Japan

May 28, 2024Leave a comment

Pro tips:

No tourist visa needed for US citizens
A lot of places take credit cards, but plenty don’t so it’s smart to get some money out of an ATM when you arrive
To get around on public transit (a must while in Japan, it’s incredible), download the Suica card on your phone before you arrive. Here’s a guide on how to do it. I had trouble re-loading using apple pay (looking on reddit it looks like I am not alone in experiencing this issue), but it’s easy enough to find a machine at one of the subway stations to top it up (requires cash though!).
Unless you are going to be taking trains like every other day, it’s unlikely that the train pass is worth it. They changed the price & now it’s far harder for it to pay for itself. My dad and I just bought Shinkansen or regular train tickets day of at the station to get around Japan. Definitely take the Shinkansen train at least once. It’s wild how quick & efficient they are!
Get excited for the toilet experience in Japan!!! It’s like a spa day every time you use the restroom. You are in for a treat. Don’t miss out on trying all the different buttons it has to offer.
Try fun snacks at 7-eleven. It’s not like the US at all. My favorite were the shelf stable pancakes with maple syrup & butter. I loved keeping them in my daypack for an emergency snack option.
Do not miss out on doing some Onsens. This was a highlight for my dad & me! Just be aware you aren’t allowed to have tattoos in many of them so make sure to pay attention to this.
Because Tokyo is huge, it’s hard to be “perfectly” centrally located. Instead focus on having your accommodation be near 1-2 metro stations. We used the metro system every single day so if you are near a few then it will be very easy to explore Tokyo!
I thought the metro system was incredible easy to navigate despite being in a different language (post 2021 Olympics there is far more English signage which helps). My pro tip for navigating the metro system is to use Google maps and just focus on the color of the line you are taking & the letter & number of the stop you are trying to go to. For example: if I am taking the green line and getting on at stop H19 and need to go to H14 then those are the only three things I pay attention as I am navigating the signage at the metro stop. I ignore the name of the line & the names of the stations. But seriously, Google maps gave all the correct information every time including telling you what platform to get on, which was SO helpful.
Don’t worry about having “too much” time in Tokyo. I spent 9 days & barely scratched the surface. I would’ve happily stayed longer.
I was surprised at how little English was spoken in Japan. If you had told me that I would encounter more people in Laos speaking English than in Japan, I would’ve said “No way!” but this definitely was true. Have a translator app ready because you’ll need it 🙂 Everyone was so kind in trying to help, but in order to get the help, you need to use a translator since most folks we interacted with spoke little to no English. I truly think in all my travels (60+ countries at this point) Japan is where I encountered the least amount of English. Not a bad thing & it didn’t affect our travels at all, but it’s just something to be prepared for.

My Japan trip was slightly different than my usual backpacker adventures for two reasons:

I was with people the whole time! My German friend Sonja (who I met in Thailand), Marisa (a friend from California), & my dad all joined me for parts of the trip. We even had one day where we adventured the four of us.
My dad joined me for 10 out of the 15 days and GENEROUSLY paid for the trip so I didn’t stay in hostels for most of my trip here. It’s also why my budget section only reflect the 5 days he wasn’t with me. It also meant I did 5 nights in Tokyo with Sonja & then Marisa before my dad arrived. Marisa, my dad & I immediately went to Kyoto after my dad landed in Tokyo. After Kyoto my dad & I said goodbye to Sonja & Marisa & headed to Hakone for 2 nights before ending the trip in Tokyo for 4 nights.

CITY: Tokyo

HOW LONG: 5 NIGHTS (with Sonja & Marisa) + 4 nights (with my dad)

ACCOMMODATION:

Hostel with Sonja: Citan Hostel This hostel was honestly great. Comfy beds, clean rooms & bathrooms, cute little kitchen & common area to eat a meal from 7 eleven. There’s a bar/cafe downstairs that sometimes has live music. Wasn’t that easy to meet people but it didn’t matter since Sonja & I were together. This is a common complaint about hostels in Japan. It seems like weirdly universally people struggle to meet people in Japanese hostels. This place was also incredible reasonable given we were there during Cherry Blossom season. It was only ~$40 USD per night per bed. Other hostels were charging upwards of $100 per night per bed.

Apartment with my Dad: Shinjuku1 this place was located quite centrally, but it was a fairly efficient, small apartment. It did the job, and was nice & clean, but I might recommend finding a hotel instead of doing an apartment. Having access to a concierge/front desk for questions is quite useful in Japan. Japan can be overwhelming to figure out all on your own.

WHERE TO EAT:

I really, truly feel like you can’t go wrong with any restaurants in Tokyo or Japan in general. We ate in a lot of hole in the wall places that didn’t really even have names and they were all amazing. But I, of course, tried some yummy brunch spots.

Flippers – big FLUFFY pancakes. So yummy! This place always has a HUGE line so if you want to go, I’d advise getting in line about 45min to 1 hr before they open. We were in the first seating, which made the wait bearable.

The French Toast Factory – this was weirdly located on the top floor inside a mall within a food court, but it was so great we went twice. There were so many fun items on the menu to try that I ordered two whole meals to myself just so I could try some of each.

Heavenly island lifestyle– My dad & I came here for breakfast before exploring the neighborhood. Cute vibes & yummy food.

Musashino Mori Diner Shinjuku Central Park – located right on a park, this place was popular! Really good breakfast options, including more fluffy pancakes.

WHAT TO DO:

Given Tokyo is literally the biggest city in the world (by population), there is soooooo much to do. Google to your hearts desire, but here are a few things we did while in Tokyo 🙂

Shibuya crossing – Supposedly the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing, with as many as 3,000 people crossing at one time. It’s also been made famous for being featured in the movie “Lost in Translation”
Shinjuku Gyoen Park – a lovely park all year round, but ESPECIALLY during Cherry Blossom season. It was my favorite spot to see the blossoms.
Meiji Jingu shrine – one of the main shrines in the heart of Tokyo. It was established in 1920, to commemorate the virtue of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who took the initiative to modernize Japan.
Wander the Golden Gai neighborhood for a drink in the evening. It’s mostly filled with tourists now, but we still enjoyed stopping for a drink here. It’s a small area filled with tiny bars amidst all the alleys. They tend to hold no more than 6-10 people each. We met some fun travelers & chatted for a few hours.
Omoide Yokocho – a bunch of narrow alleys filled with small restaurants/stalls
TeamLab: Planets & TeamLab: Borderless – both of the exhibits were incredible cool & would recommend going to both. Tickets 100% sell out in advance so grab tickets as soon as you can. If I had to pick one I think I would do Planets because it was more fun/interactive in a playful way, but truly both were awesome. It’s an art meets play meets museum type of experience.
Starbucks Roastery: There are only 6 Roasteries in the world. From their website: Combining the art and craft of coffee in an immersive and thoughtfully designed environment, this one-of-a-kind space features an impressive mix of bars and custom details. We needed a reservation to go (free but you do need to get it in advance). We got ours day of, but weekend reservations tend to go quickly.
Park Hyatt bar – Do not miss going up to one of the Park Hyatt bars for a drink & taking in the most incredible view of Tokyo. Pro tip get there any hour before sunset to claim the best spot. Unfortunately they are closed until Oct 2025 for renovations though.

Overall Thoughts:

I really wasn’t sure what to expect with Tokyo, given it’s so different to anywhere else I’ve been in my entire life, but I really liked it! I couldn’t believe how clean, organized, approachable, & safe it was (given it’s the biggest city in the world!!). Most neighborhoods felt like neighborhoods, not like a huge sprawling, metropolitan city. I was also shocked about how quiet the city was; there are practically no cars, which meant no honking or traffic. Everyone seems to use the metro, which is awesome! Tokyo is rad.

CITY: Kyoto

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Marisa, my dad & I stayed at Urban Hotel Kyoto Goji Premium. Fairly good location with bus stops nearby. Rooms were nice, but small (typical of Japan). There was an onsen in the hotel which was a treat! Not a ton of restaurants nearby, but that just gave us an excuse to check out different neighborhoods.

WHERE TO EAT:

I honestly forgot to write down most of the places we ate at but we loved Breizh Cafe Creperie along the Philopshers Path. We ate lots of delicious ramen & noddles so it was fun to have a crepe for a change. Literally every random place we ate at was awesome. I truly feel like you can’t go wrong with food in Japan. Even the small ramen place that happened to be next to our hotel was awesome. And don’t miss Nishiki Market for lunch or dinner (see below).

WHAT TO DO:

Once again, there is TONS to do in Kyoto so don’t think these are the only things or even the best things. It’s just what we had time for/ prioritized 🙂

Fushimi Inari Taisha – the most famous destination in Kyoto. The orange gates must be one of the most photographed spots in Japan. This beautiful Shinto shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Get here early!! The crowds can be suffocating and if you want a photo with know people in it – good luck lol.
Higashiyama Jisho-ji / Gingaku- Ji – built in 1482, it’s now a Zen temple. The grounds & gardens are beautiful! This was one of our favorite stops. Don’t miss the unique dry sand garden!
Philosophers Path – a gorgeous walk along a little canal. It’s a well known spot to see the gorgeous cherry blossoms
Nishiki market – come hungry!! Known as “Kyoto’s Kitchen”, it’s a huge, long market with tons of yummy bites to try. Get something small at lots of stalls.
Nijo castle, built in the early 1600’s, is the location of the rise & fall of the Shogun. Gorgeous architecture and it was cool to walk around the gardens.
Kyoto Observation Deck – 100 meters in the sky, it’s a great way to get a 360 degree view of the city. We could even see Osaka in the distance.

We also took a day trip to Nara, which is about one hour away on a train. Here’s what we did:

Bowing deer – I know it’s touristy and gimmicky but I low-key loved hanging with & observing the deer. Get yourself some Deer snacks (sold all around the park), and get bowing. It’s so much fun to interact with the deer, politely of course 😉
Todai-ji Namdaimon (Grand South Gate) 東大寺南大門 – This was a HUGE gate. The pillars are 21 meters tall. Get close and look at how long the continuous log goes for. Very cool to see & just a short walk from the bowing deer. Originally built in 752, it got destroyed in a a typhoon. The one we can see today was built in 1203.
Isuien Garden and Neiraku Museum – beautiful Japanese garden. My dad loves checking out gardens while traveling. Very peaceful to walk around.
Yoshikien Garden – right next to the Isuien Garden & free admission. Another pleasant garden to meander. We also sat & chatted on a bench for a bit. Lovely!

Overall Thoughts:

Kyoto & Nara were great additions to the itinerary. We loved the bowing deer, all the shrines & gardens, & running around eating tons of fabulous food. It was also fun to have my dad meet Sonja, who has become quite the frequent travel partner in crime. We already have two more trips on the books (Tahoe & Antarctica!).

CITY: Hakone

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at a magical (but not cheap) hotel right on the lake in Hakone called Hakone Ashinoko Hanaori hotel. It was killer. The property was lovely. The lake views were stunning. There was a foot bath outside looking at the lake. They gave us traditional robes to wear around the property, which was very cool. The food was surprisingly good, given it was a buffet. I would highly recommend this spot if you aren’t on a backpacker budget. Pro tip – it’s worth getting the lake view rooms. We didn’t have one, & we regretted it.

Not a bad view while getting to soak my feet in the hot water!

WHERE TO EAT:

Often the hotels or Ryokans in this region include breakfast & dinner so we ate every meal at the hotel!

WHAT TO DO:

Hakone was my vibe! I loved being up in the mountains a bit and it was so great having lake views from the hotel. Such a treat. Here’s what we did:

Visit the Hakone Open Air Museum: I am not a museum or art person, but one of my dad’s favorite artist’s had a piece here (Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Miss Black Power”) so off we went. I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome this museum was. It’s mostly outside, which was cool, and there were tons of really interesting, colorful, large sculptures. Fun stuff for kids as well. There was also a huge Picasso exhibit. Definitely a must see if in Hakone.
If you get lucky (we did not), you can get views of Mt Fuji from around Hakone.
Take the Hakone Ropeway. Pretty cool way of getting around without a car. There are a few stops where you can get off, including one where you get try a black egg, which is an egg boiled in the sulfurous waters.
The main attraction (other than Mt Fuji) are all the onsens! My dad & I love all things hot water/spa/relaxation so we just loved going to the onsen 2-3 times per day (at least once in the morning before breakfast and once after dinner). The onsen at the hotel was indoor & outdoor so it was fun in the evening to lie in the hot water while the cool air swirled around, all while gazing at the stars. I truly loved the onsen experience!
The other highlight was the hotel gave us traditional robes in our rooms and we were encouraged to wear them around the hotel’s property and even to dinner. We thought it was so fun & such a cultural experience for everyone at the hotel to all be dressed this way at meals. It also made transitioning to the onsen after a meal very easy! The Japanese have thought of everything.

