myself and it’s impossible to tip. That’s why we call it a Rhino,” Oliver, the owner of Rhino Safaris explained when we first arrived. He did this so that everyone – from children to 90+ year olds – could enjoy the experience. I had memories of tipping a jet ski on a college break many years ago, so I was of relieved to find out this hybrid Jet Ski/zodiac could not be flipped. It took a few minutes to get used to the Rhino and what it could do in terms of speed, turns, and tricks, but once we did, it was fun and addictive. Driving a “rhino” up the western coast of St. Maarten. Additionally, having spent time sitting in traffic driving the western part of the island, it was a pleasant change to enjoy the same areas from the freedom of the water. How to do it: The “Rhino Safari” departs from Simpson Bay just behind Pineapple Pete’s restaurant. The tour includes not only driving your own Rhino up the western coast, but also snorkeling at Creole Rock at the northern end of the island. Cost: $$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 5. Marvel at the planes landing over Maho Bay beach. Never have we been to a destination where the airport is such a tourist attraction. But sit on or near the beach at Maho Bay and you’ll quickly understand why. The photo below pretty much says it all. It looks Photoshopped, but it’s not. Extreme plane watching at Maho Bay, St. Maarten. How to do it: While you can stand on the beach to watch the planes land overhead, we recommend Sunset Bar as an ideal spot to capture a photo without the jet blast. The surfboard outside the bar is updated daily with the flight schedule. Or you can check out the arrival schedule at SXM airport and try to figure out which flights will have the biggest planes. Good looks can also be had from Driftwood Bar on the other side of the beach. Air France flies the largest jets (i.e., most dramatic landings and photos). Book a tour to watch the planes land over Maho Bay: If you have limited time in St. Maarten, consider booking a plane viewing day trip that will transfer you from the port in Philipsburg to Maho Bay so you can enjoy some time on the beach and see the planes landing. Alternatively, you can arrange a half-day trip in St. Maarten that will take you to Orient Beach and then to watch the planes at Maho Bay. 6. Enjoy the sunset and a rum punch on a catamaran. There’s something naturally calming about staring out over the sea at a sunset as the glow of the sun melts into the water. Now, do that same thing with from the webbed deck of a catamaran with a rum punch in your hand and you’ll find yourself exhaling – literally and figuratively — even deeper. Sunset cruise. Not pictured: rum punch in hand. How to do it: Aquamania offers sunset and dinner catamaran trips on Wednesday and Friday evenings, departing from Simpson Bay Resort marina at 5:30 PM and returning at 8:30 PM. Alternatively, you can choose this shorter sunset cruise (1.5 hours) with daily departures that includes drinks and snacks, but not a full dinner. Cost: $$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 7. Wake up early and go for a run (or stroll) at Cupecoy Bay and enjoy a Caribbean beach all to yourself. If running isn’t your thing, then swap it with walking or cycling. Whatever you do, get up early and head to the cliffs. You’ll be rewarded not only with the soft glow of early morning light, but also with a Caribbean beach to yourself. The view from our running path, from Maho Bay to Cupecoy Bay, St. Maarten. 8. Get above it all at Pic Paradis. There is something about making your way to the highest point to get some perspective. Having an aerial view of St. Maarten (and St. Martin) from the lookout at Pic Paradis, the highest point on the island at 1,391ft / 424m, helps you see the contours of the land and how all of the places you’ve visited fit together. Pic Paradis, enjoying the view from the top of St. Martin. How to do it: In our rental car we followed the Pic Paradis signs from the main road between Marigot and Grand Case and parked on the side of the road up the hill from Loterie Farm (it was closed the day we visited, Monday). From there it was a relatively short, but steep, walk to the top. Alternatively, if you have a 4-wheel-drive car you can drive virtually the entire way to the peak and lookout. 9. Cross the border and practice your French. One of the things that attracted us to St. Maarten/St. Martin was that the island has been divided between the French and the Dutch for over 350 years. Today, the Dutch side is an independent country, while the French side remains a territory of France. We wondered what that would look and feel like. Crossing the border, St. Martin style. While there are no border controls between the sides and countries, you’ll still see signs posted across the island welcoming you each time you cross. Cross from the Dutch side north and you’ll have a chance to practice your French. You’ll also see a different style of architecture and town planning. Not to mention, the bread and pastries are unsurprisingly better on the French side of the border. 10. Chill out at Mullet Bay beach. There is no shortage of postcard-like beaches to choose from on the island. One of our favorites for relaxing, swimming and sunning was Mullet Bay. Since there's a golf course on one side of the beach, it is somewhat protected from development and the shadow of any large buildings. Mullet Bay beach in the morning. Of course, we aren’t the only ones to have discovered this beach. But, we noticed that if we went before noon or after 3PM it emptied as day passengers returned to the cruise ships. Ideal for a morning read or late afternoon nap. A note on St. Maarten / St. Martin beaches: All beaches on the island are public, meaning that you have access to try any one you’d like. Some beaches have sun chairs and umbrellas for hire, usually organized by restaurants or bars, but you have the right to plunk your beach towel at random and enjoy the beach for free. 11. Bicycle to Fort Amsterdam. With so much of St. Maarten covered in new buildings and developments (something like 90% of the island was destroyed by Hurricane Luis in 1995), we were curious to learn more about its history and the strategic role the island played in the colonial wrangling between the Spanish, Dutch and French empires over the centuries. This is where the historical bicycle tour of Philipsburg with Barend, our guide, helped fill in the gaps. Philipsburg bicycle tour leads us to Fort Amsterdam. One of the focal points of the bicycle tour is 17th century Fort Amsterdam, originally built by the Dutch, then lost to the Spanish and successfully defended to ward off a return Dutch invasion. The Dutch leader from that lost the fight (and his right leg), Peter Stuyvesant, went on to become mayor of New Amsterdam. Eventually he traded New Amsterdam (now, New York) to the British for the wee island of Curacao, in perhaps the very first of the worst of Wall Street deals. This story reinforces how the islands are historically more connected to our present day circumstances than we realize. Additionally, the bicycle tour takes you through Back Street, Philipsburg. While the souvenir shops and tourist restaurants in Philipsburg harbor and Front Street may feel overwhelming, this residential area just a few blocks away will give you a sense of what the island might have looked like before the rebuilding and tourism boom. Many traditional homes have remained in the hands of the same family for multiple generations. Worth the effort to walk to Back Street to experience the contrast between the two Philipsburgs. How to do it: The historical bicycle tour with TriSport leaves from the cruise ship harbor in Philipsburg. There’s a choice of several departures, but we recommend taking the early one (8:30 AM) to beat the heat and the crowds. If you would like a more challenging ride, check out the other bicycle tours offered. Cost: $-$$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. 12. Scuba dive at Saba island and swim with sea turtles in coral gardens. “I’m sorry. It looks like visibility isn’t as great as it usually is,” Bob, our dive master, apologized to us before we descended to the dive site known as Tent Reef. A few minutes later we swam over coral gardens bursting with colorful coral and fish. We encountered sea turtles noshing on jelly fish, and saw puffer, parrot and lion fish dart in and around the reef. I thought: “Hmm, if this is considered ‘bad' visibility, I can’t imagine what ‘good' must look like.” Scuba diving off of Saba island. Diving in Saba was a top priority for us as we’d heard that the dive sites there are considered some of the best in the Caribbean. It took a little logistical juggling, but we did find a way to combine two dives there within a day trip from St. Maarten. The only downside of this plan is that you don’t have time to explore the island itself. There are supposed to be some gorgeous coastal treks, so consider extending your Saba trip to several days. How to go scuba diving in Saba: There are ferries that offer day trips from St. Maarten to Saba that run most days in high season. Edge offers a day trip package to Saba with round-trip ferry service, hiking and the option for scuba diving. Makana Ferry goes to Saba in the late afternoon/early evening in case you want to spend a couple of nights there. The ride takes 1.5 hours and can get rough. If you get seasick easily, consider taking some motion sickness medicine or carry Sea Bands. We arranged our dive in advance with Saba Divers. They meet you at the ferry, check your Padi certification, gear you up, manage two dives, and get you back to the ferry for the late afternoon return to St. Maarten. Fun and experienced dive masters. Cost: $$$$ Saba Covid Travel Requirements (November 2022): No requirements now for proof of vaccination, negative test or EHAS form. How to go scuba diving in St. Maarten: If you want to go diving, but don't have the time to go all the way to Saba for the day consider doing a half-day double tank drive in St. Maarten instead. The dive staff will choose the dive site based on weather and visibility that morning so that you're diving in optimum conditions. If you haven't been diving within the last year, it's recommended to start with a shallow dive as a refresher. If you don't have your PADI certificate, but want to get a feel for scuba diving and being underwater, then you can do a 3-hour Discover Scuba tour that introduces you to scuba diving and all of its gear in shallow waters. This is a great way to test out scuba diving in clear Caribbean waters. 13. Taste rum at a local distillery. “I used to experiment with flavored rums in my kitchen to make gifts for friends or for guests at my husband’s restaurant. After I decided to do this professionally, I taught myself enough Mandarin to navigate the factories in China to get the bottle design exactly as I wanted it. I’ve always been hands-on,” Melanie, co-founder of Topper’s Rhum, laughed as she explained the genesis of her rum business. Teaching yourself “enough” Mandarin is no easy feat, but this focus on detail fit with what we saw and tasted during our visit to the distillery. Rum tasting at Topper's Rhum distillery. Melanie has been successful with her current lineup of white, spiced, coconut and flavored rums like white chocolate raspberry. Her experiences continue with new flavors in her office-cum-laboratory. The coconut rum was our favorite for drinking straight, but we later sampled the Mocha Mama (think Kahlua without the cream) over vanilla ice cream. Nice! How to do it: Topper’s Rhum now offers distillery tours for the public. Otherwise, you can sample (and buy) any of the rums at one of the two Topper’s restaurants. 14. Practice Your Tanning Skills at Orient Bay. On our first night in St. Maarten we asked our waitress, Samantha, which beach on the island was her favorite. Her quick response: “Orient Bay. I didn’t realize how lucky we are to have this beach until I left the island and visited other places. I love it.” Time to brush up on tanning skills, Orient Bay. Located on the French side of the island east, the beach at Orient Bay is long, wide and lined with restaurants and cafes that offer beach chairs and umbrellas. It’s more of a place to “be seen” than Mullet Bay, but it’s not too over-the-top. It also features beach segments that are clothing optional, so if nude bathing is your thing, this is the place to be…or to be seen. 15. Enjoy scenes of local life in Grand Case. Grand Case is on the French side of the island and has more of a local feel to it than some of the other areas of the island that have been built up for tourism. It's a good place to park your car and wander the streets and pier for these glimpses of local life…like school kids jumping off the pier or playing in the surf along the beach. There is something so light and innocent about the scene. Listen to the giggles and feel the energy. An inimitable local sight and memory. School kids play in the sea in late afternoon light. Grand Case, St. Martin How to do it: Park your car in the public parking lot on the north end of the main street in Grand Case. Walk out by the pier behind the cluster of outdoor grill restaurants. Plenty of food options here, too, from the informal grills at the beach side to more formal French restaurant options along what is known as “Restaurant Row.” 16. Kayak through the mega yacht harbor to the mangroves. St. Maarten is one of THE places in the Caribbean for yachts and boats of the “mega” variety to be docked. So it’s a fun juxtaposition – not to mention great perspective — to paddle through the nautical playground of the rich and famous before coming back down to earth with the jellyfish and sea cucumbers in the mangroves. Kayaking through the mega-yachts of Simpson Bay lagoon. How to do it: Tri-Sport usually offers a lagoon kayak tour a couple of times a day. We recommend choosing either the early morning or late afternoon option to avoid the heat of the midday sun. Chris, one of the guides, is a St. Maarten local so he can advise you on anything you might want to know about the island, including local food. Cost: $-$$ Disclosure: This experience was provided to us as media. Grab a Johnny Cake at Hilma’s and ask her about Anthony Bourdain and her 40+ years on the island. Update: Hilma's Windsor Castle was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. We are keeping the entry below in honor of Hilma, her spirit…and her johnny cakes. Although a separate section below is devoted to recommended dining and island eats, we include Hilma’s (technically, Hilma’s Windsor Castle) because eating at one of the four stools is an experience well beyond the food. Hilma has been operating from a converted trailer on the same spot in Simpson Bay for 22 years, and she’s lived on the island for more than 40. She purposely keeps operations deliberately small and personal for manageability. She has so many stories to tell, so plan some time for a conversation or two. The always smiling Hilma of Windsor Castle food stand in Simpson Bay. “I was all by myself when I first started here. None of this was here,” Hilma told us as she looked out over the road now filled to the brim on both sides with restaurants and shops. When we asked her about Anthony Bourdain, she confirmed, “Yes, he used to come here often. He vacationed here before he became really famous. He’s eaten everything here. The advice he gave me was to not change, that I should stay true to my roots.” Sage advice. How to do it: You can find Hilma’s Windsor Castle on the lot between the RBC Bank and Jerusalem / The Palms restaurants on Airport Road in Simpson Bay. Hilma is open Monday to Saturday from 7:30AM – 2:00PM. 17. Hike the northern coastline at Sentier des Froussards. This hike and the northern coastline of St. Martin falls under the “hidden” and “I had no idea something like this existed on the island” categories. We woke up early to do the trek Sentier de Froussards hike (from Anse Marcel to Eastern Point and back) during our last morning on the island. A rather ideal way to end our travels in St. Maartin / St. Martin. The hike consists of a surprisingly beautiful and secluded 3-mile footpath out along the northern coast of the island and features a couple of bathing-worthy beaches, rugged coastline and fabulous windswept landscape. Hiking the northern coast of St. Martin along the Sentier de Froussards path. How to do it: Big thanks to Joost from TriSport for recommending this trek to us. Drive towards Anse Marcel and after coming over the big hill (and before entering the marina and resort area) turn to the right where you see a small trekking sign and parking lot. You’ll walk a ways on a dirt road before reaching the trailhead on the right. Go very early (arrive around 7:30AM) to avoid the traffic and heat. En route to Anse Marcel from the south, fetch yourself a pain au chocolat or croissant from the boulangerie on the right side of the N7 main road in Grand Case. 18. Throw open the curtains at sunrise…and realize how fortunate you are. This began my morning routine. I noticed it most on that final day, perhaps because it marked the final time I would feel it this trip. It was the combination of the sound of the curtains moving on their track along with the reveal of the morning, the water, the horizon, the sun, a new day. The sensory combination of sight and sound of our morning routine foreshadowed the day to come and offered a moment to reflect on what we have, here and now. This is a lesson for life. One reaffirmed on the island. Day Trips and Excursions in St. Maartin / St. Martin Our partners, Get Your Guide and Viator, offer many St. Maarten tours, day trips and tickets for attractions. They guarantee lowest prices with no booking fees or hidden charges, as well as information on Covid hygiene and safety precautions. In addition to confirming your place and avoiding lines by pre-booking, you can cancel up to 24 hours before in case your plans change. Although we've made quite a few recommendations above for activities, excursions and tay trips, we also wanted to share some other interesting St. Maarten tours and day trips. Speed boat tour around St. Maarten and St. Martin with snorkeling, beaches and lunch: This 6-hour tour around St. Maarten by speed boat takes you to both the Dutch and French sides. You'll have a chance to visit Tintamarre, an uninhabited island within the French Nature Reserve, that is only accessible by boat where you'll have a chance to see sea turtles and sting rays. Other stops include Pinel Island to swim and enjoy a relaxing lunch under palm trees, Creole Rock for snorkeling, Mullet Bay for another stunning beach, and finally to see the jets land over your head at Princess Juliana International Airport (see above). Private charter catamaran trip around St. Maarten: Perfect for families or groups of friends traveling together who want a bit of privacy and luxury. This is a full-day charter (9 hours) that not only includes stops with snorkeling and swimming at Tintamarre Island, Long Bay La Samana, and Happy Bay, but also a gourmet 4-course lunch and open bar. If you're thinking of a splurge during your visit to St. Maarten, this is a good choice. Day tour around St. Martin / St. Maarten with a local guide: This 5-hour tour around both the French and Dutch sides of the island with a local guide sounds quite interesting as it focuses on topics related to the history and resilience of the island and its people, especially as the island was badly destroyed recently during Hurricaine Irma. It stops in several places on the French side like Grand Case, Marigot, and Fort St. Louis, as well as Maho Bay and Philipsburg on the Dutch side. Sailing and Snorkeling Trip Along St. Martin's Coast (5 hours): If you want to maximize your time on the water and see St. Martin / St. Maarten from the sea, this sailing day trip on a trimaran (i.e., it has three hulls vs. two as in a catamaran) is a good option. The journey will take you up the southwestern coast of St. Martin and up the Anguilla Channel, and you'll stop along the way for swimming and snorkeling. Departs from Nowhere Special Restaurant right next to the St. Maarten Yacht Club. Lunch included. St. Maarten hiking and snorkeling nature tour (4 hours): This nature tour combines a couple of our recommendations above – going up to Pic Paradis for panoramic views, taking a hike or nature walk, and snorkeling in the clear waters below — in a nice half-day time period. With your local guide you'll have a chance to learn a bit more about the island's biodiversity and the different species of animals above and below water. A good and active introduction to the island's nature if you are on an excursion or only have a short time. Where to Stay in St. Maarten / St. Martin For the ten days we visited St. Maarten, our home was the Morgan Resort (previously, the Alegria Boutique Hotel) in Maho Bay, just walking distance from the famous beach where airplanes fly overhead to land at the Princess Juliana airport (See #4 above). Sunset view from our balcony at Alegria Boutique Hotel. From what we can tell on the Morgan Resort website, the rooms have been renovated and upgraded considerably, into more of a luxury stay. There are still some suites available if you want a bit more room. Book a room at Morgan Resort Spa and Village. St. Maarten Hotels and Apartments Whether you are traveling to St. Maarten as a standalone vacation or starting your cruise from there, you may want to stay on the Dutch side of the island for a few days. The St. Maarten hotels and apartments below are conveniently located and in quieter, less developed areas. We think of them as good places to base yourself to explore the island. Hotels in Maho Bay – Cupecoy Bay – Simpson Bay These locations are all pretty close to the airport. We enjoyed staying in Maho Bay as it was a bit removed from a lot of the more built up areas and we had easy access to Mullet Bay and Cupecoy Bay beaches. Plus, we could always pop down to one of the nearby bars to see the planes land overhead at the airport. Not many activities start in Maho Bay, so t means that you'll need to add in driving or transfer time at the beginning and end of the day. Some of the activities and tours above start in or near Simpson Bay so it is a bit closer. El Zafiro Boutique Hotel: This is very close to where we stayed in St. Maarten and is located right on the beach so you'll have good views of both the coast and mountains from your room. Convenient for watching planes land at SXM airport. Adonis Cupecoy Hotel: Located in a good position not far from Cupecoy Bay (see #2 above), Maho Bay (see #4) and Simpson Bay with some restaurants and shopping nearby, but it's still a quieter, less developed part of St. Maarten. The Horny Toad Guest House: If you want your own apartment or studio with a kitchenette, seating area and terrace, then this is a good option right on Simpson Bay Beach. Close to the airport and you are walking distance from local restaurants. Hotels in Philipsburg and Eastern St. Maarten The little town of Philipsburg might be a fun place to base yourself as it has some historic areas, a beach and nearby restaurants and shops you can walk to. Plus, you're not too far from Guana Bay Beach (see #3 above) and can explore Fort Amsterdam easily. If you're coming to St. Maarten early for a cruise, Philipsburg is conveniently located near the cruise terminal and port. Alicia Inn: A good budget option right in the middle of Philipsburg so close to the restaurants, shops and beach. Public transport is also located nearby if you don't have a car and want to explore by local bus. Bay View Apartment: A little outside of town in the hills with views over Great Bay and the Atlantic Ocean below. This is a full apartment so you have everything you need to feel at home on the island. A good place if you want a bit of quiet and privacy. St. Martin Hotels and Apartments: Staying on the French Side Next time we visit the island we might stay on the French side for a change of pace as there is less tourism development and fewer big resorts. Sunshine Studios, Grand Case: Although our time in Grand Case was short, we really liked the feel of the place as it had more of a local lived in vibe than many of the other more tourism oriented places on the island. And, it's near “Restaurant Row” if you want to enjoy some French cuisine on your visit to St. Martin. The studios here also include kitchens so you can also enjoy self-catering and eating on your balcony. Happy Residence, Orient Bay: Located on Orient Bay Beach, one of our favorite beaches on the island. The apartment has a kitchen and everything you need, but it is also located walking distance to other restaurants and shops. Tiko Lodge, Oyster Pond: In the eastern side of the island close to Babit Point Natural Reserve, which is good for hiking, and not far from Orient Bay. The lodge offers rooms or apartments, and views over the water. Although quiet and remote, there are still restaurants nearby that are walking distance. Where to Eat in St. Maarten As we stayed in St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island, we took all of our meals there. Much of the food in this part of the island is international, a reflection of both the people who now call this island home and the demographic of the tourists that visit it. If you are interested in traditional French cuisine, however, then head up to “Restaurant Row” in Grand Case on the northwestern side of the island in St. Martin. We didn’t have the opportunity to eat there during this trip as were often there too early for dinner, but the menus posted outside were very similar to what you might see in France. Long-time European residents confirmed the quality of the restaurants in Grand Case is also top notch and recommended: Auberge Gourmande, Bistro Caribe, Sol e Luna, Ocean 82 and Tastevin. Our quick look at the Auberge Gourmande menu told us this is the place we’d likely visit, but we might be swayed by what is fresh and the plat du jour elsewhere. Top Carrot, Simpson Bay Vegetarians and vegans delight. If salads, vegetables, juices and healthy eating are your thing then this is your place. The focus at Top Carrot: fresh ingredients, either grown on the island (when possible) or just off the boat from nearby Dominica. Specials change daily. After each meal, not only were we truly satisfied, but we also left feeling as though we’d done our bodies a favor. The French co-owner, Lydia, is usually there and has some great stories from living on the island for 20+ years. She’s exceedingly kind, too. Vegetable goodness at Top Carrot. Recommended dishes: Baked goat cheese (St Marcellin) salad, veggie wrap and mahi mahi with passion fruit sauce and caramelized onions (daily special, was terrific). Where to find Top Carrot Restaurant: 3200 W South Airport Rd (near Simpson Bay Marina), Simpson Bay. The Palms, Simpson Bay What happens when a Canadian Trinidadian opens restaurant in St Maarten? You get Caribbean favorites like drunken ribs and Trinidadian bites served in a Canadian (and Torontonian) paraphernalia flair. You get The Palms. Greg, the owner, and his mother change the menu daily based on what’s fresh. He's also a great resource for other restaurant recommendations and tips for the island. Recommended dishes: Drunken ribs and pholourie, spiced split pea flour puff fritters with house special cumin-tamarind sauce. Rib portions are large, so consider splitting one between two people or pair with an appetizer instead of a 2nd main dish. Where to find The Palms restaurant: 25 Airport Road in Simpson Bay (near RBC Bank). Sunset Bar, Maho Bay Sunset Bar features a prime location next to Maho Bay beach, making it the viewing lounge of choice for oglers of airplanes landing at SXM airport (see #4 above). It’s also good for sunset gazing with a drink in hand. Recommended dishes: Most people come here to drink rather than eat, but we found the seared tuna atop salad greens to be really abundant, nicely-cooked and fresh. Consider asking for the dressing on the side. Where to find it: Maho Bay, just behind the runway for the airport. Disclosure: Our first meal here was provided to us. Driftwood Boat Bar, Maho Bay If you’re looking for a tasty, cheap eats on St. Maarten, we can vouch for the chicken schwarma sandwich at Driftwood Boat Bar. A healthy chunk of grilled, spiced chicken covered with lots of vegetables and dressing. The location also offers another venue to watch the planes land at the airport in case the Sunset Bar on the other end of Maho Bay is packed. Where to find the Driftwood Boat Bar: Maho Bay, west side, just behind the runway. Planning a Trip to St. Maarten / St. Martin One island, two countries, no border. While the island is divided into two countries, there are no border controls between them. The Dutch side is home to the major international airport (SXM, Princess Juliana) and cruise ship port, so it services most of the visitors coming to the island. However, there is a smaller airport, SFG (L’Esperance Airport Grand-Case) on the French side. To understand one difference, as residents tell us, “The Dutch side takes more influence from the United States. Anything goes here.” The French side is technically part of France, so it adheres to E.U. requirements. This means that building and development is more regulated; you'll often find fewer crowds. Renting a car in St. Maarten St. Maarten is a relatively small island (34 square miles), but if you’re interested in doing a variety of activities as we did, a rental car is essential. There's plenty of rental car competition on the island, so prices are decent, starting from around $30-$40/day for the economy cars. Gas/petrol prices are currently pretty reasonable, particularly by European standards. One caveat: traffic on the island can be bad and stressful, and parking can be equally challenging. Ask locals about traffic patterns, timing and rush hours up front so you can plan your route and schedule your outings to minimize irritation. Disclosure: Our rental car was provided by Empress Rental Car just near the Princess Juliana airport. We had a simple rental car that got us around the island with no problems. Note: We also find that Skyscanner offers good rental car prices for St. Maarten / St. Martin. Public Transportation and Taxis on St. Maarten If you don’t plan to explore the island much (i.e., you're focused on a nearby beach or all of your activities include a pickup or transfer), then consider taking the occasional taxi or flagging down one of the public transport minivans making their way around the island. There are plenty of both. You can also easily book a shared airport transfer or private airport transfer from Princess Juliana airport (SXM) to your hotel so that you have someone waiting for you at the airport when you arrive. Money in St. Maarten / St. Martin The official currency of the French side is the Euro(€) while on the Dutch side it's the Netherlands Antillean Florin (NAF). Don’t bother taking out NAF from the ATM as all prices on the Dutch side are posted in $USD and every place accepts dollars. Most places on the French side will also accept $USD (often on a 1:1 basis with the Euro). SIM card and mobile data on St. Maarten We purchased a TelCell SIM card on the Dutch side for $15 and bought 500MB of data for an additional $10. However, mobile data does not work when you cross over to the French side. Although we have no experience with the UTS/Chippie, they are another option for SIM cards, calls and mobile data on the island. When to visit St. Maarten / St. Martin Our visit to St. Maarten/St. Martin was in mid-December. We found it just about perfect, as our timing was right before high season, which runs from just before Christmas (Dec. 22-ish) to the beginning of April. The weather during our visit was excellent – sunny and warm during the day, beautiful water temperatures, and breezy and temperate at night – and came with the added bonus of fewer crowds and reduced traffic. We were told that August-October us usually incredibly hot and at the tail end of the hurricane season, so probably best to avoid that period. One long-time resident told us that his favorite season is April to June as it’s not too hot and high season crowds have begun to dissipate. How to Travel to St. Maarten / St. Martin Visiting St. Maarten / St. Martin on a Cruise Many people visit the island as a day trip or excursion from a longer Caribbean cruise. This will provide you a taste of the island in a short period of time. In fact, many of the activities and tours recommended above are scheduled for cruise excursions so they pick you up at the port in morning and return you with plenty of time in the afternoon. Traveling to St. Martin / St. Maarten as a Vacation As you might have guessed from this article, we suggest visiting for longer than just a day trip as there is quite a lot to do and see in St. Maarten / St. Martin. You could do what we did and visit as a standalone vacation for 5-10 days, with side day trips to Anguilla and Saba islands. Or, you could combine a visit to St. Martin with other nearby Caribbean destinations for a multi-destination vacation. Flying to St. Maarten If you are flying to St. Maarten from Europe, there are usually direct connections from KLM and Air France. Coming from the United States there are quite a few airlines that fly into SXM airport like Jet Blue and American Airlines. You can check out flights to St. Maarten, including a comparison of airlines, prices and times of year, on Skyscanner. St. Maarten Covid Entry Requirements As of November 2022, St. Maarten / St. Martin island is open to travelers with no restrictions or Covid-19 entry requirements. However, be sure to check the official Saint Maarten Covid Travel Requirements website before your trip for the latest information and updates. Most of the international entry points to the island are on the Dutch side so it’s mostly likely that you will arrive on the island in St. Maarten and will need to follow these Covid entry requirements. St. Martin Covid Entry Requirements As Saint Martin is technically part of France, it has some similar Covid travel requirements. Although most international arrivals will be on the Dutch side (see above for St. Maarten), if you happen to arrive on the French side at St. Martin’s small airport (Grand Case Esperance SFG Airport) or a ferry port, you should check out the official St. Martin Covid travel requirements website for specifics and the most updated details. Disclosure: Our trip to St. Maarten and stay at Morgan Resort (previously, Alegria Boutique Hotel) were provided by Choice Hotels in conjunction with its #ChoiceCaribbean campaign. Any experiences and meals above that were provided to us have been noted inline. We would also like to thank Karen Hana, General Manager of the Alegria Boutique Hotel, for sharing with us her 20+ years of experience living on the island and for her suggestions on experiences across the island. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own. The post Travel to St. Maarten: 18 Unusual Things to Do appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on April 21, 2024 by Audrey Scott How can one travel safely during Covid? What Covid research and travel planning can you do manage risk while still having a fun vacation? What any additional travel safety measures should ... Continue Reading

The post Traveling Safely During Covid: Research, Planning and Managing Risk appeared first on Uncornered Market.

Last Updated on April 21, 2024 by Audrey Scott How can one travel safely during Covid? What Covid research and travel planning can you do manage risk while still having a fun vacation? What any additional travel safety measures should one take? How might choices as to where to go, activities, accommodation and transport change during the pandemic? In this article we address all of this, focusing on the stuff and choices in our control with the goal to mind the health and safety of others, as well as yourself. These lessons apply not only to travel but also to daily life, during the pandemic and beyond. We touch on decision-making, logistics, managing risk, flexibility, adapting to new information, managing expectations, gratitude and satisfaction. Oh, and how it's still possible to have fun and enjoy yourself even in the midst of pandemic challenges, risks and uncertainties. Navigating research, planning and execution right now: ups and downs. When we traveled to Italy from Berlin, Germany to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, we had plenty of reservations. We questioned whether we ought to travel at all given the pandemic. We were not only concerned about our own enjoyment and safety, but we were also more attuned to the safety of others and the impact of our visit. Our decision-making process while planning and taking this trip was more deliberate and careful than usual. We considered all potential impacts — good and bad — as we researched, planned and executed the trip with Covid-19 still a reality. As we responded to questions from friends, family and readers about how traveled during the pandemic, it occurred to us that it might be useful to turn our travel planning and on-the-road process during COVID-19 inside-out here. Update January 2022: Even though the trip we mentioned occurred before vaccinations were available, many of the same precautions, planning factors and considerations are still relevant now given the new variants and low rates of vaccination in some places. We've updated this article to take into consideration vaccination certificates, country-specific passes and other considerations to be able to navigate requirements, manage risk and have a good trip. This update also includes specifics and experiences traveling to and within the United States and to several EU countries (e.g., France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Moldova and Cyprus). CAVEATS: We understand Italy does not reflect travel realities across the rest of the world. Each destination is different based on their vaccination rate, Covid-19 case load, hospitalization rates, season, restrictions and many other things. However, we believe many of the travel planning, safety tips and recommendations that follow will resonate and apply on some level no matter where you live and where you wish to travel. To be clear, we are not advocating that everyone travel right now. There are ethical considerations and even with vaccination roll-outs gaining speed around the world, COVID-19 rates are again on the rise in many countries with new variants like Omicron (see our COVID-19 Travel Resource Guide for more details on relevant data and considerations). However, people will continue to travel now and in the future. Our suggestions are aimed to help travelers plan and execute travel more seamlessly and manage risks for themselves and the host communities they visit. One of the best ways to do this is to get vaccinated yourself and visit places with high vaccination rates so that local people are already protected. Mindful Traveler Oath Basics First, consider the following basic elements of the as-yet-unspoken Uncornered Market Mindful Traveler Oath: Keep ourselves and others safe. And not necessarily in that order. Act mindfully and responsibly, for positive (or to minimize potential negative) impact on the people and places we visit. Have fun. Enjoy ourselves. We did our best on this trip to accomplish all three. “Good Grief, What a Headache” Caveat to the Mindful Traveler Oath Some of our suggestions may elicit a response of, “Oh Dan and Audrey, what a headache. I just want to travel.” In turn, we offer the following perspective: “What do we most remember about the trip?” What we remember most from our trip: celebrating at a mountain hut in the Dolomites. In this case, we recall the phenomenal hiking, dazzling food, beautiful towns, pleasant people, and lovely interactions. Also expressing disbelief, usually over a glass of the local vintage or beer, that we’d been married to one another for 20 years. Last on the list of our memories: any inconvenience of wearing a mask or having to mind the impact of our actions on the health and safety of others. Now to the list. How To Travel Safely* During Covid: Research and Planning Note: *safely in terms of doing full research to understand the risks associated with the place you want to visit and the type of travel you want to do. Unfortunately, there is no 100% safe guarantee when it comes to Covid or anything else in life. The idea is to be prepared with relevant data and information to make a decision on whether to travel in the first place given the risks, where you can travel based on border and other restrictions, and then where you want to travel based on the current Covid situation, requirements, and other associated costs and time. 1. Do your COVID-19 & travel restriction research Prior to setting off, we took our own COVID travel advice when deciding where to visit. Our goal: to make sure the places we wanted to visit weren’t identified as COVID-19 hotspots, had high vaccination rates and that we wouldn’t be required to quarantine upon arrival or encounter problems upon our return home to Germany. Covid-related research and considerations to choose where to travel now include: Country entry and stay requirements: Use tools like Sherpa, Reopen Europe, and country-specific government pages (always confirm information from secondary sources) to understand entry requirements. This includes not only whether proof of a negative test is needed to enter, but also whether testing is required upon arrival, quarantine times, and whether regular testing is required during the stay. Some countries also require you to fill in a government form in advance and upload your proof of vaccination or negative test as a sort of pre-approval process. You're usually required to show this — either in paper or app form — when you check in for your flight and upon arrival in the country. Many countries have different requirements for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated travelers, so be sure to double check the requirements not only for your vaccination status, but also for how old your vaccination is (e.g., whether you've gotten a booster). Country specific Covid data: Be sure you understand the current local Covid situation where you want to visit to ensure this fits within your desired risk level. This means not only Covid daily rates, but also hospitalizations and ICU availability, vaccination rate (high is good), and where the concentration of new infections is happening (e.g., maybe you stay away from the cities or outbreak areas). Re-entry requirements to your home country: Not only do you need to know what is needed to get into another country, but you also must be aware of what the requirements are to return home. Countries are constantly being evaluated based on their current Covid caseloads and put on low or high risk lists, with the latter having stricter re-entry testing and quarantine requirements. Be sure to check the status of the country where you want to visit so that you are prepared with what forms you need to fill out, if you need a negative PCR or antigen test, and whether you need to quarantine. Availability and cost of Covid tests: In addition to possibly needing to show a negative test to fly home, some countries require Covid tests upon arrival or every couple of days. Do your research to understand not only the testing requirements (antigen or PCR), but how much the tests cost and how difficult it is to schedule. For example, during our recent trip to Cyprus, a PCR test upon arrival was required of all passengers. However, this was done immediately at the airport when we disembarked the plane, cost €15 (very reasonable) and the results were sent in 3-6 hours. This made it easy, efficient and inexpensive to fulfill this requirement. However, we're heard stories in other countries of the required tests adding hundreds of dollars or Euros to the cost of the trip, plus they were difficult to find and schedule. That sounds less enjoyable. What happens if you get Covid on vacation – local requirements and restrictions: Imagine the worst case scenario and you test positive for Covid during your trip, either developing symptoms during your vacation or you get a surprise result when you do your Covid test to return home. What are the procedures and requirements where you are going in terms of where you are allowed to stay (e.g., some countries have quarantine-specific hotels or centers so you can't just stay in a regular hotel or apartment), quarantine length, required testing regime, access to medical care, and who pays for everything, etc.? We know this isn't a pleasant exercise, but it's better to be prepared for what could happen (e.g., we know several people who tested positive when fulfilling Covid requirements to return home). Then, you have all the information you need to decide if you still want to go to that destinations given the requirements and potential additional costs and time. For example, on our recent trip to Cyprus we researched that if we were to test positive then we would have to go an official government quarantine hotel for two weeks, but that the costs of this were paid by the government. Given that we mostly work remotely anyway, we decided that this was a risk we were willing to take. On-the-ground Covid safety requirements: We now actively look for destinations with strict mask mandates and where proof of vaccination is required to access restaurants, museums or other indoor areas. This provides us with a bit more peace of mind and security that people are taking the risks seriously and are trying to manage them the best they can given the current tools and knowledge that we have. This, of course, is all in addition to all the usual travel logistics and destination planning we do for a normal vacation. How it played out: Although our goal was to hike the Dolomites in northern Italy, we identified several alternative destinations in case COVID-19 rates or travel restrictions increased there. We also regularly checked official government (German and Italian) websites to ensure we had the latest information before making any decisions. 2. Plan. Remain flexible. Adapt. Expect to cancel during Covid. I’m with Dwight Eisenhower on this one. “…[plans] are of no particular value, but [planning] is indispensable.” Eisenhower was quoting a military officer speaking about managing peace after World War II, but the premise applies also to the winds of change of travel. Plan, yet remain flexible. Accept that you may be forced to change plans or cancel at any moment, either while planning or on the road. Adapt your expectations and decisions to the discovery of new information. Preparation opens the mind to possible outcomes; the resulting flexibility helps maximize satisfaction. The less surprised you are as scenarios arise, the more equipped you will be to respond. And the more resilient you'll become. If you happen to be a fan of the saying, “It’s all about the journey, not the destination,” this ought to resonate. How it played out: We postponed our anniversary trip once. The possibility of last-minute cancellation hovered over us right up to the time of our departure. We deliberately chose to travel by train rather than fly to Italy, since it featured fewer bureaucratic hassles and was less expensive, particularly if we had to cancel. We also chose a rental car option with flexible cancellation and refund policies and were willing to pay a little more for that flexibility. (Note: If terms and conditions regarding cancellation aren’t clearly articulated, do not hesitate to inquire before booking so as to avoid surprises.) Changeable weather is a key factor, especially during the shoulder season. It determined where we stayed each night and from which Dolomite trailhead we set off each morning. We checked weather multiple times a day (Wunderground and various mountain forecast sites were our favorites) for various cities and towns within the region. We adjusted our route accordingly and often headed to an area which promised the most sunshine and the lowest chance of precipitation the following day. Weather and forecast variation was remarkable, even between towns no more than an hour or two from one another. 3. Take advantage of the shoulder and off-seasons We’ve always been fans of traveling in the shoulder and off-seasons not only because of fewer crowds, but also because it benefits local businesses by helping to extend their season. Prices and availability of accommodation and transport tend to be better, too. With social distancing and crowd avoidance concerns, this approach makes even more sense. Shoulder season hikes sometime mean unexpected snow, which only adds to the beauty and adventure. How it played out: Although we considered taking this trip for a while, including possibly during the summer when weather is more reliable, we ended up blocking out the end of September and early October for it. This was not only in light of watching COVID-19 rates, but also in line with the idea that there we would encounter fewer travelers after the traditional high season. This worked out well in terms of fewer people on the trails and better prices at hotels and guest houses. 4. Lifelines: Ask a friend to send you important updates For the sake of joy, sanity and time management, we cut off our attention from most news during the trip. After a few days, however, we realized our disengagement and wondered whether we'd miss a news item which might affect our trip. We asked a friend in Berlin to alert us of developments like border restrictions or closures that might impact our trip or return home. How it played out: The day before our return, our lifeline (you know who you are), sent a Whatsapp message with COVID-19 rate increases across Central Europe. The following day, as we traveled by train from Italy to Germany, slow and tense border crossings caused us to miss our connecting train. While we weren't particularly happy about that, at least we weren't caught off guard. Had such information arrived at the start of our trip, we may have opted to cut the trip short. 5. Be OK following the local rules. When you travel, you are essentially a guest in someone's else home. Accept that you’ll be expected to comply with the requirements of the destinations you visit. That’s as true now with COVID as it's ever been, only the stakes are higher. If you aren’t willing to comply with local laws and requirements -– either as they are, or how they may develop in response to circumstances — don’t go. This also applies to any possible quarantine and testing rules back home. Otherwise, you'll make yourself and others miserable. Masks were the norm in the Dolomites of northern Italy, including in enclosed spaces like gondolas. 2022 Update on local Covid rules and requirements: Mask mandates and understanding which type of mask is required: Some places not only have a mask mandate for indoor (and sometimes outdoor) spaces, but they also have requirements related for what type of mask you need to wear. For example, in Berlin, Germany where we live it's required to wear either an KN95/FFP2 mask or medical mask as these are higher quality masks than cloth masks and offer more protection. This means that cloth masks are not allowed and you might be rejected from a grocery store or given a fine on public transport for not wearing the proper mask. Even outside of whatever the local requirements are, wearing a high quality KN95/FFP2 is just better for everyone's safety – yours and the people around you. Digital vaccination certificates: Many countries (or even sometimes cities like New York City) require you to show your proof of vaccination digitally, with an approved app. This allows restaurants, shops or other establishments to quickly scan your vaccination QR code to ensure that you meet the requirements to enter. Do your research to find out which apps are required in the place you want to visit and try to get yourself set up before you go by downloading the app and uploading your proof of vaccination. If that is not possible, then research what you need to do on the ground to get the approved digital certificate on your phone. For example, in Berlin some pharmacies will take the CDC vaccination card and provide an EU-approved vaccination QR code that can then be scanned and uploaded to approved EU app like CovPass. How it played out. We followed the rules and did what was asked of us. We also self-quarantined when we returned to Berlin, even though it wasn't technically required. It felt good to do so and contributed to the feeling that we're all responsible and have a role to play in everyone’s well-being. Choosing Safe(r) Activities and Alternative Destinations 6. Get Out(side)! Outdoor activities are considered a much lower risk for COVID-19 exposure. We enjoy hiking, so it was an easy decision to make hitting the trails and spending as much time outside in nature a key focus of our trip. To mitigate the risk of encountering crowds, we chose to hike at the end of the season. We also chose longer, more difficult hikes that were not as popular or well-known. As a result, we often shared the trail with very few people, or even had some entirely to ourselves. Social distancing was not an issue. Even in popular regions it’s possible to choose less trafficked trails and destinations (hint: choose the long hikes with a difficult rating). Enjoying a mountain pass all to ourselves in Tre Cime Nature Park. All of the vacations we've taken during the pandemic — Côte d'Azur, Cyprus, Baltic Sea, Portugal, Bavarian Alps — have focused on hiking, cycling or some sort of outdoor activity. This isn't just good from a health perspective to limit exposure and risk, but walking in nature or hiking is also good for one's mind and body. Immersing in and reconnecting with nature, especially during such a stressful time like the pandemic, can be so beneficial. How it played out: At Tre Cime Nature Park, home to the iconic and popular Tre Cime (Three Peaks), we chose the Comici Refuge trail, a longer, more challenging day hike passing the back side of these heavily Instagrammed peaks. While we encountered only a handful of others on the trail during our ascent (whose views were the best we'd see all day), we observed a line of people on the traditional trail headed for us at one of the mountain hut panoramas. We took a requisite photo or two of the actual Tre Cime, but then quickly continued on our path less-taken. 7. Go off the standard path, find alternative destinations. COVID-19 underscores this essential and timeless piece of travel advice. Whatever you think the ultimate goal or crown jewel of the place you are visiting ought to be, there is always something else. Alternative destinations are out there; do your research to uncover them. You'll typically find that the alternatives are just as good if not better than the snaps splashed all over Instagram and in travel magazines. Our first hike, Piz Galin, remained a favorite of the trip. How it played out: The Sexten-Brixen corridor of the Dolomites was our original goal. However, at the start of our trip, it was raining there. Weather forced us to expand our view. We discovered some mind-blowing hikes in the Dolomiti Paganella area, including the challenging Piz Galin (Galin Peak) trail outside of the town of Andalo. It turned out to be one of our favorite hikes of the trip. 8. Visit secondary cities and destinations. We chose smaller towns or secondary cities to overnight in the mountains. The idea: avoid busy streets full of people bumping into each other. There’s plenty of surprising beauty in the less visited. San Marino: exploring the castle walls vs. the busy old town streets. How it played out: Most of the small towns and villages we overnighted in had very few visitors. Streets were relatively quiet, humming with the pace of everyday local life. This allowed us to explore freely without having to dodge crowds. One exception to this was San Marino whose city center was surprisingly full. We outwalked the crowds to find more space. Transportation During Pandemic Travel 9. Wear a mask on all public or shared transport. Masks are typically a requirement on public or shared transport (e.g., flights, trains, buses, etc.). It makes sense since you are sharing the same confined space with others. When everyone wears a mask properly (yes, that means above the nose) it makes for a safer, less anxious ride for everyone. Update 2022: We now know a bit more about masks and their efficiency in protecting against airborne Covid so it is highly recommended to wear an N95/FFP2 mask or a medical mask instead of a cloth mask. That extra layer of protection could make a difference when you're in a closed space for hours. Wearing a KN95/FFP2 mask provides the most protection for you and others. How it played out: We had to wear a mask for the entire 9-10 hour train journey from Berlin, Germany to Bolzano, Italy. Was this a delight? No. For collective health and safety, were we willing to wear a mask and grateful that most everyone else wore one properly, too? You bet. 10. Use private transport. Our readers know that we sing the praises of public transportation. Especially now, it's a lifeline for many. However, private transportation (e.g., a rental car) makes some destinations more accessible. In Covid travel times, having our own car also reduces repeated exposure to groups of other people in shared transportation. How it played out: We picked up a rental car in Bolzano, Italy. We appreciated having our own transport across the Dolomites and down to The Marche and San Marino. It not only provided us the flexibility to make plans on the fly as we responded to changing weather, but it also saved us from spending many hours on and waiting for local buses. Choose Local Accommodation and Small Businesses 11. Choose locally-owned accommodation and shops. Keeping your money local when you travel isn’t anything new, but it takes on increased importance now. Many communities have suffered from the loss of tourism business this year. And small, family-run businesses with limited resources have often been hit the hardest. If possible, seek out businesses that align with your values regarding sustainability — caring for the environment, local community and economy. This could be efforts to reduce water and energy usage or a commitment to source food from local farmers. Local accommodation in the Dolomites often came with an incredible view. We also now look for apartments or hotel rooms that have some self-catering options. This makes it easier to avoid busy breakfast buffets, restaurants or other shared indoor spaces. How it played out: We deliberately looked for small, local B&Bs, restaurants and shops to ensure our money remained local to the benefit of the community. This also contributed to a more unique experience since we interacted with families in a more personal setting. 12. Book directly to keep your money local. Online booking sites are convenient. We use them often, but we're also aware they take a sizable commission from local providers. This is understandable. Booking sites offer a valuable service which requires resources to operate. However, given that many local tourism businesses are really struggling right now — and we need them to be around in whatever post-COVID-19 equilibrium emerges — you can support them even more now by booking directly with them. How it played out: As often as we could, we booked our accommodation directly either through the hotel’s own website or at their front door. Local accommodation providers were able to keep the entire amount of the booking, and we often received the same or lower prices and upgrades by negotiating directly. (Note to hotels: make it easy for travelers like us to book online through your website with a credit card!). Covid Safety for Restaurants and Dining 13. Eat outside. Or maybe eat in. Our preferred mode of restaurant dining these days is outdoors, even if it’s a bit chilly. As the weather turns colder in the Northern Hemisphere, many restaurants and shops now offer outdoor heaters or blankets. Take advantage of that. Alternatively, be prepared for a bit of chill with a hat and scarf. En plein air. Why not eat outdoors? If eating outside isn't an option because of weather or lack of tables outside, consider eating in. Order food from a restaurant and bring it back to your accommodation or pick up simple foods at the grocery store that can be like a picnic. Pair it with a bottle of local wine or beer and you've got a memorable meal. How it played out: When a restaurant offered outdoor seating, we took it and came prepared with jackets and hats if needed. 14. Choose off hours to eat in restaurants. If the outdoors aren’t possible and you must eat inside, choose odd hours (e.g., when restaurants first open for lunch or dinner). Although eating in an empty restaurant sometimes feels odd, restaurant owners and staff are happy for the business. We still enjoyed wonderful food and interaction with them. In the time of COVID-19, this approach also helps to avoid crowds of people confined indoors. How it played out: Because we had early mornings and long days of hiking in the mountains, we were often the first people at restaurants when they opened in the evenings. The food tasted just as delicious and we sometimes got extra attention. Hygiene and Health Safety for Travel During Covid 15. Focus on behaviors that limit close human contact. Science tells us that COVID-19 is transmitted mainly through human contact and interaction, airborne droplets and human concentration indoors, rather than through transmission via surfaces. Mask-wearing and controlling traffic or crowds is what matters most when it comes to COVID-19 travel safety. Going to extremes to avoid interaction with other people? How it played out: We appreciated the constant signs and reminders at local accommodation and shops for travelers to wear their masks indoors, as well as behavioral cues and notices about maintaining distancing, minding elevator restrictions, and complying with limited seating. Signs aligned with behaviors not only help inform our immediate behavior, but they reinforce that we're in this together for the collective good. 16. Put hygiene theater in its place. A lot of attention has been given to new COVID-19 hygiene measures, including the use of powerful disinfectants and the deployment of rigorous cleaning regimes. The urge to focus on what we feel is in our control — the cleanliness and disinfection of surfaces — is understandable. It makes us somehow feel safer, even if the science tells us that its effect may be marginal. Cleanliness is crucial, but don’t get lulled into thinking that new COVID-19 hygiene certifications alone will protect you. Note: If you are unfamiliar with the term hygiene theater, check out this article from The Atlantic. How it played out: To assess our potential risk of exposure in any establishment, we focused our attention more on how an establishment managed customer flow, numbers and crowds rather than how intensely or often it disinfected tables and surfaces after each customer. 17. As a default, wear a mask. And a high quality one. If you think that maybe you should wear a mask, then just do it. Even when it's not legally or technically required, err on the side of yes. This is especially true anytime you are talking to or engaging with someone who is not in your immediate or family circle. One of the safety campaigns said it best: “Für dich, für mich, für uns” (“For you, for me, for us”). We're in this together, all of us. This includes keeping your mask on when you order and pay in a restaurant. Although we were typically allowed to take our masks off after being seated at a table, it occurred to us that we remained in close proximity to wait staff when ordering food or settling the bill. So we did as many others did in Italy, and kept our masks on (or put them back on) during these transactions. Two decent behaviors for the price of one. How it played out: We always carried our masks with us. We put them on anytime we entered busy streets, walked outdoor fresh markets, entered into mountain huts, and, of course, anytime we were inside a shop, hotel or restaurant. Easy. 18. Do a Covid test when you return. Maybe self-quarantine. Travel and the movement of people are one of the ways that COVID-19 spreads quickly from place to place. Since asymptomatic carriers can still be contagious and unknowingly spread the virus to others, it's important to try to protect your home community from infection that you might have picked up on your trip. As a courtesy and for the safety and health of your own community, get tested when you return home from a trip, even if it's not required. If tests are not easily available, then consider self-quarantining for 10 days to eliminate person-to-person interactions. Update 2022: As we have testing easily and freely available to us in Berlin we will now get tested several times in the week we return from a trip. If multiple rapid tests come back negative then we won't do a self-imposed quarantine. We also usually take several Covid self-tests with us when we travel in case we start to experience a runny nose or sore throat and want to be sure it's a cold or allergies vs. Covid. How it played out: Since Italy was not a hot spot at the time, German regulations did not require us to either quarantine or get a COVID-19 test upon our return. However, since we'd traveled to several locations and encountered people as we ate inside restaurants and traveled by shared transport, we opted to self-quarantine for two weeks upon our return. We did so because we wanted to protect our friends and to minimize any risk to our neighborhood and community. Mindset: Expectations and Satisfaction 19. Manage your expectations. None of us is entitled to circumstances which make happiness seem the easier choice. Nor are we guaranteed conditions so that our photos match those of our social media heroes. Understand that the best laid plans can all go to shit. Then, manage accordingly. Even if it rains in your “escape from bad weather” destination. Urbino, Italy. How it played out: Our expectations were half to all rain, and to be on the run from the Dolomites to southern Italy. Everything else, gravy. Though there was a bit of rain here and there in the Dolomites, the trip was generally incredible in the mountains as we navigated weather conditions and made choices in line with everything we mentioned above. Only when a wall of rain moved in, did we head south to Urbino in The Marche. It even rained a bit in the town of Urbino. Perhaps the rain is what made the town so dramatic and charming? 20. And if it turns to shit? If things turn to shit, that’s all the more reason to be super-thrilled about the pre-shit moments and to reflect on what might be appreciated about the shit moment at hand. How it played out: As we reached Pedrotti Refuge hut, the highest point of one of our hikes, fog accumulated and the wind picked up. It even began to sleet. Conditions were far from ideal in a spot where on a sunny day you might see for miles. Despite this, our ascent had been rewarding and dramatic. We felt like heroes for reaching the pass, especially since our muscles were recovering from our hike the day before. At the top, we met a few other hikers — all very nice — including one who repeatedly referred to the “shit” conditions, especially in comparison to the sunny days he’d encountered in recent hikes elsewhere. On one hand, he had a point. The visibility was bad. On the other hand, I felt bad. For him. Disappointment seemed to define his moment. We enjoyed a beautiful hike. Not only the morning’s crystal blue skies we all shared, but the same skies whose drama swirled the mountain peaks around us. We celebrated our accomplishment, ate our picnic sandwiches and reflected on the vastness and solitude engulfing that rugged little hut, a feat of human will which had no business being tucked away up there. Our minds were absorbed by the magnificence of the moment. Blue skies on the way up. Beautiful. Clouds move in as we approach Pedrotti Refuge. Beautiful. Only temporarily was our focus taken off-track by someone else’s preconceived notions and disappointments regarding the way life ought to be. That for us was a lesson re-affirmed. In travel as in life, one’s satisfaction has much to do with expectations and how those expectations influence one’s view of what is. Spending your cycles atop a foggy mountain complaining about the weather condition: a waste. Things change. Witness the weather, especially in the mountains. And all of it out of your control. And yet, that changeable weather is part of the moment. Train yourself to see it, and that’s part of the beauty you’ll encounter. To us at least, that's what hiking in the mountains — and travel in general — is all about. Life, too. You can play the hands you're dealt as best as you’re able. Or you can complain about what in poker is called a “bad beat” – where you did everything “right” and it didn’t work out. If things turn bad, recognize and maybe even celebrate that you did the best you could. And is it really so bad? If there’s no sun shining on you at the moment, don't forget the sun in your rear view. Celebrate that you carried yourself to the top of the mountain. Or just celebrate the mountain. Stealing disappointment from the jaws of gratitude will only sour your travel experiences and your memories. With or without COVID-19. The post Traveling Safely During Covid: Research, Planning and Managing Risk appeared first on Uncornered Market.

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I’ve visited Patagonia multiple times. I’ve watched ice carve away from the spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier (twice); hiked the iconic trails around El Chaltén (twice); visited the end-of-the-world city of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego (twice); and I’ve explored Chile’s spellbinding Torres del Paine National Park (once). Yet somehow I’ve never taken a proper road trip through its vast, wild landscapes.

The post Epic drives: 5 best road trips in Patagonia appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

Since I first started climbing, I must have spent hours typing “when is the best time to climb…” into search engines and then crawling through websites to find the key piece of information I needed. Only when I have a date in mind can I start to think about the practicalities of actually trying to climb a mountain (i.e. booking time off work, flights, budget, gear etc).

To solve this problem once and for all, Atlas & Boots has put together a mountaineering calendar of the world’s greatest mountains and the optimal time of year at which to climb them. Drawing on Adventure Consultants’ expedition calendar, we list the world’s major mountains and ranges month by month.

The list is not entirely inclusive as it would take too long to list every mountain on the planet. Likewise, to avoid repetition we list select mountains in a range, considering the world’s 100 highest mountains lie within the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. We have also excluded winter ascents from the list because, well, if you’re that guy, you probably don’t need a calendar.

The post Mountaineering calendar: when to climb the world’s great peaks appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

From the remote tundra of the Nordkalottruta to the gruelling heat of the Trans-Pyrenean Trail, these are the hardest long-distance treks in Europe

The post 10 hardest long-distance treks in Europe appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

I’m not the sort of person who hankers after luxury items. I’m more likely to shop at Asos than I am at Harrods and I’m just as happy at Nando’s as I am at a Michelin restaurant. One arena in which I do fork out, however, is outdoor apparel and gear. The difference between a high-quality hiking boot and one that’s “good enough” is substantial – something I learnt the hard way on the slopes of Cotopaxi. 

High quality, of course, comes with a price tag – one not easily affordable giving the rising cost of living. I personally have had to become more strategic with my spending, so when I saw that the REI winter sale was live, naturally I took a peek.

The post 10 great deals from the REI Labor Day sale – up to 50% off appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

In May 2024, I heard news that two hypothermic, frostbitten climbers were stranded near the summit of Denali, North America’s highest mountain. I scanned the reports for detail, but rangers would not release any information other than to say that the climbers were not from the United States. 

Why my interest? Because Peter, my partner of 14 years, was attempting to summit Denali at that exact same time. The summit rate at that point was a mere 15%, so even if Peter was okay, there was very little chance that he had reached the summit.

The post Why we don’t mourn for daredevil adventurers  appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

There's no question. The GR20 in Corsica is a challenge. It requires early starts, long days and hiking along exposed, steep and technical terrain, but the rewards are myriad: sweeping views over jagged peaks and deep valleys, serene swims in natural pools, the thrill of navigating rugged alpine passes, and the deep satisfaction of completing a legendary trek.

The post Is the GR20 the toughest trek in Europe? appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

Delhi in India is the most polluted capital city in the world, according to the latest World Air Quality Report from IQAir, a Swiss air‐quality technology company.

The post Most polluted capital cities – ranked appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

Abraham Lincoln has an almost saintly place in US history: the 'Great Emancipator' whose leadership during the Civil War preserved the Union and abolished slavery.

Often overlooked among his achievements is legislation he signed in 1864, during the thick of the war, but only marginally related to the conflict. The Yosemite Valley Grant Act preserved the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove in California as a park “held for public use, resort, and recreation … for all time.”

The post US national parks were created at a cost to Native Americans appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

From mountains to libraries, we take a look at some of the most extraordinary international borders to be found across the globe.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen an impressive collection of new websites, blogs and social media accounts dedicated to ‘travel porn’. They’re filled with big, sweeping images of fairytale lands and precarious precipices.

The post 10 remarkable international borders appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

While Kilimanjaro steals the spotlight, its lesser-known neighbour quietly offers one of East Africa’s most rewarding trekking experiences. Mt Meru, towering above the savannah of Arusha National Park, is often overlooked – but that’s precisely its charm.

The post Trekking Mt Meru: the alternative to Kilimanjaro appeared first on Atlas & Boots.

New wonders and curiosities added to the Atlas.

The Franklin Cider Mill is an essential autumn pilgrimage for anyone passing through the Detroit suburbs. 

Located near Franklin, a quaint village in suburban Detroit whose 19th-century main street has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1969, the cider mill is one of the town’s main attractions during apple season, which runs from the end of August through the end of November. 

Franklin was first settled in the 1820s, thanks in part to the Erie Canal helping open up the Midwest. In 1837 Michigan became a state, and Colonel Peter VanEvery purchased a property on the banks of the Franklin River. In what was certainly a smart business move, he built a grist mill on the river, and all the farmers from the surrounding area came right to the mill to get their grain ground into flour. 

The mill was wheat-based until the early 1900s, when a flood damaged it and forced it to close. It was purchased in 1918 by Robert McKee and reopened as a cider mill, operating during the apple season. Since 1966 it has been owned and operated by the local Peltz family. 

The Franklin Cider Mill is an autumnal wonderland. The fresh-baked apple donuts and the cider itself are obviously main attractions, but there’s also a plentiful fall market open every day, with produce and gifts from the mill and across Michigan (including pumpkins and seasonal gourds) plus live music, face-painting, and hot dogs. 

The best part is the mill itself. Visitors can walk right inside the mill for a glimpse behind the scenes: Watch the massive waterwheel and the original 90-ton cider press work, and peek inside the kitchen to watch the cider getting bottled and the donuts being baked as well. Before the end of your visit, make sure to toss some breadcrumbs or donut bits to the very spoiled ducks that paddle up and down the water. 

This is a transcript of an episode of Untold Earth, a series from Atlas Obscura in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios, which explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyards, Untold Earth chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices of those who know them best.

Diane Davis: There's no safe iceberg to be close to. They can turn, break, implode in a second with no warning.

Skipper Bob Bartlett: It's a sense of awe, it's a sense of fear.

Dr. Stephen Bruneau: It's kind of like an asteroid or a meteor that we see coming towards us. We have a temperate climate, but we have an Arctic ocean. And we have these arctic visitors, which are seemingly so far out of place.

Diane: You can just look out your kitchen window and see an iceberg. We're that lucky here.

Narrator: Icebergs are typically found in the world's most remote, coldest, and dangerous seas. But each spring, along Newfoundland's northeast coast, thanks to one singular geological phenomenon, something remarkable happens.

Hundreds of icebergs collide with everyday life. What are these icebergs doing here, and why is it imperative that we keep our eyes on them?

Diane: There's something about cresting a hill or coming around a corner, and all of a sudden realizing that there's an iceberg in the community that is twice as tall as the church.

So that would be about a medium to small iceberg. That's a large one out there.

The past two years we've had very few icebergs, and this year it has been wild. Our icebergs come from Greenland. It takes them two to three years to get here. And the path has become known as Iceberg Alley.

Dr. Bruneau: What is Iceberg Alley? It is a pretty narrow lane that icebergs come barreling down the coast seasonally here in Newfoundland and Labrador. And these are big buffalo. They might well average half a million tons each.

Icebergs are an artifact of continental glaciation. Glaciers creep their way towards the waterline to the ocean, and large chunks of ice break off. We could go out and find an iceberg that is from ice that's 10,000 years old.

Bob: There's a lot of life associated with these icebergs. There's a lot of krill that's generated from sea ice and icebergs. There will be a lot of fish that gather around icebergs.

Diane: Icebergs in the spring bring us seals and many more polar bears. Because polar bears travel on the ice after the seals.

Bob: You get waterfowl as well, and I know in particular sometimes you get snowy owls on them. Because they'll follow with the sea ice and they'll basically make the icebergs their home.

Diane: Icebergs can be dangerous in a number of ways. Historically we know that over 100 years ago the Titanic sank off Newfoundland, southeast of St. John. So that iceberg made the full circuit from Greenland around Iceberg Alley and all the way down.

Dr. Bruneau: That incident precipitated the creation of the International Ice Patrol. Each year a specially equipped Hercules aircraft flies out and does a lawnmower type pattern of surveillance to determine what is the boundary for safe passage.

Bob: Icebergs damage nets. They destroy fishing gear. I started off doing whale watching tours. Now the industry has changed completely. Icebergs are a prominent feature of our tourism industry.

We're getting ready to go. We're going to get everybody to load onto the boats. We'll go down this ladder right here. For posterity's sake.

And what particularly holds icebergs in this area—there's a lot of deep water channels with shallow shelves. They are nine tenths below the surface, one tenth above. And once they get in there, if the currents don't change, they're basically locked in position. Each one is unique. They're all different sizes.

Diane: A tabular iceberg is like a table. It's flat. There are pinnacle icebergs that are pointed like cathedrals and things like that. The rounded ones are often shaped by the waves because they've had water wash over them.

Dr. Bruneau: The most beautiful, I think, perhaps a dry dock type iceberg, as its name would imply, has almost a shallower area like a bowl.

Bob: You can see in the center there, this would be called a pinnacled iceberg. It has a nice peak on it. It is also a dry dock. You can see that some parts have broken off. You've got some huge chunks of ice over here.

Dr. Bruneau: One of the things that becomes more evident when bergs get close is just how different the ice appears to be. The glistening ice surface with water melting on it just makes it look almost artificial or plastic.

Bob: I'd say we're just going to go past the debris field. This is all founder from underneath, actually. So you have to be really careful with the ice chunks.

Dr. Bruneau: It's like an ocean full of seltzer. The bubbles that are in the ice are really trapped air from the successive snowfall before the industrial age.

Diane: Newfoundlanders like to collect clean iceberg ice from the ocean with a dip net. They'll scoop it up and they enjoy it in a cold drink.

Bob: No, I can't imagine Newfoundland without icebergs. It's as a part of Newfoundland as our whales and our sea life. The good and the bad.

Dr. Bruneau: It's kind of like an artist's painting that's just transient in time. Something that gets wiped out after a week, it's gone. And it will never be back exactly the same.

Diane: I've said icebergs are my crystals. They give me energy. They can totally change a mood for me. I'm that passionate about icebergs that an iceberg can make me cry. I think it's the most beautiful thing. Everyone has things that they love. And for me, it's icebergs.

Untold Earth is produced in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios.

Tucked away in the quiet village of Two Harbors, this one-room schoolhouse once provided a rare educational outpost on Catalina Island’s rugged western end. It served generations of children whose families worked in the island’s conservation, marine science, and tourism industries.

Before the schoolhouse opened in 1987, children in Two Harbors faced a grueling daily commute, boarding a boat at sunrise, hiking up a hill, and taking a bus to reach Catalina’s only other public school in Avalon. The perilous journey, coupled with a near-tragic accident where a young student fell overboard, led local families to demand a school of their own. With the help of community members, boaters, and donors, the Little Red Schoolhouse was built, complete with a brass bell and a single teacher overseeing multiple grade levels.

Despite its charm, the school constantly struggled with low enrollment, at times serving as few as three students. In 2005, it nearly shut down, but locals and yachters raised $100,000 to keep it running. For years, it remained one of California’s last true one-room schoolhouses, with older students helping teach younger ones, much like in the pioneer days.

However, by 2014, enrollment had dwindled below the district’s required minimum, and the school was forced to close. Today, the schoolhouse still stands on Two Harbors Road, its red walls weathered by sea air, its windows now silent. It remains a poignant reminder of the island’s fading small-town life, waiting for the day when enough children return to ring its bell once more.

The Palmer House Hotel could best be described as a haunted time machine. Built in 1901 by Ralph and Christena Palmer, this establishment and its restaurant/pub have been welcoming guests for well over a century.

The hotel is a three-story brick building, standing on the corner of Sinclair Lewis Avenue and Main Street. Nobel prize winner Sinclair Lewis, who grew up in Sauk Centre and once worked here, later immortalized it in his novel Main Street.

It was built on the grounds of the town's first hotel, the Sauk Centre House, after it burned down in 1900. From the very start, it's been the talk of the town, with locals embracing it as a first-class hotel. It was the first building in Sauk Centre with electricity.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was renovated in 1993 to include modern amenities while preserving the vision of its creators. There are now 19 rooms, each with its own bathroom, so guests no longer have to share a common "necessary room" down the hall.

The hotel lobby includes big arched windows and stained glass windows that were imported all the way from Vienna.

The Palmer House is surrounded by spooky lore, with tales of ghosts and spirit children said to lurk on the stairs, play in the hallways, and inhabit certain rooms. It's a magnet for paranormal investigators and curious thrill-seekers alike. Sure, when you first step inside, it feels more like a cozy retreat than a haunted mansion, but don't let that fool you. Owner Kelley Freese, who's been at the helm for over 20 years, has plenty of spine-tingling stories to share about the hotel's spectral inhabitants. Legend says Sinclair Lewis himself haunts its halls.

The Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse, also known as the “Charleston Light,” was built to replace the Morris Island Lighthouse located in the Charleston Harbor, and it has the distinction of being one of the most modern in the country, having been built between 1960 and 1962, with a service elevator. At the time it was first illuminated, it had one of the strongest lights in the world. Today, the Charleston Light can be seen 27 miles offshore!

The tower is triangular in shape, not circular, and was first painted red and white. Over time, the red faded into orange, which did not sit well with locals, so the lighthouse was repainted black and white, its current colors. 

The lighthouse was originally owned by the U.S. Coast Guard but is now owned by the U.S. Park Service, which has preserved the lighthouse and its related structures including a signal tower, a boathouse (Life Saving Station), garage, plotting station, and quarters.

The lighthouse is surrounded by a fence, so it is not accessible to the public; however, photo ops abound, as you can stop on the road in front of the lighthouse complex, and you can park at the public beach access just a short distance away and walk along the beach in front of the lighthouse. 

 

 

 

 

Stepping inside the Founding Fathers Pub feels like stepping straight into the pages of an American history syllabus–only this one comes with beer, free nachos, and popcorn. 

In every nook and cranny, the bar overflows with presidential memorabilia. There are portraits of Grover Cleveland and Chester A. Arthur, yellowed newspaper clippings of Truman’s swearing-in, glossy magazine covers of Ronald Reagan and his wife, campaign posters from elections past, and life-size cutouts of JFK and Abraham Lincoln. Countless flags hang from the ceiling, and the walls form a patchwork of badges, banners, and political curiosities. 

The man behind it all is Mike Driscoll, a former social studies teacher who, after a couple of years in the classroom, decided it wasn’t for him and set out to buy a bar.  

He settled on an 1874 building, once a livery stable with a blacksmith’s quarters, to pour his passion for U.S. history into what would become a Buffalo institution. 

His incredible collection began in 1985, when he was still teaching and gathering posters, portraits, and other ephemera. When the bar opened, it contained a third of what it does today. The memorabilia soon became a communal project: over the years, patrons would bring over objects found in dusty basements and flea markets. The collection grew so vast it eventually spilled beyond the bar, with parts now stored at Driscoll’s house.

The aim of this space isn’t to spark political debates, but rather to highlight history and to test cultural knowledge. Since opening in 1986, Driscoll has kept his teaching spirit alive by quizzing visitors from behind the bar. And every Tuesday of the month, the pub presents a trivia night. Winners can hope to win anything ranging from a candy bar to a $10 gift certificate. But beware, the questions are much tougher than your average trivia. (Example: What is the only state that ends with a K?)

Listed as one of the 18 best bars in America by Esquire magazine, the establishment attracts people from all over the country. Customers often end up quizzing each other on their home states, perpetuating the bar’s mission. 

While you brush up on your U.S. history, you can do it over a pint of Liberty Lager or Patriot Porter, often brewed with ingredients authentic to the tastes of a past era. You can also enjoy an Independence Burger, for which you’re at liberty to pile on anything you want. 

The Hermitage of Saint Anthony of Guaibê (Ermida de Santo Antônio do Guaibê) was a chapel built in the 16th century in the extreme north of Guarujá, next to the Bertioga canal. It was one of the first churches in Brazil, attended by Father Anchieta, who said masses and catechized members of the tribes native to the land.

It was built by José Adorno, a genoese nobleman who came to Brazil in 1531 to establish the sugar industry and who soon became the richest man of the village of São Vicente. The chapel is made of midden stones and whale oil with shells.

Between 1569 and 1578, Father Anchieta is said to have witnessed the Miracle of Light there, when the chapel illuminated from within. 

Today, the ruins of the chapel can still be seen by adventurers. Since its renovation in the 18th century, it has been left abandoned, with public authorities clearing vegetation on very rare occasions.  

Access to the Hermitage is via the Ruin Trail (Trilha das Ruínas), which begins on Rodovia Ariovaldo de Almeida Viana, on the Guarujá-Bertioga road. Acces is free and the path runs through a preserved area of ​​the Atlantic Forest.

On her daily drive to Buffalo State University, where she taught textile art, Dawne Hoeg would pass through the incredibly diverse West Side. 

The neighborhood is one of the main refugee resettlement points in the U.S., with more refugees than even New York City, and over 40 languages spoken. Families from Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, are all part of this vibrant community. 

Seeing the rich variety of textiles worn by women in its streets, Hoeg saw an opportunity to create a communal space around them. 

In 2014, that vision came to fruition with the creation of Stitch Buffalo, a textile art center where refugee and immigrant women can sell their handcrafted goods, alongside communal classes and a thrift store of textile supplies. Its mission: stitching communities together.

It started as an embroidery workshop attended by one refugee woman. Today, over 200 refugee women and families receive free sewing equipment, supplies, and training each year. 

The organization recently changed buildings, moving into a renovated former factory. Stepping in, visitors are greeted by an open space full of joy and bright colors. 

The first stop for visitors is the store, where they can explore products created through the Refugee Women’s Workshop. Products include hand-woven totes, crocheted shoulder bags, embroidered pillows, and beaded jewelry. Most are one-of-a-kind, informed by women’s past training as artists, the culture they come from, and the styles worn back home. People can also bring their clothes to have them altered by Stitch Buffalo’s artisans.

Just behind the store is the Second Stitch Program, a sustainability initiative where more than 20,000 pounds of textile art tools and supplies and over 200 sewing machines find a second life each year. When not used in the Refugee Women’s Workshop or during classes, these materials are available at a discount for crafty people to browse. 

Past the thrift shop are the community workshop spaces, where visitors can try embroidery, dyeing, sewing and weaving–often taught by refugee and immigrant women who practice their English as they share their craft. 

The organization just completed a giant mural that wraps around the building. Created over 18 months with deep community input, it features textile tools, fabrics, and shapes iconic to Stitch Buffalo. It embodies the diverse community that makes West Side Buffalo such a special place. 

In 1990, a long-lost half of the original manuscript of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn resurfaced in an unlikely place: a steamer trunk in California. For a century, the missing first portion of Mark Twain’s manuscript was believed to have been destroyed by a printer. In truth, it had been sitting quietly in the basement of the granddaughter of James Fraser Gluck, the Buffalo Library curator who persuaded Twain to donate the draft in 1885. 

That discovery reunited the manuscript in full at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library in 1992. It led to the creation of an entire room dedicated to Samuel Clemens, better known to the world as Mark Twain, America’s great humorist and literary revolutionary.

Today, the Mark Twain Room resembles a cabinet of curiosities, with more than 500 pieces of Twain memorabilia sprinkled throughout. There are cigars and playing cards stamped with his face, portraits, rare editions, and the restored mantel from Twain and his wife Olivia’s home in Buffalo, where he once worked as a newspaper editor. Visitors can also learn about his venture into invention: the “Memory Builder,” a board game he patented in 1892 after watching his daughter struggle to remember historical dates. And there’s even the trunk in which the manuscript was found, now resting beneath the fireplace mantel.

The heart of the collection is, of course, the Huckleberry Finn manuscript itself, often dubbed one of the greatest American novels and still the subject of debate today. Only two pages are displayed at a time, rotating monthly in the climate-controlled room. Twain's edits sprawl across the margins, his words scratched out, revised, and made “folksier” as he worked to capture a new American literary voice: realism. To stand in front of the manuscript feels like stepping inside his train of thought.

Twice a year, the exhibition changes, exploring themes like “Twain in Hollywood.” Beyond this room, the library holds other marvels: an unpublished Louisa May Alcott poem, a medieval manuscript collection, a letter written by Charlotte Brontë, and a rare complete set of Shakespeare's 17th-century folios. 

Such riches reflect Buffalo’s standing during the Gilded Age. The city's main street, Delaware Avenue—known as Millionaires’ Row—was lined with the mansions of leading industrialists, and Twain himself. The residue of that lavish era lives on in the treasures of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, a town square of culture and arts that was fundamental to the city's cultural development.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan Thuras: Washington Park in Portland, Oregon. It's a pretty funky place. It's built into the hillside. You spend a lot of your time wandering around and kind of stumbling across things. Things like maybe a zoo or an amphitheater; or, perhaps, you take one turn and you come upon this enormous rose garden.

Rachel Burlington: I remember just walking down the stairs and being like, "Whoa, where am I?" I don't even know what's going on. I'm smelling things; there's so many colors. That was my first experience coming to the Rose Garden before I even got this role.

Dylan: This is Rachel Burlington. She's the curator of this garden, meaning she spends her time making sure that all of these roses are happy. And there are a ton of roses to keep happy.

Rachel: We have over 10,000 roses—individual rose bushes—and we have about 625 varieties. So we have striped ones, we have pink ones, we have bicolor ones, we have little ones, we have big ones. We have virtually every type of rose you can think of.

Dylan: When I first started learning about the garden, I kept running into this story about how it had gotten started. And the story goes back to World War I. Europe is being torn up by this horrible conflict, and so the people of Portland decide, "We want to offer help."

They reached out to gardeners over there saying, "We can help you save your plants from destruction. Send your roses to us, and we will keep them safe and growing until after the war." A beautiful gesture of kindness from one gardener to another. It's a great story. There is, of course, one major problem.

Rachel: I have not found any evidence to say that that's true. There's nothing to corroborate that.

Dylan: This story—it really always nagged at Rachel. It became almost the bane of her existence. You might say, the thorn on her rose. So she decided, "Okay, I need to do some research of my own. I'm going to set the story straight. I'm going to dig into the archives and find out actually how this garden came to be."

Rachel: I'm still kind of knee deep in it, and it's really exciting. Like with any mystery, you just start pulling up the thread, and then the whole thing unravels.

Dylan: I'm Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Travel Portland. And today—I didn't realize this—but Portland is known as the City of Roses. Getting this title, clinching the champion spot, was a real street fight.

Today, we hear from Rachel about this story, and we hear from her about the city's secret weapon in that fight. It was this garden—specifically this test garden, a kind of a cross between a beautiful, peaceful park and a mad scientist's laboratory. Less World War I, and more War of the Roses. That story, after this.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan: I am a bad gardener. I try every year to grow things, and it just fails, but we do have roses growing in our backyard. And I've learned a thing or two about roses over the years, and I'm going to pass one on to you. The first is that rose people are very, very serious about roses.

Rachel: I feel like there are rose people, and there are plant people. Rose people are its own thing of horticulture.

Dylan: That's Rachel Burlington again. Yeah, rose people are so serious that they actually have a pretty good idea of when the very first rose bush was planted in Portland, which was all the way back in 1837. Rose people...they just keep track of this kind of thing. And here's the other thing about roses.

Rachel: Roses have had a reputation for not being the easiest to grow. Sometimes roses have a bad reputation for being high-maintenance and disease-prone, and certainly that was the case.

Dylan: Roses are very finicky. They get diseases easily. They get fungal diseases in humid environments. I mean, humidity is basically the kryptonite of roses. But then people tried to grow roses in Portland, and they were surprised.

Rachel: Portland has the ideal weather: basically a combination of mild and wet winters, warm and dry summers. That perfect concoction creates the best climate. In fact, sometimes I feel like people come in here and say, "These are the best." I almost feel like I'm cheating. I'm like, "I literally just planted it and didn't do anything."

Dylan: Rose growing in Portland really started to take off. By the late 1800s, rose enthusiasts had formed the Portland Rose Society, the first of its kind in the US. And the society began hosting big annual rose shows. By 1904, these shows included a pageant and a parade.

The rose business was blooming. Then, as 1905 rolled around, the city decided they were ready to go much bigger—to pitch themselves to the rest of the country and to the world. But they were not alone in this ambition.

Rachel: Around that time, a lot of these West Coast cities were developing. They're trying to attract population. They're trying to get people to invest in their cities.

Dylan: Portland decided they were going to throw a big exposition, something like a World's Fair festival that would bring visitors and investors into the city. The official theme was going to be the 100th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. But, unofficially, they thought they'd try out a new sort of ad campaign, a new kind of city identity—something snappy, something people could know Portland by. So they thought, "What about all these roses? What if we made Portland the Rose City?"

Rachel: If everyone sees the City of Roses, well...roses are hard to take care of. "There must be really good weather, so maybe we should consider moving there."

Dylan: So, for the 1905 exposition, they decided to plan a big floral centerpiece, this parade. And then along the parade route, they planted roses—an insane, incredible amount of roses. 200 miles of roses of a very specific variety, actually—something called the Madame Caroline Testout. Yes, rose people very much keep track of this sort of thing.

Rachel: They wanted to cement their name as City of Roses because they wanted to advertise to the world that it was a great place to live.

Dylan: Here is the point at which Rachel starts digging into this story, seeing what the archives can tell us all about this. As it turns out, Portland was not the only city vying to be the City of Roses. A lot of other cities on the West Coast also wanted to advertise their great weather, their good planting environment. And so here comes the villain of our story: Tacoma, Washington (and also Seattle and some other cities in California).

Rachel: It's quite funny because I've always heard this story about how Portland competed with Tacoma and Seattle to be the City of Roses. And so, actually, I was reading through some old newspapers, and quite literally they were competing for this title, and it was pretty heated. And there were a lot of articles being like, "Oh no, what if we don't get it?" and that type of thing.

Dylan: Portland was trying to come up with ways to stay one step ahead of the competition. In particular, a guy named Jesse Curry started doing some scheming. He was also a concrete executive. He wrote frequently for the local paper, and he was a big time rose guy. Curry struck up a correspondence with an unusual local celebrity, a priest named Father George Schoener, who liked to dabble in plant hybridization.

Rachel: He's known as the plant wizard. So that's literally what a lot of head of lawyers called him, but he was very productive in crossing roses and other plants. And so there are some letters where Schoener is encouraging Jesse Curry to not only have a garden, but to make it a test garden.

Dylan: A test garden: a place to test out new rose varieties. This was very interesting to people like Father Schoener, who was kind of coming up with his own varieties in his own backyard, breeding roses for different traits, different colors. And it would be very interesting to rose growers internationally—to companies trying to bring brand new rose varieties to market.

Rachel: There's certain criteria like: Is it pretty? Does it have a consistent shape? Is it vigorous? Drought tolerant? And another thing that people might not think about is there's a self-cleaning trait. Self-cleaning means it does not have to be deadheaded, which means that, basically, the spent blooms fall off on their own and then re-bloom without that care. So, we talk about trying to make the rose low maintenance. You know, give the people what they want.

Dylan: Jesse Curry started lobbying officials in Portland to make this happen. But to make it a true test garden, they were also working with companies and getting brand new varieties before they ever went to market. And he also had to get approval of this organization called the American Rose Society. It is a lot like trying to get the IOC to make your city the host of the Olympics. The society wants a big commitment of land, money, manpower, all in advance.

This whole thing is happening in the middle of World War I. There is just a lot of other stuff going on. So, Portland's attention seems to waver a bit, and sensing an opening...in swoops Tacoma. Here is a headline from 1919: "Rose test garden may go to Tacoma." And I quote, "Portland, known from ocean to ocean as the City of Roses, stands in danger of losing its preeminence through indifference on the part of the Portland citizens." It goes on to say that Tacoma offered unlimited acreage and greatest cooperation from local officials if the test garden went to them.

Rachel: And then that just sets the alarm for Portland. "Oh no, we're at risk of not having our test garden! We're the city of roses; that's unacceptable!" So, that kind of lit some fire under people's bellies and expedited the process and just renewed people's interest in it.

Dylan: Finally, Portland got their garden off the ground. Or maybe I should say on the ground. It was officially dedicated in 1924. Let's go back for a second to the story we first told—the one about World War I and saving plant varieties and all of that. As it turns out, Curry and other organizers had been collecting specimens for a few years leading up to the garden's opening. Specimens from all over the U.S., but even some from Europe.

Rachel: Inadvertently there might've been some varieties that came over from Europe that were saved because they just sent it over for testing.

Dylan: Perhaps there was a little bit of truth to that story after all. Today, Portland's garden is still a test garden, meaning that if you go visit, you will be able to see new varieties of roses that are not on the market yet. As surprising as it seems, there are new roses coming out all the time. They drop new roses, like, very regularly.

Rachel: There's this big market for roses. If you keep releasing, people are gonna be like, "What's the new rose? I want it; I want to have it in my garden."

Dylan: Growers are always experimenting with new ways to grab people's attention. One very obvious one is trying out new colors.

Rachel: There's a rose that is a green rose because it actually doesn't have any petals. It just overproduces the sepals, which actually hold the petals. And so it is technically the green rose.

Dylan: And one experimentation that I had never even considered is new smells.

Rachel: It isn't just your typical rose smell. Like, I'm noticing more fruity ones. I'm also noticing this type of smell that reminds me of Jolly Ranchers.

Dylan: Does a rose smell as sweet by any other name? Because it sounds like by some names, they smell like Jolly Ranchers. I guess that is sweet. Anyway, these are just some of the many wonders that you will find if you go to the garden and take some time to stop and smell the roses.

Rachel: You know, I'm working in the garden. I'm getting over here stuff. And like the funny comments people come up with when they're just like, oh, I didn't know a rose could look like that. Or I heard a big "Crikey!" once. And so just being able to witness people's amazing expression, kind of similar to how I reacted. That really makes it really special.

Dylan: The International Rose Test Garden is totally free to visit. If you see any varieties you really like that are currently on the market, you can scan the QR code next to them, and then you will have these roses in your garden.

Rachel: We want to make sure everyone goes home with a new plant friend or a future plant friend.

Dylan: And they will be your problem.

In the neighbourhood of Palilula stands an abandoned industrial complex formerly belonging to Zastava, the presently bankrupt company that once produced the famed Yugo car—an icon of Yugoslavia as well as the Serbia of today.

There is a standing joke among locals that, when driving a Yugo, “You go, but the car doesn’t.” It is said that the complex, which spans two hectares, burned down due to a fire in 2012 but has long since been in an abandoned state, with no investors to save it. The result is a large venue belonging to the big name of Zastava Promet A. D. that can currently be considered a ruin.

The complex is nonetheless fascinating for those hoping to get a glimpse of life in the former Yugoslavia, as well as experience something strikingly vintage. Although belonging to a big household name, the Zastava industrial complex is a fairly hidden venue, with not much local attention put on it, even though it is relatively close to the city center, and was once an area of production of the famous cars, parts, and more.

A harrowing vision of the country’s past, it is a must-visit for Yugo car fanatics as well as those who want to see big abandoned warehouses, some amazing vintage sign-posts, as well as beautiful design elements that make you think of the good old times.

A nominal $5 entry fee gets you into this beautiful coastal must-see. Keep an eye out for Arena Mina, the local lighthouse cat, guest relations manager, and rodent control specialist.

In addition to the beautiful and well maintained grounds, Point Arena offers modern accommodations in the former light house keeper’s buildings. The gift shop and museum offer visitors a chance to view the massive Fresnel lens up close.

Despite the removal of its large crystalline lens, the lighthouse is still in operation, using a powerful external LED array to blast a unique light pattern to passing ships. An additional $5 allows visitors entry to the tower, joining tour groups that climb to the top every 20 minutes or so.

Before committing to the climb, know that there is no elevator and the staircase spirals around the internal walls of the 115-foot tall lighthouse, the tallest on the West Coast. (The lighthouse at Pigeon Point in Pescadero, California, is the same height.)

Views from the top of the lighthouse are well worth it, offering a stunning 360-degree panorama of the coastal surroundings: everything from Devil’s Punchbowl (a sinkhole which could eventually swallow the lighthouse in the distant future) to Arena Rock, a massive natural stone platform the size of a football field, lurking ominously just 10 to 15 feet below the coastal waters. Ocean breakers can be easily seen crashing over the shallow platform, which devoid of other markers of scale are often mistaken by visitors for a cresting whale off the coast, although it is much much larger than that.

The ivory tower also sits only 4 miles from the San Andreas fault, which is why this current lighthouse is not the original structure. The original tower was irreparably damaged during the 1906 earthquake. The original brick tower was demolished and replaced with a more earthquake-resistant design. The company that built the current tower built factory smokestacks. Hence this design featured steel reinforcement rods encased in concrete. This made it the first lighthouse in the U. S. to use this type of construction method.

Tour guides take shifts occupying the glass housing at the top. Freed of its massive lens, the glass housing is roomy and open with stunning views protected on all sides by floor to ceiling glass. Guides stationed at the top regale visitors with the history of the site and point out unique sights. Bring a couple dollars in cash for the tip jar.

While visiting the top, visitors are afforded the special opportunity to walk outside on the balcony, just below the glass casing. Those with vertigo or a fear of heights may want to skip this privilege, as the winds can be so strong you may feel you will blow right off the tower. Hold onto your hats and sunglasses as well.

The grounds are a beautiful place to walk and admire several artistic installations, as well as a gazebo that overlooks the coastline. Bring a sandwich and enjoy a coastal picnic at one of the tables overlooking the sea.

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Dylan Thuras: Hi, Allegra. Hello. How are you doing?

Allegra Rosenberg: I’m good, Dylan. How are you?

Dylan: I am good. So, I’m going to ask you some questions and have you help paint a picture of this particular place we’re visiting today. I’m a tourist in New York City in the 1800s. So, you know, like, top hat, dressed fancy. I don’t know. And I’m there to visit a very specific graveyard called Trinity Churchyard in Lower Manhattan. It’s a really famous place already back then. It has a bunch of very famous people buried there. It’s got Alexander Hamilton. But actually, I look and I see that all these people are gathered around this one specific grave. What is going on over there? What is this scene that I’m looking at?

Allegra: Well, there is a grave that’s the only one in the churchyard that’s marked out with flowers. And that’s so people can easily find it because the caretakers are sick of people coming up to ask where this specific grave is. The people that are coming up to this grave, they’re men, they’re women, maybe even newly married couples hand in hand. And they’re leaving more flowers. They’re leaving cards. They’re even crying at this grave.

Dylan: So obviously, this is someone in this big deal grave site. Whose grave is this?

Allegra: Well, so here’s the thing. The gravestone says Charlotte Temple. But Charlotte Temple is a fictional character. She never existed. And there’s nobody actually buried in the grave.

I’m Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Today, we visit a strange gravestone inside a very famous cemetery. And we learn what this particular gravestone with no one under it, and in fact, a name of a person who never even existed, says about fandom, about pop culture, and about the strange nature of human beings.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan: So Allegra, in addition to being Atlas Obscura’s community editor, you are writing a book about the history of fandom. But you’re looking deep into the roots of fandom. You’re going like way, this is way before Taylor Swift. This is kind of into the old-timey fandom world. So what are some examples of early origins of fandom culture?

Allegra: Well, yeah, that’s the thing. It goes back further than most people think. Lord Byron had a fleet of obsessed fangirls writing him letters. Charles Dickens, he had people lining up for hours to watch his readings. There was public outcry when Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes. It’s a whole thing.

Dylan: Yeah, it’s interesting because in all of these, you see things that feel really modern, right? Even the beat, like getting angry at an author for betraying the world that they’ve built, which is, you know, is a strange thing, but it also has really deep roots. So how did you get into this? How did you develop this interest in fandom?

Allegra: Well, I have always been a fangirl, and I’ve always been a nerd. So when I get into something new, you know, that has a long history, like Doctor Who or the Beatles, I’m so interested in going back and looking at who were sort of the first fans that liked this thing, and in what ways were they like me, and in what ways weren’t they like me? And that has continued as I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into history, just led me down more and more interesting paths where I keep finding all of these incredibly fascinating fandoms from earlier and earlier in history that just keep resonating so deeply with my own experiences as a fan. So my research is all about bringing those stories to light, and Charlotte Temple’s grave is such a fantastic example because it seems like something right out of modern day fandom.

Dylan: Let’s return to the Trinity Churchyard and this strange gravestone. Tell us, why are all these people here to celebrate this fictional woman? Who was the mysterious Charlotte Temple?

Allegra: Charlotte Temple, she was the title character in a 1971 novel by Susanna Rowson called Charlotte, A Tale of Truth. It was also published under the name Charlotte Temple in some places.

Dylan: You know, unfortunately, this is one fandom that fell off over time because I am completely unfamiliar with this story. What’s the kind of basic overview of the plot?

Allegra: Yeah, I mean, I had never heard of it either. But basically, the story is that Charlotte is this naive teenage British girl who gets seduced by the villainous rake, Lord Montraville. And he takes her to America and then abandons her when he goes off to marry another woman, because he hadn’t married Charlotte. He marries another woman and then goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War. And so after being abandoned, she dies penniless in wintry New York City after giving birth to an illegitimate child. And the book ends with her father arriving too late to save her from her fate.

Dylan: This is a bummer of a story, but it seems like it must have been also incredibly popular, like a real tearjerker, a kind of ultimate, you know, Lifetime movie vibe of books.

Allegra: Absolutely. I mean, it’s the exact same kind of thing that’s just playing on people’s heartstrings. It was so popular. I mean, it was the best selling novel in America for half a century, for decades, right up until the release of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. So that’s a long time.

Dylan: What? That’s crazy. It’s crazy I’ve never heard of this book. Like, it’s wild that it was bestseller for decades. What was it about it that it really hit people? Obviously, it’s got these huge sort of pulling on your heartstrings, these emotional resonances. But was there something else that made it kind of really work for people of the time?

Allegra: Yeah, like one theory, and I find this so interesting, is that the story appealed to all different kinds of Americans because it was the story about this young, vulnerable woman being faced with difficult circumstances in New York after betrayal by a powerful Englishman. And that was kind of parallel to the story of America, which was such a new country at the time. And, you know, the book was published first in England, and it did okay. But it wasn’t until it made it to the United States that it really took off. So, you know, in Charlotte Temple, American readers, they saw not only like these sort of this personal moral and like, you know, this sort of like, you know, relatable, tear-jerking sadness, but actually in a larger sense, kind of like their country’s struggle for independence in this post-revolutionary era. And so as a result, Charlotte herself kind of became a bit of a folk hero.

Dylan: Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that. But like the English cad is like the perfect foil, like he’s like the perfect villain for an American audience. And yeah, I mean, America at this time is still an emerging nation. It’s maybe not always the easiest place to live. So maybe, yeah, people are seeing themselves in this woman’s desperate struggles to survive.

Allegra: Yeah.

Dylan: Maybe this is a silly question, but like, are a lot of people reading these kinds of novels at the time? Has literature become a major form of public entertainment at this point?

Allegra: Absolutely. So the 18th century saw the rise of the novel. And America was a particularly literate country. So novels were the hot thing, you know, in England, but also across the pond. And throughout the 18th century, there were these books that were just total smash hits. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones. These are all books about the life story of one main character and all their trials and tribulations, which is definitely the formula that Charlotte Temple fits in.

And you had women writers finding success as novelists. You had Maria Edgeworth. And then at the very end of the century, she inspired Jane Austen to write her own books. But the thing is that reading novels in particular was kind of scandalous. I mean, like not scandalous, it’s just trashy. I guess it was the equivalent of like, I guess watching reality TV today, like super, super popular, but people might look down on you for doing it, especially if you’re a woman.

This idea of being enraptured by fiction was, you know, not given a lot of credit by intellectuals, right? There was this thought that everyday readers, especially women and young people, they didn’t have the discernment to tell what was real and what wasn’t, and that novels were basically big lies.

So the moral of a novel was so important because it had to justify telling what was essentially a big lie that people would believe. The author had to be imparting this really serious message. So in Charlotte Temple, it’s all about the dangers facing young women, the consequences of succumbing to temptation.

Dylan: So people fall in love with this book. They fall in love with Charlotte. They, you know, come to visit Charlotte’s gravestone. What is going on here? Like there’s no—this is not a gravestone above someone else. It’s not a gravestone of someone else named Charlotte Temple. Like, what did they think they were doing when they came to visit this gravestone?

Allegra: Well, that’s the thing is that plenty of people did think she was real, especially because the author always insisted that Charlotte was based on a real person. So a lot of the, you know, sort of articles and the writing around the book at the time was people trying to figure out, like, who is she based on? I mean, that’s something that people still do today is like, oh, who is this character in the novel based on?

But after over a century of curiosity, Trinity Church actually investigated the grave, you know, this was in the last 20 years, and they pried up the top of the slab to see if there was a burial vault of any kind underneath. They even stuck a camera down in there and just, no, it’s just dirt. There is nobody buried down there. Maybe there was some inspiration for the character of Charlotte Temple from somebody real, but whoever that was, they’re certainly not in the grave.

Dylan: It’s very savvy to be like, “Oh, this is a real person, but I’m not going to tell you who it is.”

Allegra: It’s a marketing strategy. It gets people talking.

