A thoughtfully packed travel bag makes all the difference when jet-setting around, especially if you’re trying to survive a long-haul flight. These are the inflight essentials that I never fly without. In order to make going through security and my inflight routine easier, they are all organized into small pouches, and my toiletry bag and electronics are the easiest to reach. A sturdy, organized travel bag is essential for your personal carry-on bag, and you can find our favorites here.
Travel journals are a fun and creative way to remember your most meaningful travels. While I record my favorite tips, tricks, and locations here at A Friend Afar, I knew I wanted to start a handwritten journal to record how these destinations make me feel. Starting a travel journal was something I thought about for a long time before I started writing because I was worried that I would start one and then quickly give it up or forget to write in it. I did a lot of searching through Pinterest for inspiration, and I was honest with myself about what would work for me and what would not work. Below are my favorite tips for starting a travel journal and keeping up with it as you seek out more adventures.
Here it is, friends! We are so excited to bring you our 2016 holiday gift guide for travelers! This gift guide includes our favorite goodies that make travel easier as well as those that let you display your wanderlust loud and proud!
Travel isn’t always easy. It isn’t always glamorous. A long road trip, a train with no air conditioning, an overnight flight – our transportation options never offer true comfort – that’s for us to worry about. However, we don’t believe you have to sacrifice style for comfort. We know you can have a chic and comfortable travel style.
Our tried and true airport uniform consists of stretchy but conservative pants, a warm and cozy cardigan, stylish sneakers, and a warm scarf that can double as a blanket. We love bringing along a minimalist backpack like the Everlane one below as a hands-free carry-on that holds all of our must-have travel accessories that add a little luxury to our long-haul.
The Medina of Marrakech – a chaotic maze of ancient architectural treasures, delicious food and drink, and exciting shopping. It’s an opportunity to dive right into Moroccan culture. It’s also pretty hot during the mid-day sun and in the winding souks. These are our favorite Marrakech retreats for when you need a rest. Drop in for a few hours of pampering or just a chance to refresh while enjoying the views.
Traveling to Marrakech was a dream come true! It’s an exciting vacation for lovers of color, architecture, food, shopping, and a bit of chaos. You could easily get lost and lose track of time, spending your whole time in the city navigating the souks, but you don’t want to miss the Medina’s historic sites. If you are only in Marrakech for a short time, here are the 4 Must Visit Sites in the Historic Marrakech Medina.
We recently returned from Morocco, and while we loved the excitement of Marrakech, we can’t get the tranquility of the Atlas Mountains off our mind. Less than 2 hours from Marrakech, the Imlil Valley is home to the most unique lodge we have ever had the opportunity to visit. We stayed only 2 nights at the Kasbah du Toubkal, but now we’re dreaming of going back for more.
The Kasbah du Toubkal is truly a special place. After all, it has been chosen as a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World. Its uniqueness is evident as soon as you arrive in Imlil. At the small office in town, you are met by your host and a mule that will carry your luggage up the path to the Kasbah. It’s a rambling fortress of a lodge perched on a hilltop overlooking the Imlil Valley while Jbel Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa, rises behind it at 13,671 feet.
If the view and the hike don’t take your breath away, the story of the Kasbah will! The land and a kasbah in ruin were purchased in 1989 by Discover Ltd, a family affair, and after years of traditional methods of construction by local laborers with local materials, the Kasbah du Toubkal opened in 1995. Since then, it has impacted the Imlil Valley through sustainable and responsible tourism.
A view of the gardens and lodging from the rooftop where we spent our afternoons lounging under Jbel Toubkal to the sound of birds and the waterfall.
There’s so much to see and do in unique Iceland that it’s hard to choose between all of the options! Tours offered are numerous and it can be overwhelming to figure out which are the best ones. Here are the top five Iceland activities that you can’t miss on your Iceland adventure!