Overall Thoughts:

Hakone was such a different vibe to the big cities of Kyoto & Tokyo. We were in nature, not a lot of lights, far less people, etc so it was nice to have the juxtaposition. We mostly got to relax, play cards, and have some quality time. I loved it!

BUDGET FOR 5 DAYS IN Japan (only including the part that I was paying for):

Accommodation: $128 (43$ per night): This is for 3 nights in the hostel; Marisa graciously let me crash with her in her hotel room for free 🙂 She’s the best!

Food: $212

Groceries: $0

Activities: $53

Local Transportation: $52

Miscellaneous: $52

Total: $500 (Daily average: $100)

Transportation to next destination: FREE (flight to the US) My dad used points 🙂

Seriously a huge shoutout to the best dad there is 🙂 We had such a blast exploring together & I just appreciate him so much for always being the best travel buddy. Fun Fact: he spent 3 years traveling around the world after graduating college in the 80’s and is a huge inspiration for me doing the same!

The Philippines

May 25, 2024September 28, 2024Leave a comment

Pro Tips:

No visa needed (as a US citizen) but I did have to fill out a form (online) before I got to my departing airport (the check in desk asked for it before issuing my boarding pass)
Unlike most other Southeast Asia countries, it was MUCH harder to book as you go here in the Philippines. This was a bummer because I really like being to able go with the flow and not be locked in to how long I am going to stay before I arrive. The best hostels sell out, the boat expeditions between Corona + El Nido sell out, and flights can sell out. Plan ahead!
Speaking of, The Philippines is logistically tough. It’s doable, but it seems like every travel day includes at least 3-4 modes of transports, which just slows everything down. For example – when Nicole + I went from Siquijor to Moalboal here was our route:
- Homestay in Siqujior –> Siquijor Ferry Terminal via taxi
- Siquijor Ferry Terminal –> Dumaguete Ferry Terminal (Maayo Terminal) via ferry
- Dumaguete Ferry Terminal (Maayo Terminal) to main Dumaguete Ferry Terminal via taxi
- Dumaguete Ferry Terminal –> Liloan Ferry Terminal via ferry
- Liloan Ferry Terminal –> Moalboal via taxi (since we opted out of the public bus with no AC & we still would’ve needed a taxi from the bus terminal to the hostel lol)
  - Total time: ~9 hours
  - Total cost: $28 usd (but taxi’s were split in two since I was with Nicole)
    - In summary: the cost isn’t the issue, it’s the time and mix of modes of transport that causes headaches, but hey, that’s the price you pay for paradise 🙂

I found atms everywhere I went, but there is definitely a possibility of arriving to an island that either doesn’t have atms or has them but they aren’t working. As such, make sure to have cash with you.
If I could do anything over I would considered flying in & out of Cebu City. I tried to avoid spending time in Manila since everyone told me that there wasn’t much worth seeing there. It seems like flights into Manila really like to arrive past midnight, which makes things tough. I opted to arrive at 3am and then fly out to Coron at 6am. It was MISERABLE but that’s the backpacker lifestyle LOL

First view of the Philippines from above

CITY: Coron

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Hop Hostel and it was pretty awesome! Would highly recommend. The beds are super comfy and very nice. Personal plug + curtains. Rooms stay cool with the AC. The pool area is nice + rooftop bar is a great spot for sunset. I met tons of cool people and we all did a boat trip our second day in Coron. It does sell out so definitely book as soon as you can.

WHERE TO EAT:

Le voyage – After my nightmare travel day from Cambodia a mango smoothie bowl was what got me through the morning 🙂 I then promptly went back to the hotel to sleep for 2 hours.

Cafe Soccoro – Cute spot to work or read. I had a mango smoothie + a delicious chocolate chip cookie.

Brewhouse – My favorite spot to eat during my time in Coron. Very cool open patio with a bunch of different restaurants that you can order from! Highly recommend.

WHAT TO DO:

What surprised me most about Coron was that the town itself is nothing to write home about & it’s about 20 min from the beach…. so I was pretty confused why everyone said that Coron is a must see. Turns out the highlight here is to get out of the town and into the water!

I sadly didn’t have time to scuba dive here (which is world class). It’s known for its ship wrecks! But if you don’t dive, the best way to explore the area is get on a boat trip! With all my new friends from the hostel we set out at 8am to explore a bunch of lagoons. It was a fabulous day swimming in crystal clear aqua waters 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

Obviously my experience in Coron was tainted by the fact that I was incredibly sleep deprived… but I still wasn’t all that impressed. The town wasn’t much to rave about, and given the distance to the beach, I just mostly hung at the hostel outside of my day trip. That being said, I really wish I could’ve gone scuba diving. The boat trip & snorkeling was spectacular so I can only imagine what it would’ve been like diving deeper into the water!

TAO Experience Review

HOW LONG: 3 days / 2 NIGHTS

One of the best things you can do in the Philippines is take a boat excursion from Coron to El Nido (or in reverse). There are many companies that off this adventure & you can choose from 3 days up to 5 days. It’s an incredible way to see more remote parts of the Philippines, meet great people, soak up the sun, snorkel in more untouched areas, & have a blast, all while also acting as your transport between two destinations. I loved the efficiency haha.

I chose Tao Expeditions because a friend had told me about them and they seemed to have great reviews. They have a farm on El Nido that is spectacular & if you do the 5 day package you get 2 nights there. They aren’t cheap, but I really can’t complain since the quality of the tour was fabulous. The food was amazing, the accommodation (adorable open air beach huts) was awesome, the staff were friendly, the boat itself was just comfortable & had lots of areas to chill & read or soak up the sun as we sailed by island after island.

Accommodation:

Food:

Views:

I would HIGHLY recommend adding this to your itinerary if you are ever in the Philippines, & I would recommend doing the 5 day experience if you have the time. I sadly only could do the 3 day experience, & it was tough to say goodbye to the group & leave the beautiful Tao Farm.

CITY: El Nido

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Oia Beach Hostel and would not recommend. Sadly the hostel I would’ve like to stay at was sold out by the time I was booking my stay here. Oia was a 15-20 min walk from town down a very dark road, which was slightly nerve-racking as a solo female traveler. The hostel itself was under construction as I think it’s very new and basically still not finished. The bathrooms & showers were gross and constantly out of toilet paper. The room was dark & crowded. There was AC though! The hostel I would book if I ever go back is Frendz Hostel (but it sells out!!).

WHERE TO EAT:

El Nido is quite touristy & set up for Western tourists, which means there are tons of trendy, upscale restaurants as well as lots of cute cafes. I was here for four days and spent plenty of time in said cute cafes for some much needed admin time.

Hama coffee – Gorgeous views of the beach as you sip your coffee (or iced cocoa if you’re me). Lovely breakfast food too.

Brunch coffee – Probably my favorite breakfast spot (& it’s all day breakfast!!). I always worked from here as their wifi was very strong!

Gusto – Gelato & cafe spot – I had dinner here my first night here and they had great wifi.

Rituals – this is a gym (they had day passes available so I went a few times) and coffee shop. The coffee shop was very quiet and tranquil so I enjoyed working from here as well as catching up with friends.

Food truck – Quite the literal restaurant name, but the food was damn good! Delicious Asian street food.

Dayo Cafe – Known for their fluffy soufflé pancakes (but be warned it can take up to an hour to have these made), their food is delicious! Highly recommend this place for breakfast while in El Nido

Grounded coffee – a great spot to work from. Simple, sleek & modern.

Fuego Burger – This was a flippin’ delicious burger!! It’s in a newly developed corner of El Nido and I have no doubt in the future this will be bustling with people.

WHAT TO DO:

El Nido has quite a few, fun adventures to offer! *If it’s in Bold I did it!

Canopy Walk – a fun adventure doing a canopy walk through the trees above EL Nice. Beautiful views! It’s a cheap, fun, fairly quick activity in El Nido (I think maybe budget about an hour for this).

Zipline to another island- take a tuk tuk ride to Palawan Zipline Adventure. After the zipline, enjoy a cocktail on Marimegmeg beach. There is a little cute shopping area with cute restaurants here as well.

Go to Lio beach for beautiful beach day!

Scuba diving is very popular here. I was exhausted from my Tao Expedition so decided not to go, but I kinda regret it. It’s supposed to be great scuba diving here.

Get a day pass to the Ritual Gym and get sore since you probably haven’t worked out in forever haha.

Get a cheap massage from The Organic Spa

Overall Thoughts:

Lots of people said they didn’t like El Nido. Lots of people said they loved El Nido. As such, I wasn’t really sure how I would feel. After being in Coron (& decisively not liking it), I was nervous. However, I really enjoyed being here. I could’ve stayed longer. I loved just walking the streets in this small town and getting a massage, working on my computer from one of the many cute coffee shops, and then getting a breakfast meal (no matter the time of day) from one of the many cute restaurants. All of this set right on a beautiful beach with towering limestone mountains surrounding it. Yes it can be touristy, but hey I’m a tourist!

CITY: Bohol

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

Three weeks before getting to the Philippines, my friend Nicole texted me asking if she could spontaneously come meet me wherever I was going to be!! She had two weeks between leaving & starting a new job. I was so excited to have her join me for 10 days!!!

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the Bohol Hammock Hostel & while we didn’t stay in hammocks as the name suggests, it wasn’t too far off that. It’s located in the middle of the island (not near the port) so it’s a bit of a trek to get to it, but once you are there, you are right in the middle of all the stuff there is to do in Bohol. The pictures of the hostels didn’t make me think it was going to be amazing, but the reviews left no question in my mind that we should stay here. I was still slightly nervous that my friend Nicole might not be down for a more rugged backpacking experience, but she was so into it. We absolutely loved it here! We slept outside (with mosquito nets) on little mattresses (more like mattress pads haha), but the vibe was so lovely. The meals were communal & it was so easy to chat with folks. Lots of areas to read a book or chat in a comfy swinging bed. I would not hesitate to stay here again, but before you book, def look at the listing to make sure it’s your speed lol.

WHERE TO EAT:

We ate breakfast & dinner at the hostel since it’s located a fairly remote area & it’s the perfect opportunity to make friends with everyone. Given this I don’t have many food recommendations, however, definitely go to Hapi – ta for lunch before or after your visit to the Chocolate Hills! I had my very first Pork Sisig and it became my very favorite meal of the Philippines! It’s like small pieces of pork belly grilled up in a hot plate with onions & eggs. I mean I don’t think a meal has ever sounds more perfect for me 🙂 YUM!

WHAT TO DO:

Rent a scooter & explore!!! Nicole & I hopped on our rented scooters and headed to Panga waterfall. We loved cooling off in the spray & jumping off the rocks. A great swimming hole!

Next we went to the main viewing area of the Chocolate Hills. Gorgeous!!

We also went to the Bohol Tarsier Conservation Area. This little primate only grows to between 3.35 to 6.30 inches tall. They are TINY!! But oh so cute 🙂 Some fun facts (& not so fun facts):

They are very shy & nocturnal.
Tarsiers have the largest eyes relative to body size of any mammal.
Tarsiers are the only entirely carnivorous primate. They don’t eat plant matter of any kind.
They are endangered due to rapidly shrinking habitats and fragmentation. Oil palm, coconut, and coffee plantations have replaced the dense vegetation that tarsiers need to maintain their numbers successfully.
They do not do well in captivity. If they get too stressed, they will commit suicide.
You can read more about them here.

We also did the hike offered by the hostel at sunrise to see the Chocolate Hills. While it was cool, I thought it was a much cooler seeing the hills more up close.

Overall Thoughts:

We really liked Bohol. Easy to scooter around. Fun waterfalls. And the Chocolate Hills were so interesting to take in. I’d love to come back & go scuba diving here. Definitely worth a visit I would say.

CITY: Siquijor

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Bougainvillea Guesthouse, which is owned by the owners of the dive shop and is conveniently located on top of the dive shop. Made the early more dives pretty easy 🙂

It was lovely, but basic. Nice, comfy bed. AC worked great. Had everything we needed but wasn’t anything luxurious.

WHERE TO EAT:

Marco Polo– Decent pizza right on the beach.

Luca loco – cute little spot with good smoothie bowls & other great lunch options

Aroy Makmak – I was missing good Thai food & this hit the spot. As always, it was right on the beach.

Bajabar – nicer spot for dinner. We had fun drinks & good food.

Shaka Cafe – My favorite spot in all of Siquijor. If it were up to me I would’ve gone everyday but Nicole forced me to try new things haha. The smoothie bowls were SO good and the vibe was so perfect for the Philippines. Lots of cute, comfy seating and with beach views.