Dylan: Totally. And they can also project it sort of onto the people they know and onto themselves. It’s like, “no, no, it’s real. It’s true.” Okay, so we’ve established that there’s nothing under there. It’s a bunch of dirt. How did this gravestone get there? This is a very sought after place to be buried. It is in the center of what was Manhattan even at the time. This is kind of pretty centrally located. It’s an esteemed cemetery. How did this strange fictional gravestone get in there?

Allegra: So there is an official sort of line, I guess it’s an official theory that is told by the church guides today, because of course there’s no proof, but most likely the gravestone was the work of a stonecutter who was involved in the reconstruction of the church. This was in the 1840s. So it’s already, you know, 40, 50 years after the book was published and it’s still remembered so well that a stonecutter, a fan of the book was like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if this was here?”

Dylan: Interesting. It sounds like there’s another theory. You’re like, “That’s the official theory.” What’s the unofficial theory?

Allegra: I kind of like this one more. I don’t know if it’s any likelier, but it’s a little more interesting. So in the 1840s, the era of tourism was beginning, right? And regular people, thanks to the trains basically, and the affordability of travel, they’re starting to go places and guidebooks to places like New York City are beginning to be published. And Charlotte Temple’s grave might’ve been the original kind of tourist trap.

You know, at the time there were some really, really popular theatrical adaptations of Charlotte Temple’s story being put on by impresarios like P.T. Barnum. And so some suspect that it was P.T. Barnum himself who paid the Trinity stonecutter to carve the slab so that he could then make another buck giving tours. I think that’s a great story, although there’s no proof.

Dylan: I fully subscribe to this theory. It is much funnier and also fully a thing that P.T. Barnum would do. He was such a crafty little sneak. I love this theory. It also kind of jives with what we’re talking about, which is, it feels distinctly modern. It’s like the version of the ice cream museum or something where it’s like a thing made specifically so tourists will come and be like, oh, we got to do this thing. It’s riding on the coattails of all this like accumulated cultural knowledge. I really like that.

Allegra: And just like the ice cream museum, they might’ve gotten there and went, “So that’s it?”

Dylan: Yeah. “This sucks. There’s a long line and there’s nothing to do here.” Okay. So what is the state of the gravestone today? Is it still there? Can you visit it? Do people still come and see it?

Allegra: Well, it’s definitely still there. And when I visited, I was told by the person from Trinity Church that professors from local universities will often bring their students there to explain the phenomenon of Charlotte Temple and sort of, you know, what I just talked about, what she represents about American literature, novel reading culture. But yeah, the book, you know, you’d never heard of it. It’s really not remembered at all. So people are not coming there for Charlotte’s sake and as a sort of fandom pilgrimage. Now it’s sort of a monument to, you know, literary history and the fascinating sort of forgotten tales of America’s reading culture.

Dylan: Yeah, it is really fascinating because it represents, again, these sort of things that maybe we think of as particularly modern currents, this kind of fandom where the line between real and unreal really sort of starts to blur and the fans want it to blur in a certain way. How unique is this? Are there other fictional grave sites that have become similar cultural phenomenons?

Allegra: Well, yeah, I mean, like, so since Charlotte Temple’s grave, there have been a bunch. I think probably the one that happened around the same time was when Little Nell died, the Charles Dickens character. There was a villager in the village that she was purported to be buried in in the book who similarly constructed a grave and I believe charged people to come see it. And then a few decades after that, the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, where Sherlock Holmes, you know, “died,” immediately became a spot for people to sort of travel to because of its place in literature.

My personal favorite, because I’m a big Doctor Who fan, is that in Cardiff, Wales, there’s a shrine to Ianto Jones from the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. So he died in, you know, in the show in this one place. And literally since 2009, there has been a quite large shrine to him in a central part of the city that is absolutely still a pilgrimage point for fans of that franchise.

Dylan: You know, there’s something beautiful about this kind of fandom. I mean, there’s something so lovely about the idea that, like, across hundreds of years of history, this notion of, like, reading something or experiencing a story strikes you so deeply that you kind of, you know, want to actually, like, make a pilgrimage somewhere to combine your life with this imagined world, this imagined life. I mean, you are an expert on fandom. You are a fan of many different fandoms, Doctor Who obviously among them. What do you make of all this? How do you think about this?

Allegra: Well, I think the most important thing is in the fact that we use the word pilgrimage to describe it, right? And that’s a much, much older word than fandom is. And it describes something, you know, sort of religious and devotional. And it connects us with people throughout history that went somewhere, you know, far from their home in order to feel connected to something bigger than themselves, something that they were passionate about.

So I think that is a really, I think that’s a really interesting part of it. And I think literary tourism has been a thing for hundreds of years. People were rocking up to the houses that, you know, Rousseau stayed in and the birthplace of Dante. And it’s always been a big deal to sort of get close to the thing that you love in any way that you can. And to either take something with you, whether it’s a memory or a souvenir, or even sort of leave a mark, right? You know, leave a flower or a card or some graffiti.

Dylan: Yeah. Have you ever been to, have you ever made a pilgrimage to a fictional grave?

Allegra: Well, I went to the grave of John Irving in the Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. I mean, technically he’s a real person. He was a polar explorer who died on the Franklin expedition, but he’s also a character on the show that introduced me to that bit of history. It’s a show called The Terror. And that show means a lot to me. So it was definitely for me a pilgrimage in the way that visiting Charlotte Temple’s grave was to her fans. It was really cool to be there.

Dylan: Yeah. I also have not visited the grave of a fictional person, but I do think I will, when I’m in the city, I’m going to go see Charlotte Temple. And I would like, maybe I’ll read the book, try to read the book on, you know, my commutes back and forth.

Allegra: I would love to hear how it holds up.

Dylan: That was Allegra Rosenberg. She’s Atlas Obscura’s community editor, and you can read her piece about Charlotte Temple and a bunch of her other excellent pieces on the website. We will put links in the show notes and go see the grave of Charlotte Temple. The Trinity Churchyard is open to the public from 8:30 to 4. Wander in, take a look, you know, commune with the ghost of a fictional character. Go say hello.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

This episode was produced by Manolo Morales. Out podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. The people who make our show include Doug Baldinger, Kameel Stanley, Johanna Mayer, Manolo Morales, Amanda McGowan, Alexa Lim, Casey Holford, and Luz Fleming. Our theme music is by Sam Tyndall.

Tucked away in a corner of the gardens of Wentworth Castle near Barnsley is an elaborate folly that reflects the vanity of the 18th-century English gentry.

Having failed to inherit the nearby mansion Wentworth Woodhouse as he had expected, Thomas Wentworth, Baron Raby (who would later become the 1st Earl of Strafford), purchased a nearby estate. He then set out to construct a house to rival the one he so clearly coveted.

On the footprint of a 17th-century building by Sir Gervase Cutler, he created a large residence to compete with that of his distant relative, Thomas Watson, whom he considered had usurped his birthright.

This house now forms the basis of Northern College, an educational institution focused on courses with a social purpose and close links to the trade union movement. 

Between 1727 and 1731, Wentworth added a magnificent folly in the form of a castle ruin to the gardens of his new house, so he could justify adopting the name Wentworth Castle for the estate and one-up his social rival. Despite his efforts, renovations at Wentworth Woodhouse ensured that Wentworth Castle was always second best. The folly itself became known as Stainborough Castle.

Today, the gardens are owned and operated by the National Trust, and visitors can explore the folly, which looks remarkably like the ruins of a medieval castle. Once inside, however, everything seems a little smaller than it should be. Yet it is not so small that it could not have been a genuine defensive structure, creating a rather disconcerting effect.

The "castle" is an enchanting space, surrounded by magnificent gardens and parkland worth visiting in their own right. In one of the large conservatories is a lead statue of an enslaved African man, installed to mark  Wentworth's role in maintaining Britain's slave-trading interests in the Treaty of Utrecht. In recent years, the statue has become controversial, and the accompanying information now recognizes the dark side of the wealth that created the estate we see today.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I met Cathy Ballone outside the entrance of the abandoned zoo she and her husband, Ben, had recently purchased. Over the ticket kiosk in the parking lot was a sign that read “Catskill Game Farm” and, beneath it in smaller letters, “Fun for the Whole Family.” The gate we passed through still bore the shadow of the hand-painted giraffe that had once adorned it. What remained inside was a mystery.

I knew much had been removed after the Catskill Game Farm closed. The animals, of course, were all gone, and the amusement park rides had been auctioned off. As we passed by dozens of pens, huts, and cages, I found it hard to figure out what would constitute a “good” photograph of this place—something that would communicate its spirit. I was used to photographing the architecture of large buildings, but aside from the mid-sized giraffe house and rhino enclosure, most of what remained was small and obscured by weeds.

As we passed a little stand that had once held a cauldron tourists could take photos of their children in, my confidence wavered. You can’t photograph what isn’t there. Cathy, a petite dynamo whose eyes sparkled with kindness and determination, told me about the plans they had for the site: a bed and breakfast, a campsite/RV park, maybe music festivals. It seemed like a tall order. Before it was abandoned, the Catskill Game Farm had grown to a staggering 914 acres, with 136 open to the public at its peak. Cathy and Ben had purchased around 200 of these acres but with no regular maintenance, the sprawling park had become overgrown. I couldn’t see how they would manage.

Pinning down when the Catskill Game Farm opened is harder than you might expect. Most sources say 1933, but founder Roland Lindemann told the Tucson Daily Citizen in 1959 that it was 1945. A sign in the park implies it was 1939. Maddening for a historian! What’s certain is that Lindemann began with a private collection of various species of deer on his farm in Catskill, New York. As his menagerie grew, he started selling and trading animals and eventually opened the property to paying guests. Visitors came to see bison, buffalo, yaks, llamas, alpacas, camels, antelopes, mountain lions, goats, and several exotic varieties of deer.

The Game Farm was located in the perfect spot for growth: it was easily accessible to visitors from New York City and neighboring states, and the Catskill region was a flourishing vacation destination that was only growing more popular in the postwar years. By 1950, it welcomed 200,000 visitors a year and hosted attractions such as dancing bears and a meadow where guests could bottle-feed free-roaming baby deer and goats. Lindemann used his success to fund conservation efforts, believing nurturing the public’s love of wildlife could inspire efforts to protect species endangered by colonialism and war. In 1958, the Department of Agriculture recognized it as the first privately owned zoo in the United States.

The zoo’s popularity endured into the 1980s, but as air travel became cheaper, the Catskills lost their luster as a tourist destination. In 1989 Lindemann sold the zoo to his daughter, Kathie Schultz, and her husband, Jurgen—an animal importer and exporter with ties to the “canned hunt” industry, in which animals are sold to be shot by trophy “hunters” at point blank range. The New York Times later reported that over 150 animals from the farm had been shipped to Texas, and their fate afterwards was unclear. Other zoos stopped trading with the Catskill Game Farm. Citing “mounting financial difficulties, dropping attendance, and legal regulations," the Catskill Game Farm was closed on Columbus Day 2006. Protests erupted as many animals were sold off to hunters. Attractions were auctioned, and the park fell silent.

Cathy and Ben Ballone bought the site in 2012, two years before I met them in 2014. I returned often to teach photo workshops and document their progress. At first, I didn’t know how to photograph what was, essentially, absence. Gradually, I came to realize that the subject wasn’t grand architecture, but rather the beauty of the landscape, slowly reclaiming what had once been the source of thousands of fond memories. Moss crept over a miniature golf course, its booth dappled in sunlight. A Kodak kiosk stood beside the crumbling plaster remains of the fairy-tale nursery.

My favorite memory from my first visit was when Cathy invited me into the Lindemanns’ old home—part office, part residence. It was falling apart, but inside were shelves of souvenirs and uniforms. The attic was treacherous, full of gaping holes, but also full of treasures: coloring books, toys, postcards, hand painted signs. Cathy warned me to stay near the stairs, but, as she poked around, she kept sharing her discoveries. Soon we were both rooting through the mess. It felt like we were uncovering something magical. Someone else who bought the property might have considered it all trash, and it was clear to me then how much the Catskill Game Farm meant to Cathy. She wanted to repurpose it for a new future, but honoring the former zoo’s past while doing so was an essential part of the process.

Bringing the Catskill Game Farm back to life wasn’t easy. It couldn’t—and wouldn’t—be a zoo again. It was remote, the region no longer a tourism magnet. The Ballones cleared paths and debris and opened for tent camping, chipping away at the project while Cathy continued her day job as a wedding planner. Years passed without securing the funding they needed, and I could see Cathy’s faith in their ability to complete their plan was starting to flicker. Many of the guests who attended my photo workshops confided that they wanted to see the Ballones’ vision realized, but it just seemed like too much work. I felt the same way: I cared about the Ballones, but rehabilitating even one of the buildings was a daunting and expensive task.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Ballones secured an angel investor for the project, and work began transforming the Giraffe House into a bed and breakfast. Witnessing the rather barren building as it was transformed into a stylish inn was the best kind of surprise, and I was shocked by their progress every time I visited. Ben’s skill as a carpenter and Cathy’s knack for design were proudly displayed during a visit in 2019 as work neared completion. Guest rooms were animal-themed, and mementos of the zoo’s past were everywhere. Cathy was excited for the grand opening in 2020. Then the pandemic hit.

For a moment, it appeared all might be lost. But in another twist, the Ballones sold the property, turning a handsome profit and paying off their investors. Maybe, in a different timeline, they would have kept the inn and operated it themselves. But in ours, they walked away with the satisfaction of having finished what they started. The Longneck Inn still welcomes guests today, and visitors can explore the Catskill Game Farm’s remains on their own.

Most restoration stories don’t end like this. The work is too hard. The costs are too high. Even when their ideas are beautiful, reality often wears people down. It’s easy to become cynical, to call these efforts pipe dreams to shield yourself from disappointment.

But I’ve learned that skepticism shouldn’t eclipse hope. Sometimes, hard work and determination really do win out. The Ballones proved all the doubters wrong. They brought something extraordinary back to life—and reminded me why I keep seeking out places like this. They showed that even in the face of daunting odds, sometimes the dreamers manage to come out on top.

For more Catskill Game Farm photos and history, including an interview with Cathy Ballone, visit Abandoned America.

Matthew Christopher is a writer and photographer who has explored abandoned locations across the globe for more than two decades, chronicling many of the lost landmarks in our midst. You can find more of his work on his website, Abandoned America, or listen to his Abandoned America podcast.

When talking to a resident of Mobile, Alabama, about Mardi Gras, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a history lesson. Though the holiday is often associated with New Orleans, the first documented celebration in America was in 1703 by French settlers at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, which grew into the city of Mobile.

Although most folks who aren’t from the area may never have heard of Joe Cain, almost every Mobile citizen knows about his legacy in reviving Mardi Gras.  

Joe Cain was a Confederate veteran and Mobile was under Union occupation post-Civil War. To insult the occupying U.S. Army, Cain dressed as a Chickasaw chief calling himself Slacabamorinico, and paraded through the streets of Mobile. Cain’s efforts helped revive the city’s Carnival tradition, and he is regarded as the founder of Mobile’s modern-day Mardi Gras celebration. His legacy lives on through Joe Cain Day, celebrated on the Sunday before Mardi Gras in Mobile.

Cain died in 1904 and was buried in Bayou La Batre.  In 1966, Julian Lee Rayford arranged to have Cain reburied in the poet’s corner of the Church Street Graveyard, along with his wife, Elizabeth.

Thanks to the work of Rayford and the publicity campaign, Joe Cain Day is an important part of the Mardi Gras celebration and parade. The added tradition of Cain’s Merry Widows adds an air of enjoyable lighthearted pleasure to the celebration. Cain’s Widows dress in funereal black, with veils, visit his grave, lay a wreath, and wail in mourning. Afterward, they lead a procession to Cain’s former home on Augusta Street, where they offer a toast and eulogy.

Cain’s gravestone identifies him as “the heart and soul of Mardi Gras in Mobile.” Located just inside the graveyard entrance, the grave receives annual visits during Mardi Gras and can often be found adorned with trinkets from the Merry Widows.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan Thuras: Hi, Johanna.

Johanna Mayer: Hey, Dylan. I’m here with a piece of local news for you today. It is about a time capsule.

Dylan: I love a time capsule because they’re just some wacky thing that someone comes up with and then people forget about it. And some, I don’t know, like I just, there are these funny little, these funny little things.

Johanna: Yeah. And I also find them very sweet, almost sort of provincial. And I mean that in a good way. They’re like this extremely low tech thing that—I think it says something about our human nature that we make these things. But the time capsule that we are talking about today is not just any time capsule. It is the world’s largest time capsule. It’s in Seward, Nebraska, which is like half an hour outside of Lincoln. And as of this recording mid-July, 2025, the world’s largest time capsule has been opened.

Dylan: What secrets from the past will it contain? What great treasures will it hold? All right. Well, I can’t wait to find out what is in the world’s largest time capsule. I’m Dylan Thuras.

Johanna: I’m Johanna Mayer, and this is Atlas Obscura. We are cracking open the world’s largest time capsule.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan: Okay, so the world’s largest time capsule has been opened. What are we talking about here? Like time capsules come in a lot of shapes and sizes. You know, they can be a locked room. They can be a locked box. They can be just a little shoebox, buried in someone’s yard.

Johanna: It is like a full-blown structure. So basically, all you can see from the ground is this giant pyramid. It’s white, made out of some sort of stone. And it’s big. I would say it’s probably about the height of two people stacked on top of each other.

Dylan: That’s serious.

Johanna: Honestly?

Dylan: That’s kind of a big pyramid.

Johanna: It’s a big pyramid. It honestly looks sort of like the entrance to some sort of cult chamber or something.

Dylan: Yes. Yes.

Johanna: Okay, so that’s like one level is this pyramid, which is part of the time capsule. But then beneath it is this 45-ton vault, and that is where the bulk of the time capsule resides.

Dylan: This is a two-chambered time capsule with a—

Johanna: It’s a multi-chambered time capsule, yes.

Dylan: This is very National Treasure. Who built this? How did this come to exist?

Johanna: Okay, so yes, that is one thing about this time capsule is that it is in the yard of the person who built it. It’s like just next to their house.

Dylan: This is dad’s project gone wildly awry.

Johanna: One hundred percent. So it was built by a guy named Harold Keith Davisson. I was not able to talk with Harold himself. He is dead. But I did get in touch with his daughter, and I barely caught her. She said she had been on the phone with reporters all day talking about the opening of this time capsule.

Dylan: Oh, wow.

Trish Davisson Johnson: My name is Trish Davisson Johnson. I live in Sioux, Nebraska, have lived here most of my life. My father put in a time capsule in 1975, and I have been the keeper of the crypt ever since.

Dylan: This is sweet.

Johanna: Keeper of the crypt.

Dylan: I love that she called herself the keeper of the crypt. This is really doing her father’s memory proud. Okay, what else did she have to say about this?

Johanna: Well, for one thing, she basically lives and breathes the time capsule.

Trish: I actually sleep in my childhood bedroom. When you have a time capsule in the yard, you can’t very well sell the house. So we moved back in after my parents died.

Dylan: Oh, wow. That’s like really serious dedication. Like, oh, like, wow.

Johanna: And it is like a—I think it’s like a high-touch management job because she’s talked about how she occasionally has to shoo visitors away who are trying to climb on. Like, Seward, Nebraska is a college town, so she would occasionally—

Dylan: Kids and drunk people love to climb a pyramid.

Johanna: Yeah, can’t resist.

Dylan: Of course. I would be the one being shooed away there almost definitely.

Johanna: So Trish has been the person sort of at the helm of caring for this time capsule since her dad died. And she said that there was basically no one like him.

Trish: You can’t really define him. He grew up in an era of poverty. He was raised by a widowed mother and had two older sisters, and he spent a lot of time scrounging for himself. He had a lot of, a lot going on in his head, and a lot of it came out. He put out a newsletter every two weeks—actually in his basement—newsletter every two weeks with a circulation up to 40,000.

Johanna: That’s like a huge circulation. If he made that a sub-stack, he’d be rolling in it.

Dylan: This would be his whole career. That’s amazing. The more I find out about Harold, the more I like him.

Johanna: Yeah. So this is clearly a guy who had, like, boundless physical and mental energy. And in 1974, Harold got the idea to make this time capsule with the explicit intent to open it 50 years later on July 4th, 2025. And Trish says that he was really thinking not about people a thousand years in the future, but just about his own grandchildren, who were toddlers at the time. But he also made a point to open it up to the community, and he invited people outside of his family from the town of Seward and beyond to put stuff in the capsule. So he hired a construction company to dig this giant hole in his yard, and completed it the next year in 1975, and called it “the world’s largest time capsule.”

Dylan: Is it actually the world’s largest time capsule? I mean, it sounds huge. But I also feel like, from what I know about Harold so far, this might be just a thing that he felt like he—

Johanna: Potentially an exaggerator.

Dylan: Yeah, or maybe even like, I could just say this because why not? You know?

Johanna: Funny you should ask. This did become a whole thing. So in 1977, which is two years after just the vault portion was completed, no pyramid yet, the Guinness Book of World Records did certify Harold’s time capsule as the largest in the world. But Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, immediately freaked out and said that their Crypt of Civilization is the largest time capsule, which is—

Dylan: I know about this one.

Johanna: You know about it.

Dylan: I know about this one, yeah. It’s like from a long time ago. I think they sealed it in like the 1940s, and it’s been to be opened in some—

Johanna: The year, like, 8,000, yeah.

Dylan: Yeah. Which like, guys, no. No one, your time capsule is not like, too much will have happened by that time, I think.

Johanna: The other thing is that the Crypt of Civilization is basically just like a sealed off room in a campus building. There was no, you know, no locked box or anything. It’s just a room that has not been opened. Harold argues that that therefore means it’s not a time capsule. The Guinness Book of World Records did eventually settle the argument by simply removing the time capsule category.

Dylan: Cowards. You cowards. Take a side.

Johanna: Yeah. But in any case, just to be extra sure, Harold went a step further and constructed the giant pyramid on top of the vault and was like, now I definitely have the world’s largest time capsule.

Dylan: Dude. Way to go, Harold. First off, just excellent job. Really good. And now it’s open. And now it’s open as of a week ago.

Johanna: It is.

Dylan: This is the completion of an extremely epic arc of story. I kind of love the concept of time capsules in general. When did this start as a, like as a thing? When were people starting to be like, hey, we got to bury stuff for the future. What they’re going to want in the future is the stuff we’ve got now.

Johanna: So the word time capsule, the phrase was coined at the 1939 World’s Fair, which took place in New York City. So for this World’s Fair, Westinghouse Corporation, which is an electronics company, developed a time capsule and they buried it 50 feet below Corona Flushing Meadows Park in Queens and set it to be open 5,000 years in the future in the year 6,939. But of course, this one in Queens from the World’s Fair is just one of many. There’s of course like Voyager 1 and 2, which were shot out into space. There’s the future—

Dylan: Oh, right. Those are kind of like time—I never thought about them as time capsules.

Johanna: I would think of those as time capsules.

Dylan: And those ones will actually exist in a million or even a hundred million years.

Johanna: Somewhere.

Dylan: If they don’t hit something.

Johanna: They’ll be out there somewhere.

Dylan: They’ll be out there.

Johanna: For someone to find.

Dylan: I wonder how long. Anyway, go on.

Johanna: There’s also the Future Library Project. Maybe you know about that. So this is a project where they collect an original work by a popular writer every year from—it’s from 2014 to 2114. And the works will remain unread and unpublished until 2114. And they grew this whole forest specifically to house these works. We have an episode about that.

Dylan: Yeah. Margaret Atwood has a book that’s going to be published. She’s got a work that’s for that paper from those trees, but will only be published in like 2114 and like no one can see it until then.

Johanna: So this is obviously a thing, but like people have been doing this for much longer than the 1939 World’s Fair. Did you know about the time capsule that John Adams and Paul Revere made?

Dylan: No, I have—is this a real thing that they did?

Johanna: It’s real, yeah, yeah. It was discovered in 2014. It’s like a little box. They laid it within the cornerstone of the Boston Statehouse in 1795 to commemorate the building and the imminent 20th anniversary of American independence. And there were some coins in there and the seal of the Commonwealth and a silver plate.

Dylan: This is so cute. This is like John Adams and Paul Revere like off on our little mission to sneak and hide a time capsule in the statehouse is really very charming. But they didn’t like—did they tell anybody?

Johanna: I don’t think they told anybody about it, which I love, it’s their own little private joke.

Dylan: That’s really nice. I just love it. There’s something very human about this. It really acknowledges that we exist in a brief moment in time. You’re trying to sort of say like this is the stuff that matters at this point in time. All right, well, so this all leads us back to the big question. What the hell was in Harold’s giant multilevel time capsule? What did this guy feel like, “All right. Here’s what I’ve got to save for the future.”

Johanna: There was a motorcycle.

Dylan: Cool.

Johanna: A teal leisure suit. Very fetching.

Dylan: Extremely cool.

Johanna: A lot of pet rocks down there. Love that. This was the ’70s. And there was a brand new Chevy Vega car inside, like a full-on car.

Dylan: Famously crummy car.

Johanna: Yes. Okay, yes.

Dylan: The Chevy Vega is like a terrible car.

Johanna: Famously bad car, yes. But there was also about 50,000 letters that people had written. There were letters from grandparents. One family traveled all the way from Colorado for the opening. There was one young girl with her parents who came to find these recorded voice messages from members of their family that they left there. I guess they were on tapes. One man left his wedding invitation.

Dylan: Oh, there’s like a lot of like really sentimental stuff for other people.

Johanna: Yes. Oh, oh, yes. It was like a whole community thing. And I think that witnessing that was really moving for Trish as well.

Trish: People are finding stories about their family that they never knew. You know, what was my mom thinking when I was born? What was going on when my dad went off to war? Who is this woman who I always saw as a very stern grandmother? Who is she playing with this little boy and talking in these glowing terms? They’re finding all sorts of things they never knew.

Dylan: Wow. That’s really sweet. How’s Trish feeling about all of this?

Trish: Highly emotional. It’s going to be about two weeks before I can put into words what I’m feeling. My older daughter had been down in the castle when she was a toddler with her granddad. And I was there the day they were going to close it in ’77, climbed down the ladder. And I was pregnant at that time. So I can say both my daughters were in the time capsule.

Dylan: Yeah. There’s something just really beautiful about honoring this strange thing that her father did. I feel like in the last 10 years, I have never felt more uncertain about what the future holds. And I think there’s something about a time capsule that is like, it allows you to like, in a weird way, put your hopes and dreams and wishes for the future and kind of crystallize them. And then, you know, it’s like an act of hope that someone someday will open them up and see them and there’ll be someone to care and have that reaction and sort of visit you from the past. And so there’s something there’s something so lovely about it.

Johanna: Totally. And I think that we as a species, humans have a lot of anxiety about disappearing one day. Change and just, you know—

Dylan: Mortality.

Johanna: Dying.Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Dylan: The big change.

Johanna: And disappearing and being forgotten is the big thing. And then I think that that manifests in many different ways, whether it’s someone wants to write a book or leave, you know, leave a mark on the place in some sort of way. And this just strikes me as such a small, simple way to achieve that.

Dylan: Totally.

Johanna: What would you put in? What would I put in a time capsule?

Dylan: That’s a good question. I think I’d put in some of the books that you know, some of the Atlas books, they represent big portions of my life and important milestones. I think I’d put in some Dungeons and Dragons dice and stuff like character sheets that my kids have made, you know, because it’s like a very sweet moment in my time with them.

Johanna: I love the people who put the voice recordings in there. I’m like, I gotta do that. It makes me just want to record everyone that I love.

Dylan: Let’s put the whole podcast in there. There’ll be 1,000 episodes of this show waiting for someone. They’re gonna be like, what is all this?

Johanna: What a treat.

Dylan: Well, I love this time capsule. And I love that Harold, the mission was completed. He had a dream, this wacky idea of putting a car in a hole in his yard.

Johanna: The logistics.

Dylan: What a thing.

Johanna: The logistics alone.

Dylan: And then and then like his grandkids actually did get to see it opened up. Let’s all live like Harold. This is like, I’m into this.

Johanna: Rock on, Harold.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Our podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. The people who make our show include Dylan Thuras, Doug Baldinger, Kameel Stanley, Manolo Morales, Amanda McGowan, Alexa Lim, Casey Holford, and Luz Fleming. Our theme music is by Sam Tyndall.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan Thuras: Cuba and cigars have a longer history than you might realize. Indigenous Caribbeans have been using tobacco for millennia. In the early 1800s, under Spanish colonial rule, the first cigar factories opened. And eventually in these cigar factories, you would walk in and the smell of tobacco would waft through the air. The torcedores would sit at these neat orderly desks, rolling cigar after cigar. And you would hear something maybe unexpected in these factories. While people rolled cigars, you would hear the sound of a daily news report, or maybe a poem or a novel, being read aloud. Read aloud by a person known as the reader. The cigar reader is a tradition that is still held by a handful of people, and came from this fundamentally revolutionary set of ideas. Ideas that would shape Cuba in many profound ways.

I’m Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Today, I’m talking with Eliot Stein. Eliot is a journalist, and he has traveled across the world, finding and reporting on these disappearing customs. These traditions where there are just a few people still maintaining them. Eliot chronicled this in his book, Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan: Hi, Eliot. Thanks for coming to the show again.

Eliot: Thanks so much for having me, Dylan.

Dylan: Last time, we talked about this tradition of weaving these giant Incan rope bridges out of fiber, and they cut them down and remake them every year. And so, we are moving to a different part of the world to talk about a very different tradition with a different kind of history and impact. Let’s talk about Cuban cigars. Just for a very sensory question, what does it smell like in one of those buildings?

Eliot: It smells like damp, decomposing leaves. In autumn in the United States, when you rake leaves into a pile and set it on the street, and then maybe after a rainstorm and you’re close to it, it smells much like that. It’s sort of damp, dank, it’s stuffy, and it’s completely silent except for the noise of the reader and the sound, that kind of beautiful, cacophonous sound of these curved knives called chavetas, which are hitting a wooden table.

Dylan: They feel like one of these things that are still made by hand. They don’t seem to have maybe been totally industrialized, at least maybe not in Cuba. And you went and saw kind of firsthand what happened in a cigar factory in Havana at La Corona. What is it like to actually visit a cigar factory in modern-day Cuba? What’s happening in there?

Eliot: Visiting a cigar factory in modern-day Cuba, I imagine, is very similar to visiting a cigar factory in Cuba a hundred years ago. Time is a funny thing in Cuba, as anyone who’s listening and has gone to Cuba knows. But you go into these giant, hulking warehouses. The windows are sort of sealed. You don’t want these very valuable tobacco leaves to get too moist, to get too damp. And there are hundreds and hundreds of rollers called torcedores, who are rollers, sitting in what look like 19th century school desks. And they’re all facing the front of a room. And as they’re monotonously doing their choreography of roll, cut, lick, over and over and over again, they’re listening to a lector. And a lector is literally a reader. And there is an official reader in a factory, traditionally. And their job is to do just that. They read newspapers every day. They recite poetry. They read announcements to the workers. And over the history of this job, which is more than 150 years old, there have been some remarkable consequences.

These readers and these rollers, through their very intimate relationship, they formed some of the first trade unions in Cuba. They formed some of the first guilds. It is not an exaggeration to say we’re some of the most instrumental individuals in leading to Cuban independence against the Spanish from the 1860s to the 1890s. And then in the decades afterwards, they were fundamental in forming Cuba’s national identity. And so I didn’t know any of this before I got there, or at least before I started researching the story. But it’s, you know, everyone knows about Cuban cigars, but almost no one knows about one of the most important jobs in the cigar making process. And that’s what I went there to research and understand.

Dylan: Almost everyone is doing this job of being a roller. You know, the vast majority of the people in this factory have a very straightforward job, which is to roll cigars. But then there is this one job, this reader, and it seems like there’s a sort of schedule of different types of readings that can happen. Maybe you could talk me through what might be read during a typical day.

Eliot: Yeah, so one of the people that I profiled, and I met as many readers as I could in Cuba, and there aren’t that many that still exist, but one of them has a fittingly poetic name. Her name is Odalys de la Caridad Lara Reyes. Yeah, so her day starts at 6:00 a.m. She boards a bus from her home outside of Havana and gets into the office at about 7:00, 7:15. She then muffles through a stack of newspapers on her desk, which are all state-sponsored in Cuba, as everything is, and she decides what it is that she wants to read. But her day starts when the torcedoras, the rollers, arrive, and that’s at about 8:15.

She recites poems that she’s written for individuals celebrating their birthdays. I should say that of the 300-some rollers that she works for, she knows all of their names, she knows all of their birthdays, she knows all of their family members. So she reads announcements for them, whether it’s individuals welcoming children, individuals who have requests for moments of silence for those who have recently lost someone. She then transitions to practical advice based on topics that the workers have asked her about, and this can be everything from how to calm a screaming newborn to how to talk to your teenager about dating, you name it. It’s really at the worker’s discretion. Then at about 8:45, she segues into accounts of historical figures, which often relate to the novel that she’s reading. So for instance, when I went there, she was reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which happens to be one of the most popular novels that readers read and that workers love. And so while she’s reading that, she might read a profile of Joan of Arc, and then at 10:00, she turns to national and international news.

I asked her, in the 30 years that you’ve been doing this, what are some of the most meaningful news announcements that you’ve read to your workers? And she recalled the time in 1998 when Pope John Paul II was arriving in Cuba, and how she read this out loud, and this is how the workers discovered this, and people burst into tears. And then similarly, back in 2016, she had to announce the loss of Cuba’s titan patriarch, Fidel Castro. And similarly, the whole room just erupted in sadness. So she’s got a very full day, and then in the afternoon, she reads her novel, and by about 2:00 or 3:00 p.m., that’s when the workers shuffle out. But it’s not just a transactional kind of I read, you listen sort of relationship. And when I was shadowing her, and I’d go to her small office, which is a small desk under a mammoth poster of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, people would come in and out for all kinds of practical advice. This is really sort of not so much a literal reader, but kind of a mother figure, a leader. And when you trace the history of this profession, that’s always how it’s been. It’s kind of a community organizer of sorts.

Dylan: Somewhere between a one-person public radio station, and an HR department, and a leader, or a figurehead. That’s a fascinating combination of things. Why did this happen? Why did this job come to exist?

Eliot: That’s a great question. There’s a tobacco museum in Havana, and I was talking with one of the directors in one of my first interviews, and I sort of asked that question as well. And she had a wonderful quote, which she said, “you can’t understand Cuba without understanding tobacco.” And so as a brief history lesson, Columbus arrived in 1492. He noticed that the indigenous Taino people were smoking this thing that they call tobacco, spelled with a K. And that’s how we get the name. But they rolled it into this kind of cylindrical shape. And he called it, in his journal, he called it kind of a half burnt weed. So Columbus is curious about what this is. He collects a few leaves. He sends it back to Spain, because he’s working for the Spanish. And people go absolutely nuts for it. As people who’ve never smoked tobacco before, it becomes addictive. Columbus obviously enslaves the Taino, and the rest is history. But by about the 16th century, you have Criollos, ethnically Spanish people, but who were born in Cuba. They begin farming the stuff. But the Spanish crown taxes it very, very heavily. So as a way of kind of avoiding these taxes, tobacco products reach to the far corners of the island. In the 1700s, the Spanish crown does this terrible thing where they basically say, every bit of tobacco that’s grown in Cuba, you have to sell to us at a discount. We’re going to ship it to Spain. We’re going to roll it and completely cut you out of the process. So we have the exclusive right to sell the stuff. Sometime in the early 1800s, people discover that actually, this tobacco product, it survives a transatlantic voyage much better when you roll it and when you actually form a cigar than when you ship dried leaves across the ocean. So at that point, Cubans or people living in Cuba are finally allowed to take control of this product themselves.

But at this time, ethnically, Cuba looked very similar to how it looks today. You have the Criollo people of Spanish descent, you have West Indians, you have people of African descent. It’s not only a melting pot of cultures, but this kind of bubbling cauldron of ideas and anger against the Spanish crown. And so in 1866, this guy named Saturnino Martinez, that history is completely forgotten, comes up with this beautiful idea. At this time, the ethnic Cubans, the Criollos are completely disenfranchised compared to the peninsulares, which are kind of the Spanish elites. Education is bad. They’re not allowed so many things. He has this idea of: while we’re doing this monotonous job for six, seven, eight hours a day, why don’t we get some person to awaken their consciousness, to increase their education, and to expand their worldview? We’re going to call them a lector, and you put them in front of the room, and they are going to read books, talk about the news. And he even created newspapers called El Siglo and La Aurora, which means the dawn, kind of as a nod to the intellectual awakening that he was hoping to inspire, so that these readers could read them.

And at first, these weren’t professional readers or anything like that. They would rotate from the rollers, where one person would have a turn on Monday, the next person on Tuesday, and they would just get up there and read. And obviously, not everyone knew how to read, hence the idea in itself, right? Only about 10 percent of people at this time knew how to read. So it was a pretty small pool that you’re picking from, right? One of the lovely things about the early tradition is that because every roller, every torcedor, had a certain quota that they had to hit, when it was that person’s turn to read, everyone else would chip in, make more cigars, and give it to that day’s reader so that he wouldn’t fall behind. So these people began reading, and within six months of the start of the reading, this tradition had expanded to every single cigar factory in Cuba. And to give you a sense of how many cigar factories there were at the time, in 1865, there were 500 tobacco factories in Havana alone, which is a remarkable statistic. So obviously, the seemingly quaint roll became a lightning rod for the Spanish crown. And just six months after this whole thing began, Spanish elites, the peninsulares, tried to shut it down. They tried to muzzle the reader almost as soon as it started.

Dylan: One of the things that I think is so interesting about this is you could see this starting as, oh, this is just like kind of nice, and then evolving into kind of a political thing. But it seems to have really started from its very base as, okay, this is a way to educate and maybe even radicalize the public, the worker, about the Spanish crown, about what’s going on. I can see why the Spanish were not so excited about this.

Eliot: For sure. In the 1800s, newspapers were sort of the front lines of reform, of change. But you know, the Saturnino Martinez who came up with this idea, he needed a literal mouthpiece to amplify the call, to amplify the change. And so this is where this came from. So six months after this starts, the Spanish crown has this insane idea where they make it illegal for Cubans to gather and to read together unless that reading is directly related to your job. So they effectively ban reading, which is …

Dylan: Always a good sign.

Eliot: Always a good sign. Every country wants that. That’s a huge moment in Cuban history that not many people know about. This continues through the Ten Years’ War, which is with Spain. That is a terrible, terrible decade for Cubans. It’s a mass exodus effectively. And so that leads to another fascinating part of this tradition where you basically have the birth of Florida. So you have a mass exodus from this island. These readers, these rollers, they all migrate to Key West, which at this time was a pirates’ lair. There was no one there. And within a couple of years, it becomes the largest city in Florida. So you have these radical individuals from Cuba. Basically, when the tradition stopped forcibly in Cuba, they just relocate 90 miles north to Key West. And they continue doing this, but it only gets more and more radical. They then migrate just outside of Tampa Bay to a place that still exists called Ybor City.

And at a certain time in the 1880s, it was actually the cigar capital of the world. They were cranking out 500 million cigars every year. And it was all Cuban exiles. You had some Italians, you had some West Indians, but it was effectively Cubans. And so long story short, when we get to Ybor City, you have some of the most pivotal individuals in the Cuban independence movement who are working there. One of the most popular things that the readers read in Ybor City was this thing called the Patria, which was a newspaper started by a guy named Jose Marti. Jose Marti is basically the Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington all together of Cuba. He’s known as sort of the apostle of Cuban independence. He was born in Cuba. He was threatened with death, escaped to New York. And from New York, he creates this newspaper called Patria, which is all about Cuban revolution.

He becomes so beloved by the readers and workers that they pool their money together and invite him to come down to Florida. He makes 20 trips down to Florida between 1891 and 1894. And each time he comes, he’s accompanied by a huge entourage of lectors, of readers. And they’re the ones who introduce him. They’re the ones who basically secure his safety. They’re the ones who literally finance his trips. And he makes some of his most stirring calls for Cuban independence, including the famous Cuba Libre speech, which not only gave us a drink, but also Cuban independence from the lector’s podium in Florida. And as time evolves in 1894, not only are workers putting aside part of their wages to finance his trips, but to secure weapons for the forthcoming revolution. And these readers and workers, they go on the front lines, in the battle field, later.

Dylan: What’s so amazing about this story is that I think everyone is sort of at least vaguely aware of the recent revolutionary history of Cuba. Of Castro, of the fight for independence, and even Cuban exiles in Florida. Like the number of weird sort of just rhyming pieces of this story that then sort of play out in some other way into the future, there’s just, I did not realize in some ways how much of the more recent history of Cuba has this kind of resonant parallel echo in this older history of Cuba.

Eliot: Totally. And as someone who admittedly knew very, very little about Cuba, and certainly less about cigars, I mean, this was an awakening for me that—it was, you know, mesmerizing.

Dylan: For me, it also totally changes, like—okay, yes, I associate cigars with Cuba, I associate them with Castro, but they’re kind of a prop. It feels like, okay, yeah, they’re there because it’s part of the economy and Castro smoked cigars. But in this telling of the story, or this understanding of it, obviously, tobacco, cigars, and then this space for communication within the factory, it puts them absolutely central to the story of Cuban revolution, Cuban independence, and everything, all those sort of things that would come later. So talk to me about what’s happening today. It sounds like there are a few of these readers left. I’m a little bit, if I’m honest, surprised that this wasn’t all converted over to state-run radio at some point, and there’s at least some lectors still serving.

Eliot: Yeah, for sure. You know, once this tradition goes from Cuba to Florida, by necessity, right, because it was effectively muzzled by the Spanish, it also spreads to other places. Like, for a while, the Dominican Republic employed cigar readers. For a while, Puerto Rico did as well. Today it exists only in Cuba, and it exists in a very, very small quantity compared to what it used to. People at the state-run tobacco agency told me that in 2009, it was estimated that 250 readers remained in Cuba. Ten years later, there were just 150 of them, and today there’s just 50 left. In Havana, which, as I was saying, at one point had 500 cigar factories and every single one employed a reader, today there are just three left. And Odalys de la Caridad, she’s effectively the last reader who’s been there for a while. This is now her 33rd year of service. But yeah, to your great point, you know, in the 1930s, cigarettes became very, very popular, because industrialized cigarettes, I should say. So that replaced a lot of the demand for cigars. Then you obviously had radio that was introduced, which kind of silenced the reader even more. And so today, in a lot of the places where there used to be readers, some of the workers obviously still want them, but some of them are like, actually, could we just do 30 minutes of reggaeton on a tinny radio? And you have this once-upon-a-time tradition that has effectively created Cuba and helped create its identity that is slowly more and more and more fading away.

Dylan: And Odalys, the reader we talked about in the beginning of this conversation, what did she tell you about what it’s like for her today as a reader?

Eliot: She’s served 33 years, and she still works at the Corona factory, which is the largest factory in all of Cuba, and it’s located in Havana. You know, the way that she described it to me, and I should preface this by saying she was very cagey, and everyone who I talked to was very cagey, because you had this government agent right over you. And you know, my job as a journalist is not to poke and pry and push at the seams of something that is going to get someone in trouble in front of an agent. She told me a little bit about how you get this job, and it’s lovely. It’s sort of known as the only democratically elected job in Cuba. The way that it works is that, you know, you don’t post this on LinkedIn. You have a number of candidates who do trial runs by reading in front of the rollers, and they elect through a secret ballot whose voice is most pleasing, whose delivery is most inspiring, and she got the role. And she told me that over her decades of service, it’s effectively a family. She was hospitalized for a long time with coronavirus, and people came to visit her every day. This is what gives her a sense of purpose, gets her out of bed in the morning.

But then I met another individual who worked for even longer and was recently fired, which is almost unheard of in Cuba. You don’t easily get fired from things in an economy like Cuba. And the reason that she was fired was because she wanted to read things the way that she once was able to, but things were getting more and more and more strict. And the way that she was able to communicate this to me in front of the government agent—you know, I was asking her about what it was like to previously work there. She got quite emotional. The government agent said, let’s pause for a bit. He went outside to go smoke a cigar, of course. And then through a series of coded kind of gestures, through winking, through nodding, etc., she answered my questions and effectively let me know that she was pushed out. And this factory where she once worked no longer employs anyone for the same reasons, that it is becoming more and more strict to deliver honest information about what is happening. And that was very telling. So, you know, back to the director’s quote, she’s exactly right. You can’t tell the history of Cuba without understanding tobacco and more specifically readers.

Dylan: Yeah. There’s lots of cultures with, you know, storytelling traditions. This one feels really distinct to the Cuban story and Cuban history. And maybe this is—some part of me holds out hope that like this tradition will reassert itself in some other, you know, freedom loving way. I don’t know what that means exactly, but there’s just a beauty to it. There’s a beauty to the tradition. And to see how deeply interwoven it has been with the entire Cuban history going back, you know, 150 plus years, you know, is just fascinating. Thank you for telling us the story, Eliot.

Eliot: Thank you so much for having me.

Dylan: That was Eliot Stein. He is a journalist and the author of a fantastic book, Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive. Eliot has come on the show a couple of times now to talk about these traditions. So if you’re curious about them, go and listen to the episode we did previously about the Q’eswachaka, sometimes called the Last Incan Bridge. It is an amazing tradition and one of the most incredible places I have ever been. So go check it out. We will put a link in the episode description.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Our podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. This episode was produced by Alexa Lim. The people who make our show include Doug Baldinger, Kameel Stanley, Johanna Mayer, Manolo Morales, Gabby Gladney, Amanda McGowan, Alexa Lim, Casey Holford, and Luz Fleming. Our theme music is by Sam Tindall.

This is a transcript of an episode of Untold Earth, a series from Atlas Obscura in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios, which explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyards, Untold Earth chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices of those who know them best.

Lucy Kerhoulas: There's something really magical about redwood forests. Hanging out in a tree that you know is 2,000 years old and kind of stoically standing in one place, you kind of have to experience to be able to explain.

Steven Mietz: There's three things that kill trees. There's bugs, there's fire, and there's disease. And this tree is adapted to fight all three of those.

Jason Teraoka: It's the tallest tree in the world. There are species up there that only exist in the canopy, and you don't find them anywhere else in the world.

Frankie Myers: The size alone makes you feel humble. And I think any time humans can make a connection that makes them feel humble, it fascinates us. The redwoods predate our existence on this planet by 135 million years.

Narrator: Today, what's left of them can be found on a narrow strip along the northern Pacific coast. These mighty giants survived the age of the dinosaurs. Can they survive us?

Frankie: We are on the banks of Halkikwe-Roy, the Klamath River. I'm a part of the Yurok tribe. Our home is surrounded by geese, the old-growth redwoods. We've been here as long as they've been here. We respect them because they're living beings.

And when they're in canoes, they're part of our family. The story that has been handed down from Yurok people talks about the redwoods as guardians. They watched out for us as a people.

Steven: You come to this forest, you feel the calming presence coming from these ancient giant trees who are just saying, it's okay. We survived for hundreds and thousands of years, and so can you.

This is the place the redwoods grow the best and the biggest for two reasons. One, this coastal zone of California along the cold Pacific Ocean gets a lot of rains. It needs a lot of water. You can't grow a big tree without a lot of water. And in the summer, that cold water meets the warm air and creates a lot of fog.

Lucy: There's physiological complications with pulling water 300 feet up against gravity.

The trees snag the fog, moisture out of the air. And then the fog water, it can drip down the tree and they can absorb water through their leaves, through their bark.

And then they can also absorb water crazily. They make roots in their crowns, like hundreds of feet above the forest floor that are growing into these crazy wet epiphyte mats and presumably uptaking water.

Frankie: They're not just a species that takes water like most of our tree species do, but they capture cold water that helps benefit all of our trees. It's cold water that helps benefit all of our salmonid species and all of our species on the coast and inland as well.

Steven: The redwood forest is like a giant superorganism because they interweave their roots and hold each other up like true friends. If one part of their friendship circle is having a little trouble, they actually can send them nutrients and water from another more healthier tree.

Being so tall, they're kind of vulnerable, like a skyscraper, to being pushed over in a big windstorm. The only thing that really saves them from falling over is having this interconnected root system. When the wind knocks down a tree, it actually helps the forest, right?

It opens up the forest for light to come to the forest floor and help all the other critters and all the other vegetation that needs to grow. So a fallen redwood tree still contributes to the forest for hundreds of years.

Frankie: Redwood tree had watched humans evolve, and redwood is the one who taught us the lessons of how we're supposed to treat one another.

Every time I get in one of our canoes, you feel that connection. It's a good reminder that our lives are just links in a chain, and we're all connected to one another.

Steven: I think the biggest threat to the redwoods today is probably just the fact that there's so few of them left. And of that old growth that's left, 45 percent is here within the boundaries of Redwood National and State Parks. And it really is a shame. We have pictures of logging trucks and trains with trunks that we can tell are bigger than the General Sherman tree, which is the current existing biggest tree in the world.

Frankie: We lost some of those guardian trees, and some of those guardian trees are being regrown right now.

Jason: One of the issues with our second-growth forests is that they are all one cohort. All the trees are about the same age. You don't have this multilayered canopy that you would see in old growth.

What we're doing is, we're coming back in and we're bringing chainsaws back into the forest to thin out these really dense second-growth forests that we have here. We're trying to redistribute growth to fewer trees to make those fewer trees more vigorous.

So we're standing in an area that has been thinned. They're assessing how well the stand has responded to some of these restoration treatments to see how much diameter growth has occurred.

Sam Pincus: All right, DBH of Sussy number 26. 18.9. It grew!

This work is really inspiring because you get to see how much the trees grow in such a short amount of time when they're given the right amount of space and light.

And we don't really get to see trees the way they used to grow, so coming back and remeasuring trees really makes us feel like our work is making a difference.

Steven: In the future, we are concerned that we could have catastrophic wildfire, so the restoration work we're doing, thinning these second-growth forests is helping reduce the fuel load on the landscape. Hopefully we're giving these trees a chance to protect themselves.

Can the redwoods survive? I think they can. They're survivors. They've survived for hundreds of millions of years, and I think they can survive us as well.

Lucy: We owe it to future generations that they can also experience these forests. We need to protect these forests for science reasons and climate reasons, but also just they're like a treasure on our planet, and they're really special.

Frankie: They've always watched over us. They've always looked to see how we're doing. We're supposed to reciprocate that back to them in the same way that they have cared for us since the beginning of time.

Untold Earth is produced in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Johanna Mayer: A few weeks ago, I called my dad. I had a few questions for him. The topic is Limburger cheese.

Mr. Mayer: Oh boy. That’s a subject near and dear to my heart.

Johanna: If you’ve never heard of Limburger, it is the OG stinky cheese. It is uncanny how much it smells like feet. But my dad loves it. And Limburger has been a big part of his life for decades. But so I was wondering, did your parents eat Limburger?

Mr. Mayer: My mother used to make a big production out of holding her nose while my father ate it. With onions. With raw onions. Doesn’t that sound good?

Johanna: That actually does sound good to me.

Mr. Mayer: And you had to have a beer with it. You had to have a beer with it. A beer and raw onions and good bread.

Johanna: My dad’s parents immigrated from Germany. And I’ve always thought of Limburger as this uniquely German thing. Because my grandfather wasn’t alone in his devotion to the cheese. For a while in the late 1800s, German communities across the U.S. were teeming with Limburger. It was ultra popular. But lately, my dad’s been having trouble finding the cheese. Hasn’t been able to get his hands on it for a couple years now. And as I started looking into it, I think I figured out why. I’m Johanna Mayer and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Today, we visit Chalet Cheese Cooperative in Monroe, Wisconsin. Aka, the very last cheese plant left in America that bravely makes Limburger cheese. A cheese that inspires equal parts loving and loathing. That has been banned for its assaulting smell. And that once sparked a full-on feud between two cities. And I try to find out how my dad can get his hands on some.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Johanna: I cannot think of a cheese that has made its mark on pop culture more than Limburger. There’s a bit where The Three Stooges faint at its aroma. Mark Twain wrote a short story in which two men are traveling on a train with a box that they think is a coffin containing a rotting corpse.

But the box is actually full of Limburger. In a 1918 World War I comedy, Charlie Chaplin tosses a hunk of it into enemy trenches, compelling surrender. The cheese has seen some more consequential publicity too. A scientific study found that mosquitoes are equally attracted to the smell of Limburger and human feet, prompting other researchers in parts of Africa to bait mosquito traps with Limburger to fight malaria.

But if you manage to get past the smell and take a bite, it is an altogether different experience. I think the taste is actually pretty mild. It’s kind of creamy, a little nutty. Some might call it earthy. It’s a soft cheese. Has this orangish rind. A bacteria smear—basically just a combo of bacteria and salt water—works its way into the cheese and breaks down the fatty acids and protein. Makes it soft and imparts that unforgettable smell.

Limburger arrived in Wisconsin after a big wave of European immigration in the late 1800s. It’s a Belgian cheese, but it was popularized in Germany. No doubt that is where my grandfather had it for the first time. And as immigrants arrived in the United States and spread across Wisconsin, so did the demand for Limburger. Which brings us to Chalet Cheese. The plant was founded in Monroe, Wisconsin by a group of five local dairy farmers in 1885.

They started out making Swiss cheese, but the local workers at the plant couldn’t afford Swiss. So they started making Limburger for themselves on the side. And eventually the factory was like, hmm, seems like people might like this stuff. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to make it ourselves. And they started officially manufacturing the stinky cheese.

There was a lot of demand. By the 1920s, the Kraft Brothers—and that’s Kraft with a K, perhaps you recognize the name—they were pro-Limburger and teamed up with Chalet Cheese to distribute it. By the ’30s, nearly all the country’s Limburger was made in Greene County, Wisconsin, where Chalet Cheese is. And the state was producing almost 7 million pounds of it. A local train line was established to shuttle the cheese between Wisconsin and nearby cities.

The train was officially called the Milwaukee 508, but it was nicknamed the Limburger Express. It seemed that Limburger was on top of the world. It was flying off the shelves, getting stuffed into sandwiches alongside raw onions, and zipping off en masse to the big city on the Limburger Express. But for some, it could never quite pass the sniff test.

In 1935, a mail carrier in Independence, Iowa, was handling a package when he was overcome with an intense odor emanating from the parcel. Turns out the package was stuffed with Limburger. Supposedly, the cheese had been prescribed by a doctor for a patient suffering from indigestion. Personally, I have never known cheese to help with indigestion, but maybe it has something to do with the bacteria content? I don’t know. In any case, the postmaster, seeing his employee brought to his knees by the package of cheese, was furious. And he banned all shipments of Limburger.

When word of this decision got back to the postmaster of Monroe, Wisconsin, where Chalet Cheese is, he was livid, and he challenged the postmaster of Independence to a, “sniffing duel.” The feud became known as the Duel of Dubuque. Dubuque is the town right between Independence and Monroe, where the mysterious sniffing duel was set to take place.

The local newspapers jumped in and began volleying insults. The Milwaukee Journal published a headline that said, “Limburger: Fragrant in Monroe, Putrid in Iowa.” A week later, the local Independence paper ran a column blasting residents of Monroe who, “Think that the world is just a glib, flat, Limburger cheese, surrounded by an ocean of lager beer.” In the end, the Duel of Dubuque was settled peacefully when the Independence postmaster admitted that he did not, in fact, possess a sense of smell.

It’s honestly unclear to me, reading these old newspaper reports, how serious the Duel of Dubuque actually was. I think it was mostly a gag between the two towns, but there might have been some underlying tensions that had a more serious bent. At one point, the city of Louisville, Kentucky, banned the sale and manufacture of Limburger in the city. The local health officer called the cheese unwholesome, said it was full of microbes. He said, “In fact, animal life is what makes Limburger pleasing to the taste. I mean, to the taste of some people.”

Look, there is no doubt that Limburger is an objectively stinky cheese. But the words unwholesome and animal life feel pretty close to the language around how immigrants are sometimes described. That, combined with the cheese’s popularity in working class immigrant communities, like my own grandfather’s, makes me wonder if there was some sort of anti-immigrant sentiment at play.

A group of local Germans protested the ban in Louisville, but they weren’t successful. In any case, American tastes were beginning to change. American cheese hit the scene, and mild cheeses began to replace their stinkier, funkier counterparts. The age of refrigeration changed things, too. Limburger and its accompanying bacteria had no place in shiny, clean, new refrigerators.

In 1939, possibly in a last-ditch Hail Mary effort, some plants proposed a new method of manufacturing the cheese. Supposedly, it would get rid of the iconic odor. But Limburger loyalists did not like that idea.

The journalist and short story writer Damon Runyon wrote an editorial for a newspaper expressing his dismay: “We deem this something akin to divesting the peach of its bloom, the sunset of its golden glow, or a beautiful lady of the velvet of her lips. Of course, we would never accept any cheese under the guise of Limburger if it did not have the Limburger fragrance. We would just as soon take bouillon for beer. Limburger cheese without the Limburger would simply not be Limburger cheese at all.”

But Runyon and his fellow lovers of Limburger were in the minority. By the ’40s, Limburger was on a steady decline. One by one, plants that manufactured the cheese began to close. Until eventually, by the ’80s, Chalet cheese was the last Limburger standing.

Here’s one amazing thing about Chalet cheese: To this day, they use the same mother culture that they have had since 1885. And the methods are pretty much unchanged, too. Workers dip the mother culture into salt water and rub it into each brick of Limburger by hand with a rag. These days, they make about 500,000 pounds of it per year. And as I say all this out loud—the hundred-year-old mother culture, washing the cheese by hand, small batch production—it all makes me realize: This is an artisanal cheese. If it were wrapped in a fancy foil packet and had a name like Le Chateau de Limburg and sold for $24, and if we quit calling it stinky and instead called it funky, would we all be singing a different tune about the humble Limburger?

Well, there is one place that doesn’t need a rebrand to appreciate the joys and eccentricities of Limburger. And that is Monroe, Wisconsin, home of Chalet cheese. The local tavern serves a Limburger sandwich, which is one of the most popular menu items. They have a biennial cheese festival where they crown a Limburger queen. And a local market research manager says she will still occasionally get a call from someone trying to track down the cheese their dad or grandfather used to enjoy. Which is, of course, exactly what set me down this whole path.

My poor dad, just trying to get his hands on some stinky cheese. I got on the Chalet Cheese website and clicked around, and was happy to discover that they offer a Lovin’ Limburger gift set: four 6-ounce pieces of Limburger that I could have shipped directly to my dad.

Except … It’s sold out! For a minute, I was bummed. But then, it actually made me kind of happy. Because I guess that means there are more Limburger lovers still standing than my dad or I ever thought.

To get a whiff of Limburger yourself, if you dare, you can visit the Chalet Cheese Factory Store in Monroe, Wisconsin. If you want to learn more about Limburger cheese, there is a great article by Molly McDonough in Culture Magazine, which is a perfect name for a publication about cheese.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Our podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. The people who make our show include Dylan Thuras, Doug Baldinger, Kameel Stanley, Manolo Morales, Amanda McGowan, Alexa Lim, Casey Holford, and Luz Fleming. Our theme music is by Sam Tindall.

It’s no surprise that Nevada’s small towns offer an abundance of local charm. But like their glitzier siblings Las Vegas and Reno, these lesser-known destinations take revelry to the next level. From Beatty to Virginia City to Battle Mountain, these fun-loving communities host celebrations that are anything but ordinary.

Into race cars, engineering, and feats of superhuman strength? You’ll want to check out the World Human Powered Speed Challenge. More the birdwatching type? Feast your eyes on the birds of prey at Eagles and Agriculture. High school thespian with a flair for the dramatic? Catch dinner and a show at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

So pick your passion and pack the car. More is more in the Silver State, and these nine festivals serve up local color in every possible shade.

Feel the need for speed World Human-Powered Speed Challenge Battle Mountain, Nevada September 7-13, 2025

If you crossed Formula 1 with the Tour de France, you might get something like the World Human Powered Speed Challenge. Each year, designers and athletes from across the globe gather on Nevada’s State Route 305 to test the limits of their self-designed pedaled vehicles. (Think a car from “The Flintstones” but sleeker and much, much faster.) Their goal: to break the world record for human-powered speed, currently 89.59 miles per hour.

The annual event is presented by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA), an organization “dedicated to advancing the sport and science of human-powered travel.” Competitors must pass a qualifying speed test and a safety inspection to enter the race, and the competition is fierce. The aerodynamic designs themselves are captivating — all of the WHPSC’s past winners have built fully enclosed two-wheeled bikes, most of which are completely windowless and require external human handlers to start and stop. Also needed: A rider with enough muscle to cross the finish first.

Starstruck Great Basin Astronomy Festival Baker, Nevada September 8-20, 2025

With most of its population located around Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada boasts some of the darkest night skies in the country, making it a stargazer’s dream. That’s especially true during the new moon each September, when astronomy enthusiasts flock to Great Basin National Park for the state’s largest astronomy festival.

Over the course of three days and nights, Great Basin visitors can choose from an array of free events, including sky-gazing “star parties,” workshops with astrophotographers, and lectures on all things space and sky. They can also visit the research-grade 27-inch telescope at the Great Basin Observatory, which is generally not open to the public.

If you’re lucky enough to take part in the festival, be sure to layer up: although the park can be warm during the day, temperatures plummet overnight. You’ll also want to pack a red-light flashlight—white lights are banned at the festival to protect visitors’ enjoyment of Nevada’s most dazzling asset.

Ghosts with the most Hauntober Virginia City, Nevada Entire month of October, 2025

The population of Virginia City, Nevada, is less than 800 people, but residents may tell you that number is deceptive: it doesn’t include the ghosts. In the mid-1800s, prospectors from around the world flocked to Virginia City, hoping to get rich off the dangerous work of mining its abundant silver and gold reserves. The glory years didn’t last long: in 1875, a major fire wiped out three-quarters of the city, and over the next decade, the precious ores began to dry up—forcing many to move on. But local lore says that some of the enterprising residents of Virginia City’s heyday still frequent its cemetery, saloons, clubs, and mansions.

Today, this colorful town located 12 miles south of Reno dedicates an entire month to celebrating its historically spooky past. Hauntober comes with a packed calendar of events for children and seasoned ghost-hunters alike, including after-dark audio tours of the famous Silver Terrace Cemetery, Halloween-themed trips on the historic V&T Railroad, “horseless hayrides,” and an adults-only Victorian All Hallow’s Eve Ball. After an evening of exploring all the favorite haunts, spend the night in one of the town's historic inns: Some say they’re the best places to spot a ghost.

What happens in Beatty... Beatty Days Beatty, Nevada October 31 - November 2, 2025

To enjoy Nevada’s quirkier side, you’ll want to pay a visit to the town of Beatty during its annual Beatty Days celebration, which features three days of offbeat events and zany competitions that you’re unlikely (read: guaranteed never) to find anywhere else on the planet.

Beatty Days began in the mid-1990s when locals noticed a increase in international tourists passing through to visit Death Valley National Park, and the ghost town of Rhyolite—located just outside town. To attract more motorists and promote local heritage, the town launched its annual festival featuring a lineup of now-famous signature events.

Chicken drop bingo? Bed racing? Yep, you’ll find it in Beatty. Root beer belching? Crack open a can and get competing. There’s also a car show, a chili cook-off, a Miss Beatty competition, and something called “pickle liquor hoot and holler” (hint: it’s only for the over-21s).

A festival of sound and color Pahrump Social Powwow Pahrump, Nevada November 21 - 23, 2025

Until the late 19th century, the Mohave-desert town of Pahrump—situated near Nevada’s southern tip, just a tumbleweed’s roll from the California border—was home to the Western Shoshone and Paiute peoples. Each November, their traditions take center stage at the Pahrump Social Powwow, a weekend-long feast of sound, color, and pageantry held on a 35-acre park in the heart of town.

Festivities begin with the “Grand Entry,” a procession of dancers in traditional Native regalia (think Olympic opening ceremony, but twice as colorful). From there, it’s three days of drumming, storytelling, and traditional dance. Visitors can wander between booths piled high with Native American crafts, or refuel with traditional bites before heading back to the arena.

Celebrate the cowboy arts National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Elko, Nevada January 26 - 31

If your understanding of cowboy culture begins and ends with John Wayne movies, Elko would like to set you straight. This northeastern Nevada town—situated along the Cowboy Corridor—is home to cultural landmarks like the Cowboy Arts and Gear Museum and the Western Folklife Center, both dedicated to preserving the culture and traditions of the American West.

It’s in that spirit that the Western Folklife Center hosts its annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, held each winter. Don’t let the name lead you astray: There’s way more than poetry to be experienced here. The weeklong event features lectures, readings, film screenings, exhibitions, and open-mic sessions, all designed to honor the creativity of the West’s diverse cultures. Visitors can even enroll in workshops ranging from rawhide braiding to banjo picking to clay-pot cooking. Yeehaw!

It’s getting hot in here Fire and Ice Festival Ely, Nevada January 2026

With the winter holidays in the rearview mirror, the first weeks of the year can feel like a slow, gray slog. However, that’s not the case in Ely, home of the Fire and Ice Festival, which is held each year over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.

The festival began in 2003 as an ice sculpting competition, and weather permitting, that event continues at Fire and Ice today. Sculptors receive three days to turn heaps of snow on Cave Lake State Park into works of art, which are then ceremonially melted after the judge names a winner. The event also sees a variety of winter-themed events, including cross-country skiing, snow bowling, ice golf, and ice horseshoes. But the festival’s signature event is the heart-pounding fireworks display launched from a moving Northern Nevada Railway train.

The eagles have landed Eagles and Agriculture Gardnerville, Nevada Early 2026

December until February is calving season in Carson Valley, Nevada, the bucolic landscape nestled along the Sierra Nevada mountains. And with the calves comes the valley’s favorite seasonal visitor: the raptors. Attracted by bovine afterbirth, bald eagles and gold eagles make a temporary home in the Silver State for just a few months before migrating onwards to places like Alaska and Canada.

To celebrate the birds’ annual return, Carson Valley hosts its four-day Eagles and Agriculture festival, showcasing the beauty of the landscape and the magnificence of the local wildlife. Attendees have the opportunity to tour ranches and barns to view birds of prey and other animals up close. Meanwhile, a series of workshops and photo exhibitions caters to amateur wildlife photographers looking to hone their craft. Visitors can also purchase tickets to a Falconers’ Dinner, attended by area falconers and, of course, their beloved birds.

All the world’s a stage Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Theater Sand Harbor, Nevada July – August, 2026

In addition to Shakespeare’s plays, visitors can catch performances of modern classics, like the Peter Pan prequel Peter and the Starcatcher. Photo by Joy Strotz courtesy of Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

It’s not hard to enjoy the scenery on the glittering shores of Lake Tahoe. But for over fifty years, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival has turned Nevada’s spectacular Sand Harbor State Park into one of the country’s most captivating performance venues. Each summer, the festival presents mainstage productions of Shakespeare plays and modern classics, plus a wide roster of performances, including symphonies music, dance, and tribute bands. Visitors dine in the open air at Shakespeare’s Kitchen restaurant.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan Thuras: So, my guest today, you could describe her as a travel writer. She’s certainly not one in the conventional sense. Her books do not contain any restaurant recommendations, no cafes in Paris or walking tours of New York. But if you do want to know about the vet clinic treating donkeys in Fez, or the origami lab, where a professional paper folder creates elaborate little creatures, writer Susan Orlean is a pretty good travel guide.

Susan Orlean: I’m a terrible tourist. You know, I get somewhere, if I’m a tourist, and I feel like, well, what am I supposed to be doing? I guess, I’m not sure. You know, I get somewhere, if I’m a tourist, and I feel like, well, what am I supposed to be doing? I don’t get it. When I’m traveling for a story, I’m on a mission. I’m looking for something, and I’m pursuing something, and it makes the trip so much more interesting.

I’m Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. And Susan Orlean has an eye for strange, wonderful, and incredible places. She has this way of digging and digging until she finds a detail that makes you see a place in a totally new way. She’s also sort of answering the question about why we live the way we do. Susan has traveled all over the world searching for stories, and today she is taking us to a few of the places that helped shape her work and her life. She talks about throwing out the guidebook, letting herself find whatever it is that is waiting out there for her.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan: You did not grow up gallivanting around the world. I think we both share Midwestern roots. What was your sort of life like as a kid? Where were you growing up?

Susan: My parents didn’t put us in the back of a van and move to Morocco and travel with us through Africa. We did a lot of more traditional, conventional family vacations to warm places, to the Caribbean, to Florida, to Hawaii, not so much adventuring around the world. Then I began traveling, both for my own curiosity, but then really traveling a lot for stories.

Dylan: Today, we are talking about a couple of places that have kind of defined the way you move through the world, and one place in particular was the library. You even wrote a book called The Library Book, all about the Los Angeles Public Library, which was destroyed in a fire. What role has the library played in your life, both as a kid and as something that you’ve returned to as a writer?

Susan: I grew up almost walking distance from a branch library in my suburb in Cleveland. My parents were great library supporters and users, and from the time I was very young, my mom took us to the library several times a week. Those trips really were magical, and it was because, in the library, I could have anything I wanted. It was all free. There were no limits. And for a kid, that is an intoxicating experience. You go to a toy store with your parents, or a bookstore, your mom might say, “You pick one book or pick two books, that’s it.” You go to the library, and you come with eight books. And in fact, a lot of parents are very pleased because they feel like, “Well, this is a sign that my kid loves books and loves reading.” So you’re almost rewarded for your greediness, in a way that most of childhood is about being told what you can’t do. The library, then, is the sort of sacred place of possibility.

I see one’s relationship to libraries as often having many different stages. Then I had my own child, and suddenly, I was taking my little son to the library. And then, when I moved to Los Angeles, I was given a tour of the downtown library, which is a really exceptional building. It’s built in the 1920s, it’s very eccentric, it’s very beautiful, and I just immediately fell in love with it architecturally. On that tour, I also found out that there had been a terrible fire at this library, which was something I knew nothing about. Turned out it was the largest library fire in American history, 400,000 books were destroyed, 700,000 were damaged. So, the minute I heard this—and also marveled at the fact that I had never heard of it before, this took place in 1986.

And, of course, I found out later why that was, why this fire, which was such a profoundly damaging event, had managed to go somewhat unnoticed, and it was because it occurred on the same day as the Chernobyl meltdown. And I spent the next close to seven years researching and writing about that fire, about the history of library fires. I mean, as soon as we began building libraries, we began burning libraries as well. So, you would not go to the trouble of burning a library unless you felt it was a very important place.

Dylan: And if I’m not mistaken, in researching this book, you performed kind of the ultimate writer’s sacrilege. You yourself burned some books as research. Am I right about that?

Susan: You know, I felt I had to. It was really funny. Here I was writing about the burning of 400,000 books. It occurred to me that I had never seen a book burn. I’ve seen newspapers burn, and I thought, well, I think, in the interest of accuracy, I really should burn a book so that I know what it looks like, and so I can describe it vividly. For my book, back in the 1600s, if a book burned, that might be the one and only copy. If I burn a paperback book, I can go buy another one for $17. Still—and this, I found really fascinating—still, it is a taboo. You know, nobody burns a book for a good reason. Many of us are very familiar with scenes from the beginning of the Nazi era in Germany of huge bonfires of books that were considered suppressive and written by people who were out of favor with the Nazi regime. So our association is with all the most negative impulses of human nature, which is to keep people from a certain kind of knowledge.

Dylan: What book did you choose to burn? Like, how did you choose the book?

Susan: Well, it was very tough. At first, I thought I would burn a book that I didn’t like, and then I felt like that was really mean, that it felt really evil to take a book I didn’t like and burn it. So I thought, well, I’ll burn one that I like, because it won’t have so much hostile kind of energy. And then I thought, but I don’t want to burn a book I like. That seems really almost worse. So I thought, well, I have a lot of copies of my own books. I’ll burn one of those. And then I thought, well, wait, I don’t want to burn one of my books. That’s really creepy. So I said to my husband, you know, I thought this was a great idea, but I can’t do it. I just feel too weird. And one day he came home and he was smiling, and he said, “well, I found the book for you to burn.” I said, “all right.” And he had a bag. He opened the bag and took out a copy of Fahrenheit 451. And he said, “here you go.” And I thought, well, of course. And not only was it topically appropriate, but coincidentally—and I didn’t know that until I began doing more work on my book—Ray Bradbury wrote many of his books sitting in the LA Public Library, the library that I was talking about in the book. And he was very involved in helping raise the money to replace all the books that were burned. I thought Ray Bradbury, who wrote a book about book burning, would appreciate someone writing a book about book burning in the real world, who is burning his book for the book about book burning.

Dylan: I think that’s right. I think that that is a very good choice.

Susan: It was very meta, very meta.

Dylan: You know, the beauty of the library is that it is this shared communal experience. We’ve all been to a library. But the second place that really shaped Susan’s life and her thoughts about travel is a little bit more remote, a little bit harder to get to than a library, and perhaps harder to find on a map.

Susan: Well, I will say that before I went to Bhutan, I would not have been able to find it on a map. I’m not sure I’d even heard of it. I mean, I’m embarrassed to say that, but it’s a tiny country. It has fewer than a million people. This was in, let’s say, 1999 or 2000, when there was very, very little tourism in Bhutan. I believe they capped it at 2,000 visitors a year. There were no hotels. It’s now in a very different state of accessibility. But back then, it was a place people rarely went. I happened upon an ad, and it said, “Fertility Tour.” I love stumbling across a strange headline, and I would say that counted as a strange headline. And it said, You know, we will attend all these festivals and visit these different shrines. And in small print, it said, “It is not required for you to have a baby.” And you know, I just thought, “This is catnip.” I mean, come on.

Dylan: What’s going on here? What is going to happen? Who’s on this trip? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Susan: I’ve got to do this trip. Yeah. So I signed up as quickly as I could, and the minute I learned a little bit about Bhutan, I knew that I was going somewhere very special. It is the only Buddhist nation in the world. It’s now famous for, among other things, their national motto, and fixation is called Gross National Happiness. Their main concern is, how can we make the people of Bhutan happier? It is stunningly beautiful in the Himalaya Mountains, and really unspoiled, truly unspoiled. It’s just extraordinary. I had never been anywhere that beautiful in my life.

It also is a country that, besides its fixation on happiness, has this supercharged interest in fertility. And the most important iconography in Bhutan is that of an erect penis. These are painted … it’s almost like in Pennsylvania, you see hex signs painted on people’s barns. This was everywhere in Bhutan. Everywhere. And nobody thinks it’s pornographic. It’s like, well, this is how fertility happens, and we’re celebrating it. There are a lot of stone phalluses everywhere, wooden phalluses. You come from a culture like the United States, where there’s a lot of priggishness about genitalia and sexuality. And it’s like, you cannot believe it.

At that time, they didn’t have the internet, they didn’t have American movies. They had very little Western influence. So, you felt like you were seeing a country that truly was an intact cultural and social entity. And it was just an enormous relief from being confronted with the sort of detritus of American culture everywhere you go in the world.

Dylan: Bhutan, obviously, it romanced you in all of these ways you’re describing. But it also came in a very particular moment in your life where—it’s sort of this thing that happens to people sometimes, when they travel, these moments of kind of conversion to a new way of being kind of happened to you.

Susan: I had originally planned to do this trip with my husband, and we ended up getting separated right before I left on the trip. So there was a lot of poignancy and heartbreak for me going on this trip that I imagined going on with him, and imagined that even though I was there to write the story, I was also doing these fertility rituals for real, because we had begun thinking about starting a family. And then I had what I feel everyone should have at one point in their life, which is, I had a travel romance, and many people have a travel romance, and they’re quite aware that it’s a travel romance, and that it’s specific to a time and a place. I actually thought, no, this is like now my future partner, and we will split our time between Manhattan and Bhutan. I was very caught up in this kind of fever dream of this new life, and we ended up parting ways, which broke my heart at the time.

Dylan: I’m curious about how that trip and, honestly, how all that—you’ve spent so much time, sort of, in the field doing pretty deep investigative journalism, spending lots of time with your subjects. How has that all shaped your sense of travel? You’ve talked about this idea of getting lost. I’m curious about how you think about travel now, having done so much of it.

Susan: I hate preparing for travel, and it’s funny. My husband and I are very different that way. Like, he likes to read about where we’re going and buy a bunch of guidebooks and be prepared. And I feel like I can’t see things if I’m prepared, because if I’m prepared, then what I’m looking for is just confirmation bias. I’m just looking for the things that I was told I should look for. I would rather waste a certain amount of time, missing the highlights in exchange for just truly being somewhere new and being surprised by it, and being a little lost. I just compare it always to, like, an outward bound trip where you’re given a match and you know, maybe a blanket, and then you’re told, “Figure it out.” And to me, what’s interesting is the figuring it out. And it is often, initially, at least, uncomfortable.

I’m not saying you have to be somewhere exotic. I remember doing a story about Midland, Texas, when George W. Bush was running for president. He made this big point of saying, like, “If you want to know who I am, you need to know Midland, because I am Midland, Texas.” And so I said to The New Yorker, “Well, I want to go to Midland, Texas.” You know, I arrived there, and I was completely unprepared on purpose. I felt like I needed to be like the person landing behind enemy lines in the middle of the war, and I’ve got to find the hostiles and the friendlies, and claw my way to understanding, and I had a fantastic trip.

In the beginning, I thought, “What the hell am I doing?” And I just found a coffee shop, and it turned out to be kind of a cool coffee shop. And at some point, a guy was sitting there, and we started chatting. And he said to me, “Oh, well, I’ll show you Midland. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I kind of know the way it works.” And off we went, and then I stopped in a realtor’s open house and started chatting with the realtor to say, “What’s selling? What’s not selling? What are people looking for in Midland, Texas?” So I had to really see it and really be there, and not say, “Oh, Well, I think you’re supposed to go to the Midland Museum and the Midland, blah blah.”

My purpose was to try to describe the character of the city. A normal tourist might not feel like they want to go to a realtor open house, although I have to tell you, it’s quite interesting to see the way people live in different cities. It’s really fun.

I travel that way, even when I’m traveling for fun. I feel like the way I’ve traveled for work has completely influenced the way I travel for pleasure. I sometimes even enjoy having a little secret, kind of mission. One year when I went to France, I thought I just ... I’m on a goat cheese trip. I just want to try as many kinds of goat cheese as I can, and it was a really fun way to be in France. I can, and it was a really fun way to be in France. To be in France. One time I went back to France, and I just wanted to buy beautiful lingerie. Again, you know, France is very big in lingerie, and it became a really fun way to see a different part of France that wouldn’t be in the guidebook—and I loved it.

Dylan: Well, Susan, what a joy to talk to you. What a joy it is to read your writing. You are just someone whose verve and, and curiosity for the world is so evident on the page and just fills you with that same sense. It’s been lovely to get to chat with you.

Susan: Well, thank you so much. This has just been a real treat for me, and I hope we’ll do it again.

Dylan: Susan Orlean is the author of The Library Book, The Orchid Thief, and so many other great books. Go get a copy of her work at your local bookstore, or perhaps your local library.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Our podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. This episode was produced by Alexa Lim. The production team includes Doug Baldinger, Chris Naka, Kameel Stanley, Manolo Morales, Johanna Mayer, Baudelaire, Gabby Gladney. Our technical director is Casey Holford. This episode was sound designed and mixed by Luz Fleming, and our theme and end credit music is by Sam Tyndall.

When you find yourself in the farthest corners of the world, the unexpected is always part of the adventure. A river might rise overnight in the jungle. A trek in the desert could become treacherous in a sandstorm. A rare bird or animal might make an appearance. But being further afield often increases the risk during emergencies—so it’s important to understand how you would get to the nearest medical facility in an emergency (and understand those facilities may not be what you are used to at home).

Most travel insurance policies include medical evacuation to the “nearest adequate” facility for emergency treatment, but what’s “adequate” is determined by the insurance provider (and may not be acceptable to you). Medjet is a top-of-the-line medical transport membership program that gets you moved to a hospital at home. If you are hospitalized while traveling (abroad or domestically) Medjet arranges and pays all costs for air medical transport to a hospital of your choice in your home country. You can also add security and crisis response benefits if you’re going someplace where safety is a concern. The company’s MedjetHorizon membership adds access to 24/7 expert security teams, with on-the-ground response and security extraction if necessary.

Traveling to remote places is incredibly rewarding but it does require extra preparation. With the right insurance and additional coverages like Medjet lined up, you’ll have the peace of mind to embrace the unknown—like these magnificently off-grid wonders.

Cerro Fitz Roy

Argentina

The jagged spires of Cerro Fitz Roy rise high above the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. This granite monolith is Patagonia’s most recognizable peak (thanks in part to its immortalization on the Patagonia company logo). It’s also among the most treacherous. Sudden storms sweep in without warning, thawing permafrost creates hazards from loose rocks, and steep ascents make the hike tough for anyone faint of heart. Winding trails circle the peak through remote glacial valleys, windy ridges, and diverse landscapes. This feels like an expedition at the end of the earth, whether you opt for a day hike or a multi-day through hike itinerary.

Semliki Safari Lodge

Uganda

Uganda’s Western Rift valley is home to Semliki, 200 square miles of the country’s oldest protected area, surrounded by a wilderness where rainforest and savannah meet. Semliki Safari Lodge blends into the wild thanks to the natural local materials that make up its open-air design, thatched roof glamping tents, and verandas with panoramic views across the horizon. Guests share the valley with monkeys, baboons, forest elephants, hyenas, and pygmy hippos. Hundreds of bird species fill the canopies. One of the reserve’s star species are its chimpanzees, which are less habituated than troops in the neighboring Kibale, Budongo, and Kyambura Gorge forests. Unlike the more crowded areas in Uganda, Semliki feels like a wild frontier of rainforest, dry savannah grasslands, and riparian woodlands, where you can look out towards the Rwenzori Mountains and even spot the Congo’s Blue Mountains on a clear day.

Ta Prohm

Cambodia

Few ruins in the world feel as haunted by nature as Ta Prohm. This sprawling Buddhist temple was built in 1186 as a dedication to the mother of Jayavarman VII, but today its stone corridors have been surrendered to the jungle. Roots of silk cotton and strangler fig trees snake over walls and weave through the temple’s loose heavy stones— some weighing more than a ton. The result is an otherworldly fight between architecture and nature so mesmerizing it served as the setting for the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Ta Prohm is part of the Angkor complex and was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992. Most importantly, it stands as a reminder that nature can never be fully tamed.

Bertha’s Beach

Falkland Islands

On a lonely stretch of the Falklands called Bertha’s Beach, 300 miles east of the South American mainland, Gentoo penguins waddle year-round through the sand, joined seasonally by their Magellanic penguin cousins. South American terns, ruddy-headed geese, and endemic Falkland flightless steamer ducks all call Bertha’s Beach home, earning this area status as both a Ramsar Wetland and an Important Bird Area. It’s tough to picture today, but the island’s story as a travel destination began with disaster—specifically, the wreck of the 500-ton ship Bertha in 1892. The ship may be gone, but some of its cedar log cargo can still be found around the beach today.

Inishtrahull Lighthouse

Ireland

Ireland’s northernmost island is an uninhabited, treeless spec set in the rough and wild North Atlantic Ocean. Inishtrahull once supported a small but dedicated fishing community, which built the lighthouse in 1813. By 1911, the island’s population peaked at 80 residents, then fell back to just one soul in 1929: the lighthouse keeper. The 1950s brought a newer lighthouse with automation, marking the end of human civilization on Inishtrahull. Today, the island belongs to a variety of seabirds and seals. You can still see remains of civilization here in the form of stone cottages, an abandoned school, and of course, Ireland’s northernmost lighthouse, eight miles off the coast of Donegal.

World’s Loneliest Tree

New Zealand

On Campbell Island, gales rage more than 100 days a year and rain falls for 325 days annually, making it inhospitable for plenty of plant life. One lone Sitka spruce stands out in this subantarctic landscape over 400 miles from the South Island. The spruce, which is native to the northern hemisphere, was planted on New Zealand’s southernmost island over a century ago by then-governor Lord Ranfurly. Instead of growing into the classic conifer shape, the spruce has spread into the profile of a 30-foot cauliflower. (On the plus side, it’s grown up to ten times faster than it would under normal conditions.) There isn’t another tree for 170 miles, earning this botanical anomaly the title of “World’s Loneliest Tree.”

The Gates of Hell

Turkmenistan

Deep in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, a 230-foot-wide crater has burned for over 50 years, its glow visible for miles. The so-called Gates of Hell opened during a Soviet drilling accident in 1971, which punctured an underground natural gas cavern. To stop a potential environmental disaster so close to the village of Darvaza, the Soviets set it ablaze with the expectation that it would burn out eventually. Instead, it’s still burning today, making it one of the world’s hottest, strangest eternal flames.

My Son Sanctuary

Vietnam

Tucked into the mountains of Quang Nam, My Son Sanctuary is a crumbling city of brick towers that once formed the religious and political core of the Cham civilization. From the 4th to 13th centuries, this was the heart of an Indian-Hindu kingdom. Today, My Son Sanctuary showcases its remains, including its 71 holy temples built over ten centuries. The Cham’s seamless, mortarless, well-preserved brickwork has survived 15 centuries later, baffling engineers and earning it a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1999. It’s a captivating time capsule of a unique, extinct culture.

Whichever adventure you choose, make sure you have a plan in place for getting to the nearest care in case of an emergency, and a path home should the worst happen!

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan Thuras: It’s a hot day in New York City. It’s pushing 90 degrees outside, and you need lunch. So you’ve come to Harlem, to 110th Street, and you’re here for a reason. You are in search of a particular store that sells a very particular sandwich.

If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you’d probably just pass it by. It’s a deli, something you’d find on, you know, basically every block in New York. But this is not just any deli. This one is called Hajji’s, and it claims to have invented the very sandwich that you seek.

So you walk inside. The AC is blasting, it is exquisite. And second, you notice that it is absolutely bustling in here. You have walked into the middle of the lunch rush. There are 10 customers crammed all around you in this tiny store, ordering sandwiches. And beyond that, there is one pervasive sound.

This is what you’ve come here for, because this is the sound of a chopped cheese sandwich coming to life. Ground beef, melted cheese, chopped up on a flat-top grill. Maybe you add lettuce, tomato, some onion, some ketchup, some mayo. You put it on a roll, and you have found heaven.

I mean, it sounds simple, I guess. It is kind of a cheeseburger, all chopped up. It seems like, what is there even to say? But I cannot think of another sandwich out there that has become such an unbelievable cultural lightning rod.

I’m Dylan Thuras, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This episode was produced in partnership with New York City Tourism. Today, we’re getting very close, and very personal, with a chopped cheese sandwich. It is a sandwich so storied, you might even call it a kind of a folk sandwich. And we will look at the bodega and deli culture that brought this heroic sandwich to life.

This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Dylan: So, here is the apocryphal story of how the chopped cheese was invented. It was here at Hajji’s Deli at 110th Street in Harlem when a cook produced the first sandwich.

One story goes that a cook was asked to make a Philly cheesesteak and improvised with the ingredients that they had on hand. I like this story, that seems plausible. Another says that a cook ran out of circular burger buns, so chopped up a cheeseburger to fit a hero roll instead. Maybe. And yet another version says that the cook—this is my favorite—had dental issues, and he was just trying to make a sandwich that was easier to chew. That’s a good one.

Whatever the true story is, the chopped cheese was born. Also, you can call it a chop cheese. Chopped cheese, chop cheese, same thing.

I’m going to go and just say right up front here: We don’t know. We have no idea. The origins of sandwiches turn out to be extremely murky. But generally, people agree that this sandwich originated somewhere uptown in some deli, some bodega, sometime around the late ’90s, maybe early 2000s.

Jeremy Batista: I was very young. I think I was like maybe 12 or 13, first time I ate a chopped cheese, that’s 2002, 2003. And I had it at her store.

Dylan: This is Jeremy Batista. He’s lived in the Bronx his entire life. And the store that he is talking about is his mom’s bodega.

Jeremy: It was an order that she messed up, I believe it was. And she was like, “Yo, here, just have this. I don’t want to throw it away.” My mom hates throwing away stuff. So I ate it. I was like, oh man, this is incredible. It was one of my favorite things.

Dylan: Chopped cheese quickly became a deli and bodega staple. It’s pretty cheap. It is reliably delicious. It is simple. And what’s not to like? But New York is a big place. And in fact, even just within the boroughs, the chopped cheese is kind of like a regional thing.

Jeremy: No, trust me, there’s people who come to me all the time and is like, “I lived in New York my entire life, and I’ve never had a chopped cheese.” So it’s crazy that they come to me, and they’re like 40 years old, and they’re just discovering the chopped cheese.

Dylan: A few years ago, it seemed kind of like, it became like a thing. Everyone was like, ooh, discovering the sandwich. Well, I mean, the internet discovered it is what happened. The sandwich struck a kind of chord. Media companies sent reporters to make chopped cheese videos. There’s a recipe for it on The New York Times cooking section. Anthony Bourdain ate one in an episode of Parts Unknown.

And then you know what happened next. An Upper West Side restaurant caused an absolute uproar when they planned to sell the sandwich for 15 bucks, a pricey version of the chopped cheese, a very potent symbol of gentrification.

There have been many, many heated internet debates about this. You go down the rabbit hole if you want. It is so deep. But the controversy of the chopped cheese aside, like with a lot of food origin stories, the real story is the rich culture and history that gave birth to this sandwich: The corner store culture, which it came from.

Anibal Arocho: Bodegas are the anchors of your neighborhood. They are the place that is a constant in a city that’s full of change.

Dylan: This is Anibal Arocho.

Anibal: Whether that’s demographic change, economic change, social change, you can count on finding a bodega where you know you can get something to drink, you can get something decent to eat at a relatively cheap price, and any random things that you might need for your apartment, whether that’s batteries or a set of headphones or last-minute gifts, you can find them in the bodega.

Dylan: Anibal comes from a long line of bodega owners, and he even grew up above his family’s bodega. The store was on the first floor. His family lived on the second story.

Anibal: I remember distinctly sitting on the deli refrigerator with my legs dangling there and just looking at all the people come and go. They were known for their sandwiches. This is like pre-chopped cheese. This bodega didn’t have a grill or anything like that, but the thing that my grandfather was known for was he would make pernil, so traditional Puerto Rican seasoned pork shoulder, like roasted pork shoulder, and they would cure their own Virginia hams and things like that and do stuff. For the holidays, they would roast a whole pig in the back of the bodega kitchen area, which was pretty cool.

Dylan: You know that’s a good bodega. If you walk into the bodega and there is a whole pig roasting in the back, that’s a good bodega. Side note, maybe you have noticed that I’ve been going back and forth between saying deli and bodega, maybe corner store. They’re not exactly the same thing. Traditionally, bodegas are Latino-owned, but everyone we talked to for this episode said, you can say whatever you want, deli, bodega, corner store, you know when you see it. What is clear is that the first bodegas originated with Puerto Rican immigration to New York City, people like Anibal’s ancestors.

Besides having grown up above his family’s bodega, Anibal is also the library manager at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies Library and Archives, or the Centro. He says the earliest documented bodegas in the city started sometime around the 1920s, but a couple of decades later, bodega culture absolutely exploded.

Anibal: I would say that the time period where the bodega really skyrocketed to prominence was from the ’40s to the ’70s. We saw a tenfold increase in the number of Puerto Ricans in New York City. So what was originally a community of around 60,000 in 1940 grew to over 600,000 by 1980.

Dylan: Anibal says there were a few reasons for this. This is right around World War II. Air travel is getting popular. There was another reason, though, something called Operation Bootstrap. Operation Bootstrap has its own complicated, controversial history, but essentially, it was a government program between Puerto Rico and the U.S., which was meant to turn Puerto Rico from an essentially agrarian society into an industrialized one. It completely reshaped the island, and eventually, there were not enough industrial jobs to go around, and so the Puerto Rican government created an office specifically designed to push Puerto Rican immigration to New York City.

Anibal: So you have this huge post-World War II migration, and you have new Puerto Rican communities. They want the food from their homelands, and the bodega was that center focal point, much the same way that we rely on it now, the Puerto Rican communities, I would say, relied on it more so, and it served a greater social function than it does now.

Some people would get their mail delivered to the bodegas, especially if they were just renting a single room in an apartment or something like that. Many people did not have telephones, and the only place where you could make phone calls was to pay the bodeguero to use their phone. Also, it was where you would exchange gossip. That’s how you would stay up to date on local happenings in the neighborhood. Someone died. An apartment’s empty. Someone’s looking for work. It was also an engine of the informal economy, like a job bulletin board in its own way as well.

Dylan: Today, the corner stores that are the ancestors of these very first bodegas, they are everywhere. It can be hard to say a specific number, but the estimates are somewhere between 7,000 and 14,000 delis and bodegas across the city.

But back to the chopped cheese. The sandwich certainly came out of corner store culture, but in the past decade or so, it has spread well beyond the bodega. People with pretty real cred are putting their own spin on it. People like Kwame Onwuachi, who was raised in the Bronx, has since opened a fine dining restaurant called Tatiana. It’s in Lincoln Center, and of course, on the menu is a chopped cheese made with aged ribeye and truffles.

Then there are the guys behind Ghetto Gastro, which is a Bronx-based culinary collective. They have a recipe for something called a chopped “stease,” which is a vegan version of the sandwich.

Remember Jeremy, who tried his first chopped cheese in his mom’s bodega when he was a teenager? These days, he runs a food truck and two counter restaurants dedicated to the sandwich. They are called Bodega Truck and Bodega City.

Jeremy: It’s just my favorite thing to eat. Yes, you can get it anywhere in New York City, any bodega. You can go to any corner store to get a chopped cheese, but I would always remix it. I would add bacon and eggs. I would always do something different with the chopped cheese. It’s like, let me just make my own.

Dylan: Jeremy’s storefront is sort of an homage to the classic bodega. There’s a stuffed bodega cat sitting on the counter. Jeremy says that that’s the manager. And he’s got the place stocked with all of the nostalgic candies that you get in corner stores. Things like Fun Dip, the little gummy hamburgers—ah, they’re so good—or the bubble gum shaped like Band-Aids that comes in the metal container. You know what I’m talking about, these are classic, these are classic things.

Jeremy: This is the New York that I grew up in, the colorful bodegas with the lights and the candies and just a version of New York that’s slowly getting modernized and gentrified. It happens. Things change. You can’t expect some things to stay the same forever, so it is what it is.

Dylan: So Jeremy took his experience growing up in a bodega and turned it into a new iteration, and a new iteration of the chopped cheese. As for Anibal’s family, they sold their bodega when Anibal was about 10 years old.

Anibal: I pass by it like every single day, and I always like, I point out to everybody like, we used to own that. It was 712 9th Avenue, was the address.

Dylan: Ironically, that nostalgia does not mean you will find him in line for the famous bodega sandwich.

Anibal: I am not a chopped cheese guy.

Dylan: Listen, to each their own. I guess I’m an egg and cheese guy when it really comes down to it. Anyway, Anibal says the chopped cheese is one of these sandwiches that has entered that vaulted zone. It is now firmly considered what he calls a folk sandwich.

Anibal: Every folk sandwich has its origin story, right? The Philly cheesesteak, or the Italian beef, how a lot of societies developed the bow and arrow. Like, I’m sure that there was some bodeguero in Washington Heights who was like, “I’ve been making that for 10 years”, like, “What are you talking about?” So the chopped cheese definitely—if it didn’t happen in East Harlem, it would have happened somewhere.

Dylan: Somewhere in New York City. If you want to try a chopped cheese for yourself, you can, of course, head to Hajji’s Deli on 110th Street, 1st Avenue in Manhattan. They say they invented it, so you can go to the original source. Or you can hit up Jeremy at Bodega City, he has locations in Brooklyn and in the Bronx. Or you can literally just walk into any bodega on any block in New York City and say, “Give me a chopped cheese,” and it will be so good.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.

