Our friend Timothy and his wife recently honeymooned in Iceland! Here’s what he has to say about the church shown in this beautiful shot: “Dating back to the 17th century, Grafarkirkja is the oldest Christian church in Iceland. The church was deconsecrated not too soon after being built and was used as a tool shed thereafter. However, in 1950 the National Museum of Iceland had the building reconstructed to it original form complete with turf roof.”
We’ve been traveling a lot lately for both work and pleasure. That means we’ve been doing a lot of packing and unpacking and a lot of browsing online for better options and ideas. We even have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Packing Tips! All of that travel has us thinking that what and how you pack can really make a difference in your transportation experience.
As checked bag fees have become the norm, traveling with only a carry-on whenever possible is now the primary goal for most travelers. If that’s the case for you, and you’re heading out for longer than a weekend, you’re going to want to make the most of your personal item. [See what we include in ours here!]
There are many options out there in a lot of price ranges. We’ve pulled together our favorites for the budget traveler and those with a little more money to spend. If you haven’t read our review of the Everlane tote, which includes a lot of the details we look for in a bag, check it out here. Also check out our review of the Lo & Son’s O.M.G. bag, which is very similar to the O.G. bag featured below!
Top Row: Stella & Dot – The Shift | Coach Leopard Turnlock Tote
Second Row: Baggu Duck Bag
Bottom Row: Longchamp Paris Le Pliage
Looking for a great weekender bag? You can find our favorites here!
I love collected home decor items from my travels, and some of my absolute favorites are my baskets from West Africa. They’re functional, colorful, and remind of a time in my life that I’ll always treasure. I lived in the Upper East region of Ghana for two years where I was a Peace Corps volunteer and teacher. The famous souvenir from the regional capital of Bolgatanga are Bolga baskets, which are made by local artisans not just from the city of Bolga but also surrounding villages. They’re handwoven from elephant grass and provide Ghanaians with economic opportunities.
I use this colorful Bolga basket to hold some of my favorite travel magazines!
There are many places to buy Bolga baskets online, but if you’re interested in supporting a project that goes above and beyond the fair trade model, check out Blessing Baskets. A volunteer I served with worked closely with this non-profit that exists to help reduce poverty in the countries where it works. I was able to visit her village to meet some of the artisans, watch them work, and of course buy baskets! They developed what they call a prosperity model that pays the artisans at least 2.5 times the Fair Trade wage, allowing for financial independence through entrepreneurship. In addition to providing income for the artisans, the project helps empower women and in Ghana built a school for girls. I try to be intentional about my purchases and like that a simple basket not only brings economic empowerment but also education to girls.
“You may have the universe if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi
While I was studying in Tokyo, my mother came to visit for a week. During her stay, we took the train out to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu, or Great Buddha, a 44ft tall bronze monument dating back to the middle of the 13th century. The crowds were heading back to their tour buses as we arrived, so we were lucky to get lots of pictures with no one else in them. Even so, this picture of a young brother and sister peeking through the lantern is my favorite. -Meagan
Like all good travel sites, we’ve been compiling lists of our favorite tips, tricks, and products to make your next trip easier on you and your budget. If you remember from our post on organizing your travel documents, I mentioned that I keep my itineraries and confirmation numbers in Google Drive and then print out some hard copies just in case I can’t access mobile data or WiFi.
Well, friends, no more! I have FINALLY found an app that organizes my travel confirmations easily and with as much detail as possible. Introducing…
My biggest concern with apps that organize details for me is that I rarely like the layout or the amount of detail shown. Details recorded in Tripit are organized by date, then by item (plane ticket, train ticket, hotel confirmation, etc.), and they all expand for additional information. That even includes your email correspondence with your AirBnB or your bike rental receipts.
1. Make an account at www.tripit.com and download the app to your mobile device from Google Play or iTunes. It’s free, but there’s also a pro version that is ad-free and has a few more features.
2. Just forward all of your confirmation emails to the Tripit email address they give you. Tripit will notice the email address that you send them from, and it will assign them all to your individual account. It’s pretty darn smart and really good at sorting out what information to pull from each email. For my hotels, AirBnB, and Bed & Breakfast, for instance, it includes confirmation numbers, addresses, and phone numbers in the main details.
3. You can then go to the website if you need to adjust any details. For instance, I have a casual email from the bike rental company that we will be using in France. Tripit didn’t recognize that it was a receipt for an activity, but it did file it into my Trip Details for the right date. I was able to go in and edit the activity type and name so that it fit in easier with my schedule. In fact, I also changed hotel check-out times to the actual time that we’re leaving so that “check-out” would appear prior to my train ticket. See? I told you I can be picky.
Train Ticket Details
4. Tripit even includes directions and adds them automatically. When Tripit recognized that I’ll be flying into CDG airport and that I have a reservation at this darling hotel in the 17th arrondissement, it included directions via car and the Paris Metro. Merci beaucoup, Tripit!
Cooking Classes, Hotels, and Flights
Train Tickets, Hotels, and Maps
As I’m at home writing this, I decided to turn off my mobile and wireless on my phone to see what details I could access with no data or WiFi service, and I was still able to open all of the details I’ll need. How’s that for accessibility?!
Have you used Tripit to organize your travel itinerary and confirmations before? If so, tell us about it in the comments!
I absolutely love going places, such as Cuba or even remote national parks stateside, that afford an opportunity to unplug for a while. That being said, technology is usually available while traveling, so it might as well be used to help make travel easier! Here are few travel hacks to help make your next adventure go smoother that we implemented before our recent jaunt to Greece.