WHAT TO DO:

Scuba diving is one of the main attractions. Nicole got her open water certification while I got my advanced certification! The folks at Mystic Diving even accommodated us being able to the course together even though we were doing different ones. It was awesome to be able to dive together!

Our favorite thing to do was get on our rented scooters to just drive around. On our last day we literally drove the circumference of the entire island. It was awesome!

There are tons of beautiful waterfalls to go swimming in. We loved Zodiac Falls– there’s a big rope swing if you want to jump in. You can also go to the Old Enchanted Balete Tree. Put your feet in & you’ll be in for a ticklish surprise.

Also, every evening it’s very important to park yourself at one of the many beachfront restaurants + bars for sunset with a drink in your hand. Beer for Nicole. A mango smoothie for me 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

Holy moly did we LOVE Siquijor. We wish we could’ve stayed longer. In fact, originally we were only supposed to stay here 3 nights but we extended our stay (& opted to cut a night from Moalboal). Do not miss out on coming here. Somehow this tiny island just worms its way into your heart and you never want to leave. The untouched beaches. The clear waters. The nicely built roads perfect for zooming around on your scooter with the wind in your hair. The scuba diving available right off the shore. The colorful sunsets. Need I say more?!

CITY: Moalboal

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Nicole & I stayed at Maayong Hostel. It’s a fairly new hostel (they were still building rooms while we were there). They only have one dorm room with 12 beds and the rest of the place is private rooms (which looked very beautiful). While the facilities were very nice (beds were comfy, AC worked great, room was very clean, etc), because there was only one room, it wasn’t super social. Given I was with Nicole, this wasn’t an issue, but if I was solo, it would’ve been tough. The common space was filled with comfy seating & hammocks + the cafe served yummy smoothie bowls & sandwiches. Moalboal is very small so this place is in walking distance of the beach & all the restaurants, but it’s far enough out that it’s very quiet and easy to get a good nights sleep. If you are traveling with someone, I would definitely recommend this place!

WHERE TO EAT:

There are tons of cute Instagrammable restaurants here. It’s clear that Moalboal is trying to attract Western backpackers haha. Honestly just walk around (as I’ve said Moalboal is small) & you’ll find great restaurants to eat at.

My highlight was Shaka Cafe – I mean it was my favorite place in Siquijor so I was delighted to find it in Malapascua too 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

There are lots of activities to choose from in Moalboal:

Snorkel with the sardine run – it’s spectacular.
Scuba dive off the coast & with the sardine run – Truly a must-see.
Go canyoneering – Nicole & I loved this adventure. You get to zipline, cliff jump, slide & walk your way down the canyon. It’s nice to just moving your body in such fun ways through a gorgeous tree filled canyon under the beautiful blue sky. This is a highlight for everyone that comes to Moalboal.
We didn’t do this (as we had questions about the ethics around it), but you can do a day trip from here to go snorkeling with Whale Sharks.

All of these activities can be booked through your accommodation or through any of the agencies in town (except the snorkeling you can just rent/buy a snorkel from the guys at the beach). It’s very easy and literally any person is going to be HAPPY to help you 🙂

Overall Thoughts:

Moalboal can obviously be a bit touristy, but we loved it. Lots to do, cute restaurants, gorgeous sunsets- I mean it’s hard to complain. Nicole & I had such an awesome time together & this is sadly where we said goodbye. I am so thrilled she used her two weeks off between jobs to hop on a flight to see me & adventure around together. I can’t wait to meet up in another international location soon!

CITY: Malapascua

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at the Malapascua Budget Inn. It’s fairly basic, but it does the job! The bed was comfy and there were lockers to store your stuff. The island is very, very tiny, so basically anywhere on the island is centrally located, but this did feel very central. Wifi worked decently for being on a remote island. Bathrooms were pretty clean and staff seemed to be cleaning the dorm rooms & bathrooms all the time. Helpful when everyone is dragging sand everywhere.

WHERE TO EAT:

For being such a tiny island there were a decent amount of cute restaurants!

DevoZen Cafe – very cute, small cafe with a nice area to sit outside in the shade and do work. I had a zoom call from here & it worked great!

VillaPotenciana – Veggie restaurant right on the beach. This was my FAVORITE restaurant. I ate here two of the nights I was here. I had my new favorite Filipino dish, pork sisig, but a vegetarian version with mushrooms. SO YUMMY!

Wangshin little cuisine – cute open market with lots of stands/ options for food here. This is just one of them. The people working here were so lovely and we had fun trying some local desserts.

Bebotts – I had breakfast here one day. Decent, but nothing to write home about. Nice to have some eggs though!

The Sunset Shack – I was craving a smoothie bowl and this place delivered! They were happy to make any modifications or additions I requested so I had a dreamy, delicious smoothie bowl.

WHAT TO DO:

The main thing to do here is scuba dive with the Thresher sharks!! Just off the island of Malapascua is a Thresher shark cleaning station, called Monad Shoal. This is where tiny fish remove parasites from the sharks’ skin + clean their gills & mouths.

Truly any foreigner you see walking around the island (there are no cars) will be a scuba diver. There really wouldn’t be any other reason to come so out of your way to this tiny island off Cebu.

As such, there are tons of dive shops, so I was a little overwhelmed with how I was going to pick one. Luckily, a guy I met at the hostel recommended the Atlas Divers. He had walked around and determined they were the cheapest + they included lunch during the trip. Sometimes I hesitate to go with the cheapest outfit because scuba diving is not something you want to cut corners on, but he had already dove with them once & said everything felt very professional. This made my decision easy.

It was a very early morning (5:30am wakeup call) since the Thresher sharks are more likely to be seen in the morning. We had three dives and it was SPECTACULAR. I loved it. We saw lots of Thresher sharks and we also got incredibly lucky with a Tiger shark spotting. It’s pretty rare to see, but I was glad to find out AFTER we got out, that they can be dangerous to humans haha. Anyway, seeing the Thresher sharks was so cool! Some fun facts about these beautiful creatures:

They grow to be about 10 ft (3 m) long
They use their elegant, long tails to hunt, whipping it with such ferocity that it stuns prey such as squid, sardines, & juvenile tuna
They always give birth to two pups, one male & one female
They are not dangerous to humans and are pretty darn cute!

Other than diving, I filled my time with planning my Japan trip, catching up on writing this blog (I am perpetually behind!!!!), I had a fun finance call with a friend (shoutout John), and I squeezed in some of my final cheap massages. One at DevoZen Spa & one at a more run of the mill spot (and cheaper) around the corner that just had a sign along the oceanfront path.

First views of the island from the ferry

Overall Thoughts:

If you are a diver, don’t even think about missing this stop. It was awesome! If you aren’t a diver, there’s no reason to head to Malapascua. Given the narrow focus of the island, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of being able to fill my time outside of diving or what the level of accommodation/restaurants would be, but I found the island quite charming!

CITY: Manila

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at NomadsMNL Hostel, which is a hostel RIGHT next to the airport. It’s designed for people who are only flying in/out of Manila and need a close place to crash for the night. No bells & whistles but it did the job for me! Beds were capsule style & there were lockers in the room. Wifi didn’t work all that well for me but that’s not the end of the world.

WHERE TO EAT:

I just grabbed a boba tea for dinner and then went to bed.

WHAT TO DO:

Honestly I got in & out as fast as I could! I did manage to sneak one last foot massage before I left Southeast Asia & it’s wonderfully cheap massages!

Overall Thoughts:

I didn’t see much of Manila, but I don’t think I would love it here from what I have heard. No regrets on only spending one night here.

BUDGET FOR 23 DAYS IN The Philippines:

Accommodation: $300 ($13 per night)

Food: $300

Groceries: $0

Activities: $1285

Miscellaneous:

Local Transportation: $556 (this includes 2 internal flights, lots of ferries + lots of long taxi rides)

Total: $2543 (Daily average: $110)

Transportation to next destination: $287 (flight to the Japan)

Cambodia

May 16, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Siem Reap

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Lub D Hostel and there was good & bad.

First the good: the facilities are fabulous. The rooms look new with very modern bed set ups. No bunk beds, but rather built in beds so no creaking as your upper bunk bed gets in at 2am. Curtains, personal plug, & light are all there. Storage lockers are available in the room. Rooms is blasting AC all day (sometimes hostels turn them off during the day). Bathrooms are VERY nice and clean (just outside in the hall). Never had any issues with waiting for a shower or toilet.

The bad: well this is quite a party hostel (but no issues with sound in the room thank god), but it’s quite large so I found it hard to meet people. I tend to prefer smaller, cozier hostels where everyone kinda hangs out together (like my favorite hostels in Chiang Rai or Hot An). There weren’t many avenues of organically meeting people unless you wanted to approach people who had their headphones in while on a chaise lounge at the pool.

WHERE TO EAT:

Lots of western food restaurants & cafes in town. Pub Street is filled with bars, burger places & clubs.

I ate at an Italian restaurant, a Greek restaurant, and Cambodian restaurant, but nothing notable.

I had a smoothie bowl which was was sooooo yummy from Brownie Temple Bakery & Smoothie Bar. Very cute, small spot. Next door was Sister Trey Cafe, which also is a great breakfast spot. I had a bacon & cream cheese stuffed French Toast!

Footprint Cafe was my go to for an afternoon drink & they have a fabulous co-working space upstairs (where I spent time catching up on this blog!).

I also had my first gelato in months (European Meg could never). Gelato Lab served up some delicious gelato- I had one scoop of chocolate & one scoop of stracciatella with a cone on top. The gelato would melt wayyyyy too fast if I just had it in a cone.

WHAT TO DO:

In a surprise to no one, the main thing to do here is explore Angkor Wat. So I’ll be honest and say, I am not a big temple person, so I spent one day here and felt like I got enough of an experience there. I know I might get roasted for that, but hey travel is personal. I’ve met people who spent 3 full days here and said it wasn’t enough for them. I think it just depends on what your vibe is!

Given I didn’t really meet people at my hostel, when a guy posted in the hostel world app asking if anyone wanted to join him on his rented motorbike for the day to explore Angkor Wat, I quickly responded “me please!” He picked me up from the hostel and we raced around to see 6 temples, including the main Angkor Wat Temple and my favorite temple, Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for all the trees that are growing through, around, and over the temple. Oh, also Tomb Raider was filmed here. I just was mesmerized by the reminder that nature is so much bigger than humans and ultimately nature will erase an impact humans have on the planet- very cool.

Beyond my time in Angkor Wat, I enjoyed some down time at cafes, catching up on planning & blogging, as well as getting a two massages! One evening I just decided to walk into a run of the mill spa and for $4 USD, I had a 60 min foot massage (my favorite thing is just to watch an episode of TV on my iPad during a foot massage – true bliss for me), but on my last full day in Siem Reap I decided to treat myself to a spa day. A guy at my hostel recommended Devatara Spa and I booked myself a 90 min Four Hands Touch massage (two masseuses massage you at the same time!) as well as a 60 min Aromatic Herbal Salt Scrub. Need less to say, I felt very zen after my 2.5 hours at Devatara.

One of the couples from my Ha Giang Loop trip were in Siem Reap at the same time as me so I grabbed dinner with them, which was fabulous. I absolutely love the overlaps that begin to happen as you backpack through a region.

My last morning before I flew out to the Philippines, I headed to the Apopo Visitor Center. From their site: “Cambodia is one of the most land-mine affected countries in the world, but for the last 25 years APOPO has worked to clear landmines here and across the world. We train African giant pouched rats (they are much cuter than they sound and super smart, too!) to sniff out the TNT in explosives in the ground. Our work keeps people safe by reclaiming land from the dangers of landmines, and returning it to farmers and local communities, allowing them to thrive once again.” It was very cool to see the rats in actions and they were in fact very cute! It takes about an hour and is a great experience once you are templed-out in Siem Reap.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I will be brutally honest: I really wasn’t sure if I would like Cambodia. As such, when my plan started to move around, I tended to want to protect my time in Vietnam & the Philippines over Cambodia, which meant I ended up shortening my time here to 4 nights/ 3 full days to explore. I think I was worried how the poverty disparity would feel. I was worried about the heat. I was worried that given I am not obsessed with Temples, I wouldn’t know how to spend my time here. I was worried about leaving the main cities because of the prevalence of Malaria. I was worried about safety. I wasn’t 100% sure how the sentiment towards Americans would be.