Though Cincinnati is best known for breweries, another effervescent beverage has a long history in the Queen City: the nectar soda.

Home to the oldest pharmacy college in the U.S. west of the Alleghenies, the Eclectic Medical Institute (1845-1952), and Lloyd Brothers Pharmacists, Cincinnati was long on the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry. The city had a number of apothecaries with soda fountains, as well as confectioners serving countless carbonated concoctions—some claiming to cure a variety of ailments, and others simply providing customers with something sweet and refreshing to drink.

Enter the nectar soda. The flavor is a combination of vanilla and bitter almond, and the drink is pastel pink in color—a nod to the hue of almond flowers, according to Dann Woellert, a Cincinnati food historian, etymologist, and the author of Cincinnati Candy: A Sweet History. Nicknamed the “drink of the gods,” the bitter almond flavor of nectar soda balances out what would otherwise be overly sweet vanilla, creating an addictive taste that grows on you with each sip. 

Nectar sodas have been served in Cincinnati since at least the late 1870s, though, like many iconic foods and beverages, its precise origins are murky. The only other U.S. city to embrace nectar sodas was New Orleans, but unlike Cincinnati, the tradition fizzled out in the Big Easy in the mid-20th century. Plus, Woellert says that the Queen City popularized them first. “They were served in Cincinnati nearly a decade before New Orleans,” he says.

While the Cincinnati nectar soda has multiple origin stories, each crediting a different pharmacist or confectioner, Woellert has concluded that John Mullane created the flavor after traveling to Quebec City to learn the art of confectionery from a prominent Canadian candymaker. He began serving nectar sodas in his confectionery shop in downtown Cincinnati in the late 1870s.

So, why did the nectar soda end up in Cincinnati and New Orleans, of all places? Wollert suspects that the bitter almond and vanilla flavor was used by the French Acadians who settled in both Quebec City and New Orleans.

Though nectar sodas aren’t as common as they were in the early 20th century, when they could be found at countless confectioneries and pharmacy soda fountains across Cincinnati, they’re still served at establishments throughout the city and the surrounding area. Nectar sodas have been on the menu at ice cream and chocolate shop Aglamesis Brothers since it opened in Cincinnati in 1908, if not shortly thereafter. That’s according to company president and CEO Randy Young, who is also a third-generation family member. 

It’s unclear when nectar sodas were added to the menu at Graeter’s, a Cincinnati ice cream and chocolate shop that opened in 1870 and now has locations throughout the city and the Midwest, but Chip Graeter, chief of retail operations and a fourth-generation family member, says that they were especially popular throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

In a January 28, 1947 article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Tom Moore, the head of the soda department at Dow Drug Store—which operated 32 soda fountains throughout the metropolitan area at that time—said that “nectar is one of the most popular flavors in all of their stores, and has been for many years.” Five years prior, Dow ran an ad in the same newspaper which read: “Be glad you live in Cincinnati, the only place in the country where you can enjoy a Dow double-dip nectar soda.”

Originally, nectar syrup was made by combining half-and-half or milk with water, bitter almond extract, vanilla extract and red food coloring. While Aglamesis eventually switched to a dairy-free shelf-stable syrup, Graeter's recipe has never changed—it still contains milk and needs to be refrigerated. 

Both Aglamesis and Graeter’s make nectar soda by mixing nectar syrup with a dollop of whipped cream, adding a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream, then topping it off with some soda water and more whipped cream.

Though Young says that nectar sodas are most popular with older adults, they’re also a hit with members of younger generations who try them. “People who grew up with them still love them today,” Graeter says. “We still make them in all of our stores, but they're not nearly as popular today as they once were, simply because milkshakes and smoothies have taken over.”  

According to Young, there is a commercially available descendant of the nectar soda. “Commercial soda companies like Barqs and others came out with their version of cream soda—a bright pink soda—which got its flavoring from nectar soda,” he explains.

Indigenous Brazilians have fermented alcoholic beverages from the cassava root for thousands of years. These beer-like beverages go by names like cauim, caxiri, and tarubá. Fermentation is an important step in cassava processing—the raw root has chemicals that can turn into cyanide in the human body. Native peoples found that a bit of human saliva and some naturally occurring yeast could eliminate these toxins and improve the nutritious value of the tuber. When the technology of distillation arrived to the Munim River region (now in Maranhão), locals who already drank lightly alcoholic cassava beverages began to distill them. Tiquira was born. 

The name tiquira is likely derived from the Tupi word tykyre meaning "to drip." But it is a curiosity that the spirit has flourished in only one Brazilian state, Maranhão. Margot Stinglwagner, founder of Guaaja Tiquira, the first modern brand to produce the spirit starting in 2016, says “It’s a spirit that is also unknown in Brazil. A few people have heard about tiquira—but usually only people who have gone to Maranhão once.” Accordingly, the state moved to declare the spirit as a piece of Cultural and Intangible Heritage in September 2023. 

Part of the reason that tiquira has remained so isolated is that cachaça, Brazil’s rum, is far easier to produce. Because the rum comes from sugarcane, the sugar for fermentation is already there. “With cassava, you don’t have sugar,” Stinglwagner explains. “You must first transform the carbohydrates into sugar and then you can ferment and distill it.” To achieve this end, Guaaja Tiquira uses food enzymes instead of the traditional human saliva. Guaaja also differs from other distillers because they use full cassava roots where most tiquira moonshiners rely on processed farinha de mandioca, or cassava flour. 

“The majority of people produce it illegally,” laughs Stinglwagner. “The state does nothing about it.” Outside of the urban center, tiquira is invariably a homemade product. Generally, tiquira makers don’t separate the "heads" (the first drops of liquor from a distillation, which contain harsher alcohols including toxic methanol and other pungent and volatile flavor compounds) from the "tails" (the final liquid produced from distillation, which has a low alcohol content and can have unwelcome bitter flavors), meaning the spirit is stronger and may contain more toxins and impurities. Some even macerate marijuana into the combined spirit to produce the doubly-illicit tiquiconha.

Maranhenses believe that you cannot get wet or bathe after drinking tiquira, lest you become faint or dizzy. Zelinda Machado de Castro e Lima, one of the great chroniclers of folk culture in Maranhão, has recorded other traditions surrounding the drink. Firstly, it is typical to pierce a cashew with a toothpick and soak it in a glass of tiquira for several hours. It is then sucked as a sort of boozy lollipop. She also writes about the belief that those drinking coffee should avoid tiquira, while locals say that fishermen on the coast used the liquor to sanitize wounds incurred on the job. 

Finally, there is the curious question of the color of tiquira. In the tourist markets of São Luís, the spirit is always blushing a translucent violet. “They say that the color of tiquira is from tangerine leaves, but we tried to do it and the color from the leaves is not stable,” says Stinglwagner. “It is also not a strong color. The norms and laws for tiquira prohibit the addition of the leaves.” The violet color may be artificial (perhaps from food dyes), but some tiquiras do have a citrusy flavor. 

Tiquira today is still largely relegated to the world of moonshining, but with the government’s recognition of the spirit and new legitimate ventures like that of Guaaja Tiquira, Brazil could be seeing more of the cassava liquor outside of its home in Maranhão. 

“All the people say to me, ‘What is this new spirit?,’” says Stinglwagner. “I say, ‘It’s not a new spirit, it’s the oldest spirit from Brazil.’”

Know Before You Go

Tiquira is widely available in the downtown markets of São Luís, Maranhão. Both the local Mercado Central and touristic Mercado das Tulhas have many vendors selling tiquira. The commercial brand, Guaaja Tiquira, is also available in São Luís at Empório Fribal, in addition to Copacabana Palace and Fairmont Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, and Mocotó Bar e Restaurante in São Paulo. 

The origins of Germany’s Maultaschen are deliciously devious. Legend has it that, in the late Middle Ages, a lay brother named Jakob invented the stuffed pasta dumplings at the Maulbronn Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1147 by Cistercian monks in southwest Germany.

One direct translation of Maultaschen is “mouth pockets,” though “Maul” could just as easily refer to Maulbronn. Maultaschen are usually square dumplings (though sometimes they're rolled) and can be fried in a pan or served in broth. Commonly described as Germany’s version of Italian ravioli, they allegedly emerged as a way to use up an unexpected bounty of meat that Brother Jakob stumbled upon in the forest outside the monastery walls.

The twist? Although they abhorred waste, these monks weren’t allowed to eat the meat of four-legged animals, especially during the Catholic fasting period of Lent in the spring. So Brother Jakob minced the meat with herbs and onions and wrapped everything inside pasta dough, hiding the forbidden flesh from the eyes of his fellow monks—and even from the eyes of God.

In Swabia, the region encompassing much of Baden-Württemberg and part of Bavaria where Maultaschen originated, one of the colloquial names for the food references this deception directly: Herrgottsbescheißerle means “little God-cheaters.”

Everyone in Swabia has their version of the legend with more or less embellishment. Ludwig Nestler holds a master’s degree in heritage conservation and works for the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg, a government organization that oversees monuments like Maulbronn Monastery. His version of the tale includes a sack of stolen meat dropped in the woods by a fleeing thief, which inspires Brother Jakob’s trickery in the kitchen. But he acknowledges that there’s no undisputed “historically correct version” of how Maultaschen came to be. Similarly, everyone in Swabia has their own Maultaschen recipe, with unique ingredients for the minced filling, called Brät.

“Traditionally the Brät is made from pork mixed with herbs, onions, and occasionally bread crumbs for texture and stability,” says Nestler. Swabia, however, “was a rather poor region with limited amounts of meat due to rather unfertile land, so being adaptive and innovative has always been a part of the people’s nature.” As Maultaschen became popular, fish and seasonal vegetables like spinach, carrots, beets, and mushrooms became common inclusions.

Today, the European Union ties Maultaschen to Swabia with a Protected Geographical Indication, which lists required ingredients the authentic product should feature, but even the necessary inclusions are pretty loose, such as “pork and/or beef and/or veal” for meat Brät and “typical regional vegetables” for meat-free Brät. It speaks to the way the dumplings developed as subsistence food, used to stretch leftovers and reduce food waste.

Today, Germans throughout the country enjoy Maultaschen in dozens of flavors in all seasons thanks to grocery stores that stock packaged varieties made by companies like Ditzingen-based Bürger, whose mascot, Erwin, is a Maultasche (the singular form of the plural Maultaschen).

But the dumplings remain most popular in southern Germany. Maulbronn Monastery offers a special tour that pairs Maultaschen with wine from the monastery’s vineyards. And many locals, including Nestler’s family, still make them from scratch on special occasions—even during Lent, when meat might otherwise be off the menu. There’s no telling if it’s a fraud good enough to fool God, but it’s worth a shot.

Your travel partner for life

The post New Trends in Wellness appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Trends in Wellness... Mother/Daughter Travel WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER, LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL • WWW.LIVELIFETRAVEL.WORLD We recently had the pleasure of planning such a trip for local resident, Erin McCarthy-Dates and her mother Joan. This past November, they traveled to Italy together! Here’s what they had to say about their trip… 10-NIGHT ITINERARY: ROME > FLORENCE > VENICE Anne: Was it hard deciding where in Italy to go and what to do? Erin: No, you planned everything (laughing)! I joked that we could do whatever Mother wanted, but of course you set up separate phone calls with each of us to make sure you knew what both of us wanted and took both of our preferences into account. I would have never had the time or energy to do any of it, which is why we wanted to work with an Italy specialist. A: What was your favorite part of the trip? E: I loved the day excursion to Siena in Tuscany from Florence. It was the quintessential Italian location for me, and the food tour was amazing. The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica were also fascinating and especially meaningful for my mother. A: How do you think this trip affected your relationship with your mother? E: This trip was a great bonding experience! It was nice to have time just the two of us, without the usual chaos that the rest of the family or a group can bring. I was struck by how many friends, family and even acquaintances mentioned how cool it was that we were doing this. Many people spoke about missing their own mom, and wishing they had 2 weeks back with her. Others said they realize we won’t have our loved ones with us forever, and how it’s important to appreciate them while we still have them here. It helped realize what a gift it was to have this opportunity together. A: What were the greatest challenges during your time together? E: Being away from my 2 kids and husband (and work) for 2 weeks created anxiety before I left, but it all worked out. ATTENTION ALL WOMEN: As it turns out, we can take vacations and the world (our jobs, our families) doesn’t stop without us. It’s a very important thing for all women to do. A: Travel tips for other Mother/Daughter Travel Duos? E: Having private tours with a guide were invaluable. We were able to learn so much more about a place and its history than we would have been able to do on our own. Consider going in the “low season.” It is less expensive, less crowded and you miss the heat of summer. Most importantly, leave the planning to a professional, I could have NEVER planned a trip like this as well. A: What was it like being there during the flooding in Venice? E: It was actually their “aqua alta,” so they expect flooding twice per day during November, and then the levels recede to normal. Obviously, this was much more than usual, and I don’t want to minimize the damage that citizens, businesses, and historic sites experienced, however, I was struck by how the Venetians really just got on with it. They all have rubber wading boots, and all of us tourists bought disposable galosha-style boots to fit right over our own shoes. Saint Mark’s square was like a big swimming pool at times, and we can say we were there for it! A: Are you planning to travel again with your mother, just the two of you? E: I could see us going somewhere domestically for a shorter duration and possibly including my daughter for a women’s family retreat of sorts. Ooh, I might be on to something there! A: Has it inspired you to travel more with your own daughter and family in general and if so, what’s up next for Erin? E: We have already started thinking about a family trip with the kids to the UK in 2021 and a couples only trip with my husband to Iceland, so yes, I’m definitely looking forward to a lot more travel and very excited about it. The post New Trends in Wellness appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Be a Smart Traveler appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Be a SMART Traveler WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER, LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL • WWW.LIVELIFETRAVEL.WORLD Here are some essentials to becoming a SMART Traveler: STEP (SMART TRAVELER ENROLLMENT PROGRAM): Register all International Travel with STEP. This ensures that the local US Embassy can contact and locate you in case of an emergency while traveling: https://step.state.gov/step/ IMPORTANT TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION: REAL ID: Deadline is 10/1/20 https://www.tsa.gov/real-id GLOBAL ENTRY: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry CLEAR: https://www.clearme.com/ VISA: Some countries require a visa to enter them, you should apply as early as possible as some are harder to obtain than others. https://cibtvisas.com/visa-quick-check Avoid lines by having the proper documentation PLAN AHEAD: Learn about your destination before you get there and arrive well-informed – We recommend the State Department as a trusted resource: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html STAY HEALTHY: Use one trusted source for all travel-related health information, including vaccines you may need: https://www.nc.cdc.gov/travel Other tips: Wash your hands often, travel with hand sanitizer and wipes, pack more than enough of your prescription medication (you may want to carry an extra scrip on you as well), get your annual flu vaccine, drink bottled water/stay hydrated. FINANCIAL SMARTS: Avoid international fees by using a travel credit card that waives them. Get a duplicate of your ATM card to travel with. Take out foreign currency once in destination using a bank ATM, avoid airport currency exchanges and never take out a cash advance on your credit card. Carry emergency fund cash on you at all times. Leave all of your valuables at home (including the engagement rings). Common Sense: The best advice that we could give any traveler today is to use plain old common sense. Be smart, be aware of your surroundings at all times and be prepared. Lock all doors and don’t go out alone at night (even on the beach). PLAN AHEAD: Get your passport renewed at least one year before it expires (reminder that kids passports only last for 5 years; adults for 10): https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/havepassport/renew.html Leave your passports locked in your hotel safe; carry a copy on your person while in destination (we travel with both paper copies and have them backed up in the cloud on our mobile devices). Make sure your travel advisor has copies of your updated passports pre-travel (do not email or text any ID or credit card info). Use RFID blocking and never store your passport in a carry on or check it with other luggage. A FEW FINAL TIPS TO KEEP YOU HEALTHY DURING AIR TRAVEL: A certain celebrity always travels with Neosporin and uses a Q-Tip to apply it gently in their nostrils before every flight (we are seriously going to try this!) I personally take and travel with Airborne (chewable tablets) and swear by them (pre, during and post air travel.) Beware of the water on planes, we recommend washing your hands with soap and water and then always using your hand sanitizer upon return to your seat. With all of this said, please don’t be afraid to travel, just be smart when you do. These same “essential tips” can also be applied to your everyday life. The post Be a Smart Traveler appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post 4 Honeymoons and an Anniversary appeared first on Live Life Travel.

It’s likely around the time when most of you are starting to think about your honeymoon. And while there is no right answer for everyone in terms of when to plan, we do have some general guidelines that we can share with you based on our professional experience: The sweet spot to have your honeymoon planned is roughly 9 months before your wedding (the exception to this rule is that places such as the Amalfi Coast and The Greek Islands can be planned even earlier given the short season, high demand and limited availability). If you are looking to book Sandals, they open their inventory 2 years before check-in date (vs. 1 year for most hotel inventory) and we recommend that you book as early as possible with your preferred agent as there are only benefits to doing so. If you are not sure where you want to travel for your honeymoon yet, you are not alone. Eighty-five to ninety percent of the couples we meet say the same thing and this is something that we specialize in, so no reason to worry or stress. We really do take care of everything. To help inspire all of you who are just starting to think about your honeymoon (or any other type of celebration travel), we would like to share with you ‘4 Honeymoons and a 20th Anniversary’ from 2019, along with their personal travel planning tips. Nicolle & Brian Africa Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: Cape Town – 3 nights – Cape Point, Penguin Colony, Table Mountain Zambia – 3 nights – Victoria Falls, Elephant Café, Walking with Cheetahs, Sunset River Cruise, Private Dinner Kruger Park Safari – 4 nights – Mjejane River Lodge Johannesburg – 2 nights – Local Museums & Restaurants Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Even if you prefer to book your own travel, use a travel advisor for your honeymoon to make everything stress-free & super organized, as well as adding those special touches Be willing to try new things while you are in destination including experiencing the local culture and food Don’t be afraid to travel during the low season to take advantage of lower prices, more exclusive experiences and fewer crowds John & Becky Thailand Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: Bangkok – 2 nights – Floating Markets, Street Food Tour Chiang Mai – 3 nights – Elephant Sanctuary, Night Market Tour, Visit to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Temple Koh Samui – 6 nights – Big Buddha, Angthong National Marine Park Singapore – 1 day – Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, Bumboat River Cruise Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Don’t be afraid to go big for your honeymoon; it’s a once in a lifetime experience, so make it count Don’t settle for the first travel advisor that you use if they are not for you; we tried several before we found Anne Always choose the “crazy” option – We opted for an extended layover in Singapore for the way home and ended up having an incredible experience that we would had completely missed if we had planned this on our own Dan & Amanda Riviera Maya Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: 7 nights in an Over-The-Water Villa at The Rosewood Mayakoba Inclusive of an Adults-Only Beach Club with Pool and Taco Truck, Bicycles for the week, Private Plunge Pool and Hammock, Daily Breakfast and Private Boat Ride Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Choose a place that you love so much that you can return for anniversaries and other celebration travel including family travel Listen to the locals; We had the best tostadas of our entire life based on a recommendation of our driver in the village of El Publeto Be sure that your resort has a specified “Adults Only” section if it is a family resort; our favorite spot was the private beach club and adults only pool where the staff was impeccable Lynsey & Andrew Sicily Honeymoon Itinerary Highlights: 2 nights – Vineyard on Mt. Etna – Private Mt. Etna Summit Jeep Experience, Private Cooking Class with Wine Tasting 6 nights – Taormina – Evening Walking Tour with Culinary Experience, Pizza Making, Private Yacht Experience with Grotto Tours Honeymoon Travel Planning Tips: Whatever you do, DON’T skip your honeymoon Using a travel advisor is a MUST – All we had to do was show up and we were treated like celebrities the entire time, everything was perfect! Don’t overthink about anything, just enjoy it all. Sicily was perfect for us and even Andrew, who has never liked wine, acquired a taste for it there (we especially loved the Etna Rosso) Mike & Becky Amalfi Coast 20th Anniversary Itinerary Highlights: 3 nights – Rome – Colosseum Tour, Vatican with Sistine Chapel Tour 1 night – Naples – Archeological Museum with Authentic Pizza Dinner 3 nights – Sorrento – Private tour of Pompeii & Herculaneum, Lunch & Wine Tasting at Vineyard on Mt. Vesuvius, Lemon Farm Tour, Lunch & Shopping in Positano 3 nights – Ravello – Anniversary Dinner at Belmond Hotel Caruso Anniversary Travel Planning Tips: Having 24/7 in-destination contacts while traveling provided us with a peace of mind that we did not realize was available to us Go to Ravello on the Amalfi Coast; it was unbelievably beautiful, so laid back and relaxing and we felt so welcome there by the locals Make time to travel together for milestone anniversaries; It was the trip of a lifetime and we are so happy that we did it For more information on planning your next vacation, contact Anne Gordon at Live Life Travel. anne@livelifetravel.world www.livelifetravel.world The post 4 Honeymoons and an Anniversary appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Families Bond through Multi-Gen Travel appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Families Bond through Multi-Gen Travel WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER & LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL, LLC Click here to download article. Whether we like to admit it or not, life just passes us by way too fast. Having recently lost my grandparents, I can tell you that I have never been more grateful for all the time that we spent together -and how much we loved traveling with them every summer. It is the time you spend together, and the memories you make, that makes life worth living. Multi-generational travel has become very popular and with good reason. As families live further apart and lives are crazier than ever, it is important to carve out that time to have shared experiences, nurture family relationships and create those memories that will last a lifetime. Naturally this type of travel does not come without challenges. I recently spoke with two local women who have traveled as a Multi-Gen family and here are their stories: In April, Jeanne Sciocchetti, her husband and their daughter took Jeanne’s parents away to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Here is what Jeanne has to say about Multi-Gen travel: “For more than ten years I had the idea I wanted to send my parents back to Bermuda, where they had honeymooned in 1969, for their 50th Anniversary. When it came time to plan, we decided to tag along with them for this trip down memory lane. Having three generations of our family together to share this experience made it so special. All of us being there with them and listening to all of their stories was magical, and it also gave my 7-year old daughter a chance to feel like she was part of their love story. Even though we all spend a lot of time together, this is not something that could have happened at home. The memories we made on this trip will last more than a lifetime – they’ll last for three lifetimes!” You can read the full story about their trip to Bermuda (from the Grandparents’ perspective) here in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of Saratoga Bride. We also had the opportunity to speak with Kelly Wyland, who explains that doing two big trips in one year is not the norm for her family, but when you have opportunities like this, you have to go for it. Kelly and her family traveled to Ireland as an extension of a work trip and to France as a school trip with her daughter. Anne: What were some of the highlights of multi-gen travel for you? Kelly: While in Ireland, we had the opportunity to experience part of our family’s history going back many generations. In Paris, it was all about sharing experiences and making new memories. A: Any challenges? K: It was difficult at times for the grandparents to keep up with the younger ones when navigating busy streets and some older hotels did not have elevators. A: What are your suggestions for others planning a multi-gen trip? K: Be willing to compromise. Be aware of mobility issues and stamina, and plan accordingly. You don’t have to do everything together, but plan to meet up for lunch or dinner and share your experiences. Take tons of photos and don’t be afraid to ask strangers to take your picture so you can all be in it (and then offer to reciprocate!). A: Who did this trip affect the most? K: Honestly – me! I grew up with stories about my ancestors and Irish culture and have tried to teach my kids a little about that part of our family history. It was nice to have my mom to reminisce with, and my kids to learn with. We all have roots there and it was an unforgettable experience to step foot into the same country my ancestors left so many years ago. It’s something all of us will remember for the rest of our lives. Don’t wait to plan your Multi-Gen trip – life is too short. For more information on Multi-Gen contact: Anne Gordon Live Life Travel, an independent affiliate of Travel Experts Member of Virtuoso, Virtuoso Family, Culinary, Wellness Virtuoso Saveur Advisory Board. LiveLifeTravel.world | 518-966-2663 The post Families Bond through Multi-Gen Travel appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post 50 Years Ago appeared first on Live Life Travel.

50 years ago... LOCAL COUPLE RETURNS TO SAME RESORT WHERE THEY HONEYMOONED TO CELEBRATE THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY! WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER & LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL, LLC Click here to download article. Ed and Chris Galka met in 10th grade homeroom. Being seated alphabetically, he sat behind her. In 1962 they went their separate ways for college, the service and other life lessons. After reuniting on October 4, 1968, they became engaged on Thanksgiving of that year. And married the following Spring… April 26, 1969. Now – 50 years later – they revisited their honeymoon destination for their 50th Anniversary! Travel Agent Anne Gordon asks them about their trip… Q. So, what was your first impression being back on Bermuda’s Elbow Beach, for the first time in 50 years? A. The Hotel (same as the honeymoon) has an updated entrance and more cottages. There are now restaurants, all along the beach, with breathtaking beach views!!! Q. What was the biggest surprise? A. Being greeted by Randy and his team – midday on Easter Sunday – with an enthusiastic welcome and a pitcher of Rum Swizzles! (A favorite drink from 50 years ago!!) There was even a Welcome Poster at the front desk -with pictures from our wedding and honeymoon! And then when they brought us to our luxurious and spacious beachfront suite (an upgrade thanks to Anne!), we were surprised to find they had even more wedding and honeymoon pictures framed and displayed throughout the suite. The amenities were amazing – from the photos to the Prosecco (on ice!) to the Happy Anniversary cake, it made us feel like royalty from the very start of our stay. Q. Has Elbow Beach changed over the past 50 years? A. The island looked the same, but the traffic is definitely worse, and the city of Hamilton is much more developed. One thing that has not changed over the years is that the people of Bermuda are just as friendly, kind and hospitable as they were 50 years ago! Q. Were the Rum Swizzles as good as you remember? A. Yes, however the volume consumed was much less this time! Q. What was your highlight of the trip? A. Celebrating the occasion with our family and close friends in such a beautiful resort was fantastic. From the amazing welcome and hospitality we felt from the entire staff at Elbow Beach during our stay, to the incredible dinner celebration at the Blu Bar and Grill on the evening of our 50th Anniversary and last night on the island, we had the trip of a lifetime! Q. Who went on this dream trip with you? A. Our daughter Jeanne, her husband Dino, and our granddaughter Lora planned the trip (with Anne’s help) and traveled with us to Bermuda for the occasion. We were also fortunate to have our dear friends Rich and Jill Mack join us for the week. Our friendship goes back to 1969 when they were our neighbors in Parkwood Village and we became very close friends. After they moved to Wilmington, NC in the late 1970s we stayed in touch and would vacation together, at first with all our children and then just the four of us. We planned a cruise to Bermuda together for a joint 40th Anniversary celebration but had to cancel last minute due to family illness, so when they heard we were traveling to Bermuda in April they asked if they could join us. It was an amazing week reminiscing, laughing and making new memories. Q. Any unexpected surprises? A. Absolutely! The incredible suite with the gorgeous view, the welcome reception and notes from the Elbow Beach staff, the gifts sent by friends to the resort, anniversary cakes brought to us on our first night and again at Blu! Q. Would you recommend this destination for others? A. Yes! We could have spent the entire week on property at Elbow Beach and felt fulfilled. Every day started with a delicious breakfast with a beautiful view served by an incredible wait staff. Mickey’s restaurant, which is right on the beach was our favorite spot for lunch and dinner and the atmosphere at night under the stars is very romantic. Where we were located, we could easily walk to the Lido complex which is where you find all the restaurants. The beach is gorgeous, and the water is an amazing aqua blue and crystal clear. Randy (Wilcott, Vice President of Sales and Marketing) made us feel so welcome. He met with us on several occasions, called to see how we were enjoying our stay and I’m guessing he made sure we were treated extra special at the “Blu Bar & Grill” where we had dinner on our actual Anniversary. They seated us at the best table overlooking the water! For help planning your next “trip of a lifetime” contact: Anne Gordon Live Life Travel, an independent affiliate of Travel Experts Member of Virtuoso, Virtuoso Family, Culinary, Wellness Virtuoso Saveur Advisory Board. LiveLifeTravel.world | 518-966-2663 The post 50 Years Ago appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Live, Life, Travel…Forget the Bucket! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Live, Life, Travel... FORGET THE BUCKET WRITTEN BY ANNE GORDON, OWNER & LEISURE TRAVEL ADVISOR, LIVE LIFE TRAVEL, LLC Click here to download article. When my 12-year old son told me that he had a “bucket list,” I was surprised by my mixed emotions. On one-hand, I was so proud that I had inspired him at such a young age to be so passionate about travel that he had his own list of “must see destinations.” However, when I think about a “bucket list” it conjures up feelings of people who almost missed out because they waited to enjoy life until it was almost too late, which is not how I want to live, not how I raise my son, and definitely the complete opposite of WHAT we should all be aiming for… Live Life Travel. Perhaps it is just a saying and I am taking it too literally; however, I view it as a mindset that we can be changing at home starting with our own children in very engaging, fun and educational ways. Instead of a “Bucket List,” we can make a conscious decision to start building “Life Lists” with our families from a very young age, which then creates both life and family goals. Here are some of the awesome benefits: Increased sense of community within the family through shared goals Better communication encouraging teamwork at home Education – Geography (we recommend not going to any destination before all children have completed their in-classroom education) Budgeting – Goals Parents become role models for their children in terms of prioritizing family time, being able to unplug from work, taking all of their paid vacation time TRAVEL BENEFITS FOR KIDS: Increased independence, self-esteem and self-confidence as well as developing intellectual curiosity, better cooperation skills and adaptability and increased tolerance and respectfulness of others. Education beyond the classroom… learning about different cultures, languages, history, currencies, museums/art as well as becoming global citizens. Vacation Benefits for Adults: Lowers stress, Heart disease prevention, Increased productivity, Better sleep, Irreplaceable memories and Experiences with your children (set goals for before the 1st child leaves for college). Naturally, as parents, our biggest challenges will always be: Having enough time Having enough money Or a combination of both at the same time We call this the “Time/Money Ratio,” and it is why planning and having goals is essential. For example, I made a commitment for my son and I to always spend February Break together when he started Kindergarten and since then, we have. However, February has become an extremely busy month for me and he’s turning 13 (new “Life Stage”) so we are re-assessing our Family Travel Goals. Perhaps it would make more sense for him to fly alone to Florida and spend more time with his Grandparents that week. This is a perfect example of why my family needs to re-assess our own goals right now. We also only have 5 years before he graduates from High School and we both know that we have certain places that we want to travel to together before then that we will need to save and plan for. Every family will have different obstacles, but the objective is to make a commitment, then work together towards the goal that is important to everyone. For your children, this will be the first of many “life lists.” Encourage your children – along with yourself – to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. Studying abroad or “volunteer travel” are both rewarding experiences for young travelers. If you are not sure where to start, speak to a travel advisor for a consultation and professional planning. LiveLifeTravel.world The post Live, Life, Travel…Forget the Bucket! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Traveling with Autism appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Traveling with Autism Click here to download our article in Saratoga Family, or read online below. Travel is usually very easy for me to write about, but this article was a tough one and not because I did not do my homework (I am now a Certified Autism Travel Specialist (CATP*), but because of how frustrated I am at the lack of certified family vacation destinations that are available in today’s world. It is something that I am committed to changing as a Virtuoso Family Travel Specialist. It is not acceptable to me and it should not be acceptable to anyone that has a child with autism. As of today, there are only 4 family brands that I currently work with and recommend that are IBCCS* certified. Beaches – Locations in Turks and Caicos, Negril and Ocho Rios Nickelodeon Resort – Punta Cana (a second location opening soon in Riviera Maya in Mexico) Royal Caribbean – Family Friendly Cruise Ships; applies to children, teens and adults Sesame Place – Has a sensory guide for every attraction so parents can plan in advance (I believe that this should become the universal standard) One of our favorite initiatives of all is Julia. In late 2017, Beaches Resorts added Sesame Street’s newest, and first ever autistic character, Julia, to the collection of walk-around characters at Beaches Resorts and staff underwent extensive training. Based on data collected since the beginning of 2018, an average of 200 children per month took part in the Meet and Greet with Julia and the ‘Amazing Art with Julia’ painting activity, across all three Beaches Resorts. The introduction of Julia also brought with it an exciting new activity, ‘Amazing Art with Julia,’ teaching children how to express themselves through art. In this activity, children are greeted by Julia a 4-year-old girl character who has Autism. Julia, who loves to paint, highlights how people can express themselves through art. Using a range of materials, children have the opportunity to explore, experiment and create in this open-ended art activity. We need to adapt to the world that we live in today, we need to be inclusive, not exclusive and like it or not, the diagnosis rates for autism are increasing by 600%** every year. The latest numbers indicate that 1 in every 59 children are affected; 1 out of 42 of those children are boys. And don’t be fooled, “Autism Friendly” is not good enough. To become a Certified Autism Center, 80% of its full-time staff must go through the IBCCS certified training program (individuals are matched up to different certifications based on their education and experience). You are then certified for a 2-year period. Below is the reality of WHY we need change. We need to support and empower families with the ability to be able to travel. Vacations are essential to these parents and families now more than ever before. PARENT TRAVEL SURVEY (SOURCE: IBCCES) Over 1,000 parents who have a child on the spectrum were asked: Do you currently take vacations as a family? 87% responded “NO” Would you be more inclined to travel if autism certified options were available? 93% responded “Yes” Are you satisfied with current travel options for families with autism? 89% responded “NO” “We know that training and certification is the best way for organizations to ensure they can accommodate all families,” explained Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman. “IBCCES is proud to work with Aquatica Orlando and other leaders in the industry to increase the availability of certified options and help individuals have a safe and enriching experience when traveling or visiting a new place. With the rise in diagnosis rates of cognitive disorders, there is a huge need for these options and for organizations to make a long-lasting commitment to their guests.” “You have no idea how much it means to our family to finally find a travel professional who understands us! Thank you!” – Greg, parent with child on autism spectrum SOME BASIC TRAVEL TIPS FOR ALL PARENTS: Take your time and be patient Be aware, be creative and be prepared Focus on your children’s strengths – lots of positive re-enforcement Do what you enjoy doing with your child – Avoid trying to fix, cure or change them Relax (easier said than done said every parent ever); Kids sense your stress AUTISM TRAVEL RESOURCES: TSA: Dress rehearsals for individuals with autism for the entire experience of air travel covering everything from check in, security, boarding and deplaning. TheArc.org/WingsForAutism AutismTravel.com Ibcces.org Autism-Society.org AutismSpeaks.org Reach out to a Certified Travel Professional to help plan your next family vacation. As we know, each individual on the spectrum is unique as should be their travel plans and preparation, but together, we can make a difference. One day, one advisor, one family, one resort at a time. Please join our Facebook group to show your support as we urge resorts and other advisors to get certified so that our families, friends and neighbors can travel easier in the future. JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE – “AUTISM TRAVEL AWARENESS” *The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) offers certification programs to travel professionals who help families and individuals with special needs prepare for their perfect vacation. A Certified Autism Travel Professional (CATP) is defined as a professional who has demonstrated that they are both knowledgeable and capable of providing support and travel related services to an individual on the autism spectrum as well as their family. **Source: CDC The post Traveling with Autism appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Ballsfest and Live Life Travel partner appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Ballsfest and Live Life Travel Partner Making Family Vacations a Priority for Those Who Need it the Most! Download a PDF of the article here. From the moment a parent hears the words “Your child has cancer,” their lives are forever changed. Life as they knew it quickly turns into a world of unknowns, worry, and fear, and strikes a stifling blow as the saying “Life can change in an instant” becomes a reality. A cancer diagnosis takes a tremendous toll on a family, emotionally, socially, physically, and financially. This is where the nonprofit Ballsfest comes into play. With their mission to lift the spirits of children, teens, and families battling childhood cancer, they strive to provide unique gifts and experiences, as well as year-round programs and services to help ease the stress and strain felt by families. Recognizing the importance of remaining positive, enjoying the moment, and creating memories, Ballsfest has provided families with unique travel experiences to do just that. We have found a partner who genuinely shares all of these same motivations with a mission that is stated clearly within the company’s name, one that she lives by herself and encourages others to as well, Live Life Travel. While already focusing on family travel locally in Saratoga Springs, NY, the partnership was a perfect fit. Anne Gordon, owner of Live Life Travel, LLC stated that “It is my belief that all families should prioritize time together, live life to the fullest, and spend as much time as possible creating family memories (while also unplugging). Having the chance to see the pictures of Evan and his family and how happy they were, (Evan’s Universal trip in January 2019 was the partnerships first collaboration together) is exactly why I love my job so much. Seeing Evan’s smile on a trip that I had the privilege of planning was just an incredible feeling of joy and I am really looking forward to creating more of that joy as our partnership moves forward with Ballsfest.” With the rigorous treatment schedules these families juggle, along with the financial implications of treatment related costs, travel typically falls to the wayside. The financial resources are not available for travel, while the importance of vacations and memory making remain so critical. Through this newly developed partnership, Live Life Travel will be the exclusive travel partner for all Baller trips. Live Life Travel shares in the belief that family vacations can truly help lift the spirits of the children and families living with a diagnosis. “We are committed to creating customized travel experiences for all of our Baller families. We have also pledged to make a financial donation to Ballsfest for every family that travels with us. In addition, we will create a page/button on our website where our clients can also make contributions. We feel that this is just the beginning of what will be a very meaningful partnership,” shared Anne. Angie Silipigno, Executive Director of Ballsfest NY, shared, “Having been in the field of childhood cancer for a long time, I know that it takes more than medicine to heal these children. While working to cure the disease, it is so important to heal the heart and spirit as well. Partnering with Live Life Travel to create once-in-a-lifetimes experiences for our Ballers immediately felt like the perfect fit. Having the confidence in Anne’s heart and passion to put together special travel packages for each family means the world to us. It is our mission to really bring joy, hope, laughter, and everlasting moments to these amazing children and their families during an extremely difficult time.” After a Baller is presented with their personalized trip idea, this partnership will go into full effect to develop a perfectly laid plan to build on the patient’s interests and deliver an unforgettable experience. BALLSFEST is a registered nonprofit organization that lifts the spirits of young children, teens, and families affected by cancer. The term “Ballsfest” was created as a play on words by testicular cancer survivor, Frank DeBlasi, to reflect his positive spirit and outlook throughout his own battle. With his passion for children, Frank has focused on helping those battling remains positive and hopeful. BALLSFEST provides personalized gifts and experiences to Ballers at an annual signature event, as well as year-round programming and support to patients and families. Live Life Travel is your local Virtuoso travel advisor specializing in custom global experiences. From family vacations, multi-gen travel, honeymoons, special occasion, groups and luxury/family cruise, we have unparalleled access around the world. We offer personalized experiences, customized to make everyone’s trip extraordinary. By booking with a local trusted travel advisor, you will also always have peace of mind, which is the ultimate luxury. Live Life Travel was founded in 2015 by Anne Gordon who encourages everyone to live life to the fullest and appreciate every day. Anne also promotes taking all of your paid vacation time and to please travel with your children. #livelifetravelnow www.livelifetravel.world The post Ballsfest and Live Life Travel partner appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post Dream Honeymoons to Italy appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Dream Honeymoons to Italy Our Favorite Italy Destinations for 2019: AMALFI COAST AND SICILY Click here to download our article in Saratoga Bride, or read online below! Belmond Hotel Timeo - Taormima, Italy While we do not subscribe to the ‘one size fits all’ theory for any vacation, that especially goes for honeymoons! However, we do have our very favorite Amalfi Coast and Sicily towns as well as the “Best of The Best” hotel and excursion recommendations that should be on the top of everyone’s list when planning their Italian getaway. Amalfi Coast – SORRENTO is the northern most town on the Amalfi Coast and a great choice if you can only pick one town to visit during your stay on The Amalfi Coast as it serves as a great “home base” if you are unable to take an extended honeymoon. Day trips and excursions are easy from Sorrento including visiting the other coastal cliffside towns, spending a day on the water, taking the ferry over to Capri or even touring the ruins of Pompeii. Sorrento sits upon a cliff and faces the Bay of Naples with stunning views of Mount Vesuvius. There is a town square, Piazza Tasso that is lined with cafes, restaurants and shops along with narrow alleys with lots of hidden gems to be discovered. Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria – Sorrento, Italy Best of The Best Sorrento Hotel – Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria* One of the most iconic hotels of Italy and it is still owned and managed by the same family (and they live there!). Established in 1834, the hotel was built on the same property where Emperor Augustus had his private villa, so it is possible to see ancient Roman ruins across the five-acre private gardens which is also a paradise of orange, lemon and olive trees, all local staples of the coast. Original antiques, unique rooms, amazing views, a central location, stunning pool, a few restaurants and bars (one Michelin starred) all make this hotel an extremely special place on the Amalfi Coast. Best of The Best Sorrento Excursion The Lemon Farm Tour is our favorite, hands down. This half day tour is nothing short of spectacular as you have the opportunity to meet 3 unique Sorrento families and not only learn/watch them do their trade, but also taste/eat/drink/enjoy the results. It is not only delicious, but a very authentic experience and a lot of fun. From the lemon farm with limoncello, lemonade and olive oil to the cheese factory (amazing) and then off to pizza making with the “pizza man.” POSITANO is a village located south of Sorrento and is magically set within a steep cliff lined with narrow streets with a pebble beach along its coastline. Positano is the place to be and be seen and is usually very crowded during high season. There are a lot of great hotels, shopping, boutiques, cafes and bars, the most popular being ‘Music on the Rocks.’ John Steinbeck is quoted as saying “Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” Harper’s Bazaar 1953 Best of the Best Positano Hotel – Le Sirenuse* Le Sirenuse opened in 1951, when four Neapolitan brothers turned their summer house in to a charming hotel overlooking the bay of Positano. Today, the 58-room boutique hotel is considered one of Italy’s best, yet it still retains the intimate and personal feel of a private home. We recommend enjoying the luxury spa, heated pool along with evening cocktails and great views at the romantic Champagne & Oyster Bar and then top the day off with dinner at Michelin starred restaurant, La Sponda. This infamous restaurant, which also boasts gorgeous sea views, is illuminated in the evening by four hundred candles that create an unforgettable atmosphere, especially for honeymooners. Palazzo Avivo – Ravello, Italy For those traveling in May and October, you can look forward to somewhat cooler temperatures and fewer crowds. During high season (June through September), we recommend Positano for those couples who want to be in the mix of fun and sun as it becomes a very lively town (sometimes crowded) and very hot during the days. A great pool is essential. And for those who book Le Sirenuse* with Live Life Travel (3 nights or more) in a Junior Suite or Suite, will receive a complimentary evening sunset cruise with bubbly during your stay. One of our favorite things to do, so an incredible deal. Best of the Best Positano Excursion Full Day Private Yacht Charter (and regardless of the wait time, the Blue Grotto is a MUST SEE) RAVELLO is set 365 meters above the Sea by Italy’s Amalfi Coast and home to iconic cliffside gardens, unbeatable views along with a quaint and historic Italian village. Best of the Best Ravello Hotels Belmond Hotel Caruso* was formerly an 11th-century palace. Our absolute favorite part of this hotel is the (almost unbelievable) infinity pool that boasts some of the best views in the world. You will also enjoy complimentary boat rides as part of your stay here. This pool is UNREAL! The truly something unique and special here for honeymooners is the “Infinity Dream Dinner,” which is a private candlelight dinner under the stars while floating on the hotel’s infinity pool, all with a private butler. Palazzo Avino* was built in what was once a 12th century private villa for an Italian noble family, then opened as a hotel in 1997. What makes this resort unique and a favorite of ours is their ‘Clubhouse by the Sea,’ which is located in Marmorata, a short 15-minute drive from Ravello (via complimentary shuttle starting at 930am daily). All hotel guests can enjoy the beach platforms directly on the sea along with a pool, restaurant and lounge chair service. Open May through October. Best of both worlds. As for excursions in Ravello, there is really no reason to leave the sanctuaries that are those two hotels. They are destinations in and of themselves. Of course, go into Ravello town and possibly do a walking tour, enjoy the shops and restaurants, but other than that, enjoy the view! TAORMINA, SICILY is a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. Sicily deserves a dedicated trip to see the entire island (we consider it one of the world’s best kept secrets), but if you want just a small taste (and you do), we recommend Taormina. Enjoy some best cannoli’s (we love Roberto’s) and cuisine of your life while strolling along the Corso Umberto. Best of the Best Taormina Hotel – Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo* The first hotel to be built in the city; you will enjoy views of the coast along with the beautiful Mount Etna. It is a Sicilian hideaway in the heart of town that fuels the imagination. Our favorite and most unique part of this hotel is its central location to town and the Greek Theatre (a must see). This resort also offers complimentary shuttle service to its sister hotel’s private beach at the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, the other “best” hotel in Taormina. You truly cannot go wrong with this choice since you get them both. Best of the Best Taormina Excursion – Mount Etna Plan for a full day guided tour of this incredible volcano. Venture to the summit, enjoy wine tasting (fun fact: some of the best wine is produced in volcanic soil). Pack a warm jacket, it’s cold up there, but you will literally feel like you are on another planet, it is one of the best experiences we can recommend. Definitely do the helicopter transfers if you can to get the absolute best views as well as maximizing your time on Etna. *Virtuoso property – All Virtuoso properties booked through Live Life Travel will receive VIP amenities that are not available online; contact for specifics To start planning your honeymoon today, email anne@livelifetravel.world Belmond Timeo Hotel - Taormina, Italy. The post Dream Honeymoons to Italy appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The post SARATOGA FAMILY, The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Your Family: A VACATION!! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Your Family: A VACATION!! It may be cliché, but also very true, the best gift that you can give your family (especially your children) is the gift of time. And what better way than traveling the world as a family. 4 TIPS FOR PLANNING ANY TYPE OF FAMILY TRAVEL 1) PLAN AHEAD – It’s never too early to start planning Tip: Airfare goes on sale 11 months in advance; We like the Hopper APP to track airfare prices 2) DON’T WAIT – Start them young; they grow up way too fast 3) ENGAGE – Let them be part of the decision; Inclusive family decisions always make every trip much more successful. 4) EDUCATE – Don’t tell the kids, but traveling the world is a totally super fun way to learn all of that “stuff” that they teach you in school. Tip: The SSCD kids learn about Ancient Rome, Greece, China, India and Egypt in the 6th Grade, we recommend taking them to these magnificent destinations after the 6th Grade. LIVE LIFE TRAVEL’S TOP PICKS FOR FAMILY TRAVEL BEACHES TURKS AND CAICOS – To us, this is comparable to what Disney World is to the rest of American children (but way better!); Contact us to receive your $250 spa credit Tip: We recommend booking 1-2 years in advance for this property (for high season weeks); there are 2 other Beaches located in Jamaica (Negril and Ocho Rios); we love them all ITALY – Ancient Rome is really something spectacular, especially after learning about it in 6th grade, we think that Italy is a trip that the entire family can enjoy; We also highly suggest heading down to Sicily, a hidden gem AFRICAN SAFARI – A must for every family; truly a once in a lifetime experience. We recommend the Cape Town – Sabi Sands – Victoria Falls combo if you want to do it right. HAWAII – A favorite destination for families over the Holiday Break and for good reason! We love the Grand Wailea in Maui and The Four Seasons Hualalai on The Big Island. Experience two very different landscapes as to what Hawaii has to offer ALASKA – Experience nature up close and personal with Lindblad Expeditions on the National Geographic expedition ships that have custom programs just for kids FOUR SEASONS RESORTS – In general, you just cannot go wrong, and we love them. Our top family choices are Nevis, Costa Rica, Anguilla, Chiang Mai and Langkawi. OUR #1 FAMILY TRAVEL RECOMMENDATION: GLOBAL CITIZENS WANTED ME to WE – A new travel partner to our Virtuoso family, this company is one of our very favorites. We would encourage you all to please check out their video on our Facebook and Instagram pages. If you want to make a difference in the world, if you want to make an impact with your children, if you want to create lifelong memories and a feeling that will never fade away, then ME to WE is what you are looking for. Travel itineraries currently include Ecuador, Kenya and India. Contact us to learn more! 52% of Americans do not take all their PAID vacation time. Please do not become or stay part of this statistic— Vacations are healthy, not only for you physically and mentally, but emotionally for your family, especially for kids. Life is short, make the most of it! The post SARATOGA FAMILY, The Ultimate Holiday Gift for Your Family: A VACATION!! appeared first on Live Life Travel.

Solo female travel anywhere and everywhere.

Planning a trip to Madinah, Saudi Arabia for a group of people? Here’s a list of family-friendly hotels in Madinah to get you started.

Syria was, literally and figuratively, a wild ride for me. I have millions of thoughts on my time there, but I’ll start with the first question everyone has: what was it like to travel to Syria?

For decades, travellers have been drawn to the Arab world’s hidden network of natural wonders, which spans from the lush palm groves of Oman to the dry oasis of Saudi Arabia. Mineral-rich hot springs, rejuvenating fountains that appear to breathe new life into the surrounding landscapes, are among the region’s most sought-after havens. Those in need of a vacation from the fast-paced world of today may take advantage of these geothermal spas and inexpensive luxury flights with Flyadeal for the ultimate rest and renewal. Read on to learn about some of the best hot springs in the Arab world.

Endless scenic roads leading everywhere and anywhere. Every kind of landscape, from snowy mountains to aquamarine coastline. A strong culture of hospitality toward foreign visitors. Motorcycle travel in Turkey (Türkiye) is a dream every biker should experience at least once.

Truck art motorcycle rental in Pakistan is a no-brainer. Here’s how we can make it happen for you in Islamabad.

Traveling overland in Turkey with your own vehicle but need to leave for some time? Here’s a guide to leaving your foreign vehicle in Turkey (Türkiye), based on my experience leaving my foreign motorcycle in Turkey for 2 months.

Traveling overland in the Middle East? You’ll likely end up at the Kuwait-Iraq border crossing eventually! Here’s what you need to know, based on my experience crossing the border by motorcycle in January 2023.

Biking through Iraq? Yes, it can be done! Here’s my guide to motorcycle travel in Iraq with everything I learned from one month of biking solo across Iraq.

Yep, solo female travel in Iraq is possible! I was there for a month, and I survived (and, dare I say, thrived). Here’s my guide with everything you need to know to travel Iraq as a solo woman.

A wee story from my visit to the Al Hasun Museum in Basra. It ended up being my favorite thing to do in Basra, Iraq!

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

Spain has long been associated with sun-drenched beaches, vibrant cities, and world-famous cuisine. While Barcelona, Madrid, and Ibiza are famous for a reason, the true soul of Spain is often found in its remote corners. One of the areas I love the best is Northern Spain, with its green mountains, rugged coastline, and medieval villages,...

The post Beyond the Beaten Path: Spain’s Hidden Villages and Untamed Landscapes appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Spain has long been associated with sun-drenched beaches, vibrant cities, and world-famous cuisine. While Barcelona, Madrid, and Ibiza are famous for a reason, the true soul of Spain is often found in its remote corners. One of the areas I love the best is Northern Spain, with its green mountains, rugged coastline, and medieval villages, offers an entirely different perspective. It doesn’t get as many visitors as the hotspots in the south but it is just as beautiful in my opinion. If you want to see a quieter side of Spain, consider stepping off the usual tourist trail and heading north after your flight to Madrid. Spend a few days in Madrid (which is amazing) and then train it north for a week or more to wander along paths the Romans once carved into mountains, explore deserts few travelers know, and hike to villages where traditions persist centuries after empires have fallen. Today, I want to share three destinations that I love: Las Médulas, the Bardenas Reales, and Santillana del Mar. Each offers a unique blend of history, natural beauty, and cultural immersion, and each is accessible enough from Madrid. 1. Las Médulas Nearly two millennia ago, Roman engineers transformed this landscape in search of gold. Using a technique called ruina montium (“wrecking of mountains”), they channeled water through tunnels to collapse entire hillsides, revealing the region’s gold deposits. The result is a surreal landscape of jagged red cliffs, hollows, and gullies, softened by forests of chestnut trees and dotted with walking trails. Today, Las Médulas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a testament to human ingenuity and the enduring power of nature. Hiking through the gullies and Roman galleries, it’s easy to imagine the labor and vision required to reshape this rugged terrain. What I love about Las Médulas is the quiet. Even in high season, you can find stretches of trail where the only sounds are your footsteps and the rustle of leaves. The views from the ridges are spectacular, and the scent of chestnuts lingers in the air. It is a place that makes you slow down, not just to take photos but to let the history and the stillness sink in. Highlights and Trails Senda de las Valiñas (4km loop): This gentle trail winds through shady chestnut groves and past openings to Roman tunnels. It is perfect for an easy morning walk that still gives you a sense of the site’s scope. Stop often to look up at the cliffs; the red soil against the greenery makes for striking photos. Mirador de Orellán: A short but steep climb leads to a platform overlooking the scarlet ridges and valleys. Sunset is my favorite time here when the fading light turns the cliffs almost orange. There is also a small gallery where you can see how the Romans dug into the rock. Galería de Orellán: If you enjoy a bit of adventure, explore this restored mining tunnel. Standing inside, you can imagine workers hauling out earth by torchlight. Senda Perimetral (14km loop): For committed hikers, this path circles the whole archaeological area. You will pass secluded forests, small farms, and the occasional wild boar track. It is long but not difficult, and you will often have it to yourself. Castro de Chano: A short drive away, this pre-Roman hillfort shows that the story of Las Médulas stretches back much further than the Romans. Mirador de Reirigo: A lesser-known lookout with a quiet bench and sweeping views across chestnut forests and distant hills. Practical Details Where to Stay: Ponferrada is only half an hour away and has a wide range of hotels and guesthouses. Best Season: Autumn for golden foliage and crisp air. Spring brings mild weather and blooming wildflowers. Tip: Bring water and a snack, especially if you plan to attempt the longer hikes. Maps or a GPS app will help you stick to the marked trails. 2. Bardenas Reales Heading south from Pamplona, the landscape changes dramatically. Rolling farmland gives way to dry plains and eventually a semi-desert of ochre mesas and dramatic ravines. This is the Bardenas Reales, a 42,000-hectare natural park in Navarre. This place is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and an area of active military use, yet shepherds still graze their flocks across the plains, and wildlife such as griffon vultures and foxes thrive. The park’s isolation means you will often have most of the trails to yourself. The first time I visited, I was surprised at how varied the scenery was. From a distance, it looks barren, but once inside, you notice details: rippling patterns in the clay, hardy flowers clinging to cracks, the occasional sheepdog trotting behind a herd. The sense of space is exhilarating. It is a destination that invites wandering and rewards those who take their time. Sights and Routes Castildetierra: This slender rock pinnacle is the park’s symbol. Photographers love it at dawn when soft light highlights its delicate shape. Even if you are not chasing the perfect shot, it is worth lingering to watch shadows shift across the flats. La Blanca Baja Loop (34km): A drive or bike ride along this track gives you a full tour of the park’s central zone. Stop at overlooks to admire canyons, mesas, and wide basins where storms sometimes leave shallow pools. Piskerra and El Rallón Hike: This moderate route climbs into the heart of the badlands. Expect rugged paths and thrilling views from the top ridges. Bring plenty of water, as there is no shade once you leave the lowlands. Balcón de Pilatos: A high vantage point where griffon vultures wheel on warm air currents. Watching them soar over the ravines is an unforgettable experience. Cabezo de las Cortinillas: A quieter formation reached by a short track. The colors of the rocks shift from pale cream to copper depending on the sun. Río Aragón Corridor: Follow the green strip along the river for a softer side of the park. It is good for birdwatching and a break from the dry heat. Practical Details Where to Stay: Tudela is the nearest town, with comfortable lodgings and excellent local restaurants serving Navarra specialties. Best Season: Visit in spring or early autumn for pleasant temperatures. Wildflowers appear after rain, adding touches of color to the plain. Summer can be extremely hot. Tip: There are no services inside the park, so stock up on water, sunscreen, and snacks beforehand. 3. Santillana del Mar Santillana del Mar is one of my favorite spots in northern Spain. It is located in Cantabria, roughly 30 minutes inland from the coast. Its cobbled streets, well-preserved medieval architecture, and charming plazas make it one of the most picturesque villages in the region. The town also serves as a gateway to one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe, the Altamira Cave, famous for its Paleolithic paintings. Wandering its narrow streets is like stepping back in time, and staying overnight allows visitors to enjoy the tranquility once the day-trippers depart. What makes Santillana special is how alive it feels. Despite its ancient walls, there is nothing dusty about it. Small bakeries sell buttery sobaos, shopkeepers greet you as you pass, and horses sometimes clop through the lanes. The rhythm is unhurried and warm. Things to See and Do Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana: A Romanesque gem with serene cloisters and intricate capitals. Take your time exploring the arches and stone carvings. Altamira Cave Replica: The original cave is closed to preserve the art, but the replica is impressive. Standing beneath the ceiling of bison and horses gives you a glimpse of human creativity from 14,000 years ago. Museo de Altamira: A museum next to the cave that expands on the region’s prehistoric culture. The exhibits are engaging and family-friendly. Plaza Mayor: The central square is framed by stone houses with wooden balconies. It is a perfect spot for coffee or a late-afternoon glass of cider. Nearby Trails: From the village, you can wander into the surrounding hills where meadows meet oak woods. Some paths continue toward the coast, giving sweeping views of the Cantabrian Sea. Cuevas de El Soplao: A short drive away, this cavern is filled with spectacular stalactites, stalagmites, and unusual formations called helictites. Comillas: A neighboring town with Modernist architecture, including Gaudí’s Capricho, only 20 minutes by car. Practical Details Getting There: Buses run from Santander or Bilbao in about 45 minutes. Renting a car gives freedom to explore nearby coves and valleys. Best Season: Spring and autumn bring mild temperatures and fewer crowds. *** Spain’s headline attractions deserve attention, yet its lesser-known landscapes and towns reveal something richer. They remind us that beyond Spain’s beaches and bustling cities lies a country where history, geography, and everyday life converge into experiences worth lingering over. Whether you are tracing Roman tunnels in Las Médulas, riding a bike across the dusty tracks of the Bardenas, or sipping cider in a Cantabrian plaza, each moment adds a new layer to your understanding of Spain. Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Europe! My detailed 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel while in Europe. It has suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today. Plan your trip to Europe like a pro Get all my best Europe travel tips as well as free planning guides sent straight to you and see more of the country for less! Get your guides here! Book Your Trip to Spain: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: Safety Wing (for budget travelers) World Nomads (for mid-range travelers) Insure My Trip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on Spain? Be sure to visit my robust destination guide on Spain for even more planning tips! The post Beyond the Beaten Path: Spain’s Hidden Villages and Untamed Landscapes appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

There’s nothing like Sweden in the summer. Light hangs in the air for hours, boats nose through island-studded bays, and cafés spill onto sidewalks as Swedes take advantage of the fleeting warm weather.  With so much of the year spent in the cold and dark, the never-ending light that summer brings does not go to...

The post A 10 Day Itinerary Down Sweden’s Coast appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

There’s nothing like Sweden in the summer. Light hangs in the air for hours, boats nose through island-studded bays, and cafés spill onto sidewalks as Swedes take advantage of the fleeting warm weather. With so much of the year spent in the cold and dark, the never-ending light that summer brings does not go to waste. Whether it’s on the many islands that dot the country’s coast, at their rustic cabins in the woods, or lounging in the city parks, Swedes flock outdoors. I’ve been to Sweden many times (including spending an entire summer in Stockholm) but have always focused on the southern part of the country. However, with a desire to see something different this visit, I decided to explore the north, starting at the top in Luleå and working my day down. If you want to get off the beaten path in Sweden, this itinerary gets you out of the main tourist hubs and highlights the less-touristy side of the country. Here’s my suggested 10-day itinerary: Day 1 & 2: Luleå Luleå is home to just 50,000 people and is the last “big” city in the north before you get into Lapland (the northernmost region of the country and home to the indigenous Sami). The city doesn’t take long to see but the surrounding area is what most visitors come for. It’s known for the Gammelstad Church Town as well as its diverse and expansive landscape, ranging from dense forests and tranquil lakes to an archipelago that has over 1,300 islands! Here are my suggested things to see and do in Luleå: The Archipelago – Luleå’s archipelago is a hotspot during the summer. Lots of people come from the south to stay here and you can lounge on beaches, go sea kayaking, boating, and hiking and area locals spend many weekends here to take advantage of the nice weather. The most popular islands are Kluntarna, Brändöskär, Junkön, and Småskär. Gammelstad Church Town – Gammelstad Church Town has over 400 red wooden cottages surrounding 15th-century church. It was originally built as overnight lodging for parishioners who traveled long distances and offers a glimpse into Sweden’s rural past. You can wander through narrow lanes with well-preserved cottages, see the medieval stone church, and learn about the traditions of church towns. Gammelstadsviken – Gammelstadsviken is a nature reserve with a large freshwater lake and vast marshlands and one of the best birdwatching spots in Sweden as over 80 different species live here. There’s lots of trails to choose from and it’s not too far from Lulea. Norrbotten Museum – This museum showcases the region’s culture and history. It’s a small, free museum with displays from Sami culture to industrial heritage that gives you a well-rounded picture of northern Sweden. Hike – Summer is the perfect season for hiking in and around Luleå. The area has numerous trails that are ideal for easy-going day hikes, and Visit Luleå provides an excellent hiking guide to help you choose a route. A few suggested hikes are Hertsöleden (easy, 8km), Fäbodaleden (intermediate, 10km), and Vitån (challenging, 12km). The Ice Track – In winter, a six-kilometer ice track is made around the city center. You can skate or kicksled around it. The track is free to use and is carefully maintained throughout the winter. Kicksleds are free to borrow as well. Where to Stay in Luleå – Clarion Hotel Sense is an affordable hotel right in the center of town. The rooms are comfy, there’s lots of space, and the breakfast buffet has everything you could ever want. There’s even a gym too. If you’re looking for a good place to eat, the harbor has a number of nice restaurants. I particularly enjoyed Bistron. Day 3 & 4: Umeå Head south four hours to Umeå. Founded in 1622 by Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, Umeå is the cultural capital of northern Sweden. It is now a city of 100,000 people known for its huge university (almost a third of the city’s population are students). With so many students here, the city has a young, vibrant feel and there’s lots of affordable restaurants and bars. (And, like everywhere on the coast, there’s easy access to nature.) Here are my suggested things to see and do in Umeå: Västerbottens Museum – Here you can explore the cultural and natural history of the Västerbotten region, from local traditions to its maritime heritage. There are documents, textiles, and over 8 million photographs here. The museum also features an open-air section with historic buildings from across the country. Guitars the Museum – Guitars houses one of the world’s largest private collections of guitars and rock memorabilia, with an emphasis on the 1950s and 60s. Even if you don’t know a lot about guitars (I certainly don’t), it’s still a cool place to visit as you’ll learn a ton about the rock and roll scene. Guided tours are available, which I highly recommend as you’ll get much more out of the experience. Kulturväven – Kulturväven is Umeå’s cultural hub, hosting everything from concerts and performances to art exhibitions and community events. Inside, you’ll find a library, cinema, and event spaces. Check the website to see what’s on during your visit as there is always tons happening. Umedalens Skulpturpark – This is a vast outdoor art park featuring sculptures by renowned Swedish and international artists. The works are set against a serene backdrop of meadows, forests, and open landscapes. It’s free to visit. Hike – From short woodland walks to longer routes along rivers and hills, there’s lots of hikes around the area. Popular hikes include sections of Isälvsleden, a 60-kilometer trail that follows an old glacier path (you can do it in sections); Tavelsjöleden, which boasts lots of caves and mountaintops; and Holmörundan, a 13-kilometer hike on the near island Holmön. To get these trails though, you’ll need to rent a car. Strömbäck Kont – This nature reserve just south of Umeå is easily accessible by (infrequent) buses if you don’t have a car. The reserve blends smooth rock outcrops, sandy coves, and quiet pine forests, offering a mix of trails that range from rugged to stroller-friendly. There’s lots of bays around, you can go swimming, and, depending on the time of year, gorge on wild blueberries. Strandpromenaden – Strandpromenaden is a relaxing riverside walkway perfect for a stroll, complete with benches and cafés along the way. The path connects several parts of Umeå, making it a pleasant way to get around the city on foot. I came here at sunset and it was especially pretty, with golden light reflecting off the river. Where to Stay – Hotell Björken is right next to the university and is just a five-minute drive to the central station. The rooms are stylish, modern, and well-lit and the hotel won’t break the bank either. For places to eat, check out Bodegan and Eljest. Facit Bar is a great spot for inventive drinks. Day 5: Örnsköldsvik Head south to Örnsköldsvik, the gateway to the High Coast. Called “Ö-vik” by locals, Örnsköldsvik is a coastal town known for its mix of outdoor adventure and modern industry, with hiking, kayaking, and skiing all within easy reach. There’s not a lot to do here so I recommend just spending one night in the town. Here are some suggested things to see and do during your visit: High Coast Trail – This 130-kilometer trail takes 5–7 days to complete but covers the entire High Coast, making it an epic and incredibly scenic adventure over mountains, rugged coastlines, and forests. If you want a shorter hike, it’s possible to just hike sections of it. There’s lots of options. Kayaking & Swimming – The waters here are calm and there’s lots to see around the archipelago. A two-hour rental is 300 SEK, while tandem kayaks cost 400 SEK. If you prefer to swim, Gullviks havsbad is the best beach in the area. It’s a sandy beach with volleyball nets, food nearby, and a BBQ area. Where to Stay – If you’re staying in town, you can stay at Elite Hotel, which is a beautiful hotel on the harbor with a huge and delicious breakfast. If you want to stay out of town, FriluftsByn is an expansive campsite with a great restaurant and bar and a hot spot for campers and roadtrippers. Day 6: Skuleskogen National Park Skuleskogen National Park, set along Sweden’s High Coast, is a sprawling wilderness where ancient forests meet the rugged Baltic shoreline. Visiting here was easily the highlight of my recent trip. Located just thirty minutes south of Örnsköldsvik, this park spans over 7,400 acres and has birch and pine forests, marshes, coastal beaches, granite mountains, and awesome views of the Baltic. The highlight of the park is Slåttdalsskrevan, a massive rock crevice that cuts through the bedrock. It’s around 200 meters long and 30 meters deep. For safety reasons, you can’t walk through it anymore but, if you come via the north side, you get a better view and can walk in a little bit. (The south entrance is completely closed off.) You could easily spend a few days here if you like to hike and camp, but at a minimum you’ll want one full day. To help you make the most of your visit, here are a few tips and considerations: 1. There are three entrances: South, North, and West, with the South gate being the busiest. Get there early if you’re driving as the parking lot is very small. To get to the park, you will definitely need a car. There are no other options. 2. The South gate trail to Slåttdalsskrevan is the shortest, however, the West gate trail provides the best diversity of landscapes (and fewest crowds). 3. If you want a relaxing hike, the coastal trail is not strenuous and has serene pebble beaches, rocky headlands, and quiet pine forests. It sees the fewest hikers too. 4. Hiking north to south (or vice versa) takes about five hours. Doing the South Gate to the crevice and back takes around three hours. There and back on the West trail is about four hours. I’m pretty fit and hike a bit fast so take that into consideration but I found the trails a lot easier than the suggested times (I stopped a lot for photos and video content). 5. Bring your own food and water as there are no facilities once you’re inside. Double check the weather too so you can dress appropriately. 6. If you’re visiting in summer, bring bug spray as I found there to be loads of mosquitoes. Day 7 & 8: Sundsvall Home to just under 60,000 people, Sundsvall is just a 90-minute drive south of Skuleskogen National Park. After being devastated by fire in 1888, the city was rebuilt almost entirely in stone, earning its elegant nickname Stenstaden (“the Stone City”). Perched between forested hills and the Gulf of Bothnia (the northern part of the Baltic Sea), the city was historically a hub of the timber and paper industries. Today, it’s best known for its easy access to outdoor activities like hiking, skiing, and exploring the nearby High Coast. Some things to see and do during your visit include: Kulturmagasinet (The Culture Warehouse) – This cultural center is housed in old harbor warehouses that have been converted into a museum, library, and art space. Inside, visitors can explore exhibitions on Sundsvall’s history and local art, as well as take in temporary exhibitions and events. Be sure to check the website for the latest events. Norra Berget (The Northern Mountain) – This is an open-air museum and park located on a hill overlooking the city. It features 40 historic buildings from around the region, including wooden houses and farmsteads. There are lots of exhibits that showcase historic life and culture in northern Sweden. It’s a really good spot to bring kids. Himlabadet Water Park – This family-friendly water park has indoor pools, saunas, and multiple water slides. There’s a small toddler area, a climbing wall that curves out over the pool, and even a surfing simulator that lets you try your hand at surfing real waves. Sidsjön Lake – Just a 10-minute drive from the city center, Sidsjön is a peaceful lake surrounded by walking and cycling trails. In summer, you can swim, fish, and paddle here, making it the perfect place to lounge away an afternoon (if you’re visiting in winter, you can skate or cross-country ski here). Alnön Island – Connected to Sundsvall by a bridge, Alnön is known for its sandy beaches and volcanic geology. The island is perfect for a day trip, offering swimming, small villages to explore, and scenic drives. Where to Stay – Lilla Hotellet is an affordable locally-owned three-star hotel. It’s quiet, small, and has a cozy breakfast nook where you can fill up before you head out to explore. Day 9 & 10: Uppsala Uppsala, Sweden’s fourth-largest city, is just under four hours south of Sundsvall by car. It’s a lively, energetic city home to almost 250,000 people and is known for its big student population (Uppsala University is here, a prestigious university founded in the 15th century). Owing to its big student population (and larger population in general), there’s much more to see and do here beyond just enjoying nature and there’s a lot of affordable restaurants and bars. Here are some of my favorite things to do: Uppsala Cathedral (Domkyrkan) – Scandinavia’s largest church, this impressive Gothic structure dates back to the 13th century. It’s the final resting place of Swedish kings, scientists, and archbishops, with soaring spires that dominate the city’s skyline. Inside, visitors can explore ornate chapels, admire medieval frescoes, and see the tombs of King Gustav Vasa and Carl Linnaeus (a famous scientist known as “the father of modern taxonomy”). Uppsala University & Gustavianum – Founded in 1477, this is Sweden’s oldest university. With over 50,000 students, it’s a massive institution with lots to see and do in its own right. The Gustavianum Museum, for example, showcases artifacts and Viking treasures. If you’re on a budget, this area of town is where you’re going to want to eat as all the cheapest bars and restaurants are here. Uppsala Castle (Uppsala Slott) – A Renaissance-era castle overlooking the city, Uppsala Castle was once the site of royal coronations and political intrigue. The castle was actually built after a peasant uprising, as King Vasa I decided more fortifications were needed to prevent future uprisings. Today, it’s home to museums and exhibitions where you can explore the original remains of the first castle built here, learn about the castle’s history, and even admire historic art. Botanical Garden & Linnaeus Garden – Dating back to the 18th century, this is the largest botanical garden of its kind in Sweden. The Linnaeus Garden, a reconstruction of famed botanist Carl Linnaeus’s own 18th-century teaching garden, offers insight into how he classified species during his time as a botanist. In spring and summer, these gardens are particularly lively and colorful, making for a calming place to relax with a book or take a stroll when the sun is shining. Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala) – Just north of the city, this ancient site features massive Viking burial mounds, a museum, and a church that was once a pagan religious center. This was a key political and spiritual site during the Viking Age, with ties to Norse mythology and early Swedish kings. Visitors can climb the burial mounds for sweeping views of the landscape. If you want to dive deeper into Viking-era history, the small Gamla Uppsala Museum is a short but worthwhile stop. Carolina Rediviva Library – The university’s main library, housing treasures like the Codex Argenteus (“Silver Bible”). Built in the 19th century, it is one of the largest research libraries in Scandinavia, with over five million volumes. Its exhibitions display rare manuscripts, maps, and early printed books. For anyone interested in history, literature, or rare artifacts, this library is a must-see (if you’re not a history buff, though, you can probably skip it). Where to Stay – If you’re backpacking, Uppsala City Hostel is the best hostel in the city. While the bunks are basic, it’s in a great location so you can easily get around. If you prefer a hotel, Botanika Uppsala is located right next to the botanical garden, which is the oldest in the country. *** This trip is best done by car, but it could also be done by train and bus if you don’t want to rent a car. And, depending how much you want to hike, you can easily add in more days (there are a ton of multi-day hikes here, after all). Plus, there’s plenty of islands in the archipelago to stop at, so you could really turn this itinerary into a multi-week trip if you wanted. It’s really up to you! Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Europe! My detailed 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel while in Europe. It has suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today. Plan your trip to Europe like a pro Get all my best Europe travel tips as well as free planning guides sent straight to you and see more of the country for less! Get your guides here! Book Your Trip to Sweden: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. It is my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned! Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as it has the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: Safety Wing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money too. Want More Information on Sweden? Be sure to visit my robust destination guide on Sweden for even more planning tips! The post A 10 Day Itinerary Down Sweden’s Coast appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

This is a guest post by Raimee Iacofano from Raimeetravel. Growing up in Michigan, Ludington was THE place to be. Every summer, my family would pack up the car, blast some classic rock (think Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and the occasional Lynyrd Skynyrd singalong), and head west for beach days, lighthouse climbs, and the BEST...

The post How to Explore Ludington, Michigan appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

This is a guest post by Raimee Iacofano from Raimeetravel. Growing up in Michigan, Ludington was THE place to be. Every summer, my family would pack up the car, blast some classic rock (think Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and the occasional Lynyrd Skynyrd singalong), and head west for beach days, lighthouse climbs, and the BEST Superman ice cream you’ll ever have. It was tradition for us each year because my grandparents called Ludington home. As a kid, it felt like pure magic. Falling asleep to the sound of waves, chasing seagulls barefoot in the sand, and sticky fingers from melting cones that somehow always dripped down to my elbow. Ludington wasn’t just a vacation spot for us, it was a special place to make our family memories! But then life happened. I grew up. Things changed. I started traveling the world, chasing new coastlines, and eventually moved across the country to California. My summers became less about beach towels and bonfires on Lake Michigan and more about airports, new countries, and ticking places off my bucket list. And yet, Ludington was always tucked in the back of my mind. No matter how many cliffs I hiked in Ireland, or temples I wandered through in Asia, part of me wanted to come back. To see if it still held the same magic or if I’d outgrown it. Finally, this summer, I returned for the first time in over a decade. And… WOW. Ludington is even more special now. It’s charming and peaceful, yet absolutely packed with things to do. If you’ve been sleeping on West Michigan (or Michigan in general), this is your official wake-up call. I thought this trip would be a little nostalgic, maybe a quiet walk down memory lane. Instead, Ludington completely surprised me with rooftop dinners, breweries with fire pits, gorgeous hiking trails, and so many nearby adventures. Honestly, there’s so much here that you could stay for a week and still leave with a list of things for “next time.” Here’s how I spent my time and everything I’d recommend if you’re planning your own trip to Ludington. Things to Do in Ludington 1. Beach Days & Lighthouse Treks First stop: Stearns Park Beach. It’s totally free and walkable from downtown, which I love. We set up with a ton of snacks, people-watched, and even played a little shuffleboard (yes, there’s free shuffleboard courts right by the beach!). The sand is soft, the vibe is laid back, and the water is that endless deep blue that makes you forget you’re not at the ocean. If you’re up early, or willing to stay late, walk the breakwall to the Ludington North Breakwater Light. The lighthouse is stunning during both sunrise and sunset, and each gives the lake a completely different mood. Pro tip: if you head out around 9 a.m., you’ll catch the SS Badger, a historic coal-fired car ferry, making its way across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin. The tradition is to wave goodbye to the passengers onboard, and it feels like stepping into a moment straight out of small-town Americana. For something more adventurous, head to Ludington State Park. It’s often called the “crown jewel” of Michigan’s state parks—and I get it now. Twenty-five miles of trails wind through forests, dunes, and beaches, with stops at both Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake. The highlight? Hiking out to Big Sable Point Lighthouse. It’s about two miles each way, but the walk is gorgeous and the payoff is huge: a tall, striped lighthouse from the 1800s standing guard against the waves. It’s the kind of spot that makes you pause and think, “Wow, I can’t believe this is in Michigan.” 2. Museum Time (because I secretly love history) One of my favorite travel quirks is that I always end up in at least one museum—no matter where I go. In Ludington, I found two gems: Historic White Pine Village: An outdoor museum with over 30 historic buildings, from a one-room schoolhouse to an old-fashioned courthouse. Walking around felt like stepping back into a simpler time, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for Michigan’s roots. Port of Ludington Maritime Museum: Perfect if you love Great Lakes history, lighthouses, or boats. It’s in a former Coast Guard station and has such a fun mix of interactive exhibits and vintage charm. Bonus: both spots are super photogenic so bring your camera. 3. Water Adventures & Nature Fix If you’re an outdoorsy person, Ludington is basically paradise. You can rent kayaks at Hamlin Lake for a peaceful paddle, or grab a pontoon boat if you want more of a party-on-the-water vibe. Paddleboards are another fun option—great workout, and you get a totally different perspective of the lake. Not into water? There’s also mountain biking, disc golf, and plenty of hiking trails. Ludington really is the best of both worlds: small-town charm mixed with endless outdoor adventures. Where to Eat & Drink in Ludington I’ll be honest: I wasn’t expecting Ludington’s food scene to be this good. But WOW. From breakfast spots to breweries, I was seriously impressed. Breakfast & Casual Bites Café 106: Cozy and cute, perfect for brunch. Their omelets hit the spot after a morning walk. House of Flavors: The most iconic ice cream shop in town. I grew up eating Superman here, but this trip I discovered Carrot Cake ice cream and let me tell you—it changed my life. The Sandbox at Stearns Beach: Right by the water, serving gourmet sliders, seasoned fries, and ice cream. Perfect beach & chill food! Dinner with a View STIX: Near the state park, with a massive biergarten, live music, and even lawn games. It’s part-restaurant, part-entertainment hub. Blu Moon Bistro: Adorable rooftop patio with seasonal dishes. This is where I had the best Reuben sandwich of my life (and I don’t say that lightly). Jamesport Brewing Co. & Ludington Bay Brewing: Two great breweries with outdoor patios—perfect for golden hour. The Perch on Hamlin Lake: A newer spot perched (literally) on a bluff overlooking the lake. Come for dinner, or just grab cocktails on their lower-level patio. Bonus: you can even arrive by boat. Something Sweet + Coffee Kilwin’s: Fudge + chocolates = heaven. Red Rooster Coffee: Cozy, friendly, with iced lattes that hit the spot after a hot day. HumaniTea: If you’re a tea drinker, or just need a reset between activities, this place is perfect. Where to Stay in Ludington There’s a vibe for every type of traveler here. Camping: Ludington State Park has beautiful campgrounds that keep you close to nature. Downtown: Stay at a historic inn, hotel, or B&B for easy access to beaches and restaurants. Lakefront: For something special, look at Hamlin Lake rentals. I stayed at Sunset Bluff Resort, and it was perfect. We had a little yellow A-frame house with cozy cabin vibes but all the essentials. The best part? A private fire pit right by the water. Every night, we roasted s’mores, watched cotton candy sunsets, and cracked open local beers from Ludington Bay Brewing. It was the kind of place that instantly melts the stress away and makes you feel like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Best Local Shops in Ludington I always carve out time to wander through local shops when I travel—it’s one of the best ways to get a feel for a town. In Ludington, I found some gems along Ludington Avenue and South James Street: Sexy Nomad: My favorite! A beautifully curated shop with vintage clothing, Moroccan jewelry, ceramics, and handmade treasures. It felt like stepping into a global market—but right here in Michigan. Sister Bees: Women-owned and full of natural skincare, beeswax products, and Michigan honey. Such a thoughtful place for gifts. The Windowsill Used & New Books: Cozy, welcoming, and filled with great reads. I picked up a romantasy novel (obviously). The staff was so kind, and it reminded me why I always stop at indie bookstores when I travel. Coming back to Ludington as an adult was like re-reading a childhood book and discovering new magic between the lines. It felt grounding, nostalgic, and fresh all at once. There’s something powerful about revisiting the places that shaped you and realizing they’re just as beautiful—sometimes even better—than you remembered. If you’ve never been to West Michigan, or it’s been a while, put Ludington at the top of your list. It’s a small town with a big heart, stunning landscapes, and a community that makes you feel right at home. Trust me! I’m already planning my next trip back. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll become a tradition again. For more planning info, check out PureLudington.com. Raimee Iacofano grew up in Michigan. Eight years ago, she set off to travel the world and has worked helping creators improve their social media (she even worked for me for a few years). She’s since started her own enterprise helping people travel smarter and off the beaten path. When she’s not roaming the world, she lives in LA. Follow her amazing videos on Instagram and TikTok and download her free guides on her website, Raimeetravel. Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post How to Explore Ludington, Michigan appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Ruin bars are all the rage in Budapest and have been around since the founding of Szimpla Kert, the mecca of all ruin bars, in 2002. These bars are built in Budapest’s old District VII neighborhood (the old Jewish quarter) in the ruins of abandoned buildings, stores, or lots. This neighborhood was left to decay...

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Ruin bars are all the rage in Budapest and have been around since the founding of Szimpla Kert, the mecca of all ruin bars, in 2002. These bars are built in Budapest’s old District VII neighborhood (the old Jewish quarter) in the ruins of abandoned buildings, stores, or lots. This neighborhood was left to decay after World War II, so it was a perfect place to develop an underground bar scene. These places were very off the beaten path, rough around the edges, and catered to artists, students, and alternative people. But they became very popular and well known by 2010 and have nice gone mainstream, though their setting has not changed. From the outside, these bars look like normal buildings. They don’t have large signs pointing the way, you don’t hear any loud noise, and there’s no line of people waiting to get in. But once you walk in and enter the inner courtyard, you find yourself in the middle of a hip, artsy, and funky bar bustling with crowds talking, dancing, and enjoying the laid-back atmosphere. Large bouncers, along with posted signs, ensure that people are quiet on their way out so as to not disturb the neighbors. Each of these ruin bars has its own personality, but they all follow a few basic principles: find an old, abandoned place, rent it out, set up a bar, fill it with flea market furniture, have a few artists come in to leave their mark on the walls and ceiling, add in some weird antiques, serve alcohol, and watch people flock in. When you’re in these bars, you feel like you’re drinking at your local thrift store. None of the furniture matches. It’s all old. It’s eclectic. It feels like they just ransacked your grandmother’s house. The ceilings are all designed differently and the places haven’t been repaired or fixed up, and there are still holes in the walls and visible pipes everywhere. Though the Ruin Bar movement has become mainstream, many of the bars have done a good job of keeping their character and staying true to their roots — even as they fill up with more tourists. Here is a list of the best ruin bars of Budapest: Szimpla Kert This was the original ruin bar. It opened in 2001, starting this trend. It’s one of the biggest ruin bars and still one of the most popular. Once an abandoned factory, now there’s a large open courtyard, a top floor filled with eclectic furniture, cocktail bars, music, and even an old, stripped-down Trabant (a communist car) to have a drink in. All the rooms have a different theme. They also sell pizza, which, after a few drinks, makes for the perfect walking-home snack. Everyone I take here says it’s one of the coolest bars they’ve ever been to. If you just visit one bar, make it this one. Grandio Grandio is a ruin bar and hostel in one. It’s famous for its outdoor, tree-filled courtyard but is mostly filled with travelers and people on bar crawls since it’s also a hostel. This is a good place to start your night and meet other travelers. During the day you can find locals relaxing here with a drink in the garden. It’s not quite as rowdy as the other bars and, since it’s smaller, it has a bit more of a laid-back and intimate vibe. Dürer Kert A former university building, this ruin bar and music venue lets you tap into your inner college student as you drink a few beers while playing foosball, Ping-Pong, darts, and a French game called pétanque (it’s fun). The courtyard garden is a good spot to enjoy all the live music that happens in this bar. The space is really big and there’s a lot of activity here. Plus, I love how the art and paintings on the wall. Instant-Fogas Complex The Instant-Fogas Complex is located in an entire apartment building and the biggest ruin bar in the city. There are over 20 rooms, 18 different bars, multiple dance floors, and 2 gardens. It’s one of the more club-like ruin bars. In Instant, you can sit in what were once individual apartments and relax on furniture that looks like it was found on the street. They’ve knocked down many of the walls to connect the apartments and make space for the DJs and dancing. Given its popularity and the fact that it’s more “clubby,” drinks here are a little more expensive than in other ruin bars. If you want to dance away the night, this is the bar for you. Doboz I’m not entirely sure if this place fits into the ruin bar culture. It was much fancier and trendier than the other bars I visited. It was like being in a “real” bar. However, I was taken there as part of a ruin bar tour, and, regardless, I loved this place. You walk into the courtyard and are greeted by a tree with a red-eyed robot attached to it. It looks like a Transformer is about to attack you. There are two main rooms: one red, the other blue. They play a lot of dance music, and this place fills up toward the end of the night. The only downside is that it has more limited opening hours than other bars. Mazel Tov This is one of Budapest’s newest ruin bars. Mazel Tov (located in the old Jewish quarter) is a community center and restaurant serving traditional Jewish cuisine by day. At night, the courtyard is a party with DJs and live entertainment entertaining guests. There’s also a restaurant here. I wouldn’t call this a “ruin bar” in the traditional sense but it’s a nice atmosphere, the decor is nice, and it’s got great drinks. It’s fancier than all the others so don’t expect something so “rough and tumble.” Csendes Letterem Café & Bar If you’re looking for a more laid-back vibe to balance out the party atmosphere of some of the other ruin bars but don’t want to sacrifice the cool vintage aesthetic, this is the bar for you. It’s located right in the heart of Budapest and is the perfect place to relax and share drinks with friends or settle in for an evening of conversation. The bar also serves food and has Wi-Fi, so you’ll often find digital nomads mingling here. *** Budapest may sell itself on history and thermal baths, but the ruin bars are by far the most unique thing about this city. Even if you don’t drink, come spend time at these ruin bars because they are such a funky way to see a popular and totally unique aspect of life in Budapest (you can even take a self-guided tour of a few bars that includes skip-the-line entry). You’ll meet a lot of locals when you visit too! So, don’t miss them. Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Europe! My detailed 200+ page guidebook is made for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel while in Europe. It has suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today. Plan your trip to Europe like a pro Get all my best Europe travel tips as well as free planning guides sent straight to you and see more of the country for less! Get your guides here! Book Your Trip to Budapest: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. For suggested hostels, here is a complete list of my favorite hostels in Budapest. If you prefer to stay in a hotel, these are my favorite hotels. And if you’re wondering what part of town to stay in, here’s my neighborhood breakdown of Budapest! Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for everyone) Insure My Trip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on Budapest? Be sure to visit my robust destination guide on Budapest for even more planning tips! The post The Best Ruin Bars of Budapest appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you fly Delta frequently and want to earn toward elite status while enjoying more travel perks than their Gold card offers but don’t want to pay the high fee of...

The post Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you fly Delta frequently and want to earn toward elite status while enjoying more travel perks than their Gold card offers but don’t want to pay the high fee of the Reserve, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is likely the best fit for you. It’s a step up in both annual fee and benefits, giving you tools to reach Medallion status faster, plus credits that can offset travel costs. Here’s my review of the card! Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Overview The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card has an annual fee of $350. (See Rates and Feees.) That is a pretty high annual fee for a lot of people but I would say that if you fly the airline enough to hit their gold status then you are definitely going to want this card over their other ones as it will give you a lot of perks and make your Delta flying experience better. This card offers: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $4,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 10/29/2025. 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets. 1x Miles on all other purchases Receive a Companion Certificate on a Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit. $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year 1 MQD for each $20 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year. $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee 15% off award travel redemptions on Delta flights Up to $120 Resy credit (up to $10 monthly in statement credits) Up to $120 Rideshare credit(up to $10 monthly in statement credits) First checked back free How to Redeem Delta SkyMiles Delta uses dynamic pricing for their rewards. That means that the number of points it takes to book a flight isn’t a set number. Instead, the rate varies based on the cash price of a flight. You can also redeem your points as cash at checkout at the rate of 1 cent per mile but I never find that a good redemption and only rarely ever do that. I only ever do this if I am low on points and don’t have enough to redeem a flight but want to save money off the cash price. The 15% off on award redemptions makes flights a lot more affordable so be sure to have your card connected to your SkyMiles account. If you are flexible with your dates, you can use their award calendar to see the best points fare as mixing and matching your dates can lead to better deals. Additionally, Delta offers a lot of award sales so keep an eye out for them. Thrifty Traveler and Point.me are two good websites that can send you alerts. I find Delta miles to be the best for U.S. domestic economy and comfort plus redemptions. Unless there’s a sale, I never book for business or international flights. The redemption value is terrible. Is the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Worth It? For regular Delta flyers aiming for Medallion status, the The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is a clear upgrade from the Gold card. The companion certificate alone can offset the annual fee. Add in the TSA PreCheck credit, higher earning rates, and MQD boosts, statement credits, and the 15% off rewards and the card pays for itself. I’m a huge fan of this one. I have the business version of it as I have the Reserve for personal use since I am heavy Delta flier but if you’re not, then get this Platinum card. Pros and Cons Pros: Companion certificate each year MQD earning through card spend Higher earn rates on Delta and hotel purchases TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit Free checked bag for you and companions 15% off award flights Cons: Higher annual fee at $350 No Sky Club lounge access Companion certificate is domestic main cabin only *** The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is best for travelers who fly Delta often and are either chasing or maintaining Medallion status. Between the companion certificate, free checked bags, and the ability to earn MQDs on spending, it offers more than enough perks to justify the higher fee for frequent flyers. If you want lounge access or premium upgrades, however, you might want to look at the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card card instead. Click here to learn more and sign up! Stop paying full price for travel! Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you: How to Pick a Credit Card How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending How to Redeem Your Points And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips! Get the guide Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you fly a few times a year, you know the pain points: baggage fees that add up quickly, boarding last and finding no overhead bin space left, and earning miles...

The post Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you fly a few times a year, you know the pain points: baggage fees that add up quickly, boarding last and finding no overhead bin space left, and earning miles at a snail’s pace. That’s where the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card can really change your travel experience. I’m a believer that if you fly one airline at least a few times per year (or have a favorite airline), you should at least get the airline’s lowest tier credit card as it comes with enough perks to justify the cost and will make your travel experience better. If you’re a Delta casual flier who wants solid perks with a $0 intro annual fee the first year, then $150, Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is the card for you. (See rates and fees.) In this review, we’ll break down the benefits, costs, and potential drawbacks so you can decide if this card is worth adding to your wallet. [TOC] What is the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card ? Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is Delta’s most basic credit card offering and is for people who want to make their airport and flying experience easier but don’t want to pay a high annual fee. The annual fee for this card is $150 per year but is a $0 intro annual fee the first year. This card offers: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 10/29/2025. 2x miles on Delta purchases 2x miles at U.S. supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide 1x miles on all other purchases Free checked bag on Delta flights $200 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year 15% off Award Travel redemptions on Delta flights Take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com. Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights Up to $100 Delta Stays credit 20% back on eligible in-flight purchases savings in the form of statement credits. Using Your Delta Points Delta uses dynamic pricing for their rewards. That means that the number of points it takes to book a flight isn’t a set number. Instead, the rate varies based on the cash price of a flight. You can also redeem your points as cash at checkout at the rate of 1 cent per mile but I never find that a good redemption and only rarely ever do that. I only ever do this if I am low on points and don’t have enough to redeem a flight but want to save money off the cash price. The 15% off on award redemptions makes flights a lot more affordable so be sure to have your card connected to your SkyMiles account. If you are flexible with your dates, you can use their award calendar to see the best points fare as mixing and matching your dates can lead to better deals. Additionally, Delta offers a lot of award sales so keep an eye out for them. Thrifty Traveler and Point.me are two good websites that can send you alerts. I find Delta miles to be the best for U.S. domestic economy and comfort plus redemptions. Unless there’s a sale, I never book for business or international flights. The redemption value is terrible. Is the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Worth It? If you fly Delta two or three times a year and don’t have elite status, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card can pay for itself just through the free checked bag benefit as that can save up to $70 on a round-trip per person. For a family of four that’s a potential savings of up to $280 per round-trip flight. Add in priority boarding, the 15% award discount, and occasional statement credits, and you’re getting solid value for a relatively modest annual fee. *** Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card hits a sweet spot for casual-to-regular Delta fliers. The free checked bag alone can offset the annual fee, and the priority boarding and award discount make travel more pleasant and affordable. While it doesn’t offer premium perks like lounge access, it delivers enough value for its price point. If you fly Delta but aren’t ready to commit to a high-fee premium card, this is an easy choice to consider. Stop paying full price for travel! Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you: How to Pick a Credit Card How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending How to Redeem Your Points And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips! Get the guide Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. For Delta loyalists who want a VIP experience, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is your best option. I’m a huge fan of Delta and I fly them almost exclusively...

The post Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. For Delta loyalists who want a VIP experience, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is your best option. I’m a huge fan of Delta and I fly them almost exclusively when I’m traveling around the United States. I find them to have the best in-flight experience, food, entertainment, and seats. If you’re a Delta fan and fly them a lot, then I really think the Reserve card is must to have. While it has the highest annual fee, it also has most comprehensive set of benefits, including Sky Club access, upgrade priority, and faster elite status earning. It’s very much worth the cost and I have gotten way more value out of it than the fee. Here’s my review of the card! Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card Overview The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is Delta’s premium card that offers frequent travelers a host of benefits and perks and is meant for people who fly a lot on the airline and want more perks as well as faster elite status earning. The annual fee is $650 (See Rates and Fees.) but I think the perks of the card outweigh the cost. This card offers: Earn 125,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 10/29/2025. 3x miles on Delta purchases 1x miles on all other spending 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club® when flying Delta and unlimited visits after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge when you book a Delta flight with your Reserve Card. Free checked bag on Delta flights Earn 1 MQD for every $10 spent on the card Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit. Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Up to $240 Resy credit (up to $20 monthly in statement credits) Up to $120 Rideshare credit(up to $10 monthly in statement credits) Up to $200 Delta Stays credit 15% off Award Flight redemption through delta.com and the Fly Delta app 20% back on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit In short, there’s a lot of perks with this card and I find that, unlike a lot of other premium cards, they are useful perks! I love the the MQD boost, the hotel credit, the the 15% back on award redemptions, and especially the lounge access. I tend to use the majority of the perks on this card, making the value of it well worth the fee. Using Your Delta Points Delta uses dynamic pricing for their rewards. That means that the number of points it takes to book a flight isn’t a set number. Instead, the rate varies based on the cash price of a flight. You can also redeem your points as cash at checkout at the rate of 1 cent per mile but I never find that a good redemption and only rarely ever do that. I only ever do this if I am low on points and don’t have enough to redeem a flight but want to save money off the cash price. The 15% off on award redemptions makes flights a lot more affordable so be sure to have your card connected to your SkyMiles account. If you are flexible with your dates, you can use their award calendar to see the best points fare as mixing and matching your dates can lead to better deals. Additionally, Delta offers a lot of award sales so keep an eye out for them. Thrifty Traveler and Point.me are two good websites that can send you alerts. I find Delta miles to be the best for U.S. domestic economy and comfort plus redemptions. Unless there’s a sale, I never book for business or international flights. The redemption value is terrible. Is the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Worth It? If you’re a frequent Delta flyer who values lounge access, wants to earn elite status quickly, and appreciates upgrade priority, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card can be worth every penny. For casual travelers, however, the $650 fee will be hard to justify, especially with limited category bonuses. Pros: Sky Club access and Centurion Lounge access with Delta flights Companion certificate MQDs at double the Platinum earning rate Upgrade priority Free checked bag and priority boarding 15% off award flights Cons: High annual fee Few bonus categories for everyday spending Lounge access has visit limits *** The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is for the most dedicated Delta travelers who want the best experience possible. Between lounge access, upgrade priority, and rapid MQD earning, it offers elite-level travel without having to fly your way there entirely. If you’re in airports and on Delta planes regularly, the Reserve delivers unmatched perks. Click here to learn more and sign up! If the fee is too high or you don’t fly Delta enough, check out the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card which may better suit your needs at a lower cost. Stop paying full price for travel! Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you: How to Pick a Credit Card How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending How to Redeem Your Points And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips! Get the guide Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

From sea to shining sea, the United States is a very diverse country – both when it comes to culture and natural beauty. I’ve traveled across the continental United States many times over (you never really realize how big Texas is until you drive through it. Damn that state is big!). I think, just on...

