On Turning 29 and Being a Travel Failure
Photo: ThunderKiss Photography, Flickr Last month, I turned 29 on my second glass of wine at San Francisco International Airport, waiting for my red eye flight to Nicaragua. OK, maybe it was my third glass…
48 Hours in Granada, Nicaragua
There’s not too much to do in Granada, Nicaragua — but that makes it the perfect destination for a quick weekend getaway. The colorful colonial city on the shores of Lake Nicaragua is less than an…
Weekend Getaway Guide: Monterey & California’s Central Coast
Monterey makes for a weekend getaway filled with gorgeous scenery and animal sightings – just two hours south of San Francisco. Once the center of the sardine packing industry, today the small city on California’s…
4 Awesome Day Trips Less Than 2 Hours from San Francisco
Since moving to California this summer, I’ve had less and less time to travel with craziness at work, pursuing my MBA and still getting settled (after six months, we still don’t have a table and…
USA Road Trip: Chicago to California on I-80
Two months ago, I spontaneously relocated to California for a job opportunity. A month before the move, I’d never even considered living in San Francisco. It sounded expensive, and filled with traffic. While it certainly…
The Windy City, in a Nutshell: My Weekend Guide to Chicago
I feel weird writing a weekend guide to Chicago – or to any of the places I have lived. Residents and visitors obviously have very different goals on a weekend. As someone who lived in…
A Quick Guide: the Islands of Bocas del Toro
With tropical weather and a relaxed town catering to surfers and divers, the adventure-filled islands of Bocas del Toro aren’t your typical Caribbean destination. Yes, there are white sand beaches and palm trees, but it’s much less…
Stay at This Amazing Waterfront Jungle Lodge – for $17 a Night
Last month I visited the beautiful islands of Bocas del Toro off the Caribbean coast of Panama. I can’t wait to share the adventures I had from snorkeling and hiking to my first surfing lesson,…
5 Free Tools that Help You Save Money for Travel
There are a number of free tools that help you save money for travel by paying you for things you already do. I’ve always funded my travels with a combination of “travel hacking” and side jobs…
8 Tourist Traps that Don’t Live up to the Hype
Photo: MK Feeney/Flickr If you’re a traveler, chances are that at some point you’ve spent time at tourist traps. What defines a “tourist trap?” To me, it’s a “must-see” attraction that is rather underwhelming given the…
Island Escape: 5 Reasons to Take a Weekend Trip to the Exumas
Last month I celebrated my birthday with a Bahamas weekend trip to the Exumas, a chain of beautiful cays and islands just an hour’s flight from Miami. The Exumas are famous for the Swimming Pigs, which…
7 Things to do in Berlin, Germany in 48 Hours
I’ll admit upfront that I didn’t love Berlin. I didn’t find any of its neighborhoods charming and the entire city feels… cold and grey. It might have had something to do with visiting at the…