That being said, overall I would say I was really pleasantly surprised by my time here. Most of my fears were unfounded. I felt no safety issues (often walked home by myself around 10pm with no concerns). No issues with being an American (it was actually quite strange because they use USD so I felt slightly at home). The people were lovely & hospitable. To be fair, the heat was brutal & I personally didn’t find that I needed more than one day in Angkor Wat, but overall I really enjoyed my time here. Now, I did meet people who were spending the entirety of the 30 day limit on the visa here, and I’m not sure I would need a full month, but I would’ve been happy to spend a bit longer here.

BUDGET FOR 4 DAYS IN Cambodia:

Visa- $36

Accommodation: $40 ($10 per night)

Food: $53

Groceries: $0

Activities: $138 (Spa Day + Angkor Wat entrance ticket)

Local Transportation: $27

Total: $294 (Daily average: $73.5)

Transportation to next destination: $349 (flight to the Philippines)

Vietnam

May 11, 2024June 26, 2024Leave a comment

Pro Tips:

Get your visa ahead of time!! Americans must have a visa before they arrive (i.e. visa on arrival is not an option). They say it takes 3-4 business days to process, but it can take up to 2 weeks, and even longer during holiday times.
No need to book ahead in Vietnam. It’s best to go with the flow and book as you go. This is for accommodation and transportation between destinations.
Your accommodation or any (of the MANY) travel agencies can help you book any transportation or activity needs.
I always doubled the expected travel time. If someone told me the bus would take 2 hours, I planned water + food + entertainment for it to take 4 hours+. It’s very easy to get around, but it’s never on time haha.
Don’t drink the water; just use bottled water.

CITY: Hanoi

HOW LONG: 5 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

My friend Jake met me in Vietnam for the first 10 days of my time here. Given it was Têt (Lunar New Year) & we weren’t sure what would be open, we wanted a place with a kitchen. We rented a fabulous airbnb with a pool + gym in the building. It has a nice living space and great views of Hồ Tây Lake. It was very nice to have a big queen bed all to myself and a fancy private bathroom. Living the high life after all these days in hostels 🤣 The only downside was that it was a bit far (30 min walk) from the old town, where we spent a decent amount of our time).

View of from our Airbnb on Tet for the firework celebration

WHERE TO EAT:

Turns out, even though it was Têt, most restaurants were open in Hanoi (in smaller towns this would not be the case). We loved exploring the streets and eating often. Sometimes big meals, sometimes many small meals throughout the day. My favorite thing was sitting on the tiny, low plastic chairs and getting served a big bowl of pho. Usually there was no menu, you just got served the one thing the restaurant served. Yummy!

I also loved the egg Bahn Mi from T Bread Bahn Mi.

Overall we mostly ate at street food stands/stalls so no names to report but the food here was excellent all around!

WHAT TO DO:

Honestly, we didn’t do a ton here because while restaurants were open, a lot of other stuff was shut down.

We spent a ton of time just meandering around the old town, which was a bit quieter than usual due to the holiday. It made it quite pleasant to walk around without the throngs of people and the honks of millions of motorbikes. Don’t worry, there still was plenty of honking, but it was just in the thousands.

Our absolute favorite thing to do was get a drink and sit at a restaurant at the intersection of the Hanoi Beer Street. The people watching was fabulous! Also the streets are so narrow so it was fascinating to watch the cars & motorbikes try to squeeze through the throngs of tourists walking around.

We attempted to do a hop on/ hop off tour but it was a disaster with them changing the time and route on us and then wouldn’t let us hop off… pretty bad.

We managed to watch the superbowl while here, which was fun until the 49ers lost 😫

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I normally don’t like the big cities of Southeast Asia, but Hanoi might be the exception. I think it helped that it was Tet because it was much calmed & quieter than a normal week in Hanoi. Old Town is charming & so fun to walk around! Would definitely come back here.

CITY: Ha Long Bay & Cat Ba Island

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

Ha Long Bay, world famous for the thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests amidst (supposedly) clear waters. Tourists flock to take a cruise through it as either a day trip or a 1, 2, or 3 night cruise. I had heard others speak highly of Cat Ba Island so when we talked to a travel agent (randomly found one as we walked around Old Town in Hanoi), we requested a tour that wasn’t the 5 star (read expensive) but also wasn’t the cheapest option, and that included a day/night in Lan Ha Bay & Cat Ba Island. I am SO glad we did because I honestly liked Lan Ha Bay better than Ha Long Bay. It was less dirty & overall way less tourists. It’s basically the same landscape but with less people/boats.

We went with a boat called Fantasea and overall it was just fine. I wouldn’t really recommend them. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but I definitely there are better options out there.

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed one night on the boat & one night in a hotel on Cat Ba Island. Neither were anything to write home about but wasn’t horrible either.

WHERE TO EAT:

You eat on the boat haha not too many choices while on the expedition!

Our one meal on Cat Ba Island was at Casa Bonita. Very good food & cute vibes.

WHAT TO DO:

As part of the 3 day / 2 night excursion, you do a few activities:

Explore Hang Sung Sot cave
Hike to the top of Ti Top island for amazing views of Ha Long Bay
Learn about the Pearl farms
Kayak around the bay
We also explore Cat Ba National Park on our last day

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Ha Long Bay has long been on my bucket list (excuse the pun haha), but if you want my honest opinion, I wasn’t wowed by it. I’m not sure if we got unlucky with the weather, but the air/sky was so polluted that it just completely dulled the views for me. The cave & Ti Top hike were incredibly crowded (almost claustrophobically so) & the kayaking location was not picked because it’s a particularly good spot for it. Rather it was picked because they try to get you to buy a bunch of pearls at the pearl farm before & after you go kayaking. We did enjoy playing cards on the deck at sunset and watch all the boats slowly turn into glittering lights across the bay. Quite beautiful!

CITY: Ninh Binh

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Havana Homestay Tam Coc. It had just opened up so it was incredibly nice and clean! We were literally the first guests to stay in the room we were in. Pretty cool! It’s a great location, fabulous facilities and the family who runs it are incredibly nice. Would definitely recommend this place!

WHERE TO EAT:

Honestly we didn’t eat anything notable here. There are lots of western restaurants catering to the tourists here, but there are some stalls that serve cheaper, quicker food. I had dessert one night from them.

WHAT TO DO:

My favorite thing we did was the Trang An Scenic Landscape boat ride. There are a few routes you can pick, but we chose to do the one with the longest cave and less of the temples (you can decide from the pamphlet they give you when you buy your tickets). Be prepared to spend some time for this as it can take between 1.5 – 3 hours, depending on how long you take while off the boat at the various attractions and just how many other boats are going. We got luckily with the weather and it was glorious!

The other main attraction we hit was hiking up to the Hang Múa viewpoint. This can get very crowded so I’d recommend starting earlier in the morning for this spot.

Jake & I decided this would also be a great place for our first time renting motorbikes on our own! It was so, so much fun. It made me regret not doing it more in Southeast Asia, but at the same time, I am glad I’ve been on the more cautious side of picking when & where to do it. Ninh Binh is relatively calm traffic-wise and the roads were good so it was great to try doing it for the first time here.

Other ideas (that we didn’t do ourselves):

Take a bicycle and enjoy lunch at Trang An Lotus lake Homestay
Hike through Cúc Phương National Park

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I could’ve spent another day here. I loved that the main thing to do was explore the beautiful landscape and I would’ve enjoyed another day riding around on the motorbikes! Dare I say I think I liked it better here than Ha Long Bay?! This is also where I said goodbye to Jake, who was now off to Thailand to meet up with his sister.

CITY: Ha Giang Loop

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

After a lot of research (and talking to other travelers) I chose to do my Ha Giang Loop with Road Kings. I quickly learned that I wanted (& needed) to avoid the bigger, more well known tours that tend to draw the younger, party crowd (hello Jasmine and Mama’s), since I didn’t want to worry about drunken riding partners and I wanted to be able to get a good night sleep. Road Kings is a newer company and is run by a couple (an American man & Vietnamese woman). This made it very easy to communicate with them as they helped me coordinate my transpiration to/from Ha Giang (the starting & ending point of the loop). They are all about customer service and were quick to answer all the questions that I had! They also cap their groups to 8 people, which means you are able to nimbly move through the loop (it can get crowded), and you also get to know everyone really well! This is great because people are often traveling the same direction as you after and you can meet up again in the next few spots (I ended up doing this with two of the couples in my group). Overall I would HIGHLY recommend Road Kings.

Additionally, people tend to choose between the 3 day & 4 day Loop, and I am SO glad I chose the 4 day. You essentially cover the same amount of miles, but with the 4 day, you can go much slower and stop for my viewpoints and waterfalls.

Lastly, even if you are an experienced motorcyclist, I would I highly recommend going as an Easy Rider. This means you sit on the back of the bike, while a local Vietnamese man rides it. The roads, especially on the second day, are pretty gnarly, and it’s so nice to have an expert handling it so you can just focus on the views and I even listened to music as we cruised through the beautiful landscapes. It meant I was stress-free the whole time!

Pro tip: Wear closed-toe shoes & (depending on the season/weather)a jacket for sun/wind/cold protection.

Make sure you have a smaller backpack or rucksack you can take since you leave your bigger backpack/suitcase at the hostel. You pack just what you need for the 4 days (which is not much: 2-3 days of clothes (I just re-wore stuff) & toiletries) in your small daypack and then you cinch that down at the back of the back for the entirety of the loop.

ACCOMMODATION:

Since I booked a slightly nicer, smaller tour, I was treated to a private room for each of the 3 nights while on the Loop. The ninth before you leave, everyone just stays at the hostel you book the tour through and I was in a dorm room (but it was included in the package so that was nice!). While none of the accommodation could be considered luxurious, the places we stayed were great. After a long day on the motorcycle, a clean room, comfy bed, & hot shower were all you needed! My favorite place was the last night, where we were in a traditional Vietnamese homestay and the rooms were so cool!

WHERE TO EAT:

Honestly I was so impressed by the food provided by the tour. You definitely won’t go hungry!!! The french fries & omelette were always my favorite haha.

WHAT TO DO:

Enjoy the ride! You can read the full itinerary here in detail, but we swam in 3 waterfalls, saw amazing view points, & had lots of coffee (and iced cocoas for me) breaks. We went to the Vietnamese border with China and learned about how it’s changed over the years. We took a bamboo boat ride. We went to a traditional Lo Lo village. And so much more. Honestly, just go for yourself. It was INCREDIBLE!

My group was a British Couple, an Australian couple, and a British/Australian couple. All were lovely!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

All I can say is that this is one of my top three experiences of my trip so far!! The other two are hiking the Milford Track in New Zealand with my family and going up in the hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey. Truly don’t miss out on doing this awe-inspiring journey through Northern Vietnam. I will say we got incredibly lucky with the weather where we got no rain and all sunshine (which I don’t think is typical) so take a look at when weather would be best before you book your trip!

CITY: Hoi An

HOW LONG: 7 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at SacLo Villa Homestay. It was one of my favorite hostels I have stayed at! The main reason is the host/owner, Lyna, is amazing and will go above and beyond to take care of anything you need. The rooms are comfy (I stayed in 3 different types of rooms because I kept extending). After flying from Hanoi to Da Nang, I originally had planned to stay in Hoi An for 3 nights before going to Hue & Da Nang with my remaining 4 days, but I literally couldn’t imagine leaving Hoi An. I ended up staying the entire 7 nights at SacLo in Hoi An. The morning breakfast is one of the best hostel breakfasts I’ve had ever and you can order from 4-5 options! Pro tip: the pancakes are their speciality and aren’t to be missed. Lyna also often organizes hostel dinners around Hoi An at yummy restaurants. Between breakfast and these evening activities, it’s super easy to meet people!! I made some good friends at this hostel.

Unfortunately I did get pretty sick while I was in Hoi An. Luckily Lyna kindly allowed me to upgrade my room to a private room so I could recuperate better (and not get anyone else sick). She also helped me get to a pharmacy for medicine.

The only downside to the hostel is that it’s about a 20 min walk to the center of town, but it’s a pleasant walk (when it’s not too hot), or you rent a bike from the hostel, or it’s a very cheap, quick Grab ride on a motorbike (~$1-2).

Regardless I highly recommend staying here!

WHERE TO EAT:

I was here a week so I went to lots of fun cafes & restaurants. I was very impressed by the food scene in Hoi An!

Lim dining room – This was SUCH a delicious meal! I sat on the front patio and people watched over a delicious pizza. 10/10

Morning Glory Signature – This is well-known restaurant in Hoi An, which meant I thought it might be touristy/overpriced. Lyna had organized a hostel dinner here so we had 20 people rolling deep. Service was excellent and food was delicious! I’d call the cuisine elevated Vietnamese food. It’s not cheap, but was still reasonable for those not from Vietnam.