The post My 31 Favorite Places to Visit in the USA appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

From sea to shining sea, the United States is a very diverse country – both when it comes to culture and natural beauty. I’ve traveled across the continental United States many times over (you never really realize how big Texas is until you drive through it. Damn that state is big!). I think, just on my roadtrips alone, I’ve spent a collective two years exploring the country. That’s a lot of time and doesn’t even take into account that visit to Portland or Nashville or weekend in Savannah. In short, I’ve seen a lot of this country. And there is a lot worth seeing. In the past, I’ve talked about my favorite restaurants and lessons learned, so it only seems proper to give you a list of the best places to visit in the USA. All these places are near and dear to my heart and really showcase just how special this country is and how many wonderful places there are here. (It took me awhile to narrow down this list!) In no particular order, here’s my detailed list of the best places to visit in the USA: (Note: This list is based only on where I myself have been. There are a lot more breathtaking places I haven’t explored yet, which is why they may not be on this list. It doesn’t mean they aren’t worth seeing. It just means I haven’t been there.) 1. Memphis Gritty, industrial, and a bit run down, Memphis appears like its best days are behind it, but don’t let the rough exterior fool you — the city is still home to some killer food and a vibrant blues music scene. Additionally, there’s Graceland (Elvis’s home) for fans of the King, a big waterfront for walking, and the phenomenal, detailed, and moving Museum of Civil Rights (it’s huge, so don’t rush it!). I enjoyed the city more than I expected and was disappointed when I had to leave. To use a cliché, it’s a hidden gem! WHERE TO STAY IN MEMPHIS: Hostel Memphis – A hip hostel in a century-old building with a fully-equipped kitchen and free Wi-Fi. The hostel is also a non-profit that donates 100% of its profit to social justice causes around the city. 2. Austin I love Austin (I actually moved there in 2016 and stayed for several years before returning to NYC). The warm weather, the lively honky-tonks and live music, funky house bars on Rainey Street, amazing hiking and biking trails, and tons of outdoor activities…Austin has it all. Thanks to everything from the growing food truck population to the flagship Whole Foods store with the incredible salad bar (grilled pineapple!), I eat — and eat well — whenever I’m here. The Austin campus of the University of Texas provides a youthful vigor to the city, and its liberal attitude attracts a diverse and eclectic population. In short, you can’t skip Austin, because if you do, I’ll find you and drag you there. WHERE TO STAY IN AUSTIN: Firehouse Hostel – This centrally-located hostel is located in an old firehall from 1885. They have fast Wi-Fi, plenty of chill common areas, and an amazing on-site bar that serves top-notch craft cocktails. For more travel tips on Austin, check out these posts: My Complete Guide to Austin Where to Stay in Austin: My Favorite Neighborhoods 3. New Orleans New Orleans is a city with soul. It’s seen some hard times, but it lives on with a zest for life unmatched by most places. It has a rich and long history (don’t miss taking a haunted walking tour while you’re here) and is filled with scrumptious French-inspired Creole and Cajun food, live jazz music, street performers, and an appreciation for all the temptations of life. Life is lived well here in the Big Easy. You don’t come here to relax — you come here to indulge! In my opinion, New Orleans one of the most eclectic and vibrant cities in the United States. WHERE TO STAY IN NOLA: HI New Orleans – An award-winning hostel with spacious dorms, comfy beds, privacy curtains, and fast Wi-Fi. Everything a budget traveler needs! For more travel tips on traveling New Orleans, check out my suggested itinerary on how to spend your time there! 4. Asheville Asheville is Portland in the North Carolina mountains: full of tasty craft beer, food, and hipsters. I liked the area a lot, including its proximity to some wonderful and scenic mountain hikes such as the Carolina Mountain Trail. Moreover, the town has a lot of parks for those wanting something closer — and be sure to check out the Asheville Botanical Gardens near the university campus. The beautiful Smoky Mountains are a short drive away, and the gigantic Biltmore estate, the largest privately owned home in the US and once home to George Vanderbilt, is on the outskirts of the city. (If you’ve ever seen Downton Abbey, that’s what the house is like! And, if you haven’t, you should! The show is addicting!) WHERE TO STAY IN ASHEVILLE: Bon Paul & Sharky’s Hostel – A laid-back hostel with a spacious front and back porch for relaxing. There’s free parking, free Wi-Fi, and plenty of nearby restaurants and cafes. 5. The Pacific Coastal Drive The drive up the Pacific Coast is considered one of the most scenic in the world. I have to agree. I didn’t travel the whole coast but the portion I drove (San Francisco to Portland) was incredible: sheer cliffs, forests descending to the shoreline, miles of beaches, and giant redwoods. It’s jaw-dropping all the way. Be prepared to make slow progress, as you’ll be pulling over frequently to stop, hike, and admire the view. I especially liked Bandon and Coos Bay, Oregon, and Mendocino, California. 6. Redwood National Park Along the Pacific Coast is Redwood National Park, a large expanse of giant redwood trees filled with picnic areas, places to camp, and miles upon miles of hiking trails. Trails range from easy to strenuous, and there are many loops that head out to nearby beaches. It’s utterly beautiful, awe-inspiring, and humbling in every way. It’s a must for anyone road-tripping around California. WHERE TO STAY IN REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK: View Crest Lodge – Located on the coast in Trinidad, this rustic budget-friendly lodge has basic amenities like free Wi-Fi and TV, and some of their rooms also have full kitchens. It’s a clean, comfy no-frills place to crash for a night. 7. Glacier National Park Even though I visited when most of the park was still closed (it was too early in the year and there was still snow around), I was still stunned by the area: gorgeous snow-capped mountains rising high into the sky; a beautiful, still lake in which to admire those mountains and large glaciers; and hiking trails galore. It was the most mind-blowing place I saw on my trip, and I can understand why everyone raves about it. I can’t recommend a visit there enough. WHERE TO STAY IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK: Camping – Pack (or rent) a tent and cozy up for a few nights under the stars. You won’t be disappointed. 8. Denver Denver has a mix of outdoor ruggedness and big-city living. It has a huge craft beer scene (be sure to take a beer tasting tour), excellent restaurants (including, Sushi Sasa, one of my favorite sushi restaurants in the world), a large international airport with lots of connections, and proximity to the mountains. It’s clean, and the locals are incredibly friendly. There are few cities in the US I want to live in, but I love Denver enough to say that it’s one of them. WHERE TO STAY IN DENVER: Ember Hostel – This boutique hostel is rated one of the best in the country, offering a swank interior, free jacuzzi, outdoor firepit, comfy beds with blackout curtains, cheap overnight parking, and more. 9. Chicago When the weather is nice, I don’t think there’s a better city in the United States. Set on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago has world-class food (try the deep dish, sushi, and hot dogs), the fun and kitschy Navy Pier, Millennium Park with its famous bean-shaped statue, a kick-ass aquarium, and iconic architecture (be sure to take an architecture tour). And, once the winter deep freeze is over, Chicagoans burst out of their homes to enjoy the summer weather, so there’s a positive, happy vibe emanating through the city. Take advantage of it. WHERE TO STAY IN CHICAGO: HI Chicago – A spacious, clean hostel with female-only dorms, free Wi-Fi, and a great location. The beds are comfy and the common area is huge so it’s easy to meet people. For more travel tips on Chicago, check out these posts: My Ultimate Guide to Chicago Where to Stay: My Favorite Neighborhoods in Chicago 10. New York City The city that never sleeps. ‘Nuff said. I mean, there’s a reason I moved here — and then moved back again after living in Texas. You can’t go wrong here. New York sells itself and there’s nothing I can say here. I know you already want to go. WHERE TO STAY IN NYC: HI NYC – This is one of the biggest and best hostels in the city. It’s super easy to meet people here, they have a chill outdoor patio, and the kitchen is huge so you can cook more meals and save your budget. For travel tips on New York City, check out these posts: The Complete Guide to New York City The Best Walking Tours of New York City My Favorite Places to Eat in NYC How to Spend 4 Days in New York City 11. Natchez I was most surprised by this Mississippi city. I didn’t know anything about it, but Natchez was recommended as a place to see historic 19th-century homes, built by isolated plantation owners wanting to get away in the summer and interact and socialize with each other. As cotton became king, the houses became ever larger and more elaborate. Now, they are historic monuments, and you can tour them while enjoying a view of the Mississippi River. It’s far off the beaten path — and my favorite discovery from my last road trip. WHERE TO STAY IN NATCHEZ: The Beaumont House – If you want to splash out, this recently-renovated B&B in a mansion includes free breakfast and spacious historic rooms as well as modern amenities like Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, and flatscreen TVs. For more travel tips on Natchez, check out this post on my visit there. 12. Savannah Sitting on Georgia’s coast, Savannah escaped the wrath of the Civil War, allegedly because General Sherman thought it was too pretty to be destroyed. With streets lined with Spanish moss–covered trees, large and inviting parks, and a bustling waterfront, Savannah is a wonderful place to experience the slow pace of the Old South. I had visited this city many, many years ago, but its beauty, Southern comfort food, and tranquility stuck with me over the years. WHERE TO STAY IN SAVANNAH: Thunderbird Inn – This affordable three-star motel is just a short five-minute walk from downtown. Boasting a retro vibe, there’s free coffee and juice every morning, as well as free popcorn available in the lobby. 13. The Grand Canyon Words can’t accurately describe how incredible the Grand Canyon is. It’s breathtaking in so many ways — its sheer size, fantastic depth, red hues, and striking vistas. Most people simply stand at the edge of the canyon and look out across it, but its true size and beauty are best appreciated with a hike down to the bottom. Make the time to hike down to the Colorado River, hike the less visited trails, spend the night, and hike back up for sunset. WHERE TO STAY IN THE GRAND CANYON: Camp – Pack (or rent) a tent and cozy up for a few nights under the stars. You’ll need to reserve a spot early though as they disappear fast! For more travel tips on the Grand Canyon, read this post on hiking the canyon. 14. Nashville A little bit country, a little bit tech, Nashville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the US, and rightly so. It’s got a wonderful music scene (including the famous Grand Ole Opry), a growing cocktail bar scene, and some down-home Southern restaurants. There’s not a lot of “touristy stuff” to do here, but what makes this city one of my favorites are the music, the food, the wildly friendly and happy people, and the positive energy the city seems to exude. When you’re here, plan to spend a few hours at the Tennessee State Museum. It goes into great (though sometimes very one-sided) detail about the state’s history, but it’s more exciting than you might think. WHERE TO STAY IN NASHVILLE: Red Roof Inn – While it’s not centrally located, this is one of the city’s few affordable two-star options. A quick 13-minute drive from the Grand Ole Opry, this budget-friendly joint boasts an outdoor pool, free Wi-Fi, and free coffee. For more travel tips on Nashville, check out these posts: Where to Stay: My Favorite Neighborhoods in Nashville The Perfect Nashville Itinerary The Best Hotels in Nashville 15. San Francisco Food of every nature, hipsters, high tech, and a diverse population make San Francisco one of my favorite places to visit. Additionally, it’s close to some wonderful national parks, like Muir Woods, where you can escape the city and go hiking amid giant trees (there are lots of half-day guided tours you can take). San Francisco has so much to do that you need at least four days to really appreciate it. WHERE TO STAY IN SAN FRANCISCO: Green Tortoise – As one of the oldest in town, this hostel is an institution in San Francisco. It offers free breakfast, free dinners multiple times per week, and even a free sauna! It has a huge common room so it’s easy to meet people and has a very fun, social atmosphere. For more travel tips on San Francisco, read these posts: The Complete Guide to San Francisco My Favorite Hotels in San Francisco San Francisco Itinerary: Things to See & Do in 3 Days 16. Miami White sand beaches, Cuban food, wild nightlife, gorgeous people, and amazing warm weather — what’s not to love about Miami! I don’t think I could ever live here, but for a weekend of fun in the sun, Miami is perfect. WHERE TO STAY IN MIAMI: Generator Miami – This hostel has a pool, two restaurants, a bar, and is just minutes away from the beach. It’s massive (there are 8 floors), the beds are more comfortable than the cheap ones you’ll find at the party hostels. For more travel tips on Miami, read these posts: The Ultimate Guide to Miami The Best Hostels in Miami Where to Stay: My Favorite Neighborhoods in Miami 17. San Diego Forever warm and sunny, San Diego’s weather creates a permanently happy population that’s friendly and outgoing and that loves the outdoors — from hiking, days at the beach, or running. And they are always happy to show people their city. The downtown Gaslamp area — as well as the famous Pacific Beach — is full of trendy seafood restaurants, bustling bars, and some seriously life-changing taco stalls. I love San Diego. WHERE TO STAY IN SAN DIEGO: ITH Adventure Hostel – With a focus on sustainable travel (there’s a vegetable garden and backyard chickens), this chill hostel is very friendly and social. It’s clean, and the water pressure in the showers is decent, and the beds are comfy. (For more hostel suggestions, you can read this post. 19. Lake Tahoe Though the water level of the lake, as well as the flora and fauna around it, is sadly depleted due to the California drought, Lake Tahoe is still nonetheless impressive and beautiful. Ringed by tiny mountain communities, this is a terrific place for hiking and boating in the summer and skiing in the winter. WHERE TO STAY IN LAKE TAHOE: Camping – Pack (or rent) a tent and cozy up for a few nights under the stars. You won’t be disappointed. 20. Anywhere in Montana A lot has been written about how stunning Montana is, but it’s all wrong. It’s even better than words can describe. It’s the most crazy beautiful state I’ve ever been to, filled with wondrous mountains and hills as far as the eye can see. The people are super cool, welcoming, and outdoorsy, too. If I had to pick a favorite state, it would be Montana. I just love it. WHERE TO STAY IN MONTANA: Treasure State Hostel – Located in downtown Bozeman, this hotel is quiet, clean, and is home to friendly staff. They organize all kinds of events too, like pub crawls and movie nights, so it’s easy to hang out and meet people. 21. Washington D.C. The capital of the United States is a vibrant, international city, and that’s what I love about it. It’s second only to NYC in diversity of people and food (which is to be expected with so many people from international aid organizations and embassies). You hear a million accents in this town! Throw in the free Smithsonian museums, lots of parks, a riverfront for strolling or running, and some historic government buildings and monuments, and D.C. becomes one phenomenal place to visit, relax, eat, and drink! Be sure to take a tour of Capitol Hill while you’re here! WHERE TO STAY IN WASHINGTON: Highroad Hostel – Offering pod-style bunks, this cool hostel is located in an old Victorian mansion. The beds have thick mattresses, there’s a fully-equipped kitchen, there’s free coffee and tea each day, and they even host a free happy hour each week! For more travel tips on Washington D.C., here are some other articles I’ve written: The Ultimate Guide to Washington D.C. Free Things to do in Washington D.C. 22. Cape Cod I spent a lot of summers on the Cape since it’s where New Englanders escape for the summer. You’ll find plenty of small beach towns along the coast (Provincetown and Hyannis being the most famous but I also love Chatham, Falmouth, Wellfleet, and Brewster). If you’re looking for seafood, beaches, boardwalks, and that perfect family vacation, visit the Cape! WHERE TO STAY IN CAPE COD: Cape Sands Inn – Just a short walk from the beach in West Yarmouth, this three-star property has all the standard amenities (TV, free Wi-Fi), as well as free parking and a relaxing sauna and hot tub. 23. Boston I may be biased because I grew up here, but I love Boston and cherish my visits home. Boston rocks (Go Red Sox!). It’s historic (founded in 1630), small-ish, easy to get around, and filled with awesome and loyal people. It’s home to a ton of activities, like the Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall, the JFK Museum, and the Boston Commons and Public Garden, as well as some of the best Italian and seafood restaurants in the country. Be sure to eat at Zaftigs for the best brunch in the city! It’s wicked! WHERE TO STAY IN BOSTON: HI Boston – This spacious and clean hostel is just a short walk from pretty much everything in the city. They have female-only dorms, free Wi-Fi, and several chill common areas where you can meet other travelers. For more travel tips on Boston, check out these posts: My Detailed Guide to Boston The Ultimate Boston Itinerary Free Things to Do in Boston Where to Stay in Boston: My Fav Neighborhoods The Best Walking Tours in Boston 24. Las Vegas Vegas, baby, Vegas! A lot of people are turned off by the bright lights and gambling, but Vegas is much more than the casinos, expensive clubs, and hotels on the famous Strip. There’s incredible hiking nearby at Red Rocks National Park, a growing art scene, a booming tech scene, and lots of concerts and shows. Get off the Strip, explore the real Vegas (because technically the Strip is located in Paradise, NV, not Las Vegas), and see why people decide to live here. WHERE TO STAY IN LAS VEGAS: Sin City Hostel – Just a short walk from the (in)famous Fremont Street, this is a social hostel that hosts all kinds of events (such as bar crawls, pasta & wine nights, BBQs, casino nights, and more). It’s a great place to connect with other travelers. For more travel tips on Las Vegas, these articles can help: My Ultimate Travel Guide to Las Vegas 12 Things to Do in Vegas That Don’t Involve a Casino How to be a High-Roller in Vegas on a Low-Roller Budget 25. Portland Portland, Oregon is incredible. I would move there if it had a bigger airport with better connections. Here you’ll find an impressive food truck scene, cool bespoke bars and cocktail lounges, a craft beer scene that’s a religion to residents, relaxing parks (including a peaceful Japanese garden), a vibrant art scene, and hiking in the nearby mountains. There’s even an underground donut scene here. WHERE TO STAY IN PORTLAND: HI Portland – Northwest – Rated one of the best hostels in the world, this centrally-located HI hostel offers free breakfast, in-house made craft beer, an outdoor courtyard with a firepit, regular live music, and much more. For more travel tips on Portland, read this post on the city. 26. Seattle Home to a little business called Starbucks, it also boasts an exciting downtown, fresh fish, authentic Asian food, art museums, and funky nightlife. In historic Pioneer Square, you can go on an underground tour of the city’s ruins (a hella cool experience). Moreover, you’re right on the water and, weather permitting, can head out onto Elliott Bay to explore some little islands. Seattle is just a cool city. There’s always something to do there, it’s techy, and everyone is relaxed. Plus, there’s craft beer and coffee — what’s not to love about that! WHERE TO STAY IN SEATTLE: Green Tortoise – Located right across from the iconic Pike Place Market, this social hostel organizes all kinds of activities so it’s easy to meet people. They also offer free breakfast and daily events. It’s one of my favorite hostels in the country. For more travel tips on Seattle, read this detailed planning guide! 27. Deadwood Tucked away in western South Dakota, this town was famous during the Old West days, noteworthy enough to be the focus of an HBO series. Sort of kitschy and re-created, it’s nonetheless a very cool place where you can experience a taste of the old frontier days. It’s also conveniently located near the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. WHERE TO STAY IN DEADWOOD: Gold Country Inn – This kitschy hotel is one of the cheapest places in town. Located right downtown, they have a mini gambling hall on-site, free Wi-Fi, and free parking. It’s nothing fancy but it won’t break the bank either. 28. Kansas City I really loved this city, which features some of the world’s best BBQ and a lively downtown. There’s also a detailed and enlightening jazz museum here, as well as the eye-opening Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (that was the actual name; I’m not being racist). I wish I could have spent more time, but that’s just more reason to come back. WHERE TO STAY IN KANSAS CITY: Home2 Suites Downtown – With a fitness center, pool, and a decent breakfast spread, this three-star hotel in downtown KC is one of the more affordable places to crash in the city. 29. Louisville Louisville sits on the Ohio River and is the largest city in Kentucky. I was surprised at how much I liked it and how much there was to do here. There’s an established theatre scene, a handful of museums and galleries, tons of delicious places to eat (it’s a solid foodie city), and all the bourbon you can drink. Louseiville has a laid-back, artsy vibe to it. It feels much more like an Austin or a Portland than your traditional southern/midwest city. In the past, it was considered a fly-over city and was skipped by most people. It’s definitely not now. WHERE TO STAY IN LOUISVILLE: Microtel Inn – While it may be 20 minutes from downtown, this budget-friendly inn is affordable, includes free breakfast and free parking, and has free Wi-Fi. It’s a no-frills choice but clean and comfy. 30. Charleston Charleston is another lively city full of delicious food, fun bars, lots of history, and all the southern charm you’d ever need. It’s beautiful, the people are nice, and there’s a high, high concentration of world-class restaurants for such a small city. (If you love seafood, you’re going to love it here. This is one of the best cities in the country for seafood.) WHERE TO STAY IN CHARLESTON: Charlestons NotSo Hostel – Located in a historic neighborhood, this laid-back hostel includes free coffee/tea and oatmeal and free Wi-Fi. The rooms are small but the beds are perfectly comfy. 31. Franklin Located just outside of Nashville, Franklin is bursting with small-town charm. The city is full of history (there was a major Civil War battle here), a historic main street, and some really delicious bars and restaurants. I didn’t expect much and the city really surprised me. It’s the perfect two-night destination. WHERE TO STAY IN FRANKLIN: The Harpeth Hotel – This upscale property features a restaurant on-site, fitness center, bar, and terrace. If you don’t want to splash out, check Booking.com for other options. *** The United States is filled with too many “must-sees” places to visit to list in a single blog post. After all, the country is home to over 329 million people and covers 3.8 million square miles. Just be sure to turn off the highways, head to the small towns, and discover some favorites of your own. The best of the USA is always away from the major highways in the little no-name towns with little diners, quirky shops, and friendly people! For more travel tips on traveling the USA, read these other blog posts: How Road Trip the USA on a Budget 9 Things I Learned While Driving Across the U.S. Detailed Travel Planning Guide on The United States Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post My 31 Favorite Places to Visit in the USA appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I used to think “home” was a dirty word. Out there — on the road — was where life happened, full of exciting adventures, fascinating people, and endless possibilities. No dreary commutes, 30-minute lunch breaks, mind-numbing meetings, or endless lists of to-dos squeezed into a rushed weekend. Why would anyone want to be home, the...

The post Home and Travel: Why You Can’t Appreciate One Without the Other appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I used to think “home” was a dirty word. Out there — on the road — was where life happened, full of exciting adventures, fascinating people, and endless possibilities. No dreary commutes, 30-minute lunch breaks, mind-numbing meetings, or endless lists of to-dos squeezed into a rushed weekend. Why would anyone want to be home, the place where routine seemed to sap your will to exist? It baffled me. My first trip overseas — a vacation to Costa Rica — made me fall in love with travel. For all the reasons mentioned above, I realized why “vacations” were so romanticized in work culture. There was a freedom to them that stood in stark contrast to the daily corporate grind. So, when I finally quit my job, I set off on an adventure to experience all the world had to offer for as long as I could make my money last. I mean, who could possibly tire of life on the road? Well, me. Eventually, I did tire of being a full-time nomad. I craved a stable group of friends, regular workouts, a bar that knew my name, a kitchen to cook in, and my own bed. Suddenly, I realized that “home” wasn’t a dirty word. It just felt that way to a young, restless soul for whom adulthood felt eons away. I had come to understand what someone who is just setting out with romantic notions about travel couldn’t: You can burn out. On my first trip abroad, after 18 months, I hit the wall and decided to cut my trip short. Then, years later, in 2013, I decided that being a nomad was no longer the life for me and decided to stop traveling full-time. It was time to grow up, I said. Time to stay put and move on from nomad to… whatever came next. But the allure of the road — and the business of working in travel — pulled me back constantly. As the years went by, I lived between two worlds: one in which I am traveling, longing for home, and another in which I am home, longing to head out again. There were moments where I longed for a clone so I could live in both and satisfy my dual desires. After all, you can’t — and shouldn’t — live solely in one forever. Because travel and home are complementary forces, yin and yang. Without one, you can’t appreciate the other. All travelers hit a wall, that moment when they look around and go, “I’m ready to stay in one place.” When and why that happens is a product of many factors, but I have yet to meet a traveler who doesn’t have that experience. When I started traveling in my twenties, it took me years to feel that. But now, a couple of decades older, it happens after just a month. To handle life, the brain creates mental shortcuts to help it process information. It’s why we tend to drive the same route to work every day — it’s just easier, and it’s why you feel like “you can do it in your sleep.” Because if your brain had to figure out a new route to work every day, it would tire itself out. These routines let us put a lot of life on autopilot, so we have energy for work, people, emotions, thoughts, etc. But when you travel, you are relearning life skills every day. You have no mental shortcuts. It takes a lot of mental energy to figure out your way in the world anew each day, to repack your bag, say good-bye to the person you met yesterday, and head out and try again to navigate unfamiliar lands, languages, and people as if you had never done so before. It tires you out. Whereas a vacation is a temporary break from life, long-term travel is different. When you travel long-term (or are on the move frequently), there is no break. You’re constantly trying to figure things out and also constantly breaking your routine. Your travel battery drains. Yet in the same way the travel battery needs to be recharged, our “home” battery does too. While some people can follow the same routine their entire lives, most of us can’t. We find it boring. We need a break. After a while in one place, we yearn to break up the monotony of our daily routine. Work, commutes, errands… day in, day out, like ants marching on and on. So we go travel again. We have an adventure, meet new people, try new food, and have new experiences. Maybe be learn, grow, and expand who we are as a person. Maybe we’re away for a week or two or we take a month off. Or we start working remotely and spend months away. But eventually our battery drains: we get tired, and then we head home again. And the cycle repeats. Growing older has made me believe that we can never fully appreciate home or travel without the other. My first years on the road would never have been so amazing if I weren’t trying to break free from a quarter-century of routine. Likewise, my bed never would have felt so good had I not spent so many years on the move, changing rooms, and having erratic sleep. Nor would I have enjoyed the relief that routine brings had I not spent so many days trying to navigate the stresses of the world for so long. The joy of one is amplified by the other. Travel and home are two sides to the same coin. I appreciate each more now than when I was younger, because I get to experience both on my own terms. I’m not trying to run away from either or go to an extreme anymore. I simply follow their ebb and flow and let the battery of life dictate when one or the other happens. And I think that is a wisdom that only comes with age — and experience. How to Travel the World on $75 a Day My New York Times best-selling book to travel will teach you how to master the art of travel so that you’ll get off save money, always find deals, and have a deeper travel experience. It’s your A to Z planning guide that the BBC called the “bible for budget travelers.” Click here to learn more and start reading it today! Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post Home and Travel: Why You Can’t Appreciate One Without the Other appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company. When you run a business, every dollar counts....

The post American Express® Business Gold Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company. When you run a business, every dollar counts. Having the right credit card can not only help you pay the bills, but it can go a long way to help you actually save money. As a business owner, you can qualify for cards that offer better rewards and perks than most personal travel cards. (And don’t forget: freelancers, side hustlers, and really anyone with a bit of income on the side can qualify for business cards too. You don’t need to be an LLC or have a formal business setup!!) One of the cards I love is the American Express® Business Gold Card. It’s simple and straightforward, offering flexible bonus categories that actually match your spending habits (something I wish more cards did), and is especially good if you do a lot of paid online ads. Here’s everything you need to know about the American Express® Business Gold Card to see if it’s right for you: What is the American Express® Business Gold Card? The Business Gold Card is an easy-to-use business card issued by American Express. Its best feature is the ability to earn 4x points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month, from six eligible categories (more on those below). I like that this keeps things simple, instead of offering a laundry list of statement credits to keep track of (though if you are interested in a card that does, check out my review of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express). As an Amex card, you’ll also get access to fantastic customer service, Amex Offers, and some travel protections. Here’s a glance at some of the benefits this card offers: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first three months of Card Membership Earn 4x Membership Rewards points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each month, from six eligible categories. While your top two categories may change, you will earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1x). Only the top two categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap Earn 3x Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card Earn 1x on all other purchases Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores (that’s up to $240 per year) Earn up to a $12.95 (plus applicable taxes on one membership fee) statement credit back each month after you pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Business Gold Card (that’s up to $155 per year) No foreign transaction fees (See Rates & Fees) Extended warranty, purchase, and cellphone protection* Secondary car rental and baggage insurance* The card does come with a $375 annual fee (See Rates and Fees). *Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company. Earning Membership Rewards Points As I mentioned, the best feature of this card is the ability to earn 4x in the two categories where your business spends the most (on your first $150,000 of spending each year). It’s important to understand that this doesn’t include all spending categories though, just these six eligible categories: Purchases at US media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio) U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery U.S. purchases at gas stations Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S. The nice part about this benefit is that your top two categories can change from month to month, reflecting your real-time business needs. But one of the ways to really maximize this benefit is that you can get 4x on online ads while most other cards offer a max of 3x. So, if you put all your online ads on this card and keep it as one of your top categories, you can get more points per dollar spent on ads than any other card! And don’t worry about keeping track of which categories are your most used. The card automatically figures out your top two spending categories and awards points accordingly (you’ll see them as 1x until your statement closes, after which your top categories will be determined and points awarded). To me, this is a huge perk because it keeps things simple. After all, as a business owner, you already have enough on your plate. On the flip side, your regular business spending might not align with these categories. If that’s the case, I’d recommend a business card that has an increased earning rate on the ones that you do spend in, or one that earns more across all categories (you can check out which ones I recommend in this post on my favorite business cards). Using Your Membership Rewards Points With the Business Gold Card, you’ll earn Membership Rewards® points, which you can transfer to any of Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners. Since Amex has a well-rounded suite of travel partners, Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable points out there. These are Amex’s current travel partners: Aer Lingus AerClub (1:1 ratio) Aeromexico Rewards (1:1.6 ratio) Air Canada Aeroplan (1:1 ratio) Air France-KLM Flying Blue (1:1 ratio) ANA Mileage Club (1:1 ratio) Avianca LifeMiles (1:1 ratio) British Airways Club (1:1 ratio) Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1:1 ratio) Choice Privileges (1:1 ratio) Delta SkyMiles (1:1 ratio) Emirates Skywards (1:1 ratio) Etihad Guest (1:1 ratio) HawaiianMiles (1:1 ratio) Hilton Honors (1:2 ratio) Iberia Plus (1:1 ratio) JetBlue TrueBlue (250:200 ratio) Marriott Bonvoy (1:1 ratio) Qantas Frequent Flyer (1:1 ratio) Qatar Airways Privilege Club (1:1 ratio) Singapore KrisFlyer (1:1 ratio) Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1:1 ratio) Most transfers are instant, though some can take up to 48 hours. Remember to only transfer the exact number of points that you need to book your flight or hotel. Transfers are one-way only. You can also use your Membership Rewards points to book flights and hotels in the Amex Travel portal. I would advise against it though. It’s not as good a value as transferring your points to partners. Up to $395 Per Year in Flexible Credit for Business Purchases The Business Gold card offers statement credits in two categories, adding up to a potential annual savings of $395 per year (effectively paying for the cost of the card). First, you can earn up to $20 in statement credits each month after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores. Second, you can earn up to $12.95 in statement credits each month after you pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Business Gold Card. (Up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes. Plus Ups not eligible.) I find these statement credits a bit random, and they’re not the most helpful if you have an online business like me. I usually max out on the Grubhub credits though! Access to Amex Offers The Business Gold Card also has access to Amex Offers, an ever-changing roster of deals where you can save money or earn bonus points with select retailers. The offers are targeted, so every cardholder has their own unique array of offers at any given time. For these offers, you do have to add them to your card before making a purchase (or you won’t get the deal). Usually, they’re structured as “spend X, get Y amount back as a statement credit” though sometimes they’ll offer bonus points or a percentage back. While you probably won’t be able to take advantage of most offers, the more you can, the more you can offset the card’s annual fee. New offers get added as old ones expire, so it’s worth checking back every so often so you can add any offers to your card that you might use. Who is the Business Gold Card for? The Business Gold card is best for business owners who have regular spending in the six categories where you can earn 4x points. This card is especially ideal for entrepreneurs who don’t want to worry about rotating or pre-selecting bonus categories. All you have to do is use it for your regular business spending and you’ll get your points. Like with any card, if you’re carrying a balance — or think you might — you shouldn’t get this one. Travel cards like this come with high interest rates, and the rewards you earn won’t make up for what you’ll lose in interest charges. Trust me, no amount of points is worth going into debt over! This card is also not for anyone with poor credit, as you need excellent credit to qualify. (If that’s you, check out the best credit cards for improving your score.) *** The American Express Business Gold Card is one of my favorite business cards. The ability to automatically earn 4x points on your top two spending categories each month keeps things simple and helps you rack up points quickly. And more points equals more trips. While it’s not as flashy as its more premium counterpart the Business Platinum, I like to keep the Business Gold in my wallet because it works hard behind the scenes. If you’re looking for a solid business card that works as hard as you do, this one’s worth a closer look. Click here to learn more and sign up! Stop paying full price for travel! Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you: How to Pick a Credit Card How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending How to Redeem Your Points And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips! Get the guide Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post American Express® Business Gold Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

News releases from Gateway National Recreation Area.

Middletown, N.J. – The Leave No Trace organization has selected Sandy Hook as a 2025 Spotlight site. As outdoor areas, including Sandy Hook, continue to experience the impacts of record visitation, this new initiative from Leave No Trace shines a light on communities rising to meet this challenge with multi-day, onsite education and restoration initiatives. From June 19-21, 2025, Leave No Trace will be in Middletown, NJ with Gateway National Recreation Area to work with the community and local land agencies to deliver Leave No Trace education as well as partner on restoration and stewardship projects. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-selected-as-a-2025-leave-no-trace-spotlight.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to close sections of Jacob Riis Park Beach due to hazardous conditions. Significant beach erosion occurred along the eastern shoreline of Jacob Riis Park Beach. The erosion exposed deteriorated wooden groins, rockwork, and other structures. Access restrictions established in 2024 will continue at Bays 1 and 4 due to these unsafe conditions from beach erosion. Bays 1 and 4 will remain closed to access and swimming. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-access-restrictions-2025.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. –Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway) is seeking proposals to lease a sports and events center as well as golf facilities in two different locations. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-issues-requests-for-proposals-for-sports-and-events-center-and-outdoor-golf-facilities.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area and the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will hold an in-person meeting at 9 am on October 31, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-advisory-committee-to-hold-meeting-thursday-october-31.htm

Staten Island, NY –There will be a partial closure of Crooke’s Point beginning October 4, 2024. The parking area will remain open, and there will still be access to the shoreline. Visitors with a valid 2024 fishing access parking permit will still be able to use the site. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/partial-closure-of-crooke-s-point-at-great-kills-park-due-to-us-army-corps-dredging-project.htm

Queens, NY –Construction begins on the Jacob Riis Park Boardwalk this week. This project focuses on the eastern end of the boardwalk and is expected to be complete by the end of December. Contractors will reconstruct the boardwalk surface, rehabilitate approximately twenty benches, and construct a new accessibility ramp near the bathhouse. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/construction-begins-on-jacob-riis-park-boardwalk.htm

Staten Island, NY –The beaches at Great Kills Park are closed for swimming. Bacterial levels in water samples taken from this body of water exceed local, state and National Park Service standards for recreational activity. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/swimming-beach-at-great-kills-park-is-closed-until-further-notice.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service (NPS) will begin demolishing Fort Tilden’s building T-9 in late July. The work is expected to take 10 weeks and includes abatement before the demolition starts. All equipment, materials and work performed will be within the existing fencing surrounding Building T-9. Visitor access to the rest of Fort Tilden will not be impacted. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-fort-tilden-s-t-9.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Due to extremely hazardous conditions Gateway National Recreation Area has restricted access to sections of Jacob Riis Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-access-restrictions.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. - A temporary electric vehicle (EV) charging station and energy storage unit is now available for use in Gateway National Recreation Area. Part of a citywide pilot program, the park's first public EV charging station is located at Floyd Bennett Field in Gateway NRA’s Jamaica Bay Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/floyd-bennett-field-to-host-electric-vehicle-charging-and-energy-storage-pilot.htm

Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee to hold virtual meeting Thursday, November 9. Please contact Daphne Yun via email at Daphne_Yun@nps.gov for more information. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-november-9.htm

Broad Channel, N.Y. –Ferae Naturae (Wildlife), an exhibit of photographs by Frantz Michaud, will open on Sunday, September 17. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-photographer-presents-solo-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

The beaches at Great Kills Park are closed for swimming. Bacterial levels in water samples taken from this body of water exceed local, state and National Park Service standards for recreational activity. Due to the increased human health risk, the National Park Service warns to avoid contact with these waters until further notice. For updates on this advisory, please go to Gateway National Recreation Area's website at www.nps.gov/gate or call 718-354-4606. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/swimming-beaches-at-great-kills-park-are-closed-for-the-2023-season.htm

Middletown, N.J.—Join Gateway National Recreation Area and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to welcome 40 new citizens at Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/welcome-40-new-citizens-at-the-sandy-hook-unit-lighthouse.htm

Broad Channel, N.Y. –New York City Natural, an exhibit of paintings by Jessica Dalrymple, will open on Sunday, June 11. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-painter-presents-solo-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Middletown, N.J. –By the Sea an exhibit of paintings by Gregory Lewis, will open on Saturday, June 3. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 1 pm – 4 pm at the Fort Hancock Post Museum (Building 28) at Sandy Hook. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-painter-presents-solo-exhibit-at-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will transition to a cashless fee system. Effective June 24, 2023, fee collections booths at Jacob Riis Park will only accept credit card payments for beach parking fees. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-moves-to-cashless-fee-collection-at-jacob-riis-park.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will transition to a cashless fee system. Effective June 24, 2023, fee collections booths at Sandy Hook will only accept credit card payments for beach parking fees. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-moves-to-cashless-fee-collection-at-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Jacob Riis Park is ready for summer. All bays are fully open to visitors this weekend. The placement of 360,000 cubic yards of sand has been completed. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/beaches-at-jacob-riis-park-ready-for-summer.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee held a virtual meeting on Thursday, April 27, 2023. The Committee made several recommendations at this meeting, including a recommendation that Gateway continue the Sandy Hook leasing program, soliciting partners in the adaptive reuse of the nationally significant structures. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/the-fort-hancock-advisory-committee-affirms-the-merits-of-the-sandy-hook-leasing-program.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will hold a virtual meeting on April 27, starting at 9 am. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-april-27.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service has authorized placement of approximately 360,000 cubic yards of sand along 5,000 feet of shorefront at Jacob Riis Park as part of the US Army Corps of Engineers, New York State, and New York City’s East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet, and Jamaica Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management project. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sand-replenishment-at-jacob-riis-park.htm

Queens, N.Y. –Phenology Was My Refuge, Life Thrives at Jamaica Bay Amidst a Pandemic that Stopped the World, an exhibit of photographs by Angela Carcione, will open on April 2. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. The opening reception is free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/howard-beach-teacher-presents-photo-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Queens, N.Y.  The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to invite visitors and stakeholders to the West Pond Habitat and Viewshed Management Open House on February 25, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. More information on the event, including optional registration, is available here: https://westpondvegetatation.eventbrite.com. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/open-house-at-jbwr-feb-25.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Tangible Nature, an exhibit of photographs by Dean Moses, is on view at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center through March 31. The exhibit documents the interaction of the park’s diverse visitors as they participate in outdoors activities including observing nature, beach cleanups, kayaking, and hiking. The Visitor Center is open 10 am to 4 pm, Friday through Monday. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-tangible-nature-exhibit-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

[Rockaway, NY]—One of Queens’ most beloved Art Deco gems, the historic bathhouse in Jacob Riis Park, is coming back to life after nearly half a century. Under the terms of a new 60-year lease from the National Park Service, signed today, Bathhouse Lodge LLC, doing business as CBSK Developers and Brooklyn Bazaar, will preserve and restore the 1932 bathhouse. The revitalized landmark will feature restaurants, a bar, pool, event spaces and 28 hotel rooms. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-park-service-signs-lease-for-historic-riis-beach-bathhouse-partners-unveil-50-mill-restoration-plans.htm

Middletown, N.J.—Join Gateway National Recreation Area and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to welcome 50 candidates become citizens at Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/welcome-50-new-citizens-at-gateway-national-recreation-area-s-sandy-hook-unit.htm

Queens, N.Y. –Chris Allieri and the NYC Plover Project received the national George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Excellence on Aug. 24 at the ceremony to Celebrate America’s National Parks and the Dedication of Those Who Serve. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nyc-plover-project-receives-national-award-for-outstanding-volunteer-service.htm

A variety of National Park Service (NPS) employees, volunteers and partners were honored at a ceremony to Celebrate America’s National Parks and the Dedication of Those Who Serve. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/08-25-2022-nps-awards.htm

Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for the intentional destruction of at least one American oystercatcher egg at the border of the Breezy Point Co-Operative and the National Park Service’s Gateway National Recreation Area Breezy Point Unit, Rockaway Point, New York. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/reward-offered-for-information-about-intentional-destruction-of-shorebird-eggs-and-nests-in-new-york.htm

Queens, N.Y. – On July 1, 2022, Gateway National Recreation Area closed a portion of Bay 1 located at Jacob Riis Park to swimming and water access. Beach erosion has created unsafe conditions along the Bay 1 waters and eastern beach, exposing deteriorating wooden groins and other structures. The exposed structures could be dangerous to swimmers. The closures will be adjusted as necessary but is anticipated to remain in place for the rest of the summer. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-bay-1-partial-closure.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service has selected Riis Beach Collective (RBC) for a seven-year lease for use of facilities at Jacob Riis Park. Riis Beach Collective was one of several applicants that submitted proposals in response to a recent Request for Proposals. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-awards-lease-to-riis-beach-collective.htm

Queens, N.Y. –Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce the inauguration of a Stewardship Plan for the East and West Pond area of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Gateway National Recreation Area. This planning effort will help define the future of this beloved area by identifying and developing strategies to advance management goals related to resource protection, education and interpretation, and the visitor experience. It will also expand upon other guiding documents for the East and West Pond area, including Gateway’s 2014 General Management Plan. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/east-and-west-pond-stewardship-planning-team-invites-public-input-for-planning-efforts.htm

On the agenda for the this meeting will be the National Park Service Associate Director for Park Planning, Facilities and Lands; Associate Director for Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science; and the Chief of Staff for Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. They will discuss the leasing program and Sandy Hook as a national pilot for addressing climate change issues. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-park-service-associate-directors-to-address-fort-hancock-advisory-committee-on-april-13.htm

NEW YORK— The National Park Service (NPS) and the City of New York have announced an agreement between the City and the NPS to facilitate a path forward for a critical coastal resiliency project on Staten Island and to clean up contaminated sites in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/the-national-park-service-and-new-york-city-announce-path-forward-on-construction-of-the-staten-island-coastal-storm-risk-management-project-and-remediation-across-three-boroughs.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee brings together experts from several disciplines and occupations, drawn mainly from the communities surrounding Sandy Hook, to make recommendations for the preservation and adaptive reuse of over 30 National Landmark historic structures under the National Park Service's leasing program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-thursday-january-6.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a call for nominations for individuals who wish to serve a three-year term as a member of the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee. The 60-day period for applications will end on October 25, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/members-needed-for-fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-committee.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee brings together experts from several disciplines and occupations, drawn mainly from the communities surrounding Sandy Hook, to make recommendations for the preservation and adaptive reuse of over 30 National Landmark historic structures under the National Park Service's leasing program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-on-thursday-sept-23.htm

Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, a project of the Fund for the City of New York, is pleased to announce the groundbreaking of an innovative living shoreline and restoration project at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/living-shoreline-and-restoration-project-begins-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Starting June 1 National Park Service (NPS) contractors will be onsite at the Great Kills Park during two different mobilizations conducting field activities associated with the NPS Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigation (RI). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/media-advisory-great-kills-fieldwork-2021.htm

Starting June 1 National Park Service (NPS) contractors will be on-site at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge working to address erosion at the West Pond Trail with the construction of a living shoreline. To ensure the safety of park visitors and to help facilitate this restoration project, the majority of West Pond Loop Trail will close starting June 1, 2021 through the duration of the project. In addition, project materials will be placed in a portion of the Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center parking lot, and parking will be limited during construction. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/media-advisory-west-pond-trail-closure.htm

Middletown, N.J. – Gateway National Recreation Area announced today that full beach closures of designated nesting beach areas will begin to be implemented starting this Friday, May 21, for shorebird conservation. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/beach-closures-implemented-for-shorebird-conservation-at-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will increase its beach parking fees at Jacob Riis Park. The additional revenue will fund infrastructure and maintenance needs and help enhance the visitor experience. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-increases-beach-parking-fee-at-jacob-riis-park.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Gateway National Recreation Area will increase its beach parking fees at Sandy Hook. The additional revenue will fund infrastructure and maintenance needs and help enhance the visitor experience. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-increases-beach-parking-fees-at-sandy-hook.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee brings together experts from several disciplines and occupations, drawn mainly from the communities surrounding Sandy Hook, to make recommendations for the preservation and adaptive reuse of over 30 historic structures under the National Park Service's leasing program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-21st-century-advisory-committee-to-hold-virtual-meeting-friday-april-23.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The National Park Service has selected Riis Bazaar, LLC (Riis Bazaar) for a five-year lease for use of facilities at Jacob Riis Park. Riis Bazaar was one of several applicants that submitted proposals in response to a recent Request for Proposals. Riis Bazaar will offer a selection of year-round and seasonal food service along with a variety of music, events and pop-up vendors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-awards-lease-to-riis-bazaar.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway) is releasing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) in connection with the Silver Gull Beach Club and the Breezy Point Surf Club currently managed under contracts which expire December 31, 2021. The RFEI was developed to gather information from the public and potential operators about how the park might add additional services to improve the visitor experience at Silver Gull Beach Club and Breezy Point Surf Club in Gateway’s Jamaica Bay Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-issues-rfei-for-beach-clubs.htm

The National Park Service uses leasing to help preserve areas of historical significance, including Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock. Join us to discuss Fort Hancock’s leasing program, including its progress over the past several years as well as the most recent proposal for rehabilitating the remaining buildings for residential and commercial use. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-open-house-nov-23.htm

Middletown, N.J. - Gateway National Recreation Area is proposing to increase parking fees in the park. These parking rates would go into effect for the summer of 2021. This would be Gateway’s first parking fee increase since 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/proposed-fee-increases-for-sandy-hook-2021.htm

Queens, N.Y. - Gateway National Recreation Area is proposing to increase parking fees in the park. These parking rates would go into effect for the summer of 2021. This would be Gateway’s first parking fee increase since 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/proposed-fee-increase-for-riis-park-2021.htm

Dead Horse Bay at Gateway National Recreation Area will be closed to the public in August due to the presence of radiological contamination at the site. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/dead-horse-bay-closed.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area’s Fort Wadsworth will not be open for fireworks viewing this year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/no-wadsworth-fireworks.htm

Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Jacob Riis Park beginning Wednesday, July 1. The beach will now be open for swimming. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguards-jr.htm

Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Great Kills Park beginning Wednesday, July 1. The beach will now be open for swimming. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguards-gk.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area is increasing recreational access. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. Beginning Saturday, June 13, Gateway National Recreation Area will reopen access to Floyd Bennett Field for recreational activities such as fishing, biking, hiking. The Ryan Visitor Center, campground, archery and sports fields remain closed until further notice. Fishing permits are not being sold at this time, but 2019 fishing permits will be honored until further notice. Please follow regular park rules while visiting and maintain six feet of social distancing from other park visitors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-to-increase-access-to-floyd-bennett-field.htm

Middletown, N.J. – Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit beginning Saturday, June 13. Most beaches will now be open for swimming. Advisory signs noting which beaches are lifeguarded will be at the entrance and updated daily. Gateway National Recreation Area will resume collecting beach access fees at Sandy Hook on Wednesday, June 17. Daily fees are $15 per car. Fees are collected between 7 am and 5 pm. Restrictions on parking (50% capacity) at Sandy Hook will remain in effect through June 16. Parking will return to 100% capacity on June 17. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguards-and-entrance-fees-return-to-sandy-hook.htm

Middletown, N.J. – The demolition of buildings 119 and 120 located within the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark will begin on June 15. These historic buildings were flooded and extensively damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Buildings 119 and 120 were two of nearly one hundred temporary buildings constructed as part of the U.S. Army’s 700 series of temporary wooden buildings developed in response to the massive mobilization of World War II at Sandy Hook. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-buildings-119-and-120-at-sandy-hook-begin.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services for Canarsie Pier for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/memorial-day-canarsie-pier.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services for the Staten Island Unit for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/staten-island-memorial-day.htm

Middletown, N.J. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services for Sandy Hook for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-memorial-day.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Gateway National Recreation Area will continue to provide limited recreational access and services at Riis Park and Fort Tilden for the Memorial Day weekend. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/riis-and-tilden-access-for-memorial-day-weekend.htm

Middletown, N.J. – A four-year program has been initiated to re-establish the Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle at Sandy Hook. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/northeast-beach-tiger-beetle.htm

Beginning May 9, Gateway National Recreation Area will reopen access to the Sandy Hook Unit with certain restrictions in place. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-gateway-national-recreation-area-available-for-limited-recreational-access-on-may-9.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Tangible Nature, a virtual exhibit of photographs by Dean Moses, is available for viewing on Gateway’s website at www.nps.gov/gate. This exhibit explores the relationship and rapport humans can have with nature. “More than a walk on the trail or a rest beside the water; nature is tangible, we can not only touch it, but we in turn can be touched by it. The photos were taken during I Love my Park Day, in May 2019 and show people exploring nature and outdoor recreation; and doing some hard labor in performing a clean-up.” Dean Moses https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tangible-nature-exhibit-online.htm

Effective immediately, Sandy Hook will be closed to all park visitors until further notice. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide update on our website www.nps.gov/gate and social media channels @GatewayNPS. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-closure.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Gateway National Recreation Area, in response to Executive Orders issued by the governors of New York and New Jersey, is announcing additional modifications to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As of March 20, Gateway National Recreation Area will offer no services outside those that support visitor or resource protection. At Gateway National Recreation Area, the following services will be suspended in order to comply with these state orders. Gateway will not issue permits, conduct on-site public or educational programs, collect trash, operate or provide restrooms, maintain roads or walkways (including plowing and ice melting), or provide visitor information and services. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-is-updating-earlier-modifications-to-operations-to-implement-latest-health-guidance.htm

Staten Island, N.Y. – Gateway National Recreation Area is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. All of Gateway’s facilities, including visitor centers and ranger stations, are closed until further notice. Programs and events are also temporarily cancelled until further notice. Where it is possible to adhere to the latest health guidance, our open spaces, including trails and shorelines, remain open for visitor use. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-is-modifying-operations-to-implement-latest-health-guidance.htm

The National Park Service received an exciting redevelopment proposal from Stillman Development International for 21 historic buildings in the main post area of Fort Hancock in the Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-proposal-for-adaptive-reuse-at-historic-fort-hancock.htm

Queens, N.Y. – “Exploring Gateway,” a photography exhibit capturing the “locations, worlds and points of time” at Gateway National Recreation Area will open on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/local-photographers-featured-at-exhibit.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Our National Parks, an exhibit of paintings by Jayne Holsinger, will open on Dec. 8. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-our-national-parks-opens-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

You could spend Black Friday inside shopping. Or you could spend it at Gateway National Recreation Area. Help clean up the shores of Jamaica Bay, climb the lighthouse at Sandy Hook, or learn about New York’s harbor defense system in the nineteenth century and beyond. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/skip-the-stores-spend-black-friday-at-gateway.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is entering into an agreement with the Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD) to facilitate the rehabilitation and reuse of Sandy Hook historic Buildings 23 and 56. MCVSD intends to rehabilitate the buildings to provide needed space and facilities for the Marine Academy of Science and Technology’s (MAST) campus which is located at Sandy Hook. As proposed the project will stabilize and rehabilitate historic Barracks building 23 to provide classroom and drill hall space. Mess Hall building 56 will be rehabilitated to provide for office and uniform storage space. The purpose of this pubic meeting is to provide an update on the project status and to provide an opportunity for the public to comment. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-public-meeting-oct-19.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Where Worlds Converge, an exhibit of photographs by Micah Bochart, will open on Sept. 29. The exhibit opening and reception will be from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This free exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-where-worlds-converge-opens-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Stop by the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 6, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and pick up your pass. Join National Park Service rangers for a day filled with adventure. Join National Park Service Rangers for a day filled with fun and excitement, including ranger-led adventure hikes at 11 am and 1 pm, a special production of City that Drinks the Mountain Sky by Arm-of-the-Sea Theater at noon, face painting, and special activities with NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers, Rockaway Artists Alliance, the Queens Library Bookmobile, American Littoral Society, and more. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fourth-graders-and-their-families-can-get-free-entrance-to-public-lands.htm

Staten Island, NY –We are proud to announce that the National Park Service (NPS) has selected Moonbeam Leasing & Management LLC as the new operator of the Great Kills Marina, located at Great Kills Park in the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-operator-at-great-kills-marina.htm

Highlands, N.J. --The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a Call for Nominations for individuals who wish to serve at three-year term as a member of the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-day period for applications will end on Friday, October 4, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/call-for-nominations-for-fort-hancock-21st-century-federal-advisory-committee.htm

Jacob Riis Park Closed to Swimming, Sat. Aug. 24, 2019 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-park-closed-to-swimming-sat-aug-24-2019.htm

Highlands, N.J. – Thanks to the shared stewardship of Gateway’s visitors, plovers at Sandy Hook have had another successful breeding season. Forty one nesting plover pairs fledged 53 chicks this year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/piping-plovers-fledge-53-chicks.htm

Results of the 35th Annual Women's Lifeguard Tournament held at Sandy Hook, July 31, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-35th-annual-women-s-lifeguard-tournament.htm

Join Gateway staff, Staten Island OutLOUD and the Staten Island Philharmonic to celebrate Independence Day at the Overlook at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. OutLOUD will present a group reading of the Declaration of Independence at 1 p.m., followed by an afternoon performance by the Staten Island Philharmonic at 2 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-fourth-at-the-fort.htm

News Release and joint statement on cancellation of the 2019 Summer Concert Series. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-sandy-hook-concert-series.htm

News release and joint statement on the cancellation of the Sandy Hook Foundation 2019 Summer Concert Series. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-foundation-cancels-2019-summer-concert-series.htm

Queens, N.Y. – The Horseshoe Crab’s Crown, an exhibit outlining the creation of the children’s book written by Heather Feather and illustrated by Valentina Gallup, will open on June 9. There will be a live reading at 1:30 p.m., followed by the exhibit opening and reception from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. This exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/horseshoe-crab-s-crown.htm

Brooklyn, N.Y.—Visitors of all ages are invited to join the National Park Service (NPS), Wilderness Inquiry, NYC H2O, and Urban Soils Institute for Canarsie Pier Paddle-Fest on May 25 and Canarsie Pier Family Day on May 26. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-canarsie-pier-paddle-fest-on-may-25-and-canarsie-pier-family-day-on-may-26.htm

The demolition of the concession building at Beach Center at Area D of Sandy Hook has started. Beach Center D was previously home to the Seagull's Nest, a popular restaurant with beachgoers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-beach-center-d-begins-at-sandy-hook.htm

From March 15 through September 15, no pets are allowed on Riis Park beach, Fort Tilden beach, West Beach (area between the Silver Gull Beach Club and Reid Avenue) and the Breezy Point Tip including the Bayside Beach. Pets are also not allowed on the ocean beaches in the Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/pet-restrictions-during-plover-season.htm

The osprey are back and the warm weather is here. Spring has finally arrived at Gateway. Come out and celebrate the season with us. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-spring-at-gateway.htm

Alcoholic beverages at the Sandy Hook Unit are now prohibited. This restriction will not affect visitors having weddings at the Sandy Hook Chapel or other permit holders. Smoking is also prohibited on beaches at Sandy Hook. Designated smoking areas are in all parking lots. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/alcohol-and-smoking-ban-now-in-place-at-gateway-s-sandy-hook.htm

Queens, N.Y. --Solitude, an exhibit of photographs by Agron Jashari, will open on Sunday, March 31. There will be an opening reception from 2 pm. – 4 p.m. at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. This exhibit will be on display for two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/solitude-opens-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Are you interested in working at the country’s first urban National Park site? Are you passionate about New York and New Jersey history and nature? If so, consider applying to work at one of our three units: Sandy Hook, NJ; Staten Island, NY; or Jamaica Bay, NY. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/we-re-hiring.htm

The National Park Service seeks to fill multiple surf-lifeguards jobs at all three units of Gateway National Recreation Area for the 2019 summer season. These positions are currently open on USAjobs.gov. The closing date for these jobs is February 15, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/lifeguard-positions-available-at-all-three-gateway-units.htm

2018 Fishing Permits Extended for Duration of Federal Government Shutdown. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/news-releases2019permits.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area announced today some basic visitor services will reopen using revenue generated by recreation fees. Basic services include re-opening bathrooms, collecting garbage, picking up litter, and plowing of roads to visitor use areas. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/news-releases.htm

Visit Fort Wadsworth at 2 pm on Saturday, December 29 to meet an archaeologist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/if-old-bones-could-talk.htm

The Mandarin duck seen recently paddling in ponds in Central Park brought much excitement to New Yorkers and on the Internet. But have you ever seen surf scoter, a sea duck with a clown-like face? They can be seen at Jamaica Bay in Queens. How about a long tailed duck, which can be seen at the Sandy Hook Unit in New Jersey? For bird and wildlife enthusiasts, Gateway National Recreation Area will hold two free events in November and December. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/see-the-surf-scoter-and-other-amazing-ducks.htm

Queens, N.Y. Soundless Landscapes, a solo show of recent work by Michael Berg&#é;s, at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Please come to see the show and greet the artist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-soundless-landscapes-art-exhibit-opens.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has been selected to receive an Open OutDoors for Kids Focus City grant for the 2018-2019 school year from the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Gateway will work with new partners to expand educational programs for local 4th grades in the school districts and communities adjacent to Jamaica Bay. Working together, NYC H2O, the Urban Soils Institute (USI), a division of the NYC Soil and Water Conservation District, and Gateway’s education staff will provide programs and activities focused on the diverse natural resources of Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/open-outdoors-for-kids-focus-city-grant.htm

Queens, N.Y. – Ninety-six hatchlings of the world’s most endangered sea turtle crawled out to sea this week on West Beach on the Rockaway Peninsula located within the Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway), National Park Service (NPS). Kemp’s ridley is the smallest of all sea turtles and critically endangered. It was listed in the United States as endangered throughout its range in 1970. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rarest-sea-turtle-nests-on-queens-beach.htm

Visitors of all ages are invited to celebrate the grand re-opening of both the Sandy Hook Lighthouse and the Fort Hancock Post Museum at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area on Sunday, September 30, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/re-opening-of-sandy-hook-lighthouse.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is please to announce a donation of sand fro the restoration of Spring Creek Park at the Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sand-donation-at-spring-creek.htm

Queens, N.Y. - An exhibit showing the transformation of religious offerings collected from monthly cleanups at Jamaica Bay will be on display at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center starting Aug. 19. The exhibit will be up for about two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/project-prithvi-exhibit.htm

Starting July 8 until approximately August 11, National Park Service (NPS) contractors will be on-site at Spring Creek Park conducting field activities associated with the NPS Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) response action. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/spring-creek-field-work-2018.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to demolish building 69, a WWII temporary barrack building at Floyd Bennett Field. The NPS has determined that the proposed demolition of building 69 will have an adverse effect on the Floyd Bennett Field Historic District. As required by National Historic Preservation Act, the NPS has notified the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation of the adverse effect, is consulting with New York State Historic Preservation Office, and has drafted a Memorandum of Agreement to that effect https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/demolition-of-building-69.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area invites the local community to join the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and its Traveling Trainer Team for training, education programs and service projects in Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/help-improve-jamaica-bay.htm

Join us at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center this Saturday at 2 pm for the opening of exhibit: "Drowning in Plastic: Why Recycling is Not Enough." https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-photography-exhibit-opening-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge-visitor-center.htm

We are proud to announce that the National Park Service (NPS) has selected Moonbeam Leasing & Management LLC, as the new operator of Gateway Marina, in the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-operator-at-gateway-marina.htm

Fort Tilden, a solo show of recent paintings by Chris Wright will begin on Saturday April 7 with an opening reception from 2 to 4 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Please come to see the show and greet the artist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/-fort-tilden-exhibit-opens-april-7-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

Gateway is proud to announce that the National Park Service has signed a Letter of Intent with Brooklyn Bazaar for the Jacob Riis Park Bathhouse. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/letter-of-intent-signed-for-jacob-riis-bathhouse.htm

Sarah Nicholls exhibit opens at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on January 27 and will run for approximately two months. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/book-arts-exhibit-by-sarah-nicholls-opens-january-27-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

The National Park Service is seeking interested parties to redevelop historic structures and land at Fort Tilden East and Riis Landing in the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/honor-history-invest-in-its-future-gateway-seeks-new-uses-for-fort-tilden.htm

Join us the weekend of December 16 and 17 to celebrate Christmas at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/christmas-at-fort-hancock-join-us-on-december-16-and-17-for-this-weekend-event.htm

Join the National Park Service (NPS) throughout October for the Herbert Johnson Lecture Series. All talks are held on Sundays at 2 pm at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/herbert-johnson-fall-lecture-series.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is expanding our camping this year with a pilot partnership with Getaway. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/getaway-at-gateway-gateway-expands-camping-opportunities.htm

Join the National Park Service (NPS), on Saturday May 6, from 2-4 PM at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge for an exhibit opening and reception. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/painting-exhibit-by-denise-levine-opening-at-jbwr-on-may-6.htm

On Sunday April 30, 2017 at 10:15 United States Park Police Officers were dispatched to Plumb Beach for someone taking horseshoe crabs. Officer Fajardo and Greenberg arrived and observed Huase Chen harvesting horseshoe crabs from the waters of Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/illegal-taking-of-horseshoe-crabs.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 19,720,849 visitors to ten National Parks of New York Harbor (NPNH) sites in 2016 spent $656,984,900 in communities near the park. That spending supported 8,120 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $838,133,200. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/report-shows-visitor-spending-supports-more-than-8000-jobs-in-local-economy.htm

Today, partners came together to ensure kids across america can experience our national parks and public lands. The National Park Trust, The North Face, and the Outdoor Alliance for Kids joined the National Park Service to co-host an Every Kid in a Park event at Gateway National Recreation Area for 90 fourth graders from PS 119 in Brooklyn. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nyc-4th-graders-get-free-passes-to-visit-public-lands-and-waters.htm

The 2016 Herbert Johnson Lecture Series kicks off at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Sunday afternoon, September 25 at 2 PM with a presentation by Brooklyn-based artist and naturalist George Boorujy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/artist-and-naturalist-george-boorujy-to-present-at-the-2016-herbert-johnson-lecture-series.htm

On September 23-24 2016, the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway will participate in the National Parks BioBlitz. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/bioblitz-is-coming-to-sandy-hook.htm

Gateway seeks public comment for proposed parking fee increases in 2017. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-seeks-public-comment-concerning-proposed-2017-fee-increases.htm

The NPS proposes to partially deconstruct Hangar 38 at Miller Field, Staten Island, in response to Hurricane Sandy damage, and is requesting public review of the Memorandum of Agreement with the New York State Historic Preservation Office (NY SHPO). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/partial-deconstruction-of-hangar-38-miller-field-memorandum-of-agreement-available-for-public-review.htm

Gateway's annual photo contest returns. We are accepting photos that tell the story of "I found my park and it's Gateway" during the month of July. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-2016-photography-contest.htm

Gateway's Jamaica Bay will be holding a BioBlitz from June 10-June 11. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jamaica-bay-bioblitz.htm

Fourth graders will be able to use their Every Kid in a Park pass to waive parking fees at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit and Jacob Riis Park in Queens between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 2016. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-invites-fourth-graders-to-use-their-every-kid-in-a-park-pass.htm

Gateway has issued the first lease for adaptive reuse at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-issues-first-lease-for-adaptive-reuse-at-historic-fort-hancock.htm

On Friday, April 22, representatives of Gateway National Recreation Area, New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg (NJYC), and The Corps Network will cut the ribbon on a new porch for Building 26, the headquarters for Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit in Middletown. The ceremony will begin at 11 A.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ribbon-porch.htm

Superintendent Jennifer T. Nersesian announced the next step toward completing the Relocation of Hurricane Sandy Damaged Maintenance Facilities with a Finding of Nos Significant Impact (FONSI) for the preferred alternative. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-finding-of-no-significant-impact-for-staten-island-unit-maintenance-relocation.htm

Gateway is currently in phase one of rehabilitating the Sandy Hook Beach Center Areas for sustainability and resiliency as the park continues to recover after Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-plans-for-rehabilitation-of-sandy-hook-beach-centers.htm

The National Park Service has prepared an Environmental Assessment to evaluate a range of alternatives to address changes to access and visitor safety brought about by Hurricane Sandy at Fort Tilden Beach, Queens, New York. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-public-meeting-and-review-period-for-an-environmental-assessment-for-the-fort-tilden-shore-access-and-resiliency-project.htm

Law enforcement rangers arrested a man for poaching a deer in Sandy Hook. His trial is set for early April. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/poacher-arrested-at-sandy-hook.htm

Rolling Requests for Proposals are Open at Gateway's Fort Hancock https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rolling-requests-fro-proposals-are-open-at-fort-hancock.htm

United States Park Police conducted a surveillance operation in Jamaica Bay in response to an increase in suspected resource violations. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/united-states-park-police-catch-illegal-fishers-in-jamaica-bay.htm

Gateway Photo Contest opens on October 3. The top ten photographs will be displayed until the end of November https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-photo-contest-exhibit-opens-on-october-3-at-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge.htm

In celebration of Public Lands Day, Gateway National Recreation Area and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation welcome volunteers to help clean up the entrance to Great Kills Park along Hylan Boulevard. The event will occur Saturday, September 26 beginning at 9 A.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gk-entrance-cleanup.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a Call for Nominations for individuals who wish to serve a three-year term as a member of the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-day period for applications will end on Thursday, October 15, 2015. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/c4n2015.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, September 18, 2015 beginning at 9 A.M. at the Monmouth County Eastern Branch Library, located at 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury, New Jersey 07702. All meetings are open to the public, with a period set aside for public comment. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-sept-18-2015.htm

For 24 hours, citizen scientists will swarm the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, counting as many species as possible. At the same time, free fun and educational activities will take families and individuals into the coves and trails of this seven-mile peninsula on the New Jersey coast. The BioBlitz is co-sponsored by the American Littoral Society (ALS) and the National Park Service (NPS). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-bioblitz-2015.htm

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has named 13 members to the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee, including the re-appointment of seven members whose terms had expired and six new members. Membership of the Committee will increase from 20 to 22 members. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-new-members-2015.htm

Find Your Park and Celebrate the 99th Birthday of the National Park Service. All three of Gateway's units will celebrate Founders Day on August 23 and 25. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/find-your-park-and-celebrate-the-99th-birthday-of-the-national-park-service.htm

Come meet the young adults who are rebuilding the historic porch on Building 26, Sandy Hook’s Headquarters (built in 1899), and learn how Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE) and New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg are preserving America’s parks while building a brighter future for young people in need of a second chance https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/hope-porch.htm

Gateway NRA hosts the oldest and largest all-women lifeguard tournament in the nation, to be held on Wednesday, July 29 at Sandy Hook Unit's Beach Area E. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/allwoman2015.htm

The second annual Gateway National Recreation Area photography contest will be held during the month of July. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrating-the-nps-centennial-find-your-park-and-tell-us.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Committee will meet at 9 am on Friday, June 26 at the Beech Room of the Thompson Park Visitor Center. Thompson Park, located at 805 Newman Springs Road in Lincroft NJ, is part of the Monmouth County Park System. Members of the public are invited. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/facameetjune2015.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has made available for public and regulatory review the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Staten Island Unit Maintenance Facilities Project, Relocation of Hurricane Sandy Damaged Maintenance Facilities to More Sustainable Locations. This project would make the maintenance facilities resilient to coastal storm surges and flooding through relocation to areas outside the 100-year floodplain. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/environmental-assessment-notice-of-public-availability-and-open-house.htm

Fort Hancock's History House will open to the public on May 17 for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/find-your-park-at-history-house-starting-may-17.htm

"Find Your Park" this summer in your backyard at Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-summer-gateway-offers-ways-to-find-your-park-right-in-your-backyard.htm

The camping fee at Gateway National Recreation Area has been set at $30 per night, beginning with the 2015 season https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fees-to-improve-camping-experience-at-gateway-national-recreation-area.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet this Friday, May 8 from 9 AM to 3 PM in the Beech Room at Thompson Park, part of the Monmouth County Parks System. All committee meetings are open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-mtg-may2015.htm

With the donation of materials from the Sandy Hook Foundation, Gateway National Recreation Area will repair and rebuild Sandy Hook's popular Observation Deck beginning Wednesday, April 1. The park expects the deck to be available to the public by the Memorial Day weekend. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/repair-deck.htm

Come to an open house to learn more about leasing an historic former Army building as a residence, bed-and-breakfast or home for a not-for-profit. The open house takes place Sunday, March 22 from 1-3 PM at the Sandy Hook Chapel. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rfp-openhouse.htm

25 young adults from all over the state of NJ will clean up Building 27 at Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock on March 12 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-jersey-youth-corps-volunteers-to-help-clean-up-historic-building-at-the-sandy-hook-unit-of-gateway.htm

The NPS, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration- Eastern Federal Lands Highway (EFLHD) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate a range of alternatives to address access, safety, and shoreline resiliency at Fort Tilden, Gateway National Recreation Area due to changes brought about by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-begins-planning-process-for-the-fort-tilden-shore-road-shoreline-resilience-project-queens-new-york.htm

Join the NPS at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge visitor center to see the winners of the 2014 Gateway National Recreation Area Photo Contest. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/terrapins-tell-a-tale.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will provide an update on the project status for the West Pond Environmental Assessment on Jan. 22 at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-park-service-to-hold-open-house-on-the-status-of-the-jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge-west-pond-environmental-assessment.htm

Gateway will hold a public meeting on January 13 at the Ryan Visitor Center to discuss our proposed fee increases at Riis Beach. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-will-hold-public-meeting-on-january-13-regarding-proposed-fee-increases-at-jacob-riis-beach.htm

Gateway seeks new uses for historic buildings at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-seeks-new-uses-for-historic-buildings.htm

Gateway will hold a public meeting on January 5 to hear comments about our proposed fee increase. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-will-hold-public-meeting-on-january-5-regarding-proposed-fee-increases-at-sandy-hook.htm

Gateway is seeking public comments on proposed fee hikes for camping throughout the park and beach parking at Jacob Riis and Sandy Hook. Gateway is also initiating a study into the feasibility of instituting metered parking at select locations throughout the park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-seeks-public-comment-concerning-proposed-fee-increases.htm

Come celebrate Fort Hancock's military history by joining the volunteers of the Army Ground Forces Association from October 24 through October 26. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2014.htm

The winners of Gateway's first annual photo contest have been announced. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-photo-contest-winners-announced.htm

Gateway begins planning process for the proposed relocation of Hurricane Sandy damaged maintenance facilities to more sustainable locations within the Staten Island Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-begins-planning-for-proposed-relocation-of-damaged-maintenance-facilities-in-staten-island.htm

The NPS is preparing an Environmental Assessment in support of a proposed project to address damage to the maintenance facilities at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-begins-planning-for-proposed-relocation-of-damaged-maintenance-facilities-at-sandy-hook.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet Friday, September 12 at Brookdale Community College's Donald D. Wagner Student Life Center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/facabrookdale.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area proposed Phased Rehabilitation of historic Fort Hancock https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/phased-development-plan-proposed-to-rehabilitate-fort-hancock.htm

The National Park Service welcomes public comment and regulatory review of an Environmental Assessment (EA) to extend the Multi-Use Path (MUP) at Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit. Comments are due by August 29, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/mup-3.htm

The Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee will meet at Twin Lights Historic Site in Highlands, NJ, on Friday, July 18 beginning at 9 am. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca7-14.htm

The National Park Service has extended the deadline for nominations to the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee by one week. The new deadline is Monday, July 21. Applicants must nominate themselves; a third party cannot nominate someone else. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/c4nextend.htm

The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) in support of a proposed project to address damage that resulted from a breach that occurred at the West Pond of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge during Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/westpondassess.htm

The National Park Service seeks nominations for individuals to be considered for appointment to the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/c4n.htm

Rockaway! Arts festival to celebrate the reopening of Fort Tilden and recognize ongoing recovery of the Rockaways. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rockaway-arts-festival-to-celebrate-the-reopening-of-fort-tilden-and-recognize-ongoing-recovery-of-the-rockaways.htm

For 250 years, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse has guided ships sailing to New York Harbor with beams of light. Now it broadcasts live streaming images of Sandy Hook to the entire world. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandycam.htm

A beacon of hope survives hurricanes, wars and a revolution--and it still works today. On Saturday, June 14, 2014, Gateway National Recreation Area will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse from 11 am to 4 pm. The public is invited to this free event. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shl250.htm

Audrey Tepper, historical architect, National Park Service (NPS), Technical Preservation Services Branch, will discuss the basics of the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program and national standards for rehabilitating historic buildings. These standards will be used for rehabilitation of historic buildings at Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/teppertalk.htm

Gateway releases final General Managment Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-releases-final-general-management-plan-environmental-impact-statement.htm

Tourism to National Parks of New York Harbor creates more than $390 Million in Economic Benefit. Report shows visitor spending supports 4,395 jobs in local economy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tourism-to-national-parks-of-new-york-harbor-creates-more-than-390-million-dollars-in-economic-benefit.htm

Wood Chipping to Begin at Great Kills Park, Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/wood-chipping-to-begin-at-great-kills-park-staten-island.htm

Gateway receives dozens of responses to its Request for Expressions of Interest https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-leases-on-life-at-fort-hancock.htm

Media tour of Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock held November 8, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/invest-in-historic-shoreline-properties-media-tour-of-fort-hancock.htm

Honor History, Invest in its Future. Gateway seeks new uses for historic buildings at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/honor-history-invest-in-its-future.htm

Jennifer T. Nersesian selected as superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-superintendent-at-gateway.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area Draft General Management Plan is Unveiled, Public Invited to Help Shape Vision for a Great Urban National Park https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-draft-general-management-plan-unveiled.htm

Next Fort Hancock FACA meeting June 28 2013 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-advisory-committee-to-meet-june-28-2013.htm

The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting Friday, June 28, 2013, at Building 22, the NJ Sea Grant Consortium, located within Fort Hancock from 9 am to 5:30 pm. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-advisory-committee-to-meet-on-june-18-2013.htm

All lifeguarded beaches at Gateway National Recreation Area open this weekend. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/we-love-the-smell-of-sunscreen-in-the-morning.htm

Ready, Set, Launch! Great Kills Park's Boat Ramp Reopens to Public on May 25 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/great-kills-park-boat-ramp-reopens-to-public.htm

Sandy Hook reopens on May 1st for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-reopens-to-public-on-may-1st.htm

Miller Field reopens to the public on April 20. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/miller-field-reopens-to-the-public-on-april-20.htm

Gateway Nation Recreation Area today announced a series of steps to rebuild the Nichols Marina in Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-announces-plan-to-rebuild-nichols-marina-at-great-kills.htm

Twin W First Aid Squad (FAS), located in West Windsor, N.J., will donate an ambulance to the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area on Friday, March 22. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ambulance.htm

The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee will hold its second meeting Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, N.J. from 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-march.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area announces more opening dates as the park recovers from Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-national-recreation-area-hurricane-sandy-recovery-update.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area and Rockaway Little League (RLL) have signed a seven-year lease on the use of a clubhouse and corresponding lands, which include ball fields, in Fort Tilden, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rll.htm

Gateway presents "Hurricane Sandy: Before and After," a photo exhibit featuring the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the park. The exhibit will open from 3-5 P.M. on Sunday, January 27 at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Queens. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandypix.htm

Tidewater, Inc. has been awarded a contract, through an Inter-Agency Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), to investigate and clean up radiological contamination at Gateway National Recreation Area's Great Kills Park on Staten Island https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-tidewater.htm

The Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting January 23-24, 2013 at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, N.J. (not at Monmouth University, as stated in the Federal Register notice). https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-meeting-01-13.htm

It has been more than a month since Hurricane Sandy roared up the East Coast, making landfall on October 29 in southern New Jersey. The storm affected nearly 70 national park sites, including all 15 in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, from Sandy Hook (part of Gateway National Recreation Area) in New Jersey to St. Paul's Church National Historic Site in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., from Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey to Fire Island National Seashore on Long Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-parks.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will reopen two sections of the park after Thanksgiving. These are the first areas of Gateway to reopen after Hurricane Sandy. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-jbwr.htm

MillionTreesNYC and NYC Parks joined Gateway in planting 5,000 trees at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field on Saturday, October 27 to celebrate the park's 40th birthday. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/milliontrees-oct2012.htm

Effective Monday, October 15, 2012, the Sandy Hook - Spermaceti Cove Visitor Center will close and relocate to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse Keepers Quarters. The Spermaceti Cove Visitor Center will be closed until spring 2013 based on visitor patterns and anticipated staffing levels for the coming year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shuvcclosed2013.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area begins its yearlong celebration of its 40th anniversary with the annual celebration of Fort Hancock Days, to be held on Friday, October 26 through Sunday, October 28, 2012. Fort Hancock Days commemorates the establishment of Fort Hancock as an Army base on October 30, 1895. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/forthancockdays2012.htm

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has nominated 20 citizens to serve on the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. This committee will provide recommendations for the historic reuse of more than 30 historic buildings in the Fort Hancock Historic Landmark District within Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca-fort-hancock.htm

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a radiological survey of closed areas in Gateway NRA's Great Kills Park on Monday, August 27 through Wednesday, August 29, 2012. The first areas surveyed included the fishing area along Great Kills Harbor. Depending on the results of the survey, the fishing area may be reopened for use in 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-survey-8-2012.htm

Help Gateway choose among three draft management alternatives for the General Management Plan (GMP) which will guide the park for the next 20 years. The park will hold three open houses on the GMP in mid-September to discuss options. Each alternative lays out a different direction for the park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gmp-open-houses-2012.htm

Visit any of Gateway's three units on Saturday, August 25 for free programs celebrating the National Park Service's 96th birthday. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/founders-day-2012.htm

Your Park! Your Health! will celebrate the end of a successful summer engaging new communities with heart-smart outdoor recreation at Gateway this Wednesday, August 15, from 3-6 P.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ypyh-kayak.htm

On Monday, August 6, Gateway National Recreation Area welcomed its first overnight public campers at its new campground in the Horseshoe Cove area of Sandy Hook, N.J. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-inaugurates-overnight-camping-at-sandy-hook.htm

For the last few years, the National Park Service has worked with local communities to promote our "Leave No Trace" policy at North Channel Beach in Queens, particularly with the nearby Hindu community. Join us on Saturday, August 4 as volunteers pitch in to make this special place shine. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/cleanup-ncb-2012.htm

Help Gateway create a new vision for a great urban park in the 21st century. As part of the next phase of the on-going the General Management Plan (GMP) process, a series of outdoor information sessions will take place in August 2012 at three locations: Sandy Hook, New Jersey; Jacob Riis Park, Queens, and; Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gmp-beach-2012.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) and the City of New York plan to establish a top-tier science research center focused on urban ecosystem restoration and resiliency within Jamaica Bay. Organizations interested in partnering with the City and the NPS are invited to submit Expressions of Interest between now and November 2, 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rfei-resilience.htm

Two piping plover nests were vandalized in two locations within the protected nesting area at Breezy Point, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, on the night of July 3. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/plover-eggs-stolen.htm

For the 28th time, Gateway NRA hosts the oldest and largest all-women lifeguard tournament in the country, again at our Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/pr-lifeguard-tourney-2012.htm

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today signed an unprecedented agreement between the National Park Service (NPS) and the City of New York Department of Parks of Recreation – spelling out ways the two agencies will cooperatively manage 10,000 acres of federal and city-owned parks in and around Jamaica Bay to promote visitation, education programs, scientific research and opportunities for outdoor recreation. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/seamless.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area invites the public to learn about and comment upon the development of an Environmental Assessment/Assessment of Effect (EA/AoE) for the park's upcoming Fire Management Plan. The EA/AoE sets out varying options for the park's wildland fire management program, including one chosen as a preferred alternative. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fire-ea.htm

On Friday, July 6, Gateway National Recreation Area will welcome its first overnight camper at its new campground in Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. Seven campsites, nestled among trees and historic fortifications, offer views of the Verrazano Bridge and New York Harbor. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/camp-si.htm

As of July 1, 2012, the Visitor Center at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island has closed for building repairs and restoration of museum exhibits. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-wadsworth-vc-closes.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area hosts Staten Island Borough Historian Thomas Matteo as he reveals the impact of the War of 1812 on New York City. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-the-bicentennial-of-the-war-of-1812-at-fort-wadsworth.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has issued its annual revision of the park compendium which details a park's basic operations and responsibilities to visitors. A compendium includes hours of operation for areas of the park, permits issued by the park and activities which are permitted or prohibited. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/compendium-2012.htm

The National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/military-pass.htm

Thanks to funds available through the federal government’s Hazards Fuel Mechanical Treatment Project, Gateway National Recreation Area is helping create firebreaks in key high risk areas along the island’s southeastern shore, which will aid in protecting local residents from wildfires. A press conference is scheduled Thursday, May 17, 2012 in an open area on Kissam Avenue to mark this ongoing effort. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/mow-phrag.htm

On Sunday, May 20, Gateway National Recreation Area will host "Treasure Your Island," a community awareness day, at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place rain or shine from 11:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/treasure-2012.htm

Enjoy both the natural and historical sides of Sandy Hook Sunday, May 20, as Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit hosts Coastal Defenses Day and Ocean Fun Day. All events are free and will be offered rain or shine. Lunch may be purchased at the event. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ocean-coastal-defense-fun.htm

Swing into the 1940s when the Army Ground Forces Association (AGFA), hosts an evening of swing dancing at historic Fort Hancock, part of Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. This fundraiser for AGFA takes place Saturday, May 19 as park of Coastal Defenses Weekend. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-swings.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area reopens the William Fitts Ryan Visitor Center on Saturday, May 5, 2012. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ryan-reopens.htm

Nominations are being accepted for the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. This new committee will advise the Secretary of the Interior on the development of a reuse plan and on future uses of the Fort Hancock Historic Landmark District, part of Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/faca.htm

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District is leading an ambitious effort to restore the Yellow Bar Hassock Marsh Islands, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. The project addresses the vanishing marsh islands by beneficially using clean sand from the New York - New Jersey Harbor deepening project to restore marsh habitat in the bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/restore-yellow-bar.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that more than 17.5 million visitors in 2010 spent $462.3 million in the National Parks of New York Harbor and the communities surrounding them. That spending supported more than 5,300 jobs in the local area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/npnh-brings-visitors-to-ny-area.htm

The National Park Service has chosen JBAY, LLC to operate beach club services at both the Silver Gull Beach Club and the Breezy Point Beach Club beginning April 1, 2012. Both clubs are located in the Breezy Point section of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jbay-beach-clubs.htm

The President's Fiscal Year 2013 budget released today requests $2.6 billion to support the bureau's critical national recreation, preservation and conservation mission. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/2012-nps-budget-request.htm

Five local juveniles were arrested Monday, January 30 by U.S. Park Police at Spring Creek, a wildland area of Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City. They were charged with lighting a fire in an undesignated area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/spring-creek-arrests.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has begun the restoration of a two-acre pilot project at Crooke’s Point, a section of Great Kills Park in Staten Island, to create a barrier island habitat. This project will replace non-native and invasive plant species with native trees and shrubs that will nurture a more diverse wildlife population at the coastal area. The National Park Service (NPS) is partnering with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and MillionTreesNYC. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/crookes-point-restoration-begins.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area and the Rockaway Artists Alliance (RAA) signed a new cooperative agreement to expand programs offered within Gateway's Fort Tilden area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/raa.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has selected the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children for negotiation of a proposed lease for Officers Row Building #2, one of the historic structures at Fort Hancock located within Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit in Highlands, N.J. A Letter of Intent is required to begin formal negotiations of the lease terms. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/arfc.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will hold its annual celebration of Fort Hancock Days Friday, October 28 through Sunday, October 30, 2011. Fort Hancock Days commemorates the establishment of Fort Hancock as an Army base in October 1895 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area invites the public to a meeting on Thursday, October 27 which will highlight the ongoing investigation and cleanup of contamination at Gateway’s Great Kills Park. The public will have the opportunity to examine documents and ask questions. Doors open at 6:30 P.M. at the Education Field Station at Great Kills Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-public-meet.htm

Scientists will report the latest data on the preservation and restoration of Jamaica Bay at State of the Bay--Revisited, a symposium at Brooklyn College on Thursday, October 20. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/stateobayma.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Brooklyn College will host a scientific symposium concerning Jamaica Bay at the Brooklyn College Student Center on Thursday, October 20. State of the Bay: Past, Present and Future - Revisited is an all-day event featuring research by top scientists in the preservation and restoration of Jamaica Bay in New York Harbor. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/state-o-bay.htm

About 600 youth representing New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Boy Scouts of America, Brooklyn Council, the YMCA and the Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc., will join together to enjoy local stewardship and camping at The Great Urban Outdoor Event on October 15-16 at two parks in Brooklyn: Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field and NYC Parks’ Marine Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gao-2011.htm

Over 150 volunteers helped Gateway National Recreation Area identify animal and plant species at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit September 16-17. The American Littoral Society co-sponsored the event with the park, attracting volunteers and sponsors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-bioblitz-results-2011.htm

Beginning Sunday, October 2, several visitor centers throughout Gateway National Recreation Area will have new operating schedules. The new schedule is based on visitor patterns and anticipated staffing levels for the coming year. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/vc-hours-fall-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area will commemorate National Public Lands Day this September 24, and National Hispanic Heritage Month with an array of events around the park led by "Tu Parque, Tu Salud" interns who are focused on promoting health and fitness in Spanish-speaking communities in Brooklyn and Queens https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/npl-day-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area, in partnership with the American Littoral Society, will hold a 24-hour “wildlife census” of animals and plant species at the park’s Sandy Hook Unit in Highlands, N.J. One “species” that the park hopes to see in great numbers: volunteers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-bioblitz-2011.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) issued two prospectuses for proposals to operate two beach clubs at Gateway National Recreation Area: Silver Gull Beach Club and Breezy Point Beach Club, both of which are located on the Rockaway Peninsula in New York. The new contract would allow the beach clubs to operate for approximately ten years, providing similar services to those that currently exist. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/beach-club-proposals.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has reopened almost all of its 26,000 acres to the visiting public. Exceptions include Fort Tilden in Queens and Gunnison Beach on Sandy Hook in Highlands, N.J. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/irene-b-gone.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has reopened most of its 26,000 acres to the visiting public. Some areas remain closed, including: Sandy Hook in Highlands, New Jersey; Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden in Queens; and the beach area at Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/goodnite-irene.htm

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edwin G. Burrows discusses the role of Staten Island in the "Battle of Brooklyn" during the American Revolution, while military demonstrations and English colonial dancing illustrate life during wartime in the former colony of New York. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/battle-of-brooklyn.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area waives all parking fees on Thursday, August 25 in honor of NPS Founders Day. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fee-free-day-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area seeks public comments from Monday, August 15, 2011, to Friday, September 16, 2011, concerning proposed increases in parking fees at both the Sandy Hook Unit and the Jamaica Bay Unit. The proposed changes would take effect at the beginning of the 2012 beach season. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/pr-parking-fee-up.htm

Over 150 women from four states competed in the 27th annual All-Women Lifeguard Tournament, held at Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit on Wednesday, July 27. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/all-women-tourney-final.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area hosts the 27th annual All-Women Lifeguard Tournament at Sandy Hook Unit in New Jersey. Over 200 contestants are expected to participate. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/all-women-tourney-2011.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area welcomes Outdoor Nation, a youth-led organization championing outdoor recreation, which will hold a summit at the park’s Floyd Bennett Field June 24-26. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/outdoor-nation-at-fbf.htm

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar proposed a series of first steps to link parks and other open spaces in the New York City metropolitan area to enable local communities, and especially young people, to connect with the natural beauty and history of the region. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/great-urban-park.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field is host to a replica of the 1911 Ely-Curtiss Pusher through Friday, May 20. The historic aircraft landed to commemorate the Centennial of Naval Aviation. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ely-curtiss-pusher.htm

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Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit hosts not one, but two events: Ocean Fun Day on Saturday, May 21 and Coastal Defenses Day on Sunday, May 22. Both events are free of charge and lunch may be purchased at the event. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ocean-fun-coastal-defenses.htm

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On Sunday, April 10, 3,600 visitors attended the third annual "Treasure Your Island Community Awareness Day" at Gateway National Recreation Area's Fort Wadsworth. The event brought together 28 Staten Island community and cultural organizations. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tyi-2011-story.htm

The third annual Treasure Your Island, to be held Sunday, April 10 at Fort Wadsworth, showcases over two dozen Staten Island museums, parks, theater and cultural groups. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/tyi-2011.htm

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On Saturday, January 22, join naturalist Dandelion Dilluvio from 10 AM - 11:30 AM for an indoor and outdoor presentation on wildlife winter survival strategies at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/waiting-out-winter.htm

See a surprising diversity of winter bird life at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's West Pond with naturalist Ron Bourque. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/winter-waterfowl-and-much-more.htm

Nature photographer Johann Schumacher shares tips on getting that perfect shot. Bring your own camera and dress for the weather. Call 718-318-4340 first to make sure the park is open. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/photo-magic-with-johann-schumacher.htm

Several holiday activities will take place at Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit, located in Highlands, New Jersey. Most events are free of charge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/shu-holidays-2010.htm

Newly restored tennis courts cap a year of improvements by Gateway National Recreation Area to Frank Charles Park, a 20-acre section of Gateway in located Howard Beach, Queens. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fcp-tennis-courts.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gmp-open-house-nov-2010.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) recently awarded a $4.9 million contract for the restoration and rehabilitation of the William Fitts Ryan Center at Floyd Bennett Field, Jamaica Bay Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area (NRA) to RAAD Construction Group, LLC of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. RAAD Construction will rehabilitate the historic passenger terminal building and create a primary visitor facility and administrative center for Gateway. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/ryan-center-rehab.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area hosts the annual Herbert Johnson Lecture Series at 7 PM on Wednesday evenings from October 20 through November 10, 2010. Lectures will take place at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/herbert-johnson-2010.htm

The playground area at Frank Charles Park, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, will close for two weeks to be resurfaced. This is part of a larger beautification project for the neighborhood park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fcp-playground.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit will hold its annual celebration of Fort Hancock Days Friday, October 22 through Sunday, October 24. Fort Hancock Days commemorates the establishment of Fort Hancock as an Army base in 1895. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2010.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area's (GATE) Great Kills Park has reopened to the public. The main entrance, multi-use pathways, marina, boat ramp, beach center and Crooke's Point are all open at this time. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-reopens.htm

Great Kills Park on Staten Island has reopened to the public. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-reopens-short-version.htm

Great Kills Park, a part of Gateway National Recreation Area's Staten Island Unit, has been burning since Wednesday, September 8. The fire is not out but under control. Approximately 200 acres have burned so far. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gkp-fire.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is prohibiting water-based activities, including swimming and kayaking, on Friday, September 3 in anticipation of Hurricane Earl. https://www.nps.gov/gate/hurricane-earl.htm

Riding a bicycle along Sandy Hook's seven-mile Multi-Use Path is a great, and green, way to see the park up close. https://www.nps.gov/gate/green-ways-to-shu.htm

On Thursday, July 29, Coca-Cola will present a $50,000 check to Gateway National Recreation Area through the National Park Foundation (NPF) as part of their “America Is Your Park” campaign, to be launched today. Gateway will use the money to purchase kayaking equipment and bicycle racks for Riis Landing, a section of Gateway’s Jamaica Bay Unit. The donation is part of Coca-Cola’s “Live Positively” initiative. https://www.nps.gov/gate/america-is-your-park.htm

Nena Shaheed is this summer's Teacher-Ranger-Teacher at Gateway NRA. https://www.nps.gov/gate/trt-program-2010.htm

Parter organizations work with the National Park Service to restore an historic building for use as an education and research center. https://www.nps.gov/gate/barracks-building-22-restored.htm

Thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, boaters at Great Kills Park on Staten Island can borrow free children's lifejackets. https://www.nps.gov/gate/lifejacket-station.htm

The Sebago Canoe Club is sponsoring an “All Club Invitational” day of exploration on the waters of Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/sebago-canoe-club-explores-jamaica-bay.htm

Soar Productions presents "Murder On the Nile," a play by Agatha Christie, at Sandy Hook's historic Post Theater. Opening night on Friday, July 23 begins at 8 PM with a champagne toast. https://www.nps.gov/gate/murder-at-shu-post-theater.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/wildlife-artists-at-jbwr.htm

New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant (NJMSC/NJSG) has received a 2010 Monmouth County Historical Commission Historic Preservation Award in recognition of its efforts and accomplishments to restore and preserve Barracks Building #22 at Gateway NRA's Sandy Hook Unit. https://www.nps.gov/gate/preservation-award-for-barracks-22.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area has been selected as one of 29 new marine protected areas added to the National System of Marine Protected Areas. https://www.nps.gov/gate/marine-protected-area.htm

About 100 volunteers documented over 500 animal and plant species at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Floyd Bennett Field. Results are still coming in and will be updated as scientists receive lab test results. https://www.nps.gov/gate/bioblitz-2010.htm

Barry Sullivan, superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area, has announced his retirement after a 34-year career with the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/gate/sullivan-retires.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/enviromedia-mobile-canarsie-pier-may-2010.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is the place to visit on Sunday, May 23 from 10:45am – 4pm. Visit Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook and celebrate Coastal Defense Day and Ocean Fun Day. Opportunities to discover fortifications, tour gun batteries, touch sea creatures, and tour an aquarium are just some of the activities planned throughout the day. The event will kick off at 10:45am with a special ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the latest extension of the beloved Multi-Use Path (MUP). Visitors are encouraged to bring their bicycles to tour Fort Hancock and the rest of Sandy Hook in an eco-friendly way!  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/a-family-fun-day-at-sandy-hook-may-23-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/united-states-corp-of-engineers-news-release-may-2010.htm

The United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey and the United States Coast Guard Sectors New York and Delaware Bay announced on May 10th 19 new grants to promote the health and living resources of the coast and oceans of New Jersey. Gateway National Recreation Area received one of the environmental and conservation grants for $46,000 to remove marine debris along a 1.5 mile stretch of intertidal and foredune habitat at the North Beach of Sandy Hook. The grant was funded by community service payments made by Holy House Shipping AB, a Swedish shipping company that pled guilty to dumping oil-contaminated waste into the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/grant-for-marine-removal-at-north-beach-sandy-hook.htm

On Sunday May 23 at 1p.m., the latest extension of Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Multiple-use Pathway (MUP) will be unveiled to the public at a ribbon cutting ceremony. Visitors are encouraged to bring their bikes, roller blades, in-line skates out to the park for a spin. The project extends a new section of multi-use pathway to augment the existing Sandy Hook MUP system. The scenic asphalt pathway extends access from the existing multi-use pathway system at North Beach to Gunnison Beach and various historic sites and gun batteries at Fort Hancock. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/mup-press-release-may-2010.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area received a grant for removal of marine debris from North Beach at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. This was one of 19 grants announced today by the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey and the U.S. Coast Guard Sectors New York and Delaware Bay. The 19 new grants totaled $1,531,391 and are to promote the health and living resources of the coast and oceans of New Jersey. The grants were funded by community service payments made by three shipping companies as part of their criminal sentences for violating federal laws aimed at eliminating vessel pollution. The three criminal cases were U.S. v. Clipper Wonsild Tankers Holding A/S et. al., U.S. v. Dalnave Navigation Inc., and U.S. v. Holy House Shipping AB. The prosecution of the cases by the U.S. Attorney’s Office was made possible through the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/grant-received-for-removal-of-marine-debris-from-north-beach-at-sandy-hook.htm