Browsing on Phone in Shop
We decided to make the switch from Verizon to TMobile mainly because of their Simple Choice Plan. It offers unlimited data and texting internationally in over 120 countries worldwide. Even though it was slow at times in Greece, it was so convenient to be able to browse, text, use maps, and post to social media when we wanted and not rely on Wi-Fi. If you’re renting a car, I’d still recommend downloading an offline map app such as MAPS.ME as a backup in case you have issues with your signal. As you can tell from the photo above, it came in handy so my husband could browse while we were shopping at the sandal shop in Athens!
Given how much we used our phones because we could, our iPhone batteries went fast! But we were prepared because we bought a portable charger to take along with us when we were out and about. I think it’s even a nice travel accessory to bring along for domestic trips since it’s often hard to find places to charge while you’re waiting in the airport, traveling for business, or taking in the sights while being a tourist.
While many banks offer special accounts that don’t charge international ATM fees, Charles Schwab is great because their normal checking account comes with no ATM fees worldwide! Additionally we’ve been really impressed with the quality of service we received from them so far.
Hopefully these tips will make your next trip a little easier and perhaps even a bit cheaper so you can travel more often! Happy trip planning, friends!
Story behind this photo: While serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, I went on an incredible walking safari in Mole National Park in the Northern Region. It was a surreal experience trekking through the grassland savannah to see elephants, warthogs, and monkeys up close with our knowledgeable guide Osman and his young son. Elephants are one of my favorite animals and seeing them in their natural environment was a dream come true for me. -Stephanie
If you missed it in April & May, check out our blog series on Cuba: Cuba Packing List, Highlights of Havana, Good Drinks & Eats in Cuba, and Cuban Shopping Finds.
If you’ve been following us for a while, you may remember me blogging about my trip to Cuba in early April. In the Cuba Shopping Finds post, I wrote the following about the postcard I sent home from Havana: “I still haven’t received the one I sent myself, and I doubt I ever will. Though if I do, I will be so excited!” I am excited! I did give up on it ever arriving about a month into waiting but should’ve known to be patient and wait on “Cuba time.” I love sending postcards when I’m traveling and it was perfect how we found the stand selling them without really going out of our way to search for them. -Stephanie
There’s something about summer that makes me want to plan a domestic trip where I spend most of the time in the great outdoors. Last time I wrote about National Parks I focused on camping trips to parks out West. But the Eastern part of the US also has amazing national parks and seashores that are completely worth exploring.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the first national parks I ever had the pleasure of visiting. Cades Cove and Cataloochee are two of my favorite areas in the park because of the wildlife viewing opportunities, including deer, elk and bears, and their campgrounds. The park also has excellent hiking, biking, horseback riding, waterfalls, and historic buildings to see. If you love the mountains, start planning your trip to this park. As an added bonus, this is one of few parks that is absolutely free to visitors! [Great Smoky photos by Laura Brown]
Acadia National Park in Maine is such a unique and stunning park. Being from the Southern US, I love the rocky beaches of the park but of course found the water too cold for my taste. Acadia is perfect for camping in the summer since it stays cool, but Bar Harbor and other nearby communities also have other lodging options. You can wake up literally at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise at Cadillac Mountain, which is the first place in the US to the see the sun each day (though technically it changes depending on the season). Other activities include hiking, biking and boating. I’m sure the leaves are gorgeous in the fall, but I’ve only been during the summer. [Acadia photo from Mainethingstodo.com]
Shenandoah National Park is easily reached from Washington DC if you want to make a side trip while visiting our nation’s capital. Although, there’s enough to see to warrant it’s own trip as well! There’s plenty of adventure awaiting you along Skyline Drive, the 109 mile scenic roadway that runs the length of the park. Across from the Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center on Milepost 51, Big Meadows is perfect for rambling around and viewing wildlife. There are a lot of hikes in varying levels of difficulties, including Bearfence Rock Scramble and Viewpoint at Milepost 56.4, which affords you 360 degree views of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore is part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and consists of three barrier islands: Bodie Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island. The pristine beaches, fun lighthouse climbs, and hiking trails with wildlife viewing are all big draws. I have many fond childhood memories camping there with my family. There are four campgrounds to choose from and other lodging options outside the park.
The northern entrance of the national seashore is in Nags Head, NC, while the southern entrance is in Okracoke and can only be reached by ferry. The ferry between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands are free while the ferries between Okracoke to the mainland require reservations. Riding the ferry is one of my favorite parts of the Outer Banks experience!
Cumberland Island National Seashore is my favorite beach in my home state. No cars are allowed on the barrier island, so you must take a pedestrian ferry that leaves from St. Mary’s, Georgia. Most people go to Cumberland Island as a day trip, but if you like camping, the gorgeous Sea Camp Campground is pretty amazing with its stunning shade from the live oaks that lean away from the beach. Try to make reservations well in advance since it’s a popular place, and keep in mind that you do have to pack all supplies in and out. There’s also wilderness camping available if you like backpacking.
Once on the island, you can either walk or rent bicycles from the ferry company. The beach is beautiful and unspoiled with white sand and decent waves for bodysurfing. The best part of the island is seeing the wild horses and the Dungeness ruins. The first Dungeness was built by Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene’s widow, while the second Dungeness was built by the Carnegies on the original foundation but burned down in 1959. Plum Orchard Mansion is gorgeously preserved in Georgian Revival style and is open Thursday to Monday. Cumberland Island made the news in 1996 when John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married in the First African Baptist Church in the Settlement, which is one site I’ve yet to see. Guess that means I’d better plan a trip back to the island soon! [Cumberland Island photos by Laura Brown]
If you’re visiting multiple parks during the year, think about buying the $80 annual pass! Also check out my posts 2 National Parks of the West to Visit, Camping Out West in the US, and A Quick Guide to National Historical Sites for more inspiration on which parks to visit.