Avocado cafe – I had delicious pancakes for lunch here as well as dinner with the Australian couple from my Ha Giang Loop group.

Buttercup by Rosie’s cafe – Great spot for a smoothie bowl

Lyn’s cafe – cute cafe for a coffee

Lagom – Lovely cafe around the corner from SacLo. Yummy western breakfast options.

Nourish – Yummy vegetarian cafe. I ordered a smoothie bowl

The Hill Station deli and cafe– Cute spot to work or read. Quiet & I loved how it was decorated.

Port City Bagels – Honestly one of the best bagels I’ve had in a while! I went a few times haha.

Bahn Mi Phuong– This spot is known as Anthony Bourdain’s favorite place to get a Bahn Mi! It did not disappoint, but be prepared for long lines.

WHAT TO DO:

Hoi An is most famous for being THE place to get clothes made! Known as the “Textile capital of Vietnam,” there are so many tailors in Hoi An where you can have clothes custom made. Here are my best pro tips:

Go to the tailors on your first day (or the first chance you get). They are miraculously fast, but sometimes you need to have a fitting or two before everything comes out perfectly. Because I had 7 whole days, I actually did about 5 fittings since I figured I might as well get it all 100% right before I left (my pieces were also mostly rompers & jumpsuits so needed some tweaking to have it fall right). At minimum you want 2-3 days in Hoi An to have clothes made
Have an idea of what you want made before you walk in. I actually had a jumpsuit and a romper with me that I brought in and had them make exact replicas (with a few tweaks, like changing the sleeve on my jumpsuit from a spaghetti strap to a cap sleeve). I also brought in photos from a romper & dress I found on Pinterest. Within 24 hours I had versions to try on! Pretty wild.
Pick your tailor thoughtfully. Some places are cheaper, but the quality will suffer. Some places are very well known, but therefore are very expensive. I’d recommend not going to the cheapest place, but find a reasonable prices that you don’t have to sacrifice quality. After all you want these clothes to last! I went to Bao Diep Tailor and would definitely recommend them (Lyna from SacLo pointed me in their direction).
It can be overwhelming once you walk in the door so have an idea of what fabrics or patterns you might want. Alternatively just plan to spend an hour or two at the tailor going through the thousands of different fabric samples in order to choose the one you want!
Guys often get suits here since it’s so cheap!
Don’t be afraid to voice any concerns or changes you want made during your fittings. They are amazing at making the changes (either on the spot or in a few hours). Don’t leave unsatisfied if it’s something you could just have them alter for you!
Don’t be afraid to negotiate, especially if you are buying lots of items.
Honestly if you love a piece, I’d recommend you ask them to make a second version in another color/pattern. I regret not getting more jumpsuits made (even though I had two made haha).

I happened to be there during the lantern festival (happens every full moon I think). It was magical! All the boats on the river would take people on a 30 min ride and you could light your own lantern. Beautiful. After we went out to one of the many clubs to go dancing, which was fun.

I also went scuba diving, and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. The visibility was pretty bad, but even if it had been clear, the area is heavily over fished since they don’t have the same regulations/protections that Thailand, Bali & The Philippines have put in place. Not much to see.

I had plenty of massages and even treated myself to a hair treatment!

I got pretty sick so I didn’t do much else besides hang at cafes & get clothes made (when I even had the energy to do this). I did manage to go to the dentist while here. Since I was actually in one place long enough to make an appt somewhere (and given I don’t have dental insurance in the US right now), I thought it would be smart to go for a check up. The check up, cleaning, & X-rays were only $20 total. Pretty wild.

Other popular things to do:

Go to the beach
Rent bikes & cruise around.
Day trip to Golden Hand Bridge & Ba Na hills (I was torn on whether to go because there are mixed reviews on whether it’s worth it. Some say it’s super cool, but others say it’s very Disneyland-esque and doesn’t feel authentic. Getting sick made the decision to skip it pretty easy)
Cooking class + coconut boat ride
Day trip to Marble Mountain
Day trip to My Son Sanctuary

Overall your accommodation can give you the run down on all your options and can help you get it booked!

I found this blog post to be very helpful!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I LOVED HOI AN SO MUCH. I already can’t wait to go back. I really want to go with my sister and just have us bring a huge empty suitcase with us and then spend a week just getting custom clothes made hahah. I think it would be so much fun! Beyond that, Hoi An is just so darn charming and lovely. I loved walking around getting yummy iced cocoas, I loved how colorfully lit up the town is at night, I love how safe it felt. It’s so manageable and pleasant. As you can tell, I just love it, and would highly recommend spending at least 3 days here, but honestly I’d say stay longer, especially if you are backpacking and need a bit of break (like I did). Hoi An is the perfect spot for this!

BUDGET FOR 21 DAYS IN Vietnam:

I’ll caveat this section by saying my friend Jake paid for a lot of our food & accommodation while we were together, but I paid for our Ha Long Bay excursion, which makes the numbers look slightly weirdly weighted.

Accommodation: $252 ($12 per night) – Again Jake paid for some of this so it looks cheaper than it was. For what it’s worth though, hostels tended to be about $10 USD per night for a bed.

Food: $157

Groceries: $21

Activities: $884 – Vietnam known for some epic adventures. My (& Jake’s) Ha Long Bay cruise & my Ha Giang Loop costs are captured in this bucket (which means the food & accommodation are also bucketed here)

Local Transportation: $140 (Lots of busses and one domestic flight)

Clothing: $440 (This an abnormal cost for me but do not miss getting clothes made in Hoi An!!!)

Health: $85 (Dentist visit + medicine from getting very sick in Hoi An)

Visa: $25

Total: $1980 (Daily average: $94)

You can definitely do Vietnam wayyyy cheaper than this, but I didn’t skimp on the companies I did the adventures with, I got 7 new outfits in Hoi An, & I find that traveling with a friend always drives up costs for me since not everyone wants the #backpackerlifestyle haha

Transportation to next destination: $106 (flight to Laos)

Laos

March 24, 2024May 25, 20241 Comment

Laos is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the region with 50 officially recognized groups and over 80 languages spoken. I didn’t know much about this country, other than it was the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, and that I was excited to spend time in the mountains. Despite some ups & downs (mostly due to disappointing hostels), I ended up really enjoying my time in Laos. Definitely worth a stop for any backpacker.

CITY: Vientiane

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Nana’s Backpackers and it was one of my least favorite hostels I have ever stayed at. It just felt so dirty, like I worried about getting bed bugs immediately. Also it was oddly not social for how many people were there. Very dead vibe. I hated every minute of being here honestly haha. Couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Originally I was going to spend 2 nights in Vientiane because I thought the capital would warrant some time, but nope, there’s not much to do here so I quickly left the next morning.

WHERE TO EAT:

Nothing notable other than the night market here had some yummy looking options, but I had already eaten by the time I found it 😦

WHAT TO DO:

I went for a walk along the pretty dried up river (maybe it was low-tide?). Nothing of note. I then treated myself to an hour foot massage for $4 since I needed to pass the time and didn’t want to spend literally any time at the hostel.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Maybe I am being dramatic, but I just had a visceral reaction to Vientiane and just really, really didn’t like it. Luckily the next two stops made up for the rough start in Laos!

CITY: Vang Vieng

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Vang Vieng Chill Hostel & Vang Vieng Backpackers Hostel. Both overall sucked, but it didn’t seem like there was a great hostel in Vang Vieng if I am being honest, and it seems like the consensus was that Chill House was the best of the worst. I hadn’t booked any accommodation here since after my bad experience in Vientiane, I wanted to physically see the hostel before committing to booking a room. I met a girl, Jess from the UK, on my bus from Vientiane who was staying here so I just followed her here. There was only room for me for one night so I moved to the other hostel for my 2nd & 3rd night. Luckily I had already made friends with Jess so it didn’t really matter that it wasn’t super easy to meet people at either of the hostels.

At Backpackers, the rooms were cramped, dark, filled with random moisture (& mold). The bathroom was gross & never was clean (even though I literally saw women cleaning it each day so not sure how that works). I tried to avoid spending time here as much as possible. Wifi was decent though haha.

WHERE TO EAT:

Unfortunately I wouldn’t say any restaurant or food experience was particularly memorable in Vang Vieng, but here’s a list of what we tried!

Naked Espresso– cute cafe with mediocre food

Bon Appetit – I needed a break from Asian food so I had a yummy pizza bread from here. Probably my favorite meal from Vang Vieng.

Kiwi Kitchen – A kiwi man opened this cafe up on the other side of the river. Jess & I had rented a scooter for the day so we just rode here, but it’s not too far on foot either. Food was pretty good but nothing spectacular.

Happy mango– This place is a top rated spot in town, and besides Bon Appetit, this was my other fav spot. I had pad see ew and it was delicious!

WHAT TO DO:

Lots of fun, outdoorsy activities to do in Vang Vieng. This is where Van Vieng shines! Jess & I rented a scooter for the duration of our time here. Made it easy to run around and do everything we wanted!

There are over 5 blue lagoons that you can check out while here. We visited #1 & #4 and by far #4 was superior. It’s the furthest so it means way less people go! There’s also a zipline & rope swing you can enjoy. I don’t think #1 is worth going to. Very busy and nothing special. Water feels dirty since there are so many people in it with you.

I didn’t go hot air ballooning since I had just gone in Turkey, but apparently Laos is one of the cheapest place you can go hot air ballooning in the world. Jess went and raved about it! It seems like it would be an incredible landscape to see from above.

We enjoyed sunset in a field across the river, which was only more spectacular with all the sunset hot air balloons in the air 🙂

Nam Xay viewpoint is a short, but steep 30 min hike up to a gorgeous 360 view of the valley. There’s also randomly two motorbikes that you can take photos on. Definitely worth doing this, but go earlier in the day to beat the heat & crowds!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While I liked a lot of the activities in Vang Vieng, the town itself felt very inauthentic. It basically felt like a town that sprung up only to cater to the backpackers/tourists. No local people were milling about or mixing in. It was only hotels/hostels, restaurants, & tour operators in town. It just felt a little contrived. But the scenery was stunning, so I’m glad I got to experience it.

CITY: Luang Prabang

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Given the hostels were so gross in Vang Vieng, I had asked Sonja (who I had planned to meet up with here) if she wanted to share a private room somewhere instead of staying at a hostel. Once I met Jess in Vang Vieng, I also asked her if she wanted to join us. Unfortunately the hotel we booked kinda messed up our booking and then Jess ended up getting sick. Sonja & I ended up just walking around and finding a homestay to grab a room at (so Jess could recuperate on her own without worrying about getting us sick). It was much cheaper than anything we found online & we loved our little spot.

Don’t be afraid to just show up & walk around to find accommodation here. There were so many hotels + homestays in general, & plenty didn’t seem to have an online presence so we found many hotels with availability of varying price points. Ours ended up being around $50 per night.

WHERE TO EAT:

Saffron – my favorite cafe! I spent a few afternoons catching up on planning here! The ginger tea was delicious too!

Night Market – I loved the night market here! Great food options + decent amount of seating.

Two little birds cafe– small, family cafe with very yummy breakfast food!

WHAT TO DO:

The main thing to do is go to Kuang Si waterfalls and it is NOT to be missed! It might’ve been one of my top 5 waterfalls I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of them at this point!). The roads weren’t great so instead of renting a scooter (which is an option), we just booked a tour (which basically just provided transportation). Sonja & I walked around the different levels of the waterfalls, grabbed a fresh coconut to help cool us off, and even went swimming in the falls! Absolutely a highlight of Laos.

We ate at the night market for dinner each night & loved strolling around the goods part of the market. I think this was my favorite for this aspect as many other markets seemed to just sell trinkets made in China. Like each stall had more or less the same thing. In Luang Prabang, it seemed like it had far more variety & craftsmanship. Lots of art & hand made goods. They even had lots of jewelry & other goods made from unexploded bombs (sad, but it was cool to see the creativity of repurposing the available resource).

Sonja & I honestly spent a lot of time catching up & playing cards in cute cafes as well as just meandering around the cute town. I also loved my morning runs!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was by far my favorite stop in Laos! I fell in love with the European vibe of Luang Prabang. It was slower, cleaner and felt far more “real.” There were locals AND tourists around town. The architecture was very charming. I loved the size of the town, as it wasn’t so big that you needed tuktuks to get around, but it wasn’t so small that you got bored in 2 days. I can’t tell you how nice it was to be able to run along the river in the mornings too! There was even a sidewalk for most of it – can you believe it?!

BUDGET FOR 7 DAYS IN Laos:

Accommodation: $144 ($20.5 per night) – This got very skewed because I paid for two private rooms for 3 nights in Luang Prabang – not ideal haha but luckily Laos is fairly cheap so it wasn’t too bad!