Learn about the fun and educational events taking place at Gateway National Recreation Area. There is something for everyone. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-this-week-may-8-15-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/arson-awareness-week-2010.htm

In an effort to celebrate National Park Week and Junior Ranger Day, “Junior Rangerpalooza” was held at the newly adorned Great Kills Education Field Station on Saturday April 24, 2010.  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/junior-rangerpalooza-april-2010.htm

Three opportunities available for preemployment test in 2010, for the surf-lifeguard job at Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/opportunities-for-preemployment-test-at-gate-and-fiis-2010.htm

“Wham!” was the sound of an airbag as it hit the unbuckled driver with enough force to blow the ‘test dummy’s” head twenty feet in the air. “Crunch!” was the sound of a vehicle as its solid metal body smashed into pieces on the hard asphalt at over 60 miles per hour. But, absolutely not a single sound was heard when Allison Wheeler recalled the events leading up to her younger brother’s death in a drunk driving incident. “Oh my God,” were the words heard over and over again from teens attending the Rude Awakenings presentations and demonstrations at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit on April 22. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rude-awakenings-april-2010.htm

On April 22-23, as part of a celebration of National Park Week the Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Renay Moran-Kurklen camped out at the Ecology Village Campgrounds, Gateway NRA for the first time with her 4th grade students from the Renaissance School, Charter School #705. The students stepped off the yellow school bus bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to experience a camping trip with a full agenda that included marine explorations, campfire with smores and ghost stories, and sleeping in tents under the Brooklyn night sky. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/trt-camping-experience-2010.htm

Macy’s motto, “Volunteering is Always in Fashion,” fits their commitment to volunteerism to a “t”. In fact that motto was sported on the t-shirts worn by their volunteers at the Frank Charles Park Clean-up on April 19. The volunteers looked their best and helped the park look its best because of their hard work. A group of about 35 volunteers, from Macy’s and Bank of America, in partnership with the National Parks Foundation and the National Park Service, contributed their time and effort to clean up the playgrounds, baseball fields and shoreline of Frank Charles Park. The site is located in the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/frank-charles-park-clean-up-april-2010.htm

Thanks to teacher Carl Ballenas and the Aquinas Honor Society from the Immaculate Conception School, a new Jacob Riis bust has been installed on the pedestal at Bay 9, the Mall in Riis Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/riis-bust-installed-2010.htm

Enjoy this exceptional PBS film dedicated to the little known treasures found in New York Harbor.  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-wadsworth-film-festival-april-2010.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-national-park-week-from-april-17-24.htm

Celebrate National Park Week, National Volunteer Week, and Earth Day by volunteering to clean-up some of the park’s resources.  https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/earth-day-2010-jbwr.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/habitat-defenders.htm

“Ambassadors for Riis” Kick Off National Park Week Celebrations What do a missing bust, the town of Ribe, Denmark, a talented local artist, and Gateway National Recreation Area all have in common? Answer: A creative teacher and his talented class of honor students from the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates, Queens who brought them all together because of their interest in the history and legacy of Jacob Riis. Join us on April 17 at 2 P.M., at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Riis Park, Bay 9 to celebrate the start of National Park Week and the return of the historic figure Jacob Riis. How he is making his return is not only cause for celebration but an inspiring story of the dedication and commitment of youth to a project they believe in. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-bust-dedication-pr.htm

Lois and Sig Steine exhibition of artwork at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/steine-artwork-opening.htm

This week's programs at Gateway NRA, April 11-17, 2010 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-nra-april-11-17.htm

What do a missing bust, the town of Ribe, Denmark, a talented local artist, and Gateway National Recreation Area all have in common? Answer: A creative teacher and his talented class of honor students from the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates, Queens who brought them all together because of their interest in the history and legacy of Jacob Riis. Join us on April 17 at 2 P.M., at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Riis Park, Bay 9 to celebrate the start of National Park Week and the return of the historic figure Jacob Riis. How he is making his return is not only cause for celebration but an inspiring story of the dedication and commitment of youth to a project they believe in. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/jacob-riis-returns.htm

This week's programs at Gateway NRA. April 4-10, 2010 https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-nra-april-4-10.htm

STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 — On Sunday, April 11th, 2010, residents from all over Staten Island can experience the second "Treasure Your Island," a community awareness day that will take place at the Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center (JCC), 1466 Manor Road, from 12-4pm. The event is free, and everyone is invited to attend. Parents can learn about all the great things to do with their children, and students can learn about volunteer opportunities with organizations on the island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/treasure-your-island-april-2010.htm

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Programs offered throughout the Units of Gateway National Recreation Area the week of March 14-March 20, 2010. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-national-recreation-area.htm

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National Park Service Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach has announced four winners of the Regional Director's Natural Resource Awards. The awards recognize outstanding contributions to natural resource stewardship in five categories that include park management,resource management, maintenance, and research. Gateway National Recreation Area Superintendent Barry Sullivan was named Superintendent of the Year for Natural Resource Stewardship. Sullivan was cited for leading a multi-disciplinary effort on the regional Ocean Stewardship Implementation Strategy. He led a successful effort to develop a network of coastal parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries and estuarine reserves and develop marine resource conservation initiatives with multi-agency collaboration. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-nra-superintendent-barry-t-sullivan-receives-natural-resource-award.htm

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Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, has awarded a $600,000 design/build contract to the Cutting Edge Group, LLC, of Lake George, NY to complete improvements to the historic landscape at Jacob Riis Park, Queens, New York. Jacob Riis Park lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway Bridge-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, located in the middle of the Rockaway peninsula. The project includes the restoration of approximately 2,500 linear feet of the historic Ship's Rail located along the boardwalk areas along the beach as well as repaving the existing original walkways within the Back Beach Mall area, behind Bay 9. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/riis-park-ships-rails-to-be-ship-shape-in-2010-2.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/winter-animal-homes-2009.htm

Hear Every Voice: NYC and the National Park Service can now be seen online at www.thirteen.org. Created by Stephen Ogumah, this video documents a civic engagement project with the residents of Brooklyn and Queens, particularly the Caribbean immigrant communities. It was produced in partnership with Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and Gateway National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. This project was created to coincide with the airing of the Ken Burns documentary about National Parks, America’s Best Idea, in September 2009. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/hear-every-voice.htm

National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Regional Director Dennis R. Reidenbach today announced that an independent third party has concluded its final review of the financing commitments submitted by Sandy Hook Partners, LLC (SHP) for the rehabilitation of historic Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook. Based on its review of all the information submitted, the independent third party reviewer, Maurice Robinson and Associates LLC, has determined that the financing commitments made by SHP are insufficient to meet the purposes and requirements of the lease. Based on this determination, the NPS has notified Sandy Hook Partners President James S. Wassel that the lease is null and void. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/termination-of-fort-hancock-rehabilitation-agreement-announced.htm

Step back in time at Sandy Hook during Fort Hancock Days! The Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area will hold Fort Hancock Days on Saturday evening, October 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday, October 25 from noon to 4 p.m. to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Army facility on Sandy Hook in 1895. Join the Junior Ranger program and make model missiles, see a living history program and experience the life of Fort Hancock during the 1940s, or go back in time by watching WWII reinactments! There's something for everyone at Sandy Hook October 24-25. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fort-hancock-days-2009.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is pleased to announce that its 2009 General Management Plan Newsletter is now available in four languages. "The diversity of the region surrounding Gateway is rich with many cultures. By providing the newsletter about this new planning process in Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Russian, in addition to English, we hope to improve the dialogue between the park and the many visitors that recreate at Gateway," said Gateway General Superintendent Barry Sullivan. "This planning only comes around once every 20-plus years, so we need to not only share news about this effort but also receive valuable input from as many park users as possible." https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/2009-gmp-newsletter-translations-available.htm

On September 27, acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns’ much anticipated new documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,will premier on PBS. What better time to let New Yorkers know about the national parks right here at home. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/national-parks-week-new-york-city.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-the-400th-anniversary-of-henry-hudsons-voyage.htm

On Tuesday afternoon there was a chlorine leak in the Sandy Hook Sewage Treatment Plant located on the eastern side of the peninsula, near Gunnison Beach. Hazmat teams responded and contained the leak. As a precaution, visitors were escorted off Gunnison Beach due to their proximity to the plant. No employees or visitors were injured. The source of the leak was discovered and repairs were made during the overnight hours. The plant is back in operation today. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sandy-hook-beaches-reopen.htm

It's not often that one hears the words results, accomplishments, independence, opportunity, experience, and pride in one conversation. But, if you spend a little time talking with Community Resources Program Manager Toni Decker and Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE) Park Ranger Steve Salgo, you will. They both have been instrumental in connecting people with developmental disabilities to valuable volunteer opportunities at GATE. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/exceptional-park-projects-by-exceptional-people.htm

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Celebrating Henry Hudson’s Quadricentennial Free programs beginning Thursday, September 3 will take place at Fort Wadsworth to celebrate Hudson’s exploration here 400 years ago. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/henry-hudson-quadricentennial.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area is offering Manhattan riders who visit the park by New York Water Taxi ferry an opportunity to see more sites via the new National Park Service Visitor Transport Shuttle Service. The free shuttle originates at Riis Landing on the Rockaway Peninsula and stops at the Jacob Riis Park Boardwalk, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and at Floyd Bennett Field, including the Aviator Sports Center and the Historic https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-shuttle-at-riis-landing-jamaica-bay.htm

Anglers at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area can now do their part for the environment thanks to a grant from the Sandy Hook Foundation that provides bins for recycling discarded fishing line. Monofilament fishing line, another name for single-strand, high-density, nylon fishing line that is used on fishing reels and in the manufacturing of fishing nets, is responsible for untold damage to endangered marine wildlife such as birds, fish, manatees and sea turtles, and poses a hazard to boaters and swimmers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/no-string-attached-sandy-hook-foundation-helps-park-adopt-fishing-line-recycling-program.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/wildlife-observation-platform-rebuilt.htm

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Come out and play this weekend at Gateway! There's plenty of activities for all interests at the park. For example, why not learn about why birds use Jamaica Bay as an important pitstop on their migrations route? Interested? You can join naturalist, Ron Bourque, at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, August 22, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. to take a look at migrant shorebirds and learn why Jamaica Bay is a hot spot for these long distance travelers. Wear waterproof footwear. Bring binoculars, drinking water, sun and insect protection. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-august-17.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-announces-termination-of-fort-hancock-rehabilitation-agreement.htm

For many people, a trip to one of our country’s national parks is the culmination of a life long dream. “I always wanted to see Yellowstone,” or “When we retire we’re going to see…(fill in the name of your favorite national park),” are just a few of the comments rangers hear from visitors. Indeed, visits to national parks enrich the lives of many in this nation. However, not everyone can take the big “dream vacation”— often due to a variety of social and economic factors. Also, many people don't realize that there are plenty of national parks, like Gateway National Recreation Area in NY/NJ, right near their own backyards. The National Park Service (NPS) Teacher to Ranger to Teacher (TRT) Program offers a solution for those who may never get to parks out west and beyond. At Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE), Teacher-Ranger Renay Moran-Kurklen is one of those teachers. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/teacher-not-whiling-but-working-and-blogging-away-the-summer.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area's (GATE) Great Kills Park is participating in the Staten Island Dragonfly Atlas (SIDfA) program. Great Kills is located in the Staten Island Unit of GATE and the area provides habitat that contributes to specie richness and an abundance of dragonfly populations. The SIDfA project is the brainchild of the Nature Section of the Staten Island Museum. This 5-year project is designed to collect and analyze data about dragonfly populations on Staten Island. National Park Service (NPS) Volunteer Paul Lederer and Great Kills staff are participating in this citizen science endeavor to compile dragonfly information https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/citizen-science-program-at-great-kills-helps-build-dragonfly-database.htm

With a wing span of only 3-4 inches across and a migratory journey hundreds of miles long, the Monarch butterfly could use a break don't you think? The Monarch is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies and two groups have been working together to see that there is a "butterfly break" for the Monarch and all butterflies that come to and through Gateway National Recreation Area's (GATE) Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-gives-butterflies-a-break.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/hooping-it-up-at-gateways-miller-field.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area spans from Jamaica Bay and Staten Island, NY to Sandy Hook, NJ. There's a variety of activities and programs for everyone. Take a look at what we have to offer this week.k https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-july-27-august-2-2009.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/25th-annual-womens-lifeguard-tournament.htm

In an effort to better manage the traffic delays leaving Sandy Hook caused by New Jersey’s Highlands Bridge replacement project, today National Park Service officials met with representatives from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Director of the Division of Traffic Operations and the Director of the Division of Construction Services and Materials. “The meeting was extremely productive,” said Dave Avrin, Superintendent of the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. “The DOT definitely shares our concerns about the impact the bridge construction is having on our visitors. We have worked together to find workable traffic flow solutions for years, and beginning this weekend we will all be implementing some changes that will make a difference to motorists when they exit the park,” Avrin added. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/changes-will-help-motorists-exit-sandy-hook.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/reward-offered-in-sandy-hook-poaching-case.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/learn-about-park-news-and-events-subscribe-to-rss-feeds.htm

The park is hosting a series of Open Houses in July and September to solicit input from the public regarding the future management of park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/general-management-plan-open-houses-announced.htm

Who Says There Are No Free Rides Anymore? Sandy Hook and Jacob Riis Park, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, are taking part in the nationwide Fee Free Weekend at America's National Parks program July 18-19. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/fee-free-weekend-july-18-19.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-week-at-gateway-july-13-19.htm

There are many and varied programs each week at Gateway National Recreation Area. Join us for one, or more, that interest you. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/this-weeks-programs-at-gateway-july-6.htm

DIAMINDBACK TERRAPIN TOUR DAY AT JAMAICA BAY WILDLIFE REFUGE On Sunday, July 5, join a morning or afternoon ranger guided tour of promising terrapin terrain at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. You might get to see these marvelous turtles come ashore from their brackish homes to nest and lay eggs. Tours are at 10:00a.m. – 11:30a.m. and at 2p.m. – 3:30p.m.. Bring binoculars, sun and insect protection. For reservations and more information: 718-318-4340. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/july-5-terrapin-turtle-tour.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/review-of-fort-hancock-financial-information-continues.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/experience-americas-best-idea-this-summer.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-beach-parking-this-weekend-at-jacob-riis.htm

This Saturday and Sunday, June 20 & 21, the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area will be participating in the nationwide Fee Free Weekend at America’s National Parks. Although Sandy Hook has no entrance fee, a beach parking fee of $10 per car is charged between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This weekend all beach parking will be FREE. Sunday is also Father’s Day, and the Fee Free Weekend is a great opportunity to invite your dad and the rest of your family and friends to enjoy Sandy Hook and make some memories at a local National Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-beach-parking-this-weekend-at-sandy-hook.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-receives-funds-from-the-american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act.htm

Barry Sullivan, Gateway National Recreation Area General Superintendent, recently announced that the park has received funding to begin Phase I of the project to identify and potentially remediate the radium contaminated soil at Great Kills Park. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-receives-funding-to-deal-with-radium-contaminated-soil.htm

Media Advisory: Kick-off event for the Kayaking on Jamaica Bay Program, part of Gateway’s participation in a nationwide Active Trails program. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/kayak-program.htm

In order to help visitors get around Sandy Hook this summer, a jitney bus will transport visitors from the ferry dock at Sandy Hook to locations within the park. But, here's the kicker, it will be powered by French fry oil. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-shuttle-at-sandy-hook-helps-visitors-go-green.htm

Over the next century, climate change will significantly affect human and ecological systems. In the past few decades, climate change science has grown in certainty. While attention has historically focused on mitigation efforts, adaptation is beginning to emerge as an important area. Climate adaptation is critical, since current GHG concentrations will already cause climate change impacts in the next few decades. As a result, society must begin to take steps to prepare for and buffer against climate change impacts. At Gateway National Recreation Area, climate change adaptation means increasing ecosystem resilience and protecting cultural and recreational resources from damage or loss. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/long-term-resource-management-under-a-changing-climate.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-nighttime-regulations-will-close-the-parking-lots.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/the-forgotten-navy-flyers-from-queens.htm

Three Year Temporary Contract will keep the Silver Gull Club and the Breezy Point Beach Club Open Gateway National Recreation Area General Superintendent Barry Sullivan announced that an agreement has been reached that allows the Breezy Point Surf Club and the Silver Gull Club to continue to operate within the park for three more years. An agreement between the National Park Service (NPS) and Mr. Tom August, principle operator of the two clubs, was signed on April 15. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/breezy-point-beach-clubs-will-remain-open-this-year.htm

PHILADELPHIA, PA –The National Park Service (NPS) today announced nearly 800 projects totaling $750 million that can be completed across the country with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This major effort includes projects in the agency’s Northeast Region, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/nps-announces-recovery-act-projects.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/treasure-your-island.htm

National Park Week, an annual week for celebration and recognition of our nation’s National Parks, will run from April 18-26, 2009. Visitation to America’s National Parks is on the rise, and last year Gateway National Recreation Area had the largest visitor increase of any park in the nation. Visitation at Gateway, America’s the third most visited National Park, increased by 618,000, bringing the total to 9,500,000 visitors. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/celebrate-national-park-week-at-one-of-the-top-national-parks.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE) Public Affairs Office is pleased to announce that its news releases are now available via RSS feed. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/rss-feeds-now-available-at-gateway-nra.htm

Barry Sullivan, General Superintendent of the Gateway National Recreation Area, today announced that the lease agreement between the National Park Service and Sandy Hook Partners, LLC is moving forward and is on schedule. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/project-to-rehabilitate-fort-hancock-buildings-moves-forward.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/temporary-closure-shifts-leagues-to-miller-field-from-great-kills.htm

This year the Gateway National Recreation Area, in conjunction with the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy, will offer a special program to introduce area residents to the joys of kayaking on Jamaica Bay. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/free-kayak-instruction-program-on-jamaica-bay.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/sperm-whale-found-at-gateway-beach-investigation-to-reveal-cause-of-death.htm

In honor of Black History Month, Gateway National Recreation Area will present a program on the racial segregation that took place at Floyd Bennett Field during World War II. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/black-history-month-and-local-history-highlighted.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/new-pier-and-ferry-dock-envisioned-for-sandy-hook.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area access permits for activities on Staten Island, including fishing, boat launch, and birding will not be available until Sunday, March 1, 2009. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/permits-for-gateway-visitor-activities-delayed-at-staten-island.htm

The National Park Service is set to begin a long-awaited phase one restoration and improvement project at the William Fitts Ryan Visitor Center at Floyd Bennett Field. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/major-restoration-project-begins-at-floyd-bennett-field.htm

Gateway National Recreation Area access permits for activities in Brooklyn and Queens, ncluding fishing, off-road access, kayak and canoe launch, and surfing, will not be available until Sunday, March 1, 2009. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/permits-for-gateway-visitor-activites-delayed-at-jamaica-bay.htm

The National Park Service has begun the task of removing a small amount of soil that contains trace amounts of radioactive material from Great Kills Park on Staten Island. https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/gateway-removing-radioactive-material-at-great-kills.htm

https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/testing-for-national-park-service-lifeguard-jobs.htm

News releases from Grand Canyon National Park.

On Sept. 7, at approximately 12:40 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a vehicle with a single occupant that had gone over the rim near the South Kaibab Trailhead. Park rangers responded immediately and recovered the body, which was located about 300 feet below the rim. The body was transported to the rim by helicopter and then transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovery-south-kaibab-trailhead-september-2025.htm

Effective Thursday, Sept. 4, at 8 a.m., Stage 2 fire restrictions will be lifted on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity across northern Arizona over the past week has significantly reduced fire danger in the area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-restrictions-lifted-sept-2025.htm

Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams from the Department of the Interior (DOI) and US Forest Service recently completed field data evaluations to produce the Soil Burn Severity (SBS) map for the Dragon Bravo Fire. This map field-verifies the accuracy of burn severity categories (unburned/very low, low, moderate, and high) from satellite images and helps estimate post-fire risks, such as erosion, sediment washing into streams, increased stream flows, and the chances of debris flows. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/doi-usfs-soil-burn-severity-map-available.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim will transition to Stage 2 water restrictions due to rising water levels in reservoir tanks. Operational changes include: Camper Services, operated by Delaware North, will reopen to the public. Water spigots in Mather Campground and Desert View Campground will be turned on. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/easing-water-restrictions-august-2025.htm

A multi-agency Department of the Interior (DOI) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team is beginning work this week to assess the impacts of the Dragon Bravo Fire on National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. This process involves identifying the values at risk, determining any post-fire impacts to those values, and prescribing treatments to mitigate impacts. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/baer-team-arrives-to-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has reopened sections of key corridor trails on the South Rim that were closed July 13, 2025, due to safety concerns following the Dragon Bravo Fire. Effective immediately: •South Kaibab Trail is open from the South Kaibab Trailhead to Tipoff. •Tonto Trail is open from Tipoff to Havasupai Gardens. •Bright Angel Trail is open from the Bright Angel Trailhead to Pipe Creek Resthouse. These reopenings follow significant improvements in air quality in the inner canyon over the past week. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-corridor-trails-partially-reopened.htm

Beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will implement additional water restrictions and conservation measures. Crews have repaired the broken section of the Transcanyon Waterline; however, due to a mechanical issue at Havasupai Gardens, pumping has not yet resumed to the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-restrictions-august-9-2025.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a broken section of pipeline north of Phantom Ranch. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms and campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-restrictions-south-rim-august-2025.htm

The National Park Service is asking for the public’s help in locating Thomas Daniel Gibbs, 35, of Freehold, New Jersey, who was last heard from on July 22, 2025, at approximately 12 p.m. Gibbs’ family and friends reported him missing on Monday, July 28. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/gibbs-missing-person.htm

Effective immediately, due to high fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim and all other areas of the park. The restriction encompasses the entire park including all campgrounds, residential areas, backcountry sites and developed recreation sites. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-july-2025.htm

The Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park exhibited extreme and volatile fire behavior the evening of July 12, resulting in a 500-acre expansion. Fire managers have confirmed the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge and numerous historic cabins in the developed area. On July 12, at approximately 10:30 p.m., fire activity intensified rapidly, fueled by sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts reaching up to 40 mph. Firefighters made significant efforts overnight to slow the fire’s progression under dangerous and fast-changing conditions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-bravo-fire-update-july-13-2025.htm

On July 12, at approximately 3:30 p.m., firefighters responding to the Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park reported that the North Rim water treatment facility had caught fire. It was later confirmed that chlorine gas was released from the treatment facility. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/chlorine-gas-leak-july-2025.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily closed the North Rim until further notice due to the White Sage Fire near Jacob Lake, Ariz. The White Sage Fire is located on BLM lands and is not currently burning within Grand Canyon National Park. Due to the fire’s progression toward Jacob Lake, which is now under evacuation orders, all visitors on the North Rim are required to evacuate immediately. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-closure-white-sage-fire.htm

On July 8 at approximately 11:50 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the South Kaibab Trail, below Cedar Ridge. Bystanders immediately initiated CPR while National Park Service (NPS) medical personnel responded via helicopter. All attempts to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-south-kaibab-july-2025.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has identified the cause of a recent power outage affecting the North Rim as an equipment failure involving a transformer near the Grand Canyon Lodge. Power has been out at the Grand Canyon Lodge since approximately 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. Overnight reservations were cancelled starting the evening of June 2 due to the outage. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-to-north-rim-power-outage.htm

The thirty-fifth annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 21 through Saturday, June 28, 2025, on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. National parks such as Grand Canyon are protective havens for some of the last remaining dark skies in the United States. The event is sponsored by the National Park Service, Grand Canyon Conservancy, the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (South Rim), and the Saguaro Astronomy Club of Phoenix (North Rim). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-star-party-2025.htm

On May 15, at approximately 4:45 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the North Kaibab Trail, approximately half a mile below the North Kaibab Trailhead. Despite efforts by bystanders and National Park Service (NPS) personnel to resuscitate the individual, the hiker, identified as Dennis Smith, 74, of Olympia, Washington, was pronounced dead at the scene. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-north-kaibab-trail-may-2025.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Thursday, May 15 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2025 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2025 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-opens-may-15-for-2025-season.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will reopen the Bright Angel Trail and Campground for public use beginning May 15, 2025. Multiple inner canyon areas were closed last fall for Transcanyon Waterline project construction activities. The Phantom Ranch Canteen and Lodge reopened on schedule, April 1. The River Trail, between River Resthouse and the South Kaibab Trail junction, Silver Bridge and Plateau Point Trail, between the Tonto Trail West junction to Plateau Point, originally scheduled to reopen in May, will remain closed until Oct. 1, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tcwl-trail_closure-modifications-2025.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement a fee increase for frontcountry standard campsites at Desert View, North Rim, and Mather Campgrounds starting May 1, 2025. Rates for standard campsites will increase to $30 per night. Group sites will remain $55 per night. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/campground-fee-rate-change-may-2025.htm

On Saturday, February 1, 2025, the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park for specific launch dates within calendar year 2026. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/non-commercial-river-lottery-announced-2026.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is seeking the public’s input on a proposed fee increase for non-commercial river trips. The proposed change would begin March 1, 2025. The existing $25 lottery application cost fee would remain the same and the flat rate per-person cost would increase from $90 to $310 for Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek and $0 to $55 for Diamond Creek to Pearce Ferry. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/proposed-fee-increase-noncommercial-river-trips.htm

The National Park Service is actively searching for a missing person last seen at Grand Canyon National Park. On December 10, 2024, Martha Overholser, was last seen at Mather Point on the South Rim and later failed to return on a commercial bus tour. Martha Overholser, 66, is believed to have walked west from the Mather Point area, possibly towards the Bright Angel Lodge or Hermits Rest. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-conducts-missing-person-search-at-grand-canyon-december-2024.htm

Fire managers at Grand Canyon National Park are preparing to conduct a prescribed burn operation on the North Rim this week, which will begin on Tuesday, December 10. These operations will help reduce hazardous fuel loads, improve forest health, and restore natural fire regimes. The burns are expected to occur over several days and will coincide with prescribed burns planned on the North Kaibab Ranger District. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-beginning-dec10-north-rim.htm

Effective immediately, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing into greater water restrictions and conservation measures due to a new break in the Transcanyon Waterline. Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-south-rim-december-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is implementing mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim, effective immediately. These measures are in response to a pipeline break along the North Kaibab Trail, which has impacted the park's water supply. To help conserve water, all residents, visitors, and park operations are urged to reduce water usage wherever possible, including in homes, hotel rooms, and campgrounds. These efforts are critical to maintaining water availability while still ensuring public health and safety. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-initiates-water-conservation-measures-nov-26-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) has been awarded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grants through the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety (AZ GOHS). This funding will enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety, speed enforcement, and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) prevention efforts within the park. The grants will support a variety of initiatives aimed at improving safety for both community members and the millions of visitors who visit the Grand Canyon each year. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-receive-azgohs-funding-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is seeking the public’s input on a proposed increase for frontcountry camping fees. This increase would begin April 1, 2025. Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) collects campground fees from visitors for overnight stays. GRCA is seeking public comment on proposed fee increases for standard tent and RV sites at Mather, Desert View and North Rim campgrounds. The current camping fees have remained unchanged for the past 20 years. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-comment-on-proposed-campground-fee-increase-november-2024.htm

Beginning October 8, National Park Service and USDA Forest Service fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating prescribed burns on the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Fire managers will be assessing weather, fuel moistures, and other conditions for opportunities to conduct burns safely and effectively into December. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-zone-prescribed-burn-operations-fall-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin day-use operations on October 16, 2024. Grand Canyon Lodge will close, and no overnight accommodations, including camping, will be available to visitors. Those exploring the North Rim on or after October 16 should plan to be self-sufficient, bringing enough food and water for the day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitions-to-day-use-oct-16-2024.htm

The Peregrine Fund and the Bureau of Land Management Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 28th by releasing four captive-bred California condors at 1 p.m. MDT/Utah time (noon MST/northern-Arizona condor time). The 28th annual event will be held in person at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and will be live-streamed via The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube Channel. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/condor-release-2024.htm

On Sept. 13, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 100 bison from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. All bison were transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, which transported them to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Since reduction efforts began in 2018, park staff have removed 306 bison from the North Rim, with 282 transferred to eight different American Indian tribes through an agreement with the Intertribal Buffalo Council. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/100-bison-transferred-from-north-rim-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is seeking the public’s input on a proposed increase for backcountry permit fees. The proposed change would begin May 1, 2025. The existing $10 per application fee would remain the same and the nightly per-person fees would increase: the below-rim fee would go from $15 to $24 per person per night, and the above-rim fee would go from $4 to $6 per person per night. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/proposed-backcountry-fee-increase-may-2025.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim will transition to Stage 2 water restrictions due to rising water levels in reservoir tanks. Camper Services, operated by Delaware North, will reopen to the public. Water spigots in Mather Campground and Desert View Campground will be turned on. Fire restrictions throughout the South Rim will be lifted. However, the park will remain under Stage 1 fire restrictions, which require campfires to be contained within designated fire rings in maintained campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transition-to-stage-2-water-restrictions.htm

A new National Park Service report shows that 4.7 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2023 spent $768 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 10,100 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $1.0 billion. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-spending-2023-report.htm

On Monday, Sept. 9, at approximately 9:15 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a missing boater in the area of Lower Nankoweap Camp (river mile 53.5) along the Colorado River. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, park rangers, responding via helicopter, located a body in the Colorado River near river mile 63.5. Initial information suggests the body is that of a 71-year-old male who was reported missing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-boater-located-september-2024.htm

On Sept. 7 at approximately 5:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a fatality at Poncho’s Kitchen, near river mile 137 along the Colorado River. Park rangers responded to the scene and found the victim, Patrick Horton, 59, of Salida, Colorado. Horton was on the 10th day of a non-commercial river trip along the Colorado River and was discovered deceased by members of his party. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-at-ponchos-kitchen-september-2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will reopen hotels on the park’s South Rim beginning Thursday, September 5 and transition down to Stage 3 water restrictions. Park water utility crews successfully completed complex repairs to the Transcanyon Waterline late last week and resumed pumping water without identifying any new breaks. The park will operate under Stage 3 water restrictions until the water storage tanks have adequate capacity to return to routine water conservation practices. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transition-to-stage-3-september-5.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 4 water restrictions on the South Rim starting the afternoon of Thursday, August 29, due to a series of four significant breaks in the 12½ mile-long Transcanyon Waterline that supplies water from the canyon for use in the park. Since July 8, the park has faced challenges with water supply, and currently, no water is being pumped to either the South or North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/temporary-closure-of-hotel-accomodations.htm

On Tuesday, Aug. 27, at approximately 4 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a solo backpacker who had failed to check in with a family member while attempting the Thunder River Trail-Deer Creek loop. On Aug. 28, at about 9:45 a.m., National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel, responding via helicopter, located a deceased individual along a route connecting Lower Tapeats Camp and Deer Creek Camp. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-near-thunder-river-trail-aug-2024.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning public review of a programmatic agreement to establish a more efficient process to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in Grand Canyon National Park. Public comments will be accepted from August 29 – September 28, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-section-106-programmatic-agreement.htm

On Sunday, August 25, at approximately 3:40 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to an emergency via a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip near Fossil Rapid (river mile 126) on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report that CPR was in progress on an 80-year-old male who had entered the river after his boat flipped at Fossil Rapid. Despite the efforts of the group and park rangers flown in by helicopter, all resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-at-fossil-rapid-august-2024.htm

On August 25 at approximately 11:30 a.m., the body of Chenoa Nickerson, 33, from Gilbert, Arizona, was discovered by a commercial river trip near river mile 176 in the Colorado River. Park rangers responded and recovered the body, which was transported to the rim by helicopter and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner. Nickerson was reported missing following a flash flood that struck Havasu Canyon (river mile 157.3) on August 22. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/recovery-of-chenoa-nickerson.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is actively engaged in search and rescue operations following a flash flood that struck Havasu Creek on August 22, 2024. The flash flood, which occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m., led to several hikers being stranded in the affected area. Rescue efforts began promptly, with an initial flight taking off before 3 p.m. to assist individuals stranded both below and above Beaver Falls. Currently, there is one individual, Chenoa Nickerson, who is believed to be missing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-havasu-creek-august-2024.htm

Effective immediately, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing into greater water restrictions and conservation measures due to a new break in the Transcanyon Waterline. The North Rim will begin preliminary water conservation measures. Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-implemented-august-2024.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will reimplement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a pipeline break along the North Kaibab Trail. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms and campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-reimplemented-aug132024.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Explor South Rim, LLC to operate visitor services under a 10-year concession contract. The existing bicycle rentals, guided bicycle tours, and food and beverage services at Grand Canyon National Park will transition to the new concessioner on January 1, 2025.  The contract requires seasonal bicycle rentals, as well as guided daily bicycle tours conducted during the spring, summer and fall. The contract also requires year-round, "grab and go" food and beverage service targeted toward hikers, bikers and pedestrians in the Mather Point area of the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-selects-explor-south-rim-concessions-contract.htm

Park staff successfully restored the pump at Havasupai Gardens that supplies water to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and all water restrictions have been removed. Visitors, residents, and businesses should consistently practice basic water conservation and be mindful of their water usage at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-lifted-august-2024.htm

On Tuesday, August 6, National Park Service personnel located a body below Twin Overlooks along Desert View Drive following a multi-day search. Park rangers recovered the body which was located approximately 150 ft. below the rim. The body was transported to the rim and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. The individual was identified as Leticia A. Castillo, 20, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-recovered-below-desert-view-drive.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will reimplement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a pump failure at Havasupai Gardens. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms and campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-reimplemented-south-rim.htm

On Thursday, August 1, at approximately 7:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who had attempted a BASE jump from Yavapai Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Park rangers responded and located the body of a deceased male approximately 500 feet below the rim, along with a deployed parachute. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/base-jumper-recovery-at-yavapai-point.htm

On Wednesday, July 31 at 10:40 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim approximately ¼ mile west of Pipe Creek Overlook. Responding rangers located the body of Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, of Hickory, North Carolina 400 ft. below the rim. Mr. Mejia was near the edge of the rim when he suffered an accidental fall. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-recover-20-year-old-near-pipe-creek-overlook.htm

Park staff repaired the damaged pipeline that supplies water to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and all water restrictions have been removed. Visitors, residents, and businesses should consistently practice basic water conservation and be mindful of their water usage at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-lifted-july-2024.htm

Heritage Days will return to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park Friday, August 2 through Sunday August 4th. Each day, Heritage Days programs and demonstrations will run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. throughout the North Rim developed area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-heritage-days-2024.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. These water restrictions are in response to a failure in the Trans Canyon Waterline after it was shut off for repairs. Crews were trying to repressurize the line when there was a break, causing an extension of the current water outage. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/news-release.htm

On July 7 at approximately 2 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail, approximately 100 feet below the Bright Angel Trailhead. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-the-bright-angel-trail-within-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is announcing modified closure dates of inner canyon trails and facilities to support the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL) construction project. These closures are necessary for the protection of staff and visiting public during an extensive TCWL construction effort along the Bright Angel Trail. Visitors will still be able to use the upper portion of the Bright Angel Trail, from the South Rim to Havasupai Gardens, and the Tonto Trail during the Oct. 21, 2024-May 14 closure period. The South Kaibab Trail will remain open for all hikers. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/modified-waterline-closures-october-2024.htm

On June 29 at approximately 7 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a semi-conscious hiker on the River Trail, approximately halfway between the Silver Bridge and Black Bridge near Phantom Ranch. The hiker became unresponsive shortly thereafter and bystanders initiated CPR as three National Park Service (NPS) paramedics responded from Phantom Ranch. All attempts by bystanders and NPS personnel to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-river-trail-june-2024.htm

Effective on Monday, July 1 at 8 a.m., Stage 2 fire restrictions are rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity throughout northern Arizona has significantly lowered the fire danger risk within the last week. Grand Canyon National Park will remain in Stage 1 fire restrictions which requires that a campfire always be in a designated fire ring within a maintained campground. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-lifted-july-2024.htm

The staff at Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy are proud to announce a milestone celebration marking 10 years of the Cultural Demonstration Program. A celebration event marking the 10-year anniversary will take place at the Desert View Watchtower on Saturday, July 6, 2024, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the 11 Associated Tribes of Grand Canyon through traditional demonstrations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrating-10-years-of-cultural-demonstrations.htm

Due to warm and dry weather conditions and increasing fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 21. The restriction encompasses the entire park including all campgrounds, residential areas, backcountry sites and developed recreation sites including: Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood Campground, Havasupai Gardens Campground and the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage2-fire-restrictions-begin-june21-2024.htm

On June 16 at approximately 6:45 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail, approximately 0.5 miles east of the Pipe Creek River Resthouse. All attempts by bystanders and National Park Service (NPS) personnel to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. The hiker was a 41-year-old male who was hiking out of the canyon from an overnight stay at the Bright Angel Campground near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-along-the-bright-angel-trail-june-2024.htm

Beginning Friday, June 21, the Bright Angel Point Trail on the North Rim leading to Bright Angel Point will be closed for construction. This closure is necessary for the protection of staff and visiting public during an extensive repair effort to the Bright Angel Point Trail. The trail will be closed to all pedestrian traffic as National Park Service (NPS) personnel replace asphalt, move large rocks, and operate equipment in these areas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-point-trail-closure-2024.htm

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for parts of Grand Canyon National Park. The warning is in effect from 8 a.m. Thursday, June 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 7 for areas below 4,000 feet in the canyon including Phantom Ranch and Havasupai Gardens. Forecast temperatures in the shade range between 105 F/41 C and 111 F/44 C. Hotter than normal temperatures will also hit the rims, with highs of 92 F/33 C on the South Rim and 85 F/30 C on the North Rim. The National Park Service recommends not hiking below the rim during the excessive heat warning. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/summer-safety-hike-smart-2024.htm

On May 18, 2024, at approximately 12:00 am, Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim structure fire department and law enforcement rangers responded to a structure fire within a concessionaire housing area. Prior to the arrival of the fire department, an employee used a fire extinguisher to put out most of the fire thereby potentially saving the lives of other residents and several cabins surrounding the structure fire. The fire department’s further suppression efforts extinguished the fire completely. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-responds-to-structure-fire-on-bourbon-street.htm

The 34th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 1 through Saturday, June 8, 2024, on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. National Parks such as Grand Canyon are protective havens for some of the last remaining dark skies in the United States. Dozens of telescopes will offer views of planets, double stars, star clusters, nebulae, and distant galaxies. By day, keep an eye out for solar telescopes pointed at the sun. Weather permitting, expect spectacular views of the universe! https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/star-party-2024-announced.htm

On Friday, May 10, National Park Service personnel were notified of a body in the Colorado River near river mile 6. Park rangers responded and recovered the body which was transported to Lees Ferry and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. Initial information indicates the body is that of missing person Thomas L. Robison. The Coconino County Medical Examiner will confirm positive identification. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-along-colorado-river-may2024.htm

Grand Canyon National Park announces the release of a new video that invites visitors to experience Grand Canyon through the lens of Indigenous peoples and the 11 Associated Tribes. “We Are Grand Canyon” stands as a testament to the profound connection between the Grand Canyon and the 11 Associated Tribes that have called it home since time immemorial. This collaborative project, years in the making, is a joint effort of the Intertribal Working Group, Grand Canyon Conservancy, and Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-new-tribal-film.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Sunday, May 15 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2024 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2024 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-reopens-may-15-for-2024-season.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. On April 21, 2024, a vehicle belonging to Thomas L. Robison of Santa Fe, NM was found abandoned at Lees Ferry within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Thomas Robison, 58, is believed to have attempted to travel down the Colorado River with his small dog on a wooden raft. Robison is described as a white male, 5’10” in height and 160 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-underway.htm

The Preventive Search and Rescue (PSAR) program at Grand Canyon National Park is pleased to announce the launch of its innovative HIKE SMART film project aimed at enhancing hiking safety awareness among visitors. In response to evolving communication trends and the increasing influence of social media, PSAR managers recognized the need to update its messaging approach. With platforms like YouTube and social media shaping public discourse, staff developed an approach to the important PSAR message through engaging video to effectively convey vital safety messages. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/new-hike-smart-film-announced.htm

The National Park Service is announcing temporary day-use trail closures for the North Kaibab Trail north of the Manzanita Day Use Area to the Supai Tunnel. The Manzanita Day Use Area will be available for use during the closures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/announcement-temporary-trail-closures-north-kaibab-april-2024.htm

The National Park Service is announcing Havasupai Gardens Campground and the Bright Angel and Tonto Trails will reopen for public use April 15, 2024. The areas were closed Dec. 1, 2023, for Transcanyon Waterline project construction activities. Plateau Point Trail, from Havasupai Gardens to Plateau Point remains closed until June 20, 2024. During this time, Tonto Trail hikers will be able to use a trail detour to connect to and from the Bright Angel Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/reopening-of-trails-and-campground-april-2024.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning a public review of a programmatic agreement to remove and replace the Grand Canyon Railway wooden ballast bridge at the South Rim in Grand Canyon National Park. Public comments will be accepted from Feb. 7 until midnight, March 7, 2024. The wooden ballast bridge, constructed in 1925-26, is in poor condition resulting in safety concerns. The bridge crosses over Bright Angel Wash, north of the historic Powerhouse building and Village Loop Bypass Road, in Grand Canyon Village. Trains cross daily over this bridge as they travel between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon Village, providing the only train access into a United States national park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-comment-on-wooden-ballast-bridge-opens.htm

Today, Thursday, February 1, 2024, the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park for specific launch dates within calendar year 2025. A total of 482 permits will be available for 12- to 25-day river trips. Eligible individuals may apply online at the weighted lottery website: https://grcariverpermits.nps.gov. Applications will be accepted online through noon Mountain Standard Time on Monday, February 26, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-2025-river-lottery.htm

Grand Canyon National Park congratulates U.S. Park Ranger Elizabeth “Betsy” Aurnou as the 2023 winner of the National Park Service (NPS) Wright Brothers National Aviation Safety Award. Aurnou was nominated by her team for her diligence and leadership in removing hazardous and historic telephone lines from the main flight corridor in the park. Since 2020, she has worked collaboratively with many divisions to facilitate the removal of sections of telephone line from challenging and technical terrain within the inner canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2023-wright-brothers-aviation-award.htm

On November 16 at approximately 1:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center was alerted of an emergency by a personal locator beacon on the Bright Angel Trail, approximately 1.5 miles north of Havasupai Gardens. A hiker was reported unresponsive, and a rescuer immediately responded on foot from Havasupai Gardens. Additional National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel responded via helicopter. Upon arrival, rangers pronounced the hiker deceased. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-bright-angel-trail-nov2023.htm

Beginning November 15, National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, anticipate initiating prescribed burning within the North Rim developed area of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-burns-north-rim-nov-2023.htm

The National Park Service is announcing modified closures to support the Transcanyon Waterline construction project. The construction areas and schedule are subject to change and visitors are encouraged to check the park’s website for the current operational status. Intermittent trail delays of up to 30 minutes in the vicinity of construction work may occur as necessary throughout the project. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/modified-tcwl-closures-november-2023.htm

Grand Canyon releases a new podcast series featuring Tribal artists. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-speaks-podcast-released.htm

Effective April 1, 2024, Grand Canyon National Park will increase the cost of overnight backcountry permits. Grand Canyon began charging for overnight backcountry permits in 1997 and last modified backcountry fees in 2022.The cost recovery charge for overnight backcountry permits will increase for all permits that begin on or after April 1, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-fee-increase-october-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with staff from the Kaibab National Forest and Bureau of Land Management, anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments from October 16-31, on the North Rim, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. On Monday, October 16, ignitions will occur on the Atoko Point unit, located on the far eastern edge of the Walhalla Plateau. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-prescribed-fire-october-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin day-use operations on October 16, 2023. Grand Canyon Lodge will close and no overnight accommodations, including camping, will be available to visitors to the North Rim. Visitors exploring the North Rim on, or after, October 16 should plan to be self-sufficient and bring enough food and water for the day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitions-to-day-use-oct16-2023.htm

On September 5, park managers implemented mandatory water restrictions for the South Rim due to diminished water supplies. Water utilities crews were able to get water flowing again, and on September 18, the restrictions were lifted. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-restrictions-lifted-09-08-2023.htm

The National Park Service is announcing the expected Transcanyon Waterline construction-related closures to Grand Canyon National Park trail and campground areas today. The construction areas and schedule are subject to change and visitors are encouraged to check the park’s website for the current operational status. Intermittent trail delays of up to 30 minutes in the vicinity of construction work may occur as necessary throughout the project. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/announcement-of-tcwl-construction-closures-september-2023.htm

On September 9 at approximately 1:55 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received an emergency call of a hiker in distress on the North Kaibab Trail approximately one mile south of Cottonwood Campground. Soon thereafter the hiker became unresponsive and bystanders initiated CPR. Attempts to resuscitate the hiker were unsuccessful. The victim has been identified as 55-year-old, Ranjith Varma of Manassas, Virginia who was hiking from the South to North Rim (Rim-to-Rim) in a single day.   https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-north-kaibab-trail-september-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is working to remove invasive species and protect native species of fish in the Colorado River with $258,000 from the Inflation Reduction Act. This project is part of a nationwide effort to restore natural habitats and address climate change impacts.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ira-to-help-protect-native-fish-in-colorado-river.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim of the park. This is due to diminished water supplies. Crews continue to investigate challenges with water treatment and cannot pump water from Roaring Springs to the South Rim to replenish water stores. They are working to reestablish water treatment and ensure drinking water is safe for the public. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-south-rim-september-2023.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 4.7 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2022 spent an estimated $759 million in gateway regions near the park. This spending supported a total of 9,990 jobs, $346 million in labor income, $576 million in value added, and $1.0 billion in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2022-visitor-spending-to-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Grand Canyon Lodge will officially commence their 2023 seasonal operations on Sunday, July 23. Since June 2, limited visitor services have been available due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline that led to water conservation measures. The water pipeline has been fully repaired and water conservation measures for the North Rim are no longer in effect. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-resumes-full-visitor-services-july-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will soon be moving its backcountry permit reservation system to Recreation.gov. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-permits-move-online.htm

A man pled guilty to leading illegal backcountry packrafting trips in the Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/illegal-packrafting-plea-deal.htm

Heritage Days will return to the North Rim within Grand Canyon National Park July 28 through July 30, 2023. Each day, Heritage Days programs and demonstrations will run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. throughout the North Rim developed area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/heritage-days-2023.htm

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced the award of $27.5 million to the National Park Service (NPS) for the Grand Canyon National Park Shuttle Bus Fleet Replacement project in Arizona. The project includes 30 new buses, including 10 new battery electric buses and 20 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, to replace the current aging fleet and the installation of charging infrastructure to support the new electric buses. An estimated 6 million people visit the park each year and use the free shuttle buses to access destinations throughout the Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shuttle-bus-award-announcement-july-2023.htm

On July 2 at approximately 6:30 p.m., a U.S. Park Ranger received a report of a distressed day hiker in the Tuweep area of Grand Canyon National Park. The hiker, a 57-year-old female, was attempting an eight-mile hike in the remote Tuweep area of the park when she became unconscious. A ranger arrived on scene and pronounced the hiker deceased. On July 2, the high temperature at Tuweep was well over 100°F (38°C), with the high temperature at Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River along the North Kaibab trail, reached approximately 114°F (46°C). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/heat-related-fatality-reported-in-grand-canyon-july-2023.htm

The National Park Service announces the selection of North Rim Hospitality, LLC, to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, and other services at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park under a concession contract that will be effective for 15 years from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2038. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-concessions-contract-selected.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is beginning civic engagement to seek public input on proposed improvements to the water system at the North Rim and inner canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. Public comments will be accepted from June 22 until midnight, July 5, 2023, and used to refine the project proposal. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-seeks-public-comment-water-delivery-north-rim.htm

The public is invited to celebrate Juneteenth on June 19 at Grand Canyon National Park. This day of events, including special programming, food and live music is sponsored by the National Park Service and Grand Canyon Conservancy. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-juneteenth-at-grand-canyon-national-park-2023.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable announced the National Park Service’s selection of 16 companies to provide guided interpretive multi-day whitewater trips on the Colorado River in the park. These trips last from three to eighteen days, starting at Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, continuing through Grand Canyon National Park, and ending at Pearce Ferry within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/selection-of-sixteen-commercial-companies-colorado-river-trips.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers will resume prescribed burning on the South Rim this week. On Wednesday, June 7, fire personnel will continue working on the Grapevine unit, approximately 0.5 miles south of the “Duck on a Rock” overlook along Highway 64 (Desert View Drive). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-continues-june-2023.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has reopened today, June 2, for day use, with limited visitor services and water conservation measures due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline. The National Park Service recommends that visitors bring their own drinking water and food with them. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/update-north-rim-reopens-summer-2023.htm

On May 21 at approximately 9 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail above the Three-Mile Resthouse. National Park Service (NPS) emergency services personnel responded down trail and soon thereafter the hiker became pulseless. All attempts to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. The victim has been identified as a 36-year-old female from Westfield, Indiana who was attempting a hike to the Colorado River and back in one day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-bright-angel-trail-may-2023.htm

The thirty-third annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held Saturday, June 10 through Saturday, June 17, 2023, on both the South and North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. National parks such as Grand Canyon are protective havens for some of the last remaining dark skies in the United States. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-star-party-news-release-2023.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open as scheduled, on June 2, with limited visitor services and water conservation measures due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline. A landslide from winter storms destroyed more than 300 feet of the North Rim water pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-reopen-june2-with-limited-services.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with personnel and resources from Saguaro, Rocky Mountain National Park as well as Dinosaur National Monument, anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments from May 10-12, on the South Rim, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-planned-beginning-may-10-2023.htm

From May 2-23, 2023, the composting toilet located at the “Tip Off” on the South Kaibab Trail will be closed for needed maintenance. There will be no restroom facilities available for public use during this time. Hikers should plan ahead before entering the canyon and use either the restroom facilities at Cedar Ridge or at Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tip-off-composting-toilets-closed-february-march-2023.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has scheduled meetings to provide information to the public and respond to questions about multiple construction activities at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The meetings will include a presentation by NPS staff featuring the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL), Bright Angel Substation and the substation access road projects with a question-and-answer period. These meetings will be an opportunity for community members to learn about construction updates and anticipated impacts to park operations, residents, and visitors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-schedules-public-informational-meetings-for-south-rim-construction-activities.htm

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed as the cause of mortality for three California condors found in northern Arizona, according to wildlife officials. The Arizona-Utah population moves throughout northern Arizona and southern Utah, using the landscape within Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, the Kaibab Plateau, and surrounding areas. To date, the virus has not been detected in the other condor populations in California or Baja California, Mexico. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-as-cause-of-three-california-condor-mortalities-in-arizona.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Friday, June 2 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2023 season. Following a record-setting snow season, this delayed opening is necessary to ensure the safe plowing of State Route 67 and allow staff to reopen visitor facilities on the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-to-reopen-june-2-for-2023-summer-season.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing for a multi-year $208 million rehabilitation of the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL) and related upgrades to the associated water delivery system within the inner canyon and South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. This critical investment will ensure the park is able to meet water supply needs for the next 50 plus years, supporting 6 million annual visitors and approximately 2,500 year-round residents. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transcanyon-waterline-construction-contract-announced.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park can expect long lines and full parking lots during the spring break season, which spans from early March through mid-April. As a result of increased visitation, traffic regularly backs up at all entrance stations, with wait times of up to one to two hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking lots begin reaching capacity by 12 p.m. and shuttle bus wait times may be prolonged. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-tips-2023-announced.htm

On February 17 at approximately 3 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens. National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue personnel arrived on scene at approximately 3:30 p.m. and pronounced the individual deceased. The victim is described as a 56-year-old male from Pewaukee, Wisconsin who was attempting a day hike to the Colorado River and back. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-along-bright-angel-trail-february-2023.htm

Today, Wednesday, February 1, 2023, the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park for specific launch dates within calendar year 2024. A total of 459 permits will be available for 12- to 25-day river trips. Eligible individuals may apply online at the weighted lottery website. Applications will be accepted online through noon Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2024-noncommercial-river-trip-lottery-period.htm

Starting on December 2, 2022, through February 26, 2023, the Cultural Demonstrator Series will transition to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center (GCVC) on the South Rim. Every Friday through Sunday, artists from traditionally associated tribes of Grand Canyon will be in the lobby from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cultural-demonstrators-series-transitions-to-gcvc-winter2022-2023.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a Wetland Statement of Findings for the Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline project. Public comments on the proposed action will be accepted Nov. 21 until midnight, Dec. 23, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-seeks-public-comment-for-wetland-statement-of-finding.htm

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted unanimously (19-0) earlier this month in favor of the formal request submitted by the National Park Service on behalf of the Havasupai Tribe to change the name of Indian Garden (FID #6209) to Havasupai Gardens. Earlier this year, the Havasupai Tribe passed Resolution 29-21 which provided a formal request to the National Park Service to change the name. Havasupai Gardens is along the Bright Angel Trail and is a frequent stop for day hikers and backpackers exploring the backcountry of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-officially-renamed-to-havasupai-gardens.htm

On October 26 at approximately 3:30 p.m., an electrical fire was reported at El Tovar Hotel within Grand Canyon National Park. Structural firefighters from the National Park Service (NPS), Xanterra Fire and Security and Tusayan Fire Department responded with the first unit arriving within three minutes of the initial report. A circuit breaker malfunctioned in the basement of the hotel causing smoke but there were no open flames found by responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/firefighters-respond-to-el-tovar-for-reported-electrical-fire.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent, Ed Keable, has announced the availability of a prospectus for a business opportunity in the park to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, and other visitor services on the North Rim. The prospectus released today outlines this business opportunity, describes the existing business, and provides details on how to submit a responsive proposal. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-announced-for-north-rim-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will transition to day-use operations on Sunday, October 16, 2022. At that time, the Grand Canyon Lodge and North Rim campground will close, and limited services will be available to visitors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitions-to-dayuse-october16-2022.htm

After several weeks of pipeline breaks and water restrictions, water in storage tanks on both North and South rims of Grand Canyon National Park have reached sustainable levels. Visitors, residents, and businesses should continue to use basic water conservation practices and mindful water use at all times. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/parkwide-water-restrictions-lifted-september-2022.htm

Water delivery to Grand Canyon National Park's South and North rims has been restored and the park is beginning a phased-in approach to easing water restrictions. The amount of water in reservoir tanks is increasing daily and once sustainable levels are reached the park will continue to ease water restrictions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-ease-water-restrictions-september-19-2022.htm

On September 11, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 58 bison from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. All bison were transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, who transported the animals to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bison-reduction-efforts-complete-for-2022.htm

On Saturday, September 10 at approximately 2:12 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to a flipped boat with multiple injuries from a river trip near Bedrock Rapid on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was in progress. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/river-incident-at-bedrock-rapids-sept-2022.htm

Effective immediately, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing into greater water restrictions and conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will remain in current water conservation status. Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-for-south-rim-september-2022.htm

On September 4 at approximately 7:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a deceased backpacker along the Thunder River Trail, approximately one mile from the confluence of Tapeats Creek and the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-thunder-river-september-2022.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will re-implement mandatory water conservation measures on both the North and South rims of the park. This is due to diminished water supplies as a result of a major pipeline break discovered on September 3 in the inner canyon along the North Kaibab Trail. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms, and at the campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-reimplements-water-conservation-september-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable has announced the Prospectus Release for the 16-contracts to provide guided interpretive multi-day whitewater tours within Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. These tours will provide guides, boats, gear, meals and interpretation of Grand Canyon's spectacular natural and cultural resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opportunity-announced-for-colorado-river-grca.htm

Grand Canyon National Park biologists have received confirmation that a bat collected along the Colorado River in mid-August has tested positive for rabies. Wildlife managers generally report an increase in human-bat interactions in summer months. Individuals who have had physical contact with a bat are advised to seek medical attention and be assessed for appropriate medical treatment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-tests-positive-for-rabies-along-colorado-river-august-2022.htm

On Friday, August 26 at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim west of the Bright Angel Point Trail on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Responding rangers located the body of a 44-year-old male approximately 200 ft. below the rim. The visitor was off trail when he accidentally fell off the edge. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-recover-body-below-bright-angel-point-august-2022.htm

Effective immediately, all Dragon Fire closure areas on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park have been reopened to the public. These areas include the Tiyo Point Trail, the Widforss and Outlet Canyon backcountry use area, and the Widforss Forest Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-closure-areas-open.htm

A variety of National Park Service (NPS) employees, volunteers and partners were honored at a ceremony to Celebrate America’s National Parks and the Dedication of Those Who Serve. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/08-25-2022-nps-awards.htm

Della Yurcik, Backcountry Park Ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected to receive the 2022 National Park Service (NPS) Harry Yount Award for excellence in the field of rangering. The Harry Yount Award annually honors a NPS Ranger who consistently excels in the performance of duties that serve park visitors and protect the natural, historical and cultural resources of parks. The award is named after the nation's first park ranger and is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a park ranger today. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/della-yurcik-receives-harry-yount-award.htm

Matthew Snider, Compost Crew Leader at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 National Park Service (NPS) Excellence in Natural Resource Stewardship through Maintenance award. This award recognizes an employee for outstanding contributions in natural resource management by a Facilities Management employee. This award is given to one individual, once a year. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/matthew-snider-receives-2021-directors-award.htm

Grand Canyon National Park lifted its mandatory water conservation measures for the South Rim when water storage reached an acceptable level on August 15, 2022. Water at Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile rest houses will remain off until crews are able to complete repairs to the damaged pipe above Mile-and-a-Half rest house. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/sr-grca-np-lifts-water-conservation-measures-as-water-tank-levels-return-to-normal.htm

The Peregrine Fund and Bureau of Land Management at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 24 by releasing captive-bred California Condors at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time) to take their first flights in the wild. The event will be held in-person at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument for anyone interested in traveling to the area, and it will be live streamed via The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube Channel. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/california-condor-release-2022.htm

Effective this weekend, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory water conservation measures due to diminished water resources and storage on the South Rim. This measure is a reversal from earlier this week when water restrictions were lifted, as park managers have learned that storage tanks on the rim are not refilling at a sustainable rate. Water conservation measures require all park residents and visitors to conserve and reduce water usage wherever possible in homes, hotel rooms, and at the campgrounds. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-implements-new-water-conservation-measures-august-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park lifted its mandatory water conservation measures when water storage on the South Rim reached an acceptable level on Aug. 1, 2022. Currently, the water at Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile rest houses will remain off until crews are able to repair the damaged pipe above the rest house at Mile-and-a-Half. For the most up-to-date information, please consult the Critical Backcountry Updates page. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-lifts-water-conservation-measures-as-water-levels-return-to-normal.htm

Over the last several days, the Dragon Fire has been holding at approximately 1,309 acres in size. The 135-personnel assigned fire has had minimal spread due to monsoonal precipitation over the Kaibab Plateau. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-holding-and-meeting-resource-objectives.htm

As of July 22, the Dragon Fire grew to approximately 733 acres and has 47 personnel assigned. The fire spread across the planning area with low to moderate fire behavior. The lightning-caused fire began July 17 and is being allowed to fulfill its natural role in a fire-dependent ecosystem. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-grows-at-steady-pace.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory Level 2 water conservation measures due to diminished water resources. At Level 2, measures require that all concessions operations switch to disposable dishes and utensils; alter menus to use less water for food prep and dish washing; adopt low water use for hotel room cleaning; and serve drinking water at restaurants by request only. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-begins-on-south-rim-july-2022.htm

The Dragon Fire, located on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is approximately 85 acres in size. The lightning-caused fire began July 17 and is being allowed to fulfill its natural role in a fire-dependent ecosystem. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dragon-fire-on-north-rims-grows-to-85-acres.htm

On the morning of July 13, 2022, for more than 4 hours, Grand Canyon National Park did not meet a treatment requirement to provide sufficient levels of disinfectant due to a waterline break near Ribbon Falls on the North Kaibab Trail. The break triggered loss of the chlorination and pressure for pumping in sections of the waterline, impacting the following areas: Manzanita, Cottonwood, Phantom Ranch, and the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/roaring-springs-system-failure-july-2022.htm

On July 1, 2022, juvenile smallmouth bass were found in the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam. Smallmouth bass are a predatory non-native fish that have adversely impacted native and federally protected fish in the upper basin of the Colorado River over the last 20 years. The National Park Service (NPS) is working closely with partners and stakeholders to coordinate rapid response actions to address this finding in accordance with previously approved management plans. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/invasive-smallmouth-bass-colorado-river-below-glen-canyon-dam.htm

Heritage Days will return to the North Rim within Grand Canyon National Park. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Heritage Days will be held from August 5 through August 7, 2022. Each day, Heritage Days programs will run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in various locations throughout the North Rim developed area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-heritage-days-2022.htm

Effective immediately, Stage 2 fire restrictions are rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity throughout northern Arizona has significantly lowered the fire danger risk within the last week. Grand Canyon National Park will remain in stage 1 fire restrictions which requires that a campfire always be in a designated fire ring within a maintained campground. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-restrictions-lifted-june-2022.htm

Park staff and contractors have successfully repaired the electrical system that supports water delivery from the Roaring Springs Pumphouse to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Water restrictions have been removed and the park has resumed basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-implements-stage1-water-conservation-june-2022.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 4.5 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2021 spent an estimated $710 million in gateway regions near the park. That spending supported 9,390 jobs in the local area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-use-spending-to-grand-canyon-2021.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement a new pilot advance day-use ticket reservation system for the Tuweep Visitor Use Area, July 21, 2022. Park staff are managing for significant and steadily increasing visitation at Tuweep since 1995, along with limited park staffing in the area, ongoing vehicle safety, and natural and cultural resource concerns. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/implementation-tuweep-pilot-day-use-reservation-system-20220621.htm

On June 11, at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a passenger on a commercial river trip who had fallen into the Colorado River. Commercial guides were able to reach the woman by boat. The commercial guides pulled her from the river and began CPR. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-on-the-colorado-river-near-pipe-creek-beach-20220613.htm

The 32nd annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 18, 2022, through Saturday, June 25, 2022, on both the South and North rims of Grand Canyon National Park. This is the first onsite event since 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-hosts-32nd-annual-star-party-20220609.htm

On June 2, 2022, the Cultural Demonstrator Series returned to Desert View within Grand Canyon National Park. After an absence of more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series returns in-person every Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The series will run for 14 weeks from June 2 through September 2, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cultural-demonstrator-series-resumes-in-person-at-desert-view.htm

On June 2 at approximately 5:50 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a hiker in distress on the Bright Angel Trail above Three-Mile Resthouse. Soon thereafter the hiker became unresponsive and bystanders initiated CPR. All attempts to resuscitate the individual were unsuccessful. The victim has been identified as 41-year old Melanie Goodine from Ottawa, Ontario who was hiking out of the canyon after hiking to the Colorado River earlier that day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-bright-angel-june-2022.htm

Due to warm and dry weather conditions and increasing fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The restriction encompasses the entire park including all campgrounds, residential areas, backcountry sites, and developed recreation sites including: Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood Campground, Indian Garden Campground and the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-may-2022.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this Memorial Day weekend should expect long lines and full parking lots. Traffic regularly backs up at all entrance stations, with the longest wait times between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking lots, especially near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, will reach capacity by 12 p.m. and shuttle bus lines will be long. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/memorial-day-weekend-tips-2022.htm

The National Park Foundation (NPF) recently announced its fiscal year 2022 investment in service corps programs across the country, including support for a Native Conservation Corps. This program provides opportunities to Indigenous youth for career shadowing in natural resource stewardship and protection, along with recreational experiences at multiple National Park Service (NPS) units. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/npf-grant-native-conservation-corps.htm

Starting Saturday, May 28, the National Park Service (NPS) will offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Center and the gateway community of Tusayan, Arizona. The Tusayan Route will run at 20-minute intervals between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. daily through September 9, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-begins-may-28-2022.htm

The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Sunday, May 15 at 6 a.m. to mark the official start of the 2022 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2022 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-reopening-2022.htm

Following an investigation by Rangers of the National Park Service (NPS), a man pled guilty for conducting business operations without permits within the remote backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park. William “Billy” Chandler Woods of Flagstaff, Arizona, pled guilty on April 8, 2022, and was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and is banned from Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area for the next two years. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/illegal-backcountry-guiding-april-2022.htm

On Monday, April 4 at approximately 6:30 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted of an unresponsive river trip participant near Ledges Camp (river mile 152) along the Colorado River. Due to darkness, Grand Canyon National Park requested Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) emergency helicopter response. DPS arrived on scene at Ledges Camp at approximately 8:30 p.m. and pronounced the individual deceased. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fatality-near-ledges-camp-colorado-river-april-2022.htm

Following an investigation by Rangers of the National Park Service (NPS), on Friday, March 25, a man pled guilty for violation of the group size limitation on a rim-to-rim hike within Grand Canyon National Park. Joseph Don Mount was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and is banned from all national parks, national monuments, and federal lands within the state of Arizona. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/washington-man-pleads-guilty-illegal-r2r-hike.htm

On Thursday, March 24 at approximately 11:18 a.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted of an emergency by a personal locator beacon from a non-commercial river trip near Hance Rapid on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was in progress. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/boater-fatality-at-hance-rapid-march-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is beginning civic engagement to seek comments on implementing a three-year pilot advance day-use reservation system to manage day-use visitation to the Tuweep Visitor Use Area including all park areas within Toroweap Valley and the Kanab Plateau. A $2 ticket fee per vehicle is proposed for visitors to get to Tuweep. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tuweep-day-use-civic-engagement-2022.htm

March 18 through April 6, 2022, the Mile-and-a-Half composting toilet facility will be temporarily unavailable on the Bright Angel Trail. Hikers should plan ahead before entering the canyon and use either the restroom facilities at the Bright Angel Trailhead or at the Three-Mile Rest House. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-restroom-closure-spring-2022.htm

A project to repave roads and parking areas within Mather Campground at Grand Canyon National Park will begin in early June and continue through October 2022. Periodic closures will occur within Mather Campground throughout the summer and a fixed number of sites will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/mather-campground-repaving-2022.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the National Park Service Utah Parks Group anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments as early as next week downriver from Lees Ferry, Az. within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/news/20220304.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the National Park Service Utah Parks Group anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments as early as next week downriver from Lees Ferry, Az. within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-lees-ferry-march-2022.htm

Effective July 1, 2022, Grand Canyon National Park will increase the cost of overnight backcountry permits. The charge of $10 per backcountry permit remains the same; the nightly per person fee will be increased from $8 per person to $12 per person or stock animal camping below the rim in designated backcountry camping areas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-camping-fee-increase-2022.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this spring break can expect long lines and full parking lots. As a result of increased visitation, traffic regularly backs up at all entrance stations, with the longest wait times between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Parking lots, especially near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, start reaching capacity by 12 p.m. and shuttle bus lines will be long. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-tips-2022.htm

At approximately 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call of a single car accident near the South Entrance Station along Highway 64 in Grand Canyon National Park. 26-year-old Haley McCormick of Tusayan, Arizona suffered fatal injuries when the vehicle she was driving collided with a tree. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rangers-respond-to-vehicle-accident-february-2022.htm

Beginning Feb. 8, 2022, the first phase of short-term repairs and upgrades to the Phantom Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) will begin. Work is anticipated to be completed by December 2022 and includes two phases of hauling equipment via helicopters. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/phantom-ranch-wastewater-treatment-plant-construction-begins.htm

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2023-river-lottery-opens.htm

Beginning Thursday, January 6, National Park Service (NPS) fire managers will begin pile burning along the Hwy. 64 corridor on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/winter-pile-burns-begin-on-south-rim-2022.htm

On Tuesday, December 21, at approximately 8:04 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an overdue hiker in the vicinity of the Boucher Trail within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-found-deceased-boucher-trail-december-2021.htm

Beginning December 1, 2021, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park this winter season should be prepared for modified changes in operations. Visitors should also plan ahead and anticipate temporary road closures and poor driving conditions whenever winter storms pass through the area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-transitions-to-winter-operations-2021-2022.htm

A series of prescribed fire projects will begin Tuesday, November 30 and continue throughout the week at various locations across the North Kaibab Ranger District on the Kaibab National Forest. Approximately 6000 acres are scheduled to be ignited at the following specific locations beginning Monday, November 30, and continuing through Sunday, December 5. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-burns-scheduled-for-north-rim-fall-2021.htm

Bison reduction operations are now complete for 2021 on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. In total, 36 bison were removed through live capture and transfer, and five were removed lethally, reducing the impacts of the herd on the park’s water, vegetation, soils, and culturally significant sites and locations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bison-reduction-complete-for-2021-north-rim.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers-working with resources from Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Zion National Park and the Kaibab National Forest anticipate initiating prescribed fire treatments as early as tomorrow, November 16, 2021, on the South Rim, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-fire-planned-for-south-rim-november-2021.htm

Beginning Monday, October 18, National Park Service (NPS) fire managers will begin pile burning along the Hwy. 64 corridor on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/prescribed-pile-burning-south-rim-2021.htm

Effective October 11, 2021, the National Park Service (NPS) will begin shutting off water to the upper Bright Angel and North Kaibab Trails. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-water-availability-changes-october-2021.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin transition to day-use operations on Saturday, October 16, 2021. At this time the Grand Canyon Lodge will close and limited visitor services will be available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-transitioning-to-day-use-october-2021.htm

Due to high Covid-19 transmission levels in counties surrounding the condor release site, and to help prevent further spread of the virus, partners hosting the 26th annual California Condor Release are strongly encouraging the public to attend the live stream event online. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/public-encouraged-to-attend-virtual-california-condor-release-sep-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has successfully located missing person, Clifton Beck. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-located-near-roosevelt-point-sep-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. On Tuesday, September 14 at approximately 9 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an overdue backpacker in the vicinity of the Walhalla Plateau on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-walhalla-plateau-sep-2021.htm

The Peregrine Fund and Bureau of Land Management at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 25 at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time) by releasing captive-bred California Condors to take their first flights in the wild. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/26th-annual-condor-release-takes-flight-september-2021.htm

After weeks of extensive searching, the National Park Service (NPS) is reducing the scale of the search for Charles Lyon of Tyler, TX who went missing at Grand Canyon National Park on June 10, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/search-continues-in-limited-mode-september-2021.htm

On Saturday, August 28, at approximately 4:19 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an injured non-commercial river trip participant in the Deer Creek Narrows within Grand Canyon National Park. The participant fell approximately 50 feet while on a hike in the narrows and could not be located by members of the river trip. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-deer-creek-august-2021.htm

On Monday, August 23, National Park Service personnel located a body below Yavapai Point following a multi-day search and rescue operation. Park rangers recovered the body which was located approximately 430 ft. below the rim. The body was transported to the rim and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. Based on evidence found with the body, the individual is believed to be missing person Gabor Berczi-Tomcsanyi. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-recovered-august-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has successfully located missing person, Arturo Hernandez. On Tuesday, August 24 at approximately 2 p.m., search and rescue personnel located Hernandez via helicopter along the Hermit Trail near Breezy Point. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-located-august-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. On Monday, August 23 at approximately 4:30 a.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of two overdue hikers on the Hermit Trail within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-near-hermit-creek-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing person on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.Gabor Berczi-Tomcsanyi, 45, a Hungarian national, is believed to have traveled to the South Rim on or around July 19, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/august-2021-missing-person-search-initiated.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Deputy Superintendent Louis Rowe has announced the selection of Angela Boyers as Chief Ranger for the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection. As chief ranger of Grand Canyon National Park, Boyers will manage a complex program that includes law enforcement, emergency services, wildland and structural fire, aviation, fee collection, backcountry operations, and a regional dispatch center. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/chief-of-visitor-and-resource-protection-selected.htm

On July 20 at approximately 2:50 p.m., the Grand Canyon Communications Center received a report of multiple individuals struck by lightning at the Bright Angel Trailhead during a monsoonal thunderstorm. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/lightning-strike-causes-injuries-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On July 19 at approximately 9:47 a.m., the Grand Canyon Communications Center received a report of a hiker with a medical emergency in progress on the Bright Angel Trail. The caller determined that the hiker did not have a pulse while on the phone with dispatchers.   https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-the-bright-angel-trail-7-19-21.htm

On July 14 at approximately 6:00 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of two individuals missing and multiple parties injured after flash flood activity impacted Tatahatso Camp near River Mile 38 on the Colorado River. Grand Canyon Search and Rescue sent two paramedics to the scene to assess and treat patients. Active monsoonal weather in the area limited access to the scene for overnight search and rescue operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tatahatso-flash-flood-july-2021.htm

On July 14 at approximately 4:49 p.m., the Grand Canyon Communications Center received a report of CPR in progress on an unresponsive hiker at the Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse on the Bright Angel Trail. The hiker, (Rodney) Jason Hatfield, 44, of Washington, Louisiana, was on a multi-day hiking trip and returning from Phantom Ranch when he began experiencing difficulty hiking up the Bright Angel trail near Indian Garden. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-bright-angel-trail-july-2021.htm

Due to monsoonal activity and heavy rainfall, Grand Canyon National Park will rescind Stage 2 fire restrictions as of 6 a.m. Friday, July 16. Grand Canyon National Park will remain in stage 1 fire restrictions which requires that a campfire always be in a designated fire ring within a maintained campground. Inner canyon users can use gas cook stoves, but campfires and other open fires are never allowed below the rim. River users should continue to follow the conditions of their permit regarding fires along the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage2-fire-restrictions-lifted-july-2021.htm

Beginning July 17, 2021, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park should be prepared for changes in shuttle bus operations. The following changes will be in place from July 17 through November 30, 2021 unless otherwise noted. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shuttle-bus-changes-summer-fall-2021.htm

On June 22 at approximately 1:20 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting CPR in progress approximately a half mile below the South Kaibab Trailhead. Bystanders initiated CPR and National Park Service (NPS) EMS personnel responded and assisted with resuscitation efforts. All attempts to resuscitate the victim were unsuccessful. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-2021-hiker-fatality-on-south-kaibab-trail.htm

On June 20 at approximately 1:15 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a backpacker experiencing heat illness on the Tonto Trail near Monument Creek. The backpacker, Michelle Meder, 53, of Hudson, Ohio was on a multi-day backpacking trip from the Hermit to Bright Angel Trail. Hiking down the Hermit Trail on June 19, she became disoriented and later unconscious. On June 20, responding rangers determined Meder to be deceased; the cause of death is believed to be heat-related. On June 20 the high temperature at Phantom Ranch was approximately 115°F (46°C). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-2021-hiker-fatality-on-tonto-trail.htm

On Monday, June 15 at approximately 10 a.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted to a personal locator beacon activation from a non-commercial river trip near Hance Rapid on the Colorado River. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center then received a report that CPR was in progress. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/boater-fatality-colorado-river-june-2021.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. Charles Lyon, 49, of Tyler, Texas, was last seen at the Best Western hotel in Tusayan, Arizona on June 10, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-2021-missing-person-lyon.htm

Due to warm and dry weather conditions and increasing fire danger, Grand Canyon National Park will implement Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/june-11-2021-fire-restrictions.htm

The 31st annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held virtually June 5-12, 2021. The park will bring the wonders of the night sky into the virtual realm through a series of live video premieres on Grand Canyon’s official Facebook page. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-virtual-star-party.htm

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this Memorial Day weekend and through the summer season can expect long lines, full parking lots and crowded conditions. To make the most of a visit to the park during this time, park rangers recommend the following pro tips. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/summer-2021-season-tips.htm

Hikers and backpackers hiking in the inner canyon are strongly encouraged to be prepared for excessively hot temperatures—greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit this spring and summer season. Hikers attempting rigorous distances, such as ‘Rim to Rim’ through the inner canyon, must be self-reliant and understand their own physical limitations to prevent emergency situations for themselves and responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-urges-visitors-to-hike-safely.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Saturday, May 15 at 6:30 a.m. to mark the official opening of the North Rim for the 2021 season. Grand Canyon Lodge and Grand Canyon Trail Rides will also commence their 2021 seasonal operations on this date. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-to-open-may-15-for-2021-season.htm

On April 26, 2021 at approximately 11:00 a.m. MST, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a satellite phone report of a boating accident on the Colorado River near Kwagunt Rapid at river mile 56. A commercial river trip requested assistance with an overturned motorboat and reported boater injuries. The park swiftwater rescue team responded with two crews of rescue boats which launched on April 26th and arrived on scene the morning of April 27. Due to adverse weather conditions, the park helicopter was not able to immediately respond. A 60-year-old female on the trip died in the event. On the afternoon of April 27, the park helicopter evacuated two injured individuals and the deceased. Salvage operations of the overturned boat are ongoing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/one-fatality-and-two-injured-on-colorado-river-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), seeks skilled volunteers to assist with the removal of bison on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in the fall of 2021. Interested parties should carefully read this announcement and the information in the links below. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-seeks-skilled-volunteers-for-north-rim-bison-reduction.htm

April 25 through May 10, 2021, the Cedar Ridge composting toilet facility will be temporarily unavailable to hikers on the South Kaibab Trail. Hikers should use the restroom facilities at the trailhead before entering the canyon.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cedar-ridge-composting-toilet-facility-on-south-kaibab-trail-temporarily-unavailable.htm

After a multi-year effort, the National Park Service and the Utah Geological Association have published Grand Canyon National Park Centennial Paleontological Resources Inventory: A Century of Fossil Discovery and Research, available for public download on the Utah Geological Association website. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/centennial-paleontological-inventory.htm

Beginning April 13 and continuing until May 7, 2021, visitors hiking along the Bright Angel trail near Phantom Ranch will experience a closure of the Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River near Phantom Ranch. The closure will prohibit hikers from crossing the bridge Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. as necessary repair work is completed on electrical utilities. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-announces-temporary-closures-along-the-bright-angel-trail-and-silver-bridge-near-phantom-ranch.htm

Park officials, working with tribal and state officials, stakeholders and community leaders, announced the reopening of the Park's east entrance gate on April 8, 2021. The east entrance, along Arizona State Highway (Hwy) 64, has been closed since April 1, 2020. The intent of the closure has been to minimize visitor traffic through the Navajo Nation and other communities east of the Park, respecting the health and safety need of park neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-re-opens-east-entrance-gate-4-8-2021.htm

Following an investigation by Special Agents of the National Park Service (NPS) Investigative Services Branch, a man has been sentenced for misappropriation of government property and interfering with agency functions by providing false information within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/isb-grca-case-update-03182021.htm

On Wednesday, March 3, National Park Service personnel located a body and motorcycle below the South Kaibab Trailhead after a multi-day search and rescue operation. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-recovered-below-skth-march-2021.htm

Starting March 2, Grand Canyon National Park’s Cultural Demonstrator Program at Desert View will launch the ‘History Behind the Arts’ video series. This series will feature cultural demonstrators from the 11 traditionally associated tribes of Grand Canyon and will highlight the history of tribal crafts and personal interviews with artisans. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-virtual-cultural-demonstrator-series.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. John Pennington, 40, of Walton, Kentucky was last known to be on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon near Yaki Point. Pennington abandoned his vehicle at Yaki Point on or around February 23, 2021 and is believed to be traveling alone. Currently, Pennington may be traveling on a yellow motorcycle with Ohio plates (2005 Suzuki GSX-R600). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-february-2021.htm

On Tuesday, February 23, the National Park Service located a body below the rim near Trailview Overlook along the Hermit Road. The body was recovered and has been identified as Lillian Meyn, age 31, of Woodside, California. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-below-rim-february-2021.htm

Beginning March 1, 2021, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park should be prepared for modified changes in shuttle bus operations compared to previous years. The spring schedule will be in place from March 1 through May 28, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-spring-shuttle-bus-schedule.htm

On Monday February 15, Grand Canyon National Park will begin repairing a leak in the Transcanyon Pipeline (TCP) at Phantom Ranch. As part of this repair, the TCP will be turned off and trail closures will be in place to allow crews to fix the existing pipeline. The project is expected to continue through Thursday, February 18. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/transcanyon-pipeline-shutdown-february-2021.htm

2/7/21 Update: Coleman has been located outside of Grand Canyon National Park and is no longer reported missing. The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park. Stephen Coleman, 60, of Portland, Maine was last seen on Dec. 20, 2020, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Coleman is believed to be traveling alone and indicated he was going hiking in the Grand Canyon. Coleman’s whereabouts are unknown and he may have been transient and traveling in the Arizona area from Maine. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-underway-2-6-2021.htm

On Monday, February 1, 2021 the National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The permits are for specific launch dates within calendar year 2022. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2022-noncommercial-river-lottery-opens.htm

Between February 2-5, 2021, Grand Canyon National Park fire managers—working with resources from the Alpine Interagency Hotshot Crew and the Arizona Conservation Corps Veterans Fire Corps—will conduct prescribed pile burning at Indian Garden as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/pile-burning-at-indian-garden-feb-2021.htm

On November 19, 2020, Michael T. Reynolds, National Park Service Regional Director of Regions 6, 7, and 8, and Ed Keable, Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, signed a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the implementation of the Grand Canyon National Park Telecommunications Plan outlined by the 2019 Telecommunications Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-1-14-telecommunications-fonsi-signed.htm

Following an investigation by Special Agents of the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB) and US Park Rangers, a man has been sentenced to serve time in prison for disorderly conduct-fighting and interfering with agency functions by resisting arrest within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/isb-case-update-01142021.htm

Grand Canyon National Park announces the award of the contract for the South Rim’s shuttle bus operation to Paul Revere Transportation, L.L.C. The ten-year contract is in effect from December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2030. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shuttle-bus-contract-awarded-to-paul-revere-transportation.htm

Galen Howell, fixed wing pilot at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected as the 2020 National Park Service (NPS) Aviator of the Year. This award recognizes an individual who has performed mission(s) of significant consequence and valor or has actively promoted the advancement or recognition of an NPS aviation program, mission or service. This award is given to one individual, once a year.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/howell-nps-2020-aviator-of-the-year.htm

On December 15 at approximately 7:41 a.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a fatality above the Black Bridge on the South Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/12-15-20-visitor-fatality-on-south-kaibab-trail.htm

Beginning December 1, 2020, visitors traveling to Grand Canyon National Park this winter season should be prepared for modified changes in operations. Visitors should also plan ahead and anticipate temporary road closures and poor driving conditions whenever winter storms pass through the area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-2021-winter-operations.htm

National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fire managers, working together as the North Zone Interagency Fire Management Program, plan to begin conducting pile burns north of the Grand Canyon the week of November 16, 2020. Hand piles composed of woody debris are located near the NPS developed zone at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park as well as around Big Saddle, Demotte, and Jacob Lake on USFS administered lands. Fire managers anticipate conducting prescribed burns through mid-December, as conditions allow, to reduce hazardous fuels and enhance site protection at these high-priority locations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-11-16-prescribed-pile-burn-nr.htm

On October 13, 2020 at approximately 12:00 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call alerting officials to a potential suicide. Responding staff conducted an initial hasty search and located a body below the rim just east of the Yavapai Geology Museum. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/victim-identified-yavapai-geology-museum.htm

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will begin day-use operations on October 19, 2020. At this time, the Grand Canyon Lodge will close and no overnight accommodations, including camping, will be available to visitors at the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-begins-day-use-operations-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers urge inner canyon hikers to hike smart while visiting the park this fall season. Hikers and backpackers attempting rigorous distances, such as ‘Rim to Rim’ through the inner canyon are strongly encouraged to be self-reliant and to understand their own physical limitations in order to prevent emergency situations for themselves and responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-urges-visitors-to-hike-smart-this-fall-season.htm

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission (AZGFD) and the National Park Service (NPS) entered into an agreement on Friday, September 25, 2020 to reduce the number of bison present on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-10-01-nps-azfgd-bison-agreement.htm

Effective September 24, 2020, the National Park Service (NPS) will shut off water to the Supai Tunnel water filling station on the North Kaibab Trail for the remainder of the season. This adjustment is in response to an ongoing water pump failure at the Roaring Springs Pumphouse. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-change-availability-on-north-kaibab-trail.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is initiating additional water conservation measures on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to ensure that the area's facilities can remain open until a replacement water pump can be repaired at the Roaring Spring Pumphouse. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/additional-water-conservation-measures-on-north-rim.htm

On September 26, The Peregrine Fund will release up to four California Condors atop the spectacular ledges of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. Since the public is unable to watch from the annual viewing site, the opportunity to observe the release virtually on The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube Channel. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-california-condor-release.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has reopened the Silver Bridge to all foot traffic following a formal structural assessment. The Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River along the Bright Angel Trail is located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/silver-bridge-reopens.htm

Following an investigation by Special Agents of the National Park Service (NPS) Investigative Services Branch and U.S. Park Rangers, Thomas Grabarek, 71, of Flagstaff, Ariz., pled guilty on September 8, 2020 to misdemeanor violations for starting a wildland fire within Grand Canyon National Park. The Cottonwood Creek Fire ignited approximately 64 acres in the Inner Canyon along the Tonto Trail near Horseshoe Mesa. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cottonwood-fire-2019-plea-deal-reached.htm

On September 4, in cooperation with the Intertribal Buffalo Council, Kaibab National Forest, and Arizona Game and Fish Department, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 57 bison from the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fifty-seven-bison-relocated.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) has closed the Silver Bridge to all foot traffic due to structural safety concerns. The Silver Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River along the Bright Angel Trail is located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near Phantom Ranch. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/silver-bridge-temporarily-closed.htm

As part of its phased reopening, the National Park Service (NPS) continues to increase recreational access and services at Grand Canyon National Park. Park officials are pleased to announce the resumption of modified shuttle bus services on September 5. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-shuttle-buses-resume.htm

Paleontological research has confirmed a series of recently discovered fossils tracks are the oldest recorded tracks of their kind to date within Grand Canyon National Park. In 2016, Norwegian geology professor, Allan Krill, was hiking with his students when he made a surprising discovery. Lying next to the trail, in plain view of the many hikers, was a boulder containing conspicuous fossil footprints. Krill was intrigued, and he sent a photo to his colleague, Stephen Rowland, a paleontologist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/cliff-collapse-reveals-313-million-year-old-fossil-footprints-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has received confirmation that a bat collected at the Whitmore Helipad, located along the Colorado River near river mile 187 on August 6, has tested positive for rabies. The rabies positive bat did not come in contact with any visitors. In recent months, wildlife managers have reported an increase in human-bat interactions. Individuals who have had physical contact with a bat are advised to seek medical attention and be assessed for appropriate medical treatment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-tests-positive-for-rabies-in-grand-canyon-national-park-august-12-2020.htm

Effective immediately stage 2 fire restrictions are rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. Increased monsoonal activity throughout northern Arizona has significantly lowered the fire danger risk within the last week. Visitors and residents are now allowed to use charcoal grills and have campfires.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-lifted-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Bureau of Reclamation urges those recreating on or along the Colorado River through Glen and Grand canyons to exercise increased caution as possible sudden fluctuations in water releases to meet summer energy demands may cause rapid changes to the river’s flow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/reclamation-urges-public-to-exercise-caution-below-glen-canyon-dam-due-to-potential-for-rapid-fluctuations-in-river-releases.htm

This is the final update for the Thumb Fire unless conditions change significantly. The Thumb Fire is 100% contained. The final acreage reported for the fire is 8,354. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/thumb-fire-switches-to-monitor-status.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will temporarily close the Cape Royal and Point Imperial Roads on the North Rim in order to complete necessary road improvement projects. This closure will be in effect from sunset on Sunday, July 26, through Thursday, July 30. The Cape Royal and Point Imperial Roads as well as all overlooks along these roads will reopen to the public on July 31 at 6 a.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/two-roads-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-will-temporarily-close.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures on the North Rim due to a water pump failure within the Transcanyon Pipeline system at Roaring Springs. Park staff and contractors are working on repairs to the system. The estimated timeline for repair and replacement is unknown and water conservation measures will remain in effect for the North Rim until further notice. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-implements-water-conservation-measures.htm

The Thumb Fire is approximately 6,200 acres. Growth yesterday was primarily in the southern portion of the fire perimeter. Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of three to four foot flames where the fire was consuming grass. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/thumb-fire-grows-to-6-200-acres.htm

Located along the western edge of the Great Thumb Mesa, the Thumb Fire is burning in pinon-juniper and brush. Fire managers are actively working to suppress and monitor the Thumb Fire while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/thumb-fire-grows-to-3800-acres-2020-0719.htm

Recent monsoon activity in the region resulted in two new lightning ignited fires. Fire crews are actively working to suppress and monitor the two fires. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-fire-crews-respond-to-two-fires.htm

On Friday, July 3 at approximately 12:35 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim west of Mather Point. Responding rangers located the body of Maria A. Salgado Lopez, 59, of Scottsdale, AZ approximately 100 ft. below the rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-rangers-recover-body-below-mather-point-07-04-20.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is requesting all river trips, both commercial and non-commercial, to voluntarily bypass Havasu Canyon on the Colorado river, located at river mile 157. This request is an effort to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to further safeguard the Havasupai people and their traditional lands. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-requests-river-guides-boaters-bypass-havasu-07-01-2020.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is implementing modifications to operations at Phantom Ranch through the year 2021. The Phantom Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant (PRWWTP), located at the bottom of Grand Canyon, requires critical rehabilitation due to deferred maintenance and increased visitation levels. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-phantom-ranch-opps-mod-06-30-2020.htm

The entrance gate to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Tuesday, June 30 at 6 a.m. following the reopening of Highway 89A and State Route 67. The North Rim will open for day use only and visitors are encouraged to be self-sufficient as services may be limited on the Kaibab Plateau following the Mangum Fire. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/n-rim-grca-np-to-open-for-day-use-06-29-2020.htm

On June 24 at approximately 5:36 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting a fatality approximately half a mile above the Tip Off resthouse on the South Kaibab Trail. CPR was initiated and National Park Service personnel responded from the South Rim via helicopter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hiker-fatality-on-south-kaibab-trail-in-grand-canyon-national-park-june-26-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to multiple heat related search and rescue incidents this past weekend. Hikers and backpackers attempting hikes in the inner canyon are strongly encouraged to be prepared for excessively hot temperatures and to understand their own physical limitations in order to prevent emergency situations for themselves and responders. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/multiple-search-and-rescue-incidents-over-weekend-due-to-excessive-heat.htm

Effective immediately, Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily closed the North Rim until further notice due to the Mangum Fire near the park. The Mangum Fire is located on the Kaibab National Forest and is not within Grand Canyon National Park at this time. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-temporarily-closes-north-rim-due-to-mangum-fire-2020-06-12.htm

The 30th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held virtually June 13-20, 2020. While the on-site event at Grand Canyon National Park has been cancelled on both rims due to concerns over COVID-19 this year, the park hopes to bring the wonders of the night sky into the virtual realm through a series of video premieres on Grand Canyon’s official Facebook account. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-s-2020-star-party-will-be-hosted-virtually.htm

The National Park Service is asking visitors to take caution and not to approach wildlife, especially wild rabbits. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHDV2) was recently detected in a dead jackrabbit found within Grand Canyon National Park, making it the first detected case in the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-warns-visitors-to-beware-of-wild-rabbit-carcasses.htm

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-increases-recreational-access.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Stage 2 fire restrictions for the South Rim May 25, which will be effective until further notice. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-implements-stage-2-fire-restrictions.htm

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access and services. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-is-beginning-to-increase-recreational-access-at-the-south-rim.htm

Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Grand Canyon National Park is increasing recreational access to selected South Rim viewpoints. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-is-beginning-to-increase-access-to-south-rim-viewpoints.htm

From May 1 through August 31, the Department of the Interior will conduct a Macro-invertebrate Production Flow at Glen Canyon Dam. This experiment, also known as a Bug Flow, aims to improve egg-laying conditions for aquatic insects, which are the primary food source for endangered and native fish in the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bor-news-water-experiment-to-be-conducted-along-the-colorado-river-while-maintaining-hydropower-production-this-summer.htm

US Park Rangers of Grand Canyon National Park seek tips from the public to aid a vehicle burglary investigation. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/grca-rfi-04132020.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today the appointment of Edward Keable as the superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park. Keable, a 34-year veteran of federal service, will begin his new role within the next 60 days. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/grand-canyon-superintendent-ed-keable.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) received a letter today from the Health and Human Services Director and Chief Health Officer for Coconino County recommending the full closure of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-closed-04-01-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park, in response to guidance from Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-modify-additional-opps-to-implem-loc-health-guid-03-26-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote public safety. As of, March 24, 2020, Grand Canyon river rafting trips including administrative, research, private and commercial trips, are suspended until May 21, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-modify-river-ops-for-health-guidance-03-20-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities. 03/19/2020 https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-np-transitions-to-limited-services-03-19-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-modifying-operations-to-implement-latest-health-guidance.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim and inner canyon from March 7-22, 2020. A leak was detected along the transcanyon pipeline near Phanton Ranch, and park staff are working to repair the break. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-03-17-2020.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce that the 2020 Edwin C. Bearss History Fellowship has been awarded to Jeremy Childs, a member of Grand Canyon National Park's Division of Interpretation and Resource Education, at Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-bearss-fellowship-award-recipient-announced.htm

Shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Center and the neighboring town of Tusayan, will resume on March 1, 2020. Buses will run daily at 20-minute intervals between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-tusayan-shuttle-begins-march-1-2020.htm

The National Park Service will begin accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. The permits are for specific launch dates within calendar year 2021. A total of 462 permits will be available for 12- to 25-day river trips. Applications will be accepted online through noon MST on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2021-river-lottery-01-31-2020.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's permit office is temporarily extending the permit processing time periods effective Feb. 14, 2020 until this summer. This change will impact commercial use authorizations (CUA) and special use permit (SUP) applications submitted after Feb. 14. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-permit-processing-updates.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country in celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with free entrance to the park. Entrance fees will be waived for all visitors arriving to Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-mlk-day-at-grand-canyon-fee-free.htm

National Park Service rangers located Martin Edward O'Connor and evacuated him from the inner canyon via helicopter at approximately 10 a.m. today in Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-man-from-texas-found-alive-at-grca-2020-01-02.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a missing person search at Grand Canyon National Park for Martin Edward O'Connor, 58, of La Porte, Texas, last seen on Dec. 22, 2019, at Yavapai Lodge on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person-search-initiated-at-grand-canyon-2019-12-30.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim, including Desert View, from Dec. 9-19, 2019, for scheduled maintenance at the Indian Garden North pump house. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-initiates-water-conservation-measures-for-maintenance-20191206.htm

The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has potentially been detected on a fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) at Grand Canyon National Park. The bat was captured and sampled for the fungus in April 2019 during routine surveillance by park biologists. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-fungus-potentially-detected-at-grand-canyon-20191204.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposed Telecommunications Plan and Environmental Assessment from Dec. 2, 2019 until midnight on Jan. 6, 2020. If approved, the plan would provide a framework and guidance for the future construction and operation of telecommunications infrastructure. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-requests-public-input-on-a-telecom-plan-and-ea-at-grca-20191202.htm

In advance of a winter storm, Grand Canyon National Park will close Desert View Drive, on the South Rim at 7 p.m. (MST), Wed. Nov. 27, 2019. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) took precautionary measures by closing state Route (SR) 67, the 43-mile highway, between Jacob Lake and the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Tues. Nov. 26. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-prepares-for-winter-storm-2019-11-26.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim, including Desert View, from Nov. 11-18, 2019, for scheduled construction at the Indian Garden South pump house. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/scheduled-construction-at-grand-canyon-initiates-water-conservation-measures-20191107.htm