Going for a relaxing soak in a geothermal bath is a must do activity in Iceland! Of course the Blue Lagoon is the most famous one with its spa-like facilities and its easy access to the airport and Reykjavík. We went our first day in Iceland and it was the perfect way to start our travels and cure jet lag. Buy your timed tickets in advance, with prices starting at $55USD for standard tickets. It’s worth it to pay a bit more for towels unless you pack your own plus a drink from the bar is included in the comfort and above pricing. The minerals that make the water the beautiful shade of blue also make your skin feel so soft after bathing for a while.
In Northern Iceland, Myvatn Nature Baths is another geothermal bath option. The setting of the lagoon is beautiful with the mountains in the background and it tends to be less visited than the Blue Lagoon. The ticket prices for adults are a little over $30 with an additional fee for a towel.
We love hiking and did tons of it while in Iceland but the most unique hike was our first ever glacier hike! We went on the three and a half hour glacier walk for $88USD per person from Skaftafell with Glacier Guides and had a blast. We were with a small group and the tour guide was a lot of fun. In addition to enjoying the natural beauty of the glacier with sunshine and blue skies a plenty we learned a lot too! Beyond the mechanics of using our crampons, we heard all about crevasses, moulins, dirt cones, and glacier mice. One of my favorite moments was when we were all completely silent and listened to the sound of running water from glacier runoff. We also got to drink fresh glacial water!
One of the more memorable places we overnighted was on a working Icelandic farm through an Airbnb stay. While we stayed in many lovely guesthouses, this one gave us a taste of what life is like for the many farming families in the country. After dinner with the family, we accompanied them on their evening rounds to check on the newborn lambs and their mothers as well as the cows. Lamb season is Iceland is in May so it was the perfect time for our visit! And of course they had Icelandic ponies on the farm too! In addition to many options on Airbnb, there’s a whole website devoted to Icelandic Farm Holidays.
If you plan to visit Iceland during their summer from April to September, definitely go whale watching! You can go from the capital Reykjavík or the whale captial Husavik in the North. I did research about going on the carbon neutral Whales, Puffins and Sails tour with North Sailing but we decided to go from the Snæfellsnes Peninsula instead since we wanted to see orcas. Láki Tours offers a fantastic three hour, $75USD summer whale watching tour and we were lucky to see a pod of 15 killer whales! They are so beautiful and majestic to see in the wild and it was an experience we won’t soon forget. Other sighting possible include sperm, minke, and humpback whales as well as white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises!
Photo credit: Visit West Iceland STYKKISHÓLMUR SWIMMING POOL http://www.west.is/en/inspiration/services/stykkisholmur-swimming-pool
I read in several articles while planning our trip and heard on the xxwilltravel podcast episode about Iceland ahead of time that going to a town swimming pool is a great way to experience Iceland the way locals do. Plus it’s a lot cheaper than the geothermal spa or nature bath for a soak in the hot tub, swim in the warm pool or go down the slide. Watching this fun Inspired by Iceland video learn about hot tub etiquette before you go!
Which activity in Iceland would be first on your list? Let us hear from you in the comments below! If you’ve been to Iceland, feel free to share your favorite activities too!
With summer on its way, it’s time for a weekend getaway. We know you’re already planning your beach trips and weekends in the mountains. We’re ready for lazy days spent in hammocks and strolling along the beach. But before you set off on your road trip, you need the perfect bag for a weekend away. Leave those rolling suitcases at home! We’ve featured some of our favorite weekender bags before, and now we’re going tell you about one we both own in this Everlane Weekender Review.
We both own an Everlane Weekender bag, so that’s a good start to this review and should really tell you something. Meagan bought a suede version that has since been retired, and Stephanie followed suit by buying the navy canvas weekender with the black leather straps. Continue reading
We’ve been traveling a lot for work and pleasure lately, and it’s only about to pick up! We’re always SO excited about our destinations, but we have to get there first, and flying in coach can be such a drag. Am I right?
Here’s the good news, travelers! We have four travel hacks to make flying in coach as comfortable as possible. With Salem Kitty’s help, Stephanie just filled her new Delsey Tote