Food: $119

Groceries: $0

Activities: $35

Local Transportation: $45

Visa- $51

Total: $394 (Daily average: $56)

Transportation to next destination: $150 (flight to Vietnam)

Northern Thailand

March 19, 2024March 30, 20241 Comment

CITY: Bangkok

HOW LONG: 2.5* NIGHTS

I met my good friend & mentor KT for our first trip together! How fun that it’s all the way in Thailand! We took an overnight train to Chiang Mai so technically it was two nights in the hotel & one night on a train.

ACCOMMODATION:

As a break from hostels, we stayed in a very nice Marriott hotel with sweeping views of the Bangkok skyline. Very fun for me and a nice change of pace!

WHERE TO EAT:

Breakfast Story– leave it to me to always crave a Western breakfast, but I still just love a cute cafe to start my day.

We also had some lovely street food at the Floating Market, where our chicken friend rice was cooked on one of the boats – pretty cool!

WHAT TO DO:

So honestly, I don’t LOVE big Asian cities. I find them overwhelming, loud, & hot so I purposely only spent 2 days here. The highlight was visiting the Maeklong Railway Market & the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. It’s a little ways out of the city but both visits were pretty fun! It’s always wild to see the market completely close up the 8 times a day that a train rolls through. Definitely worth the visit. The floating market is cool because instead of walking around, you hop on a boat and just cruise through the canals to see all the stalls. It’s slightly hokey, but we enjoyed the fanfare and grabbed some fragrant coconut pancakes from another boat stall that was gliding past us at one point.

We also enjoyed a cool afternoon in a mall. I know it sounds weird to head to a mall, but the malls here are beautiful, luxurious, air-conditioned and had tons to do. We actually went to a fancy movie theater and got stuffed with popcorn. Sometimes it’s nice to do familiar things in very unfamiliar places!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Yeah so Bangkok wasn’t ever going to be my favorite place, but KT & I had fun exploring and just catching up!

Time for the Night train to Chiang Mai.

CITY: Chiang Mai

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Thapae Loft Hotel and it was in a great location, within the walled in old city. Very clean, spacious and had all the amenities we needed: Small pool, attentive staff, decent wifi. The staff helped with recommendations and booking of activities.

WHERE TO EAT:

Obviously there’s plenty of street food that is delicious here, but it’s hard to recommend specific stalls haha. Here are my favorite restaurants we went to:

Kati breakfast and brunch
Coconut Shell – KT ordered the Khao soy soup, which is local dish.
Lemonn– Great for brunch – I had a yummy bacon egg omelet
Konjohn coffee 2– cute afternoon cafe vibes – I had an iced cacao drink & we played cards
See you soon cafe – another cute cafe option

Also, I loved getting Mango sticky rice for dessert. In Chiang Mai they use pea flowers to turn the rice blue!

WHAT TO DO:

Fresh off the overnight train, we decided to treat ourselves, and I mean TREAT ourselves, to a 4 hour spa treatment at one of the nicest spas in Chiang Mai: Makkha Spa Ancient House. I had a Thai Massage, Salt Body Scrub, Aromatherapy Massage & Facial (each an hour long). It was luxurious. Because this was at a higher end spa, it was “expensive” at $131… pretty wild.

Chiang mai is home to more than 300 temples so it would be impossible to see them all, but luckily there is a high concentration in the old city, so we just slowly meandered around town and saw plenty of them.

Our favorite activity was doing a Thai cooking class at a farm just outside of town! We had a blast trying to make some of our favorite dishes. It was a fabulous experience, and our culinary leader was very patient and great at explaining things to us. We were so stuffed by the end, we didn’t need dinner that night. Highly recommend doing this if you visit Chiang Mai!

The different menu options we could choose from

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I liked Chiang Mai far more than Bangkok. It was a great size, with a mixture of it being walkable but also not overwhelming. Plenty to do, but also you could have a lazy day just getting a massage & sitting at a cafe too. Just make sure to avoid burning season when you visit as the air quality can get pretty bad.

CITY: Pai

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Ai Pai hotel, which was a cute, boutique hotel located near the end of one of the main roads. The grounds were lovely and the pool was very nice (although very cold while we were there). We enjoyed our stay here.

WHERE TO EAT:

There were tons of cute cafes here so we spent plenty of time sampling different drinks while playing cards, escaping the heat of the afternoons.

Highlights:

The Peddler– This was my favorite cafe. Great wifi, yummy breakfast options, lots of table options, and strong AC. It also happened to be a 1 min walk from out hotel. We ate here twice, and I also sat here and worked on the blog for an afternoon.
Lemon Thyme Bistro – another cute cafe with lots of great breakfast options – all day!

We loved going to the night market for dinner each night! Sometimes we’d get small snacks along the way as we perused so we got try lots of things and sometimes we would sit down and just order a big bowl of noodles. So many yummy things to try here!

WHAT TO DO:

The main things to do here are the drunken tubing on the river (lots of tour agencies will push this on you as you walk around the town). Luckily KT & I were on the same page that this was not of interest to us 🤣 beyond the tubing, folks like to rent scooters to explore the nature and see some waterfalls. However, due to the state of the roads & the prevalence of alcohol & drugs, Pai is notoriously filled with bandaged and bruised backpackers. Truly KT & I were astounded by the percentage of westerners that had some form of casts, bruises, or gauze wrapped around legs/arms. Pretty scary. We decided it wasn’t worth it to us. Given we only had two days here we just focused on walking around the town and enjoying its vibrant, hippie energy.

I also got my nails done here!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Pai was such a cute, sleepy, hippie town. It’s no wonder so many backpackers flock here. It’s very social, easy to get around since it’s so small, filled with cute restaurants & hostels, and just a lovely place to hole up for a while. I thoroughly enjoyed my short time here.

CITY: Chiang Rai

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

After seeing reviews about how this small hostel quickly feels like family, I knew I needed to stay here. I’ve said this before, but big hostels tend to end up feeling more like hotels and it becomes hard to meet people. Small hostels (like less than 20 beds) create an environment where you quickly meet everyone who is staying there, thus making it incredibly easy to plug into an plans being made by others. Together Backpackers Hostel also hosted nightly dinners where they would walk us all over to the night market and get us a table. Inherently this meant, at 7pm the whole hostel would gather and you would meet any new arrivals. Loved it!

The beds were comfy, curtains provided privacy, lockers were big but also you quickly feel safe that no one in your room will steal your stuff if you leave it out. AC was strong, showers & bathrooms were clean, and WiFi worked great. Location was also close to everything you’d need. They also arrange for motorbike rentals.

Can you tell I loved this place? I wish all hostels could foster this environment. 10/10 would stay here again!

WHERE TO EAT:

The main place we ate was at the night market for dinner. I loved all the different options and we had some yummy dessert one night too!

We also visited the cat cafe in town for a drink and a snuggle with some cute cats.

WHAT TO DO:

Within 10 min of getting into my room, I met Flo (German), Mr T (Finnish), and Sonja (German). We hit it off and quickly made plans to explore the region on motorbike the next day! Sonja, ever the planner, had a whole list of places she had wanted to see so we just deferred to her as our tour guide.

The boys kindly drove and Sonja & I were happy to be passenger princesses ☺️

The highlights:

The White Temple – recently completed, this sparkling white temple is truly stunning! My jaw was open the entire time as we walked through. This might be my favorite temple I’ve ever been to! A must do in Chiang Rai.

The Akha Farmville sheep farm – when Sonja first suggested it, I looked at her as if she was crazy haha. Like what? But all the way up the hills above the clouds, you can find a very cute sheep farm! You even get a drink included in your entrance ticket. It was nice to get into some cooler air and hang with the sheep for a bit.

The Doi Chang view point– no one else was here, we even weren’t sure if we were getting ourselves lost on the way following google maps, but we eventually arrived. Beautiful views of the region.

Khun Korn Waterfall! A short hike brings you to a beautiful and big waterfall. We didn’t encounter too many people and the Germans even swam (I was too wimpy with the cold water 😆). Def with a visit!

Big Buddha (Wat Huay Pla Kang) – this is one BIG BUDDHA!! You even can take an elevator up 25 floors to take a view out of its eyes.

The Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten) – we were quite tired by this point, but we still enjoyed walking through the temple. It’s a stunning shade of blue!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I have very fond memories of Chiang Rai, and we packed in a ton of stuff in my one day there! I also met Sonja, who I would end up overlapping in Laos and we might even be planning to see each other in Japan & beyond 👀). I’m not sure if me loving Chiang Rai was more about the people or the place itself… probably a lovely mixture of both.

BUDGET FOR 10 DAYS IN Northern Thailand:

Accommodation: $239 ($23.90 per night)- this was a mixture of small hotels with KT & a hostel while on my own in Chiang Rai. I also saved one night of accommodation on the overnight train!

Food: $88

Groceries: $0

Activities: $217

Local Transportation: $132

Miscellaneous: $34

Total: $710 (Daily average: $71) You can certainly spend less than this as I did plenty of spa treatments & stayed in some private rooms with KT. You would also spend less than this if you ate more street food & less at western style cafes (but they bring me so much joy!!).

Transportation to next destination: $180 (flight to Laos)

Two Week New Zealand Family Roadtrip

March 12, 2024March 12, 2024Leave a comment

After our incredible family trip in Fiji, the Nichols headed to New Zealand for a big adventure on the South Island. We flew to Christchurch before picking up a car to roadtrip our way to Queenstown. Ultimately we would embark on a bucket list adventure: the guided Milford Track! Will the Nichols survive another 2.5 weeks together in a car? Stay tuned!

CITY: Christchurch

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTs

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at this Airbnb. It was a great location (about a 5-10 min walk to the CBD) and the beds were super comfy. Unfortunately I had gotten sick at the end of our time in Fiji and was still recovering here, but this was a lovely place to be stuck in bed.

WHERE TO EAT:

Given I was still quite sick, I barely had energy to eat or leave the airbnb, but I did manage to get out for a meal at Riverside Market, a very cool food hall. It’s right on the Avon River, and it’s a great place for a drink, a treat, lunch, or dinner! Highly recommend a stop here.

WHAT TO DO:

Unfortunately being sick here meant I had no energy to do much here. The one thing I managed to drag myself out of bed for was some punting on the Avon! It’s a lovely way to pass some time in the afternoon. Enjoy a relaxing meander down the river. We had a beautiful sunny day & I was glad I got to do it. It’s also nice to just walk along the Avon River, which has beautiful green grass & trees to shade you.

The other thing I would recommend doing is checking out the Margaret Mahy playground. If it sounds weird to recommend a playground, hear me out. It’s a very cool all-ages, all-abilities playground that is truly worth seeing.

I headed back to the airbnb, but my parents & sister rode the cable car around the perimeter of town + also strolled through the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.

There’s also a gondola you can take to get some breathtaking panoramic views.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While I wish I hadn’t been sick here and got to explore more, I still got very good vibes from Christchurch. Seemed like a very livable, approachable city.

CITY: Lake Tekapo

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

This was probably my favorite airbnb of the trip! We honestly just absolutely loved spending our evenings watching the sunset + playing cards with the huge sliding glass doors completely open to the outdoors. Magical! Also the sunsets being at 9:30pm is something I could get used to.

WHERE TO EAT:

We ate at the airbnb mostly while here. Lake Tekapo is fairly small, but there are a few restaurants right next to the lake as well as some coffee shops.

WHAT TO DO:

We did three main activities while here:

Hiking to Mt. Cook – Hooker Valley Trail. This was incredible! No permit required, we just parked and started the ~7 mile out & back trail. We got very lucky and got views of Mt. Cook the entire time. Often clouds can obscure its visibility.

Tekapo Springs – We thought this would be more serene, natural, and relaxing. In reality, it’s more like a kids waterpark. We wouldn’t recommend it.

Hiking Mount John Summit- We hiked this loop right before going to the Tekapo Springs as you can park in the same place. Gorgeous views of the lake from the top- highly recommend!

Unfortunately we missed doing the Dark Sky Project – guided star gazing. We honestly thought it might hokey, but in all honestly I think we regret skipping it. Although, just “normal” star gazing from the airbnb was spectacular!

Also, just walking along the lake is beautiful. There were nice pathways along the lakefront with some art installations.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While the actual town is quite small, we just loved sitting at our airbnb in the evenings (with the late, late sunsets) and watching the world go by. The views are stunning and the pace is so lovely & slow. The color of the lake is such a cool shade of blue. The mountains are gorgeous, and it’s nice that Mt. Cook is only an hour away. I would’ve happily stayed here a week, honestly. I really, really enjoyed our time here.