Grand Canyon National Park backcountry users can seek out shade and an opportunity to rest from the elements at the new Tipoff Shelter along the South Kaibab Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-kaibab-trail-shelter-now-available-2019-11-04.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is hosting free Native American heritage and diversity events in early November 2019, as well as offering fee-free entry in honor of Veterans Day on Monday, November 11, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-native-american-heritage-month-diversity-and-honor-veterans-at-grand-canyon-20191029.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will begin installing five water test wells within the inner canyon at Phantom Ranch next week. The construction will begin Oct. 28 and is expected to conclude on Dec. 5, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-installs-new-test-wells-2019-10-24.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will begin day use operations on Nov. 1, 2019. Visitors exploring the North Rim after Oct. 31 should plan to be self-sufficient, bringing enough food and water for their stay, as services will not be available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-n-r-to-begin-seasonal-day-use-operations.htm

Grand Canyon National Park documented the fifth wild hatched California condor chick on Oct. 10, 2019, in the Southwestern wild population, making it an annual record number of chicks, or nestlings, within the region. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/record-number-of-sw-condor-chicks-2019-10-23.htm

Water connectivity to Grand Canyon's South Rim is restored. The park has removed water restrictions and resumed basic water conservation measures. A valve leak, which prevented water from being pumped between Indian Garden and the South Rim was identified and replaced by park staff. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-s-rim-returns-to-normal-water-operations-2019-10-15.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures for the South Rim on Oct. 10, 2019, due to a loss of water connectivity. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/water-conservation-measures-initiated-at-grand-canyon-2019-10-10.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim will transition to seasonally reduced services beginning at noon on Oct. 16, 2019. Grand Canyon National Park would like to remind the public to plan accordingly if they intend to visit the North Rim after Oct. 15. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/gcnp-n-rim-transitions-to-reduced-services-2019-10-02.htm

The 11,000-acre lightning caused wildfire which is located on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest became active last week during a wind event that produced wind gusts to 45 mph. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-grows-helicopters-to-assist-2019-09-26.htm

National Park Service staff closed the doors on livestock trailers yesterday, securing 31 bison inside to transfer them to the InterTribal Buffalo Council who will take them on the journey to join their new herd with the Quapaw tribe in Oklahoma. The transfer of the bison concluded the Grand Canyon National Park's pilot program for corralling and relocating bison from the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/31-bison-from-the-north-rim-are-relocated-20190919.htm

Construction to replace two water pumps at the Grand Canyon National Park Indian Garden north pump house is beginning Sept. 23, 2019, and continuing into May 2020. The construction will require visitors to use a marked bypass trail around the construction site along the Bright Angel Trail. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-water-pumps-being-replaced-2019-09-17.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 10th anniversary of National Fossil Day and the 26th anniversary of National Public Lands Day entry fee-free on Sept. 28, 2019. National Fossil Day events include a paleontology symposium Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of the Ages Auditorium, featuring four guest speakers https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-national-public-lands-and-fossil-day-at-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has received confirmation that two bats collected along the Colorado River in the park last month tested positive for rabies. The rabies-positive bats, both Canyon Bats, were deceased at the time of collection and did not come in contact with any visitors or staff. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bats-found-in-grand-canyon-national-park-test-positive-for-rabies-20190912.htm

Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to an emergency call of assistance for a 77-year-old man on a river trip Sept. 3, 2019, below Deer Creek Falls on the Colorado River. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-colorado-river.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is implementing its pilot bison reduction activities on the North Rim this month through live capture and removal of approximately 60-100 animals. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-relocates-bison.htm

Park staff repaired the damaged pipeline that supplies water to the North and South Rims of Grand Canyon National Park and water services have been restored to facilities. The park has removed water restrictions and has resumed basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-normal-water-ops.htm

Pipe installation of the Grand Canyon North Rim waterline will result in the closure of the Lodge entry road by the Grand Canyon North Rim Visitor Center Sept. 3 to 26, 2019. Expect commercial traffic detours to the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge and decreased parking opportunities. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-north-rim-traffic-detours-08-30-2019.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is initiating water conservation measures on the North and South Rims on Aug. 30, 2019, due to a water pipeline break that occurred on Aug. 29 on a section of the pipeline north of Phantom Ranch, along the North Kaibab trail. Until park staff repairs the break, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-initiates-water-conservation-measures-2019-08-29.htm

Grand Canyon National Park joins multiple national parks across the country by offering an official park app. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-free-mobile-app.htm

The Grand Canyon National Park Airport in Tusayan will be added as a free park and ride location for park visitors from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, 2019, to alleviate some of the holiday traffic. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/overflow-park-and-ride-labor-day.htm

The National Park Foundation, National Park Service, and the Department of Energy partnered with BMW of North America to donate 100 EV charging stations for locations in and near national parks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/electric-vehicle-charging-stations.htm

The Ikes Fire, which has been managed by a Local Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT), transitioned to a local Type 4 Incident Commander effective this morning, Sunday, August 25, 2019. This will be the Final Ikes Fire News Release unless significant fire activity occurs. North Rim Closures: Powell Plateau Trail, The North Bass Trail, Fire Point, Swamp Point, and the W4 road north of the intersection of the W4 and W1 Roads. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-command-transitions-to-type-4-team-closures-remain-20190825.htm

Over the past two days, firefighters made progress with firing operations along Forest Road 223. This tactic is conducted to strengthen and improve the northern boundary of the planning area. The North Rim Village and businesses are open. However, road and trail closures remain in effect for the Ikes Fire planning area for Grand Canyon National Park and the Kaibab National Forest. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-holding-after-tested-by-winds-20190823.htm

Yesterday, firefighters did minimal hand ignitions along the National Park Service W4 Road as the fire progressed slowly to the west. Crews did not conduct firing operations along Forest Road 223 as more prep work is needed before putting additional fire on the ground. Smoke from the Ikes Fire, along with other fires in the area, will be visible throughout the area and may cause smoke impacts. The North Rim Village and businesses at Grand Canyon National Park are OPEN. Temporary trail and road closures for the Ikes Fire Planning Area within Grand Canyon National Park include: Powell Plateau Trail, North Bass Trail, Fire Point, Swamp Point, and the W4 road heading north starting at the intersection of the W4 and W1 roads. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-expands-crews-continue-to-meet-objectives-20190821.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the National Park Service’s 103rd birthday by visiting the park for free on Aug. 25, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-invites-the-public-to-celebrate-the-national-park-service-s-103rd-birthday-by-visiting-the-park-for-free-on-aug-25-2019.htm

Yesterday, firefighters moved west along the W4 road and improved the boundary line with hand ignitions. Crews also created debris piles to clean up vegetation along the forest floor and hazard trees. Fire managers completed a reconnaissance flight to assess fire behavior within the interior of the fire perimeter. Fire effects are consistent with land managers’ objectives and are expected to remain as such based on current conditions. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-behavior-aligns-with-land-managers-objectives.htm

Yesterday, crews continued to patrol and hold the northern boundary and improve line. Firefighters on the southern boundary lit debris piles constructed in the early phases of line preparation. This tactic deprives the fire of excess fuel as it spreads to the west. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-holding-well-within-perimeter.htm

Yesterday, the Ikes Fire grew to approximately 4,297 acres and has 87 resources assigned. Despite gusty winds and dry conditions, the fire spread across the planning area with low to moderate fire behavior. The weather will continue to be drier than normal with no chance of precipitation in the forecast. Light winds are expected out of the southwest at 8-10 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. Smoke from the Ikes Fire, along with other fires in the area, will be visible throughout the surrounding area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-progresses-at-steady-pace-20190818.htm

The lightning caused Ikes Fire has burned through approximately 3,500 acres of the pre-determined 7,785 acre planning area. Currently, there are 88 resources assigned to the Ikes Fire. Yesterday, gusty winds prevented firefighters from carrying out firing operations. Crews patrolled the perimeter on the northeast and eastern portion of the fire while other personnel continued to prep the west side of the Forest Service Road 223. Observed fire behavior was active with backing fire along ridge tops and single tree torching. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/incident-objectives-being-met-on-ikes-fire-20190817.htm

The Ikes Fire is approximately 3,289 acres, 42% contained, and has 89 resources assigned. The natural caused lightning fire is being utilized to fulfill its natural role within a fire-dependent ecosystem. The lightning-caused wildfire is actively burning within a 7,785-acre planning area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-moves-across-landscape-as-containment-increases-20190816.htm

Warm, dry weather conditions have led to additional growth on the Ikes Fire, which is now approximately 1,535 acres and 20% contained. Smoke settled into the Grand Canyon overnight as temperatures cooled but smoke may begin to lift as temperatures warm up throughout the day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-spreads-crews-secure-planning-area-20190815.htm

The public invited to the 23rd annual public condor release scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, and witness first-hand a spectacular release into the wild of several captive-bred young condors on National Public Lands Day. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ca-condor-release-saturday-sept-28-at-vermilion-cliffs.htm

The Ikes Fire is being utilized to fulfill its natural role within a fire-dependent ecosystem while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources. Resource objectives include reducing hazardous fuels, promoting forest regeneration, improving wildlife habitat, and restoring more open forest understory. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-ecological-benefits-20190814.htm

The Ikes Fire has grown to 85 acres due to warmer, drier weather over the past few days. Over the weekend, Grand Canyon identified 3 lightning caused fires. The Royal Fire, Sinkhole Fire, and Outlet Fire located on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park are 100% contained due to full suppression tactics. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-grows-due-to-warmer-drier-weather-20190812.htm

The Ikes Fire has seen minimal growth over the past 2 days due to multiple rain showers over the fire area. Due to moisture, fire activity has been limited, however, the fire continues to burn within the duff layer of needles, leaf litter, and downed logs along the forest floor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-remains-active-despite-rain-20190810.htm

Grand Canyon National Park would like to invite the public to the eighth annual season of "Echoes from the Canyon". This living history event will feature day time and evening programs August 16 –19th. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/echoes-from-the-canyon.htm

The Kaibab National Forest instituted a Temporary Area Closure for all National Forests System lands and roads within the Ikes Fire Planning Area. This Order will be in effect beginning at 8:00 AM on August 8, 2019, and shall remain in effect until September 27, 2019, or until rescinded, whichever comes first. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/kaibab-national-forest-temporary-area-closure-for-ikes-fire-20190808.htm

The Ikes Fire moved into the northeast portion of the planning area that has a history of little to no fire activity in over two decades. This wildfire is consuming heavy fuel accumulations on the forest floor and is helping ensure the ecosystem will be healthier and more resilient in the future. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-promotes-healthy-forest-regeneration-as-fire-activity-increases-20190807.htm

The Ikes Fire continues to grow despite the minimal amount of moisture received from recent storms. Fire is estimated at 77 acres. Crews continue to prep the perimeter of the planned burn area. Road and Trail closures remain in place. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-grows-to-58-acres-despite-monsoon-weather-08062019.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily instituted closures for the portion of the Ikes Fire Planning Area that is within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-implements-temporary-road-and-trail-closures-on-the-north-rim.htm

The Ikes Fire, which started on July 25th, is approximately 28 acres. Rain on Wednesday significantly reduced fire behavior, resulting in almost no new fire growth. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/precipitation-temporarily-slows-ikes-fire-growth-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The Ikes Fire, which started on July 25th, is approximately 25 acres. Fire behavior was active with surface fire of three to five foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. The fire is backing and flanking towards the east. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-on-grand-canyon-national-park-north-rim-grows-to-25-acres.htm

Grand Canyon's Volunteer Program wrapped up a week-long experiential training session for college students with the Alternative Break Citizenship School. Approximately 75 students from over 40 colleges participated in educational sessions and hands on service work at the park July 22 to 26, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/alternative-break-citizenship-school.htm

Recent monsoonal activity in the region resulted in several new lightning ignited fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park over the past several days. Fire crews are actively working to suppress three fires within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-suppressing-three-fires-on-north-rim.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) completed an interagency safety review finding no radiation exposure health risk to employees or visitors from uranium ore samples at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/final-report-concludes-no-radiation-exposure-from-uranium-ore-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

National Park Service Requests Public Input on a Telecommunications Plan at Grand Canyon National Park https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/telecommunications-plan.htm

On Wednesday, July 10, 2019, National Park Service personnel were notified of a body in the Colorado River below Lava Falls near river mile 181. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/body-recovered-july-2019.htm

The National Park Service is conducting a missing person search within Grand Canyon National Park.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/missing-person.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire resources completed ignition operations on the Long Jim Prescribed Fire. Crews will continue to patrol the unit and mop up any areas along the fires perimeter that may threaten the holding line. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-resources-at-grand-canyon-complete-ignition-operations-on-long-jim-rx.htm

Importance health notice for Grand Canyon South Rim community members. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/community-notice.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers continue to treat the Long Jim Prescribed Fire unit, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. On Tuesday, June 18, 2019, crews successfully treated 180 acres. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-managers-at-grand-canyon-continue-prescribed-fire-adjacent-to-grand-canyon-village.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers will initiate a prescribed fire treatment today, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. The Long Jim Prescribed Fire is adjacent to the developed area on the South Rim, east of South Entrance Road and south of Highway 64 (Desert View Drive) East. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-managers-at-grand-canyon-initiate-prescribed-fire-adjacent-to-grand-canyon-village.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers-working with resources from Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Bryce Canyon National Park, Saguaro National Park and Kaibab National Forest anticipate initiating a prescribed fire treatment as early as tomorrow, as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fire-managers-at-grand-canyon-plan-prescribed-fire-adjacent-to-grand-canyon-village.htm

Grand Canyon National Park is officially certified as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/dark-sky-designation.htm

The damaged pipeline that supplies water to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has been repaired and most water services have been restored to North Rim facilities. The park will lift water restrictions and return to basic water conservation measures on Saturday, June 8, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-water-operations.htm

On Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5 staff from the Division of Science and Resource Management (SRM) will be applying herbicide to the traffic islands on South Entrance and Yavapai Roads to remove grasses that attract elk in these congested areas of the Grand Canyon Village. The intent of the removal is to minimize conflicts between wildlife (elk) and both visitors and residents along the road corridors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/south-entrance-and-yavapai-herbicide-use.htm

Beginning Tuesday, June 4, the National Park Service road crew will begin a three-week pavement preservation project to seal cracks in the older asphalt surfaces around the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/road-preservation.htm

Grand Canyon National Park's summer season is set to begin in the next few weeks, plan ahead to make the most of your trip! https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitation-tips.htm

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that the 6.3 million visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2018 spent $947 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 12,558 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $1.2 billion. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-economic-benefit.htm

Effective immediately, the National Park Service (NPS) is initiating water conservation measures on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to ensure that the area's facilities can remain open until the repairs are made to the damaged water pipeline. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-level-2-water-conservation.htm

An international team of paleontologists has united to study important fossil footprints recently discovered in a remote location within Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. A large sandstone boulder contains several exceptionally well-preserved trackways of primitive tetrapods (four-footed animals) which inhabited an ancient desert environment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/newly-discovered-fossils.htm

Due to water turbidity and maintenance issues, some of the water filling stations and flush toilets normally available along the North Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails at this time of the year will not be open until water conditions change and/or water line repairs are made. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-users-advised-of-changes-to-water-availability-on-north-kaibab-and-bright-angel-trails.htm

From Tuesday, May 16 to Wednesday, May 17 the Grand Canyon National Park Division of Science and Resource Management (SRM) will apply minor spot spray treatments of herbicide around the Grand Canyon Lodge and campground in the North Rim Developed Area to aid in the control of an especially invasive grass species for which mechanical removal is ineffective. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-apply-herbicide-on-nr-2019.htm

The twenty-ninth annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held Saturday, June 22 through Saturday, June 29, 2019 on both South and North Rims of the park. Amateur astronomers from across the country will volunteer their telescopes and expertise for the enjoyment of park visitors. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-grand-canyon-national-park-100th-anniversary-during-star-party-week-june-22-29.htm

Finding of No Significant Impact signed for the Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline project in Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/finding-of-no-significant-impact-for-transcanyon-waterline.htm

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers anticipate initiating prescribed pile burning this week as weather and fuel moisture conditions allow. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-south-rim-piles-project.htm

The gate at the entrance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will open on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 a.m. to mark the official opening of the North Rim for the 2019 season. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-2019-season.htm

At 1:05 p.m. on April 23, 2019, Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to a call reporting that a person needed help at rocky point west of Pipe Creek Vista. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-pipe-creek-vista.htm

From April 15 to 30, 2019 the Grand Canyon National Park Division of Science and Resource Management (SRM) will be applying cut-stump and occasional spot spray treatments of herbicide to invasive plants along the banks of the Colorado River to aid in the control of several invasive plant species for which mechanical removal is ineffective. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-apply-herbicide-along-co-river-2019.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service (NPS), for a site plan to transform Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park into an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site and share a unifying message from the park's traditionally associated tribes: "we are still here". https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/finding-of-no-significant-impact-signed-for-the-desert-view-inter-tribal-cultural-heritage-site.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 49th anniversary of Earth Day during National Park Week with free entrance on Saturday, April 20, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-earth-day-at-grand-canyon-national-park-with-fee-free-entrance-on-april-20.htm

Starting on approximately April 8, 2019 Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C., a concessionaire within Grand Canyon National Park, will be fulfilling a contractual obligation to rebuild the Maswik South lodging complex and construct new roads near Maswik South. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-rebuilding-maswik-south-lodge.htm

On Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at approximately 11:30 am, Grand Canyon National Park rangers responded to a call reporting that someone had fallen over the canyon rim east of Yavapai Geology Museum. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/over-the-edge-fatality.htm

Each year in the spring (March - June) Grand Canyon National Park experiences an increase in turbidity in the drinking water. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-snow-melt-causes-annual-turbidity.htm

Visitor Fatality at South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/visitor-fatality-at-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

On April 3, 2019, Grand Canyon Railway, in consultation with the National Park Service (NPS), will be applying herbicide along the railroad tracks including those within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-railway-herbicide.htm

Spring Break is one of the most popular times to visit Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/spring-break-tips-for-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Preliminary findings of an interagency safety review conducted last week at Grand Canyon National Park indicate no current exposure concerns for park employees and visitors from uranium ore samples previously stored in buckets at the park's Museum Collection building. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/preliminary-findings-indicate-no-current-uranium-ore-exposure.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service for the rebuild of the Maswik South lodging complex and the construction of new roads near Maswik South at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fonsi-signed-for-maswik-south.htm

The National Park Service is accepting applications for noncommercial river trip permits to raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The permits are for launch dates within calendar year 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2020-noncommercial-river-trip-lottery.htm

The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior are coordinating with federal and state agencies to investigate and address concerns of exposure to uranium rock samples previously stored at Grand Canyon National Park's Museum Collection building. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-reviews-uranium-exposure-at-grand-canyon.htm

Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy invite the public and park partners to join National Park Service staff in celebrating the 100th anniversary of Grand Canyon’s designation as a national park. To celebrate this significant milestone, Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees for visitors coming to the park on February 26. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-100th-anniversary-commemoration.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan in 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-shuttle-starts-march-1.htm

Following the enactment of the continuing resolution, staff at Grand Canyon National Park will resume regular operations this week, including opening visitor centers, offering ranger programs, opening permit offices, and collecting fees at entrance stations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-visitor-services-reopen-following-shutdown.htm

Using revenue generated by recreation fees Grand Canyon National Park has reopened the South Rim and Desert View entrance stations to provide information and safety messages to visitors.  https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/park-accessibility-possible-with-rec-fee-dollars-and-az-state-support.htm

During the partial shutdown of the federal government due to the lapse of appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible while still following all applicable laws and procedures. Park roads, lookouts, and trails at Grand Canyon National Park will remain accessible to visitors. Visitor services provided by park concessioners and other entities will also remain open and operational, including lodging, restaurants and food service, grocery stores, retail locations, bicycle rental, concessioner provided tours, and park shuttle operations. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-np-accessible-to-public-during-partial-government-shutdown-2018-12-22.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park units across the country in honor of Veterans Day with fee-free entry into the park on November 11. On November 14 Grand Canyon National Park will host a Native American Heritage Celebration with special presentations and demonstrations recognizing the many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices made by America's first people. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/veteran-s-day-native-american-heritage-month.htm

Following a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline earlier this month, Grand Canyon National Park now has enough water in storage to scale back to Level 1 basic water conservation measures. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-1-water-conservation-seasonal-trail-water.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on the Maswik South Rebuild Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will be available for public review and comment for a 30-day period from October 25 to November 25, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/maswik-south-rebuild-ea.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public review of a site plan/environmental assessment that proposes to modify facilities at Desert View to create an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-inter-tribal-cultural-heritage-ea.htm

Elyssa Shalla, park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, has been selected as a recipient of the Intermountain Region 2018 Freeman Tilden Award. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/elyssa-shall-regional-award.htm

National Park Service (NPS) Rangers of Grand Canyon National Park and Special Agents with the NPS Investigative Services Branch (ISB) are investigating a double-fatality that occurred at Grand Canyon National Park on, or around, September 18, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-seeking-tips-to-aid-double-fatality-investigation-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

At approximately 1:00 am this morning, October 11, an officer involved shooting occurred on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The suspect is in custody at this time. The National Park Service (NPS) does not believe there to be any ongoing safety concerns for the public. The park remains open and all visitor services are available. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ranger-involved-incident-under-investigation-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on the Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline (Pipeline) Environmental Assessment (EA). Public comments will be accepted for a 30-day period from today, Wednesday, October 10 through Saturday, November 10, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-requests-public-review-of-the-transcanyon-water-distribution-pipeline-ea.htm

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has reopened US 89 between Cameron and US 160 on the Navajo Nation. Traffic has been restored in both directions following damage caused Wednesday by heavy rains. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/highway-89-has-reopened-between-north-and-south-rim-of-grand-cyn-nat-pk.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Level 2 water conservation measures on Wednesday, October 3, due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. This morning Water Utility staff at the park responded to another pipeline break. Additionally, attempts to pump water beyond Indian Garden yesterday failed. Park staff are currently assessing the situation and attempting to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-nat-pk-prepares-for-potential-increase-in-water-conservation-methods.htm

Highway 89 has been closed due to flooding and road wash out between Cameron and Highway 160 southwest of Tuba City. Grand Canyon National Park remains open to the public. However, detours are in place, extending travel times to the park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hwy-89-closure-affects-travel-to-n-and-s-rim-of-grand-canyon-nat-pk.htm

North Rim operations in Grand Canyon National Park will begin day use operations on Thursday November 1, 2018. At that time, the Visitor Center, Backcountry Office and Campground Kiosk will be closed. The Entrance Station will be unstaffed, but fees will continue to be collected via an automated machine. Limited park staff is present on the North Rim year-round https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-north-rim-transitions-into-day-use-area-november-1-2018.htm

Grand Canyon National Park implemented Level 2 water conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. Until park staff repairs the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/level-2-restrictions-implemented-at-the-south-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate National Fossil Day on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. Events are designed to celebrate National Fossil Day and will be held throughout the day to highlight the importance of fossils and their uses. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-fossil-day.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Christine Lehnertz has announced the availability of a prospectus for a business opportunity in the park to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, and other visitor services on the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/business-opp-announced-for-hospitality-contract-on-n-rim-of-grand-canyon-nat-pk.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 25th anniversary of National Public Lands Day fee-free on September 22, 2018. This year in celebration of National Public Lands Day, the National Park Service(NPS) is focusing on restoration and resilience. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-nat-public-lands-day-at-grand-canyon-np-fee-free-day-sept-22-2018.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has received confirmation that a bat collected at Phantom Ranch on August 31, 2018 tested positive for rabies. The rabies positive bat did not come in contact with any visitors. All individuals who have had physical contact with a bat have been advised to seek medical attention and be assessed for appropriate medical treatment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-positive-for-rabies-in-grand-canyon-natl-park-09-14-2018.htm

North Rim operations will begin seasonal changes on the morning of October 16, 2018. The North Rim transitions to reduced services with the Visitor Center, gift shop, campground and entrance station remaining open for visitor use. The Grand Canyon Lodge, food services, Canyon Trail Rides and park ranger programming will no longer be available. These operations will resume on May 15, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-north-rim-operations-begin-seasonal-changes-oct-16-2018.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on an Expanded Non-native Aquatic Species Management Plan and Environmental Assessment in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen Canyon NRA) and Grand Canyon National Park below the Glen Canyon Dam. Public comments will be accepted for a 30-day period from Sept. 11 to Oct. 11, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-seek-public-comment-expanded-non-native-aquatic-species-mgmt-plan.htm

Wildlife biologists will be putting GPS collars on ten adult elk between late August and October of this year to gather movement data of the elk at Grand Canyon National Park. The GPS collar information will be used to inform the development of a draft elk management plan. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/wildlife-biologists-to-begin-gathering-gps-data-for-elk-at-grand-canyon-np.htm

Effective August 21, 2018 Kolb Studio will be closed and a detour will be in place while work is being completed along the Rim Trail. This project will be completed on August 23, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/rim-trail-detour-historic-kolb-studio-temporarily-closed-august-21-23-2018.htm

As the Obi Fire winds down, temporary road and trail closures will expire on Saturday evening, August 18th, 2018. Some road and trail closures will remain in place due to fires on the neighboring Kaibab National Forest. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/final-press-release-for-obi-fire.htm

The Obi Fire slowly increases in size as firefighters near Cape Royal and begin to scale back on backfiring operations. Temporary road and trail closures are still in effect. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-slowly-increases-to-10-067-acres.htm

Temporary road and trail closures for public and firefighter safety continue at Grand Canyon National Park. These include the Swamp Ridge Road, the North Bass Trail, and the Powell Plateau Trail. Fire Point, the Nankoweap Trail, and the Point Imperial Trail remain closed. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-grows-to-9-921-acres.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has implemented new temporary closures for public and firefighter safety. These include the Swamp Ridge Road, the North Bass Trail, and the Powell Plateau Trail. Fire Point, the Nankoweap Trail, and the Point Imperial Trail remain closed. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20180810-grca-new-temp-road-trail-closures-obi-fire-8100-acres.htm

This is a summary of current fire related closures for Grand Canyon National Park. Today, new temporary trail closures were implemented that include the Nankoweap Trail, the Point Imperial Trail, and Fire Point on the North Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-08-08-current-grand-canyon-national-park-closures.htm

The Obi Fire is estimated at 7,420 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds combined with dry, unstable air contributed to the fires growth. Fire behavior was active with isolated tree torching and surface fire of two to four foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-08-07-obi-fire-7420-acres-temporary-road-trail-closures-nr.htm

Grand Canyon National Park has temporarily closed Cape Royal Road. Included in this closure are Cape Final Trail, Cliff Spring Trail, the northern section of the Ken Patrick Trail from Point Imperial to Cape Royal Road, and the southern section of the Ken Patrick Trail from Cape Royal Road to the old Bright Angel Trail. The road to Point Imperial and all other North Rim trails and facilities are open at this time. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-08-05-north-rim-temporary-road-trail-closures-obi-fire-3350-acres.htm

Grand Canyon National Park will implement closures of the Cape Royal Road, Cape Final Trail, and Cliff Spring Trail tomorrow August 4th, 2018 at 9:00 pm. This closure is for public and firefighter safety as crews continue to prep the Walhalla Plateau. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/20180803-temporary-road-trail-closures-nr-obi-fire-2270-acres.htm

The Obi Fire is approximately 1000 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs. Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of one to three foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-on-grand-canyon-national-park-north-rim-grows-to-1000-acres-stina-fire-on-kaibab-national-forest-grows-to-25-acres.htm

The Obi Fire is approximately 941 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-nr-grandcanyon-941-acres-20180729.htm

The Obi Fire, which started on July 21st, is approximately 743 acres. Growth of the fire perimeter today was primarily in the northern and southeastern portion of the fire perimeter. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-nr-grandcanyon-743-acres-20180728.htm

On May 14, biologists with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation released endangered humpback chub, an endangered fish species endemic to the Colorado River basin, into Bright Angel Creek - following six years of successful removal of nonnative trout. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/humpback-chub-release-ba-creek-may-2018.htm

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, along with the DUI Abatement Council, granted Grand Canyon National Park $10,000 to improve highway safety and stop impaired driving. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-awarded-state-grant-to-improve-highway-safety-and-stop-impaired-driving.htm

The Obi Fire, which started on July 21st, is approximately 578 acres. Daytime growth was slower despite active surface fire in downed logs and needle cast and a few instances of single tree torching. The fire continues to move to the north and east displaying moderated fire behavior due to overcast skies and scattered light rain showers. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/obi-fire-grand-canyon-np-nrim-grows-to-578-acres.htm

Recent monsoonal activity in the region resulted in an several new lightning ignited fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park over the past several days. Fire crews are actively working to suppress three fires within Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-nat-park-suppressing-3-fires-on-north-rim.htm

The National Weather Service in Flagstaff, Ariz. has issued an excessive heat warning for the surrounding area, including Grand Canyon National Park at Phantom Ranch and Indian Gardens. This warning will be in effect from Monday, July 23 to Wednesday, July 25 at 8 p.m. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/excessive-heat-warning-issued-for-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Fire crews are actively working to suppress the lightning ignited Imperial Fire. Currently the fire is estimated to be three (3) acres in size and is located along the Cape Royal Road near Vista Encantada. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/imperial-fire-being-suppressed-on-north-rim-of-grand-canyon-national-park-20180718.htm

Increased monsoonal activity has significantly lowered the fire danger risk for Grand Canyon National Park. On Friday, July 13, 2018 at 8:00 am stage 2 fire restrictions will be rescinded for the entire Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions-lifted.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to demolish and rebuild the Maswik South lodging complex (Maswik South), and to construct two new sections of road to improve traffic flow in the vicinity of Maswik South. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/maswik-south.htm

Safety First. A trip to Grand Canyon can be both fun and safe by keeping these few tips in mind. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/safety-first-at-the-rim-2018-07-03.htm

In place of the park's nightly evening program, visitors can learn about characters from Grand Canyon's past as they come to life and share their stories about life on the rim. Opening night is Friday, June 29 at 8:30 pm at McKee Amphitheater with additional presentations on Friday, July 27; Saturday, July 28; and Sunday July 29. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/echoes-from-the-canyon-2018.htm

National Park Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park are strongly urging visitors to Grand Canyon, especially inner canyon hikers, mule riders, and backpackers to be prepared for excessively hot days in the coming weeks. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/hike-smart-at-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Will Ease North Rim Water Restrictions https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/north-rim-water-restrictions.htm

The 28th annual Grand Canyon Star Party will be held from Saturday, June 9 through Saturday, June 16, 2018 on the South and North Rims of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-star-party.htm

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate Earth Day during National Park Week fee-free day on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Plaza near Mather Point from 10 am to 2 pm. All Earth Day activities are free and open to the public. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-earth-day-fee-free-day.htm

In recognition of Grand Canyon National Park's 99th birthday, the National Park Service and Grand Canyon Association unveiled the logo for the park's upcoming 2019 Centennial. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/centennial-logo.htm

The National Park Service will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan in 2018, starting March 1. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-route-2018.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to modify facilities at Desert View to create an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site. The NPS is preparing an environmental assessment (EA), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, to develop and evaluate alternatives. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-public-input.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) will work with cooperating agencies and partners to reduce the size of the bison herd on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/09-06-17-nps-to-reduce-bison-herd-at-grand-canyon-nat-park.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to replace the obsolete Trans-Canyon Water Distribution Pipeline (Pipeline). The analysis of the project to replace the Pipeline and development of alternatives through an environmental assessment (EA) is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-07-05-pipeline-public-comment-sought.htm

After nearly 100 years since its opening, Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery will close to new burials due to lack of space. Although the cemetery is closed to new plots, some burials may continue for individuals with a spouse or immediate family already interred in the cemetery. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2017-06-26-historic-pioneer-cemetery-has-closed.htm

The National Park Service will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan, Arizona in 2017. Service will begin March 1 to help ease spring break congestion on the South Rim. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/tusayan-route-starts-march-1-2017.htm

Yesterday, National Park Service (NPS) fire managers successfully treated 994 acres with prescribed (Rx) fire on the South Rim of Grand Canyon. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/shoshone-rx-success.htm

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The post Brittany appeared first on Sidetracked.

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Adventure Travel Blog

The Arenal region is one of our favorite areas to stay for a unique Costa Rican experience and …

The post Where to Stay in La Fortuna: 13 Hotel Picks for Every Budget appeared first on We Seek Travel.

The Arenal region is one of our favorite areas to stay for a unique Costa Rican experience and a host of adventurous outdoor activities. Located just outside Arenal Volcano National Park, La Fortuna is a small but lively town that serves as a hub for hot springs, jungle and waterfall hikes, and amazing wildlife viewing. Since it’s one of Costa Rica’s most popular destinations, there are a ton of lodging options, to the point that we found it a little overwhelming to figure out where to stay in La Fortuna on our first trip. In this guide, we’ll walk you through some of our favorite hotels in the area and how to choose the one that suits your travel style. Table of Contents Overview: La Fortuna Lodging Quick Picks: My Favorite Hotels in La Fortuna Downtown Hotels Hot Springs Resorts Jungle Lodges Family-Friendly Hotels Tips for Choosing Accommodation in La Fortuna Final Thoughts Overview: La Fortuna Lodging La Fortuna is located to the east of Lake Arenal and Arenal Volcano at the intersection of Routes 702 and 142. Most people come to La Fortuna for the rainforest vibe and volcano views and opt for a hotel nearer the national park than the town. But there are some great downtown lodging options as well that place you in walking distance to fantastic dining options and local culture. Whether you choose to stay in the heart of La Fortuna or in the more secluded outlying areas, you’ll find a wide range of accommodation styles for every budget - I mean every budget. You can find a private room for as little as $40 up to a high end spa resort that runs over $1000 (!) a night in peak season. Quick Picks: My Favorite Hotels in La Fortuna Best Luxury Hotel: Nayara Springs / Nayara Gardens Best Mid-Range Hotel: Hotel Lomas del Volcán Best Budget Hotel: Oasis by Franklin Best Hot Springs Resort: Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa Best Family-Friendly Hotel: Casa del Rio Downtown Hotels Staying downtown is great for travelers who want to take in as much local culture as possible and try out a variety of dining options without worrying about transportation. Most of these hotels are quite affordable (though you can find budget-friendly options closer to the volcano as well). You can get a partial view of the volcano from some of the downtown hotels. Mid-range: La Fortuna Downtown Hotel Boutique This downtown hotel is centrally located near the cathedral and has clean, modern, air-conditioned rooms. Amenities include wifi, a simple swimming pool, and onsite dining with complementary breakfast. Be aware that there can be some street noise given the location in the absolute center of downtown. Book: La Fortuna Downtown Hotel Budget: Oasis by Franklin Hotel Boutique Located a few blocks away from town center, Oasis offers a range of simple small rooms to larger villas with a separate bedroom. One big perk is the shared laundry room and kitchen. Wi-fi is included and there is a small swimming pool. It tends to be quieter in terms of street noise since it’s further away from town center. Book: Oasis by Franklin Ultra-Budget: Hotel Arenal By Regina A small, budget-friendly hotel in the heart of La Fortuna with clean, air-conditioned rooms (some with volcano views) and free WiFi. At around $45 a night, these rooms are a great value, and breakfast is complementary. There are also dormitory-style rooms for as little as $25 per bed. Given the location, the street noise can be noticeable, so this spot is best for visitors looking to spend their time adventuring outdoors rather than a spa-like experience. Book: Hotel Arenal by Regina Hot Springs Resorts If relaxing in the springs geothermally heated by Arenal Volcano after an active day of hiking and ziplining is something that interests you, consider staying at resort that includes hot springs access. Tip: If it's not in the budget to stay at a hot springs resort as a hotel guest, consider buying a day pass to one of the resorts that offer them. These passes can get expensive (Tabacon runs around $80), but there are budget options as well such as Termalitas which is only $8 per person. Luxury: Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa A luxury eco-resort famous for its natural hot springs and lush rainforest surroundings. The property features beautiful cascading springs, landscaped gardens, and stunning volcano views. There is an additional outdoor lounge area exclusive for hotel guests 18 years and up. The rooms are modern and spacious, and breakfast and WiFi are complementary. Book: Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa Mid-Range: Arenal Springs Resort & Spa A charming boutique resort with casita-style suites, each offering volcano views and modern amenities. The resort features multiple natural swimming pools, including a dedicated pool for children, and a hot springs river with cascading pools of various temperatures. Several dining options are onsite. Its relaxed atmosphere and hospitality make it a great choice for both couples and families. Breakfast and WiFi are included. Book: Arenal Springs Resort & Spa Budget: Casa Luna Hotel & Spa Casa Luna offers hot springs Jacuzzis at a more affordable price than the above options. It should be noted that all of these hot springs resorts come at a premium price compared to the downtown hotels. Starting around $170 per night, Casa Luna offers clean, cozy rooms with views of the volcano or gardens, and includes amenities like a pool, outdoor hot tubs, and an on-site spa. The hotel also has a restaurant that serves Costa Rican and international food. WiFi is free, but only available in the common areas. Book: Casa Luna Jungle Lodges These hotels highlight the beauty of the jungle with a focus on the natural surroundings, walking trails, and wildlife for a serene getaway. Luxury: Nayara Gardens and Nayara Springs Often regarded as the best luxury hotel of the region, these sister resorts offer spacious romantic villas or casitas that comes with an outdoor jacuzzi or plunge pool, an oversized bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers, and a secluded terrace surrounded by lush gardens. There are multiple gourmet restaurants, an intimate wine bar, a spa overlooking the jungle, yoga pavilions, nature trails, and multiple pools. Although we didn't list Nayara under the hot springs category since it's not the main focus of the reosrt, there are several small hot springs pools around the property, which is an added bonus. The entire Nayara Springs side (which is pricier) is adults-only. We stayed at Nayara Gardens on our first trip and my only regret is spending only three nights there, as it seemed we only had time to experience a fraction of the resort. Even though we were guests of the Gardens, we were permitted to use the adults-only pool of the Springs side, which is quiet with an amazing view of the volcano on clear days. The breakfast buffet was amazing and complementary. Book: Nayara Springs or Nayara Gardens Mid-Range: Hotel Lomas del Volcán An eco-lodge with individual wooden bungalow, each with a private terrace with views of Arenal Volcano.. The property includes a swimming pool, open-air restaurant serving Costa Rican and international cuisine, and a private rainforest trail for guests to explore. This hotel has the essentials for a relaxed stay without the luxury price tag, and breakfast is complementary. Book: Hotel Lomas del Volcán Budget: Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge & Wildlife Refuge Located on a family-run private reserve, this lodge features rustic cabins with simple but comfortable rooms. These rooms are not air-conditioned (though there is a ceiling fan) and there is no WiFi or TV. But it's worth the exchange for the interior quiet to appreciate the surrounding sounds of nature. The lodge’s main highlight is its wildlife, with trails perfect for viewing frogs, sloths, toucans, and more. There is a on-site restaurant serving homemade Costa Rican meals. Perfect for budget travelers and nature lovers who want immersion in the rainforest rather than resort frills. Book: Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge Family-Friendly Hotels Costa Rica in general is quite family-friendly with a range of activities for every age. Your kids will be welcome at any of the options on this list (excluding Nayara Springs, which is adults only). But these resorts are the best options that feature activities specifically for kids. Luxury: The Springs Resort & Spa A sprawling resort with dozens of hot spring pools (some with slides), family suites, a game room, and even putt-putt. There are several restaurants, a full-service spa, and sweeping views of Arenal Volcano. It’s considered one of the best family resorts in Costa Rica, but I'll be honest- it’s also one of the most expensive, with many rooms running over $1k per night in the peak season. Even the base-level double-queen rooms are huge and luxurious, and full villas with up to 5 bedrooms are an option. Best for special occasions or traveling with large family. Book: The Springs Resort & Spa Mid-range: Hotel Boutique Casa del Rio Casa del Río is a great option for families who want a luxury stay that’s not nearly as pricey as The Springs. The property features spacious grounds with recreation including a soccer field, basketball court, table tennis, and pool slide. There are larger villas available that sleep up to 7 people, and breakfast is complementary. This is an excellent choice for families looking for both convenience and value. Book: Casa del Rio Budget: Arenal Country Inn Just outside the center of La Fortuna, this laid-back inn offers simple cabins set on wide, open grounds with plenty of space for kids to run around. There’s a large pool, outdoor game pavilion with billiards and foosball, on-site restaurant, and a welcoming, low-key atmosphere that makes it easy for families to relax. Since it’s within walking distance of downtown, you can experience dining options outside the resort without worrying about loading the kids up in a car. It’s simple, but the combination of affordable rates, family-friendly setting, and convenient location make it a solid budget choice. Tips for Choosing Accommodation in La Fortuna There is no shortage of lodging in La Fortuna. This list doesn’t even include glamping, hostel, and Airbnb options. The good news is, it’s unlikely you’ll have a bad experience. I’d suggest you start by considering whether hot springs access is important. If not, would you prefer to feel tucked into the rainforest surrounded by wildlife, or would you rather be within walking distance of a variety of local restaurants? For travelers who aren't too particular about a relaxing hotel atmosphere because they plan to spend as much time as possible exploring the adventurous activities in the region, I’d recommend staying downtown where hotels tend to be less expensive. For couples looking for a romantic getaway, you may want to opt for one of the spa resorts. Final Thoughts Arenal offers a fantastic blend of adventure, relaxation, dining, and wild-life. There is truly every type of lodging for every type of traveler and budget, all backed by warm Costa Rican hospitality. No matter where you choose to stay, I’m certain your visit will be unforgettable.

If you’re going to Costa Rica, spending a few days near La Fortuna is a must. This small …

The post 5 Ways to Get from San José to La Fortuna, Costa Rica appeared first on We Seek Travel.

If you’re going to Costa Rica, spending a few days near La Fortuna is a must. This small town serves as the gateway to Arenal Volcano National Park and a hub for a number of adventurous excursions (think hiking, ziplining, whitewater rafting, waterfall rappelling…). Getting around Costa Rica does take a bit of time and planning, however. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best options to get from San José airport to your lodging in La Fortuna. Table of Contents About La Fortuna Quick Overview of Transportation Options Option 1: Rent a Car in San José Option 2: Hire a Private Shuttle from San José to La Fortuna Option 3: Take a Shared La Fortuna Shuttle Option 4: Take the public bus Option 5: Fly a local airline My Final Thoughts on Getting to La Fortuna from San José About La Fortuna La Fortuna is the town near Arenal Volcano National Park and Lake Arenal where you’ll find an abundance of wildlife, serene views, and hot springs. This area is located to the northwest of Costa Ricas’s capital of San José, where you’re likely to be arriving into the country (the other international airport is in Liberia near the west coast). The drive from the airport is about 2 hours 45 minutes without taking a break, but can take longer in the rainy season. Quick Overview of Transportation Options Rent a car (or preferably an SUV) - this is ideal if you see yourself spending a lot of time exploring the rural areas or navigating between different parts of Costa Rica. The trip takes 2.5-3 hours by car. Hire a private shuttle - if you don’t want to deal with driving yourself, this will be another fast option, and you’ll have the benefit of a local driver who can impart some cultural gems and points of interest along the way. Book a shared shuttle - a longer but more economical approach Take the public bus - the most economical mode of transport, but quite a bit longer (4-5 hours) and bus options are limited. Fly a regional airline - the fastest route if the timing happens to line up in your itinerary and there are no weather delays. Option 1: Rent a Car in San José You might hear that you need a 4x4 to get around Costa Rica, but this generally isn’t the case if you are driving on major roads. While the highways are overall in good condition, opting for an SUV rental is smart if you can swing it, especially during the rainy season. The most direct route from San José to La Fortuna is Route 1 to Route 702. You’ll pass through some toll booths as you leave San Jose that accept cards and USD, so no need to change money at the airport. Be prepared for frequent turns and foggy conditions as you drive up into the mountains. Tip: Costa Rica is an overall safe country to visit, but tourists may be a target for petty theft. Don’t leave your luggage unattended in your car, and certainly not if it’s visible. Some parking lots will have an attendant (whether official or unofficial) whom you can pay to watch your car. Option 2: Hire a Private Shuttle from San José to La Fortuna We hired a driver on our first trip as we weren’t sure what to expect with the road conditions during the wet season. While we found we found have made the drive ourselves, we enjoyed not having the responsibility a rental car. Your driver can make recommendations to you and give you some insight into what Costa Rica is like as a local. Additionally, when you stop for a break along the drive, they will be able to watch the car or know where to stop with a parking lot attendant to ensure your things are safe. A private shuttle generally starts around $170 for a group of 6-8 passengers. There are several companies you can find, but some don't publish their prices or offer online booking. Other tour operators such as Fortuna Expeditions have more user-friendly sites. Powered by GetYourGuide Option 3: Take a Shared La Fortuna Shuttle If you’re traveling with just one or two people and don’t want to drive yourself, a shared shuttle would be my recommendation. It will take a little longer than a private shuttle but will be more affordable, running around $50 per person. The driver will stop midway through the trip for a restroom and snack break. The downside here is that companies have set times that they depart, so if you are wanting to transfer straight form the airport, it may not work well with your flight schedule. Companies generally depart from San José around 8am and 3pm, but check their website for exact times. Powered by GetYourGuide Option 4: Take the public bus The public bus is the cheapest option by far, though the ride takes 4-5 hours and you cannot purchase tickets online in advance. The bus to La Fortuna also departs from downtown San José, so you first have to take a city bus or taxi downtown if you're coming from the airport. There are a few departures throughout the morning. You can find the bus scheduled here. Option 5: Fly a local airline You can theoretically fly from San Jose to Fortuna, but as far as I’m aware, there are no direct flights. Sansa Regional connects through Liberia or Tortuguero before continuing onto Fortuna. These routes run between 1h15min to 2.5 hours depending on the time and cost around $100. This probably wouldn’t be my recommendation during the rainy season due to risk of flight cancellation, but if you're opposed to sitting in a car, it's an option. My Final Thoughts on Getting to La Fortuna from San José If you're planning to explore several regions of Costa Rica, you're probably best off renting a car rather than paying for individual transfers between hotels. But we do love the convenience of not dealing with a rental, so if you'd rather go without, I would recommend a shared shuttle for an individual or couple, or a private shuttle for a larger group. Where to Stay in La Fortuna Here are a few of our favorite lodging options in La Fortuna. There's a huge range of options from budget hostels to ultra-luxury resorts, and a more comprehensive hotel guide is coming soon! 1. Nayara Springs/Nayara Gardens Luxury A large but secluded jungle eco-friendly resort with volcano views, multiple restaurants, pools, and wellness activities. The Nayara Springs side is adults-only, while kids are welcome at the Gardens side. 2. Los Lagos Spa and Resort Mid-Range A family-friendly hot springs resort with multiple natural thermal pools, waterslides, spa facilities, and volcano views. 3. Arenal Oasis Eco Lodge & Wildlife Refuge Budget A peaceful rainforest retreat with rustic cabins, abundant wildlife, and a strong eco-friendly focus.

Costa Rica is the perfect place to visit for nature lovers and offers a huge range of activities. …

The post The Perfect 1 Week Costa Rica Itinerary appeared first on We Seek Travel.

Costa Rica is the perfect place to visit for nature lovers and offers a huge range of activities. On our first visit to Costa Rica, we wanted a combination of beach, hiking, and wildlife. This is the exact one week trip we took for a first visit, starting in Guanacaste and ending in La Fortuna. Table of Contents Costa Rica Itinerary Overview Travel Logistics Day 1: Fly into Liberia in Guanacaste Day 2: Visit Playa Conchal, Try Surfing in Tamarindo, and Enjoy a Sunset Catamaran Tour Day 3: Tour Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park Day 4: Transfer to La Fortuna Day 5: Take a Guided tour of Arenal Volcano, Fortuna Waterfall and Mistico Park Day 6: Go Ziplining and Whitewater Rafting Day 7: Depart San José My Final Thoughts on a First Visit to Costa Rica Costa Rica Itinerary Overview This itinerary combines some time in Guanacaste, the province encompassing the Pacific coast, and the Central Valley (specifically, the town of La Fortuna at the base of Arenal Volcano). With its beaches, jungles, volcanoes, and wildlife sanctuaries, there’s so much to do that one week can only offer a sliver of what Costa Rica has to offer. But one week is perfect to experience two different regions without too much time in transit. Here's what to expect from this itinerary: Beaches and a catamaran tour Vocano and waterfall hikes Eco-parks full of wildlife sightings Hot springs Ziplining and whitewater rafting Travel Logistics There are two international airports in Costa Rica. Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) in Liberia is the smaller of the two, in Guanacaste, and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is in the capital of San José. Flying into one airport and out of the other works well for this itinerary (though will make your car rental pricier if you're wanting to keep a car the whole trip). Although Costa Rica is a fairly small country, it can take longer than you might expect to navigate between different regions, thanks to the narrow, often winding roads. We have heard that the road conditions are sometimes poor during the rainy season (May to June), but we have not personally seen this. Tip: We prefer not to move between hotels too much, so for a week-long trip, we pick two spots to serve as our base for day trips. This itinerary therefore does not include Monteverde Cloud Forest, which is an awesome nature preserve. You could modify this itinerary to include a night at Monteverde by spending one less night in Guanacaste, or adding another night if you're able. Day 1: Fly into Liberia in Guanacaste We started our trip in Guanacaste, the westernmost province of Costa Rica. Liberia airport (LIR) is within an hour of some nice hotels, longer if you want to stay further south. There are a number of great beachfront hotels - some big brands, some boutique - all along the coast. I would choose a hotel based on the type of beach you prefer and proximity to any tours or eco-parks. Our Recommended Guanacaste Beach Hotels 1. Westin Reserva Conchal Luxury An all-inclusive beachfront resort on Playa Conchal with golf course, lagoon-style pool, spa, and a variety of restaurants and bars. There are also adults-only club level rooms with a quiet pool. 2. Curiol Hotel Mid-Range A small eco-hotel near Playa Potrero with a relaxed jungle vibe, with a pool, on-site restaurant and bar, and free breakfast. Within walking distance of the beach. 3. La Ramona Charming Hotel Budget A boutique hideaway in Tamarindo with just five stylish suites, a pool, garden terrace, and breakfast, all within walking distance of the beach and town. If you’re not as interested in beach and water activities, look at the hotels around Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, which tend to be more secluded. Whether you stay close to the beach or inland, you can easily fit both experiences into a couple of days. On our first trip, we wanted a few days to simply relax (as we got to leave the kids with their grandparents!), and opted to stay at the Westin Reserva Conchal, which is an all-inclusive beach resort. It was a splurge, but we enjoyed not having to worry about the additional cost of our meals and drinks, and there is an adults-only section with a serene pool. A coati exploring the pool at the Westin Playa Conchal After settling into your hotel, spend some time exploring the beach. Our resort was located on Playa Conchal. If you prefer to stay near Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja, spend some time soaking in the hot springs. Day 2: Visit Playa Conchal, Try Surfing in Tamarindo, and Enjoy a Sunset Catamaran Tour There are dozens of great beaches in Guanacaste. If you decide to rent a car, spend some time exploring the coast. But if you'd rather not drive, you can get around by Uber, or potentially hotel shuttles. Playa Conchal is a beautiful beach where the sand is actually made up of tiny seashells. This is where the Westin and a few other resorts are, so it gets busy, but was not overly crowded in our experience. There is some decent snorkeling here. We personally are not surfers, but have heard there’s great surfing on the west coast. For beginner-level surfing (including lessons), go to Tamarindo or Playa Grande. Tamarindo is definitely lively and may be more crowded; Playa Grande, less so. Some of the best surfing for those more advanced is found at Playa Negra. Grab lunch on the beach. In the afternoon, take a catamaran tour. There are a number of tours you can find that depart from different beaches, but we speifically took the Blue Dolphin Sailing Adventure Tour, which leaves from Tamarindo and is reasonably priced. The crew will take you to a spot to snorkel, kayak, or paddleboard. Dinner and drinks were included and we had amazing sunset on the way back. Tip: If you choose a hotel more inland near the national park, some of the beaches are only about a 1.5 hour drive. For a catamaran tour that will be easier to get to than the Tamarindo one, look for one that departs from Playa Coco like the Marlin del Rey Snorkel Sunset Cruise. Day 3: Tour Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park In the northern part of Guanacaste, Rincon de la VIeja Volcano National Park is home to an active volcano, as well as the dormant Santa Maria. Come here for the hiking and waterfalls. Private tour guide operators nearby offer white water tubing, guided hikes, ziplining, and other activities. Pay close attention to the hours and buy tickets online in advance (you can no longer buy them at the gate). The park is divided into two sections - the Pailas and the Santa Maria sectors - that have different operating schedules. Santa Maria is open Thursday through Monday, 8am-3:30pm. Pailas is open Tuesday through Sunday, 8am-3pm. The entrance fee for both is $16.95 for adults and $5.65 for kids. Day 4: Transfer to La Fortuna The drive from Guancaste to La Fortuna is 3.5-4 hours, if your Guanacaste hotel is near the coast. The drive takes you around Lake Arenal, which is the perfect place to stop for lunch overlooking the lake. On our first trip, we hired a private transfer as we weren’t sure what the roads were like in the rainy season, though we found we easily could have made the drive ourselves. But we enjoyed having a local person show us around a bit, take us to a great spot for lunch (Café y Macadamia), and pull over to point out sloths high in the trees. Tip: Be prepared for some twisty roads, in case anyone in your party is prone to car sickness. My wife and I both started feeling a bit ill as we went higher into the mountains on route 142, and our driver told us this was pretty common among tourists. If you choose to book a private transfer, don't worry about asking your driver for a break now and then. Our view for lunch at Café y Macadamia overlooking Lake Arenal. The restaurant is a bit touristy with a gift shop, but the food was good and the view was wonderful. Check into your hotel in La Fortuna and enjoy the volcano views. We stayed at Nayara Gardens, a luxury resort with secluded rooms. There is a separate section of the resort called Nayara Springs with private villas that is adults-only and more expensive, but guests of the Gardens side are permitted to use the adults-only pool on the Springs side that has an unreal view of the volcano. If you get to La Fortuna early enough in the day, you might enjoy exploring downtown for local shopping and dinner. We used our hotel's shuttle since we didn't have a car; Uber is an option as well. After dinner, take a night jungle walk tour. This gives you an entirely different look at the wildlife than you’ll catch during the day. Some tours groups leave earlier (around 6pm), but there are also tours that depart at 8pm, leaving you time for dinner downtown. Our Hotel Recommendations in La Fortuna 1. Nayara Gardens Luxury A five-star resort with volcano views, secluded villas with private hot tubs or plunge pools, multiple restaurants, and spa. Some villas have volcano views and there is an adults-only pool on the Nayara Springs side. 2. Hotel Lomas del Volcan Mid-Range An eco-lodge featuring rustic wooden bungalows and terraces with volcano views. There is an onsite restaurant and bar, spa, and wellness activities. 3. Volcano Lodge Budget A relaxed hotel near with simple rooms, restaurant, and spa. The on-site hot springs makes this hotel stand out at the affordable price. Day 5: Take a Guided tour of Arenal Volcano, Fortuna Waterfall and Mistico Park Having a tour guide in Costa Rica for at least some of your hikes is worth its weight in gold. Guides are certified in eco-tourism and are able to point out twice as much wildlife as we would be able to spot on our own. Our favorite experience was a day-long tour that combined hikes to Arenal Volcano, Fortuna waterfall, and Mistico Hanging Bridges Park. The hike around Arenal is fairly easy; the waterfall is more moderately difficult, but short. Mistico was fantastic; we had amazing view of the rainforest and the volcano, and saw so much wildlife. Our guide brought a telescope and set it up for us along the way as he spotted animals in the distance. If you'd rather see Mistico via a self-guided tour, this costs $28 for an afternoon slot and $32 for the morning. Tours depart every 30 minutes 6am-3:50pm and can be booked in advance online. The view from Mistico Hanging Bridges Viewing bats through our guide's telescope Day 6: Go Ziplining and Whitewater Rafting Going ziplining at some point through the rainforest should essentially be required when in Costa Rica; the jungle views are incredible. La Fortuna is also near two rivers with whitewater rafting of varying difficulties. The Río Balsa is more mild and family-friendly, while the Sarapiqui is more intense. This tour combines both ziplining and whitewater rafting for an full-day experience. If that's not your thing, there are a number of other activities around La Fortuna to try: Canyoning and waterfall rappelling Raft safari float Horseback riding River or lake kayaking Bike tours Coffee and chocolate farm tours Cooking classes Powered by GetYourGuide In the evening you can spend some time soaking in the hot springs. Some resorts include complementary access. If you think you'd like to spend time at the hot springs on multiple days, look into one of those resorts, like the Tabacón Thermal Resort and Spa for a luxury stay, or Volcano Lodge for a budget-friendly option. Day passes if you're not staying at a resort often run $40-$100. We were a fan of Termalitas for a day pass option as it only cost around $8, and we weren't planning to spend a lot of time there. It's definitely much more simple than some of the pricier springs. There is an onsite restaurant if you want to grab dinner there, or you can bring in your own food and beverages. Day 7: Depart San José Have breakfast at your hotel and head to San José for your flight home. The drive from La Fortuna to San José is around 3 hours if you're driving a rental or booking a private transfer. You can also book a shared shuttle, but I would allow for 4 hours in that case. My Final Thoughts on a First Visit to Costa Rica Costa Rica is beautfiul, warm, and inviting. There are so many exciting experiences you can pack into one week; but two weeks is event better to add in a drive further south to Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Park. Either way, you'll hear locals espouse the pura vida lifestyle you'll want to bring home with you.

Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is …

The post How I Planned My Trip to Chichén Itzá from Tulum appeared first on We Seek Travel.

Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is situated in the heart of the Yucatán Peninsula, approximately 150 kilometers northwest of Tulum. This ancient Mayan city draws millions of visitors each year – known for its iconic pyramid as well as its astronomical significance and complex stone carvings, Chichén Itzá offers a compelling glimpse into the history and ingenuity of the Maya civilization. As one of Mexico’s most popular tourist spots, it’s no surprise that traveling from Tulum to Chichén Itzá is pretty easy, and there are several transport options available. These range from organized tours to independent travel, and you’ll find a way to get to Chichén Itzá whatever your travel style and budget – but which one is best for you? In this post, I’ll break down exactly how to get to Chichén Itzá from Tulum, what each option entails, and how to make the most of your trip. Table of Contents Quick Overview of Options Option 1: Guided Tour to Chichén Itzá from Tulum Why I Recommend: How to do it: Option 2: Renting a Car Why I Recommend: How To Do It: Option 3: ADO Bus + Taxi/Colectivo Why I Recommend: How To Do It: Option 4: Private Driver/Taxi Why I Recommend: How To Book: Overall Recommendation Quick Overview of Options Guided Full Day Tour – An all-inclusive group day trip is a great option if you don’t want the stress of arranging transport yourself and want to learn as much as possible about the history of Chichén Itzá. Renting a Car – Great for anyone wanting to have full freedom on their day trip and take a more adventurous route. ADO Bus + Taxi/Colectivo – The cheapest option which is ideal for travelers who want to visit Chichén Itzá for the lowest price possible. Private Driver/Taxi – A door-to-door route is definitely the most comfortable and convenient way for this day trip. Option 1: Guided Tour to Chichén Itzá from Tulum Why I Recommend: A Chichén Itzá day tour from Tulum is by far the most hassle-free and informative option. You'll travel in a comfortable air-conditioned van or bus, accompanied by a bilingual guide who explains the history, architecture, and mythology of Chichén Itzá. Expect a long day - tours generally last around 10–12 hours, and make stops at other attractions after the tour of the UNESCO site. I personally visited Chichén Itzá on a day tour; although mine was from Cancun rather than Tulum, the experiences are fairly similar. I think it’s the best way to experience the historical site, mainly as our guide shared so many informative insights with us that we just wouldn’t have got if we visited independently. Plus, one of my favorite things about small group tours is how much extra you learn by being able to ask questions - it makes for a much more engaging experience. How to do it: There are heaps of ways to book a guided tour to Chichén Itzá from Tulum - through local tour agencies, hotel concierges, or online platforms. Most tours include hotel pickup, transportation, entrance fees, a guided walk around Chichén Itzá, a buffet lunch, and stops at other attractions like Cenotes or Valladolid. This tour on GetYourGuide looks pretty similar to the one I booked from Cancun. It includes a visit to two of the best Cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula, Suytan and Ikkil, as well as a stop in the colonial town of Valladolid. A buffet lunch and snack box are included, and you’ll have a guide on hand throughout the day to teach you about the region as a whole as well as the history of Chichén Itzá. Tours generally range between $60–$120 USD per person, depending on group size, inclusions, and company reputation. Choose this option if: You want a hassle-free day trip where everything is organised for you You appreciate historical context from a guide You’re tight on time and want to see each much as you can in one day But keep in mind that: It’s a full day trip and runs on a fixed schedule, so there’s less flexibility than other options The attractions are very busy during high season and it’s harder to beat the crowds on an organised tour You’ll have less time to explore on your own Powered by GetYourGuide Option 2: Renting a Car Why I Recommend: Renting a car and setting off on a self-drive adventure to Chichén Itzá is a great option and gives you full control over your itinerary. You can plan your day trip according to your travel style and make your own stops at cenotes, and other attractions throughout your day, which makes for a great day trip. Plus, I always find that driving when I’m traveling makes the trip feel just that bit more adventurous. How To Do It: There are a few local places to hire a car from in downtown Tulum, and the larger chain companies have rental desks in Tulum airport. I rented a car when I stayed in Tulum and used America Car Rental in Tulum Centro - the experience was faultless, with clear costs and great service. Whatever company you use, make sure to check reviews online beforehand and thoroughly read all paperwork before signing to avoid unexpected costs, and I do recommend comparing rental costs across agencies with tools like DiscoverCars You can expect to pay between $30–$135 USD per day, depending on the size of the car. The drive from Tulum to Chichén Itzá takes around 2.5 hours via the 109 and 180 highways. Roads are in very good condition and well-marked, though tolls and occasional police checkpoints are common along the route. Gas costs around 22 MXN ($2 USD) for the day, and once you get to Chichén Itzá you’ll need to pay for parking - but it’s pretty cheap, costing 150 MXN ($8 USD) for the day. There are some great places to stop during the drive to Chichén Itzá from Tulum. Some of the best are: Aktun Chen Cenote Punta Laguna Yal Ku Cenote and Laguna Valladolid Cenote Maya Park Choose This Option If: You want total flexibility on timing and stops You’re travelling as a group or family and want good value You love having the chance to explore less touristy spots But Keep in Mind that: A self-drive trip requires confidence driving in Mexico Costs can add up, making it a more expensive choice for solo travelers or pairs rather than groups This option means you won’t have a guide for Chichén Itzá, unless hired separately Read: Top Luxury Resorts on Tulum Beach Option 3: ADO Bus + Taxi/Colectivo Why I Recommend: This is the cheapest way to get from Tulum to Chichén Itzá, and it’s a great way to experience the bucket-list attraction without spending unnecessarily. Most of my trips are backpacking trips and as I like to travel for as long as possible, I have to be careful with my budget. When I have the time (and energy!), I’ll always opt for the DIY option rather than an inclusive day trip - and this day trip is very easily done on public transport, so you don’t need to skip seeing Chichén Itzá if the other options aren’t within your budget. How To Do It: Tulum’s ADO bus station offers service to Valladolid, a town roughly 45 minutes from Chichén Itzá. You can buy tickets online, via the ADO app or website, or in person at the station. If you’re buying tickets in person, you’ll need to show a photo ID - so make sure to bring this with you. Ticket prices vary depending on the day and time, but you can expect to pay 100 - 250 MXN (around $5 - $14 USD). Buses run the route from Tulum to Valladolid every two hours, starting at 7:50 AM, and the journey takes roughly an hour and a half. I love the ADO buses in Mexico; they’re easily the most comfortable and reliable in Latin America! You can expect air conditioning, reclining seats, and a high chance of the bus leaving and arriving on time - the journey is a breeze. From Valladolid, take a local taxi or colectivo to Chichén Itzá. If you opt for a colectivo, the stop IS a few blocks away from the bus terminal where you’ll arrive, on Calle 39 - it’s on google maps and is easy to find. There’s no fixed schedule for the colectivo’s, but you shouldn’t have to wait too long as theY RUN frequently, especially in the morning. The cost of a ticket is 40 MXN (around $2 USD) and can usually only be paid in cash. The journey to Chichén Itzá from Valladolid takes around 40 minutes. If you’d rather take a taxi instead, you can opt to use a rideshare app (like Uber), which should cost you around 400 MXN ($25 USD). Choose This Option If: You’re a solo traveler looking for the most economical choice You’re a budget-conscious backpacker and don’t want to spend unnecessarily You’re comfortable navigating public transport abroad But Keep in Mind That: This option requires transfers and time management, and you’ll want to plan your return journey carefully so you aren’t stuck in Valladolid It might be trickier to beat the crowds - gates open at 8:00 AM and even if you catch the first bus, you likely won’t arrive until 10:00 AM This option is less relaxed and structured than choosing a day trip or private transfer Option 4: Private Driver/Taxi Why I Recommend: This is the most comfortable and customizable option, especially if you don’t want to drive but still want flexibility. Most drivers are willing to stop at cenotes, Valladolid, or other attractions. Pickup is typically around 7:00 – 8:00 am, with return by early evening. Additionally, it offers great value if you’re traveling in a group or as a family, as it works out as cheaper than booking individual spots on a group trip. Prices vary depending on where you book, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $145 - $280 USD for the day. How To Book: Many taxi drivers in Tulum offer full-day private trips to Chichén Itzá - if you travel by taxi during your time in Tulum, ask the driver if this is something they offer and they’ll usually have a list of prices available. Alternatively, you can arrange through your hotel in Tulum, or book online - websites like Viator, 12go, and GetYourGuide have private day trips listed. Make sure to agree on a flat rate ahead of time, which should include wait time at the site and optional stops along the way. Choose This Option If: You want a convenient and stress-free day You like to have flexible timing and be able to make optional stops You’re traveling in a family or small group But Keep in Mind That: It’s the most expensive option, especially if you’re traveling solo This is usually just a transfer only, and won’t come with a guide Overall Recommendation If it’s your first time visiting, you’re travelling solo, or you don’t like to worry too much about planning and organisation. I recommend opting for a guided tour. If you value independence and are comfortable driving, renting a car gives you the best experience overall.

I’m a huge fan of booking flights with points and miles. Trips that can cost thousands in cash …

The post Booking Flights With Points: An Easy Guide appeared first on We Seek Travel.

I’m a huge fan of booking flights with points and miles. Trips that can cost thousands in cash suddenly cost next to nothing. The points game, however, can be incredibly confusing. Earning the points is the easy part; understanding how to book with them is an entirely different beast. While I’m no expert on the ins and outs of airline alliances and transfer partners, I’ve found a few good tools to help me use my points. Why Use Points and Miles to Book Flights Making savvy use of credit card points, which rack up quickly through your every day spending along with the occasional major purchase, can get you on more flights more often for nearly free. Or, if you’re planning a particularly long flight and want a more comfortable trip, credit card points can get you to a business class seat, literally saving you thousands of dollars for a single flight leg. Tip: Some airpoints charge much higher taxes and fees that are still passed on to you when you book with points. Heathrow is a common example of this; I try to avoid flying through Heathrow whenever trying to use points, because I’d still usually end up paying several hundreds of dollars. How to Earn Credit Card Points Quickly Earning points is straightforward. Simply get a travel rewards credit card (ideally with a nice initial bonus once you meet a spending goal) then use it for your everyday purchases. By being smart with your purchases – for instance, using a card that gives you 5x for travel on travel, while using the card that gives you 4x for restaurants on dining – you can quickly rack up a ton of points. Additionally, you can get more credit card points or airline miles by using shopping portals. This is especially nice for major purchases. But after I started earning points, I didn’t realize it takes a bit of leg work to actually use those points. Tip: What you don’t want to do is book your flight directly through your credit card’s travel portal. Those flights (booked through the Amex or Chase travel portal, for instance) always cost an exorbitant number of points and give you a terrible value for those points. You’ll get much better value by transferring those points from the card to a partner airline (or hotel, but for the purposes of this post I’ll focus on flights). Why the Points and Miles System Feels Confusing That’s where the system to book flights with your heard-earned points can get incredibly complicated. Certain cards are partnered with only certain airlines. So if you want to transfer your Amex points to American Airlines, you’re out of luck. But, thanks to the airline alliances (Star, Oneworld, Sky Team), you can book a flight one one member of the alliance via another member. Once you understand that, you will then run into the problem that airlines only release a certain number of award tickets, so it can be hard to find the route you’re looking for. On top of all that to keep track of, some flights will be easily bookable online, whereas other airlines will require you to call to book on an allied airline. It’s a lot to manage, but if you can get the basics down then use helpful booking tools, it’s completely worth the hassle for the money saved. I suggest learning the basics without stressing too much about the details of each airline, then use a booking tool that walks you through step by step. My Personal Strategy for Booking Award Flights There are a swath of bloggers out there who can explain the most efficient ways to use points and tips for “point hacking” much better than I can. There are Facebook communities about only this topic, courses, and even personal consultants. Some of those can be great resources if you want to get really deep into it. But if there’s a spectrum of points aspiration from “I have no interest in getting a rewards credit card” to “I earn millions of points through potentially-illicit point manufacturing and I know exactly how far in advance each airline releases their award seats,” I fall somewhere in the middle, as I think a lot of people do. My general overall style is to 1) take advantage of a few credit card welcome bonuses per year while keeping a diverse portfolio of programs (Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards); 2) use a reward shopping portal (Rakuten, Aadvantage, etc) when I think of it but always when there’s a big purchase; then 3) use the tools below when it comes time to plan my trip. Usually I’m booking at least 6 months in advance, but you can also get great last minute flights. I’m sure I could be more efficient if I planned my trips a year ahead of time and set alerts for the day the award seats opened up on my chosen airline, but it’s just not realistic for me. The Best Tools for Managing and Booking Award Flights Rakuten – this is an online shopping portal to boost my Amex Membership Rewards. When you sign up, the app will default to cashback, but you can set your settings to get “paid” in credit card points rather than cash. As far as I know, Amex is the only travel card that works with Rakuten to earn points. You don’t actually have to use Amex to pay for the item you’re buying; as long as you have your Amex card linked and set to points rather than cash, you can use whatever card you want to pay for your purchase. I don’t use Rakuten all the time (usually because I don’t remember to), but if I know I have a large purchase to make, I do my best to find a store through Rakuten that carries it. Rakuten mobile app Remember to change the setting from cashback to points Notes app. To track my points among various credit cards, hotels, and airlines, I just update a pinned note in my phone’s notes app periodically. Not the most advanced, to be sure, but I’ve tried sites that sync with each of my accounts and keep things automatically updated in the past, and I find them far too buggy. So I just occasionally update the note to keep a general idea of how many points I have. Travel Freely app. I use this to research new credit cards and to track all the cards I have. The app details the perks of each card and reminds me when I have to reach the minimum spend to satisfy the welcome bonus, as well as when the annual fee is coming up. It’s free to use and well designed. If you’re so inclined, you can also include a “player 2” (usually this is your partner/spouse), but I’m not at the level of being able to track credit card spends for two of us. Of course, you should not be trying to play the multiple credit card game unless you can afford to pay off each card every month. Tip: A word on credit card annual fees. You’ll note in the screenshot I used that some of these cards have a very high annual fee. This is important to consider when getting these cards. For most of my cards, I usually get my money’s worth out of the annual fee; but thanks to some recent changes in benefits of the Amex Business Platinum, it’s tough for me to use the $700 in benefits every year. This means I need to downgrade. Usually when you get a new card, you’ll have to pay the annual fee once, but if you go about downgrading the right way, you generally don’t have to pay the annual fee the second year. Pointsyeah.com This is my personal go-to website as an award flight search tool that is free to use but powerful. It’s less popular than some of the other sites out there, but I find it to be incredibly helpful and easy to use. I enter my destination, select a span of a few days if there’s flexibility in my trip, and filter by all the programs I currently have points with. Each open award seat lists exactly how to book; for instance, this is a flight from Dallas to Rome on Finnair. The site tells me to transfer my Citi Thank You points to Aadvantage then links me to the American Airline website to book the Finnair flight. If you’re unsure how to transfer points, there’s a link just below the result explaining. Pointsyeah.com search tool allows you to filter by the bank and/or airline programs you have points with. I currently have the paid subscription ($99/year or $12/month), which makes things a bit more efficient by allowing you to search two departure and arrival cities and search across more travel days at a time. Pointsyeah also allows you to set up flight alerts – 4 for the free version and 32 for the paid. A cool newer feature is their “Daydream Explorer” – a global map where you can enter your departure city and visualize all the possible destination by number of points. Or, you can enter you’re destination city and see where it’s cheapest to fly from. This makes it easy to visualize if you need to take a positioning flight to get a great deal on a long haul flight. Other tools Point.me– This seems to be a fairly popular tool, but in my opinion it does not measure up to Pointsyeah. The free basic plan is limited to the degree that it’s not not all that useful. The standard plan runs around $11/month and offers more features (like searching up to 365 days in advance, allowing for a few flight alerts), but even that tier offers less than the Pointsyeah free version. Point.me’s website does appear cleaner and simpler. They also offer concierge planning services. While I haven’t personally used that service, it seems like it could be handy for the traveler who doesn’t know where to start or doesn’t have time to search award seats. Seats.areo – This is a great tool that I’m starting to use more. It includes some airlines that Pointsyeah doesn’t list, and an extensive list of results sorted in table format pops up in under a second. I suspect this can be a bit more overwhelming to process if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of points transfers and airline alliances. Similar to Pointsyeah, it also has a tool to explore destination options by continent and filtering by award programs, if you’re flexible on where you’re traveling. There is less hand-holding in terms of how to book the award ticket, but if you’re already family with points game, this is a powerful tool that also has a user-friendly mobile app. The price is around $10/month; there is a free tier that’s much more limited. Seats.aero’s search tool quickly displays availability in table format. Seats.aero’s explore tools allows you to filter by continent, or even by anywhere in the world. Conclusion At the end of the day, points and miles aren’t about chasing every program or gaming the system, but about giving yourself wider travel options by saving money. The key is to keep it simple: get a few rewards credit cards, optimize the right card for the right purchase where you can, and stay organized with the right tools. Over time, these points will add up and open the door to bigger, more meaningful travel experiences.

I’ve used Airalo for a few years now, but recently tested Truely while traveling in Canada. Canada’s mobile …

The post Truely vs Airalo: Which eSIM is Better & Why? appeared first on We Seek Travel.

I’ve used Airalo for a few years now, but recently tested Truely while traveling in Canada. Canada’s mobile data prices are some of the highest in the world, so finding a good-value eSIM can make a real difference. I’ve relied on Airalo across dozens of trips, but this time I wanted to try Truely’s plans, which got my attention from their “Switchless eSIM”, and a promise of global coverage in 200+ destinations, and of course, unlimited data options. Over the past few years, I’ve tested many eSIMs from Southeast Asia to Europe, so I know how much small differences in speed, coverage, and usability can matter on the road. In this guide, I’ll break down how Truely compares to Airalo in pricing, coverage, ease of use, and extra features—plus share where I think each one makes sense. By the end, you’ll know exactly which I’d choose for my next trip. Table of Contents What is Truley eSIM? What is Airalo? Truley vs Airalo: Destinations & Pricing Truley vs Airalo: SIM Setup Process Truely vs Airalo: Pricing Truley vs Airalo: Connectivity & Speed Tests Truley vs Airalo: Managing Plans & Using the Apps Final Verdict My TL;DR Review: Airalo’s great for small, cheap data packs, but Truely’s Switchless eSIM, unlimited daily pricing, and easier app make it a great alternative for multi-country trips, or for more data in a single destination. Tip: Use the code weseektravel for 5% off any Truely eSIM plan. What is Truley eSIM? After testing many eSIMs, including Holafly, Airalo, Sim Local, and JetPac, to name a few, it's nice to test out an eSIM with some unique benefits. Truely caught my eye as an eSIM provider since they let you install one digital SIM, once, and stay online in over 200+ destinations without needing to swap profiles or hunt for local SIMs (and of course avoid roaming charges) It uses what it calls Switchless technology. This is pretty neat since the idea is to install it once, then just select your destination in the app and connect. It's great if you travel to a lot of different countries frequently like me since you won't need to juggle QR codes or reinstall eSIMs on the road for every new country. Their plan structure is simple but also quite unique. It ranges from single-country to regional and all offering unlimited data over a duration you pick (from 1 to 30+ days). I found that the longer the plan, the lower the daily rate, which works especially well for longer trips, or if you travel a lot. As I found out and will show you in the eSIM setup section of this post, the Truley app is also quite handy since it supports one‑click install, shows usage clearly, and offers 24/7 help via WhatsApp or a live chat, and they actually answer (without naming names) compared to a few other eSIM companies I've had to deal with before. What is Airalo? Similarly to Truely, Airalo is an eSIM provider that’s been around for a few years now and is becoming quite a popular option for travelers. I’ve used Airalo a couple of times across a few different countries and it’s always done the job of getting online quickly without hunting for a local SIM card. Airalo is quite similar to Truley in that it also covers over 200 countries and regions and their sims come with options from multiple local carriers. This means you can often choose between the cheapest plan, the fastest network, or a balance of both. Unlike Truely’s Switchless setup, Airalo issues a separate eSIM profile for each country or region, so you’ll need to install a new one whenever you change destinations. It’s not difficult, but it does take a couple more steps when moving between countries. Plans range from 1 GB short-term packages to large multi-GB regional bundles, and pricing is decent but I've noticed it has been increasing in recent years, especially for single-country plans in popular travel destinations. Data is usually prepaid and follows a conventional sim structure, with set expiries after the set duration, and limited data you can top up in-app. Airalo also has an app that is simple and reliable, features clear data tracking, plan management, and in-app top-ups. Support is available through the app as well, though in my experience, responses can take longer compared to Truely’s instant chat. Truley vs Airalo: Destinations & Pricing Both Truely and Airalo cover over 200 countries and regions, so you’ll be able to stay connected almost anywhere you travel. The main difference is how their plans are structured and how you connect when moving between destinations. With Truely, you install the eSIM once and then just switch destinations in the app. So when I went from Canada into the U.S., I didn’t have to set up anything new. This is especially handy if you’re crossing borders often since you’re not juggling multiple eSIM profiles. Airalo also has excellent coverage, but each country or region requires a separate eSIM profile. That means if you’re moving between countries, you’ll need to install a new one each time. It’s still quick to do, but adds an extra step compared to Truely’s Switchless setup. Pricing is where things start to differ more. Truely focuses on unlimited data plans from one to 30+ days, with daily rates getting cheaper the longer you buy. When I tested this in Canada, I found it much easier to budget compared to watching my gigabytes disappear. Airalo works on fixed-data packages, like 1 GB for seven days or 5 GB for 30 days. These can be cheaper for light users or short trips, but if you need more data you’ll need to top up, which can add up quickly, especially in countries with higher rates like Canada or the US. Truley vs Airalo: SIM Setup Process Both Truely and Airalo require you to download their app to purchase and install your eSIM, but the setup experience is slightly different. With Truely, once you’ve purchased your plan, you can use the one-click Install eSIM option in the app. In my case, this worked instantly in Canada without needing to touch my phone’s settings. If that doesn’t work, you can fall back to scanning a QR code or manually entering the SM-DP+ address and activation code shown in the app. The process is the same on iPhone and Android: add a new eSIM in your phone’s network settings, activate mobile data and roaming, and you’re set. I also liked that Truely’s WhatsApp support was quick to respond when I tested it, though I didn't really need the support. With Airalo, you purchase your plan in the app and then go to My eSIMs to view the installation instructions. The easiest way is the Direct install method, which sets everything up for you. If that fails, you can also scan a QR code or manually enter the details. After installation, you’ll need to label the eSIM in your settings and select it for mobile data. I’ve found Airalo’s setup reliable, but responses from support can take longer compared to Truely’s instant chat when I tried it. Quick Comparison: App required? Yes – purchase & install in app Yes – purchase & install via My eSIMs Quickest method One-click “Install eSIM” Direct install from app instructions Fallback options QR code or manual entry QR code or manual entry Support 24/7 live chat & WhatsApp – fast reply In-app ticket system – slower reply Truely vs Airalo: Pricing Since both companies offer huge coverage across hundreds of destinations, it's hard to pinpoint which eSIM provides the best value for money. However, after a bit of searching through the options and the specific options I tested in Canada, I can say that Truely is cheaper overall if you prefer unlimited data. However, this varies depending on how much data you need and how long you’re staying. In Canada where I tested, Airalo offers tiered data packages, starting from 1 GB for 7 days at around US $6, up to 20 GB for 30 days at around US $49. This can be good value if you’re a light user, but these days it’s easy to burn through data quickly. Think maps, social media, and even background updates can chew through a gig in no time. Once you run out, you’ll need to top up, which adds to the total cost. Truely takes a different approach with unlimited data plans across Canada (or North America), where the daily rate gets cheaper the longer you buy. For example, unlimited data starts at around US $6.45 for 2 days, US $36.89 for 7 days, and US $93.93 for 30 days. That’s about US $5.27 per day for a week, or US $3.13 per day for a month, which is easy to budget, and no worrying about running out mid-trip. If you’re a light user and just need a few gigabytes, Airalo’s smaller plans can work out cheaper. But if you use a lot of data or want the peace of mind of not having to track usage, especially in a high-cost country like Canada then I’ve found Truely’s unlimited plans to be the better value. Truley vs Airalo: Connectivity & Speed Tests Perhaps my tests weren't the best to compare connectivity on both Truely and Airalo since coverage in Canada is excellent, espcially in Vancouver. There were no dropouts, strong signal, and reliable data on both plans. Because Canada generally has good urban network coverage, it’s hard to judge how either would perform in more remote or rural regions, or in countries with less developed infrastructure. However, in my speed tests, Truely consistently delivered faster download and upload speeds compared to Airalo. (See screenshots below.) That said, for my day-to-day use which was browsing, calls, social media, and tethering to my laptop for work, the difference wasn’t noticeable in real-world performance. Both handled everything I needed without interruptions. If raw speed is your top priority, Truely edged ahead in my testing. But if you just need a stable, reliable connection for typical travel use, both providers perform well in a place like Canada. Speed test result with Truely Speed test result with Airalo Truley vs Airalo: Managing Plans & Using the Apps Both Truely and Airalo make it easy to manage your eSIM through their apps. You can view your active plans, check data usage, and top up in just a few taps. In my experience, both are reliable and straightforward, with no confusing menus or hidden settings. That said, I found Truely’s app slightly nicer to use. The layout is clean, the one-click install works well, and because the plans are unlimited and priced by the day, it’s easier to keep track of what you’re spending without watching your data counter drop. Airalo’s app works almost the same way, but since plans are fixed-data, you’ll need to keep an eye on usage and top up if you run low. This isn’t difficult, but it does mean one extra thing to manage compared to Truely’s set-and-forget approach. Below are screenshots of what the apps look like. Truely Data Management Page Airalo Data Management Page Final Verdict I’ve been using Airalo for a few years now, mainly because it was one of the first eSIMs I tried and it consistently got the job done. Over that time, it’s been a solid option for quick connectivity in dozens of countries, and I still think it’s a dependable choice especially if you’re looking for smaller, cheaper data packages for short trips. 5% OFF: Use Code "weseektravel" for discounts on all Truely eSIMS. That said, after testing Truely in Canada and spending more time with their system, it’s clear they’re a strong competitor. The Switchless setup makes multi-country travel much smoother, the unlimited daily pricing is easy to budget for, and the app feels a little more streamlined. In my testing, Truely’s speeds were also better, though in day-to-day use the difference was hardly noticeable for regular browsing, calls, and work. For me, the real strength of Truely is in simplifying connectivity when I’m on the move full-time for work. I don’t have to watch my usage, top up mid-trip, or re-install eSIM profiles every time I cross a border, it just works. That’s a big plus when you’re moving quickly and juggling flights, deadlines, and unpredictable travel schedules. That doesn’t mean I’m switching exclusively. I’ll still be comparing plans from Truely, Airalo, and other providers for each trip, because pricing and value can vary a lot by destination. But after this test, Truely has earned a permanent spot in my travel toolkit, and I expect it’ll be the one I reach for most often when I know I’ll be using a lot of data or hopping between multiple countries.

If you’re visiting Cancun, chances are Chichén Itzá is high on your must-see list – and if it’s …

The post How to get to Chichén Itzá from Cancún appeared first on We Seek Travel.

If you’re visiting Cancun, chances are Chichén Itzá is high on your must-see list – and if it’s not, it should be. Located deep in the Yucatán Peninsula, this ancient Mayan city was once a thriving center of science, religion, and politics. The site is massive, well-preserved, and packed with history. You’ll see towering pyramids, intricate stone carvings, sacred cenotes, and the famous Great Ball Court. Today, it draws travelers from around the world who want to walk in the footsteps of one of the Americas’ most advanced civilizations. Chichén Itzá sits just under 200 km from the popular beachfront resort Cancun, so it’s on many visitors’ bucket lists. This means that there is no short supply of options to get there – which can make it hard to decide the best option for you. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to get to Chichén Itzá from Cancún, break down all the transport options, and help you pick the one that fits your style and budget. Let’s get into it! Table of Contents Quick overview of options My favorite Chichen Itza Tour from Cancun Option 2: Renting a Car Why I Recommend How to do it Choose this option if: But keep in mind that: Option 3: Public Transport – ADO Bus & Colectivo Choose this option if: But keep in mind that: Option 4: Private Transfer or Taxi How to book: Choose this option if: But keep in mind that: My Overall Recommendation Quick overview of options There are four main ways of getting to Chichén Itzá from Cancún. These are: Guided full-day tour from Cancun (bus or van, grouped or private) - the most hassle-free option, great for those short on time who want to pack as much in as possible. Renting a car - great for adventurous travelers and those wanting to spend the day on their own schedule. I recommend using DiscoverCars in Cancun as I've found them to be the cheapest. ADO bus + local colectivo (public shuttle) - a cheaper option, ideal for budget backpackers Private transfer or taxi - the most comfortable option, perfect for families or luxury travelers. My favorite Chichen Itza Tour from Cancun I visited Chichén Itzá on my first trip to Mexico, and as I had a pretty packed itinerary, I opted for this guided full-day tour booked through Viator. This was hands-down the best choice I could have made - I was only in Mexico for two weeks and was determined to see Chichén Itzá, but wanted to pick the easiest and most hassle-free option. The day trip started with a hotel pick-up in Cancun - they came to our hotel lobby at 6:30 am in an air-conditioned van. Starting early is key if you want to beat the crowds and the midday heat. It took just over two hours on the road before we arrived at Chichén Itzá just before 9:00 AM. One thing I loved about the tour was that our guide began it before we arrived at the site, by giving us historical and cultural insights along the journey. Having a guide on hand to explain what we were seeing and answer any questions meant that we got so much more out of our visit than we would have done independently. After a few hours touring the site, we headed to the Cenote Saamal for a refreshing dip - the cold waters were a great break from the hot midday sun. The cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula are one of the area's highlights, and I love that this Chichen Itza tour includes a visit to one - it’s great for time-strapped travelers. Following this, we had a traditional Yucatan lunch buffet before heading to our final stop, the colonial town of Valladolid. This stop was the main reason I opted for this tour; on this trip I was only visiting the Yucatan Peninsula, and my time was mainly spent in resort areas, so I was keen to visit somewhere that felt like the ‘real’ Mexico. Visiting Valladolid as part of this tour gave me a taste of this, without taking too much time out of my itinerary. Option 2: Renting a Car Why I Recommend DIY car rental gives you complete flexibility and turns your day trip to Chichén Itzá into a real adventure. You can enjoy the day on your own schedule, making stops along the way at small towns and cenotes that aren’t on the typical day tour route. How to do it There are multiple places to hire a car from in Cancún, but your best bet is to head to the airport where there are a variety of rental agencies. You can expect to pay between $35 - $100 for a one day hire, depending on the size of the car. It’s a very simple journey along the 180D toll route, and it should take just over 2 hours each way. You’ll need to pay about 500 MXN ($26) in toll fees, but the toll road saves hours and is well worth doing. Most toll booths in Mexico are cash only, so make sure to bring plenty of cash with you. The road is well signposted and is very well maintained, making for a very easy ride. Parking at the site is ample, costs around 150 MXN ($8) for the day, and there’s plenty of shaded spots. Gas is cheap (usually around 22 MXN/litre), but prices are higher around larger towns so I recommend filling up before arriving back in Cancún. One of the highlights of hiring a car to get to Chichén Itzá from Cancún is being able to add stops into your day trip. The places I recommend visiting are: Valladolid Cenote Maya Convento de San Bernardino de Siena Punta Laguna Cenote Ik Kil Cenote Saamal Choose this option if: You want to build your own day-trip with side stops You prefer avoiding group tours You’re comfortable driving in a new country But keep in mind that: Rental + toll + insurance + gas + parking can add up (c.£80–£100 total) You need to be comfortable driving unfamiliar roads It’s a full day behind the wheel—be ready for a 6+ hour drive round trip Option 3: Public Transport – ADO Bus & Colectivo Public transport is the cheapest route, but also the least comfortable. Here's how to get to Chichén Itzá using public transport : Catch an ADO bus from the main Cancún Central Bus Terminal to Valladolid (2–3 hours). Tickets can be purchased online or at the Bus Terminal and you’ll need to show a valid photo ID if you’re purchasing tickets at the terminal. Buses run approximately every hour, and the ADO network across Mexico is great - they usually run on schedule and are comfortable and air conditioned. From Valladolid, walk or taxi to the colectivo station. It’s located a few blocks away from the bus terminal where you’ll arrive, on Calle 39 - it’s on google maps and is easy to find. Hop a colectivo out to Chichén Itzá (30–40 min). There’s no real set schedule but the colectivos run very regularly, especially during the mornings. Tickets cost 40 MXN, and this can usually only be paid in cash. The total travel time is around 3-4 hours each way, but this can be longer if you get unlucky with departure times. I recommend checking the ADO website for bus times before heading to the station. This is by far the cheapest way to get to Chichén Itzá from Cancún; the round trip usually costs less than 600 MXN ($30). Buses usually run between 4:00 AM - 9:00 PM - but check specific times for your chosen travel day. Choose this option if: You’re on a strict budget You’re more interested in the journey than comfort You don’t mind a bit of spontaneity (or a day in Valladolid) But keep in mind that: It’s a less structured and relaxing day than opting for a guided tour You’ll need to keep an eye on the time to avoid getting stuck in Valladolid overnight Option 4: Private Transfer or Taxi You can hire a private transfer driver to pick you up in Cancún and take you straight to Chichén Itzá and back. You’ll usually pay a set price for the day and your driver can make stops at other locations if you want - or you can just travel there and back; the choice is yours and the beauty of hiring a driver is you have full freedom. Prices usually start from around 4,000 MXN ($215), so it’s on the more expensive side - but worth it for comfort and flexibility. How to book: Drivers can be booked easily online, like this option on Getyourguide.. You can use other reputable websites like Viator and Tripadvisor; these sites allow you to filter dates to check availability, and you can read reviews before booking. Prices are displayed clearly online so you can compare different options which is helpful. Alternatively, most larger hotels in Cancún have a concierge service which can arrange a driver for you. These can be slightly more expensive than booking independently, but booking through a concierge service removes all the hassle and admin out of the process. Choose this option if: You don’t like sticking to group schedules - private transfers allow you to start at your leisure, stop wherever, and skip the crowds completely. You’re travelling with kids, have mobility concerns, or just want to choose the most comfortable and straightforward option. You want to customize your route, stopping at other attractions throughout the day. But keep in mind that: It’s the most expensive option Quality can vary - make sure to book from a reputable service with insurance, and good reviews. My Overall Recommendation For first-timers looking to spend one great day in Chichén Itzá, I recommend booking this guided tour to get the most out of your visit, without having to put too much thought into planning and organisation. If you’re the sort of traveler who loves steering your itinerary, rent a car - just be prepared and start early. And if you’re an ultra budget-savvy backpacker, use public transport to get to Chichén Itzá from Cancún.

When you picture tropical paradise, the beaches of San Andres are likely exactly what comes to mind. The …

The post 10 BEST Beaches on San Andres Island, Colombia appeared first on We Seek Travel.