CITY: Wanaka

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

This was our Airbnb. While the airbnb itself was nice, it was too far to be able to walk into town, which was a bummer. Highly recommend prioritizing access to downtown Wanaka in whatever accommodation you book while visiting here. The highlight of the airbnb was the big tub outside on the patio. We all loved this for an evening soak, especially my mom & sister after they went horseback riding!

WHERE TO EAT:

Our favorite restaurant was Francesca’s. Very yummy Italian food. This place books up so make a reservation or plan to get it to go and eat by the water!

Brunch at Federal Diner is a must in Wanaka! My dad raved about the Comfort Kedgeree. Ellie & I loved “The Fix”: House made banana bread with Fix & Fogg chocolate & peanut butter 🙂

We also loved eating at the Brownston Street Food Truck market. They had probably over 10 different food trucks, all with yummy food! Something for everyone 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

My mom & sister went horseback riding and absolutely loved about it (it’s just not my thing so I skipped it).

I loved reading my book on the beach by the lake. I also took myself to a movie at the classic old Paradiso Theater. There are only three screens and some of the seating is cool, funky couches.

The highlight of our time in Wanaka was the 40km electric bike ride we did along the Dunstan Trail. From the website: The Lake Dunstan Trail is the 23rd and newest trail in the Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand network and links the townships of Clyde and Cromwell. It was so much fun, but we were all very sore the next day! The trail ended near a winery so we took a much needed break for a lovely snack & drink in a beautiful setting, before returning to Wanaka.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I just love Wanaka. I would live here in a heartbeat. My parents thought the same. I think they are ready to spend a few months here sometime in the future! This is a must do stop on any NZ South Island itinerary!

CITY: Queenstown

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed in Queenstown one night before we left for the Milford Track and three nights upon our return. Honestly neither of the accommodations were note-worthy. Queenstown can be expensive and it can be hilly so I recommend booking early and looking for a place very close to the center of town so you are not huffing & puffing up the hill to your stay.

WHERE TO EAT:

Fergburger! Need I say more? The most famous burger joint in the world 🙂

We had a more fancy dinner at The Grille, which had excellent service and very yummy food.

I returned to my favorite brunch spot I ate at on my 2019 trip: Vudu Cafe

I loved going to CookieTime for a cookie dough milkshake! Although at this point I have mastered my own recipe for cookie dough, which I think is way better…. haha

Our favorite meal was at Bella Cucina our last night together. It’s very popular so get a reservation 🙂 The food was mouthwateringly delicious. It made our last evening together quite lovely. We loved reminiscing over this incredible trip over yummy food & great drinks.

WHAT TO DO:

I don’t even know where to start! There is literally so much to do in Queenstown, but make sure to bring your wallet hehe.

Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of things to do (bold are the ones we did):

Luging
Bungy Jumping (there are a few places, but I’d recommend Nevis because it’s the biggest! If you are only doing it once, might as well go big)
Canyon Swing & Catapult (also at Nevis)
Hiking
Shotover Jet
Canyoning
Day trip to Milford Sound
Day trip to Arrowtown
Paragliding – wish I had done this – would’ve been amazing views on a sunny day
Swimming in the lake
Bike around the lake
Mountain biking
Skydiving

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Obviously I love Queenstown! It’s one of my favorite places in the world and I was very happy to spend another 3 days here. It’s very easy to fill your time in Queenstown and I love that there’s such a variety of activities between just enjoying the vibe of the town, shopping, eating yummy food, getting your adrenaline up, soaking up the lake views, & experiencing the nature. Can’t go wrong here! Would happily return here for a third visit anytime.

CITY: Milford Track

HOW LONG: 5 day/4 NIGHT adventure

You can either do the Milford Track on your own (thru hikers) which means you carry your tent, sleeping bag, & food, or you can pay a pretty penny to do a guided tour with Ultimate Hikes. They are the only company that you can do the guided hike with and it sells out as this is very popular so book ahead. This is a bucket list item for a lot of people, including my Dad!

The Milford Track is one of the “Great Walks” of New Zealand & you walk 54km (33.5 miles) through the heart Fiordland National Park and you end in the gorgeous Milford Sound.

ACCOMMODATION:

You stay in private lodges all four nights and they were all lovely. Each had everything you needed (even if it was fairly basic), but the views were always incredible. Also they all had fabulous common areas to hang with the other hikers in your group, play cards, stretch, & rest after the hard day’s hiking. I have nothing bad to say about the lodges. It’s pretty incredible how pleasant they are when they are literally located in the middle of nowhere and are only accessible by helicopter or by foot.

WHERE TO EAT:

LOL not much choice along this track 😉 But I cannot emphasize how incredible the food is along the trip. I am amazed at the freshness & quality of each meal (although lunch is build your own wrap or sandwich, but I am not complaining). Dinner each night had a few courses and you go to choose from a few options for your main course. I am not exaggerating when I say it was some of the best food we had on our trip,, which again is incredible when all the food has to be helicoptered in.

WHAT TO DO:

Hike 🙂 Here’s the official itinerary. The first day is pretty easy (1 mile). The second and fourth day are medium (10 & 13 miles, but fairly low elevation change). The third day is by far the hardest (9 miles, but you go up and over the pass). It’s the longest day and it’s hard on your knees. But it was also my favorite day as we had gotten rain the night before, so we were treated to hundreds of small & large waterfalls coming down the mountains and into the valley’s. It was so, so magical.

At the trailhead – we had no idea what we were in for 🙂

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was truly a top 3 moment of my trip so far, and that’s saying something given I’ve been traveling for 7 months and NZ was my 21st country of the trip. I’ve done tons of cool stuff, but the combination of being in the mountains (my favorite), the hundreds of waterfalls, being with my family, and meeting tons of new people, just made this such a special experience! While it’s not cheap (thanks Mom & Dad!!), I can highly recommend this trip if you like hiking in gorgeous nature. You won’t regret it.

Trip Summary

I can’t even truly put into words how much fun this trip was! How often do you get to go on a family vacation with your core family, but everyone is an adult? I loved all our deep conversations, learning more about one another, and even the tears 🙂 I mean would it be a Nichols family trip without some tears shed by me & Ellie haha. But, to be fair, we made a bet at the beginning of the trip on how many tears there would be, and it ended up being less than we expected – so not too shabby!! I can’t believe I got so lucky with my family ❤

How did I get the best, kindest, cutest parents in the world:) So grateful for them & making this dream trip happen ❤

Packing List: 3.5 months in NZ & Southeast Asia (2024)

February 11, 2024March 26, 2025Leave a comment

Once again, I am about to head out on the road! This time I am going to Fiji (1 week) & New Zealand (2.5 weeks) for a true vacation with my family, and then I will split off to travel to Southeast Asia solo for 3 months. The beauty of traveling to these locations from Jan to April is I can keep my clothes light & airy, and I don’t need tons of layers & jackets. In general, it’s much easier to pack for hot temperature locations!

Of course I am using my 35L Tortuga Setout backpack 🙂 They don’t sell the exact backpack I have anymore, but here is their latest & greatest! Can’t recommend their bags more. I have used a Tortuga backpack on each of my longterm trips!

Overall tips:

Use packing cubes!
Think through how the clothes will feel in heat. Linen & lightweight materials will be best.
Make sure that every top works with every bottom and works with every shoes. Use a capsule wardrobe as inspiration.
Less is more!

PACKING LIST FOR Southeast Asia:

Clothes

2 pairs of Lululemon Fast & Free Crop’s – I’m trying to make it easy to workout while on the road this time around.
1 pair of Lululemon Align pants – can be used for working out/walking around town or I can dress it up.
1 pair of jean shorts
1 pair of athletic shorts
1 dress
1 Romper
1 Jumpsuit (Madewell) – I’m obsessed with this jumpsuit. Hopefully it holds up well through the backpacker lifestyle.
5 Cute shirts
2 sports bras
2 athletic shirts (for running + sleeping in). One is from Vuori & one is from Lululemon
Booty shorts (to sleep in)
5 pairs of underwear
5 pairs of socks
1 black bralette
Running shoes
Waterproof sandals (will act as my water shoe as well as my cute shoes- I never said the backpacker lifestyle was glamorous haha)
Light Patagonia puffer – good for chilly planes/busses & for when I visit countries that are a little cooler, even in the summer. It also smushes down fairly small so it’s a great backpacker jacket. I’ve also used it as a pillow in a pinch.
1 Swimsuit (feel free to bring 2-3 if that’s your thing)
Sunglasses (Warby Parker)
Rain coat (Patagonia; you can pack it up into it’s pocket so I can easily attach it to the outside of my bag via a carabiner)
Tortuga Daypack (they don’t sell it anymore sadly). This acts as my personal item for flights and I can use it for adventures during the day.
Sling crossbody bag (I put it into my daypack on travel days). I use this out and about on a daily basis. Tortuga just released their version and I can’t wait to check it out!
Running band

Electronics

Computer + Charger
iPad
iPhone + Charger (I get a 6 ft cord so I can always reach the plug from my hostel dorm bed!)
AirPod Pro’s
Headphones (Bose; noise-cancelling for travel days)
Plug adapter (I use this one)
Portable charger (like this one)
AirTag (This is a no brainer these days; provides peace of mind incase I am forced to check my bag or when it’s below me in a bus. Always nice to confirm it’s still with me!)

Toiletries (I use a bunch of little toiletry bags to keep these all organized)

Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Flosser
Any medication you take
Retainer
Deodorant
Makeup
Makeup Remover (I’ve become obsessed with cleansing balm for this because it isn’t a liquid, & it’s highly effective at getting makeup off at the end of the day!
Razor
Conditioner + Shampoo (Get containers to put your products into & refill on the road!!)
Face wash
Brush
Pocket Hand Sanitizer– I keep one in my backpack and one in my sling/purse. Great in general, but also for when inevitably there is no soap at a random bus stop bathroom 🙂
Sunscreen (I love Sun Bum)
Chapstick (Don’t forget to get one with SPF)
Ibuprofen
Hair ties and bobby pins
Moleskin
Bandaids
Cough drops
Topical steroid cream for bed bug bites or regular bug bites to help with itchiness

Miscellaneous

Passport – no explanation necessary 🙂
ID
Travel Credit Card (no foreign transaction fee; I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve (hello lounge access!)+ Capital One Venture Card)
Debit Card (Charles Schwab has the best one because it reimburses ATM fees from any ATM in the world 🙂 )
Record of your plans (I make folders within my email inbox to keep track of everything or you could print out a copy of your itinerary)
Extra Passport photos
Thumb drive with all documentation if desired
Travel Towel (this one has a cool carrier that you can attach to the outside of your backpack with a carabiner)
Sarong/beach blanket- My roommate got this for me! Perfect for any countries where I need to cover up more as well as the beach or to dry off from a swim. It may be redundant with the travel towel but I brought both so time will tell 🙂
Water Bottle
Ear Plug
Eye Mask (you can either go the classic eye mask route or get one like this that almost acts like your eye mask + ear plug since you can play white noise through the built in bluetooth speaker- pretty cool!)
Inflatable Neck Pillow (I use a carabiner to hang this on the side of my backpack)
Lock (for staying in hostels or locking my bag.) Get the combo lock so you don’t have to worry about tiny keys. I take two to be able to lock two different compartments in my bag AND so I can keep my computer/passport/iPad compartment still locked when I use the other one to lock a locker within a hostel.
3 carabiners – I just attach them to my backpack and over the course of the trip they will hold everything from my water bottle, shoes, rain jacket and more. You will not regret having a few on hand.
Pack of playing cards
Portable neck fan (like this one from Amazon)

Here is everything spread out on a table!

Here is what is packed in each packing cube:

One sports bra, one bralette, underwear, socks, & booty shorts

One jumpsuit, one romper, one dress, one pair of jean shorts, one swimsuit, two pairs of leggings

All packed up and ready to go on another adventure!

Portugal

February 4, 20242 Comments

CITY: Lisbon

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Good Morning Solo Traveller Hostel. Overall it was in a great location, it was super easy to meet people and the breakfast spread was fabulous. Given all that, I would definitely stay here again. However, I would advise against doing the all inclusive rate (which I had signed up for after all the reviews encouraged it). It was fairly expensive and as soon as you get to Lisbon, you realize there are just too many fabulous restaurants to try to want to eat at the hostel every meal of the day. You can always sign up for a one off meal if you find that you do want to participate in a dinner here or there. Also, I wouldn’t recommend the Basic 10 bed dorm. I booked it because there were no bunk beds, but there was a weird room within the room (this is all located in the attic) where all the volunteers were sleeping so it was really like 14 people in the room and it had a very weird vibe. It was also hot (and I was there in Dec) so I can’t imagine what summer would’ve been like in that room.