When you picture tropical paradise, the beaches of San Andres are likely exactly what comes to mind. The tiny island is located off the coast of Nicaragua (but is Colombian territory) and can be reached from the mainland by a short flight. It’s situated in the Caribbean Sea, so it’s no surprise that its beaches are pretty spectacular – expect white sand, palm-lined shores, flanked by turquoise waters and vibrant coral reefs. With over 40 beaches on the island, you might be wondering which ones to visit during your trip – so I’ve rounded up the best beaches in San Andres below. I visited countless beaches during my trip and can definitely say that some are more worth visiting than others; especially if you only have limited time on the island. Table of Contents What I Learned About San Andres’ Beaches 1. Johnny Cay 2. Spratt Bight Beach 3. Rocky Cay 4. Haynes Cay & El Acuario 5. Playa de San Luis 6. Playa Charquitos 7. La Piscinita 8. Sound Bay 9. Ecoparque West View 10. Playa Marrakech Beach Club Where to Stay Near San Andres’ Best Beaches What I Learned About San Andres' Beaches San Andres is blessed with an eclectic mix of coastlines, despite only measuring 26 square kilometres, and a short drive to the other side of the island often offers a completely different beach experience. On San Andres’ east coast, you’ll find calm white sand beaches perfect for swimming and relaxing, like the popular Spratt Bight Beach and Playa Charquitos. A visit to the west coast shores couldn’t be more different; its rocky beaches are the place to go for activities like snorkeling, cliff-jumping, and plunge slides, all of which can be done at West View Beach. Tip: My favorite way to explore San Andre's coastline is to rent a motorbike. I rented mine from my accommodation at In Di House of Reggae Boutique. 1. Johnny Cay Best for: A must-do day trip on San Andrés. How to get there: Take a 15 minute boat ride from the San Andrés main pier. You can also book a tour that includes transportation, lunch, and snorkeling. Located just off the coast of San Andrés, Johnny Cay is one of the island’s most popular beach destinations, and for good reason. Not only is it incredibly beautiful - it’s probably the San Andrés beach with the best atmosphere, and you can expect lively crowds, vendors selling tropical drinks, and reggae music. The calm waters here are perfect for swimming, and you can wade out quite far before the water deepens, making it ideal for families with kids. Plus, the surrounding reef creates an excellent snorkeling spot where you can see heaps of fish and even turtles - if you’re lucky! While Johnny Cay can get crowded during peak times (especially in the afternoon), it's still well worth the visit. If you’re wanting to beat the crowds, arrive early in the morning or opt for a private tour. You can spend all day here if you wish, as there’s a handful of places selling things to eat and drink, and there are toilets on the island. Make sure to bring cash with you, as there’s no ATM on the island and a lot of vendors don’t accept card payments. 2. Spratt Bight Beach Best for: The San Andrés beach with the most to do. How to get there: Located right in the heart of San Andrés town, Spratt Bight Beach is easy to reach wherever you’re staying on the island - it’s walking distance from the main town, and easily accessible from other areas by taxi or scooter. Spratt Bight is the main beach of San Andrés, located right by the island's town center. It’s the go-to beach for most tourists looking for things to do in San Andres, due to its convenient location and beautiful views. The beach is lined with bars, restaurants, and a few hotels, so there’s plenty of facilities nearby. There are a handful of water sport options available here if you’re not the type for spending a beach day lounging around, including jet skis, banana boats and parasailing. If you’re looking for a more laid-back vibe, there are many vendors renting sun loungers and chairs to make use of for the day. This is the most popular beach in San Andrés, so it can get a bit crowded during peak hours - visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon for a quieter experience. It’s worth sticking around and walking along the pier at sunset - it’s one of the best places to take in the island’s stunning views. 3. Rocky Cay Best for: A quiet, rugged beach that’s excellent for snorkeling. How to get there: Rocky Cay is easily accessible from San Andrés town and San Luis by boat. For those looking to escape the crowds and enjoy a quieter beach experience, Rocky Cay is the perfect spot. Situated on the island’s western coast, Rocky Cay offers a calm, tranquil atmosphere, with great views of the surrounding coral reefs. There’s a sandbar off the side of the island that extends out into the water, creating a sort of natural causeway. This makes it an excellent spot for snorkeling, as the shallow waters are home to a variety of marine life. There are a few local food vendors and beach bars where you can grab a snack or cold drink, but for the most part, Rocky Cay remains one of the less developed and more unspoiled San Andrés Colombia beaches. It’s well worth the quick ten minute boat trip over. 4. Haynes Cay & El Acuario Best for: Island-hopping, snorkeling, and swimming with starfish and sea turtles. How to get there: Book a tour that includes visits to both Haynes Cay and El Acuario. Alternatively, you can catch a boat from San Andrés town (around 30-40 minutes by boat). No trip to San Andres is complete without a visit to the paradisiacal shores of Haynes Cay and El Acuario, two small islands located just off the mainland. These remote spots are easily some of the best beaches in San Andrés. Haynes Cay is a small, uninhabited island with shallow waters that are ideal for swimming and snorkeling, where you can see starfish, sea turtles, and a variety of tropical fish. Although the island is only small, it has everything you need for a beach day - you can rent chairs and parasols, and there are a few different restaurants and bars Once you’ve spent some time on Haynes Cay, you can walk across the sand bar to El Acuario, which is similarly stunning and a bit quieter than its more famous neighbour. El Acuario is covered in palm trees and vegetation, and you can expect to spot iguanas and blue lizards here. While you can visit on your own by arranging independent boat transfers, it’s definitely worth booking a day trip to the islands - these offer great value and include additional snorkeling stops, as well as a tour of the nearby mangroves. Haynes Cay A crowded day at El Acuario– visit early in the morning to avoid the crowds 5. Playa de San Luis Best for: A quiet, local beach for a relaxing day How to get there: Take a taxi or rent a scooter from the main town - it takes about 20 minutes. If you’re looking for a quiet beach that’s not overrun by tourists, Playa de San Luis is the place to go. Located on the island’s eastern side, this beach is frequented by locals and offers a blissful escape from the more crowded shores of San Andrés. The palm-tree lined beach is located on the east coast of the island,and has calm, shallow waters that are perfect for swimming. You can also enjoy a walk along the coast, as the beach stretches for miles. There are a few little local restaurants along the rest, most of which serve seafood and cold drinks, and some of these have sun loungers available to rent for a small fee. I found that it doesn’t get too busy here during the week, but as it’s a popular spot with locals, it’s slightly busier on weekends. San Luis during a storm 6. Playa Charquitos Best for: An unspoilt beach with a hidden-gem feel. How to get there: Playa Charquitos is located just over ten kilometres from San Andres Town, and you can reach it by scooter or taxi. Playa Charquitos is the best San Andrés beach if you’re looking for a bit of an off-the-beaten-path experience. This secluded spot on the south coast of the island is one of the lesser-known beaches on San Andres, and is small but charming. One of the unique features of the beach are the natural pools that form near the shore, protected from the stronger current by the surrounding reef. You can spot all sorts of sea life here at lower tides, and the water is shallow - making it a great spot for families with kids. The reef area is very rocky so it’s worth bringing a pair of water shoes if you’re planning on spending a lot of time in the water. There isn’t much infrastructure on Playa Charquitos, but there are a few local food vendors selling fresh fruit and snacks - make sure to bring enough cash for these, as none of them accept card payments. In my experience, this one is a very peaceful beach and never gets too busy, so you can visit at any time of day without having to worry about the crowds some of the other beaches on San Andres draw. 7. La Piscinita Best for: Snorkeling - it’s one of the best spots you’ll find on the island. How to get there: Around 20 minutes by taxi or scooter from San Andrés town, located on the southwestern coast. Though not technically a sandy beach, La Piscinita is one of San Andrés’ top spots for water activities. This rocky cove features incredibly clear waters and calm conditions, making it perfect for snorkeling. La Piscinita (which translates to “The Little Pool”) is home to schools of colorful fish, coral formations, and sometimes even stingrays in the deeper areas. There’s a small entrance fee of $4,000 COP and snorkel gear is available to rent if you don’t have your own. You won’t find soft sand here, but there are sun loungers and platforms to relax on. There’s also a small bar where you can grab a drink or snack after your swim. If you're looking to spend a day snorkeling rather than sunbathing, La Piscinita is a must-visit. 8. Sound Bay Best for: Authentic local atmosphere with fewer tourists. How to get there: Take a taxi or scooter ride (about 15–20 minutes from downtown) to the southern part of the island. Located near the village of San Luis, Sound Bay offers a more local experience than many of the island’s other beaches. It’s a long, open stretch of coastline that feels refreshingly uncrowded, and it’s particularly popular with locals and expats. This was one of my favorite beaches on San Andres, because when we visited we pretty much had it to ourselves - a lot of people don’t seem to know about Sound Bay. It has a slightly rugged, windswept feel to it, and there are bigger waves here than the more northern beaches. There are a couple of family-run restaurants nearby where you can fish dishes, coconut rice, and patacones. There weren’t any sun loungers or chairs available to rent when I visited, so make sure you have a towel or blanket with you if you’re planning on staying for a few hours. 9. Ecoparque West View Best for: Adventurous swimming, cliff jumping, and snorkeling in a natural lagoon. How to get there: Located on the island’s west coast, about a 15-minute ride from San Andres town by taxi or scooter. This unique San Andres spot is more of a mini water park than a traditional beach. The Ecoparque West View is a natural ocean lagoon where you can jump into the water from diving platforms and there’s a fun slide to enjoy here as well. The area is surrounded by cliffs and coral reefs, with clear, fish-filled waters that are ideal for snorkeling. You’ll often find parrotfish, angelfish, and other tropical species swimming just below the surface. There’s an entry fee (typically around $5,000 COP), and both snorkel gear and lockers are available to rent for a reasonable price. 10. Playa Marrakech Beach Club Best for: A fun and lively beach day with music, food and drinks How to get there: Take a 15-minute taxi or scooter ride from San Andrés town, to the San Luis area on the island’s east coast. A lot of the beaches in San Andres are completely undeveloped, and are great places to enjoy the island's charm - but if you’re looking for a beach day with a bit more comfort, Playa Marrakech is a fantastic option. It’s a beach club made up of a waterfront area with cabanas and sun loungers, and a restaurant and bar area with a DJ. The atmosphere here is lively, and it's popular with Colombian travelers. The beach itself is beautiful, and it’s a great place to spend a day enjoying a slightly more upscale beach experience. It’s a far cry from the glamorous beach clubs you might find in Bali and Dubai, but it’s probably the closest thing you’ll find on San Andres. Prices vary depending on if there’s an event on or not. If there is no event taking place, you pay a fee for your cabana or lounger - prices don’t seem to be listed online, but we paid $35,000 COP per sun lounger. When there is an event taking place, you pay a higher price, but normally food and drink is included within your entry fee. It’s best to arrive mid-morning to grab a good spot, and while reservations aren’t always required, it’s a good idea to book during busier periods. You can check their instagram to see what events are on and make reservations. Where to Stay Near San Andres' Best Beaches San Andres is quite a small island but there are loads of accommodation options available. The best regions are downtown (El Centro), San Luis, or one of the many resorts along the east and west coasts. Below are my top three recommendations for all budgets. However, don't miss this up-to-date guide to where to stay on San Andres Island, Colombia for more picks and a rundown of the best neighborhoods to book. 1. In Di House of Reggae Boutique Reggae-styled hotel with a large outdoor pool and seating area. An on-site restaurant and colorful rooms with sea views. 1 km from Parceras Beach. 2. Aquamare Hotel Luxury Located only 200 m from Spratt Bight Beach, this 4-star hotel features an outdoor swimming pool, a restaurant, and a bar. Perfect for families or couples looking for a relaxing stay. 3. Villa San Miguel Villa Awesome apartments conveniently located in central near the airport and just a 2-minute walk from Spratt Bight Beach.

Tucked between the Caribbean Sea and the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountains, Santa Marta is one of Colombia’s most …

The post Where to Stay Santa Marta: Best Areas & Hotels appeared first on We Seek Travel.

Tucked between the Caribbean Sea and the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountains, Santa Marta is one of Colombia’s most geographically diverse and culturally rich cities. As the oldest Spanish settlement in South America, founded in 1525, the city’s long history can still be seen through its colonial architecture, palm-lined plazas, and weathered churches today. Santa Marta’s location on Colombia’s north coast makes it a strategic gateway to some of the country’s most iconic destinations, including Tayrona National Park, the Lost City trek, and Minca. Because of that, many travelers pass through quickly. But if you take the time to stay a few nights, you’ll find Santa Marta has more going for it than just its location. It’s a real mix of laid-back coastal living and everyday Colombian bustle, and my experience in the city definitely felt a lot more authentic than other spots I visited. Each of the Santa Marta neighborhoods has a distinctly different vibe, so it’s important to choose one that suits your trip. Whether you’re here for one night before Tayrona or settling in for a week on the coast, here’s everything you need to know about where to stay in Santa Marta. Table of Contents Where to Stay in Santa Marta: Neighborhood Overview My Top Santa Marta Accommodation Picks Stay in Centro Histórico Hotel Boutique Casa Carolina Oasis Fresh Hotel Masaya Santa Marta Stay in El Rodadero Tamacá Beach Resort Hotel Mandalas House Akela Gaira Hotel Stay in Taganga Divanga Hostel Vito Hotel Boutique Taganga Stay in Pozos Colorados or Bello Horizonte Marriott Resort Playa Dormida Casa Verano Santa Marta Where Should You Stay in Santa Marta? FAQ: About Staying in Santa Marta Is Santa Marta safe to stay in? How many days should I spend in Santa Marta? Best area for nightlife in Santa Marta? What’s the best beach area to stay in Santa Marta? Where to Stay in Santa Marta: Neighborhood Overview I visited Santa Marta twice and stayed in different areas each time, plus visited a handful of others throughout my time in the city. Most tourists stick to a handful of pockets around the city, and I would recommend staying in one of these listed below. There are a few different neighbourhoods I recommend staying in around Santa Marta, and each of them offers something slightly different. Below is a brief outline of what you can expect from each one: Centro Histórico: The historic heart of the city, filled with colonial architecture, lively plazas, and plenty of options when it comes to eating and drinking. El Rodadero: A bustling beachside area popular with families and domestic tourists, offering a lively atmosphere with plenty of restaurants, shops, and nightlife. Taganga: A laid-back fishing village mainly visited by backpackers and local tourists, known for its stunning sunsets, diving spots, and proximity to Tayrona National Park. Bello Horizonte & Pozos Colorados: Quieter, more residential areas with large hotels offering a more relaxed beach experience, great for those seeking a calm place to stay. I drove through a couple of more residential areas and noticed that there wasn’t much around (other than houses and the odd shop); staying in these areas would have felt quite isolated, and I’m not sure how comfortable I would have felt walking around after dark. My Top Santa Marta Accommodation Picks 1. Masaya Santa Marta Centro Histórico A modern & social hostel with ultimate comfort and a rooftop pool with incredible views. An ideal choice for solo travelers and digital nomads staying in Santa Marta’s historic center. 2. Akela Gaira Hotel El Rodadero A peaceful hillside escape with panoramic sea views, which is ideal for couples wanting a quiet, romantic stay close to the beach. 3. Marriott Resort Bello Horizonte The best luxury beachfront option in Santa Marta, perfect for unwinding in style after a big trek or celebrating something special. Stay in Centro Histórico Centro Histórico is the area I’d describe as the heart of Santa Marta. It’s a real blend of old and new; the streets are lined with colourful colonial buildings, but lots of them have been turned into modern cafes and shops. It’s quite similar to Cartagena in that way - but on a much smaller scale, and nowhere near as busy. The area is home to some of Santa Marta's main landmarks, such as the Cathedral Basilica of Santa Marta and the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, where Simón Bolívar spent his final days. As you would expect in the historic centre, you’ll find a lot of the city's historic attractions here, so it’s a good spot for activities like walking tours. There’s a lovely atmosphere here in the evenings, with a handful of bars and restaurants that spill out onto the streets, and the air is filled with the sounds of street vendors and local musicians. In my opinion, Centro Histórico is the most charming neighborhood to stay in during a visit to Santa Marta. Best For: Ideal for first-time visitors, history buffs, and anyone wanting to stay in a quaint location with plenty of places to eat and drink. Hotel Price Hotel Boutique Casa Carolina $$$ Oasis Fresh Hotel $$ Masaya Santa Marta $$ Hotel Boutique Casa Carolina Area: Centro Histórico Best for: Families or large groups wanting rooftop spa views overlooking the city. A stylish boutique hotel, located just a short walk from the main attractions, it's ideal for those wanting to stay in the heart of Santa Marta. There’s a beautiful courtyard with a small pool that has hanging sunbeds - they’d make a very relaxing place to retreat from the bustle of Centro Histórico if you need a bit of a break. There are only 15 rooms here, so service is top-notch, and the hotel has its own rooftop restaurant on-site, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. Book: Hotel Boutique Casa Carolina Oasis Fresh Hotel Area: Centro Histórico Best for: Couples looking for a comfortable budget stay! This is a great budget-friendly option in Centro Histórico, with modern and comfortable rooms. It’s very centrally located and surrounded by plenty of options for eating and drinking as well as exploring the area's top attractions. Although it’s a budget hotel, it offers really good value for money - there’s a rooftop terrace with a pool, and both the rooms and communal spaces are clean and well-maintained. If you’re just visiting Santa Marta for a night or two and want somewhere cheap to crash after exploring the city, this is a great shout. Book: Oasis Fresh Hotel Check out: Take a day trip to the nearby Tayrona National Park from Santa Marta to spot the elusive Cotton Top Tamarin. Masaya Santa Marta Area: Centro Histórico Best for: Solo Travelers & backpackers looking for an unbeatable hostel I stayed in a few Masaya hostels in Colombia, including this one in Santa Marta. They are a fantastic chain of higher-end hostels, which are still very reasonably priced. Staying in a Masaya dorm is a far cry from what you picture when you imagine a hostel - the beds are huge, incredibly comfortable, and have slide-down (blackout!) blinds, which makes your bunk feel like a private room. There's a beautiful rooftop pool area overlooking views of the Centro Histórico, and as well as sun loungers, there are loads of tables and little areas to sit at. It’s a great place to get some work done if you’re working remotely - wifi speeds are fast, and most of the tables have powerpoints nearby. Masaya runs regular events, with things like salsa classes, walking tours, and happy hour all happening weekly- if you’re a solo traveler, this is a great place to stay in Santa Marta. Book: Masaya Santa Marta Stay in El Rodadero El Rodadero is Santa Marta’s most popular beach destination. The area is known for its long white sand beach that’s set in front of a backdrop of lush green mountains - from the moment you arrive, you’ll see why it's so popular. There’s a boardwalk running alongside the beach, and both the boardwalk and the streets leading off it are lined with numerous restaurants, bars, and shops. There are a handful of attractions within the area, including the Rodadero Sea Aquarium and Museum, which is home to dolphins and sea turtles among many other species. It’s a popular place to stay, so it’s pretty busy year-round, with a mix of locals and tourists - there’s always a lively atmosphere. It’s probably the most diverse area within Santa Marta when it comes to food and drink; there are endless options of places to spend an evening, and the partying scene here is great. The beach is beautiful, but busy. Vendors walk up and down the long stretch and sell things all day, so don’t expect to come here to relax in peace and quiet - there are quieter beaches nearby which are better for that. Who It’s For: Groups, party animals, and anyone visiting Santa Marta who wants to stay somewhere lively. Hotel Price Tamacá Beach Resort $$$ Hotel Mandalas House $$$ Akela Gaira Hotel $$ Tamacá Beach Resort Area: El Rodadero Best for: Large groups wanting direct ocean access This place is situated right on the beach and has a huge swimming pool with sea views. The rooms are very spacious and have balconies, so this would be a great choice for groups or families visiting Santa Marta. Hotel Tamacá Beach Resort is located on a quieter stretch of El Rodadero, meaning you don’t need to worry about noise levels. There are still a handful of bars and restaurants nearby, though, and there are four different restaurants on-site as well. It’s got a real resort feel, so it's perfect if that’s what you’re looking for. Book: Tamacá Beach Resort Hotel Mandalas House Area: El Rodadero Best for: Groups or couples looking for a relaxing stay in a central location Hotel Mandalas House is a stylish boutique hotel located a few blocks away from El Rodadero Beach. The rooms are beautifully decorated and feel very luxurious, but despite this it’s priced very reasonably. This hotel only has 7 rooms for guests, so you can expect a very peaceful and secluded stay here. Despite its small size, there’s a lovely outdoor area which has a swimming pool and a shaded deck for relaxing. It’s only a 15-minute drive from Simon Bolivar airport, so this is a great place to stay if you’re flying in or out of Santa Marta. Book: Hotel Mandalas House Akela Gaira Hotel Area: El Rodadero Best for: Couples wanting a romantic escape but still close to El Rodadero This is a very unique place to stay in the hills overlooking El Rodadero. The rooms in Akela Gaira all have either sea or mountain views which the hotel have made the most of, by putting in large (virtually panoramic) windows, so that it almost feels like staying in a treehouse. Watching the sunset from your room at this vantage point is pretty special! There’s a pool and restaurant within the hotel, and it has a small and boutique kind of feel. The rooms are pretty basic, but have air conditioning and private bathrooms. There are some friendly dogs on site, and if you're lucky, you'll even have wild monkeys join you when swimming in the pool. Although the location feels very rural because of the epic views, the hotel is only located 1 km away from Rodadero beach. Book: Akela Gaira Hotel Stay in Taganga Taganga is a small fishing village just north of Santa Marta, offering a more laid-back atmosphere compared to the bustling city. It’s a real diving hotspot, and many people choose to base themselves here when exploring the teeming underwater world off the coastline of Santa Marta. I stayed in Taganga and wasn’t sure what to expect - the words ‘backpacker hotspot’ I had read online conjured up a certain image of a gentrified destination catering almost entirely to international travelers. I was really pleasantly surprised though; there’s a bit of a bohemian vibe with a handful of cool cafes and bars, but for the most part, it’s very much still a local fishing village turned domestic tourist holiday spot. There are heaps of local seafood restaurants and eating at these is one of the best parts of Taganga. They have small, simple menus, and before ordering you’re often shown what’s been caught that day so you can pick for yourself. Taganga is a great base for lots of activities - it’s known for its stunning sunsets, and provides easy access to incredible nearby beaches and hiking trails. All in all - it’s a great place to stay. Who It’s For: Ideal for solo travelers, backpackers, and those seeking a more relaxed and authentic experience. Hotel Price Divanga Hostel $$ Vito Hotel Boutique Taganga $$$ Divanga Hostel Area: Taganga Best for: Backpackers & diving enthusiasts looking for an epic stay for a great price I chose to book Divanga Hostel because it was the highest rated on Hostelworld, and I was really impressed with it. It’s located a few streets away from the main strip so it isn’t noisy, but there’s a nice pool area and communal space with a snooker table, so there’s still a good relaxed, social vibe. There’s a well-equipped kitchen (always a win when you’re staying in a hostel!), and they have a small bar that serves food if you don’t fancy cooking yourself. It’s a diving hostel, so you can take lessons if you’re planning on diving in your time in Santa Marta, but you’re able to stay here if you aren’t planning on diving. The dorm rooms are basic but very clean and have wifi and air conditioning. Divanga also has a few private rooms as well as dorms. Overall, I think this is the best hostel option in Taganga. Book: Divanga Hostel Vito Hotel Boutique Taganga Area: Taganga Best for: Couples or singles wanting a memorable stay This small boutique hotel is located a ten-minute walk from the beach, in a very peaceful area - the main street of Taganga can get quite busy with lots of traffic noise, but this area isn’t affected by it. The hotel is family-owned and is run by a friendly mother and daughter (Laura) team who make Vito feel like your home away from home. The rooms and terraces are decorated in a rustic, boho style, which makes the whole hotel blend into its surroundings - it’s situated amongst the trees, on a hill overlooking the sea. Breakfast is included in your booking, and the hotel puts on yoga classes and walking tours for guests as well. It’s a very simple hotel with great value for money, and it’s a great place to stay in Taganga. Book: Vito Hotel Boutique Taganga Stay in Pozos Colorados or Bello Horizonte These are two beach neighborhoods in Santa Marta, located close to the airport, around a 20-minute drive from the main downtown area. These beaches are where you’ll find most of the city's luxury, high-end hotels and resorts - there’s a mix of the big international brands like Mercure and Hilton, as well as independent accommodation options. The atmosphere in this area is a lot more laid-back than El Rodadero and Centro Histórico, and it attracts a lot of families and couples travelling from both Colombian cities and overseas. Both beaches are very calm and don’t get too crowded, and the waves are gentle and great for swimming. While the dining scene in this area doesn’t have as many options as other Santa Marta areas, there are still some great restaurants and beach clubs serving both Colombian and International food. Plus, the more lively areas are easily reachable by a short taxi ride - it’s around a 10-minute drive to El Rodadero, and 20 minutes to Centro Histórico. Although there are lots of upscale hotels and resorts in these neighborhoods, you’ll also find plenty of mid-range and more budget options if you choose to stay here. It’s also a great area to stay in if you’re looking for an apartment to rent, as the beach is lined with high-rise condos and many of these are rented out on a short-term basis. Who It’s For: Ideal for families, digital nomads, and luxury travelers looking for a safe, modern, and slightly more upscale experience in Santa Marta. Hotel Price Marriott Resort Playa Dormida $$$$ Casa Verano Santa Marta $$$ Marriott Resort Playa Dormida Area: Bello Horizonte Best for: Luxurious travellers or couples celebrating an anniversary If you’re looking for a resort experience and wondering where to stay in Santa Marta, the Marriott Playa Dormida is your best bet. It’s located in Bello Horizonte, right on the beach, and has access to its own private beach as well as a huge swimming pool. There are two restaurants on site as well as both a poolside and lobby bar. This is definitely a bit of a splurge, but it’s my top choice if you’re seeking a luxury stay in Santa Marta. It’s the perfect place to relax and treat yourself after a gruelling few days on the Lost city Trek, or if you’re visiting Santa Marta to celebrate a special occasion. Book: Marriott Resort Playa Dormida Casa Verano Santa Marta Area: Pozos Colorados Best for: Adults-only wanting a child-free vacation! This is a great mid-range hotel option in Pozos Colorados. It’s an adults-only hotel (so it promises a peaceful stay!), and I love how lush and green it is - the grounds are packed with trees and make it feel very rural. It’s a beachfront hotel so you don’t have to worry about walking too far back to your room after spending the afternoon enjoying the ocean. As well as this, there are a handful of restaurants and shops within a 15-minute walk, and the area feels very safe and well looked after. Casa Verano is a small hotel, so you can expect a more personal level of service than you might get at some of the larger hotels in Pozos Colorados, and the staff are incredibly friendly. Book: Casa Verano Santa Marta Where Should You Stay in Santa Marta? Choosing the right base in Santa Marta really depends on what kind of trip you’re planning: If you want to soak in the city’s colonial charm, lively nightlife, and be within walking distance of restaurants and historical sites, Centro Histórico is your best bet. If beach vibes and good nightlife appeal to you, El Rodadero is a great choice. For a more chilled, backpacker-friendly scene with direct access to diving, beautiful beaches, and great hikes, Taganga will suit you well. To relax in peace or on family trips, you might be well suited to Bello Horizonte or Pozos Colorados. FAQ: About Staying in Santa Marta Is Santa Marta safe to stay in? Yes, Santa Marta is generally safe for travelers, especially in the main tourist areas listed above. However, like most Colombian cities, petty theft can happen, so it's best to avoid walking alone at night in quiet areas and keep valuables out of sight (don't walk around flashing your phone or wallet). How many days should I spend in Santa Marta? I’d recommend at least 2–3 nights to properly experience what it has to offer. Spend a day exploring Centro Histórico, another day visiting nearby beaches or doing a Tayrona day trip, and if you’re planning on diving or relaxing, an extra night in Taganga or Bello Horizonte is worth it. Best area for nightlife in Santa Marta? El Rodadero has the liveliest nightlife scene, with beachfront bars, nightclubs, and lots of local and tourist-friendly spots open late. Centro Histórico also has a good evening vibe, especially around Parque de Los Novios, with live music and laid-back cocktail bars. What’s the best beach area to stay in Santa Marta? El Rodadero is the most popular beach area with a vibrant atmosphere and easy access to restaurants and activities. For a quieter experience, visit Bello Horizonte or Pozos Colorados as they’re less crowded and have calmer swimming conditions. Taganga Beach or nearby Playa Grande are also good picks. However, you do not need to stay near these beaches and all can be visited on a day trip. If your itinerary allows, I recommend splitting your time in Santa Marta. I stayed in Centro Histórico for a few nights to get a feel for the city, then went off to do the Lost City Trek and booked a relaxing stay by the beach when I returned. This was a really good way to split it and meant I got to fully appreciate the different sides to Santa Marta. The city isn’t huge, though, so you can easily choose one area to base yourself in and explore others during your stay if you’re only planning on visiting for a few days. I hope you have enjoyed this accommodation guide for where to stay in Santa Marta. For more travel guides, adventure inspiration, and activity ideas in Colombia, check out some of our other articles below! 3-Day Itinerary for Cartagena: Find the best things to do and see with this epic guide! Best of Medellín: My Perfect 3-Day Itinerary for exploring the best things to do in Medellín. Palomino Travel Guide: Check out the laid-back town of Palomino, 3 hours from Santa Marta. Getting from Santa Marta to Minca: The easiest ways to travel from Santa Marta to Minca or Cartagena. Accommodation resources: Discover where to stay in Cartagena, the best hotels in Medellin, and my Minca accommodation guide.

Lombok’s quiet coastal roads and jungle-lined mountain passes always felt like they were made for two wheels. After …

The post Lombok Loop: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on We Seek Travel.

Lombok’s quiet coastal roads and jungle-lined mountain passes always felt like they were made for two wheels. After circling the island countless times since my first visit in 2019, I realized the perfect way to tie its surf breaks, reefs, rice terraces, and volcano views into one seamless adventure was a four-day motorbike circuit—the Lombok Loop. The experience was born after several trips to Lombok and after documenting hundreds of activities and publishing the biggest free guide to adventures on the island. Together with my friend Dayat, founder of the Rasymadi Lombok Foundation, we fine-tuned the Loop into an epic group ride that shows travellers more of Lombok in four days than most see in two weeks. Over 450 km of empty coastal asphalt and highland switchbacks, we ride as a small group, staying in family-run homestays, guest houses, and hostels, sharing local food, and diving into Lombok’s best attractions straight off the bike. Our goal is simple: make this the most memorable adventure tour in Indonesia, this is the Lombok Loop. Table of Contents The Lombok Loop Concept Key Trip Facts How to Book the Lombok Loop What to Expect on the Lombok Loop Day 1 – Senggigi to Kuta Day 2 – Kuta to Sembalun Day 3 – Sembalun to the North Day 4: North Coast to Senggigi More History of the Lombok Loop The Lombok Loop Concept The Lombok Loop was inspired by Vietnam’s Ha Giang. We took the good; four-day circumnavigation, tight friendships, unbeatable scenery, scrapped the bad (crowds and convoy chaos), and reshaped it into an itinerary that covers the best of Lombok in just four days. What makes the loop different? Every guest rides pillion with a local rider, who you'll develop a very close relationship with over the four days. We employ local riders since they are the backbone of Lombok, know the roads, and they are the ones who truly make the experience. Oversized groups, self-drive rentals, and reckless races have no place on the Lombok Loop. Key Trip Facts Group size: 6–8 travelers (book early or wait for the next slot). Start/finish: Senggigi—take a small bag with you, large luggage can be securely stored until we return. Highlights: South-coast surf breaks, Tetebatu rice terraces and waterfalls, camping under Mount Rinjani in Sembalun, Tiu Kelep’s hidden cascades, and secret ridge viewpoints. What’s included: Safety gear, all meals daily, drinking water, snacks, all accommodations (shared with private upgrades), all fuel, rider salary, all entrance fees. What’s not: Alcohol, souvenirs, extra snacks or meals, coffees, rider tips, and any extra street-food indulgence you can’t resist. Riding setup: You + a dedicated local rider for the full loop—no self-drive options. More details: Full packing list, seasonal notes, and booking steps live on the Lombok Loop FAQ page. Trips are usually a tight-knit group of six to eight travelers and we intentially cap our numbers each week, so if you don't book ahead, you likely will miss out. Trips depart every Thursday morning from Senggigi. We’ve fine-tuned this itinerary over years of trial laps and local input. Everything’s dialed so you can focus on the ride—and make the Lombok Loop your most memorable adventure in Indonesia. How to Book the Lombok Loop The quickest way is to book directly on the Lombok Loop website. You can also message us on WhatsApp (+62 877-4900-9007)—our friendly local team can help answer any questions you may have. We also list the tour on GetYourGuide and Viator if you already manage trips through those apps, but their service charges make the final price a touch higher. Group size is capped at eight riders, so departures often sell out a week or two ahead; if your first-choice date is full, we’ll automatically offer the next available Thursday. Book: Lombok Loop Experience What to Expect on the Lombok Loop Every tour follows the same four-day rhythm—coastal rides, jungle climbs, local food, interacting with locals, and plenty of unplanned stops—yet we tweak the route each week to keep things fresh (and to stay one step ahead of the copycats). Below is a snapshot from my last ride with an especially lively crew. It hits the big moments without giving away every hidden nook we’ve scouted. Day 1 - Senggigi to Kuta We roll out of Senggigi just after sunrise, cutting up the switchbacks of Melase Hill for a full-island panorama that sets the tone for the trip. A quick drop into a roadside market follows, think sticky rice snacks, fresh coconut, and a chance to chat with vendors before the tourist buses show up. Mid-morning we pull into Dayat’s village for a ten-minute walk-through on traditional coconut oil making, then tuck into a home-cooked lunch. From there it’s throttle-open toward the south-coast beaches: Selong Belanak, Mawi, Mawun, and Tampah if the tides line up. Expect sand between your toes and a rotating lineup of warung snacks in your hand. Late afternoon, we aim our bikes at a hush-hush west-facing cove for sunset and that first “I can’t believe this is day one” moment. We overnight in a social hostel in Kuta (private upgrades available), regroup for dinner, then leave the evening free for you to explore Kuta’s bars or call it early for tomorrow’s mountain leg. Day 2 - Kuta to Sembalun We ease out of Kuta after breakfast, trading surf vibes for the rice-terraced backroads that snake toward Tetebatu. A quick pull-over at a Sasak weaving hamlet lets you watch hand-loomed songket in action before the asphalt turns to single-lane farm track, cutting through emerald rice paddies and sleepy villages. Late morning we duck into Tetebatu waterfall, a clear plunge pool, optional six-meter cliff jump, and a laid-back buffet spread of village dishes waiting when you towel off. From there, the road coils around Mount Rinjani’s southern flank, climbing into a misty monkey forest and topping out at a ridge lookout that feels borrowed from Middle-earth. By mid-afternoon, we descend into Sembalun, the alpine base camp for Rinjani treks, and roll straight onto our private campground. Tents are pre-pitched (bungalow upgrades if you’d rather four walls), dinner’s a Sumbawa-style buffet, and the night wraps around a bonfire with guitars, starlight, and maybe a local palm wine tasting if the group’s in the mood. Day 3 - Sembalun to the North Sunrise in Sembalun is a pure postcard and one of my personal favorite areas to stay in Lombok. Rinjani’s peak glows pink while you dig into a mountain view breakfast. We throttle out to a hilltop strawberry farm for a quick pick-and-taste session, then glide along one of Lombok’s prettiest stretches of tarmac, stopping at a cluster of traditional Sasak houses that still use woven bamboo walls and clay floors. The road tilts north toward Senaru, with detours for roadside snacks, and a peek inside Lombok’s oldest mosque. In Senaru we perch above Tiu Kelep waterfall for that classic curtain-of-water shot; hikers can make the short trek to the base, while the rest of us unwind at a hidden jungle-pool resort that will stay off Google for now. By mid-afternoon, we descend to the north-west coast for our final camp. Expect sunset sea views, a communal dinner, and a send-off party. Usuall,y we have a bonfire, fire-dance, karaoke, guitars, the works: capping the day and sealing new friendships with the Lombok Loop crew. Day 4: North Coast to Senggigi We break camp at a relaxed pace and point the bikes south along a ribbon of coast road most tourists never touch. Terraced rice paddies spill to the ocean on one side; on the other, jungle ridges hide half-forgotten waterfalls we’ll stop to admire from the saddle. After a quick kopi stop in a stilt-house warung, the ascent begins, tight mountain switchbacks rising toward the Pusuk monkey forest, where long-tailed macaques line the guardrails and Rinjani’s summit floats above the clouds. A final sweep brings us to the Malimbu headlands for one last drone-worthy panorama of the Gili Islands. From here it’s an easy roll back into Senggigi, our original starting point. We swap photos, hand back helmets, and, if past tours are any guide, start planning the reunion ride before the engines fully cool! More History of the Lombok Loop I first landed on Lombok in 2019, one year into what would become a seven-year round-the-world journey. While exploring the island’s surf-washed coastlines and still-wild interior, I met Dayat—founder of the non-profit Rasymadi Lombok Foundation, which teaches local kids English so they can work in Lombok’s growing tourism scene. I volunteered at his English club, and we quickly became friends. A few years later I returned, this time with more time, bikes, and a plan to trace every scenic back road on the island. Together, Dayat and I rode farther and asked more questions than any guidebook ever could, hunting down quiet reef bays, hidden waterfalls, and the best stretches of freshly paved coastal asphalt. The spark came from Vietnam’s Ha Giang Loop: if that route could showcase the north’s karst mountains in four days, why couldn’t a similar circuit reveal Lombok’s volcanoes, rice terraces, and coral-fringed beaches? We sketched a 450 km, four-day loop that balances riding with authentic stops—local homestays, warung lunches, quick reef swims, and sunrise treks up jungle trails. That first test ride proved the concept. Since then, we’ve refined the itinerary, capped group sizes for safety and community impact, and kept the experience rooted in Dayat’s local connections. The goal has never changed: turn a good motorbike trip into Indonesia’s most memorable adventure tour, while channeling real benefits back to the island families who host, guide, and feed every rider along the way.

I’ve been living on the road full-time for the past seven years, lugging my camera gear across the …

The post Atlas Adventure Camera Backpack Review for Travel & Hiking appeared first on We Seek Travel.

I’ve been living on the road full-time for the past seven years, lugging my camera gear across the world for my own adventures, photography jobs, tourism campaigns, and multi-day expeditions. My camera backpack is easily one of the most important pieces of gear I own, and over the years, I’ve tested quite a few. For the past two years, I’ve been using the Atlas Adventure Camera Backpack every single day. I live out of my bags, so I can only carry one, and this is the one I use when hiking in the Himalayas, carrying onboard flights, or shooting for hotel clients in the tropics. Honestly, it’s about time I shared a full review of this pack. Table of Contents Overview of the Atlas Adventure Camera Backpack Comfort Space Materials & Durability Does it Work as a Carry-On? What Would I Change About the Atlas Adventure Pack? Where to Buy This Pack Overview of the Atlas Adventure Camera Backpack The truth is, there’s no perfect camera backpack; everyone’s needs are different. But for me, this is the closest thing I’ve found. It’s the most versatile, most comfortable, and most durable camera pack I’ve used. Okay, I’m aiming for a fair review here and I’ll include a few things I’d change below but you’ve probably caught on by now that I’m a big fan of this pack. Here’s a quick rundown of the key features that make the Atlas Adventure stand out: Origami Camera Core: Unique single-fold system replaces bulky cubes - instantly adaptable to different gear setups. Trekking Pack Design: Built like a serious hiking pack with a proper internal frame, full-size hip belt, and padded shoulder straps. Expandable Capacity: Expands from a sleek 35L to a generous 60L - great for travel and multi-day treks. Airline-Compatible: Fits under most airplane seats while still carrying a full kit (even for alpine or remote expeditions). Adventure-Ready Storage: Enough room for jackets, layers, food, and technical gear. Pocket Game Strong: So many pockets I don’t even use them all but they’re there when you need them. Laptop Ready: Full-sized laptop sleeve fits my 16-inch MacBook Pro easily. Size Customization: Comes in different torso sizes - properly fitted to your body like a real trekking pack. Full Specs: Atlas Adventure Backpack Comfort I’ve used a lot of camera packs over the years including the popular F-Stop Tilopa, Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II, and others. They’re all great at protecting gear and ticking travel boxes. But none of them felt truly comfortable to hike with. That’s where the Atlas Adventure stands out. Most camera backpacks are built around the gear not the person carrying it. And when you're lugging a heavy load through airports, up mountains, or across multi-day treks (especially with primes and telephotos at 6,000+ meters altitude), comfort quickly becomes the most important feature. This pack is built like a real hiking backpack, and that's the most important feature for me. Shoulder Straps: Genuinely the thickest I’ve used on a camera pack. More like what you’d find on an Osprey or Deuter trekking pack. That said, they’re almost too thick for a Peak Design Capture Clip but there’s a clever strap running down the front that works as a mounting point. Hip Belt: Wide, dense, and properly shaped (ensure you get the full hiking belt, not the airport belt). This isn’t an afterthought; it’s a hiking-grade load-bearing belt that actually works when the bag is fully packed. Torso Sizing: Maybe the most important part. Atlas offers different pack sizes based on torso length, and they’ll guide you through the fitting process when you order. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all pack, it’s fitted like a serious hiking pack should be. If you're carrying real weight and doing real travel, this is the kind of comfort that matters. Alternative: Atlas Athlete Atlas makes two backpacks, the second is the Atlas Athlete, a smaller, leaner pack that's arguably the most popular. I prefer the Adventure because I carry a lot of gear, but check out how the Athlete compares below. Compare: Atlas Athlete Pack Space The second most important thing is how a backpack manages your gear, and how much room is left for everything else you actually need when traveling and hiking. When I’m in the mountains, this is my day pack. It’s bigger than everyone else’s, sure, but I’m usually loaded up with camera bodies, drones, and multiple lenses. Even with all that, I still manage to fit jackets, water bottles, snacks, and layers for the hike. If you want to know what camera gear I carry, it's easier to watch the video above or read my current camera gear guide here. Drink Holders on Both Sides: Fits standard bottles, and there’s also an internal sleeve for a hydration bladder. Full-Sized Laptop Sleeve: Carries my 16-inch MacBook Pro securely. This is how I travel with both my camera kit and mobile office through airports and across continents. Two External Pockets: I hardly use them, but they’re there for filters, jackets, or other quick-access items. Stretch Front Pocket: Elastic and deep, I always stash a down jacket or Gore-Tex layer here on hikes. Massive Lid Compartment: The biggest I’ve seen on a camera pack. Even when it’s empty, it wraps neatly over the top thanks to the clever shaping. Inside are three zip pockets for organizing smaller items. Top Drawstring Compartment: Where I pack hiking clothes, food, towels, or whatever else I need depending on the day. Easy to access and compresses well. Side Compression Straps: Thoughtfully placed — essential when the pack’s fully loaded. One downside: when it’s packed to capacity, the bag looks massive. That’s not ideal when flying budget airlines. But I’ve gotten around this by cinching everything down with the compression straps — helps it look more compact, and so far, it’s worked. Materials & Durability After two years of daily use through airports, expeditions in Nepal and Pakistan, and island hopping in Asia and the Pacific, the Atlas Adventure Camera Backpack has proven to be exceptionally durable. Key Materials: 240D Double Ripstop Shell: The exterior is crafted from a 240-denier double ripstop fabric, providing a balance between lightweight design and resistance to abrasions and tears. Honestly I don't know much about what this means but I know I haven't got any rips on the outside and I'm pretty rough with it. Weather Resistance: The pack features water-resistant materials and water-tight zippers on the exterior compartments, offering protection against snow and light rain. But when it really pours, you'll want to use the rain cover that's also included. YKK Zippers & Duraflex Buckles: High-quality YKK zippers and Duraflex buckles are used throughout. These I do know, and show the quality and offer real reliability in demanding conditions, including ice and heat. Real-World Performance: I’ve dragged this backpack over rocks, ice, exposed it to saltwater on longtail boats, and left it in extreme cold during high-altitude treks. Despite this, the pack has shown no signs of wear or failure. I'm honestly kind of surprised that the materials have held up so well, with no rips, tears, or broken components to date. Does it Work as a Carry-On? Short answer: yes — as long as you compress it properly. The Atlas Adventure Backpack is deliberately designed to fit within most airline carry-on size limits. The listed dimensions are roughly 21.5 x 13.5 x 9 inches (55 x 34 x 23 cm), which keeps it just within standard international cabin baggage limits, typically around 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 x 36 x 23 cm). And at real airports, over two years of full-time travel, I’ve never been forced to check it, even on budget airlines which is what I usually fly. That said, the real issue is weight, not size. Fully loaded with camera gear, the pack EASILY exceeds airline carry-on weight limits (usually 7–10 kg). I usually work around this by stuffing my jacket pockets with lenses before check-in and it hasn't failed me yet. The downside here is that the pack is one of the heaviest camera backpacks for travel (5.95 pounds or 2.7 kg) and built like a legit trekking pack, which is great for support but not for airport scales. Most airlines have a 7 kg (15.4 lb) carry-on weight limit, and due to the weight of the pack I can only ever get away with my laptop, one lens, and a jacket in the bag; the rest go in my jacket or pants pockets until I get to security. What Would I Change About the Atlas Adventure Pack? There’s honestly very little I’d change. I think I’ve found my pack for life. Well, until something truly groundbreaking comes out. All the big boxes are ticked: comfort, space, durability, and carry-on compatibility. But if we’re being thorough, here are a few points worth noting: Weight: At around 2.7 kg (5.95 lb) empty, it’s heavier than most camera packs. If there were a way to shave off some weight without compromising comfort or structure, I’d be all for it. That said, I’d rather carry a few extra grams than deal with flimsy straps or back pain. Price: It’s expensive, no getting around that. But this is a pack you’ll likely use for a decade or more. For serious travel photographers, it’s more of a long-term investment than a splurge. After a long stretch in the tropics, I noticed a bit of mold developing on the camera straps. It was easy enough to clean off with vinegar and hot water, and importantly, nothing got inside the pack. But it would be great if the exterior materials had better mold resistance... maybe a different coating or fabric blend? Overall, these are minor gripes for a pack that’s carried my gear across the world without fail. Where to Buy This Pack The best place to purchase the Atlas Adventure Camera Backpack is directly from Atlas Packs. They offer personalized fitting support, just measure your torso length and select the appropriate size, or reach out to their team for assistance. This ensures you get a pack that fits your body properly, which is crucial for comfort during long treks or long travel trips.

Most travelers skip the Solomons and book a poolside holiday in Fiji instead. But be honest, are you …

The post Solomon Islands Itinerary: 1 Week in the Western Provinces appeared first on We Seek Travel.

Most travelers skip the Solomons and book a poolside holiday in Fiji instead. But be honest, are you really going to remember that fourth spa cocktail? Or will you remember hiking through rainforest to a jungle waterfall on Kolombangara, snorkeling over coral gardens at Imagination Island, or paddling a dugout canoe through a mangrove forest to a remote village in Rendova? That’s why I visited the Solomon Islands, and that’s why I’ve put together this itinerary. It’s adapted from the exact trip I took through the Western Provinces, and if you’re a regular reader of We Seek Travel, you already know what to expect: it’s fast-paced, packed with adventure, and includes both the iconic highlights and the lesser-known spots you won’t find on most blogs. Of course, even if you’re not going that deep, this itinerary should give you plenty of ideas to shape your own Solomon Islands adventure. Table of Contents Solomon Islands Itinerary Overview Travel Logistics Day 1: Arrival in Munda Day 2: Kolombangara Island & Journey to Imbu Rano Day 3: Gizo, Imagination Island & Fatboys Resort Day 4: Kennedy Island, Diving & Snorkeling Adventures Day 5: Zipolo Habu, Skull Island & Vonavona Lagoon Day 6: Titiru Eco Lodge & Cultural Encounters Day 7: Mangroves, Dugouts & Return to Munda My Final Thoughts About Adventure Travel in the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands Itinerary Overview This itinerary focuses on the Western Province, easily the most rewarding region for travelers in the Solomons. It’s where you’ll find the country’s best dive sites, clearest lagoons, and most accessible islands. More importantly, it’s the only region with anything resembling consistent tourism infrastructure, though even that’s still pretty raw. Here’s what to expect from this itinerary: Island-hopping by boat across Munda, Gizo, Kolombangara, Simbo, Rendova & more Jungle hikes to remote waterfalls and volcanic craters World-class snorkeling and SCUBA diving, including Njari Island and Kennedy Island Authentic cultural experiences in small villages like Ughele and Simbo WWII history, including Skull Island and the Peter Joseph Museum Eco-lodges and rustic beachfront resorts, all locally owned and community-focused Don't Miss: Guide to Where to Stay in the Solomon Islands Travel Logistics The most convenient way to explore the Western Province is to fly in and out of Munda, which has direct flights from Brisbane and domestic connections to Honiara. Munda is compact and walkable, with boat access to many nearby islands, making it a perfect jumping-off point for this itinerary. Tip: We did this itinerary in just one week, but I’ll be honest... it was fast-paced. If you’ve got the time, I’d recommend stretching it out to two weeks to properly soak up each location and slow the pace a little. That said, it’s absolutely doable in one if you’re short on time (like we were), especially if you keep transfers efficient and skip a rest day. You can also adjust this plan easily, spend more time at places like Fatboys or Titiru, and cut or shuffle stops depending on your interests. Day 1: Arrival in Munda Visit: Peter Joseph WWII Museum, Roviana Lagoon sunset cruise Stay at: Qua Roviana Guest House or Agnes Gateway Hotel Fly into Munda Airport (MUA). This is the most convenient entry point to the Western Province with direct flights from Brisbane and regular connections from Honiara. You’ll land right by the water, and it’s less than five minutes on foot to Qua Roviana Guest House or Anges Gateway Hotel. These offer a great base for your first night and is what I used as a launchpad for my itinerary through the Western Provinces. Both are right near the village pier and ideal for a short stop. Room at Agnes Gateway After dropping your bags, head to the Peter Joseph WWII Museum, a private collection just outside Munda town. The owner, Barney has collected hundreds of relics from the jungle and reefs, weapons, helmets, even aircraft fragments! Barney is a great storyteller and overall great person. He shared some really interesting stories you won’t find online and I love to see someone so passionate about their interests, it's really infectious. In the late afternoon, if you have time, I recommend joining a sunset cruise on Roviana Lagoon, which you can book through Agnes Gateway Hotel. The boat departs from the waterfront deck and cruises past scattered islands and local villages. If you’re short on time, simply grab a beer and watch the sunset from Agnes' open-air restaurant. They also serve some of the best seafood I've tried in the Solomons (go for the coconut fish), and have the best atosphere in Munda. Just don't get sucked into the Karaoke because day 2 of this Solomon Islands travel itineary involves an early start! Day 2: Kolombangara Island & Journey to Imbu Rano • Visits: Miles Falls hike, Kolombangara rainforest, birdwatching • Stay at: Imbu Rano Lodge, Kolombangara Island Start the day early with a boat transfer from Munda across to Kolombangara Island, a perfectly round volcanic island dominated by dense rainforest and mist-covered ridges. Boats usually depart from the Munda town pier and land at Ringi Cove, the main dock on the island. From here, it’s a rugged 4WD ride (around 45 minutes) inland to Imbu Rano Lodge, perched high on the slopes of the extinct volcano. The road climbs steadily through logging tracks and jungle, with stunning views toward the crater rim. Imbu Rano means mountain mist Imbu Rano is one of the most unique places you can stay in the Solomons, a quiet eco-lodge run by Kolombangara Island Biodiversity Conservation Association (KIBCA). You’ll sleep in a timber cabin surrounded by untouched forest, with panoramic views of the valley below. You can contact them directly to book via the KIBCA website here, or ask Agnes Gateway Hotel or Qua Roviana Guest House to help arrange it in advance. It’s not on most travel radars, but it's one of the most worthwhile stops on this itinerary. After arriving and settling in, relax on the deck with a coffee or lunch, the lodge usually serves simple, hearty meals. In the afternoon, ask your guide to take you on a short hike through the rainforest. You can walk down to the nearby river or continue on to Miles Falls, a series of waterfalls about 2 hours' hike downhill from the lodge. This is a great area for birdwatching, especially in the early evening. Kolombangara is home to several endemic species, including the Kolombangara white-eye and the incredibly rare Roviana rail. Even if you're not a birder, the forest here is pristine and completely quiet — perfect for just sitting back and taking it in. Return to the lodge before dark for dinner and a night completely off the grid, no reception, no traffic, just the sounds of the forest. Easily one of my favorite experiences in the Solomon Islands. Viewing deck at Imbu Rano Day 3: Gizo, Imagination Island & Fatboys Resort • Visits: Gizo town, snorkeling at Imagination Island Resort • Stay at: Fatboys Resort, Gizo Leave Imbu Rano early and take the boat back to Gizo, passing volcanic peaks, reef-fringed islets, and classic Solomon views along the way. This stretch is one of the most scenic legs of the itinerary, keep your camera out. On arrival, stop for lunch at Imagination Island Resort, just a few minutes by boat from Gizo harbor. This tiny manmade island is built entirely over the reef, and if you have time for only one snorkel in Gizo, this is the spot. The reef here is surprisingly vibrant, we spotted reef sharks, large schools of fish, and bright red fan corals growing right beneath the overwater restaurant deck. Totally unexpected. You can jump in straight from the jetty, and there’s even a small beach for sunbathing between swims. After lunch and a snorkel session, take a short boat ride into Gizo town for a quick look around. Walk through the market, pick up a carved souvenir, or grab a cold drink at PT-109 Bar. It’s worth a visit, but you won’t need long. From town, transfer by boat to Fatboys Resort, set on a private island just across the water. This was easily my favorite place to stay in the Solomon Islands. The overwater bungalows, laid-back vibe, and panoramic reef views make it the perfect spot to slow down after a few high-energy days. Spend the afternoon relaxing in your bungalow or, if you’re still feeling adventurous, ask the team about renting a polycraft boat, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard to explore the surrounding reefs and islets. If you can, ask them about doing a “wine down” sunset session, a short boat trip to a nearby sandbar for drinks as the sun dips below the ocean. It’s a casual but epic way to finish off the day. Dinner is served back at the main deck restaurant, and like everything at Fatboys, it’s laid-back, local, and exactly what you want after a long day in the tropics. Day 4: Kennedy Island, Diving & Snorkeling Adventures Visits: Kennedy Island, wreck dive (The Tao Maru), Gizo reef system Stay at: Fatboys Resort, Gizo Wake up at Fatboys and take full advantage of your location, this is hands down the best base for snorkeling and diving in the Western Province! If you're short on time, make today count. Start the morning with a trip to Kennedy Island, just a short boat ride from the resort. This is a historic island where John F. Kennedy and his crew swam ashore after their patrol boat, PT-109, was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer during WWII. You’ll see a basic sign explaining the story, but the real highlight is chatting with Joel, the island’s caretaker, he’ll happily walk you through the full story. You can snorkel straight off the beach or go for a shallow scuba dive here, the reef is healthy, full of life, and ideal for beginners or those easing back into the water. If you're certified and feeling confident, don’t miss a dive at the Tao Maru, a massive 140-meter Japanese transport ship sunk during WWII just outside Gizo. This was easily one of the best dives of the entire trip, coral-encrusted superstructure, swim-throughs, and tons of marine life. Conditions are usually calm, and the visibility was excellent when we went. Even if you're not diving, Fatboys can arrange snorkel trips to nearby reef sites with crystal-clear water and incredible coral. Back at the resort, you can spend the afternoon however you like. There’s kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, polycraft rentals, or just grab a hammock and relax over the water with a drink in hand. Dinner is served at the overwater restaurant, where you’ll likely end up sharing dive stories with other guests as reef sharks circle below the deck lights. Day 5: Zipolo Habu, Skull Island & Vonavona Lagoon • Visits: Skull Island, Vonavona Lagoon, fishing or a bushwalk • Stay at: Zipolo Habu Resort, Lola Island From Fatboys, take a morning boat transfer west through the reef system and into the Vonavona Lagoon ,a calm, mangrove-lined waterway surrounded by small villages and untouched jungle. After about an hour boat trip through some of the most picturesque waterways I've ever seen, you’ll arrive at Zipolo Habu Resort, located on Lola Island, just across from the village of New Georgia. Zipolo Habu is laid-back and low-key, with timber bungalows set among tropical gardens and a breezy open-air restaurant overlooking the lagoon. It’s a favorite among game fishers, divers, and yachties, but still under the radar for most travelers. You can arrange your stay directly or have Fatboys help coordinate the boat transfer and booking. After lunch, organize a short boat trip to Skull Island, just five minutes from the resort. This sacred site is home to dozens of human skulls placed in traditional shrines, a powerful reminder of the Solomons’ headhunting past. Entry requires a small fee and a local guide, both of which the Zipolo team can arrange. It’s one of the most unique and culturally significant sites in the Western Province. In the afternoon, you’ve got options. Head out on a fishing trip with the Zipolo crew, walk the short bush trail behind the resort, or just chill in a hammock with a cold beer. The resort is surrounded by jungle, and the water is calm enough for a swim right off the beach. Dinner is served at the restaurant, usually something freshly caught, and the vibe is super relaxed. After four big days, this is a great place to slow the pace before heading to Rendova. Day 6: Titiru Eco Lodge & Cultural Encounters • Visits: Ughele Village, Lubaria Island, Rainbow Beach • Stay at: Titiru Eco Lodge, Rendova Island Take a boat transfer from Zipolo Habu across Vonavona Lagoon and Blackett Strait to Titiru Eco Lodge, tucked into a mangrove-lined cove on Rendova Island. Titiru isn’t a resort, it’s a locally run eco-lodge offering something much rarer: connection to place and people. When we arrived, we were welcomed with a full cultural demonstration by members of the local community. I’m not sure if this is standard for all guests, but if you get the chance, don’t miss it. It was honestly one of the most engaging cultural experiences I’ve had anywhere. Over 14 different stations, locals demonstrated everything from traditional cooking methods and storytelling to weaving, carving, and even how they make toys from jungle materials. It really felt like a real effort to share their knowledge and way of life. It stuck with me more than any museum ever has. After lunch, join the lodge’s Coconut Palm & Forest Bush Walk, which takes you through the rainforest to Ughele Village. Your guide will show you how local plants are used for food, medicine, and tools, it’s practical knowledge, passed down for generations. Later in the afternoon, take a boat ride out to Lubaria Island, an off-grid spot with ties to the WWII John F. Kennedy story. On the return trip, stop at Rainbow Beach, a quiet bay with soft sand and vibrant reef just out from the Mangroves. Great for a relaxed snorkel to end the day. Dinner is served back at the lodge, and the atmosphere here is peaceful and real. No generators, no Wi-Fi — just the sounds of the forest and the feeling that you’ve truly arrived somewhere special. Day 7: Mangroves, Dugouts & Return to Munda • Visits: Optional activities from Titiru Eco Lodge • Stay at: Qua Roviana Guest House or Agnes Gateway Hotel, Munda After a packed week, Titiru is the perfect place to slow down. Spend the morning unwinding or pick from a handful of low-key activities, just speak with the team at the lodge and they’ll sort it out for you. You can go crabbing in the mangroves, paddle a traditional dugout canoe, take a guided medicinal plant walk, try hand-line fishing, or just go for a kayak and explore the coastline. There’s also a forest trail behind the lodge if you feel like stretching your legs one last time. If you're tight on time, you’ll want to leave in the late morning or early afternoon for a boat transfer back to Munda, around 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the route and sea conditions. For your final night, stay at either Qua Roviana Guest House or Agnes Gateway Hotel — both are close to the airport, making it easy for an early flight out. Most international routes will take you via Honiara, with onward connections back to Brisbane or other hubs. Whether you're flying home or continuing your island travels, a final sunset by the lagoon is the right way to wrap up the trip. My Final Thoughts About Adventure Travel in the Solomon Islands I had a genuinely great time exploring the Solomon Islands. It was a refreshing change of pace, raw, real, and completely different from anywhere else I’ve traveled in the Pacific. Even after a fast-paced week bouncing between islands, it left me wanting more. If I did it again, I’d stretch this itinerary out to two weeks to give each place a bit more breathing room. But whether you follow this plan closely or just use it for ideas, I hope it’s helped you get a feel for what’s possible — and I hope you fall in love with the Solomons like I did. Taggio tumas!

Off the Beaten Track Travel Guide & Blog

Chukotka is Russia’s most remote region and the easternmost point of Eurasia. It’s an intriguing land whose ancient traditions have been shaped by the large presence of whales, walruses and reindeers, animals that feature in local folklore, songs, music, customs, cuisine, and daily life. Chukotka is so remote that it truly feels like the end […]

Chukotka is Russia’s most remote region and the easternmost point of Eurasia. It’s an intriguing land whose ancient traditions have been shaped by the large presence of whales, walruses and reindeers, animals that feature in local folklore, songs, music, customs, cuisine, and daily life. Chukotka is so remote that it truly feels like the end of the world, a land that remains almost unknown even to most Russians, and where the Chukchi culture survives in one of the planet’s most isolated environments, sustained by reindeer herding and marine mammal hunting. Visiting Chukotka has been one of the most fascinating travel experiences of my life. This travel guide will tell you everything you need to know for traveling to Chukotka. You will be interested in: Russia travel guide In this travel guide to Chukotka, you will find: Table of Contents Quick facts Why travel Chukchi people Whaling Getting there Moving around 
Money Where to stay Internet Places to visit More Information Quick, curious facts Capital Anadyr Total population Around 50,000 people Distance from Moscow About 7,000km Distance from Alaska mainland 85 km, between Cape Dezhnev (Chukotka, Russia) and Cape Prince of Wales Size Roughly the size of Turkey, 737,700 km² Time zone Chukotka Time (UTC+12), 10 hours ahead of Wester Europe Introduction: Why I traveled to Chukotka, and why you should travel there as well I’ve always been drawn to places that are unknown and remote, and for years, I was intrigued by what might be hidden in this remote corner of Russia, a region that nobody knows, and where nobody goes. Interesting to mention is that even the Russia edition of Lonely Planet doesn’t mention Chukotka once. Traveling to Chukotka came by chance. I was offered a spot on an exploratory expedition with a group of Russians, and I didn’t think twice. However, Chukotka isn’t just epically remote, but it’s home to a culture that has survived in total isolation, in the harshest conditions ever. The Chukchi still herd reindeer and hunt marine mammals, holding on to traditions that have lasted for centuries. We’re used to seeing animals like walruses or whales in uninhabited places, but in Chukotka it’s striking to witness how these mammals shape every part of local life. Remoteness, a unique living culture, and the chance to explore a place almost no foreigner has seen—those are the reasons that took me to Chukotka. Read: How meet the Nenets in Yamalia The Chukchi, the indigenous people from Chukotka The Chukchi are the main ethnic group of Chukotka. They are closely related to the Arctic peoples commonly known as Eskimos – today referred to as Inuit in Canada and Greenland – and Yupik in Russia, with whom they share a common culture. Traditionally, the Chukchi are divided into two groups: reindeer Chukchi, who live across the tundra with their herds, and maritime Chukchi, who live along the coast and depend on hunting whales, walruses, and seals. Reindeer Chukchi Maritime Chukchi Chukchi culture has been deeply shaped by the Arctic environment, visible in their songs and folklore, as well as in a cuisine which heavily relies on whale, walrus and reindeer. Despite Soviet efforts of sedentarization and assimilation into the Russian culture, Chukchi traditions, language and culture prevales, and reindeer herding and whale hunting continues to be central to their identity and survival. This is the stomach of a walrus Traveling to such a remote area is incredibly epic, but coexisting with these isolated communities and learning about their customs is such a uniquely rewarding experience. A Chukchi person with his reindeers The Chukchi and their whale hunting in Chukotka The Chukchi people practice a very controversial activity: whale hunting. Today, travelers can spend a few days with the community of whalers, learn about their traditions, and, if weather allows, join one of their hunting expeditions. A dead gray whale on the shore of Lorino in Chukotka As a traveler, however, it is important to understand the context behind this practice Chukotka is extremely remote and isolated, with permafrost making the land unsuitable for farming Basic goods are super expensive, there’s shortage of fruits and vegetables and small settlements receive supplies only once a year to last through winter. On this conditions, whale meat is an essential part of the Chukchi diet, consumed every day in pretty much all their meals as a source of vitamins. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is aware of this issue, which is why Chukchi people are legally allowed to hunt whales, but on the following conditions: Only traditional methods Whales can only be hunted using traditional methods: by hand, with spears, and without machinery. That is how they hunt, with this big harpoon Limited yearly quota The yearly quota for the entire Chukotka region is: 130 gray whales 2-3 Greenland (bowhead) whales 18 belugas It is strictly forbidden to hunt orcas or humpback whales because they are considered endangered. Trade is not allowed All whale products are for personal consumption. Trade is strictly forbidden by both the International Whaling Commission and Russian law. Dragging a whale into the shore It’s for the local people, and it’s for free After catching a whale, hunters drag it to the shore where the entire village gathers to claim their share of meat, completely free. The whale is usually butchered in less than three hours, leaving nothing but the tail. Witnessing this process is astonishing. The whalers themselves work for a legal entity recognized by the authorities and receive a salary for their efforts, but the meat are distributed to the people without charge. Read: How to travel to Chechnya The start of the whale butchering How to get to Chukotka Chukotka is so remote that there are no roads or railways linking it with the rest of Russia — and there probably never will be. The closest train station is in Yakutsk, the capital of Yakutia, more than 2,300 km away from Anadyr, both capitals separated by endless frozen tundra, where no road will ever be built. The only way in is to fly. From Moscow, Aeroflot operates just one or two flights a week to Anadyr Airport (DYR). It’s an 8-hour flight journey. By the way, you may also fly into Anadyr from Krasnoyarsk (heart of Siberia), Khabarovsk (near Vladivostok) and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (Kamchatka). Remember that because of the sanctions, it’s not possible to book directly through Aeroflot’s website, but you can still get your tickets via aviasales.com. For more information, check our Russia travel guide. The airport of Anadyr features some pretty cool stuff How to travel around Chukotka You made it to Anadyr, and that’s amazing. You should already be proud of yourself, since not many foreign travelers can actually brag about getting here. But Anadyr, like the rest of Chukotka, is just a tiny town lost in the middle of frozen tundra. No roads, no trains, nothing. If you want to travel to other parts of the region, your only option is to fly. To make things even more challenging, the only airline in Chukotka is Chukotavia, a local carrier that operates with small, Soviet-style 26-seat aircrafts. You can check their website (only in Russian) here, just for your curiosity, since reservations are only taken by phone, plus flights don’t really follow a regular schedule, but they are based on demand and weather. In winter, they might not fly at all. Even Russians struggle to book a ticket with them, especially because one must book seats several months in advance. That’s why independent travel is so hard in Chukotka. This is the typical terrain of Chukotka, wet tundra, impossible to travel around on normal cars Money & budget in Chukotka In Chukotka, they use the Russian Ruble, just like in the rest of Russia. For further information currency and payment restrictions in Russia, check the money section of our Russia travel guide. Because of the sanctions, foreign bank cards are useless in Russia, and that includes Chukotka. Can you exchange Euros or US dollars in Chukotka? You might be able to exchange foreign currency into Russian rubles at Sberbank in Anadyr, although I haven’t tried it myself — so it’s safer to exchange your money in Moscow before flying in. What I can confirm is that outside Anadyr you will not be able to exchange or use foreign currency at all, so I strongly recommend bringing enough cash in rubles for the entire trip, especially since local banks have very limited opening hours. How much money do you need to bring for Chukotka? Chukotka is really expensive compared to anywhere else in Russia, especially Where to stay in Chukotka Accommodation options are very limited in Chukotka, and often difficult to arrange. Where to stay in Anadyr There is one hotel in Anadyr available on Ostrovok app (Russian equivalent of booking.com) but it’s quite expensive, usually around 150 EUR a night. There are a few more hotels in the city, but booking them in advance is difficult, since most rooms are reserved for airline crew or people coming for a specific business purpose. Tourists can only stay there if those rooms are free, something you won’t know until the very last minute. As an alternative, most travelers stay in private apartments. However, these are not listed on any platform and can only be arranged through a local contact. A very big seal, somewhere in Chukotka Where to stay outside of Anadyr In the villages across Chukotka, there aren’t any hotels, but the only option is staying in local apartments. However, these are not “tourist apartments” but actual lived-in homes. You’ll have the whole place to yourself, but it often feels as if the people living there just stepped out a few minutes before your arrival. How clean and tidy your apartment is will highly depend on your host. In my case, when I stayed in Lorino for a week, the assigned apartment was messy: toothbrushes left behind, underwear drying on the heater, etc. Yet, we were paying €1,000 per week for a very basic two-bedroom apartment with a shared bathroom. Once again, having a local contact is essential if you want to arrange accommodation in Chukotka. Internet in Chukotka I bought the HolaFly eSIM for Russia. It worked in Anadyr, but I had no service anywhere outside the capital. I also had a physical SIM card from Megafon, which is supposed to have the best coverage in the region. I managed weak 3G in Lavrentiya, but there was zero coverage in Lorino, where we stayed for a week. Some apartments in Lorino had Wi-Fi, but if it worked at all, it was extremely slow, not even good for WhatsApp. Therefore, just assume you’ll be offline anywhere outside of Anadyr. For more information on how to get a SIM card, blocked websites, etc., check the internet section of our travel guide to Russia. Places to visit in Chukotka This is a personal travel blog, and this travel guide to Chukotka is based on my own trip. I spent 2 weeks in different towns from the southeastern coast of Chukotka, coexisting with the Chukchi communities settled on the shores of the Pacific. Visiting that part of Chukotka is a different trip, usually done by cruise, with prices similar to those of Antarctica or Svalbard. My trip to Chukotka was different, more ethnographic. We spent most of our time with local communities, even though we also encountered a lot of wildlife and even reached the easternmost cape. Here are the places I visited on my trip to Chukotka. Map of the places to visit in Chukotka Anadyr, capital of Chukotka Home to around 15,000 people, Anadyr is the capital of Chukotka and the main port of entry into the region. Surrounded by endless tundra, and inaccessible by anything other than a plane or a boat, intrepid travelers will find Anadyr fascinating, a frozen city made up of Soviet blocks colored in random colors, and where’s virtually nothing to do other than walking around a desolate harbour while spotting seals and belugas in the bay. Anadyr is as stark as you probably imagined, and that’s what is cool about it. Chukchi people make up only about 15% of the population here, with the rest being Russians from all over the country. I even met a guy from North Ossetia (in the Caucasus) who had been living in Anadyr for 8 years. Abandoned nuclear facilities in Anadyr Due to its strategic position near Alaska, Chukotka was heavily militarized during the Soviet Union, especially during the Cold War. The legacy is still visible in abandoned military settlements and in an underground nuclear base near Anadyr. Formerly called Anadyr-1, the base consists of a set of underground tunnels built into the permafrost, where nuclear missiles were kept on standby and aimed at Anchorage and Seattle. Today, you can visit the site on a guided tour, walking through several kilometers of tunnels where much of the old machinery and infrastructure still remains. A pretty cool mural from the nuclear base at Anadyr-1 Lorino, the main hub for whaling This settlement of around 1,500 people is the place to go if you want to learn about marine Chukchi culture and meet the local community of whalers. As mentioned earlier, the International Whaling Commission grants the Chukchi people a quota of about 150 whales for the entire region each year, the vast majority of which takes place in Lorino. The whaling community here is also very welcoming to the few tourists who make it this far. With the right local connections, you can arrange a stay of several days, taking part in community life and joining activities that give you an authentic insight into this unique way of life. During my trip to Chukotka, I spent seven nights in Lorino, using it as a base for day trips to Cape Dezhnev, Mapyk, and nearby nomadic camps. The village of Lorino on the only sunny day we had Lavrentiya, Chukchi’s largest settlement Lavrentiya has a small airport with direct flights to Anadyr operated by Chukot Avia. If you want to visit Lorino, this is where you must fly into first. From Lavrentiya, it takes about 1.5 hours by car to reach Lorino. Lavrentiya is like a bigger version of Lorino, still a small settlement, but with an airport and a few more services. While there are no large shops, the small convenience store is definitely better stocked than the one in Lorino. There are also a few murals worth checking out and a Lenin statue, which by the time I went there was all surrounded by constructions palets, making it the most lame Lenin statue ever seen. The village of Lavrentiya Uelen, the easternmost settlement in the world Uelen is the easternmost settlement in Chukotka and the last village before the Bering Strait. With only a few hundred residents, it is also known as a historic center for Chukchi and Yupik communities. Visiting Uelen was part of our plan after reaching Cape Dezhnev, but due to rough seas, we were unable to continue, and unfortunately had to turn back. A colony puffins just a few kilometers from Uelen Mapyk, ancient Yupik settlement. Mapyk is an abandoned Yupik settlement located in the tundra, about an hour by boat from Lorino. It has been deserted for decades—perhaps even a few centuries—but the remains are still visible in the house structures and buildings made from whale bones, including massive jaws and ribs. Visiting Mapyk can be extremely dangerous due to the high density of bears in the area, so it should never be attempted without a local armed guide. Ancient buildings made from whale bones Nomadic camp of reindeer herders. The Chukchi reindeer herders are full time nomads, they move constantly across the tundra throughout the year, just like the Nenets in western Siberia, never staying in a fixed place. When I visited, I was lucky to meet a reindeer camp in the area marked on the map above, but it’s important to understand that the location of the herders changes all the time. If you wish to visit them, your local guide or translator should be able to get in touch with the nomads in advance to coordinate a visit. Encounters, however, can’t be guaranteed, since by the time you come, they might be too far away. For me, it was very interesting to compare the reindeer Chukchi with other reindeer-herding peoples such as the Nenets in Yamal or the Tsaatan in Mongolia. They all depend on their herds for survival, yet their lifestyles and cultures couldn’t be more different. We travelled to the camp with a group of marine Chukchi, and it was fascinating to watch them interact and exchange meat (whale meat for reindeer meat). Nomadic Chukchi girl somewhere in the tundra Cape Dezhnev, the easternmost place in the world Cape Dezhnev is the easternmost point of the Eurasian continent, located right at the Bering Strait. We arrived on a very clear day, so we could see the coast of mainland Alaska, just 84km across the water. The cape is named after Semyon Dezhnev, a 17th-century Russian explorer who was the first European to sail through the Bering Strait At the site, you find a ohitigenic Soviet-era lighthouse and a small military base. Soldiers will approach you, but they are quite friendly. The area is also rich in wildlife. Seeing colonies of puffins is guaranteed and if you are lucky, you might spot groups of seals and walruses. Cape Dezhnev More information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Russia destination How to visit Nenets How to visit Chechnya Russia Travel Guide How to get visa for Russia 30 photos that will make you want to visit the Nenets in Siberia

Wanna travel to Russia with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Russia on: April 18th to 25th, 2026 (Russian Caucasus) – APPLY NOW November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia) – APPLY NOW Today, there is widespread misunderstanding regarding visas for entry to Russia, namely that […]

Wanna travel to Russia with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Russia on: April 18th to 25th, 2026 (Russian Caucasus) – APPLY NOW November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia) – APPLY NOW Today, there is widespread misunderstanding regarding visas for entry to Russia, namely that since the Ukraine war started in 2022, Russia hasn’t been offering tourist visas to international visitors. This assumption is not only false but, with the recent introduction of an e-visa, getting a visa for Russia is easier than ever. This short guide will show you the different ways to get your visa for Russia. Check our travel guide for Russia In this Russian visa guide, you will find: Table of Contents Our experience Electronic visa Embassy application Visa for Americans Visa for Brits Visa for Canadians More information Our experience with the Russian visa As you may know, Against the Compass offers group expeditions into remote locations within the Russian Federation. In 2025 alone, we’ve guided guests from the following countries: USA, UK, Canada, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Poland, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Kuwait. All of them managed to get their Russian visa without issues. Don’t forget to check our upcoming expeditions to Russia: November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia). APPLY NOW March 31st to April 6th, 2026 (Arctic Russia). APPLY NOW April 18th to 25th, 2026 (Russian Caucasus). APPLY NOW How to apply for an electronic visa for Russia In 2024, the Russian customs authorities made history by launching a user-friendly e-visa portal, allowing travelers to easily get their visa for Russia in just a few days. Find the electronic visa portal at this link. What’s the validity of the Russian e-visa? This e-visa allows you to travel in Russia for up to 30 days. Which countries are eligible for a Russian e-visa? All EU and Schengen countries, as well as Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. How long does it take to get approval? Around 4 calendar days. How much does the Russian e-visa cost? It costs 52 USD. Can I use the e-visa at any entry point? With the e-visa, you can enter Russia via any of its international airports, however land border crossings are limited. The electronic portal lists all valid entry points. Read our travel guide to Chechnya My visa for Russia How to apply for a Russian visa at the embassy (the traditional way) Applying for a Russian e-visa seems pretty convenient, but there are some cases in which you will have to get it at the embassy or consulate in your country of residence: If you’re planning to travel in Russia for more than 30 days If your country is not on the list of countries eligible for an e-visa. Unfortunately, this includes the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia If you want to get a multi-entry visa Don’t worry, getting your Russian visa at the embassy is pretty easy. Russian visa embassy requirements 1. Obtain a Letter of Invitation (LOI) Important: Your visa will be only valid for the period stated in the LOI The first thing you’ll need to have is an official Letter of Invitation (LOI), which can only be obtained through a valid tour operator in Russia. You can easily purchase a Russian LOI online via iVisa Center, for example (they might also help you with the visa). Alternatively, we can also provide a Letter of Invitation when joining any of our tours in Russia: November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia). APPLY NOW March 31st to April 6th, 2026 (Arctic Russia). APPLY NOW April 18th to 25th, 2026 (Russian Caucasus). APPLY NOW 2. Fill out the visa application form Once you’ve obtained your LOI, you can go ahead and complete the following online application form. Keep in mind that the LOI is a must-have before completing this form, since they’ll be asking you for your sponsor details. After submitting your form, you will have to print it out and bring it to the embassy. 3. Go to your respective consulate, embassy or Russian Visa Center Fortunately, Russia has embassies in pretty much every country, all of them fully operational, including those in the USA, Canada, the UK and anywhere across Europe. Some embassies require an appointment, while others don’t. Moreover, some prefer to delegate all visa services to their respective Russian Visa Center, while others require travelers to go to the actual embassy. Either way, look for your Russian Embassy website to check their specific requirements. These are the most common requirements: Printed copy of your Letter of Invitation Printed copy of your Visa application form Passport 2 passport photos Valid travel insurance for traveling in Russia. We recommend Alfa Strakhovanie, InterMundial (website in Spanish) or Auras. How much does the visa for Russia cost? The price varies from embassy to embassy but at the Russian Consulate of Barcelona: Single entry non-urgent visa: €120 Single entry urgent visa: €195 Multi-entry visa (6-month validity): €250 How long does it take for the visa to be issued? 1 – 3 weeks, depending on your visa type. Tips on how to apply for a Russian visa as an American Applying for a visa for Russia as an American isn’t very different to other nationalities, but it presents certain particularities. For example, as an American, you can only apply for a 3-year multiple entry visa – that’s the only option you will be eligible for. Russia is huge, so this is a great advantage if you plan to visit Russia multiple times This is a great advantage over other passports, but it doesn’t come without its own costs, which is that they charge a 500 USD fee. How to get your appointment at the Russian Embassy in the USA After getting your Letter of Invitation and filling out the online form, make an appointment with any of the following consulates: Embassy in Washington DC: info.us@artionis.com Consulate in New York City: info.nycusa@russia-visacentre.com Consulate in Houston (TX): postalus@russia-visacentre.com After submitting your documents to the embassy, expect to receive your visa within 2-3 weeks. I live far away from those cities. Can I apply via ordinary mail? Yes, you can. If you can’t go to the embassy in person, be aware that they also accept applications via ordinary mail. The whole process takes around 4 weeks. Tips on how to apply for a Russian visa as a British citizen British citizens can only apply for their visa in person. However, visa collection can be done by postal service. After securing your Letter of Invitation and filling out the online form, you’ll have to book an appointment with your nearest embassy: Click here to book your appointment with the Embassy in London Click here to book your appointment with the Consulate in Edinburgh Allow 1 – 4 weeks to get your visa, depending on whether you choose the standard or express service. Tips on how to apply for a Russian visa as a Canadian citizen A visa for Russia can only be applied for in person. After getting your Letter of Invitation and filling out the online form, you’ll have to book an appointment with your nearest embassy: Embassy in Ottawa. Here’s their website and email address is info@rusembassy.ca Consulate in Toronto. Here’s their website and email address is toronto@kdmid.ru Consulate in Montreal. Here’s their website and email address is gcmontreal@mid.ru More information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Russia destination Russia Travel Guide How to visit Chechnya How to visit Nenets 30 photos that will make you want to visit the Nenets in Siberia Travel guides to former Soviet countries Belarus Travel Guide Kazakhstan Travel Guide Georgia Travel Guide Ukraine Travel Guide Travel Guide to Moldova Azerbaijan Travel Guide Travel Guide to Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide to Tajikistan Uzbekistan Travel Guide

Want to travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers on our next scheduled tour in Syria on: October 14th to 21st, 2025 This travel guide to Syria was originally written after my first visit in 2018. Since then, it’s been constantly updated based on my multiple visits, while running […]

Want to travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers on our next scheduled tour in Syria on: October 14th to 21st, 2025 learn more This travel guide to Syria was originally written after my first visit in 2018. Since then, it’s been constantly updated based on my multiple visits, while running over 20 ATC expeditions into the country. Now, with all the changes brought in the brand-new Government, we’ve updated this Syria travel blog following our last visit in 2025. Find out everything you need to know about traveling to Syria, including tips regarding visas, safety, transportation and more! Why visit Syria with Against the Compass? In this travel guide to Syria you will find: Table of Contents Syria today Old vs new regime Syria tours How to get a visa Travel Insurance How to get in Is Syria safe? Safe areas to visit The people Responsible tourism and ethics How to move around Internet Money in Syria Taking photos Where to stay The food More information our recommended travel insurance for Syria IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Syria. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE What’s it like to travel to Syria today Since the war in Syria started in March 2011, the country has gone through many different stages that have affected tourism there in different ways. Traveling to Syria from 2011 to 2018 From 2011 until early 2018, Syria was a proper war zone that was off limits to foreign tourists. Traveling to Syria from 2019 to 2025 Only at the end of 2018 did certain areas across West Syria finally gain stability, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad decided to open the country up to international tourism. At first, foreign tourists were rare, and the local authorities were always highly suspicious, but little by little, tourism started to come back, reaching its peak in 2023. Independent travel in Syria, however, wasn’t really allowed at that point. In October 2023, the spillover from the war in Gaza and neighboring Lebanon slowed tourism down to its minimum. The Aleppo Citadel during the former regime Traveling to Syria under the new Government (2025 onwards) In December 2024, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad and took control of the country, initiating a new era for Syria. This group is pretty much the local branch of Al Qaeda in Syria. During the war, they were called Al Nusra Front, the people who took over Aleppo, Maaloula, and Krak de Chevaliers. Today, they’ve switched their name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, although they are essentially the same dudes. However, HTS says they have become more moderate, claiming they will respect Syria’s great diversity. Until recent times, Syria was a pretty secular, relaxed state, but I am finding it hard to believe they will allow such a level of secularism, which was previously so characteristic of Syria. They won’t be as extreme as the Taliban in Afghanistan, but new Sharia rules will certainly apply, so Syria is likely to change. New vs old Government: what’s changed from a Syrian travel perspective From a travel perspective, Syria is very different from what it used to be before 2024. Here’s a small summary of all the differences. The people at checkpoints now have long beards. Unlike the previous shaved-off army guys, the new soldiers are all jihadists who used to fight for Al Nusra, and all of them have long beards. HTS Soldier at the checkpoint on the road from Hama to Raqa The country’s new flag is waving everywhere. Syria has a new flag, which has already been recognized by the United Nations. Bashar al-Assad’s portraits are all gone. The image of former dictator Bashar al-Assad used to be omnipresent, but his portraits and photos are now all gone and considered relics. al-Assad’s portrais have been erased from most public spaces Everyone talks about how awful Bashar al-Assad was to the country. The one thing that surprised me the most was realizing the hatred that most Syrians had for Assad, everyone is talking about it. Independent travel is now allowed. Let’s see how long this will last, but in the meantime, proper independent backpacking in Syria is now entirely possible. Newly opened areas. Many places that used to be off-limits, such as Idlib or north of Aleppo in Afrin, are now open to all, with no restrictions. New Sharia rules. Nobody is sure about this yet, but what I can say is that some liquor stores and bars that were fully operational are now shut, but not because HTS forced them to do so, but because Syrians are afraid of their reaction. The new flag is visible everywhere. Sign up for a tour in Syria Do you want to travel to Syria with a group of like-minded travelers? One of our latest Syria groups! Against the Compass has several scheduled group expeditions in 2025-2026: Sept 23rd to 30th, 2025. SOLD OUT Oct 14th to 21st, 2025. APPLY NOW Dec 23rd to 30th, 2025. SOLD OUT March 30th to April 6th, 2026. APPLY NOW May 1st to 8th, 2026. APPLY NOW September 26th to October 3rd, 2026. APPLY NOW October 19th to 26th, 2026. APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SYRIA TOURS Check this documentary on our Syria tours! Please note that this video was filmed and posted in 2023, when Syria was still under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. How to get a tourist visa for Syria Up to December 2024: security clearance arranged through a valid tour operator was required to visit Syria. With the new Government in January 2025: visas are available on arrival, no pre-arrangements are needed. My visa for Syria and my Lebanese stamps, the first time I traveled to Syria in 2028 Is the visa on arrival available at all entry points? You can collect your visa on arrival if entering Syria from Lebanon, Jordan, and also via Damascus International Airport (DAM). How long is it valid for? This new visa allows you to travel in Syria for 30 days. What nationalities are eligible for a Syrian visa? All nationalities can obtain a visa on arrival for Syria, and that includes US citizens. How much does the visa for Syria cost? Since June 2025, the cost of the visa (whether entering by land or through Damascus International Airport) is as follows: EU passports, including Switzerland and Norway: $75 Canada: $100 UK, Australia, New Zealand: $150 USA: $200 Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela: $50 Argentina: $150 Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania: Free. Angola, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Chad, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Mongolia, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Yemen: $25 Armenia, Brasil, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Qatar, Russia, Saudi, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Kuwait: $50 Oman, Philippines: $75 UAE, Uganda: $100 Want to travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers on our next scheduled tour in Syria on: October 14th to 21st, 2025 LEARN MORE The views from the citadel in Aleppo, back in 2018… No words needed Travel Insurance for Syria Most travel insurance companies don’t cover travel in Syria, except for IATI. I recommend this one because: It’s the only travel insurance company that covers Syria They have different plans for all budgets It covers senior citizens too Readers of this blog can get an exclusive 5% discount. BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR DISCOUNT The Old City of Damascus – The columns belong to an old Roman Jupiter temple – Is Syria safe? How to get to Syria How to travel to Syria by land 1 – How to travel from Beirut (Lebanon) to Damascus Traveling to Damascus from Beirut is the easiest way to get to Syria. Beirut is only 115km from Damascus and the journey takes 3 to 4 hours, including the customs process. If you book a full tour of Syria, your transfer from Beirut to Damascus will likely be included. Otherwise, independent travelers can take shared taxis to Damascus that depart from Cola station – Charles Hélou station doesn’t exist anymore since the explosion of the explosion in 2020. From Cola Station, you can take a shared taxi to Chtoura for 3 USD. Once in Chtoura, tell the driver about your plans, and he’ll help you find the shared taxis to Damascus, which shouldn’t cost more than 20 USD. Alternatively, a private taxi from Beirut to Damascus will cost you 100-125 USD. Read: A travel guide to Beirut 2 – How to travel from Tripoli to Tartus You can also travel to Syria from the border north of Tripoli. Shared taxis to Tartus cost around 15 USD and they leave regularly until 8pm, from this station. It’s only a 65km journey, so it should be fairly quick. 3 – How to travel from Amman (Jordan) to Syria The border between Jordan and Syria is open, but the journey from Amman is way longer, plus the border crossing can take a long time, sometimes the whole day. If you book a full tour of Syria, your transfer from Amman to Damascus should also be included. Otherwise, there’s a bus company called Al Kamal that runs a daily bus service from Amman to Damascus, departing at 2pm. Buses depart from an international bus terminal located in southern Amman. Tickets can be purchased there, or you can also book them at the central office, located here. A bus ticket costs 25 JOD. 4 – How to travel from Turkey to Syria Currently, the border between Syria and Turkey is closed to foreigners. How to travel to Syria by air With the new change of Government in January 2025, many airlines are resuming their flights into Damascus International Airport, including Turkish Airlines, Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways. However, I’m not sure if flying directly into Damascus is more convenient than coming from Beirut, for the following reasons: Flights to Damascus are expensive, plus you will also have to pay for your visa (at land borders, the visa is free). The transfer from Beirut to Damascus takes 3 to 4 hours, which could actually be faster than your flight connection. By the way, in addition to the airlines mentioned above, you can also fly to Damascus with Cham Wings, Syrian Air, and Iraqi Airways. The problem, however, is that you can’t book your flight tickets online, only at their respective offices, with payment in cash. Read: Lebanon – A 2-week itinerary Somewhere in the old city of Damascus Is it safe to travel to Syria? Is Syria safe? Along with how to get a visa for Syria, safety is the other big question mark for anyone traveling to Syria. Look, the war is practically over in West Syria, and cities like Aleppo and Damascus are relatively safe. You see children roaming around, the old city of Damascus is packed, and everything seems just fine. I still remember the first time I traveled to Syria in 2018. I was in Damascus for Christmas and, for the first time since the beginning of the war, the streets of the Old City of Damascus (and Aleppo as well) were filled with Christmas lights and celebrations. Celebrating Christmas in Damascus – How to travel to Syria The atmosphere was full of joy, happiness, and both Muslims and Christians were celebrating the event with major enthusiasm (there is a huge Christian community in Damascus). Since then, things have only gotten better. For a better understanding, read my analysis: Is Syria safe to visit? Is Syria safer after the fall of Assad’s regime? I really don’t know whether the country is now safer than under Bashar al-Assad, but what I can tell you is that bazaars, old cities, and cafés are equally packed. When it comes to safety, I didn’t notice any big difference compared to how it was before, from a tourism perspective, at least. From a local perspective, however, Syria has become unsafe for certain minorities, such as the Alawites and the Druze, both suffering persecution from the Islamist armed factions linked to the current Government. Read: Is it safe to travel to Iraq A tank from the Syrian Army, somewhere near Palmyra Which parts of Syria are safe to travel to? Read my 100% safe travel itinerary for Syria. The most stable areas to visit in Syria By stable, I mean that they have been relatively safe since the end of the war in 2018. These places all of them part of our Syria Tours include: Damascus, Maaloula, Bosra, Homs, Aleppo, Krak de Chevaliers and Palmyra. Still, keep in mind that this is a post-war zone, which means that it is highly unstable and things could change overnight. If you travel to Syria, you can’t miss Krak de Chevaliers Lesser stable areas to visit in Syria with the new regime For now, I’d personally avoid traveling along the Syrian coast, including Latakia and Tartus, but especially Latakia, since that’s the heartland of the Alawites, the most hardcore supporters of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. There have been reports of massacres against Alawites in Latakia in 2025, mainly perpetrated by fighters aligned with the Syrian Government. It’s not safe to go there for now. In Latakia, near the Turkish border New areas you can visit with the New Government Idlib Idlib might be the most significant newly opened area you can visit in Syria. Until 2024, Idlib was the only region controlled by HTS, from where they expanded to the rest of the country. Idlib was and still is backed by Turkey. They use the Turkish Lira and only Turkish phone reception works here. It’s also a super conservative region, even more so than Raqqa. Most local women wear a niqab, and female tourists are obliged to wear a hijab. The welcome sign in Idlib Raqqa and beyond Today, Raqqa is controlled by the Kurdish forces, who have annexed the region to their new so-called state of Rojava. Raqqa and all of Rojava used to only be open if entering Syria illegally (sort of) from Iraqi Kurdistan, but under the new Government, you can now enter from West Syria, as long as you have the necessary permits to enter Rojava. We visited Raqqa in 2025 via the main road from Hama. The checkpoint before entering Raqqa The people – The Syrians Language spoken in Syria Levantine Arabic is the official language. Note that many English-speaking people left the country, although you can always find someone who does. In any case, it’s best to try to learn some Arabic before traveling to Syria. Religion in Syria Around 65% of the population are Sunni Muslims. However, like Lebanon, in Syria, there are many different religions, including a large Christian population. Bashar Al-Assad is Alawite, a Shia branch of Islam. Friendly Syrians, always – Visit Syria tourism Responsible tourism and ethics in Syria How do Syrians feel about tourism? According to the UN, around 500,000 Syrians have been killed, nearly 5,000,000 escaped from the country and several million more who are still in the country need humanitarian assistance. We are talking about one of the worst humanitarian crises in the 21st century. Many people are skeptical about traveling to Syria, claiming or believing that it’s a direct means of supporting Assad’s regime, hence it would be somehow disrespectful to all the people affected. My opinion is that, before making any judgments, we should ask the actual Syrians living in Syria what they think about it. If you ever do go to Syria, I doubt you will chat to a single Syrian who isn’t happy to see foreign tourists. In 2018, when the war was still fresh, Syrians who spoke English approached me, asking a lot of questions and showing their gratitude for visiting their country. Hello, how are you? Well, alive, thank God! – A random Syrian told me That was a couple of years ago. Today, tourists in Syria are more common to see and for them locals, it’s a reflection that their country is, very slowly, getting back to normality. Check my article about Why you should travel the World without censorship More friendly Syrians – How to visit Syria How to be a more responsible traveler in Syria Syria is a post-war zone, where millions of people have lost their houses and relatives – much like Haiti – so please be a sensitive tourist. Long Live Aleppo, photo taken during my first visit in 2018 Don’t say war but crisis or situation instead You will notice that many Syrians themselves don’t really use the word war; they prefer to say other, less harsh words. Syrians hanging out in a destroyed building in Homs Don’t take selfies in front of damaged buildings Seriously, this is one of the most disrespectful things you could ever do and you would actually be an asshole if you did this. Empathize with the locals When you are in an area full of destroyed buildings, be polite to the locals, say hello, shake hands and just be nice with them. Collaborate with the local economy In Homs and Aleppo, you are likely to see small businesses open among all the ruins. Do buy things from them. In Homs, I saw one small bakery shop in the practically destroyed souk; I couldn’t resist buying a kilo of sweets there, which I gave to a young boy who was searching for things among the trash. Read: A travel guide to Iraqi Kurdistan The streets of Homs, which is around 40% destroyed – Is it safe to visit Syria now Transportation: how to travel around Syria You can travel around Syria using local buses and shared taxis. To be completely honest with you, I’ve only done proper backpacking in Syria once, in 2018. In my subsequent visits, I was either with our groups expeditions, or traveling around by car with my Syrian friends. However, I know for a fact that getting around Syria on public transportation is very possible, especially when traveling between cities. The main bus station to get anywhere north of Damascus is located here, from where you can go on to Aleppo, or Homs. I also took a shared taxi from Aleppo to Homs, and from Homs to Damascus. Easy. Assad family photos are pretty much all gone now Internet and connectivity in Syria Wi-Fi in Syria Wi-Fi works relatively OK in most hotels, at least the ones listed in the accommodation section of this travel guide. Can I get a SIM Card for Syria? It should be noted that currently, eSIMs are not available in Syria. You can get a Syriatel SIM Card in the official store. There’s one right next to Merjeh Square. Get a VPN for travel in Syria You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, you will be able to access content that is typically censored in Syria. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get a vpn If you want to learn more about VPNs, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling. What you need to know about money before traveling to Syria In Syria, they use the Syrian Pound (SYP), a currency that has been fluctuating like crazy for the past 10 years. Before the crisis, $1 equaled 50SYP. In 2018, during my first visit, $1 equaled 490SYP. Today, you can exchange $1 on the black market for up to 10,200 SYP. As a consequence, Syria is suffering from massive inflation and the problem is that most salaries haven’t increased accordingly. The new Syrian bill with Bashar Al-Assad’s face on it. Nowadays, this is around 50 cents. Exchanging money in Syria You can exchange both Euros (€) and USD ($), although USD can be exchanged at a better rate. If you’re bringing 100 USD notes, keep in mind that they only accept the new ones with the blue line. If you have Syrian Pounds left when you leave, you can exchange them for Lebanese Pounds or USD in most exchange offices in Beirut, at the official bank rate (meaning it won’t be quite so good). Where can you exchange Syrian Pounds? It’s best to exchange local currency at the exchange offices you find before reaching the border. With our groups, we always exchange in a Lebanese town of Chtoura. ATMs and credit cards in Syria Because of foreign sanctions, in Syria, you can neither pay by credit card nor use ATMs. You have to bring all your money in cash. Update 2024: Due to the current financial crisis, the same rule applies to Lebanon. If you are traveling to Syria from Lebanon, you must bring enough cash to visit both countries. How much does it cost to travel to Syria? These are the prices of the most typical things: Lunch in a local restaurant: 50,000 to 80,000 SYP Food in a nice restaurant with wine: 150,000 to 250,000 SYP Breakfast (like hummus or fuul): 35,000 SYP National Museum: 25,000 SYP Aleppo Citadel: 2,5000 SYP Bus from Damascus to Aleppo: 50,000 to 70,000 SYP Budget Hotel in Damascus: $35 to $45 for a private room Mid-range hotel in Damascus: $60 to $90 for a private room Taxis within cities: 40,000 to 60,000 SYP Local shared taxi Aleppo to Homs: 100,000 to 150,000 SYP Are the Syrian cities really destroyed? This point seems to attract a lot of confusion, so let me explain it for you: Damascus Only the outskirts of Damascus have been destroyed, as a bloody battle was fought there. This area is off-limits to tourists. The Old City and the new part of town remain intact. Aleppo Part of the Old City has been destroyed, as well as some areas outside the city. Most of Aleppo isn’t damaged although some very important sites in the Old City, such as the Great Mosque, are gone. Nowadays, however, the city is being rebuilt and people are slowly coming back. Homs This was one of the cities most affected by the war. Approximately 40% of the city has been destroyed and that includes its bazaar, one of the liveliest and most important souqs in all the Middle East. Palmyra The Temple of Baal was destroyed by ISIS but Palmyra is a massive archaeological site and many of its wonders can still be seen. the Old City of Aleppo – Is Syria a safe place to visit? Taking photos when you travel in Syria You can take photos of anything except for one thing: military stuff. Yes, it seems very obvious but the problem is that there’s military stuff everywhere, especially in Damascus. In Damascus, a few times I took pictures of some cool building or other, from fairly far away, and didn’t realize there was a checkpoint right next to it. Of course, the soldiers approached me, but after quickly checking my passport and my camera, they very kindly let me continue. In Damascus Old City, there are checkpoints everywhere, so pay attention before taking any photos. A soldier in Aleppo’s citadel Damascus bazaar is really good to visit Accommodation: where to stay in Syria Syria is well-provisioned with good hotels. Here are my recommendations. Where to stay in Damascus Budget Hotel: Green Hotel. Clean, Wi-Fi and just outside the Old City. The guy on reception spoke English. Green Hotel in Damascus. I paid 15 USD for this room. It was simple but clean, and everything you need! Boutique Hotel: Beit al Mamlouka. A small hotel at the heart of the old city. Luxury: Beit al Wali. One of the best hotels in the city. Where to stay in Aleppo Budget: Aleppo Palace. Good, affordable option in Aleppo, with great views of the new part of town. It’s located right next to the I Love Aleppo sign. Mid-range: Laurus. A little bit further out but way better than Aleppo Palace and not much more expensive. In Aleppo, you can also find a Sheraton. Where to stay in Homs Budget, mid-range: Al Waleed. Very nice, basic hotel with a lively café just downstairs. Where to stay in Al Mishtaya Al Mishtaya is a Christian village near Krak de Chevaliers. They have a pretty decent, brand-new hotel named Vila Rosa Hotel. Where to stay in Palmyra and Bosra Today, you can’t stay either of these sites as there are no hotels. The food and alcohol in Syria In the last few years, I haven’t traveled to many countries that are famous for their food, but Syria is. Being an olive-oil-rich Mediterranean country, the ingredients used in Syrian cuisine are fresh and similar to those used in Spain, Italy, France, and Greece. The food is actually pretty much the same as in Lebanon, with their own regional variations, of course. From classic hummus to kibbeh (local steak tartar), different sorts of grilled meat or a typical dish from Aleppo consisting of meatballs in cherry sauce, the food in Syria is so varied. For me, however, breakfast is the best part, as they always serve variations of hummus and fuul drenched in super tasty olive oil and vegetables. As for alcohol, you should be aware that Syria has a large Christian population, so alcohol is easily available, especially in the Christian district of the Old City of Damascus, where there is a street filled with bars and various liquor stores. You can actually buy a $1 beer and drink it in the street! Hummus for breakfast More information for traveling in Syria In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Syria destination Travel Guide to Aleppo Syria Itinerary Is Syria Safe? Travel guides to other countries in the Middle East Iran Travel Guide Palestine Travel Guide Travel Guide to Oman Travel Guide to Lebanon Iraq Travel Guide Travel Guide to Saudi Arabia Yemen Travel Guide Socotra Travel Guide You might also like our Libya travel guide and Haiti travel guide. You may also be interested in: Where in the Middle East is safe? and The most beautiful places in the Middle East. I hope this Syria travel blog helps you to plan your trip. I will try to keep it updated, but if you have more updates, please let us know in the comments section. Thanks

Wanna travel to Russia with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Russia on: September 9th to 16th, 2025 (Russian Caucasus) – APPLY NOW November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia) – APPLY NOW It’s incredible to see how quickly things have changed when traveling in Russia. […]

Wanna travel to Russia with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Russia on: September 9th to 16th, 2025 (Russian Caucasus) – APPLY NOW November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia) – APPLY NOW It’s incredible to see how quickly things have changed when traveling in Russia. From booking accommodation to accessing the internet or just getting into the country, traveling to Russia is very different from what it used to be like pre-2022. Russia is a massive country, not only in terms of land, but also in its diversity and complexity. It would be impossible to write down a compelling travel guide in just 3500 words. However, rather than serving as the ultimate guide to traveling across each region, this Russia travel blog contains all the relevant updated info and recent changes that will help plan your trip to Russia, including how to look for hotels, how to get your visa, how to book domestic flights, and much more. Read: Belarus travel guide In this travel guide to Russia you will find: Table of Contents Russia today Visa Tours Insurance Is it safe? Getting into Money Best time to visit How to get around Accommodation Internet People, Culture, Language Food and drinks More information What it’s like to travel to Russia today Can I visit Russia as a tourist? Until 2022, Russia was a popular destination for travelers, and nobody was ever criticized for traveling there. Moscow International Airport had connections with pretty much everywhere in the West, embassies across Europe were always packed with travelers trying to secure their visas, and the main language heard in the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg was definitely English. But today, Western foreigners are a rarity across Russia. You can still see Asian tourists (mainly groups from China, Malaysia and Iran) in Moscow’s Red Square but the total number of Western tourists I saw after 1 month of traveling across Russia was zero, not a single one. This made things particularly interesting, especially when meeting English-speaking Russians, who always had plenty of questions on my country’s opinion of Russia. Read: Why you should travel the World without censorship Red Square in Moscow, the most touristic place in all Russia What do Russians think about the Ukraine war? The conflict with Ukraine was on the top of my mind but engaging in local politics with Russian people wasn’t really my objective, since I had traveled to Russia to learn about the country and its cultural diversity. Obviously, I did speak about the current conflict with a few Russians, but the only thing I’ll say is that most people around the world dislike war. From Syria to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, I’ve always been criticised when traveling to certain countries with controversial regimes, and Russia was no exception. In fact, I don’t think there is any other country in the world which inspires as much rejection as Russia these days. It’s important to remember that we are travelers, not activists, and that local people can never be blamed for their Government’s actions, whatever those actions might be. Photo taken in rural Russia. Seriously, do you think these people like Ukraine war How to get a visa for Russia This is only a small summary. For more details, check our Russian visa guide Can you travel to Russia? Surprisingly, getting a tourist visa for Russia is much easier than it used to be before the war with Ukraine. In fact, Russian authorities recently introduced the option of applying for an e-visa for visits no longer than 16 days. Also, most embassies and consulates around the world no longer require an appointment, probably because they aren’t as busy as they used to be. Here’s what you need to know about how to apply for a Russian tourist visa. How to apply for an e-visa for Russia Update September 2025: The e-visa for Russia is now valid for 30 days For single-entry visits of up to 1 month (30 days), you can apply for a Russian e-visa. This is the electronic visa portal. Which countries are eligible for a 30-day Russian e-visa? All EU and Schengen countries, as well as Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. How long does it take to get approval? Around 4 calendar days. How much does the Russian e-visa cost? It costs $55. What’s the e-visa validity? Once your visa is issued, you have 60 days to enter Russia. Once you get in, your stay can’t exceed 30 days. Can I use the e-visa at any entry point? You can enter Russia via any international airport but with the e-visa, land border crossings are limited. The electronic portal lists all valid entry points. How to get a Russian visa via the embassy When should you get an ordinary visa instead of an e-visa? You plan to travel in Russia for more than 30 days You need to get a double-entry visa Your country is not on the list of countries eligible for an e-visa. This includes the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Visa requirements for Russia Russia travel tip: I can’t speak for all Russian embassies and consulates, but I do have recent experience of getting one at the Consulate of Barcelona and, from what I heard, all offer a similar experience. Just check your nearest embassy’s website for specific requirements. Russian visa typical requirements: Passport 2 passport photos Valid travel insurance for traveling in Russia. We recommend Alfa Strakhovanie, InterMundial (website only in Spanish) or Auras. Letter of Invitation (you should get this from a local tour operator) How much does the visa for Russia cost? Price varies from embassy to embassy but at the Russian Consulate of Barcelona: Single entry non-urgent visa: €120 Single entry urgent visa: €195 Multi-entry non-urgent visa: €250 Very expensive! How long does approval take? In my case, a non-urgent visa took around 2 weeks, while an urgent one takes 2-3 days. My visa for Russia How to sign up for a tour in Russia Traveling with a group and an expert local guide will make things much easier, and more fun! In Against the Compass, we have the following expedition scheduled for 2025-2026: September 9th to 16th, 2025 (Russian Caucasus). APPLY NOW September 18th to 24th, 2025 (Arctic Russia). SOLD OUT November 16th to 22nd, 2025 (Arctic Russia). APPLY NOW March 31st to April 6th, 2026 (Arctic Russia). APPLY NOW April 18th to 25th, 2026 (Russian Caucasus). APPLY NOW Travel Insurance for Russia Remember that having valid travel insurance for travel in Russia is a must requirement for getting your visa at the embassy. Our preferred travel insurance company (IATI Travel Insurance) isn’t covering travel in Russia any longer. Instead, we recommend Alfa Strakhovanie, InterMundial (website only in Spanish) or Auras. Is it safe to travel to Russia? Many people believe that due to the war with Ukraine, Russia has become an unsafe country. In fact, if we look at the FCDO advice, the largest country in the world is today considered one giant red zone, meaning that even places like Vladivostok, which are nearly 10,000km from Ukraine, are also unsafe for travel due to the Ukraine war. Russia travel advice according to the FCDO They also talk about arbitrary detentions and a lack of available flights to return to Europe. It’s more than obvious that the different foreign ministries don’t want their citizens traveling to Russia, but I’d also like to give my perspective based on my last visit. Is Russia safe to visit given the war with Ukraine? As of today, the war with Ukraine is mainly limited to the border areas, up to the region of Kursk. Outside of those areas, life in Russia is completely normal, just as usual, and the reason is that Russia is just too big for other parts to be affected by it, from a security perspective. What about the long-distance missiles that hit Moscow? In September 2024, Ukraine launched a bunch of long-distance missiles that hit some buildings in the suburbs of Moscow, which resulted in the death of one civilian. Although I’ve never said that the rest of Russia was 100% safe, but I do want to mention that I was in Moscow when that incident happened, and I only found out about it from the Spanish news. The authorities closed the airport for a few hours but other than that, life went on as always. You also need to remember that there are more than 13 million people living in Moscow. No country in the world is free of risk, so it’s up to each traveler to assess how much risk they choose to be exposed to when traveling to a certain region or country. Are arbitrary detentions a risk in Russia? Arbitrary detentions don’t affect foreign tourists traveling on a valid tourist visa who stick to tourist sites and don’t get involved in politics. Lack of flights You can’t fly out direct to Europe, but you can fly to Baku, Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo and many other places around the world. Lenin square in Makhachkala. When traveling in Russia, you will see that even the smallest town has a Lenin square How to get in Russia How to fly to Russia Because of the sanctions, there are no flights operating between Russia and any Western countries, but you can still fly from many cities around the Middle East and Central Asia. The most popular connections for flying to Russia are: Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) Dubai (Emirates and FlyDubai) But you can also travel to Russia from: Sharjah (Air Arabia) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) Dushanbe (Somon Air) Teheran (Mahan Air) Amman (Jordan Aviation) Tashkent (Uzbekistan Airways) Baku (Azerbaijan Airlines) Cairo (Egypt Air) Can you fly to Russia with Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, S7 or any other Russian airline? Yes, you can. These airlines have connections with all the previously mentioned cities. However, because of the sanctions, you can’t book flights through their website using a foreign card, although it can be done through Aviasales.com, a search engine for flights that allows international card payments. How to travel to Russia by land border Russia has endless border crossings with 14 different countries, so it’s impossible to provide up-to-date information on each and every one of them. However, we can give you a rough idea of what the situation is like in each of the countries that borders Russia: Norway: The border is open and, due its remoteness, it doesn’t present many issues. Finland: The border is closed. Estonia: The border is open but reports suggest it can take over 12 hours to cross. Latvia: The border is open but reports suggest it can take over 12 hours to cross. Lithuania: It borders with the enclave of Kaliningrad. Easy to cross, no more than 2 hours. Poland: It borders with the enclave of Kaliningrad. Easy to cross, no more than 2 hours. Belarus: As a foreigner, you can’t cross this border because there aren’t any immigration authorities, since Russians and Belorussians are allowed to cross it freely. Ukraine: We don’t recommend using this border. Georgia: The border is fully operational, and no issues have been reported. Azerbaijan: The border is closed. Kazakhstan: The longest border in the world. Most entry points are fully functional and don’t present any major issues. China: They share a border but there isn’t an actual entry point. Mongolia: Borders are fully operational. North Korea: On the e-visa portal, I was surprised to read that the electronic visa is valid for entering from North Korea by train at Khasan. If you happen to be in North Korea, perhaps you could be the first traveler to ever exit through Russia. Do you get a lot of questions when entering Russia? It’s hard to say, I guess it depends on your entry point. If you’re entering from Europe (Estonia, for example), you’ll certainly get a lot of questions, plus the whole immigration process is very slow. If entering via Moscow International Airport, the chances of being questioned are also high, as travel reports suggest. Nevertheless, be aware that all this questioning is mere procedure, and that nobody I know has been denied their entry into Russia, as long as they were traveling on a valid tourist visa. I personally entered from Kazakhstan by train. I did get asked a few questions but they were mostly about the 2 visas for Afghanistan stamped on my passport, no big deal. They also made me fill in and sign a form with Ukraine-related questions, just to make sure that you had no interest in getting involved in their politics. Read our South Ossetia Travel Guide Money and budget in Russia In Russia, they use the Russian Ruble and approximately: 1 USD = 85 RUB Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there’s been a massive inflation and currency fluctuation, but they’ve managed to stabilise it. Can you use foreign bank cards when backpacking in Russia? No, absolutely not. Because of the sanctions, international credit and debit cards can’t be used anywhere in Russia. Where can you exchange money? You can exchange your foreign currency at pretty much any bank, easy. How much does it cost to travel in Russia? Overall, Russia is cheap as per European standards but it really depends on what you do. Budget backpackers will be happy to hear that all towns and cities in Russia have an abundance of budget hostels, and that meals are inexpensive. Long distance trains aren’t super cheap, but you can cover a lot of terrain, plus you save nights in a hotel. Here are the prices of the most typical things: Pint of beer: from 300 RUB Main course at a local restaurant: 400 RUB Main course at a nicer restaurant: 1000 RUB Short taxi rides in Moscow: 600 RUB Short taxi rides in secondary cities: 300 RUB Overnight train in third class: 2500 RUB Overnight train in 4-bed compartment: 4000 RUB Single room in a hotel: from 4500 RUB Dorm in a hostel: from 600 RUB Backpacking budget for traveling in Russia: from 40 USD a day Best time to visit Russia Russia can be visited all year around, even during the freezing winter. Traveling to Russia in winter Everyone knows that winter in Russia can be cold but it can be adventurous as well. You would not be the first person to visit the coldest city in the world (Yakutsk) during the month of January or travel across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian. Northern Siberia can get pretty cold even during sunny summer days Traveling to Russia in summer This can be a great time to visit Russia, especially if you plan to visit the Arctic, Lake Baikal or the Caucasus and Altay regions. Please be aware that many areas of Russia, and that includes Moscow, have a continental climate with very cold winters, but very hot summers. Check my article about 30 photos that will make you want to visit the Nenets in Siberia Summer is a great time to visit Russia if you travel to the Caucasus region Traveling to Russia in spring and autumn It’s hard to give an accurate answer on this, it depends on where you go and how early or late in autumn or spring you visit Russia. How to get around Russia How to travel around Russia by train One of the best experiences when traveling in Russia is boarding a Soviet train. It’s a great way to meet local people and also the only way to comprehend the vast size of this country. You can go by train to pretty much everywhere in the country. Find train schedules on tutu.travel. You won’t be able to book train tickets with a foreign bank card, but the site will help you plan your trip. How to book a train ticket at the station Once you know your train schedule, head to the train station and before paying for the ticket, make sure to choose your preferred class: Lyux – 2-bed compartments. The most expensive. Kupé – 4-bed compartments. Upper-middle class. Platzkart – The most common, at its most powerful Soviet style. These wagons don’t have compartments but bunk beds placed all over the wagon. Obshy – Seats, no beds. This is platzkart class How to travel around by taxi When traveling around Russia, you will have to download Yandex GO, the Russian version of Uber. You can order a taxi using Yandex GO from virtually anywhere in Russia, even in small towns in the extreme north of Russia, such as Salekhard. Top Russia travel tip: You can only sign up for Yandex GO with a local number, unless you already have an account created in a country where they also use Yandex, such as Kazakhstan. How to travel around by plane Domestic flights are a good option for travelers with little time who are interested in visiting different regions of Russia. You can check flight schedules on Aviasales and book them using a foreign bank card. How to navigate around Russia In Russia, Google Maps works fine but Yandex Maps is more detailed and accurate. In fact, I realized that many businesses such as restaurants were not listed on Google Maps but they were on Yandex. By the way, due to the war in Ukraine, geolocation isn’t working properly in the center of Moscow. Where to stay in Russia: accommodation Russia is packed with hotels of all types. From budget hostels to expensive 5-star chains, you will never have any issues trying to find a hotel in Russia. The problem is more about how to book a hotel in Russia, since popular search engines such as booking.com or hostelworld.com are no longer operating in the country. Instead, you can search and book hotels through ostrovok.ru, and even book and pay with your foreign card. It is 100% reliable. Internet in Russia Wi-Fi and internet speed in Russia From an internet perspective, Russia is a highly developed country. There will be a good reception pretty much anywhere you go. Getting a SIM card in Russia Internet data is ridiculously cheap in Russia. I paid less than 7 USD for a package that included a SIM card with 50GB of data and unlimited calls. I bought it at the official store in a mall and all they required was my passport. Update June 2025: Obtaining a SIM Card in Russia is becoming increasingly complicated for foreigners, except at the airport. Therefore, I strongly recommend obtaining your SIM card upon arrival in either Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Getting an eSIM for Russia For Russia, I can recommend HolaFly eSIM. Restricted websites and apps in Russia Some restricted websites, services and apps include: Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) YouTube Netflix AppleTV+ BBC News CNN Etc. You will be able to access them with a VPN. How to get a VPN for Russia A VPN is necessary for traveling in Russia, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. I recommend ExpressVPN: extremely easy to use, fast, and cheap. Download and configure your VPN before traveling to Russia because their websites are often blocked as well. Get a vpn Getting hacked in Russia It is said that the best hackers in the world are Russian, and that getting hacked is not uncommon here. I am extremely paranoid about the internet, so my advice is to be very careful about the public Wi-Fi networks you connect to. Always connect using a VPN and if possible, only connect through your mobile data. Since data packages are so cheap, I always connected my laptop via my mobile hotspot. The people, culture and language in Russia Cultural diversity in Russia People tend to think of Russia as one massive Slavic nation but you’ll be amazed to know that Russia is home to 190 recognized ethnic groups, making it one of the most diverse countries in the world. Caucasian people in Chechenya While it’s true that many of those ethnicities refer to people from former Soviet countries (like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine or Armenia) who for whatever reason moved to the Russian Federation in the past, there are many minorities who are indigenous to a specific region in Russia, such as Tatars, Chechens or Kumyks. A man in from the Republic of Dagestan In fact, there are 21 official republics in Russia that are home to a specific minority. I have personally been to the republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and the autonomous region of Yamalia. Traveling in the different republics of Russia feels like visiting a different country. They have their own rules, religion, habits, food, and culture, and they refer to actual Slavic Russians as if they were from a separate country. From a traveling perspective, this is Russia’s best asset and the one thing that makes you realize that most travelers have only scratched a tiny bit of the surface of Russia. Nenet woman, north Siberia Language in Russia Russian is the most widely spoken language in Russia, but there are 25 other official languages and over 100 minority languages, all proof of the broad cultural diversity in Russia. English in Russia There is a massive language barrier when backpacking in Russia since very few Russians can speak English. In fact, most people outside of Moscow don’t even understand very basic English words and sentences, such as numbers. While it’s true that Google Translate and Google Lens have made our life much easier, traveling in Russia is a bit challenging if you don’t know any Russian, so I strongly recommend learning a few basic words. Also, learn how to read the alphabet. It’s very easy. It took me one day to learn it back in 2018, when I was traveling in Kyrgyzstan. When it comes to reading food menus, understanding the alphabet is particularly handy. Food and drinks in Russia I don’t want to go into too much detail in this section. Russia is a developed country so even in small, remote towns, you’ll be able to find decent food options and nice cafés. Even in the Arctic town of Salekhard – a very small city which until 2021 was impossible to reach by road – there was a sushi restaurant and a German-style bar with a large selection of beers on tap. Russian caviar. If you want to learn about caviar when you travel in Russia, I recommend going to Astrakahan You’ll also find modern Russian restaurants all over the country. Russian cuisine is, of course, very meat-based but all menus will feature different types of soup and salads. Borscht (beetroot soup), pelmeni (meat dumplings), or varenniki (potato dumplings) are some of the most common dishes. For breakfast, I really like sirniki, small but thick pancakes made of cottage cheese, usually served with sour cream. Additionally, there is a vibrant coffee culture in Russia, so you won’t have any problem finding decent coffee anywhere you go. More helpful information to visit Russia In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Russia destination How to visit Nenets How to visit Chechnya How to get visa for Russia 30 photos that will make you want to visit the Nenets in Siberia Travel guides to former Soviet countries Kazakhstan Travel Guide Georgia Travel Guide Ukraine Travel Guide Travel Guide to Moldova Azerbaijan Travel Guide Travel Guide to Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide to Tajikistan Uzbekistan Travel Guide Belarus Travel Guide

Wanna travel to the Middle East with Against the Compass? Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kurdistan and more. We have group expeditions scheduled every month to the most exciting destinations in the Middle East. The Middle East… That enormous piece of territory often overlooked as a whole and, usually, only seen as the land of […]

Wanna travel to the Middle East with Against the Compass? Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kurdistan and more. We have group expeditions scheduled every month to the most exciting destinations in the Middle East. LEARN MORE The Middle East… That enormous piece of territory often overlooked as a whole and, usually, only seen as the land of the greatest and most beautiful deserts, endless bazaars of spices and the warm welcome of the Bedouins. Moreover, most of the time, the international media only likes to share images of disasters and bad things happening in the Middle East. This distortion of reality changes people’s perception to the extent that the whole region of the Middle East becomes a dangerous place to travel to as if it was one single country. But, you know what? The Middle East is composed of 14 different countries that differ massively from each other, have boundaries and share borders. Which countries are part of the Middle East? In my opinion, these are the countries that comprise the Middle East: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen Officially, the Middle East also includes Turkey and Cyprus, but this is my blog, and I decided not to include them and, instead, I decided to include Libya in this list. Anyways. After many years of living and traveling around the region, based on my own experience and opinion, I have compiled a list of the 39 best places to travel in the Middle East. These choices are based on their level of security, historical importance, and natural beauty. My objective is to show you not only that the Middle East is a safe place to travel to, but I also want you to see the huge natural and cultural contrast between countries and the relevant role they have in our history. 39 Best places to travel in the Middle East Remember to get travel insurance for the Middle East IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in ALL Middle Eastern countries Get 5% discount if purchasing via this link Please note that this list is just a personal opinion and might not match yours. Further suggestions are more than welcome! 1 – Amadiya – Home to the Three Wise Men Country – Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) Located in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan, only 10km away from the Turkish border, Amadiya is a lovely, very photogenic village located on the flat top of a mountain, which has no less than 5,000 years of history. From the Assyrians to the Persians, as well as several Jewish and Christian communities, dozens of different civilizations and religions have left their footprint in this historical place. Furthermore, Amadiya is believed to be the home of the Three Wise Man, who made a pilgrimage to Bethlehem to see Jesus Christ after his birth. Today, Amadiya is a Muslim Kurdish village, surrounded by the most striking mountain scenery, characteristic from northern Iraq and one the most beautiful places to travel in the Middle East. You may like: How to visit Mosul Amadiya, one of my top places to visit in the Middle East 2 – Shibam, the Manhattan of the desert Country – Yemen Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982, Shibam is a 7000-inhabitant town, located in the middle of nowhere, composed of 9-story mud-brick buildings, which is why it’s often referred to as the ‘Manhattan of the desert’, even though I don’t really like these comparisons. Unlike other sites of great interest in Yemen, Shibam is located in a region named Hadramut, a relatively safe in Yemen with direct flights from Cairo in Egypt. Read my Yemen travel guide for more information. Wanna travel to Yemen with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Yemen on: November 20th to 26th, 2025 JOIN US IN YEMEN 3 – Esfahan – Jaw-dropping Islamic architecture Country – Iran Esfahan is Iran’s most amazing city and its mosques, composed of giant domes and mind-blowing ceilings with extravagant geometrical forms, are the most impressive buildings in the Middle East, without any doubt. Being one of the most historical cities in the region, Esfahan has always been home to a large community of scholars and prestigious intellectuals and its importance and influence in this part of the world was often compared to Athens and Rome. Today, as per Iranian standards, Esfahan is a surprisingly modern, clean and vibrant city where some of the most educated and brilliant people in the country live. Read more: A 1-to 4-week itinerary in Iran Shah Mosque in Esfahan. Iran is definitely, one of the safest places to visit in the Middle East 4 – The Old City of Damascus Country – Syria Everything here is very old. This is the first thing the hotel receptionist told me on the day I arrived in the city. Damascus is indeed one of the most ancient cities in the world – probably the oldest country capital – established in the second millennium BC, and capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750, one of the most important caliphates ever, extending from Spain to Iran. My favorite place in Damascus was Umayyad mosque, an outstanding mosque which passed from being a Jupiter Temple during the Roman era to a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist and then one of the largest mosques in the world. Today, Damascus is a safe city and, fortunately, the Old City has remained like that during most of the war. I visited it at the beginning of 2019 and had a real blast. For more information, read my Syria travel guide Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit the wonders of Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and more. October 14th to 21st, 2025 JOIN US IN syria The beautiful Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the oldest and largest mosques in the world and one of the most beautiful places to visit in the Middle East 5 – Baalbek – Giant Roman ruins, all by yourself Country – Lebanon Extending from Western Europe to North Africa and the Middle East, the Roman Empire was the greatest empire that has ever existed. Today, most of its ruins, some of them in relatively good condition, are major tourist attractions that receive hundreds of visitors every day. Outside of Rome, the ruins of Baalbek are among the most impressive, not only due to their dimensions and good preservation, but also because you are likely to have the ruins to yourself as, here, we are talking about Lebanon, one of the most off the beaten track destinations in the region, where you can experience the greatest Roman ruins like nowhere else, hence one of the best places to travel in the Middle East. Read more: How to spend 2 weeks in Lebanon The ruins of Baalbek 6 – Ghadames, an ancient caravan city Country – Libya 600km from the capital of Libya (Tripoli) and nestled right at the triple border between Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, Ghadames is an ancient caravan city, one of the most important caravan cities in all of Africa. The Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a massive, entangled maze of streets built in a refreshing oasis in the middle of the desert. It does take one full day to reach Ghadames by car from the capital Tripoli, but the journey is worth the trip. Read my Libya travel guide. Wanna travel to Libya with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Libya on: January 29th to February 4th, 2026 JOIN US IN Libya 7 – Detwah Lagoon view point Country – Yemen (Socotra) From a natural beauty standpoint, the view point overlooking Detwah Lagoon is arguably the most stunning place in the Middle East. Located on the northwest coast of Socotra (Yemen), Detwah is a saline lagoon connected to the Gulf of Aden, separated by a narrow sandspit. There’s a 2-hour hike leading to a panoramic view of the lagoon, which also features a beutiful Bottle Tree, an endemic species unique to Socotra. Read my Socotra Travel Guide Wanna travel to Socotra with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Socotra on: October 28th to November 4th, 2025 JOIN US IN SOCOTRA Detwah Lagoon view point is certainly the most beautiful spot in the Middle East 8 – The twisting Minaret of Malwiya Country – Iraq Malwiya is an outstanding 52-meter-tall minaret with a peculiar spiral shape, absolutely jaw-dropping, and the most iconic building in all Iraq. The minaret belongs to Al-Jami, a 9th century mosque, once one of the largest in the world, but destroyed in the 13th century. The emblematic minaret, however, still stands and today, you can climb it to the very top through a steep spiral ramp with no handrail. The minaret can be visited in the city of Samarra, once the capital of the Abbasid caliphate, the third caliphate to succeed the Prophet Muhammad. Today, Samarra is a UNESCO World Heritage city, which can be easily visited on a day trip from Baghdad, a must-visit in the Middle East. Read: Federal Iraq, 10-day itinerary for independent travelers. Wanna travel to Iraq with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers and visit the wonders of Baghdad, Babylon, Karbala, Mosul, and more. February 7th to 14th, 2026 JOIN US IN Iraq The impressive twsiting minaret 9 – The coastline of Dhofar province Country – Oman Stretching from south Oman all the way to the Yemeni border, Dhofar’s coastline may differ significantly from what you expect from an Omani beach. Vertiginous cliffs, turquoise-blue waters, and empty, epic beaches characterize the beaches of southern Oman, barely discovered by the average traveler, who tends to stick to the northern part of the country. If you are into wild, random camping and road trips, in the Middle East, it doesn’t really get better than this. Read my travel guide to Oman Dhofar coastline, somewhere near the Yemeni border – By the way, this isn’t a drone photo, but it was taken from the top of a cliff 10 – Al Balad, the colorful Old City of Jeddah Country – Saudi Arabia Unfortunately, very little is known about Saudi Arabia but, given that this is the home of Mecca, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Saudi is filled with ancient and historical places, and one of the best examples is Al Balad, the old part of Jeddah, established 1,300 years ago as the gateway for Muslims on their way to Mecca, mostly arriving by sea from Africa. Today a UNESCO World Heritage site, Al Balad is a lively area filled with colorful facades and, by far, the most beautiful Old City from all the Gulf Monarchies. Traveling to Saudi Arabia is getting easier than ever and here you read my tips for Saudi. Jeddah Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site 11 – Jerusalem – The holiest place for the three main monotheist religions Country – Israel, and Palestine Today, Jerusalem is part of Israel but, if Palestine ever becomes an independent state, East Jerusalem, which is mostly inhabited by Arabs, will be the capital of the country. Being one of the most important places for Christians, Muslims, and Jews, Jerusalem is a city that has perfectly combined tradition and history with a 21st-century city, meaning that you can stroll around the old city and its historical sites for days and, at the same time, enjoy the endless nightlife, food scene, and modernity of the new part of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is one of those cities that are worth spending several days in. Read more: A travel guide to Palestine The Old City of Jerusalem – Top 10 places to visit in the Middle East 12 – Golestan – Central Asia in the Middle East Country – Iran What if I tell you that, in a very remote part of Iran, bordering the Turkmenistan border, there is a region with an unexpectedly mystical landscape, home to a large Turkmen community who have more similarities to people from Kyrgyzstan than other Iranians. This region is called Golestan province, one of the least visited provinces in Iran, whose main peculiarity is that most of its inhabitants are ethnically Turkmen, a Central Asian ethnicity originally from Turkmenistan. From Central Asian food, such as plov and kurut, to the way they dress, the Mongolian features in people’s faces and a very Central Asian nomadic life, visible in their love for horses and the yurts they live in, Golestan is a different world from the rest of the Middle East. Read more: A guide to Golestan province in Iran Khalid Nabi in Golestan province – Places to see in the Middle East 13 – Mosul, the open-air museum of Iraq Country – Iraq Mosul is exceptional, one of my favorite cities in all of the Middle East, and the reasons are as follow: First of all, it is a very diverse city. Prior to the war against the Islamic State, Mosul was inhabited by different types of Christians, Muslims and also Yazidis. It was ethnically mixed too, home to Armenians, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians. When ISIS took it over, however, most of them fled the city but today, many are coming back and the streets are becoming more lively than ever. On the other hand, the Old City of Mosul is an open-air museum, packed with historical mosques and churches, all of them being in the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list. While it’s true that most of the buildings are today largely destroyed due to the recent war, there’s a big UNESCO team working on rebuilding all its wonders, allowing you to witness an exciting moment of living history. Read: Mosul travel guide Wanna travel to Iraq with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers and visit the wonders of Baghdad, Babylon, Karbala, Mosul, and more. February 7th to 14th, 2026 JOIN US IN Iraq The reconstructions of Al Noori Mosque 14 – Erbil – A cosmopolitan Iraqi city Country – Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) Not many cities in the world have as much history as Erbil has. With almost 30,000 years of history, according to historians, and, today a UNESCO World Heritage site, Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, a city with plenty of tradition, filled with plenty of ancient bazaars, epic cafés, and historical sites. Nevertheless, the awesomeness of Erbil doesn’t end up here and, in fact, what may surprise you is that, as well as a classic Middle Eastern Muslim city, this is also a real pro-Western metropolis and a regional business hub where a large expat community lives and, as a consequence, has some of the most awesome nightlife in the Middle East. Read more: Things to do in Erbil Erbil main square – Visit the Middle East 15 – Petra – One of the 7 wonders of the world Country – Jordan Even though this is likely the most touristic site in the region, it would be a sin not to consider one of the 7 wonders among one of the best places to visit in the Middle East. Petra was founded in the VI century B.C. by the Edomites but, it didn’t prosper until the Nabateans (a group of nomadic Arabs) took over the place and built the city by carving it from the rock, making it become an important trading hub. The architecture of Petra leaves you breathless and, besides admiring the Treasury and the Monastery, I recommend getting off the path, going hiking and taking the trails less traveled. The Monastery, Petra – Things to do in the Middle East 16 – Wadi Doa’n Country – Yemen Wadi Doa’n is a canyon-shaped valley located in the region of Hadramut and dotted with fairy-tale-like villages whose architecture is a real blessing to the eyes. The canyon offers plenty of trekking opportunities with spectacular, vertiginous views, and there’s even a pretty cool resort on the top of a cliff where you can stay and which remains open despite the conflict. Many of the people from these villages, especially young kids, have never seen foreigners, so the local life there is pretty raw. To make it even more exciting, there’s one village named Qarht Bahumaish, which is Usama Bin Laden’s hometown. He was born in Saudi but his family comes from there. Read my Yemen travel guide for more information. Wanna travel to Yemen with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Yemen on: November 20th to 26th, 2025 JOIN US IN YEMEN This is Wadi Doa’n 17 – Beirut – The most culturally diverse and liberal city in the Middle East Country – Lebanon Beirut is the capital of Lebanon, a city that suffered one of the longest contemporary Civil Wars (25 years, ending in 1991). Today, among all the destroyed buildings, Beirut brags about being one of the safest cities in the region. With unbelievable economic growth and the rapid rise of the middle class, Beirut is the most liberal and westernized city in the Middle East (outside of Israel). I love Beirut because of its deep, rich and contrasting history. It’s composed of dozens of districts that differ massively from each other: The hipster district of Gemmayzeh, Hezbollah areas like Bourj al-Barajneh, the student neighborhood of Hamra, old Palestinian refugee camps, the Armenian district of Bourj Hammoud, several Christian areas and much, much more! Beirut is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. From the deepest underground parties to the most glamorous clubs, from local eateries to the best fine dining restaurants in the region, Beirut is a city adaptable to any kind of traveler and budget. Read more about it here: Beirut travel guide Beirut – Travel in the Middle East 18 – The green, rolling hills of Jizan Country – Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is a massive country and, as such, it has quite a few geographical areas, the most dramatically different being Jizan, a province bordering the country of Yemen. Asian-like terraced fields, greenery, and monkeys comprise the mountain villages of Jizan, miles away from Saudi Arabia stereotypes, plus the people there are culturally Yemeni, from the food they eat to the way they traditionally dress. Jizan can’t be more off the beaten track. For more information, read my 2-week itinerary for Saudi Arabia. The terrace fields Jizan is famous for 19 – Maaloula, a Christian town in Syria Country – Syria Maaloula is a Christian town located north of Damascus (Syria) with an intriguing history, both ancient and contemporary. On the one hand, this is one of the very few places in the world where they speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, making it such a unique place. Now that tourists are a rare thing to see, if you visit The Convent of Saint Serge and Bacchus, you are likely to meet the priest, who will certainly be more than happy to recite some words in Aramaic. The recent history of Maaloula, however, isn’t so fortunate, since it was taken by Al Nusra (similar to ISIS) during the war, the legacy of which is still very visible in the many destroyed buildings. In fact, the nuns running the Monastery of Saint Tekla are the ones who were kidnapped by the Muslim extremists, a sad event in which even the Pope intervened. Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit the wonders of Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and more. October 14th to 21st, 2025 JOIN US IN syria The photogenic town of Maaloula 20 – The Dead Sea – The lowest point on Earth Country – Jordan, Israel and Palestine Occupying territory in both Israel & Palestine and Jordan, the Dead Sea is the lake with the highest salt density in the world and also, the lowest point on Earth, 430 meters below sea level. Such is the high concentration of salt that animals and plants can’t live in it, hence the name. Swimming in the Dead Sea is totally fine and, due to the high density of the water, sinking is almost impossible. I’ve only been to the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea and, along the coast, there are several hotels and resorts where you can chill on their beaches and have a mud bath. The Dead Sea from Jordan side and Palestine at the other side – Best places to travel in the Middle East 21 – Liwa Oasis – The purest and wildest image of the Gulf Country – United Arab Emirates Around 500 years ago, a group of Bedouins tapped underground, freshwater recourses to cultivate dates and, as a result, several villages and settlements appeared in the area, which we currently call Liwa, the birthplace of the Nahyan family, the current ruling family of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Since then, and over the years, the cultivation of dates in Liwa has been a key factor in the region’s economic development. Read: Best desert safaris in Dubai Liwa is located in the south of UAE, next to Saudi Arabian border and on the edge of the Empty Quarter, a huge desert spread across UAE, Yemen, Oman, and Saudi Arabia and considered the largest (continuous) sea of dunes on Earth, whose end can’t even be seen from the furthest horizon. In addition, in Liwa you can also find the only real Bedouins in the UAE and the Moreeb dune, one of the highest dunes in the world (300m). Read more: A guide to Liwa Oasis Bedouin in Liwa Oasis – Places to travel in the Middle East 22 – The Citadel of Aleppo Country – Syria Along with Damascus, I also visited Aleppo at the beginning of 2019. Before the war, Aleppo used to be the largest and most touristic city in the country. Being a few thousands years older than Damascus, the Citadel and Old City of Aleppo have been mostly destroyed by the Civil War but after the liberation of the city in 2017, the reconstruction has already begun, Syrians are moving back and shops are, very slowly, reopening. I am pretty sure that, in a matter of years, the beautiful city of Aleppo will return to its maximum splendor. For more information, read my 8-day itinerary for Syria Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit the wonders of Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and more. October 14th to 21st, 2025 JOIN US IN syria The Old City & Citadel of Aleppo 23 – Madain Saleh, like Petra but more epic Country – Saudi Arabia Similar to Tabouk, have you ever been to Petra, in Jordan? Imagine the wonders of Petra but in the desert of Saudi Arabia. That’s Madain Saleh (or Hegra). Hegra was an ancient city founded by local tribes in 3000 BC, but it was not until the 2nd century BC that the Nabateans made it a great city, in a fear of the Romans conquering Petra, so it could serve as the new capital. Still, the Romans conquered both cities, Hegra and Petra, but the more than 100 tombs carved from the giant desert rocks remained, today found in the middle of nowhere. Unlike Petra, however, the tombs of Madain Saleh are spread out across a vast desert but as part of the visit, you can tour around with a pretty cool Vintage Jeep. Read: Saudi Arabia itinerary Epic Hegra 24 – Dahab – The most backpacking-friendly place in the Middle East Country – Egypt Dahab is a lovely touristic beach town inhabited by Bedouins in the Sinai peninsula, which is considered the most backpacking-friendly place (and probably the only one) in the Middle East. For decades, Dahab has attracted travelers from all over the world for having some of the best diving in the country. In Dahab, one comes for two things: either scuba diving or doing literally nothing, as it has this laid-back atmosphere that consists of going to the beach, smoking weed and eating at the several seafood restaurants. Besides, due to the massive drop of the Egyptian Pound, in Dahab, you could easily rent a full apartment (2 beds with Wi-Fi) for less than 9USD a day. Read more: A guide for traveling Egypt (3-week itinerary + tips) Dahab at sunset – Travel to the Middle East 25 – Jerash – Massive and highly accessible Roman ruins Country – Jordan If making a trip to Lebanon to visit the ruins of Baalbek sounds too hardcore for you but you still want to travel to the Middle East, perhaps you should consider visiting Jerash, another of the greatest Roman ruins outside of Italy, constructed in some of the most fertile valleys in the region, today comprising green, rolling hills filled with olive and fig trees. The location, therefore, is not a coincidence because, when it was built around 2,000 years ago, the Romans wanted to make it a great city due to the richness of the land. Jerash, one of the finest Roman ruins to travel in the Middle East 26 – Resafa, the ruined Basilica in Raqqa (Syria) Country – Syria Resafa is an ancient ruined city dating back to the 9th century BC, located in the desert near Raqqa, Syria. The site features an amazing, still standing basilica with Roman columns, something rare to see in such remote areas in the Middle East. After being closed to tourism for years due to the Syrian war, Resafa has recently reopened under the new Syrian Government in January 2025. We visited Resafa it in April 2025, the first visitors to ever enter the site since 2025, but a special permission is required. Resafa was also taken by ISIS before being liberated by Government forces on 19 June 2017. Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit the wonders of Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and more. October 14th to 21st, 2025 JOIN US IN syria This is Resafe, near Raqqa 27 – Musandam – The Norway of the Middle East Country – Oman A rocky desert land composed of stunning fiords, cliffs and one of the largest varieties of wildlife in the Middle East, Musandam (often called the Norway of the Middle East) is a piece of territory within the UAE that belongs to Oman. It’s located north of UAE, projecting into the Strait of Hormuz. Musandam is a pretty common destination among expats living in Dubai but still, the area remains pretty untouched. Along the coast, you find several beaches only occupied by the local Omanis, who like to gather with their families for barbecues during the weekends. Expect several families to invite you to join them. Read: Best excursions and activities to do in Oman In Musandam, you could also rent an abra (a local traditional boat) to sail around the fiords and observe the wildlife. Meeting dolphins is almost guaranteed and, if you are into snorkeling, you can see that the deep and dark waters of Musandam are also home to coral, turtles and manta rays, among other things. Read more: A guide to visiting Musandam in Oman Khor Najd – Places to visit in the Middle East 28 – Hebron – The most troubled city in Palestine Remember to get travel insurance for Middle East IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in ALL Middle Eastern countries Get 5% discount if purchasing via this link Country – Palestine Hebron is the city where the Tomb of the Patriarchs stands, the place where Abraham, Jacob and Isaac are buried. The Tomb of the Patriarchs is one of the holiest places for both Muslims and Jews. This means that both religions are sharing an important holy place but, on top of that, Hebron also happens to be the only city in Palestine where Jewish settlements are within the city itself. The situation is quite sensitive, as there have been endless confrontations between the local Palestinians and the settlers. In the old part of the city, the local Palestinians have built a fence that serves as a roof to prevent the settlers who live in the upper floors throwing garbage to them. To add more tension to the conflict, during the holy month of Ramadan in 1994, a Jew entered the Tomb of Patriarchs (in the mosque inside), opened fire and killed 29 Muslims during prayer time. Since then, the area is strictly controlled and, both Jewish and Muslim prayer areas are strictly separated. Abraham is buried in the middle of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, right between the synagogue and the mosque, so the members of both religions can see his tomb from their prayer room. Read more: A guide to visiting Hebron in Palestine The checkpoint for those few Arabs who live in the Jewish settlement – Places to visit in the Middle East 29 – Qadisha Valley – Lovely Christian mountain villages Country – Lebanon If you either want just to relax, eat good food, visit beautiful Christian monasteries or to go hiking, the Kadisha Valley in Lebanon will always be the perfect place for you. Kadisha means ”holy” and owes this name to the fact that this valley is home to some of the most ancient communities of monastic Christians in the Middle East. In case you don’t know it, monasticism is a way of life for which the person (in this case the Christian monks) renounces to everything to devote himself completely to spiritual work. The valley is full of natural caves, difficult to access, that once served as places of isolation for the monks living lives devoted to Christ. Kadisha is a really unique place to visit in the Middle East. Qadisha Valley, located in the north of the country – Travel to the Middle East 30 – Leptis Magna, first league Roman ruins by the Mediterranean Country – Libya Leptis Magna was a prominent city in Roman Libya, originally a Phoenician town (7th century BCE) that quickly expanded under the Roman Empire. The ruins are in excellent condition, and the whole complex is huge. Its particular attraction is that the ruins are built right next to the shore, including the fantastic amphitheater. Leptis Magna can easily be reached from Tripoli in around two hours, making it the perfect day trip from the capital and a default in all the group expeditions we organize. Read my Libya travel guide. Wanna travel to Libya with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Libya on: January 29th to February 4th, 2026 JOIN US IN Libya Best Roman ruins in the Middle East 31 – The Mesopotamian Marshes Country – Iraq Another great place to visit in the Middle East are the Arab Marshes, a wetland ecosystem located in south Iraq, sort of an aquatic landscape located in the Iraqi desert. It occupies an area of 10,000km2, inhabited by water buffaloes and all sort of animals and plants. The Marshes are also home to a distinct cultural group: the Marsh Arabs, who populate the different islands, living in their sarifas, a peculiar house entirely made of reed. The Marshes can be visited from the southern city of Nasiriyah and the best way to experience it is on a boat tour. Read: A guide to travel in Federal Iraq Wanna travel to Iraq with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers and visit the wonders of Baghdad, Babylon, Karbala, Mosul, and more. February 7th to 14th, 2026 JOIN US IN Iraq A Marsh Arab 32 – Manama – Drugs and rock & roll Country – Bahrain In case you’ve never heard of it, Bahrain is a tiny country (one of tiniest in the world actually) located in the Persian Gulf, between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and Manama is its capital. To make it short, Bahrain is the only Arab Gulf Monarchy that has run out of petrol, or at least, can’t rely on the petrol income anymore. In desperation, looking at alternative ways of gaining income, Bahrain became the party place in the Middle East, where concerning prostitution, alcohol, and parties, in general, are more permissive than in any other Gulf country. Connected to Saudi Arabia by a bridge, every week, thousands of Saudis cross the border to have fun and enjoy a relative level of freedom. Besides, this is the only place in the Middle East where I’ve seen two homosexuals making out in the middle of the street. Manama is also home to many Western expats, who hang out in a popular area called Adliya, which has plenty of bars and wall paintings and makes one forget that he or she is in the Middle East. Bahrain is, unequivocally, one of the most surreal places to travel and visit in the Middle East. A particular wall painting in Bahrain – Best places to visit in the middle east 33 – Luxor – The greatest open-air museum Country – Egypt Established on the shore of the great Nile river and surrounded by both mango plantations and desert, Luxor is the world’s greatest open-air museum. This is the place where the most well-known pharaohs come from, like Tutankhamun for example, and most of the temples are either in excellent conditions or perfectly restored. From large and epic tombs to temples constructed on a giant scale, all of them dating from between 3,200 B.C. and 1,500 B.C, Luxor is an unmissable place to travel in the Middle East. Read more: How to visit Luxor independently, in 2 days The statue of Ramses II in Luxor temple – Visit the Middle East 34 – Palmyra, today the most off the beaten track ruins Country – Syria Not so long ago, the Roman ruins of Palmyra used to receive hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Dating back to the second millennium BC, it has been inhabited for more than 4,000 years before becoming part of the Roman Empire during the first century AD. It used to be an important trade caravan route and its wealth allowed them to build monuments such as the Temple of Bel and the Great Colonnade. Nowadays, the city of Palmyra is a ghost town, a direct consequence of the battle against ISIS but the archaeological area has re-opened for tourists, always escorted by a member of the Syrian Army. The Temple of Bell is practically all ruins but Palmyra is a big complex and many of its marvels are still standing. Wanna travel to Syria with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit the wonders of Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra and more. October 14th to 21st, 2025 JOIN US IN syria The remains of the Temple of bEL 35 – Salalah – Coconuts, pineapples, and tropical rain Country – Oman What if I tell you that there’s a place in the Persian Gulf where it rains, which it’s full of green meadows and the locals sell coconuts and pineapples? This place is called Salalah, a city found in the most southern part of Oman, very close to the Yemeni border. Salalah, and the region of Dhofar, is an area that experiences a monsoon season. This season is called Khareef and occurs from July till September. During this season, Salalah becomes a beautiful and lush green, which attracts visitors from all over the country, as well as Saudi Arabia and UAE, who want to run away from their disgustingly hot and humid weather. Read more: Salalah travel guide The greenery of Salalah during the Khareef – Things to do in the Middle East 36 – Bethlehem – Take a look at the Wall of Separation between Israel and Palestine Country – Palestine Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus. However, unless you are an ardent Christian, the most interesting part of Bethlehem is to get a close feeling of the consequences of the Israeli occupation as, after the Second Intifada, in 2001, Israel built an 8-meter wall that would finally isolate the West Bank from Israel. The wall, however, was built within Palestinian territory, hence the Israelis stole some of their land. Literally, it passes by the center of the city and it is decorated with plenty of Pro-Palestinian paintings, including a real work from the famous Banksy, the white pigeon. For more information, read my travel guide to Palestine The separation wall of Bethlehem – Must visit the Middle East 37 – Hutan Dara, the Dragon Blood Trees forest Country – Yemen (Socotra) The Dragon Blood Tree is a tree native to Socotra (Yemen), named its blood-like sap. It’s also the national symbol of Socotra. In the heart of Socotra island, you find Hutan Dara, a forest home to thousands of these trees, truly the one of the most magical places in all of Yemen and the Middle East. Wild camping in Huta Dara is allowed and perfectly possible. Read: How to travel in Socotra Wanna travel to Socotra with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Socotra on: October 28th to November 4th, 2025 JOIN US IN SOCOTRA Hutan Dara, the Dragon Blood Trees forest 38 – Qeshm Island – The most authentic Persian Gulf culture Country – Iran Located in the Persian Gulf, right in the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, Qeshm is an island with amazing geological formations, as well as very rich wildlife. This is what most travelers come here for but, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the island is to get immersed in the local culture, as this is the only place that has been able to preserve the fast-disappearing Persian Gulf culture, today only visible here and in a few other places in Oman. Unlike the rest of Iran, people here are Sunnis, from the conservative branch actually, Wahabis, but, since they have a great Iranian influence, they are quite laid back. Qeshm is a different world from the rest of Iran and it can be seen not only in the religion, the architecture and their food, which is mainly based on seafood but also in the way their women dress, in such colorful abayas and niqabs, like nowhere else you have ever seen. Read more: A guide to Qeshm Island 39 – Wadi Bajda, authentic Saudi Bedouin life Country – Saudi Arabia Have you ever visited the Wadi Rum in Jordan? The Wadi Rum is a beautiful, red-sand-dune desert that stretches across Jordan and north of Saudi Arabia too, in the region of Tabouk. However, while in Jordan, Wadi Rum has become an extremely touristic place, on the Saudi side, the Saudi Bedouins living there are still genuine and authentic, allowing you to live witness what traditional life is like in Saudi. Amazing rock formations and camel farms, all without a single tourist around. Read: How to travel to Saudi Saudi Bedouin milking a camel That was my list of the best places to travel in the Middle East for next year. Have you been to any? If you have more recommendations or suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments section!

The Nenets are an Indigenous people of Arctic Russia, renowned for their nomadic lifestyle and deep connection to reindeer herding in the remote, unforgiving tundra of northern Siberia, in a region named Yamalia. Despite their isolation, it is now possible for travelers to visit Nenets camps, a rare opportunity to meet a truly nomadic culture, […]

The Nenets are an Indigenous people of Arctic Russia, renowned for their nomadic lifestyle and deep connection to reindeer herding in the remote, unforgiving tundra of northern Siberia, in a region named Yamalia. Despite their isolation, it is now possible for travelers to visit Nenets camps, a rare opportunity to meet a truly nomadic culture, while witnessing one of the rawest travel experiences. In Against the Compass, we offer several expeditions to meet the Nenets throughout year, both in winter and summer. When it’s best to visit the Nenets: winter or summer? Travelers interested in this particular part of Russia are often not sure about which season is best for going to Yamalia. The truth is that both seasons offer incredible experiences, but they’re dramatically different. Here are 30 photos that will help you decide which season is best to travel with us to Yamalia. Remember that we have the following shceuded for Nenets: September 18th to 24th, 2025 (summer) November 16th to 22nd (2025) (winter) March 31st to April 6th (2026) (winter) Nenets in summer Our Nenets summer tour is in: September 18th to 24th (2025) In summer, the landscape is more beautiful, with the tundra being green and covered in wildflowers. Another great advantage is that you are going to see much more reindeers, since in summer, Nenets need to gather them every day for carrying out different types of tasks. In summer, Nenets often don’t wear their traditional reindeer-made clothes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take amazing photos, plus remember the weather is much more pleasant than the freezing Siberian winter. However, the main advantage of coming here in summer is that you’ll get to witness the migration, as Nenets families move with their reindeer and sledges every one or two days—a dynamic, ever-changing scene that few outsiders ever get to see. Nenets in winter Our Nenets winter tours are in: November 16th to 22nd (2025) March 31st to April 6th (2026) In winter, the whole tundra is frozen, and temperatures drop down to -20ºc and -40ºc. The tundra isn’t as beautiful as in summer but the weather and snow add an epic touch into it. From a weather perspective, it’s colder and more uncomfortable, but don’t worry, chums (local tents) are warm and cozy. Nenets wear their traditional, reindeer-made clothes, making them particular photogenic. In winter, you won’t witness Nenets migration (unless staged) but you will be able to see other activities like ice-fishing, or ice collection for their water. More Information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Russia destination How to visit Nenets Russia Travel Guide How to visit Chechnya How to get visa for Russia

South Ossetia is a breakaway republic that declared independence from Georgia in 2008. However, it has only been recognized as an independent country by a handful of states—Russia, Venezuela, Vanuatu, Nicaragua, and Syria—making it one of those “ghost countries” that exist in a kind of geopolitical limbo. This separatist republic, however, has always been the […]

South Ossetia is a breakaway republic that declared independence from Georgia in 2008. However, it has only been recognized as an independent country by a handful of states—Russia, Venezuela, Vanuatu, Nicaragua, and Syria—making it one of those “ghost countries” that exist in a kind of geopolitical limbo. This separatist republic, however, has always been the most difficult to visit. This blog tell you everything you need to know to travel to South Ossetia, including visas, how to get there, places to visit and more. You will also like: Abkhazia travel guide In this travel guide to South Ossetia, you will find: Table of Contents Intro Visa Getting in People, culture Money & budget Internet Places to visit More information Introduction to traveling to South Ossetia Why are there two Ossetias? In 1922, as part of a broader Soviet strategy to weaken nationalist movements and centralize control the region of Ossetia was split into two: North Ossetia became Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Russian SFSR South Ossetia became an Autonomous Oblast (AO) within the Georgian SSR – the lowest level of autonomy in the Soviet system. Over the following decades, South Ossetia pushed for a greater autonomy, which was never granted. South Ossetia main flag and emblem South Ossetia becomes an independent territory within Georgia (1991-2008) When the USSR collapsed and Georgia became an independent country, South Ossetia became instantly part of Georgia. Nevertheless, South Ossetians refused to be under their control, so fighting broke out between Georgian forces and South Ossetian separatists. A ceasefire was eventually reached, leaving South Ossetia as a de facto independent territory within Georgia. At the time, Georgians made up roughly one third of the population in South Ossetia, and the border with Georgia was open and fully operational. Tensions, however, always remained. South Ossetia becomes an independent country (2008) In 2008, Georgia started a war by bombarding Tskhinvali, accusing Russia of violating agreements by sending troops through the Roki Tunnel and distributing Russian passports to South Ossetians That short, 5-day war ended with South Ossetia becoming a fully independent country, but only recognized by: Russia Venezuela Nicaragua Syria Vanuatu It is also recognized by the non-recognized Republics of Abkhazia and Transnistria. Read our travel guide to Transnistria. South Ossetian passport first page South Ossetian passport front page Why isn’t Russia absorbing South Ossetia? Russia already absorbed Crimea, while Ukraine is work in progress, why not taking over South Ossetia? Russia already gets a lot of benefits from South Ossetia, they fully control it economically and military, but not making it formally part of Russia benefits them even further: it blocks Georgia from joining NATO, since the alliance won’t admit a country with unresolved border disputes. The Embassy of Transnitria in Tskhinvali How to get a visa for South Ossetia For visiting South Ossetia you will need to apply for a permit, which will allow you to collect your visa on arrival at the border. Permits can only be issued by the South Ossetian migration office, so you’ll need someone local – such as a friend, guide or tour operator – to apply on your behalf. This local person doesn’t necessarily need to be South Ossetian, but Russians can also obtain the permit for you at the respective office in Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia). Keep in mind that permits take 30 to 60 days to be issued, so apply well in advance. What are the South Ossetian permit requirements? A passport copy and a double-entry Russian visa. Russia considers South Ossetia as an independent country so, when entering South Ossetia from Russia, you are technically leaving Russian territory and because the border between South Ossetia and Georgia is closed, you will need to return to Russia the same way you came, so a a double-entry visa is strictly required. How can I get a double-entry Russian visa? Check our updated Russian visa guide for all details. Do you get any stamp or proof in your passport that you have traveled to South Ossetia? No, you don’t. Russia will issue a brand-new migration card, but they won’t stamp your passport. Similarly, the visa for South Ossetia is issued as a separate piece of paper. Therefore, except for your pictures and souvenirs, there won’t be any official proof that you’ve been to South Ossetia, meaning you can travel to Georgia afterwards without issues. The visa for traveling to South Ossetia How to travel to South Ossetia Traveling to South Ossetia from Georgia The border between Georgia and South Ossetia has been closed since 2008. Traveling to South Ossetia from Russia The only way to enter South Ossetia is from Russia via the Roki Tunnel, located 1.5 hours from Vladikavkaz. From the border to Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, it’s another 1.5 drive, so roughly 3 hours in total. However, border formalities on the Russian side can take up to 4 hours, including waiting time and questioning. In my case, we were 2 foreigners and the total waiting time was 2 hours and 50 minutes. The Russian authorities were friendly but did ask loads of questions, mostly related to my travels – based on the stamps in my passport. They also went through all the pictures on my phone, so make sure to delete any controversial photos before arriving. On the other hand, the South Ossetian side didn’t take more than 10 minutes. To be honest, I don’t know if there is any public transportation between Vladikavkaz and Tskhinvali but either way, I strongly recommend entering South Ossetia with the same person who applied for your permit. The border town in South Ossetia South Ossetians and their culture Ossetians are an ethnic group native to the central Caucasus. Today, the population of Ossetians live spread across North Ossetia and South Ossetia, but they are essentially the same people, with their regional, local differences, just like most nations around the world. Ossetian is the language spoken by all Ossetians, which is highly related to Iranian, but they use the Cyrillic alphabet and virtually everyone speaks impeccable Russian. Other than that, while North Ossetia is today more developed and much closer to the Russian culture, South Ossetia remains more traditional, visible in the rural villages and lifestyle of most people in South Ossetia. Also check: How to visit the Nenets in Yamalia A South Ossetian lady cooking a traditional dish What’s South Ossetian’s opinion on Georgians? The general opinion of South Ossetians toward Georgians is deeply negative. Georgians are widely seen as aggressors and oppressors, blamed for carrying out ethnic cleansing and mass displacement. This sentiment is particularly strong among the younger generation, who have grown up with no contact with Georgians and have been exposed to decades of anti-Georgian propaganda, largely driven by Russia. That’s the general opinion, you asked for it There are some exceptions, of course—especially among older generations who coexisted with Georgians during Soviet times—but the general rule is that, according to South Ossetians, Georgians are the worst of all evils, and Russians are their saviours. If you’re travelling in South Ossetia, it’s important not to contradict them—they are extremely sensitive about the topic, and I say this from personal experience. As someone who lived in Georgia for almost a year and has a big sympathy for Georgians, I tried to give a balanced, unbiased opinion on that matter, not necessarily supporting Georgians, but suggesting that perhaps Georgia’s attack was influenced by obvious Russian provocations—that Russia was looking for an excuse—and that the only real beneficiary of the war was Russia. However, it was simply impossible to convince them of any of this. Some South Ossetians hanging our in a pretty area near Tskhinvali Money & budget for South Ossetia After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Georgia introduced the Georgian lari but Russia retained the ruble as its currency. South Ossetia never fully integrated into post-Soviet Georgia after 1991 so, until 2008, they used both the Georgian lari and the Russian ruble. When South Ossetia became an independent country in 2008, they abandoned the Lari for good, while adopting the Russian ruble as their official currency, mainly because they didn’t have any financial or base to support its own currency, plus they heavily rely on Russian aid, investments and all sorts of support. Therefore, in South Ossetia, they use the Russian ruble. Credit cards, ATM and exchanging money in South Ossetia South Ossetia is economically integrated with Russia, so sanctions imposed on Russia equally apply here. For more information, check the money section of our Russia travel guide. Internet and connectivity in South Ossetia Wi-Fi in South Ossetia During my trip to South Ossetia, I didn’t really connect to Wi-Fi except for when I was at the hotel. It was fine. Internet data in South Ossetia There is weak 3G in cities and towns, good enough for simple browsing. In South Ossetia, they use Russian mobile networks, so the same rules apply. For more information, check the internet section of our travel guide to Russia. Places to visit in South Ossetia: a 3-day itinerary Unless you are planning to do some hiking, South Ossetia is a small region which you can easily visit in a few days. Here are the places we visited in South Ossetia in 3 days. South Ossetia itinerary map Places to visit in South Ossetia in 3 days Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia Tskhinvali might be one of the hardest capital names in the world to pronounce. Rather than a proper capital city, Tskhinvali feels more like a small provincial town. Its southern edge lies right at the border with Georgia. The city is about 50km from Gori, a popular town in Georgia for being Stalin’s birthplace. To be honest, there’s not much going on in Tskhinvali, the main highlights being things related to South Ossetia’s independence, such as the Parliament and several Georgian war memorials. The city also houses a very insightful National Museum and intrepid travelers will certainly enjoy dropping by the embassies of Transnistria and Abkhazia, two breakaway republics with a similar status that recognize South Ossetia. In fact, our local fixer turned out to be a friend of the Transnistria main representative, with whom we had a few glasses of wine. The Parliament of South Ossetia is an unmissable place to visit in Tskhinvali Monastery of Tiri Tiri is a beautiful Georgian Orthodox monastery dating back to the 8th century that for centuries, played a key role in the spread of Christianity in the South Caucasus. While some locals – including our fixer – claimed the monastery is Armenian, evidence clearly suggests that it’s Georgian, since it lies within a region that was part of medieval Georgia, plus, architecturally, the ornamentation, and inscriptions are consistent with early medieval Georgian church styles, not Armenian. The Monastery of Tiri is one of the landmarks to visit in South Ossetia Ertso Lake Located at 1,700–1,800 meters above sea level, Ertso lake is a striking, alpine lake easily accessible from the road to Kvaisi, and a great stopover for a picnic lunch. Ertso Lake in a not very beautiful day in South Ossetia Kvaisi Today, Kvaisi is a sleepy town located in western South Ossetia, bordering the province of Racha in Georgia. Back in the day, however, this mountain town was the industrial and mining hub of South Ossetia, the legacy of which can be seen in the abandoned factories, faded murals, and concrete buildings. If you are into urban exploration and crumbling Lenin statues and Soviet stuff, it doesn’t get any better than in Kvaisi. An abandoned mining factory in Kvaisi Akhalgori (Leningor) Akhalgori is the most politically sensitive town in South Ossetia. Until 2008, Akhalgori was the only part in today’s South Ossetia still under Georgian government control, with over 90% of its population being ethnic Georgians. The town saw no direct battle during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war but after the ceasefire was signed, South Ossetian and Russian forces took over that small piece of territory, displacing most of its Georgian population. Akhalgori was the original Georgian name and South Ossetians reverted to its Soviet-era name, Leningor. This is the village of Akhalgori or Leningor Alpine Brewery Just outside of Akhalgori, there is a small beer producer named Alpine Brewery. Your fixer should be able to arrange a visit , followed by a beer tasting, but don’t expect anything fancy. It’s a very local experience, where they’ll likely just hand you a few bottles for you to drink after the tour. This is what our beer tasting consisted of Stalin statue Stalin: Georgian or South Ossetian? 
Some Ossetians claim that Stalin was South Ossetian, but there’s no historical evidence to support this. If you ever hear it while traveling in South Ossetia, consider it a nationalist narrative rather than a fact: Stalin was born in Georgia, he was ethnically Georgian, spoke Russian with a Georgian accent and that claim was never promoted during Soviet times. I have traveled extensively across all the former Soviet Union countries, but it was in South Ossetia where I for the first time I saw a full statue of Stalin (not just a bust) still standing in its original location, exactly where it was first erected in the 1940s. Before this, I had seen other Stalin statues (only a few though) but they were either busts or had been moved to parks or open-air museums—no longer in their original settings. As you know, most Stalin statues across the USSR were removed after the speech and report delivered by Nikita Khrushchev on The Cult of Personality and Its Consequences. This marked the beginning of a broader process of de-Stalinization, during which monuments were dismantled, cities renamed, and Stalin’s legacy critically re-evaluated across the Soviet bloc. One of the very, very few Stalin statues that remain in the former USSR More information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. More Travel Guides to Other Unrecognized Countries Transnistria Travel Guide Somaliland Travel Guide Kosovo Travel Guide Travel Guide to Abkhazia Travel guides to former Soviet countries Russia Travel Guide Belarus Travel Guide Georgia Travel Guide Ukraine Travel Guide Travel Guide to Moldova Azerbaijan Travel Guide Travel Guide to Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide to Tajikistan Uzbekistan Travel Guide Kazakhstan Travel Guide

Wanna travel to Pakistan with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Pakistan: May 12th to 21st, 2026 If you ever decide to travel to Pakistan, I promise you that you will have the adventure of your lifetime. From hitchhiking on tractors and psychedelic trucks to driving […]

Wanna travel to Pakistan with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Pakistan: May 12th to 21st, 2026 learn more If you ever decide to travel to Pakistan, I promise you that you will have the adventure of your lifetime. From hitchhiking on tractors and psychedelic trucks to driving over extremely narrow mountain roads built on a cliff 1,500 meters high, soldiers who voluntarily give you their AK-47 for taking a photo, the most striking landscape and the fact that you can camp in the middle of a paradise completely by yourself. Traveling to Pakistan is definitely, the ultimate experience and adventure. However, this isn’t particularly an easy place to travel in. Going on a trip to Pakistan requires a little bit of preparation, as well as quite a lot of things to know beforehand. This Pakistan travel guide contains everything you need to know, including all travel information regarding visas, transportation, cultural etiquette, cultural behavior, costs and more! In this Pakistan travel guide you will find: Table of Contents Pakistan today Visa rules Tours Travel Insurance Best time to visit How to get in Cultural behavior and facts Security & safety Solo female travel Internet Prices and money Transportation Food, alcohol & chai Accommodation More information our recommended travel insurance for Pakistan With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Pakistan. GET 5% DISCOUNT HERE What’s it like to travel in Pakistan today Before 9/11, Pakistan used to be a tourist country. Well, not that touristic, but its breathtaking mountains were a popular stopover for backpackers going along the famous Hippie Trail. In fact, in the Northern Areas, you can find a few backpacker hostels which somehow, are the remains of what used to be a popular destination for intrepid backpackers. The 9/11 attacks, however, along with a big bunch of unfortunate events, usually involving Taliban activity and loads of violence, put an end to the emerging tourism industry. Fortunately, things have changed. In the last couple of years, the security situation in Pakistan has dramatically improved and the Northern Areas of Pakistan are, once again, filled with intrepid backpackers who want to visit some of the most jaw-dropping mountain scenery you will ever see, and experience the hospitality Pakistan is famous for. Nevertheless, despite this massive tourism increase, Pakistan still remains raw, authentic, and genuine, and it will stay like that for a very long time, especially because it is not an easy country to travel to: tourist infrastructure is in an embryonic stage, it is difficult to move around and you won’t meet many foreigners, so that’s why I personally believe that only experienced travelers should go to Pakistan. However, traveling in Pakistan is one of the most rewarding traveling experiences one can ever have. random locals, somewhere in Astore Valley How to get a visa for visiting Pakistan Here you have the most updated information Today, it’s possible to travel to Pakistan with an e-visa. Join our Pakistan expedition Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit some remote and off-the-beaten-track valleys in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. May 12th to 21st, 2026 LEARN MORE How to apply for a Pakistani e-visa You can apply through this portal. By the way, they also offer a mobile app (available at the same link) where you can submit your application directly from your smartphone. How long is the Pakistan e-visa valid for? By default, you will get a single-entry visa, which allows you to stay in Pakistan for 3 months. How much does the e-visa for Pakistan cost? As of September 2025, the new e-visa for Pakistan is free of charge. How long does it take to get the e-visa? Although the official website states that processing takes 7–10 days, most travelers report receiving their visa within a few hours of submission. How to make a visa extension for Pakistan If you need a longer stay or multiple entries, you can apply for a multiple-entry visa valid for more than 6 months directly through the same online portal. My visa for Pakistan, with both the entry & exit stamps, which I got at the Consulate of Barcelona. That was back in 2017, when an e-visa for Pakistan wasn’t available yet. How to sign up for a tour in Pakistan Traveling with a group and an expert local guide will make things much easier, and more fun! 14 days exploring the Northern Areas, including driving through the Karakoram Highway, as well as exploring the barely visited valleys of Shimshal and Astore. Against the Compass has the following scheduled Pakistan expedition: May 12th to 21st, 2026. APPLY NOW May 22nd to June 4th, 2026. APPLY NOW September 17th to 27th, 2026. APPLY NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PAKISTAN TOURS Travel insurance for traveling in Pakistan Pakistan is an adventurous destination, so we recommend going there with proper travel insurance. I recommend IATI Insurance because: Their backpacker plan covers all types of adventure activities, including trekking Very competitive prices Readers of this blog can get a 5% exclusive discount BUY IT HERE TO GET YOUR 5% DISCOUNT Rakaposhi Base Camp, one of the top and most accessible mountains I climbed when I visited Pakistan Best time to visit Pakistan Pakistan has many different regions, ranging from sea-level, flat deserts to 8,000-meter peaks, so each season will present its own peculiarities. Traveling in Pakistan in winter (mid-November to February) The best time to visit the south part of the country, especially Sindh province. Those lands may not have the mountains Pakistan is famous for but this is the most religiously diverse region in Pakistan. On the other hand, most mountains in northern Pakistan remain totally inaccessible in the wintertime. You can still get to the Northern Areas through the Karakoram Highway, but you won’t be able to visit any side valley. Traveling in Pakistan in summer (June to September) The best season for visiting the Northern Areas, especially if you like trekking in high-altitude mountains. Traveling in Pakistan in spring & Autumn I personally traveled to Pakistan in April and May and the mountains were at their best, as the weather was gorgeous (most days), plus they weren’t busy with domestic tourism. Traveling in Pakistan during Ramadan A topic by itself, with its pros & cons. Lost with Purpose traveled in Pakistan during Ramadan and wrote this insightful post. This photo was from mid-April. Not bad! How to travel to Pakistan How to travel to Pakistan by air Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad have international airports connecting with Istanbul and many Middle Eastern cities, especially Doha and Dubai. How to travel to Pakistan by land Pakistan shares a border with Iran, Afghanistan, India, and China. How to travel from Afghanistan to Pakistan by land With the new Taliban Government, the border crossing at Khyber Pass is fully open, and no permits are required. We crossed it in 2023, it’s quite an adventure. Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing back in 2023! How to travel from China to Pakistan by land At 4600 meters above sea level, this is one of the highest border crossings in the world. Read my report. How to travel from India to Pakistan by land It’s possible to cross at Wagah. It’s an easy one to cross, despite the diplomatic relationship between the countries. Read this report How to travel from India to Pakistan by land It goes through Baluchistan, and it is quite an adventure. Read this report Khunjerab Pass, the Pakistani-Chinese border and one of the highest border crossing in the world Cultural behavior and facts when traveling in Pakistan Looking for a selection of travel books? The best books on Pakistan Urdu, which is like Hindi, is the official language However, each region has its own (or several) local languages, so different from each other. English is widely spoken among educated people, like in India. Pakistan is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries From the South Asian-looking people of Punjab and Sindh; to the people of the Pashtun areas, closer to Iran or Afghanistan; the pagan culture of Kalash; the Shias from Gilgit and Nagar; the Ismailis of lower Hunza and the Wakhis (and also Ismailis) of upper Hunza. Traveling in Pakistan is like traveling in several, different tiny countries. It’s fascinating. Remember, you are the guest People tend to say that, in Iran, Sudan and Iraqi Kurdistan, you find the most hospitable people in the world. Well, clearly, they haven’t visited Pakistan. Whereas it’s true that these countries are very hospitable, Pakistanis bring it to the next level. In this country, you are the guest, which means that the locals strive for you to have the best possible time in their country or region. The hospitality can even be overwhelming During your trip to Pakistan, you’ll be invited for lunch, dinner and even to stay at people’s houses so many times that, on many occasions, you will have to refuse. After your refusal, they will insist once again, over and over. They will also insist on carrying your bag and offering you food one hundred times even if you say that you are full. These are their cultural rules and you are the guest. So overwhelming, but just don’t get angry One day, some random men who I had never seen before came to my hotel at 7:30 am in the morning, knocking at the door of my room, waking me up from a very good sleep. Apparently, they heard that there was a foreigner in the village, so they just wanted to hang out with me. I got a little bit angry, continued sleeping but then I kind of felt bad, as all they wanted was to show me around the village. Paying for meals For some reason, Pakistanis always want to pay for your meals to the extent that it gets awkward. I personally didn’t like it, especially when I could see that the local people didn’t have much money. If possible, try to back them up. Wearing a Shalwar Kameez The traditional Pakistani dress, which 80% or 90% of Pakistanis wear, is called shalwar kameez. Should you wear it? It’s not compulsory but, if you do, the locals will really appreciate it, especially in the Pashtun areas. Islam Pakistan is the most conservative country I’ve ever been to. You should be careful and always respect their rules. If you do, they will also respect you and you will have the best time in their country. Multan shrine, one of the most beautiful places to visit in Pakistan Security and safety when you travel in Pakistan Join our Pakistan expedition Join a group of like-minded travelers to visit some remote and off-the-beaten-track valleys in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. May 12th to 21st, 2026 LEARN MORE Pakistan is not dangerous but you should be cautious. You might have read from other blogs that Pakistan is one of the safest countries in the world. Personally, I wouldn’t say that. Whereas I think that Pakistan is not a dangerous country, in some areas, it’s better to be cautious, especially in the southern part of the country. Read: Is Afghanistan safe? However, the situation is only getting better and better Seriously, safety in Pakistan has improved exponentially. Police are there to help you Throughout your Pakistan travels, you’ll be continuously interrogated by dozens of different policemen and people from the army. Who are you? Why are you here? Where are you going? Unlike in other countries, in Pakistan, the police and military are pretty cool and, for your own security, they are commanded to ask you these questions. Update: This doesn’t really apply in the north of Pakistan any longer, but more like in the south, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Bring passport & visa photocopies It’s good to bring loads of photocopies because, at some check posts, if you have a passport copy, you don’t have to get out of the car. Otherwise, you are going to waste your time. Occasionally, you get a personal guard, for free For security purposes, in some areas, you will get a personal armed guard. Sometimes, you might have to pay for his meals but, according to the police, you are not forced to. It’s up to you. For more information, read my post: Is Pakistan safe? Update: This doesn’t really apply in the north of Pakistan any longer, but more like in the south, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Having a personal armed guard seems kind of cool but, to be honest, it’s not that much The first time you get an armed guard you get kind of excited. However, after half an hour, you might start hating him because he will put you under a lot of restrictions. Pakistani intelligence is one of the best secret services in the world One of the reasons why Pakistan is not a dangerous country is thanks to the Pakistani intelligence, which is considered the best intelligence corps in the world, even better than the CIA. Be aware that they are watching your steps and they will always know where you are. I remember that, while hiking around a remote area in the Astore Valley, a man wearing a salwar kameez (the traditional Pakistani clothes), came to me and said, ”You are the Spanish, right?” Yes, he was from Pakistani intelligence. For further information on safety, including which areas are the safest, read my post: Is Pakistan safe? You may also be interested in which countries in the Middle East are safe? I know, I am quite a badass… – My trip to Pakistan Solo female travel in Pakistan Women traveling solo is more common and safer than you think Women tell wonderful things about their experiences during their journeys through Pakistan, but they also say that this is a particularly challenging destination, home to a very conservative, patriarchal society who don’t really know how to deal with foreign women. I’m not the most qualified person to talk about this topic, however, but Spanish traveler Leti Lagarda backpacked in Pakistan solo for 2 months, and has written a compelling guide about it, which will tell you everything you need to know about solo female travel in Pakistan, including: Interaction with men Safety tips Cultural etiquette What to wear And much more Read the ultimate guide to solo women travel in Pakistan Leti Lagarda in Pakistan Internet and connectivity in Pakistan Wi-Fi in Pakistan Wi-Fi is often bad, so I recommend getting a SIM Card for your trip to Pakistan. In larger cities, however, hotels will often have decent wI-Fi, good enough for simple browsing. In the Northern Areas, Wi-Fi is generally awful, if present at all. SIM Card in Pakistan 4G works reasonably well across the country, except in the Northern Areas. I recommend getting either ZONG or Telenor. In the Northern Areas, you can buy a SIM Card from a regional provider named SCOM, whose offices can be found in Gilgit and Karimabad. Nevertheless, remember that there’s very little coverage throughout the region. Hiking around Kalam, Swat Valley, one of the most beautiful places I from my Pakistani trip eSIM for browsing, calling and traveling in Pakistan An eSIM is a regular SIM card with a digital format that works like a normal physical card, with the added benefit that you can buy it online before or during your trip, hence avoiding the hassle of buying it in a local store. With Airalo, you can get an eSIM for a wide range of destinations, including Pakistan. Get a VPN for traveling in Pakistan You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Your connection will be much safer. Moreover, you will be able to access content which is typically censored in Pakistan. I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap. Get a vpn If you want to learn more about VPN, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling. My office for a day Money in Pakistan In Pakistan, they use the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) and approximately: 1USD = 280 PKR Cash & ATMs Pakistan is a cash economy, so better bring cash, especially in the Northern Areas. You can find ATMs in all big cities but not all of them will accept foreign cards. How much does it cost to travel to Pakistan But before, a few things you need to know: In Pakistan, everything is negotiable: Everything can be bargained for, especially the hotel rooms. Expect to pay different amounts from other guests. Always come with a reference: When you travel in Pakistan, contacts are very important and that’s why in either hotels or trekking tour companies if you come referenced by a local, you will get a better price. In any case, this is a pretty cheap country and I think you can easily travel to Pakistan for less than $20 a day, sleeping in private rooms and eating 3 meals outside. These are the (approximate) prices of the most typical things: Local meal – 150PKR Local meal in a mid-range restaurant – 250-500PKR Meal in a fancy restaurant of Lahore – from 1500PKR Private room in a budget hotel – Up to 1500PKR Private room in a mid-range hotel – Around 3,000PKR Long bus rides (Islamabad to Gilgit) – Around 2,500PKR for a VIP ticket (you want to get a VIP, trust me) Pakistani rupees! – Pakistan travel blog Transportation for traveling around Pakistan You’ll get used to the mountain roads Most mountain roads are very scary as they are extremely narrow and built on insanely high cliffs. Don’t panic. You’ll just get used to them! You will learn to be patient In aalmost every long bus journey I took, we had a breakdown. Sometimes, we were stopped for two hours! And one day, we stopped because the bus ran out of gas! Psychedelic trucks are a way of life Everybody falls in love with the trucks in Pakistan, as they are so particularly decorated that they are a blessing to your lens. A typical Pakistani truck! Ways of moving around when you travel in Pakistan Traveling around Pakistan by train Pakistan has an extensive rail network connecting many cities in Sindh, Punjab and also Peshawar. For schedules and prices, check the Pakistan Railway website. I recommend AC Standard, the type of ticket typically purchased by the Pakistani middle class. For more information, check this train guide to Pakistan. Traveling around Pakistan by bus Public buses & minivans go everywhere. Daewoo is a premium bus company that can take you anywhere across Afghanistan. For traveling to the Northern Areas, I recommend NATCO. Both these companies are considered high-end as per Pakistani standards. Alternatively, local minivans are much cheaper, but they are very uncomfortable. One of the worst bus trips I have ever taken was in a local minivan from Mingora to Chitral, a 12-hour ride in the tiniest minivan ever, but a great local adventure and experience. Hitchhiking in Pakistan Hitchhiking in Pakistan is too easy, easier and faster than traveling by public transportation, especially along the Karakoram Highway. Everybody will want to pick you up! As a general rule, on the KKH, I didn’t hitchhike on motorbikes (there are too many accidents) and cars with women inside. Traveling around Pakistan by plane Flying can be pretty convenient as well. Traveling by bus from Islamabad to the Northern Areas, including Chitral, Gilgit and Skardu takes ages (from 15 to 20 hours). There are flights connecting Islamabad with all these cities. You can book them on PIA. Remember, however, that for flying to and from Gilgit, it’s recommended to book several days or weeks in advance. Also, bear in mind that many flights get canceled due to weather condition. Read: 80 Tips for traveling to Iran Crazy (and beautiful) roads – How to visit Pakistan Food, drinks, and alcohol Food is extremely oily Pakistanis love oil too much. They put tons of it in absolutely every meal, including in the steamed rice, which they will always fry afterwards. When you are in a restaurant, always ask for half fried. It’s almost dry In the Sindh province and Islamabad, you can find liquor stores. In the rest of the country, alcohol is only available on the black market, but most locals (who drink) can get it for you easily. Expect to have ten cups of chai a day Chai, which is tea with milk, is a way of life in Pakistan and a sign of hospitality. Tap water, watch out! Don’t dare drink tap water. In the northern part of the country, the locals will tell you that the tap water is good, as it comes from the mountains and glaciers. This may be true, but I still got sick when I drank from a mountain fountain. Always use a water purifier. You’ll get sick I don’t know anyone who didn’t get sick in his stomach when traveling in Pakistan. Try to avoid salad, food stalls with flies (they are hard to find) and don’t drink tap water. This meal, in particular, was one of my favorite ones in Pakistan – Pakistan travel information Accommodation when you are traveling to Pakistan There are all types of hotels across the country, from budget rooms to a few hostels and luxury hotels. Booking sites such as Hostelworld and Booking.com are increasing in popularity but, depending on the destination you travel to, you may not find a lot of options or, at least, no budget hotels. If you want to stay in a budget hotel or local guesthouse, you may have to read blogs or ask anyone online. In my Pakistan Itinerary, I give some options. Anyway, there are a few things you need to know about accommodation in Pakistan: Prices can be negotiated to the extreme Whenever they tell you the price, ask if they have a cheaper room. Seriously, on many occasions, I managed to get half of the initial price. If you are on a budget, always ask if they have a dorm Surprisingly, many hotels have dorms and they don’t tell you until the end of the negotiation. The good thing is that, since there are not many backpackers, you are most likely to get the dorm just for yourself! It can be hard to find decent, cheap accommodation in certain parts of the country In cities like Peshawar, Karachi, Multan, and basically anywhere outside of Swat Valley, Chitral, Northern areas, Islamabad and Lahore, finding decent (budget) accommodation can be challenging. Couchsurfing is very popular! There are loads of profiles, especially in big cities. If you want to know all my hotel recommendations per city, read my Pakistan Itinerary Husseini bridge, Hunza, a top place to visit when traveling to Pakistan More information for traveling to Pakistan In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. All guides and articles for traveling in Pakistan destination Travel Guide to Fairy Meadows Karokam Highway Travel Guide Astore Valley Travel Guide Pakistan-China border crossing Travel Guide to Rakaposhi Base Camp Travel Insurance in Pakistan Pakistan Itinerary Photos of Pakistan Travel Books about Pakistan Solo Female Travel Guide in Pakistan Is Pakistan Safe? That’s everything you need to know! If you think I forgot something, please let me know! Ah, and remember that, in Pakistan, you shouldn’t plan too much! Welcome to the country of unexpected events. From endless bus breakdowns to time-consuming check posts, new local friends and paradises where you want to spend ages, during your Pakistan travels, you will realize that nothing will go according to your plan. Travel guides to other countries in Central Asia Tajikistan Travel Guide Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide Travel Guide to Uzbekistan Travel Guide to Kazakhstan Afghanistan Travel Guide You might also like our Iran travel guide.

Wanna travel to Pakistan with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Pakistan: May 12th to 21st, 2026 Pakistan is in fashion. Backpackers and travelers alike from around the world are realizing that Pakistan is not only a beautiful country, but it can offer some of the […]

Wanna travel to Pakistan with Against the Compass? Join a group of like-minded travelers in our next scheduled tour in Pakistan: May 12th to 21st, 2026 learn more Pakistan is in fashion. Backpackers and travelers alike from around the world are realizing that Pakistan is not only a beautiful country, but it can offer some of the most ultimate adventures. Despite this recent massive increase in popularity, however, Pakistan is still miles away from being a proper tourist destination and proof of that is that still today, some people can only relate Pakistan to negative things, such as terrorist attacks, Taliban activities and Islamic radicalism. I partly attribute these negative associations to the Westen media, which has done nothing but portray the worst face of Pakistan, especially since the 9/11 attacks. That’s why, in this post, I wanted to show you 60 photos of Pakistan that you won’t see in the news, because Pakistan is simply awesome. Also, don’t forget to read my travel guide to Pakistan 60 Photos of Pakistan that you won’t see in the news Pakistan is the only country home to the 4 highest mountain ranges on Earth, including the Himalayas, the Karakorum, the Pamirs and the Hindu Kush. In fact, the second-highest mountain in the world is found in Pakistan, K2 (8,611meters) and it belongs to the Karakoram range. Besides those internationally famous mountains, Pakistan is also home to several dreamy valleys and which you don’t want to miss. I spent 2 months backpacking in Pakistan, and spent most of this time in the mountains. Here are some of my favorite pics. Rakaposhi base camp, camping at around 3500 meters above sea level, right next to a giant ice wall, from where we could hear the continuous sound of avalanches Same place as the previous photo, but from over a ridge, at the bottom of mount Rakaposhi (7,778 meters) Here we are at Nanga Parbat base camp. Absolutely mind-blowing This is also Nanga Parbat (8,100 meters) a couple of kilometers before the base camp This is the village of Gulmit In Pakistan, we walked over glaciers full of crevasses, the first time in my life These are the kind of glaciers we walked through. The man in the photo is a local Pakistani mountain guide Climbing a glacier with some Thai friends With some friends in Yezyl, one of the most beautiful glaciers in Pakistan, in Shimshal Valley More pictures of Yezyl glacier in Shimshal This is Passu suspension bridge Pakistan, however, is also home to beautiful lush green valleys. This is Swat, in Kalam district More pictures of Passu peaks Same place, Kalam, in Swat. The region of Swat has big similarities to Switzerland. This is one of my most favorite pictures. This picture was taken on the hike from Hussaini to Passu suspension bridge The hike to Borith lake Hanging out in a hotel in Swat. It looks like a dreamy hotel, and it really was but seriously, it was just a very basic shack in the middle of the mountains In Swat, you find some of the most beautiful forests in the country Rocking my salwar kameez, somewhere in the Swat Valley Beautiful Swat Valley Somewhere in the Astore Valley. With some local, Pakistani friends, we went for a long fishing weekend The Astore Valleys sits on the other side of Nanga Parbat And it links to Pakistani Kashmir, which you will reach if you follow this trail What I loved about the Astore Valley is that you get pretty damn amazing views but also, those mountains are filled with tiny villages, so you get in touch with the local culture as well Enjoying my time in a local village in Astore Valley During the day, my Pakistani friends spent all day fishing. I spent some time fishing with them in the morning but then, I was exploring the surroundings just by myself Epic views in the Astore Valley Looking over Astore Valley. I really love this picture I absolutely love these human encounters. Those moments make me feel very happy when I am traveling Or this one I mean, isn’t that beautiful? Being able to explore those striking mountains and, at the same time, being the only tourist in a place full of hospitable, kind-hearted locals Check out this tiny settlement Exploring the Astore Valley was perhaps, my best experience in Pakistan Pakistan is also famous for the Karakoram Highway, one of the highest paved roads in the world that links Islamabad with Kashgar ( China), and also goes over Khunjerab Pass, one of the highest border crossings in the world, around 4,600 meters. The Karakoram Highway From the Karakoram Highway, you get to see bridges like this one The views from across the previous bridge Or these mountains, perfectly visible from the window of your car Traffic jam in the Karakoram Highway. And you will be able to see plenty of Pakistani trucks The main town in the northern part of the Karakoram Highway is Karimabad, inhabited by the Hunza people (an ethnic group who practice a very moderate branch of Islam) and home to Baltit fort Same, but a different perspective More photos of the Karakoram Highway And more This isn’t the Karakoram Highway but it is a crazy side road that leads to Fairy Meadows, close to Nanga Parbat base camp. The beginning of this road is at a junction in the Karakoram Highway But Pakistan is not only about landscapes, but also beautiful people who will be continuously blessing you with their hospitality, and the thing you will always remember the most when you get back home, are the interactions with the local people. Expect, literally, hundreds of house, lunch, dinner and tea invitations. Local Pashtuns, in Peshawar These guys are just fucking awesome The people here are truly authentic And street photography opportunities are great You not only get to see the Himalayas but also camels and beach! I met these 2 guys in Astore Valley And the cultural diversity is also great. This is a Kalash woman, an ethnic group from northwestern Pakistan with traditional, pagan beliefs And this Hollywood-actor looking man is from a very remote Pakistani village, right across the Afghan border And then, of course, you get all mosques and shrines Pakistan is famous for. You may already know it from the news, of course, but, did you know they were so beautiful? This is Bdashi mosque, the most impressive mosque in Lahore And then you have this Sufi shrine in Multan. Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam And the second most important mosque in Lahore, Wazir Khan This isn’t a famous mosque but I like it. You can find it in Chitral This photo might be more similar to what you have seen in the news but still, it’s fucking awesome More information for visiting Pakistan In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. Don’t forget to check our travel guide to Pakistan. As well as all our Pakistan articles: Travel Guide to Fairy Meadows Karokam Highway Travel Guide Pakistan-China border crossing Travel Guide to Rakaposhi Base Camp Travel Insurance in Pakistan Pakistan Itinerary Astore Valley Travel Guide Travel Books about Pakistan Solo Female Travel Guide in Pakistan Is Pakistan Safe?

Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea, Venezuela, and now even Israel. All of them are countries with controversial regimes, under sanctions or at war. The list goes on. From Guyana to the extreme north of Russia, Against the Compass has been traveling to remote locations since 2014. Many of these remote locations, for one […]

Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea, Venezuela, and now even Israel. All of them are countries with controversial regimes, under sanctions or at war. The list goes on. From Guyana to the extreme north of Russia, Against the Compass has been traveling to remote locations since 2014. Many of these remote locations, for one reason or another, happen to be in countries ruled by controversial regimes, usually not particularly good friends with the West. As a result, we are often facing criticism, with some accusing us of supporting those governments simply by traveling there. This article explains why there’s nothing inherently wrong with visiting such countries — and why, as long as you’re a conscious and respectful traveler, you should feel free to explore the world without self-censorship. You shouldn’t be selective with your principles, double standards aren’t good Fact: The countries typically not accepted to travel are shaped by geopolitics, rather than ethics. Today, Russia is arguably the country that faces the greatest stigma as a travel destination. After our recent trips to the North Caucasus republics and Siberia, I received more messages than ever — not about the places themselves, but about the supposed controversy of traveling to what many now see as the West’s number-one enemy. Some people were polite, expressing disagreement while still respecting my decision. Others, however, were openly hostile. What I find interesting is that some of the most vocal critics were the same travelers who have always been keen to travel to Syria, or who already traveled there after 2019. Former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad murdered hundreds of thousands of people, while forcing millions to flee the country. His brutal repression originated into a conflict which has not ended yet, since there are still war zones where people live under constant threat. So if we look purely at the numbers — at the scale of violence, repression, and humanitarian crisis — wouldn’t Syria be an even more ethically difficult destination than Russia? Why is it OK to visit Turkmenistan, Eritrea and North Korea, the 3 most repressive countries in the world, but it’s not OK to travel to Russia? We can’t turn a blind eye to what is happening to Ukraine but just because the Russian Government is the biggest strategic rival of the West, doesn’t mean that the lives of Syrians and Afghan women are less worth than Ukrainians’. If we apply outrage selectively, we’re not standing on principle — we’re just echoing foreign policy and Western media headlines. Moscow is beautiful, just as it used to be back in 2022 Travel is something personal Afghanistan is the country in the world where women’s rights are most violated. Traveling is very personal so, if a certain traveler doesn’t want to travel to Afghanistan because of that, we should respect it because that’s their decision. At the same time, however, don’t let others shame you for wanting to travel to Afghanistan during Taliban rule. Remember that you aren’t traveling there to violate women’s rights further, but to learn, observe, break stereotypes and become wiser. At the same time, it’s important to stay sensitive to the struggles of the people living under such regimes, and to travel in ways that support them, not their oppressors. Check: How to travel to Afghanistan Afghan women in the city of Kandahar, one of the hardest places in the world to live as a woman It’s not the local people’s fault. Travel to break stereotypes It’s important to always separate people from Governments. Leaders like Netanyahu are responsible for military actions in Gaza and yes, he has a large support among Israelis but at the same time, millions oppose his agenda and are horrified by all the violence. Many Israelis I know feel extremely ashamed of the war in Gaza, just as I’ve met Russians in Moscow who are heartbroken about what’s happening in Ukraine. Nobody likes war, or to live under sanctions. Traveling to these countries allows you to get an unbiased perspective of the local’s opinion on the matter, something you’ll never see in the media. It builds bridges and breaks down stereotypes, which might even work both ways, since it shows locals that not all foreigners are hostile, arrogant, or judgmental. A nomad woman from the Siberian tundra. What does she have to do with the war in Ukraine- You actually do more for the country than any armchair activist An armchair activist refers to the person who likes to express strong opinions about political issues on social media but doesn’t take any action beyond that. If you travel to countries with controversial regimes and like to post about it on Instagram, you are likely to be the target of an armchair activist, that’s what they do. As I mentioned in the previous section, don’t let others shame you for your travels, you may actually be contributing more than they realize, as long as you are a responsible traveler, of course. By backpacking in a country independently, having genuine local interactions, and spending money in local, small businesses, you are engaging more with local humans that most do from their couch. Keep in mind that this isn’t a self-congratulatory statement. We are travelers, not activists or humanitarian workers but still, I strongly believe that a responsible traveler leaves a more meaningful footprint than what most people on Instagram believe. The guy on the left offered me to stay with him when I traveled independently to the Minaret of Jam Those Governments benefit very little from your travels Armchair activists tend to argue that no matter how responsibly you travel, part of your money will always end up in the hands of the Government. Sure, that’s actually true. During Bashar al-Assad’s regime, for example, the cost of the Syrian visa for Europeans was €70. That money went directly to an evil Government but, are those €70 making any difference? In reality, think about it as it was a trade-off. You pay a €70 visa fee but then, you spend cash €1500 in family-owned hotels, local restaurants, and independent guides, while having genuine human interactions. No trip is ethically perfect, but a responsible traveler will certainly bring more positive than harm. Buying xaatar from a locally-owned shop in Aleppo. Buying in these places makes a big difference Did you ask the local’s opinion? This doesn’t really apply to places like Russia, but for war-torn countries like Yemen or Syria. The first time I ever traveled to Yemen, someone told me: Traveling to Yemen is like slapping on the faces of all the families who have lost someone in the war. Have you ever asked Yemenis how they feel about foreign visitors? In my opinion, making such strong statements on behalf of people you have never talked to comes close to colonialism. There isn’t any tourism industry left in Yemen, locals barely benefit financially from your visit, but there are few countries left in the world where where people are so excited to see a foreigner. In places like Yemen or Syria, your presence can feel like a sign that the outside world isn’t forgetting them, or even an inflection point that their country is getting better, but that’s something you won’t understand unless you see it with your own eyes. Yemeni people in Mukallah, the city that has suffered the most in the region of Hadramut More information In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more. Read more blogging articles How to Make Money from Travel Blogging Becoming a Father Why I don’t want to be a Youtuber How to Start a Travel Blog Should You Quit Your Job and Travel the World? Reason Why I am Done with Long-Term Travel Why you shouldn’t visit all the countries in the world Travel guide to countries with controversial regimes Russia Travel Guide Syria Travel Guide Iran Travel Guide Eritrea Travel Guide Travel Guide to Saudi Arabia Venezuela Travel Guide Afghanistan Travel Guide