WHERE TO EAT:

Dear Breakfast – Two friends had recommended this spot and it did not disappoint! Cutely decorated and delicious breakfast/brunch food.

Lupita Pizzeria – again it came highly recommended, and I’ll support this recommendation.

Nunes Real Marisqueira – Went here with Emily! On the nicer/fancier side and had great seafood.

Time Out Market – very cool food hall! I went with a group from the hostel & it was fabulous to all get the food we each wanted. Great vibe & lots of options for food.

Nannarella – This literally might’ve been my favorite ice cream place in all of Europe… don’t question it, just make sure to visit here while in Lisbon. Pro tip: get the dollop of cream on top (my fav flavor was Oreo, but all flavors looked good). Also, it’s been featured on Somebody feed Phil!

Santini Ice cream – another great ice cream spot.

What to do:

Lisbon is a fabulous city to just meander, and as the second oldest capital in Europe, there is much to discover. Despite the many hills, none were so dramatic that it prevented a nice stroll, and they often provided beautiful views of the city. Go to one of the many viewpoints, like these ones. I also took a walking tour (there were many times to choose from).

Don’t forget to try a Pastel de Nata. Pasteis de Belem invented them, but the pastries are going to be delicious at many other cafes around the city if you don’t make it out to Belem. But Belem is worth a visit for it’s Tower and seafood restaurants.

My favorite thing to do was my day trip to Sintra! There are so many places to visit in Sintra and easy to go for the day via a 5 Euro train ride. See here for a comprehensive list 🙂 I visited Pena Palace & it’s gardens, Quinta de Regaleira, & The Castle of the Moors. I ran into some folks from the hostel while there so we ended up exploring all together! Pro tip: try Travesserios or Quejadas from Casa Piriquita, which was founded in 1862 and is the most famous pastry shop in Sintra. Fun to try local pastries and it was incredibly affordable. We also had delicious bacon + cheese pastries as a mid day snack from Fábrica da Nata.

Overall Thoughts:

I honestly loved Lisbon. I am not sure if it’s because it was the last stop on my European adventure & I was extremely homesick, but because Lisbon reminded me so much of San Francisco (cable cars, hill, “Golden Gate” bridge, earthquakes, weather, etc), Lisbon totally hit the spot. I just loved the overall vibe and it was extremely easy to explore.

BUDGET FOR 3 days in Lisbon:

Accommodation: $193 ($64 per night) – This includes Full Board, but I never ate lunch/dinner here annoyingly so this was not a good deal. Should’ve been closer to 30 euros a night.

Food: $96

Groceries: $0

Activities: $36

Local Transportation: $5

Total: $343 (Daily average: $115)

Transportation to next destination: $373 (Flight to California for Christmas holidays!)

Turkey

January 29, 2024May 17, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Istanbul

HOW LONG: 6 NIGHTS

I went to Turkey with Jake, a friend from the US, who came to visit over Thanksgiving. Turkey Day in Turkey!!!

Logistical notes:

Make sure to apply for your visa ahead of time!
To get to the city center in Istanbul, you can take a bus from the airport called Havaist or the new metro line (M11). We ended up taking the bus.
Unless you plan on getting around exclusively by taxi, you will need to buy an Istanbulkart (a contactless, prepaid transportation card) to be able to use the metro and other public transportation services (tram, bus, Metrobus and ferry) in Istanbul. (Highly recommend taking a ferry at some point!). We got confused by the machines, but you need to find one that sells the actual card, not just a machine that tops up an existing card. I found that using google translate app was quite helpful in figuring this out.
Here’s a great guide of how to get to/from the airport.
It’s helpful to get cash out as many vendors/taxis only took cash (if you are American, make sure to get a Charles Schwab debit card to get any ATM fees reimbursed)

Jake is so happy to be on hour 29 of traveling!!

ACCOMMODATION:

We splurged on hotels in the other two spots in Turkey so we stayed in a private room at the Cheers hostel in Istanbul. We thought it would cool to have views (see two photos below) of the Hagia Sofia, which was indeed true until the Call to Prayer woke us up twice throughout the night every single night. Night ideal when Jake was trying to adjust to an 11 hour time zone change.

The hostel room was very old and basic, but it did the job. However, the room was quite warm & the AC was turned off for the winter. Normally wouldn’t be a problem to just use the windows to cool the room off at night, but we couldn’t leave the windows open because the city was so dang loud. Between the garbage getting collected at all hours of the night, construction starting at 6am (it felt like), and the Call to Prayer, we couldn’t get any sleep if the windows were open. The free breakfast was pretty great and there was a hostel bar, so overall seemed like a decent hostel.

WHERE TO EAT:

Incili Mozaik – We ate here our first night after a long day of travel (8 hrs for me, 30hrs + for Jake) so we ended up in the touristy area close to our hostel. We honestly expected subpar, yet expensive food as such, but we ended up loving the food. We might even say it was out favorite meal in Istanbul (although it could be just that we were so tired & hungry that anything tasted good haha). My Turkish meatballs were so moist & tasty. Jake loved the assortment of meats he got. Honestly, a great spot that is very close to the Hagia Sofia.

Yigit – Cute, local breakfast spot

Zapata Burger– Because we couldn’t find a restaurant that served a Thanksgiving meal, we decided to just go out for a classic American meal – Cheeseburger + fries 🙂 This burger was fabulous and the fries weren’t half bad. Although we would’ve rather had some turkey and mashed potatoes, this was a great alternative.

What to do:

There is so much to do in Istanbul – it’s a huge city! Here are a few highlights:

Hagia Sofia – you can’t not visit it (you also won’t miss it, as you can hear the call to prayer 5-6 times a day and it’s LOUD)
Blue Mosque – I actually this one was more beautiful
Balat – cool colorful neighborhood, cute cafes, bohemian/hippie vibes
Kadikoy- our favorite neighborhood. Just make sure to map to the center of this area as google maps took us to a very weird part of the neighborhood where nothing was going on lol. You can use Zapata Burger to map yourself to & then you’ll be in the mix of the neighborhood.
Do a Hammam – Here’s a summary of what it is & some of the best places to do one. It’s a must do while in Turkey if you like spa experiences.
We loved taking the ferry across from the European part of the city (we stayed in Sultanahmet since it was close to a lot of the mosques) to the Asian part of the city (if I came back, I’d stay in Kadikoy).

Overall Thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about Istanbul. On the one hand, it’s huge & loud & overwhelming & busy (fun fact: Istanbul topped the list for the number of international arrivals in 2023, followed by London & Dubai). On the other hand, there were some cool pockets & neighborhoods with fun cafes, nice large sidewalks for strolling, & beautiful architecture. Given I spent 5 days here, I don’t feel like I missed much that I would’ve wanted to do, but if I had only done 2-3 days, I might’ve felt like I needed to return.

CITY: Cappadocia

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I can’t say enough good things about Kelebek Cave Hotels. The room itself was spectacular and just so unique. It was huge and the bed was so comfy. The free breakfast buffet was extensive and the views from everywhere in the property were stunning. The thing that really took it over the top was the staff were all incredibly helpful and bent over backwards to make sure our stay was excellent. They booked everything for us (airport transfers, hot air ballon ride, sunset ATV ride, and even mailed some postcards on my behalf). Can’t recommend this hotel enough!

WHERE TO EAT:

Inci Cave Restaurant – We met some other travelers at lunch at chatted with them so we invited them for dinner that night. The restaurant put us in a private room that was basically a carved out cave. Very cool! Food was pretty good, but the room was the standout element. It was fun to have some new people to chat to as well!

Turkish ravioli restaurant – we’d heard about the Turkish so when we came across this restaurant we knew we had to eat here! Jake said it was one of his favorite meals in Turkey. Nice ambiance and excellent service.

What to do:

There were quite a few activities to choose from in Cappadocia, although it’s really known for their incredible Hot Air Ballon rides.

Sunrise Hot Air Balloon rides – this is why most people come to this region, and it did not disappoint! The scenery from up above is unreal- it felt like a mixture of Sedona, Bryce Canyon, & Mars. It was so peaceful, serene and magical the entire ride. It was truly incredible to see the scenery and once you add 100 other balloons also along the horizon – it’s just indescribable. At the peak, we were 950m above the ground! FYI they can often get cancelled due to weather, and it was cancelled both mornings we were there… luckily we were able to change our flights to later on the day on our last morning there and the balloons were good to go! Well worth the stress of changing last minute flights. We paid 180 euros per person, which isn’t cheap, but it’s a no brainer to do. Our hotel arranged it all for us, so it was a breeze. I would recommend booking the balloon flight for your first morning you are there so if it gets cancelled, you still have other mornings to go. It’s for this reason too that I would say you should spend a few days here in case your first go at it is cancelled. Also it was quite cold in November when we went, so bring layers if you are going in winter.

Sunset ATV ride – This started out not that fun as it was freezing cold (we were here in November) and it was raining… not a recipe for success. They gave us rain jackets, but the weather literally put a damper on the experience. However, the weather turned a little clearer by the end and we did get to explore a few awesome views/sites in the end, including Rose Valley, Love Valley, & Red Valley. Unfortunately the clouds ruined any chance of a sunset, but we still enjoyed the experience. Maybe just check the weather before you book! Here’s an example of a tour (although we just booked ours through our hotel the night before).

Take the Red or Green day tours – We did the Green one, as this is what other folks had recommended. We got to see one of the underground cities (pretty impressive), Pigeon Valley, an Onyx factory, Selime Monastery, a nice hike along a river (although ours was shortened due to weather) & Goreme Panorama. This is a nice way to see a ton of sites in an efficient manner.

We loved grabbing a drink or snack at one of the many cool restaurants that have views of the city.
There are a few walks/hikes you can do, but when we tried to do one, we experienced the craziest/strongest wind either of us had ever seen so we didn’t last long before seeking refuge in a cafe for some lunch.

Overall Thoughts:

Cappadocia is definitely worth a visit! It’s so unique and I enjoyed it for more than just the hot air ballon ride (although this was undoubtably the highlight). This was my favorite stop in Turkey!

CITY: Antalya

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the Perge Hotel in Antalya, which was almost amazing. The room itself was awesome! We really splurged and got a room with an amazing private deck & hot tub, knowing that the pool would be closed for the season. The room was huge and literally had two bathrooms, basically a dream. The location was great – right on the Mediterranean, but still walking distance to the Old Town. However, the hotel was a bit of ghost town (to be fair we were there in off season in Nov, but still it was odd). The front desk staff were very strange, awkward and not very helpful. They charged us 70 euros for laundry and didn’t tell this upfront (obscenely expensive for laundry). If they had had the customer service level of the Kelebek hotel, this stay would’ve been perfect!

WHERE TO EAT:

Mono Terrace – This was the only standout restaurant in Antalya that we ate at. The food was great, but even better was the rooftop vibe & views. Definitely go at sunset! Cocktails were fun & reasonably priced, which was a bonus.

What to do:

There is definitely way more to do here in the summertime, as this is the most popular beach destination in all of Turkey. People scuba, snorkel, go on a boat cruises and just lay in the sun on the beach. Given it was in the 60’s most days, we did not have those options. In fact, it was quite slow and quiet when we were there.

It poured rain one day so we headed to the mall and went to a movie (3 hr movie in Turkish 🤪). Honestly going to movies while traveling is one of my favorite ways to escape a bad weather day! (But normally I prefer English movies with local subtitles 🙃)

When the sun popped up, we meandered the streets of Old Town. It was actually quite nice to explore without the throngs of tourists that I’m sure are here in the summer.

I went on some runs (Jake tried to join me but couldn’t keep up 😄) through Old Town and along the water front.

We meant to go on a hike to see some waterfalls but ended up just enjoying the gorgeous deck and tiny private pool on the hottest day we had. After a fairly packed week of activities, we were happy to have a chill day, mostly playing cards (I won – don’t worry).

Overall Thoughts:

Antalya would’ve been awesome if we’d been here during the summer. However, despite being here in the offseason, we still enjoyed it. I’d happily return to check it out when it’s more happening.

BUDGET FOR 14 days in Turkey:

Accommodation: $1,433 ($102 per night): Jake and I decided to splurge and stay at cool/fancy hotels since it was overall pretty good bang for your buck.

Food: $238

Groceries: $0

Activities: $442 (I treated Jake to the hot air balloon ride since he didn’t really want to go in the first place (weirdo), which accounts for $180 of this)

Local Transportation: $271 (includes 3 flights within Turkey)

Total: $343 (Daily average: $170)

Transportation to next destination: $51 (Flight to London)